Human Immortal

After the hedgehog died, the chakra within its body dissipated rapidly; no matter what method Bai Sui tried, he could not retain it.

About five minutes later, all the chakra inside the hedgehog had vanished completely.

Adhering to the principle of not being wasteful, Bai Sui took a taste and confirmed that there was nothing special about this ninja beast—at least this one did not contain any extra energy.

Peaceful days passed quickly, and Bai Sui practiced diligently day and night, dedicating most of his time to meditation.

After about three years, the elixir bead in Bai Sui's lower dantian finally became round and full.

At this point, having gone through the four stages of matching yin and yang, gathering and dispersing water and fire, coupling the dragon and tiger, and refining the elixir, Bai Sui had undergone a distinct transformation.

This manifested as: enhanced digestion, elimination of illness, clarity of mind and vision, increased vigor with less fatigue, a radiant complexion, supple skin, a warm dantian, a light and healthy body, a refreshed spirit, the eradication of chronic ailments, sweet saliva, a naturally calm heart, the absence of base desires, a body free of disease, the inner light manifesting in darkness, eyes flashing like lightning, a perfected dantian, the nourishment of an immortal fetus, the containment of inner realms, the exclusion of outer realms, and the ability to extend one's lifespan.

These were the physical manifestations, and he had also made significant progress in energy manipulation; the natural qi within his dantian was now as responsive as his own limbs.

Bai Sui could now truly demonstrate extraordinary abilities, such as conjuring fire from the void, summoning rain from clear skies, accelerating the growth of all things, and condensing gold into armor.

He could even utilize qi to walk upon water and ride the wind.

With his sword in hand, he could now command it to fly a hundred paces under the influence of his qi.

In truth, if one were to speak purely of lethality, replacing the sword with steel needles or sword pellets would be more effective, but Bai Sui did not use this to fight enemies; he used the tool to cultivate himself.

"False words are tools; though the blade be real, the tool is tilted. True words are tools; though they may not be sharp, the tool is upright."

The sword is upright and incorruptible, representing integrity; it is flexible yet unyielding, representing the wisdom of when to advance or retreat; it keeps its edge hidden when there is no trouble, representing humility; and it leaves its sheath to stop evil when necessary, representing chivalry.

Bai Sui kept the sword by his side precisely to embody these principles and reflect them upon himself.

When the elixir bead in his dantian reached perfection, the entire room was filled with fluorescent light. Fortunately, the villagers no longer frequented his home, so no one noticed; had someone discovered this and cried out in alarm, the resulting disturbance could have left Bai Sui with a Daoist injury.

Fortunately, there was no danger this time, but it served as a lesson for Bai Sui. He lacked experience in this area, and his past life provided no knowledge of it; looking back, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Three more months passed, and Bai Sui's dantian stabilized, with his internal circulation flowing without obstruction.

Thus, Bai Sui began his march toward becoming an Earth Immortal, preparing to advance toward the Golden Elixir.

Every day, he controlled his true qi to circulate through his body in a Great Heavenly Cycle, practicing diligently day and night without pause. He kept it running twenty-four hours a day, and to prevent any errors, Bai Sui did not actively manipulate natural qi or control the qi between heaven and earth during this period.

In this way, under the impact of the powerful true qi within his body, he finally moved the elixir bead in his lower dantian without damage.

From bottom to top, it took a full 300 days to finally push the elixir bead into the Niwan Palace.

The moment the bead entered the Niwan Palace, Bai Sui's entire body began to radiate a red glow and a strange fragrance.

Having gained experience from his previous achievement of becoming a Human Immortal, Bai Sui had taken precautions in advance. He found a cliff-top peak and drove his sword into the earth behind him to protect his body, precluding any possibility of being disturbed by man or beast.

As the elixir bead moved within the Niwan Palace, the closer it drew to the central position, the more intense the light around him became. From a distance, the entire hilltop appeared to be shrouded in red light.

It was fortunate that no one saw this, or they surely would have assumed a forest fire had broken out.

Although the red light and strange fragrance emitted by Bai Sui attracted many wild beasts from the mountains, his sword also began to bloom with a cold, white light.

The beasts illuminated by this white light felt a great threat, and under this pressure, they each assumed defensive or aggressive postures.

Yet, not a single one dared to attack, nor could any leave, unable to resist the temptation of the fragrance; thus, for a time, the beasts remained frozen in place.

The phenomenon triggered by Bai Sui did not last long, gradually dissipating after about half an hour.

As the fragrance faded, the surrounding beasts slowly retreated. Even those that would normally fight or prey upon one another maintained a strange peace under the threat of the sword's white light.

None of this was Bai Sui's concern now; his primary task was to stabilize the elixir bead within the Niwan Palace.

Through the circulation of his internal true qi and the manipulation of his primordial spirit, the two forces worked in tandem to finally fix the elixir bead firmly within the Niwan Palace.

At this very moment, Bai Sui had begun his transition from a Human Immortal toward an Earth Immortal, having taken the first step of condensing the Golden Elixir: the "Flying Golden Crystal."

It was just that Bai Sui was still very young, not yet thirty, and could not yet experience the miracle of returning to one's youth.

Speaking of which, Bai Sui believed his rapid cultivation was not due to being a genius. On one hand, it was the benefit of the ten-plus years he spent specializing in "nature cultivation" in his previous life.

This not only saved him over a decade in this life but also allowed him to bypass the step of "the conscious mind stepping down" at the optimal age, enabling him to stand on high ground and directly control the circulation of energy within his body through his primordial spirit.

On the other hand, this world was special; it could be called a holy land for cultivation. Various energies could be felt intuitively, which removed the struggle of "belief" versus "disbelief" and saved Bai Sui the trouble of nourishing himself through food, allowing him to reach the stage of "consuming qi" directly.

It was precisely these factors that made Bai Sui who he was today.

Of course, stepping onto the path of the Earth Immortal brought benefits beyond returning to one's youth, such as self-healing, seeing without light, and the state of "no leakage."

Because Bai Sui's cultivation did not strictly follow the Lingbao Bifa—prioritizing nature over life—he did not fully refine his soul and spirit at the "Flying Golden Crystal" stage to condense the three flowers of essence, qi, and spirit, nor did he move the lower dantian to the upper dantian.

Instead, he achieved this directly through his primordial spirit, controlling his internal true qi. This resulted in an imbalance where the three flowers were not gathered, causing the vast majority of the benefits to be absorbed by the primordial spirit.

Bai Sui's primordial spirit became more powerful, and the radiance it manifested grew brighter and more vast, to the point where it could shine through his body.

This allowed Bai Sui, even without his primordial spirit leaving his body, to utilize its power to a certain extent—this could perhaps be called divine sense.

One must know that according to the normal progression, divine sense would not be born until the next stage, the "Jade Liquid Returning to Elixir." Bai Sui had effectively advanced this by an entire stage, which would likely make his subsequent cultivation even smoother.