Essence Cultivation System

Splash-!

The originally calm surface of the Myriad Wonders Lake suddenly erupted with violent waves as two figures shot out from underwater.

One of them was a young man who had his arms crossed in a relaxed manner. His ankles were clamped tightly around the head of the second person – a young lady who was being pulled along helplessly.

They were naturally Wu Meng and Zhang Wanqing.

The duo exited the water with such great momentum that they found themselves suspended in the air at a height of around three metres. That was when Wu Meng, with a smooth swing of his legs, tossed Zhang Wanqing onto shore.

"Ouch!" Zhang Wanqing cried out in pain as her shoulder crashed against the bank of the lake.

Even though the ground was lush with grass, it still hurt to be thrown in such a rough manner.

Nevertheless, the first thing Zhang Wanqing did was not massaging her hurting shoulder. Instead, she immediately felt around her neck to make sure that it was still intact.

After being pulled along by the head for god knows how long, she felt as though her neck was about to snap.

She could only hope that experience would not leave her with an elongated neck!

Thinking about this, she could not help but shoot a spiteful glare towards Wu Meng, who had just landed on the shore with light steps.

The sun was shining brightly at this moment, its warm rays allowing Zhang Wanqing to see Wu Meng clearly, unlike when they first arrived at the lake.

Contrary to the thoroughly soaked Zhang Wanqing, Wu Meng's hair and clothes were perfectly neat and organised, without any traces of water whatsoever. Noticing this difference only made Zhang Wanqing feel even more indignant.

"That hurts!" Zhang Wanqing complained unhappily. "Was that really necessary?"

"It wouldn't have been necessary if you knew how to swim," Wu Meng shrugged nonchalantly.

Zhang Wanqing: "..."

She naturally knew that being able to swim or not had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Even if she knew how to swim, would she be able to hold her breath underwater for that long?

Even if she did not know how to swim, did he have to pull her along by the head, and with his feet to boot?

"I will remember this..." Zhang Wanqing grumbled under her breath while massaging her neck.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you will. If you are done complaining, get up and come over here," Wu Meng said. "We are not done just yet."

"W-We aren't?" Zhang Wanqing shuddered involuntarily.

They had not left the lake for long, and the excruciating pain that she experienced before was still fresh in her mind. If she had to be subjected to that all over again, Zhang Wanqing really did not know if she would be able to endure through the entire process a second time.

Wu Meng shook his head when he saw the hesitance on her face. "Do you still remember what that brat Nie said?"

"That brat Nie...? You mean Valley Head Nie!" Zhang Wanqing corrected him. But at the same time, she was immediately reminded of something that had been bothering her since earlier. "Do you mean the fact that I am too old to start cultivating?"

"I know you have been wondering about this since earlier, so I will tell you frankly right now. Yes, that brat Nie is right. At the age of seventeen, you have already missed the perfect time to start cultivating," Wu Meng said matter-of-factly. "On top of that, you have been living a life of filth, ingesting food and water that had been tainted by the turbid air of the mortal world. This has resulted in a complete mess within your body. If you stayed like that, even if you were to start cultivating, it would be difficult for you to amount to anything."

"So that's it..." Zhang Wanqing muttered blankly.

Each of Wu Meng's words struck Zhang Wanqing like needles, causing her heart to ache. Ever since leaving the village, she had been excited at the chance to become a great cultivator in the future.

Who knew that her dream would dissipate just as it began?

Thankfully, Wu Meng's next sentence completely changed her mood for the better.

"That is why you had to undergo the painful cleansing of your body under the lake – to rid your body of impurities so that you can start afresh. Now that we are done with that, you have finally been rid of all the filth that you have accumulated over the years," Wu Meng added. "But this only puts you at the same starting line as others. In order to rise above them all, there is still too much to be done. As a cultivator, you would need to understand the entire process from the start in order to envision the end of the path. That is why I allowed you to experience the pain earlier, even though I could have just knocked you unconscious before doing so. Even though the result would be the same, what would-"

"Wait a minute!" Zhang Wanqing immediately interjected. "You said that the result would be the same? Does that mean I didn't really have to suffer all that pain?!"

"Listen to me first," Wu Meng stated coldly.

"Okay, okay."

"Even though the result would be the same, what would you do in the future when I am no longer around to help you out?" Wu Meng asked. "You are only just starting to embark on your path of cultivation, and there are still many tribulations to come. These tribulations are not going to happen in your sleep, you know? If you don't learn how to deal with them now, how would you ever be able to reach the end of this road?"

"Does that mean I would have to experience such pain many more times from now on?" Zhang Wanqing felt the corner of her lips twitch.

This was definitely not what she imagined when she thought about becoming a great cultivator!

The mighty cultivators possessed strength and capabilities that ordinary people could only dream of. Who knew that there was such a difficult side to it as well?

Back at Green Seed Village, her Brother Quan had practised the cultivation method imparted to him by a passing cultivator, and she had been there to witness the entire process.

