He Pingsheng spent the next month living this monotonous life.
Every day, aside from eating and sleeping, he did nothing but cultivate.
He worked hard to draw the spiritual energy outside his body into himself!
Yet after an entire month, He Pingsheng still had not managed to circulate that spiritual energy through his meridians for one complete cycle.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared blankly at the moonlight outside the window.
Was cultivating with a five-element spiritual root really that difficult?
Senior Brother Hao Yun had once said that it had taken him half a month to achieve Qi Drawing into the Body and circulate it for one complete cycle, thereby breaking through to the first level of the Qi Refining Stage.
And those prodigy disciples could do it in just two or three days!
But I've already spent an entire month on this.
Could the cultivation method be wrong?
Smack...
He Pingsheng threw the [Basic Breathing and Qi-Guiding Method] hard onto the table.
Then he reached beneath the bed and pulled out the dark earthenware jar.
Naturally, He Pingsheng had not stopped experimenting over the past month. Every day, he used the earthenware jar to produce more items.
If he put in ten jin of rice, it became twenty jin, and its quality improved as well.
However, the rice did not become spirit rice as He Pingsheng had imagined it would.
After a month of experiments, He Pingsheng had gained a basic understanding of some of the Treasure-Gathering Basin's properties.
First, it could only increase things in quantity and make them stronger!
It could not change their type.
For example, ordinary rice and spirit rice were two species, two completely different things.
Therefore, ordinary rice could not become spirit rice.
Likewise, the axe had merely become much sharper. The Treasure-Gathering Basin's enhancement had not turned it into a magical artifact wielded by immortals.
That raised a question!
What should I enhance today?
He Pingsheng looked around the room.
Over the past month, he had enhanced almost everything in his home that could be enhanced.
Shovels, spoons, bowls-he had even enhanced a pair of his own shoes.
The moonlight flowed like water.
He Pingsheng's gaze, however, landed on the [Basic Breathing and Qi-Guiding Method] lying on the table.
A bold idea suddenly sprang into his mind: could a cultivation manual be enhanced?
Let's try it!
I've already memorized the first three levels anyway. Even if enhancing this thing ruins it, it won't matter.
Smack...
He Pingsheng acted at once, tossing the book into the earthenware basin with a crisp smack.
Still, he did not hold out much hope that the Treasure-Gathering Basin could enhance something as abstract as a book's contents. Shortly after pushing the earthenware basin beneath the bed, he fell fast asleep, snoring away.
He woke early the next morning.
He Pingsheng rubbed his eyes, then, still half asleep, reached out and pulled the wooden basin from beneath the bed out of habit.
One glance told him: Hey... two books!
It really enhanced it.
He Pingsheng's heart leaped into his throat. Excited, he reached into the Treasure-Gathering Basin and took out one of the books.
He drew in several sharp breaths...
This texture.
The previous copy had been handwritten by Hao Yun!
Its quality had left much to be desired-it had been nothing more than an ordinary notebook made of coarse paper.
Now, the moment he touched it, he could feel the paper's toughness.
Holding it in his hands, He Pingsheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
He discovered that even the cultivation manual's cover had changed.
Previously, the cover had borne the words [Basic Breathing and Qi-Guiding Method].
Now, however, they had become [Everlasting Spring Qi Circulation Art].
Holy shit...
He Pingsheng's breathing quickened!
It changed!
Even the cultivation method changed. Needless to say, it must have been enhanced from the Basic Breathing and Qi-Guiding Method.
Let's have a look!
And so he opened the first page.
Originally, the first page had contained a name: Hao Yun.
It had marked the book as Hao Yun's.
But now, there was only one word on it: Heaven!
What did that mean?
He Pingsheng stared blankly at the word [Heaven] and muttered to himself, "Does this mean Heaven created this book?"
"Hmm..."
That must be it!
As he spoke, he turned another page.
The general principles!
The general principles explained that this was a cultivation method suited to those with wood-aspect spiritual roots!
Then came the specific cultivation instructions for every level.
They ranged from the first level of the Qi Refining Stage all the way to the twelfth.
Judging by its contents, it also seemed far more extensive and detailed than Hao Yun's previous manual.
For the first level's qi drawing into the body alone, the method it described was worlds apart from the previous one.
Moreover, aside from the cultivation method, two wood-aspect spells were appended at the end.
He Pingsheng did not rush to cultivate!
He reached out and took out the second book.
He glanced at its title. This one was different again.
Its title was: Lihuo True Method!
This...
A cultivation method of a different aspect.
He Pingsheng picked up this book and began reading it as well.
The first page likewise contained only one word: Heaven!
The general principles followed.
They stated that this was a Fire Attribute cultivation method, suitable for cultivators possessing Fire Attribute spiritual roots.
Likewise, it contained the complete cultivation method from the first through the twelfth level of the Qi Refining Stage, with two minor Fire Attribute spells appended at the end.
He Pingsheng took a deep breath.
Should I try it?
Which one should I try?
His gaze fell on the Fire Attribute cultivation method: Lihuo True Method.
Hmm...
Let's try this one first!
He Pingsheng put away everything he did not need, then hid it all beneath the bed.
Finally, he sat cross-legged on the bed and picked up the Lihuo True Method!
First read it thoroughly, then understand it!
Of course, he only needed to understand the general principles and the first level for now.
This took He Pingsheng half a day. By the time he was ready to cultivate, it was already noon.
After a simple meal, He Pingsheng began Qi Drawing into the Body again.
At that moment!
The spiritual energy between heaven and earth flowed slowly across the surface of his body.
The sensation became extraordinarily clear.
With the slightest activation of the cultivation method, Fire Attribute spiritual power gathered and clung to He Pingsheng's skin.
Then, under his guidance, the Fire Attribute spiritual power clinging to his skin slowly passed through the countless pores on his body's surface and entered his skin and flesh.
From his skin and flesh, it entered his blood and muscle!
From his blood and muscle, it entered his meridians!
But before it could enter his meridians, there was one more gate to pass through!
His spiritual roots!
The spiritual power drawn into his body from outside first entered his spiritual roots.
Only after emerging from his spiritual roots did it enter his meridians.
He Pingsheng possessed five spiritual roots!
As the strand of fire spiritual energy he was guiding passed toward his spiritual roots, the four roots corresponding to metal, wood, water, and earth naturally closed, leaving only the Fire Attribute spiritual root open.
Although this strand of spiritual energy was extremely faint, passing it through his spiritual root still took an enormous amount of time.
To put it simply, a spiritual root was like a water pipe. If it was too narrow, it obstructed the passage of spiritual power, thereby reducing the efficiency of accumulating it.
This was the most fundamental reason cultivating with a five-element spiritual root was so difficult.
Someone with a single spiritual root would not have these problems.
Because a single spiritual root was ten times as thick as He Pingsheng's Fire Spirit Root, spiritual energy would naturally pass through it much faster.
After passing through his spiritual root, the spiritual power was compressed once before entering his meridians.
It would circulate through his meridians for one complete cycle, then be refined.
After being refined, it would gather in his dantian. Only then would he attain the first level of the Qi Refining Stage.
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