Chapter 481: Field Opening without Obstruction
Ning Zhuo returned to the Three Generals Camp and didn’t rest. He immediately took out the four National Strength Bricks in his own tent.
The Liangzhu Kingdom had established its nation upon the Water Virtue, and all four National Strength Bricks that Ning Zhuo had been rewarded were pitch-black like ink.
On the surface of the bricks, faint ripples were visible, like undercurrents in the deep sea.
Ning Zhuo had previously attempted to draw national strength from them to aid his cultivation, and the results had been excellent. Now, he was even more adept. Sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, drifting clouds surrounded him as he formally began to absorb the national strength.
The National Strength Bricks in his hands showed no obvious change, yet stream after stream of national strength permeated into Ning Zhuo’s body.
Tenfold!
Ning Zhuo could clearly feel it—the same amount of national strength infused into him, but the growth in his cultivation had increased tenfold!
“Now that I’ve become Mu Lan’s husband, four National Strength Bricks are equivalent to forty for me.”
This was an enormous gain!
In the previous ambush battle, Ning Zhuo had put in considerable effort. Battles like that one—he would have to undergo nine more, each time risking death and needing to gain similar military merit, just to possibly earn forty National Strength Bricks.
But simply by changing his status, the absorption efficiency of the National Strength Bricks had surged to this extent. It significantly reduced the risk and saved him a tremendous amount of time and energy.
More importantly, this benefit would continue for a long period—until Ning Zhuo and Mu Lan divorced.
There was nothing else to say—what followed was a continuous absorption of the National Strength Bricks.
A massive infusion of national strength streamed in, quickly dissolving and transforming into Ning Zhuo’s cultivation in the three dantians.
Spirit, Qi, and Essence!
Bright Mirror Spiritual Light Dantian, Five Qi Pivot Dantian, Blood-Tendon Ground Dantian—
The three major dantians were swiftly filled to the brim, bringing a swelling pain to Ning Zhuo.
He quickly activated the Three Sect Supreme Techniques to actively digest the energy.
Due to the National Strength Bricks’ thorough and direct transformation, Ning Zhuo’s digestion speed was exceptionally fast.
Repeating this cycle countless times, by the time dawn arrived the next day, Ning Zhuo had fully absorbed three of the National Strength Bricks—leaving one temporarily unused.
At this point, whenever he tried to circulate any technique, he felt a swollen ache from the corresponding dantian. Each dantian’s cultivation had hit a temporary bottleneck—reaching the current capacity limits of the dantian.
In the Upper Dantian, the world resembled a giant mirror, within which millions of tiny mirrors floated peacefully.
In the Middle Dantian, five qi currents converged like pillars, holding up the sky and rooting into the earth—hundreds of times thicker and more majestic than before.
In the Lower Dantian, robust blood-tendons sprawled across the ground, with blood energy coursing rapidly through them, roaring like ocean waves.
“Such advancement has saved me at least nine years of cultivation effort.”
“National Strength Bricks are truly incredible!”
“Of course, my identity as Mu Lan’s husband played a key role.”
From here on, it was no longer a matter of accumulation.
Ning Zhuo closed his eyes and entered a meditative state, sensing the natural rhythms of the upper, middle, and lower dantians. These rhythms were filled with mysterious Daoist resonance, each dantian pulsing in its own way—yet upon careful contemplation, their movements subtly intertwined.
“Next, I must purify my cultivation, eliminate impurities, and make the three dantians more closely interconnected.”
Cultivation required both addition and subtraction.
The former enhanced quantity; the latter improved quality.
This principle ran throughout a cultivator’s entire life—it was not exclusive to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Mirror Platform Spirit Technique!
The body is the Bodhi tree; the mind is the bright mirror stand.
At this moment, it must be polished; do not let it gather dust.
Ning Zhuo’s cultivation in the Sea of Consciousness began to rapidly decrease. In the Bright Mirror Spiritual Light Dantian, countless mirrored fragments of divine thoughts shattered upon encountering even a speck of dust or imperfection.
After reducing over a thousand mirror divine thoughts, the Upper Dantian cleared into total serenity.
Following the same method, Ning Zhuo purified his Five Elements Mana and refined his blood essence.
The cultivation in all three dantians decreased significantly, and the swelling pain disappeared.
