Bestowing a Name, Cultivating

"Hahaha, which little ones have come to my forbidden ground?"

At this moment, Elder Yu also appeared, smiling as he looked at the three children.

"Grandpa Yu!"

As soon as they saw him, Yang Xiaohu and Yang Mingrui called out.

Yang Yueqing, beside them, quickly pulled them and reminded them, "You should call him Old Ancestor!"

"Oh, oh, Xiaohu greets Old Ancestor Yu."

"Mingrui greets Old Ancestor Yu."

"Hahaha, you are all good children. In this forbidden ground, I don't care what you call me. You can call me Old Ancestor, Grandpa, or even Old Man, but there's only one thing you can't be casual about."

Elder Yu paused for a moment, then continued, "In your future cultivation, you cannot be the slightest bit careless. You must be diligent and strive hard, and do not disappoint the Patriarch's earnest efforts!"

"Yes! We understand!"

Yang Yueqing cupped her hands in response.

Elder Yu nodded, and then, along with Yang Guanfeng, brought the three children into the forbidden ground's ancestral hall.

Here, the ancestral tablets of the Yang family were displayed.

It was only here that Chen Yang realized that the ancestors of the Yang family had indeed been cultivators.

It was a pity that there were no successors, and the family slowly declined.

"Spiritual Connection Realm, the peak of the lower three realms. Your cultivation is not low!"

Chen Yang had now understood the cultivation realms of this world.

There were a total of nine realms.

The lower three realms were Qi Gathering, Essence Condensation, and Spiritual Connection.

The middle three realms were True Intent, Mystic Insight, and Void Stepping.

The upper three realms were Heaven Reaching, Tribulation Crossing, and Ascension.

Each realm was further divided into twelve minor stages, with early, middle, late, and peak stages.

For example, in the Tiger Chasing Dynasty, where the Yang family was located, the nation-protecting combat power was a cultivator in the True Intent Realm.

Therefore, for a family, producing a cultivator in the Spiritual Connection Realm was enough to become a powerful family that controlled one side within the dynasty.

Similarly, immortal cultivation items such as artifacts, elixirs, formations, and talismans followed the same level classifications.

For instance, Elder Yu had said that Chen Yang was currently a spiritual treasure of the early Qi Gathering stage, not far from the middle stage.

This also matched Chen Yang's self-assessment. The spiritual energy in the small white space within his body had reached two-thirds. Once it was filled again, he could proceed to the next advancement.

After paying respects to the ancestors, they arrived at the main event of the day.

Yang Guanfeng and Elder Yu brought the three children into a separate three-story pavilion.

In the center of the room on the top floor of the pavilion, a platform about 1.5 meters high was erected, seemingly prepared to place something.

Around the platform were three prayer mats, and three copies of the same cultivation technique were also placed.

"From now on, the three of you will cultivate in this pavilion and strive to condense your Qi Mansions and enter the Qi Gathering realm as soon as possible."

Upon hearing that they could finally cultivate, the three children excitedly stepped forward, went to their respective prayer mats, and picked up the cultivation techniques to read them.

However, after a short while, they all showed troubled expressions.

This was because they couldn't understand them at all.

"Hahahaha."

Seeing their cute, furrowed brows, Yang Guanfeng and Elder Yu burst into laughter.

"You three are truly impatient. It's good to have such enthusiasm, but remember in your future cultivation, you must not seek quick success and instant benefits."

"Indeed, haste makes waste. The path of cultivation is long and arduous, emphasizing gradual progress."

Yang Yueqing nodded in understanding upon hearing this, while the other two children also nodded, though they were clearly lost.

"There is one more thing. Since the three of you are entering the forbidden ground to cultivate, you will henceforth be on a different path from mortals. Your past names will no longer be used."

As Yang Guanfeng spoke, he took Chen Yang out of his sleeve and placed it on the platform in the center.

He pointed at Chen Yang and said, "This object is called a Spirit Gathering Stone. It is a spiritual treasure that Elder Yu and I obtained while exploring outside. It has the ability to gather spiritual energy, and it will be your greatest reliance on your future cultivation path."

