23. One step away from first stage Body Tempting

After taking a long bath, Mei Lin groomed her hair and approached her master. Upon seeing him, she bowed slightly and then sat on the cultivation mat.

"Master, I've already figured out where the hidden poisonous blood is. It's inside my bones," Mei Lin said with happiness, as if she had already won.

"Then why didn't you extract it? It's because I wasn't strong enough, but now I will extract it without a problem. Really? Then why don't you drink tea with me again?" Mei Lin's face started to twitch. She wanted to refuse, but what would her master do if she refused?

"Can I refuse the tea?" Mei Lin sat quietly. "Of course not, but this time, drink both cups." Her master slowly opened her eyes and started smiling. In an instant, two cups with red tea appeared before them.

Mei Lin looked at the two cups angrily. "Why do you force me to drink that?" "Because I want you to be strong. If you're only cultivating your Body Tempting, your cultivation base will not be very good. You also need to strengthen your body, not just your cultivation. Unlike Li Wei, your body is very weak, and this applies even among other cultivators. Despite being the real cultivator who awakened her dantians, your combat powers are comparable to a weak non-cultivator man. Now, drink the tea and go back cultivate!" With extreme disgust, Mei Lin forcefully drank the tea and rushed into her room to rid herself of the poison. She quickly sat on the cultivation mat and entered a cultivation state.

After two days, Mei Lin extracted all her blood into the Cultivation Sea, separating the poisoned blood and slowly refining it into spiritual energy. As Mei Lin persevered through the agonizing process of extracting blood from her bones, each moment seemed to stretch into eternity, each drop of blood exacting a toll on her physical and mental fortitude. With each strike against her bones, she felt as though her very essence was being tested, pushed to its limits in pursuit of mastery.

The pain was relentless, searing through her consciousness like a raging inferno, threatening to consume her with its intensity. Yet, Mei Lin refused to yield, her determination serving as a beacon of resilience amidst the darkness of her suffering.

Hour by hour, she labored tirelessly, her focus unwavering despite the torment wracking every bone in her body. With each successful extraction, she felt a sense of accomplishment mingled with the searing pain, a testament to her unwavering resolve to push beyond her limits.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of torment, Mei Lin completed the extraction process, her body trembling with exhaustion and her spirit battered but unbroken. With a weary yet triumphant smile, she gazed upon the fruits of her labor, knowing that each drop of blood sacrificed had brought her one step closer to unlocking her true potential.

As Mei Lin immersed herself in the swirling crimson waters of her cultivation sea, a sense of accomplishment washed over her. The sight of her blood mingling with the spiritual energy within the sea filled her with a profound sense of pride and satisfaction.

Gazing upon the one small balls of spiritual energy floating atop the blood, Mei Lin felt a surge of joy course through her veins. The ball represented her painstaking efforts and sacrifices, a tangible manifestation of her life cultivation. This gloving small ball shimmered with a fainter light. Mei Lin spirit sense was looking at the ball with and slowly inspecting it.

After calming her mind, Mei Lin mobilized her powers and began the slow process of extracting the poisoned blood from inside her spine. It took nearly a day before she successfully removed all traces of the poison. After taking care of it and converting it into her natural energy, she didn't release her blood from the Cultivation Sea but instead carefully observed her dried-up body. After a day of observation, she made a profound discovery. it was actually her bones, specifically the bone marrow, that played a crucial role in creating her blood, albeit not entirely, but in some way.

As Mei Lin immersed herself in this profound realization, a sense of awe washed over her. She had unlocked a deeper understanding of her own physiology, unraveling the mysteries of her existence one revelation at a time.

While observing her blood being created, Mei Lin made a remarkable discovery she didn't need any of her blood inside her body to move. Just with blood inside her bones, she could feel her hand to move. It was a revelation that reaffirmed her belief in the near-immortality of blood cultivators. Even if her heart were pierced, she could circulate her blood with natural energy.

With a newfound sense of assurance, Mei Lin experimented with her newfound ability, focusing her concentration on manipulating the blood within her bones. Despite the difficulty and strain, she succeeded in moving her hand, proving that the power of her bloodline extended far beyond conventional limits.

With her mind ablaze with possibilities, Mei Lin carefully monitored her blood's circulation, ensuring that every aspect of her cultivation was in perfect harmony. Satisfied that everything was in order, she released her blood from the Cultivation Sea back into her body and immediately after felt into deep sleep.

