Cultivation

Inside the ruined temple, Xu Yan frowned slightly at the gray bag in his hand, at a loss for what to do.

He had already tried all sorts of methods, but none could open this seemingly ordinary bag.

"Could it take an immortal's arts to open it?"

Xu Yan rested his chin on his hand, a thoughtful look on his face.

Golden Light Daoist's ability to conjure a length of vine out of thin air yesterday had truly astonished him. In Xu Yan's view, opening this bag would probably require some kind of immortal art as well.

At that thought, Xu Yan could not help feeling a little dejected.

Soon, however, an object in the ruined temple caught his attention.

It was the half-scroll of beast hide that Golden Light Daoist had taken from Xu Yan earlier. Perhaps because the scroll was not particularly valuable, Golden Light Daoist had not put it into the bag.

The half-scroll lay quietly beside the Medicine Cauldron. Xu Yan slowly walked over and picked it up.

After gently flicking off the dust that had settled on it, Xu Yan solemnly tucked it inside his robe.

Golden Light Daoist might have thought little of the beast-hide scroll, but to Xu Yan, it was no ordinary object.

“That old monster said I had a Spiritual Root. That should mean I can successfully cultivate the technique on this beast-hide scroll,” Xu Yan thought to himself.

Although he had practiced the technique on the scroll for more than half a year, he had mostly done so in secret, terrified that Golden Light Daoist would discover him.

Moreover, he had only managed to draw a single wisp of spiritual energy from heaven and earth into his body. He had not truly crossed the threshold; otherwise, Golden Light Daoist would have detected magical power within him during his earlier examination.

Since I can't open this old monster's bag right now, I might as well settle down and practice the technique on this beast-hide scroll. If I succeed, perhaps I'll find a way.

Having made up his mind, Xu Yan headed out of the ruined temple.

After a whole night, he was terribly hungry and thirsty, so he planned to find something to eat.

Fortunately, his luck was good. Before long, he caught a lone wild rabbit and carried it straight back to the temple.

Xu Yan deftly skinned the rabbit with the Fish Intestine Short Sword, then built a fire and roasted it.

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, Xu Yan sat upright on the meditation cushion and solemnly took the tattered half-sheet of beast hide from inside his robe.

The technique recorded on the beast-hide scroll was one the Blazing Fire Sect provided for its servant disciples to practice. As a servant disciple of the Blazing Fire Sect, Golden Light Daoist had practiced this technique when he first joined the sect. Later, however, he had switched to a better technique, so he attached little importance to the scroll.

This technique was called the "Spirit Guiding Art." It was a low-tier technique that could, at most, take a cultivator to the peak of Qi Refining.

Just as its name suggested, practitioners could use this technique to guide the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Once they gathered it in their Dantian and converted it into their own magical power, they would have crossed the threshold of cultivation.

Xu Yan focused all his attention on the beast-hide scroll.

The scroll was densely inscribed with tiny characters. Its opening few sentences briefly touched on some basic knowledge of the cultivation world. Like someone glimpsing a leopard through a narrow tube, Xu Yan could glean something of that world from these scattered words.

The first realm of cultivation is Qi Refining, and the second is Foundation Establishment. According to this beast-hide scroll, once I achieve Foundation Establishment, I can use the power of Spirit Artifacts to soar through the heavens and burrow through the earth. How glorious that would be!

The descriptions on the beast-hide scroll filled Xu Yan with longing.

What a pity this scroll is incomplete! Even if I cultivate successfully, I can only reach the fifth level of Qi Refining! Regret appeared on Xu Yan's face.

This half of the beast-hide scroll contained only the methods for the first through fifth levels of Qi Refining. The remaining methods were on the other half.

Fortunately, I can switch techniques, so there's no need to worry. At that thought, Xu Yan's brow relaxed again.

According to the scroll, since I belong to neither a sect nor a lineage, from today onward, I'm a rogue cultivator, just like that old monster.

Xu Yan quietly considered this.

Casting these thoughts to the back of his mind, Xu Yan focused once more on the half-scroll before him.

He intended to begin practicing the Spirit Guiding Art.

Soon, Xu Yan sat cross-legged on the ground, his hands brought together over his Dantian.

He closed his eyes and slowly began to cultivate according to the instructions in the technique.

Having already practiced for half a year, Xu Yan was quite familiar with it.

With his eyes closed, Xu Yan felt as though his spirit wandered beyond the heavens. As he slowly circulated the technique, he gradually drew a wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi toward himself.

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi he initially drew in was exceedingly faint, as slender as a strand of hair. It descended through Xu Yan's forehead and flowed through his limbs and bones toward his Dantian.

As this wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi entered his body, Xu Yan felt his entire body grow considerably warmer. He then steadied his mind and began guiding the faint wisp toward his Dantian.

"Hm?"

In the midst of cultivating, Xu Yan could not help letting out a soft exclamation. He discovered that the wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi that had just entered his body quickly dissipated, as though it had returned to heaven and earth without ever reaching his Dantian.

Helpless, Xu Yan could only compose his mind and continue cultivating.

Gradually, as Xu Yan slowly circulated the technique, he drew another wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi toward himself.

Having experienced the previous wisp dissipating, Xu Yan was even more cautious this time. Under his slow guidance, the wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gradually flowed toward his Dantian.

Yet this wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, too, dissipated within his body before it could enter his Dantian. It was as though Xu Yan's body could not absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi at all.

At this, Xu Yan's expression shifted slightly, but he did not stop cultivating.

By dusk, Xu Yan still had not managed to guide even a single wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into his Dantian.

"Phew."

Xu Yan stopped and softly exhaled a breath of stale air, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

According to the beast-hide scroll, anyone who wants to cultivate must possess a Spiritual Root. The better the Spiritual Root, the faster the cultivation. My situation should be what it describes as a Low-Grade Spiritual Root, with an extremely poor ability to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Xu Yan had a suspicion that his Spiritual Root was probably very poor. Of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi entering his body, not even one part in a hundred remained.

Soon, however, determination settled over Xu Yan's face. Although his Spiritual Root was poor, as long as he worked hard at cultivation, diligence might yet make up for his shortcomings.

Before long, Xu Yan resumed cultivating and soon drew in another wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Just as that wisp entered his body—

Xu Yan felt a sudden heat between his brows. A tremendous surge of energy followed the wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and rushed toward his Dantian. Although this energy continually dispersed along the way, it was so abundant that a considerable amount still reached his Dantian.

Boom!

Xu Yan felt a violent tremor erupt from his Dantian, leaving his entire body somewhat unsteady. Soon, however, a smile appeared on his face. This was precisely the phenomenon described in the technique: gathering enough Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to open his Dantian. At that realization, Xu Yan immediately gritted his teeth, focused his mind, and began opening his Dantian.