"'Spirit' is one character from it, added to your names. From now on, you will be Yang Linghu, Yang Lingqing, and Yang Lingrui. Do you understand?"

Linghu and Lingrui were still dazed, but Lingqing had already nudged them with her elbow.

"Yang Lingqing thanks Old Ancestor for the bestowed name!"

The remaining two children quickly followed suit, thanking Yang Guanfeng for bestowing their names.

"Good."

Yang Guanfeng nodded with satisfaction and looked at Elder Yu, saying, "Elder Yu, I'll leave the rest to you."

"Patriarch, rest assured."

The dense spiritual energy gathered by the Spirit Gathering Stones has a limit. If Yang Guanfeng were to cultivate here as well, the total amount of spiritual energy the three children could obtain would decrease, and it would also affect the overall spiritual energy environment.

After some deliberation, both of them decided to leave this place to the three children.

Yang Guanfeng turned and left, while Elder Yu gestured for the three children to sit on the meditation cushions.

He first introduced the basic common sense of cultivation to the three of them and asked them to repeat it.

The three children were not stupid and quickly memorized it.

Afterward, Elder Yu had them open their cultivation manuals and began to read and explain them.

"This technique is called the Nether Spirit Path Seeking Scripture. It cultivates through meditation and absorption, converting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for one's own use. It is a legitimate cultivation method for the Essence Condensation realm..."

"The prologue is what you need to learn right now; it is the introductory path to this technique..."

"To condense a Qi Mansion, you first need to draw spiritual energy into your body and clear the Qi Meridians..."

"There are a total of twelve acupoints in the limbs, chest, abdomen, and the crown of the head. All of them need to be opened and illuminated by spiritual energy. Only then will the Dantian form a vortex of spiritual energy..."

"The first step you need to take now is to enter a state of meditative stillness. This is the foundation of everything..."

"Alright, now do as I say. Sit cross-legged with your back straight, hands on your knees, clear your mind, and feel the Nether Spirit..."

The three children obediently put down their manuals, assumed the posture, and began to try meditating.

Chen Yang lay on the high platform, having listened to Elder Yu's explanation from beginning to end.

This cultivation method is truly profound and mysterious. Some parts of it left me confused, and I need to ponder them carefully. It seems that cultivating as a cultivator is not easy either, he thought.

Fortunately, he had been able to breathe and absorb energy since birth and didn't need to worry about cultivation methods.

He just wondered if there was such a thing as a cultivation method for cultivating artifacts.

As he pondered, Chen Yang suddenly felt a fluctuation of spiritual energy.

"Oh? This kid is so fast?"

Chen Yang's gaze fell on Yang Lingrui, the youngest of the three children.

This child truly lived up to his reputation as the one with the highest talent among the three that Elder Yu had scouted.

Coupled with his pure and untainted childlike innocence, he had already reached a state of meditative stillness, with his mind emptied of external distractions, after only the time it took for an incense stick to burn.

Elder Yu was also a little surprised to see this.

He knew the child had good talent, but he didn't expect him to be this amazing!

While surprised, he quickly reached out and placed his hand over Chen Yang, activating his spiritual power to boost Chen Yang's spirit-gathering effect.

Ah~ Using someone else's spiritual power feels so good~

Chen Yang, with Elder Yu's help, began to gather spiritual energy and simultaneously started his own breathing and absorption.

Originally, gathering spiritual energy himself would have consumed his own spiritual power. However, by relying on a human cultivator, he could skip this step and only needed to focus on breathing and absorption.

About fifteen minutes later, Chen Yang noticed that the acupoint at the end of Yang Lingrui's left arm had loosened.

After a few breaths, that acupoint was completely opened, and the spiritual energy gathered in the pavilion immediately surged towards it.

Yang Lingrui, still in a meditative state, felt his body tremble, and a warm sensation spread from his left fingertip.

"Meditated for an incense stick's time, and drew in spiritual energy in fifteen minutes. This child shows signs of reaching the Essence Condensation realm!"

Elder Yu was immensely pleased. He was genuinely happy that the Yang family could produce such a promising talent.