Chapter 581: Soaring!
Ning Zhuo closed his eyes and focused his mind, sitting cross-legged in cultivation.
Foundation Establishment Stage, Third Tier—Dantian Radiance. This was the newest stage he had advanced to.
With three dantians and three supreme methods, he first cultivated the lower dantian Essence Sea and the Demonic Blood-Stained Sinew Technique.
Blood qi surged and rolled, flowing endlessly through the lower dantian and forming a pool of blood. On the crimson ground beside the pool, layers of blood sinews intertwined like a massive net.
Thanks to the explosive expansion of the dantian’s internal space, both the blood pool and the blood net were still limited to the scale of the second stage, occupying less than thirty percent of the dantian.
As Ning Zhuo circulated the Demonic Blood-Stained Sinew Technique, the blood pool churned violently, its edges constantly expanding. The blood net did the same, spreading to cover more of the pool’s bottom.
A deep sense of joy naturally arose in Ning Zhuo’s heart.
During the previous period, he had been stuck at the stage of nurturing treasure medicines. His dantian had reached its limit, and his cultivation could not advance even an inch. He could only accumulate strength through alternative means involving treasure medicines.
Now, however, he had undergone a qualitative transformation. His dantian had surged in size, giving him a vast space for further progress.
The speed of improvement was extremely obvious. The expansion of the blood pool and blood net was incredibly rapid, and the results were immediate.
But along with it came an intense sensation of hunger.
Ning Zhuo decisively stopped cultivating and discovered that time had passed extremely quickly—an entire stick of incense had gone by in the blink of an eye.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle…
His stomach was completely empty, and his physical strength was depleted. Yet his flesh had not thinned in the slightest.
“If this had happened before, I would certainly be nothing but skin and bones right now. I didn’t expect my appearance to barely change.”
Ning Zhuo knew that this was because his physical body had been tempered with a deeper foundation, all thanks to the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel.
The spiritual food provided in the Hidden Yang Residence mostly nourished the soul rather than the physical body. The spiritual food Ning Zhuo had brought himself had already run out. Fortunately, he had many medicinal pills. He immediately took some to fill his stomach and replenish the losses in his body.
Ning Zhuo temporarily stopped cultivating the Demonic Blood-Stained Sinew Technique and began cultivating the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art.
Within the Qi Sea dantian, the Five Elements hurricane pillar expanded dramatically, once again becoming a massive column that seemed to support the heavens and the earth.
The efficiency of this cultivation was several times that of the Demonic Blood-Stained Sinew Technique!
“This is all thanks to my profound mastery of the Five Elements. Because my comprehension of the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art is extremely meticulous and deep, my cultivation efficiency is naturally high.”
Finally, he cultivated the Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art.
New mirror surfaces continuously formed and spread rapidly until they filled the entire upper dantian.
“I’ve never encountered a bottleneck while cultivating this Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art. This time, the speed of cultivation far surpasses the lower dantian—even the middle dantian.”
“Perhaps my natural talent truly lies within the Buddhist path.”
“This could even prove that my nature is compassionate and kindhearted—a true righteous path disposition.”
Just as Ning Zhuo was feeling rather satisfied, Sun Lingtong was lying at the well’s mouth, performing a theft technique.
From the tidal surge of yin qi, he split off a portion and poured it entirely into the Yin-Yang One Qi Pot.
The Yin-Yang One Qi Pot stood over three feet tall. Its body was composed of blazing red-gold like flames and dark crystal like the night sky. Two flood dragons—one purple and one blue—coiled around the pot’s body. At the pot’s mouth, the two dragon heads faced each other with slightly open jaws.
The purple dragon’s mouth released a suction force, drawing the yin qi into itself and circulating it endlessly inside the pot.
Then the purple dragon closed its mouth, and the blue dragon opened its jaws, releasing streams of yang qi.
“Good, good, good!” Sun Lingtong was so delighted that he danced with joy, shouting “good” three times in succession.
He tried pouring the yang qi into the well. The small amount of yang qi was immediately swallowed by the tidal surge of yin qi. However, because of this, the room token magical artifact in Sun Lingtong’s arms recorded the contribution he had made by releasing that batch of yang qi.
“Little Zhuo, Little Zhuo, great news!” Sun Lingtong hurried over to report during a break in Ning Zhuo’s cultivation.
Hearing this, Ning Zhuo could not help but sigh. “I didn’t expect General Liu Er’s treasure to be unused on Mu Lan, yet prove far more useful here!”
After thinking for a moment, he instructed Sun Lingtong, “Do not pour all the converted yang qi into the yin tide. Only release ten percent. Store the rest inside the pot.”
After another moment’s thought, he added, “The yang qi should also be mixed with some miscellaneous qi. It must not be too pure.”
