Condensation Technique Perfected (Seeking Follow-up Reads, Seeking Favorites)

Chapter 35: Condensation Technique Perfected (Seeking Follow-up Reads, Seeking Favorites)

Longyuan Year 5.

It was the third year of Wang Ping's Foundation Establishment. His Foundation Establishment Qi-gathering progress had reached (15/100).

June 13th. The summer drizzle had fallen for three straight days. Today, as usual, Wang Ping woke at Cockcrow Hour and made his way to the Huai Tree to practice Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment, come wind or rain.

Three Hours later...

The rain had grown heavier. The sky, which should have brightened by now, remained dim and murky. Wang Ping stood before the Huai Tree without getting wet, not because he had shielded himself with spiritual energy, but because the Huai Tree's branches and leaves had automatically sheltered him from the rain.

Yang Ziping did not fetch water today. Instead, he patrolled the forest garden beneath an umbrella, checking whether any drainage ditches had become clogged so he could clear them in time, preventing water from pooling in the garden and ruining the Spirit Grass.

Once his daily Foundation Establishment practice was complete, Wang Ping immediately woke from meditation. He then silently thought, Foundation Establishment Chapter, to check the concentration of spiritual energy: (42/100).

Compared to the barren mountaintop at the beginning, the changes were unmistakable.

The garden had already taken shape, but the growth of its spiritual energy was slowing by the day. Wang Ping worried that it still would not meet the requirements by the time he reached Foundation Establishment.

As he pondered this, he walked toward the small courtyard and heard Liu Shuang call out, "Master, breakfast is ready..."

Breakfast was Vegetable Porridge, with an egg for each person. As usual, Wang Ping finished his meal with some salted pickles. When he stepped out of the Main House, he watched Yulian playing in the water beneath the eaves and suddenly felt a stir of inspiration. He casually took out the Jiaobei and cast a divination...

Approved!

There would be good luck today. At present, the only thing weighing on Wang Ping's mind was the progress of the Five Elements Condensation Technique. After three uninterrupted years of practice, he could already keep the success rate of refining Spiritual Medicine above 75%.

That was already very high, yet having the progress bar stuck at (99/100) was especially agonizing.

Thus, Wang Ping hurried to the Spirit Gathering Array north of the courtyard. There, following the Feng Shui layout, he had knocked down a section of the mountain peak to build an Alchemy Room. He sat on the cushion beside the Alchemy Furnace and began today's Spiritual Medicine condensation.

The first attempt succeeded...

During the second attempt, Wang Ping sensed the Five Elements attributes within the five Spiritual Medicines attracting, repelling, and generating one another. The spiritual energy guiding their purification and condensation suddenly accelerated.

Because at that moment, Wang Ping felt that he could combine the two steps of condensation and fusion into one!

"Open!"

As the condensation accelerated, Wang Ping flipped open the lid of the Alchemy Furnace and activated its built-in flame-extraction function, placing the condensed Five Elements Spiritual Medicine inside.

Then came a crisp bang.

It had failed. Thick smoke carrying a faint stench rose from within the Alchemy Furnace.

Wang Ping smiled at himself. His Left Hand quickly formed three consecutive hand seals, and after using the Cleanse Technique to clean the Alchemy Furnace, he began his third attempt.

It still failed...

But Wang Ping did not lose heart. He believed his direction was correct.

Yet the fourth and fifth attempts failed as well.

Wang Ping, who had not suffered consecutive failures in a long time, frowned. He did not continue trying, instead casting a divination to calculate his current fortune.

It was a Yang Trigram...

Wang Ping was somewhat speechless. He could only enter meditation and sit for Half an Hour before casting another divination.

He continued with the sixth attempt...

This time, during the final Quenching process, Wang Ping followed his previous refining experience and instinctively sent a strand of spiritual energy into the Alchemy Furnace. Through that strand, he sensed that the Five Elements spiritual energy within the condensed Five Elements Spiritual Medicine was pulsing and combining in a regular rhythm.

