Chương 10: Progress

The mental state of Wu Wei was truly special. Lin Yi had the option of choosing among eight meridians to start with. He originally wanted first to cultivate and form the Qi circulation for the Lung Meridian, but unfortunately it was not among the eight currently visible ones. The Lung Meridian had the ability to breathe in the Spirituality of heaven and earth. With this, Lin Yi could slightly increase his cultivation speed. The next two options were the Heart Meridian and the Kidney Meridian.

The Heart Meridian governed the body's blood and controlled its circulation. It could also influence mental clarity, consciousness, emotions, and sleep. It would be a big boost to his spirituality. Nevertheless, the Kidney Meridian might be the most suitable and orthodox choice, at least in his own mind. It had many diverse abilities and functions. The Kidney Meridian can store Essence and governs birth, growth, development, reproduction, and aging.

It also produces marrow, nourishes the bones, supports the brain, and governs water metabolism. Besides being associated with the Innate Qi, it also helps to anchor Qi. The meridian runs from the foot up to the inner leg and the abdomen and even further towards the chest. It has a connection towards the refinement of Essence into Qi and Qi into Spirit. The Kidney Meridian will not just allow him to advance his cultivation further, but builds a steady foundation for the whole Qi Condensation Realm.

Thanks to the uniqueness of Wu Wei, Lin Yi didn't compare the advantages of different meridians in his head over and over again. The pure nature of his mind and seamless thoughts naturally brought him to his best result. His mind turned smoothly from the calculated results towards cultivation. His thoughts changed, and his spirituality grasped the Qi escaping from his Golden Cauldron as he controlled it towards the nearest beginning of the Kidney Meridian.

He moved his Qi into the meridian and then through it below towards his feet. The Qi divided as it moved along the two branches of the meridian and then to the lowest point. From there on, he moved it back up, along his legs and towards the abdomen, where the united Qi picked up its loose brethren and rose high to his chest. Once at the highest point of the meridian, Lin Yi moved his Qi down again towards the abdomen and then through the two branches into his feet.

Up, united, collecting other Qi and growing stronger and denser, higher up, and down below, picking up Qi again and condensing it, further down and dividing another time, and then up once more. Lin Yi, in Wu Wei, subconsciously counted the circulations from one to ten, from ten to one hundred, from one hundred to two hundred. At the 360th circulation, which was hours into cultivation, he felt a small tremble in his Kidney Meridian as the circulation became smoother and smoother.

He sensed that obstructions were washed away and a faint self-flowing circulation formed. He felt his bone growth, which was already continuously growing stronger from his passive Qi nourishment, becoming slightly greater, and his brain, alongside his mind, thoughts, and spirituality, a little lighter. Even his Qi was a minuscule amount easier to control. Lin Yi smiled in joy and excitement as his cultivation advanced further. Though only a small step, every one of them would one day accumulate to one greater one.

Every day his cultivation would advance steadily till one day he would stand above the nine heavens and could grasp the dao. His emotions fluctuated a little too much, as he was ripped out of the Wu Wei state. Lin Yi's control of his spirituality and Qi faltered for a moment. Nearly all the Qi gathered in his Kidney Meridian dispersed in an instant and merged back into his body. His expression changed as he quickly looked deep into the Kidney Meridian, and only then did he sigh in relief.

While most of the Qi vanished, he could still see a faint, shallow line of Qi flowing along the Qi circulation's pathway. It was so faint that he could only notice it when he was completely concentrated. He knew that this was the initial form of his autonomous Qi circulation. Sigh, I should be more careful when exiting Wu Wei. Luckily, my initial circulation had already formed. If I were in an important moment, I would have taken a great loss. Lin Yi thought to himself.

He also decided that entering Wu Wei takes too much time for daily cultivation. While it boosted his cultivation speed dramatically, needing several hours for this boost was not cost-efficient enough. Lin Yi already formulated a new cultivation plan. Every day he would practice pure meditation solely further to gain control over the mental state of Wu Wei and enter this state faster. The rest of the day would stay the same as always.

Till the end of the month, he would go to the daily lecture, then read classics of the immortal dao and cultivate in seclusion. Lin Yi nodded, looked at his first Qi circulation, and had to plan his next steps of cultivation. My Qi circulation had formed its foundation. Now the question is, should I grow it further first, and only after perfecting it start other meridians?