After a day of sleep, Mei Lin slowly opened her eyes. Instead of attempting to get up, she retrieved one of the spirit fruits and began to eat it slowly. She immediately found out that all her body was in constant pain after breaking her bones. After painful finishing the fruit, she intended to go to her master to report that she had successfully rid herself of the poisonous blood. Despite her desire to report her success to her master, the excruciating pain emanating from her damaged bones rendered even the simplest movement unbearable.

With each passing moment, Mei Lin remained confined to her room, her body ensnared by the relentless grip of pain. As she lay in stillness, Mei Lin found solace in the quiet solitude of her surroundings. Though the passage of time seemed interminable, Mei Lin clung to the hope that each agonizing moment brought her one step closer to healing.

Knowing that the healing process would take a long time, Mei Lin took out a cultivation book about Blood cultivation and started reading about how to heal her bones.

As Mei Lin delved into the intricacies of Blood cultivation, she uncovered the principles governing the healing properties of natural energy. With each page she turned, her understanding deepened, and a glimmer of hope ignited within her. Though she wasn't at QI Condensation realm, she already had a cultivation sea, and with that she had an ability to wield her natural energy actively like QI Condensation cultivators, she realized that she could speed op her passive effects to aid in her recovery.

Focusing her concentration, Mei Lin directed her thoughts towards the damaged bones within her body, envisioning the gentle flow of natural energy enveloping and nurturing them with its revitalizing essence. Though the process was gradual, she felt a faint sensation of warmth emanating from the afflicted areas, a sign that her efforts were beginning to take effect.

As she continued to channel her natural energy into the injured bones, Mei Lin remained steadfast in her determination to facilitate their healing. With each passing moment, she drew strength from the knowledge that she possessed the power to overcome this trial and emerge stronger than before.

As the hours stretched, Mei Lin's diligence bore fruit, as she felt the pain gradually begin to diminish and her bones slowly knit themselves back together. Though the road to full recovery would undoubtedly be long and painful. Not long after she tried to sit and after few attempts, she sat into lotus position.

She sustained herself by consuming only spirit fruits, which dissolved into nutrients without being wasted.

With unwavering determination, Mei Lin plunged herself into an intense cultivation regime, dedicating every waking moment to the cultivating. Previously, she would cultivate for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon. Now, she cultivated all day long, only stopping when she felt the need to rest her mind before quickly going to sleep.

From the early at dawn until the evening, Mei Lin delved deep into the depths of her cultivation. With each passing day, she felt herself drawing closer to creating her first wisp of natural energy. She only stopped for eating as she had large stock of spirit fruits.

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into month. During this time, Mei Lin's injuries healed, and her cultivation advanced. She progressed halfway through the first stage. While her cultivation process was slow, she understood that obtaining more blood from other cultivators could significantly accelerate her progress, as seen when she refined Li Wei's blood into natural energy, which used instead of collecting it from the air around her. Despite considering the use of spirit stones, she set a condition for their use.

Mei Lin contemplated the use of spirit stones as a means to accelerate her cultivation progress, but she imposed a strict condition upon herself before resorting to such measures. She recognized the temptation to rely on external resources, but she was determined to prioritize her own efforts and abilities in her cultivation journey.

Instead of seeking shortcuts, Mei Lin remained committed to the principle she gave herself. While she had a lot of spirit stones, her progress will not be much faster than now, because unlike outside the master's snail, natural energy inside is much higher than outside and more that now, even if she will used spirit stones, she couldn't absorbed more natural energy than now.

"Will I need some cultivation opportunity to speed up my progress, or should I continue and break through by cultivating natural energy? Another cultivation state will be even harder, so I can't use the easiest way just yet, because then it may not work. Also, I should find out more about the pills which Li Wei left me, maybe some of them will be of great use to me." After talking to herself for a few minutes, Mei Lin made her decision and resumed cultivation. After a few hours, as the night was slowly approaching, she ended her cultivation and went to her master.

She bowed down and sat on the cultivation mat. "Master, I managed to purify all poisoned blood. I also discovered that I can more clearly control blood inside of my body. What should I do next?"

Deity curled her lips a little and opened her eyes. "Continue to cultivate. Once you reach the first stage, you can start learning cultivation spells and begin training your body in actual combat. Currently, you don't stand a chance even against non-cultivators. Now, go back and continue to cultivate."

Mei Lin was happy that her master helped her decide what to do in the future. She bowed down and left, heading to the bathroom to take a bath. After a month, this was the only thing she thought about.