From the start till the end, Zhang Wanqing was absolutely certain that there was no such pain involved!

Of course, her Brother Quan had also cultivated without any guidance, so that could be a reason for the difference.

"Are you starting to regret your decision now?" Wu Meng smirked.

"...No, I still want to be a great cultivator!" Zhang Wanqing hesitated for a moment before answering.

Even though the pain was a huge downside, the promise of being able to call the winds and summon the clouds as a cultivator was simply too tempting for Zhang Wanqing to pass up on.

After all, she had been able to endure the pain earlier, so surely she would be able to do so in the future as well?

At least, she hoped that was the case!

"It is good that you understand," Wu Meng nodded. "Now, get up and come over here. As I said, we are not done just yet."

"What else are we going to do?" Zhang Wanqing sighed in her heart as she stood up with trembling legs.

Her trembling was not out of fear, but because her body had yet to recover from the underwater ordeal.

No, not just her body, but her mind as well.

No matter what, that had been a level of pain that no ordinary mortal should have been able to endure.

As for Zhang Wanqing, she had only managed to make it through the entire process because of the help from Wu Meng.

If Wu Meng had not incapacitated her body, preventing her from hurting herself, things could easily have gone awry. And even with that, he still had to repeatedly make sure that she stayed awake, or the extreme pain would have caused her to pass out on multiple occasions.

Having just gone through such a torturous experience, it was already a wonder that Zhang Wanqing was able to speak with a clear mind. That alone was testament to her high mental fortitude.

All things considered, being left with just a trembling body could already be considered a great result.

Despite her fatigue, Zhang Wanqing slowly walked over to where Wu Meng was standing, with water dripping down her hair and clothes. Her entire body was soaked through and through, leaving her in a state of complete mess.

If she were to walk out in the streets right now, she would definitely be turning heads for the wrong reasons.

However, Wu Meng cared not about that – neither the mess that she was in, nor the fact that she was already drained of strength.

"As should be apparent from the name itself, a cultivator is one who cultivates oneself. There are many methods to do so, all of them being different paths that lead to the same destination," Wu Meng explained. "These methods are divided into four main categories, namely the Essence Cultivation System, the Body Strengthening System, the Spiritual Guardian System, and the Virtue System. Of which, the Essence Cultivation System is what most cultivators focus on, and it is also what we are going to start you on today."

"The Essence Cultivation System?" Zhang Wanqing blinked blankly at the various terms that she was hearing for the first time.

"That's right," Wu Meng nodded. "The focus of the Essence Cultivation System is on one's dantian. By taking in external sources of energy, usually in the form of world origin energy that exists all around us, a cultivator can refine this energy into their own essence energy to be stored in the dantian. When needed, the cultivator can then summon their essence energy at any time to explode with strength beyond mortal limits."

"World origin energy... essence energy..." Zhang Wanqing simply repeated whatever she heard.

She was just an ordinary young girl from a backward village, so how could she understand what Wu Meng was talking about?

"It's okay if you find it confusing right now. When the time comes, you will naturally understand," Wu Meng continued. "You just have to know that, for a start, you will have to fully form your spiritual meridians. These spiritual meridians will act as a channel for energy to flow through your body, just like how blood vessels are there for your blood. Conversely, without the presence of spiritual meridians, it would be impossible to cultivate the Essence Cultivation System."

"Spiritual meridians, got it," Zhang Wanqing nodded as though she understood.

"The formation of spiritual meridians is not a process that can be completed in a day, but we will at least get you started right now," Wu Meng said. "All spiritual meridians originate from the root. In the formation of spiritual meridians, you need to begin with the spiritual meridian root. This will be the very foundation that your path of cultivation will be built upon, so do not take it lightly!"

"Mm," Zhang Wanqing nodded again. "But how do I do that?"

"Don't worry, I will guide you along step by step. For now, enter the lake," Wu Meng gestured towards the water once more.

Zhang Wanqing: "..."

She felt that she was really starting to develop a trauma towards lakes in general!

"Relax, we won't be diving into the lake this time," Wu Meng chuckled when he saw the hesitation on her face.

"Really?" Zhang Wanqing asked sceptically. "So, we will remain along the edge?"

"Really," Wu Meng assured.

Zhang Wanqing shot another doubtful glance at Wu Meng before carefully sitting down by the edge of the bank.

Once seated, she started taking deep breaths to calm her mind in preparation for what was to come.

Wu Meng might have promised that they would not be diving into the lake this time. But even if she only had to stay by the edge of the lake, it was still a nerve-wrecking experience for someone like her who did not know how to swim.

That was especially since she had just experienced such extreme pain underwater.

Breathe in...

Breathe out...

After a few deep breaths, Zhang Wanqing finally felt slightly better than before.

And that was when she suddenly felt a strong push from behind, sending her straight off the bank of the lake and into the water once more.