Orthodox Secluded Cultivation
Time flew by quickly. The summer and autumn months flew by, and before long, winter had arrived once again. Of course, the change of the seasons was barely felt in the core sect, where it stayed temperate and pleasant year round.
The beast tide rapidly escalated in terms of danger during these past months, so much so that most of the lower strength groups were forced to pull back from the front lines. Those who still wanted to fight for glory and merit points stayed back and defended the station posts, whilst these station posts were all watched over by a Qi Temple Realm or Spirit Core Realm elder.
Yaan did not go back to the front lines, he decided to stay in the core sect to cultivate.
He left it to the elders to handle all of the chaotic ongoings, since dealing with this beast tide was now completely beyond his abilities.
Rank 2 and Rank 3 beasts had become common sightings, even within the sect's forest territory to the North of the mountain. If Yaan went out into the Northern wilderness in the current climate, he would almost certainly lose his life.
Every group sent out into the forest now needed to be led by a Qi Temple Realm elder at the very least. If groups weaker than this continued to hunt in the forest, the sect's losses would be too extreme. Naturally, the Heavenly Path Sect did not want to see any further losses of its members.
Yaan hiding away from this sort of danger was completely natural. Nobody expected a child to risk themselves like this anyway, especially not when that child was a recognised talent of the core sect with a bright future ahead of them.
If a sect relied on its prodigal children for protection, that sect could only be considered trash.
After learning of Boln's death, Yaan returned home, then informed his teacher that he would be entering closed door cultivation until he reached the Innate Qi Realm.
Following his recent life and death experience, Yaan felt like he was closer to the breakthrough than ever before. He knew that it was only a matter of time and hard work before he reached the next stage, so he shut himself off from the world and fully focussed on his cultivation. Nobody disturbed him in this time, not even Rui.
This type of cultivation consisted of him sitting silently on his bed in the lotus position whilst sinking his consciousness into his dantian.Yaan would sit like this for hours at a time, simply observing his dantian and feeling the flow of Innate Qi through his body. He only stopped to eat, drink and so on.
Yaan didn't actively try to pursue anything in particular. He became an observer to the state of his own body.
This could actually be considered the most orthodox type of cultivation that he had experienced so far. Most cultivators would spend the vast majority of their time shut off from the world, refining Innate Qi until they reached a limitation. Once they found that they were unable to improve further, they would begin searching for enlightenment in order to pursue their breakthrough into the following realm.
Yaan's heart and mind became peaceful in this time. He stopped thinking about the pressing beast tide, he stopped caring about his worries and desires, he even forgot his goal of seeking revenge for a while. Yaan had never felt such peace and serenity in his life, he found himself totally lost and engrossed in this feeling.
Gradually, he forgot about his surroundings.
The one and only thought on his mind was the mental image of his dantian and the Qi Channels throughout his body. Innate Qi flowed in and out of the dantian in a gaseous state, as if this was the most natural process in the world. He immersed his mind into his Innate Qi, watching as it travelled through his dantian in an endless spiral.
After spending an extended period of time engrossed in this state, all of a sudden, Yaan had the distinct feeling that if he tried to do so, he would be able to condense the gaseous Innate Qi in his dantian into a more compact form. If he did this, he could force his Innate Qi to become a liquid, thereby increasing the space in his dantian for more Innate Qi to be refined!
This feeling came to him naturally, and before long, Yaan was instinctively urging his Innate Qi to move accordingly.
When he noticed that his Innate Qi was easily following his commands, Yaan briefly snapped out from his entranced state, remembering something important as his eyes quickly shot open.
He pulled out a glowing green pill - this was the Rank 2 Boundary Ascension Pill! He swallowed the valuable pill without hesitation, then closed his eyes and returned his attention to his dantian.
Under Yaan's control, the gaseous and free-flowing Innate Qi began to spiral downwards at an accelerating rate. The Innate Qi compressed and condensed over and over again as the natural gaseous currents intertwined around one another, forming thinner, denser streams.
Each of these streams was one hundred times narrower than a drop of water. Despite their minuscule size, when one hundred of these streams converged together, they fused together in the centre of the dantian and rapidly condensed into a single drop of liquid.
Whilst all of this was happening, Yaan's body slowly changed.
His muscles and bones grew denser and more powerful. Inconsistencies unwound and the muscle tissue developed into a more optimal arrangement.
His organs shifted minutely time and time again, readjusting into more effective positions, which resulted in his organs significantly improving their processing ability.