It worked!

Wang Ping stared at the Alchemy Furnace. Several breaths later, its lid flipped open, and a freshly refined Power Pill lay quietly before him.

"Hahaha!" Wang Ping laughed joyfully. He took out a pouch made from Two Forms Vine Bark and tossed the completed pill inside.

"Let's try again..."

The satisfaction of success filled Wang Ping with emotion, and he immediately made another attempt without stopping for even a moment... then succeeded again.

"Should I try two sets of ingredients at once?"

Such a thought suddenly popped into Wang Ping's mind. He immediately put it into action, and, as though aided by the gods, succeeded once more!

In the blink of an eye...

The entire morning passed just like that.

The materials stored in the Alchemy Room had been completely used up, replaced by two full pouches of Power Pills. Wang Ping looked at the Spiritual Medicine he had exhausted and let out a regretful breath. Then he picked up the two pouches and headed toward the small courtyard through the pattering rain.

Liu Shuang and Yang Ziping were busy preparing lunch. Wang Ping stood before the Main House and called, "Ziping, come here."

"Yes, Master!" Yang Ziping's voice came from the kitchen. Soon afterward, he emerged, wiping his hands haphazardly on the hem of his clothes.

"These are two pouches of Power Pills. Deliver them to your Uncle-Master Zhao first, then tell him to transport more Spiritual Medicine to the Alchemy Room!"

"Yes, Master!"

Yang Ziping agreed readily. If it had been Liu Shuang, she would first have tentatively asked whether she could deliver them after lunch.

As the young Disciple left the courtyard, Liu Shuang poked her head out from the kitchen to take a look. Her face bore the displeased expression children her age often wore.

Thus, lunch was a little late today, though it still tasted quite good. There was also more oil in the dishes. That was Liu Shuang's Cooking Skill; Yang Ziping was hardworking, but when stir-frying, he simply could not bear to add much oil.

After eating lunch with his two Disciples, the Young Disciples from the Mountain Foot began delivering Spiritual Medicine to the Alchemy Room. Wang Ping paid them no heed and instead focused on watching his two Disciples practice.

Today, perhaps because the soft, Yinrou rain made people forget the passage of time, Liu Shuang finished her usual ten rounds but did not stop immediately.

As though possessed, she threw a few more punches at random. Then her eyes lit up, and she launched a punch. Afterward, a vortex of Qi could clearly be seen around her fist, blasting the raindrops in all directions.

"Congratulations, Senior Disciple Sister!" Yang Ziping, who had long since finished practicing, was the first to offer his congratulations.

"Hahaha!"

Liu Shuang laughed proudly, then looked at Wang Ping and saluted. "Thank you, Master, for imparting the teachings and resolving my doubts."

"Very good. Your junior brother is also on the verge of gathering Qi Sensation. Over the next few days, look after him more. Once both of you have developed Qi Sensation, I will teach you the method of Qi Refining."

"Yes, Master!"

Liu Shuang accepted the task, then winked and made faces at Yang Ziping. Her meaning could not have been clearer.

"Also, once you formally begin Qi Refining, you will no longer need to clean or cook. Take these next two days to find two diligent Young Disciples in the Front Hall."

"Yes, Master!"

Yang Ziping found his Qi Sensation half a month later...

The Qi Refining method Wang Ping passed down to his two Disciples was also the Return to Origin Cultivation Technique. However, unlike Daoist Yucheng, he did not teach it all at once, first passing down only the Qi Cultivation Chapter.

Naturally, he had to obtain Daoist Yucheng's consent before passing on this cultivation technique.

Liu Shuang and Yang Ziping first practiced Qi Refining in the Main House of the small courtyard. Like Daoist Yucheng before him, Wang Ping sent a strand of spiritual energy into each of them to guide them.

It was precisely because of that strand of spiritual energy that Wang Ping learned that, if these two wanted to achieve anything in Qi Refining, they would need at least ten years of arduous cultivation!