But after the first circulation grows too strong, it will be harder to branch away more circulations and may even weaken my cultivation foundation to some degree. For each additional meridian added to the Qi circulation it will only grow more difficult and take longer. In truth, to forge the best foundation, it was recommended to directly form the whole Qi circulation of all 12 Standard Meridians. But this was simply impossible for Lin Yi and most other disciples.

Only the truly most talented geniuses who were directly accepted into the Inner Court may achieve this. But these geniuses were far too above his current self, so far ahead that he couldn't even envy them. In the few weeks Lin Yi had successfully entered the cultivation path, they might already have reached the third level, and only the great amount of Qi needed to open the Crimson Palace would stop some of them for some time.

Of course, the mid and late stages of the Qi Condensation Realm were fully different from the early stage. The mid and even more so the later stage needed much more accumulation. Lin Yi read that even those heavenly chosen with a Profound Spirit Root need at least a decade to cultivate enough Qi, magical power, and divine sense to assail the Foundation Establishment Realm. Lin Yi's next choices were twofold.

One, cultivate each meridian's Qi circulation to perfection and then cultivate another, or use the existing Qi circulation foundation of his Kidney Meridian, expand it toward the other eleven meridians, and once the twelve possess one whole foundation, perfect this one. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. To set up the foundation for the second path might take years, especially with his Spirit Root talent.

Still, it would allow him not just to perfect circulation in a short time, but also to create a foundation not inferior to that of these supreme geniuses. Most disciples took some middle path, cultivating a meridian's circulation to some degree while adding another when it was suitable. Many didn't want to wait many years at the very bottom of the first level. Lin Yi didn't have this mental blockade.

He was still young, only four years old, and wanted to form the strongest foundation, even if it would take him years. Cultivation is not a sprint, or a marathon, but an endless journey without an end. Only with steady cultivation and a strong dao heart can one glimpse at the mysteries of heaven and earth, and conceive one's own great dao! He believed these words with his whole being.

He would rather build a strong and pure foundation slowly and from the ground up than to strive quickly for the endless stars only to not even reach the sky. The Classic of Qi Refinement was, for that purpose, maybe the most suitable cultivation method. It has no strong attacking power, defense, or endless speed, but its method contains all meridians and acupoints of the spiritual body. It allows the cultivation of an all-encompassing magical power that was compatible with nearly every immortal art.

Most other cultivation methods, beyond the 12 Standard and 8 Extraordinary ones, use only specific meridians suited to their attribute. This was the difference between different cultivation methods in the Qi Refinement Realm. The Classic of Qi Refinement may be a simple, widespread, and basic method, but anything cultivated to extremity undergoes a profound transformation.

It was said that once one cultivated the method to perfection and reached the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, one would condense a miraculous Embryonic Innate Qi that was convertible to any cultivation methods between heaven and earth, and would give anyone unlimited potential for the future.

Of course, this was mostly rumors, and in recent times no one had achieved such a state, but it was true that some Perfected Ones, or even Heavenly or True Ones, who came from lesser origins, cultivated this method in their youth. Lin Yi had the plan to cultivate the Classic of Qi Refinement to the ninth level, at the very least, or, if he achieved it, to the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm. Anything above the Qi Condensation Realm was too far in the future, and he did not yet think much about it.

Only once he reached the late stage would the topic begin to matter. Lin Yi opened his eyes and checked the time through his sect plate. It was already the next day, but only a few hours in. Though Lin Yi was awake the whole night, he felt no fatigue or desire to sleep, only a little hunger. This was normal. Even a cultivator at the first level of the Qi Condensation Realm could go several days and nights without sleep, and their mental and bodily function wouldn't be limited during this time.

This was the benefit of a Qi-nourished body. They tired less while doing more work, and recovered faster with less rest. And the higher one's cultivation was, the more efficient this became. At the mid stage, the Crimson Palace Stage, and at the late stage, the Purple Mansion Stage, cultivators could respectively live without any external nutrition intake or nightly rest. The night was old while the day was young. The sun had not yet risen.

Lin Yi pondered for a moment and decided to forgo any further cultivation this morning; after advancement came stillness. There were still many hours before today's lecture. He decided that visiting the Community Residence's library was a good option. Lin Yi stood up and readied himself. But before leaving, he walked towards his desk and picked up a transparent jade bottle. This bottle looked identical to the one Senior Brother Liu Gang had given him an Essence Pill from.

They were standard-issued pill bottles by the sect, and similar ones were also used throughout the cultivation world. Lin Yi opened the bottle and rolled out one pill. After swallowing the pill, his faint hunger already subsided slightly, and he made his way towards his immortal texts and the following day. The sun and moon changed positions in the sky, and several days had passed since Lin Yi entered his cultivation path. Only a few days remained till the end of the month. This day was as normal as any.