His blood was gradually refined. The impurities were burned up and squeezed out through the pores in his skin.
The impurities from his gaseous Innate Qi were also pushed out, causing a great deal of pain to spread all over his skin as the impurities from his Qi and blood were expelled simultaneously. The feeling of black sludge forcing its way out from his pores burned painfully, causing Yaan to grit his teeth in order to endure the pain.
Finally, after a few minutes of enduring this pain, all of the impurities within both his physical body and his Innate Qi had been expelled! At this instant, a very faint, barely discernible shockwave spread out from his body…signifying his successful ascension!
Yaan opened his eyes joyfully, but then scrunched up his nose at the repulsive smell.
He immediately stood up and left his home. He made his way towards the nearby stream and washed himself off in the clear waters.
After cleaning away all of the putrid impurities, he returned inside and dressed himself in a clean robe.
"Congratulations, you increased your cultivation realm, both in terms of Qi refining and body tempering."
"Oh, you're actually praising me? I think this is the first time." Yaan laughed as Rui complimented him for once. She clicked her tongue, but this only made him chuckle some more.
It was as she said though, he had successfully ascended, completing his breakthrough into the Innate Qi Realm and the 2-Star Realm in a single step!
This meant that Yaan now possessed the liquid Innate Qi of an Innate Qi Realm cultivator, and a demonic body filled with Vital Energy, providing him with physical strength similar to a Rank 2 beast.
"But Yaan, did you know that your lifespan has increased to almost 150 years now…" Rui remarked. She wore a rare faint smile on her face, but this went unseen by Yaan.
"Hmm? I guess that should be right, since I reached this level at a young age." He nodded. He remembered that Rui had mentioned this; cultivators lived for longer when they ascended to a realm at a younger age.
"Well remember when I told you that the additional lifespan gained from a breakthrough will be added to you current vital state? Meaning that your physical ageing will effectively pause, and the additional years will be spent with your current appearance."
"What do you mean…? Wait…ah! So I'm going to look like a child for the next 30 years?!" He couldn't help but yell out loud once he finally understood Rui's point, and why she sounded like she was teasing him. Yaan felt stupid that he actually hadn't even considered this point until just now!
Reaching the Innate Qi Realm meant adding 30 years to his life span, all of which would be added to his current vital state! He was currently 10 years old, but ever so slightly taller and more mature looking than a normal ten year old thanks to his body tempering cultivation. Even so, he still possessed a childish stature and physical appearance, he looked at most 11 or 12 years old.
And now, he would retain this appearance for 30 more years!
"Don't feel bad about it, in fact, most cultivators would be jealous of this. You don't understand this matter well because your experiences are too limited, but having their youth retained for longer is something that every aged cultivator wishes for. With youth, your lifespan and therefore potential are improved." Rui explained.
Still, Yaan felt a bit bitter.
"But people won't take me seriously if I look like a kid…"
"That is untrue, you won't be looked down on, not at all. A youthful appearance shows a cultivator's outstanding talent, hard work and future prospects. Anyway, physical appearance is only superficial, extraordinary cultivators don't care about this sort of thing."
Yaan listened to her words of comfort, but he still felt unsure. Did he really want to look like a child for the following 30 years? No, thinking about it, if he continued with his current cultivation speed, then wouldn't he retain this appearance for even longer?!
No longer wishing to dwell on matter, Yaan decided to point out a mistake in what Rui said.
"My talent isn't impressive at all, it's only moderate. I've only progressed so fast because of the Fiend Transformation Technique, it has nothing to do with talent."
"Your diligence, adaptability and perception are your talents. Perception is even more important than the so called 'talent', so don't look down on yourself so much. Those 'talented' individuals have a great advantage at the lower cultivation realms, but after reaching the latter realms, this advantage becomes less useful. Whilst their cultivation speed might still benefit from a slight boost…perception, heart, wisdom and survival ability are far more important than talent."
Yaan had never heard this from anyone else, but he didn't doubt anything Rui said. After all, she wasn't the type to compliment him merely to boost his self confidence. If she was saying this, then she was simply stating a fact.
Rui came across as an extremely harsh teacher, but she was direct. She based her advice on her vast experience, which was no doubt far greater than any of the elders in the Heavenly Path Sect.
She did not sugarcoat Yaan's shortcomings, instead helping him to improve by providing him with straightforward advice. When she complimented him, it was to help him gain a better grasp over his own abilities.