Ning Zhuo resumed his cultivation. This time, no matter which of the Three Sect Supreme Techniques he activated, everything felt clear and smooth—like a sky of ten thousand miles without clouds, utterly unobstructed.
Not only that, each time he activated a technique, the other two dantians responded in resonance.
When he exerted full power, the remaining two dantians even began to fluctuate with energy.
Though, for now, those fluctuations weren’t intense.
“Foundation Establishment’s first stage—Field Opening without Obstruction—I’ve achieved it!”
At this moment, Ning Zhuo was certain he had stepped onto the first level of the Foundation Establishment stage.
Field Opening without Obstruction!
Clearing the mind and eliminating obstacles, cultivating the dantians.
A cultivator needed to cleanse their cultivation of impurities to ensure the dantians were not contaminated by external forces or disturbed—laying a clear and stable foundation for future cultivation.
To reach this stage, there were two key points:
First, cultivation must reach its current limit—only then, when there’s no room for further growth, can one clearly sense the impurities and remove them.
Second, was the actual removal of impurities. This required excellent techniques. Many methods failed in this regard. Those with better resources might borrow a method from the Cultivation Arts to achieve impurity elimination indirectly. Those with fewer resources had no choice but to make do, advancing with hidden dangers that could jeopardize their future Golden Core formation.
Ning Zhuo had used the National Strength Bricks to fulfill the first condition.
And the Three Sect Supreme Techniques he practiced were top-tier—making impurity removal effortless.
Ning Zhuo once again retrieved the final National Strength Brick and began another round of absorption.
Once again, he filled his purified three dantians to the brim and slowly activated his techniques.
This time, when he activated the techniques, the corresponding dantian could no longer expand—but the other two fluctuated violently.
In this intense fluctuation, the cultivation in the other two dantians was drawn out and poured into the dantian being used.
Boom!
In an instant, Ning Zhuo’s ears roared, and his vision turned white—he fell into a wondrous sensation.
The fusion of Essence, Qi, and Spirit struck him with great intensity—it was as if he had returned to the time of primordial creation, shaping earth, water, wind, and fire, forming yin and yang, heaven and earth.
When he regained his senses, his cultivation had dropped sharply once more.
But this fusion was not wasteful—it had caused a qualitative transformation—tiny sprouts appeared in the corresponding dantian.
These sprouts would grow into treasure herbs during the future merging of the Three Treasures.
Each treasure herb was a condensed essence of Essence, Qi, and Spirit—but each dantian's herbs had slightly different compositions.
This marked the next phase of early Foundation Establishment—Treasure Nourishment and Growth!
Thanks to the National Strength Bricks, Ning Zhuo had already crossed the first stage and was climbing into the second.
After a short while of cultivation, the last National Strength Brick was also fully consumed.
From another perspective, these treasure herbs were the essence of cultivation—bypassing the dantian’s capacity limits to some extent.
Once these herbs matured and were reabsorbed—it would be akin to consuming internal pills, causing a breakthrough in dantian capacity—and most crucially—a fusion of the Three Treasures: Essence, Qi, and Spirit!
This was a cultivation gem refined through generations in the modern world of cultivation.
The fusion of Essence, Qi, and Spirit was the primary requirement for forming the Golden Core.
In ancient times, Golden Core formation was rare. But once this Treasure Nourishment Secret spread, the number of cultivators forming Golden Cores skyrocketed.
Today, all new cultivation methods had absorbed this secret and made it an essential part of nearly every Foundation Establishment technique.
“I need more National Strength Bricks. The more, the better.” Ning Zhuo opened his eyes, ending this round of cultivation.
At this stage of Treasure Nourishment, the time cultivators spent daily on cultivation actually increased compared to before.
Some even cultivated day and night without reaching their limit.
The specifics depended on each cultivator’s talent and cultivation technique.
Ning Zhuo was now in exactly this situation.
When he activated the Mirror Platform Spirit Technique, it would draw in mana from the Middle Dantian and essence from the Lower Dantian.
Thus, each time he activated the Mirror Platform Spirit Technique, more treasure herb seeds sprouted in the Upper Dantian, but the divine power, mana, and essence of the three dantians all dropped significantly. Among them, divine power dropped the most—by 90%—while mana and essence dropped by about 30% each.
Therefore, when Ning Zhuo wanted to cultivate the Middle Dantian, he first had to restore all three dantians to their peak state—then continue cultivation.