Lin Yi cultivated through the night, advancing his Qi circulation's foundation, and visited the library early in the morning. After that, he attended the daily lecture led by a Senior Disciple. Only after the lecture ended and before everyone left did his daily routine get interrupted. Their Senior Disciple addressed everyone.

"Fellow Junior Brothers and Sisters, before you all leave, I have a message from Elder Bai for those of you who have already entered the cultivation." At these words, everyone, even those who were still 'mortal', perked up. The Senior Disciple continued once he made sure he had everyone's attention.

"Elder Bai called you to his cultivation room. Everyone with cultivation should make their way to him right now." All disciples, including Lin Yi, wondered what Elder Bai wanted. Some already had some idea in mind. It has likely to do what sect division we, prospective disciples, choose. Lin Yi thought.

"That is all!" The Senior Disciple gave them a short nod and left towards his own business. Among the batch of new disciples were some who talked and speculated about what Elder Bai wanted from them. Still, these voices became more distant as only around twenty people remained walking towards the elder's cultivation room. Once all the prospective disciples reached the room, its door opened automatically, and a voice reached out to them, not unlike when Lin Yi was here alone days ago.

"Come in, disciples, all of you." Some disciples looked at each other as they entered the room. Though the room had not changed much, instead of Elder Bai's sole meditation cushion, eighteen more were arranged before him.

"Be seated, young friends." Elder Bai said with a smile and a wave of his hand. As if by some miraculous instinct, each of them knew which cushion they should sit on. Mhm, some kind of spell or spiritual indication? Lin Yi wondered as he walked towards his seat and sat down. There were four rows, each with five seats, except the last row, which had only three. Lin Yi sat in the first seat of the last row, with only two other disciples to his right. If he was right about his speculation, then...

I was the third last one to breakthrough the Qi Condensation Realm, huh? Lin Yi was awakened from his musings as Elder Bai started to speak. He had a smile on his face and a slightly proud expression.

"First of all, greetings to everyone and congratulations. Each of you entered the cultivation path before your first month in the Charging Bull Sect was over!"

"This means you have successfully become prospective disciples. While this doesn't mean anything in the long term and the sect would not favor you much, it means you have some short-term benefits."

"In truth, the term 'prospective disciples' is only used here in the Valley of Immortal Seedlings and loses its meaning in the other sect division." Elder Bai's smile became a little brighter as he continued.

"But the benefits you are given are truly valuable, if used correctly." He looked sharply at some disciples who looked uncomfortable at his gaze.

"We did not make these benefits public because we wanted to see which of you have the necessary drive, talent, and fortune to be worthy of them." He pointed a finger upwards.

"The first benefit that I already told all of you is that you can join any sect division of your desire. But be aware, if your talents and/or immortal profession might not suit the division, or your performance is too poor, the division elder might give you some minor, unrelated task. And from these you cannot easily escape." He held up a second finger.

"The second gift for you is a restricted immortal art. Be it a cultivation method, spell, scripture, divine ability, or similar. If they belong to the Qi Condensation Realm, you can freely choose them. You can collect them at the Scripture Pavilion after the month ended."

"Choosing a compatible immortal art is important here. It's better to pick a weaker or less demanding art than one you can't master in the first place. Remember, every one of these restricted arts has something special or unique, and some arts you can never begin cultivating in the first place due to their special requirements." He turned up a third and the last finger.

"As the last benefit, you will be given 1. 000 Sect Points. All of you already know the importance of Sect Points, and this is a small incentive for you to cultivate properly and bring honor to the sect." Lin Yi and most other disciples looked at Elder Bai in wide astonishment. They never thought that becoming a prospective disciple would bring two other benefits, and for some they were even more valuable. This was the case for Lin Yi too.

While he originally had not planned to join the Scripture Pavilion, even if he had, as a non-prospective disciple, planned to join it, it would likely have worked. But the other two benefits were truly great. One thousand Sect Points were not few. Some disciples might have to work for up to a decade to earn this amount. He even knew that exactly 1. 000 points could be exchanged for one restricted immortal art of the Scripture Pavilion. So, if one wanted to, one could get two.

As for restricted immortal arts, Lin Yi read about them in the internal texts of the sect. Many were also directly mentioned with their abilities. Lin Yi couldn't suppress the grin on his face. I definitely know which one I will choose!