Sun Lingtong immediately understood after the reminder. “Got it!”
The two of them had long agreed not to stand out.
With White Paper Immortal City facing internal and external crises, the group of Male Consorts was extremely large and inevitably mixed in quality. There were likely spies and powerful enemies hiding among them, harboring malicious intentions.
Anyone who helped the White Paper City Lord heal would certainly be targeted by the City-Overthrowing Alliance. The southern paper statue had already been burned, and the city-protecting formation had barely affected the attackers—clear evidence of how deeply the enemy had infiltrated the city.
Although Qing Yan had put in a word for Ning Zhuo, allowing him to obtain Jia-Rank Room Number One and attracting considerable attention…
This still did not prove that Ning Zhuo played any major role in healing the White Paper City Lord. Therefore, it was harmless and would not cause him to be specifically targeted or assassinated.
While Sun Lingtong converted yin qi and guarded him, Ning Zhuo continued cultivating diligently.
All three dantians had become full, yet his cultivation could still progress.
As Ning Zhuo cultivated the Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art, cracks gradually appeared on the surfaces of the countless spirit mirrors within his Divine Sea.
The cracks brought an icy, needle-like pain. Then faint rays of light began emerging from the fractures.
This was precisely what “Dantian Radiance” referred to!
The faint light gradually brightened and extended, growing as though it were alive until it reached over an inch in length.
At that point, the spirit mirror could no longer sustain itself. Cracks spread everywhere, and the entire mirror surface suddenly shattered.
The inch-long ray of light did not dissipate. Instead, it hovered in place, making that area noticeably brighter than the surroundings.
One mirror after another shattered, each leaving behind a trace of light.
Ning Zhuo continued circulating the Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art, producing a brand-new mirror surface. When he continued circulating the technique, the mirror shattered again, generating another inch-long cluster of light.
“First inch by inch, then foot by foot, and eventually yard by yard—until the entire Divine Sea is illuminated in resplendent brilliance.”
“And once the radiance begins to overflow outward, the Dantian Radiance stage will be considered fully cultivated.”
Having realized this, Ning Zhuo also cultivated the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art and the Demonic Blood-Stained Sinew Technique.
One produced multicolored qi light within the Qi Sea, while the other refined blood-red essence light within the Essence Sea.
Because he had just started, both the qi light and essence light were only slightly longer than an inch.
“Dantian Radiance… there is still a long road ahead.”
This had once again become a stage of slow, grinding effort, requiring the cultivator to continuously accumulate and temper the three dantians.
Generally speaking, this stage took about thirty years.
If cultivators used methods such as alchemy pills, spirit stones, cultivation formations, and other cultivation arts, they could shorten this time.
Because Ning Zhuo cultivated three supreme methods simultaneously, his cultivation time was effectively split into three portions. That meant his total time would normally be tripled—ninety years!
Of course, his cultivation efficiency in both the Divine Sea and Qi Sea was extremely high, so even without other methods, the total time would certainly be less than ninety years.
But Ning Zhuo did not need to calculate this.
He took out the National Power Brick.
The National Power Bricks from the Two Note Country had all been painstakingly accumulated by Ning Zhuo—precisely for this moment!
A single National Power Brick circulated and shrank within Ning Zhuo’s hand. At the same time, the radiance in all three of his dantians surged wildly.
From just over an inch, it expanded directly to more than a foot, then to over a yard—an increase of one hundred times.
When the National Power Brick finally dissipated in his hand, Ning Zhuo felt no regret and decisively took out the second brick.
One brick after another…
Until the radiant light in all three dantians overflowed outward.
Dantian Radiance—fully cultivated!
Ning Zhuo had saved at least fifty years of arduous cultivation. Moreover, because he had used National Power Bricks, his foundation remained perfectly stable.
“All of this is merely the accumulation of my past efforts, finally revealed in a single moment.”
“Next comes the stage of Phenomenon Seed Talisman.”
Ning Zhuo advanced directly to the next stage in a surge of momentum.
Brilliant radiance overflowed from the three dantians. Within the divine light of the Divine Sea, faint phantom rune patterns gradually appeared. The Qi Sea showed similar signs.
Only the Essence Sea remained a sea of bloodlight with no changes.
The Phenomenon Seed Talisman stage involved generating strange rune patterns that gradually completed themselves, eventually forming a complete talisman.
Each primary cultivation technique produced only one complete talisman.
This talisman formed the core and became the cultivator’s most fundamental spell.
Because every cultivation technique was different, the resulting fundamental spell was also different.
At this moment, the advantage of Ning Zhuo cultivating three supreme methods simultaneously finally appeared.
Others possessed only one fundamental spell.
He possessed three.
Most people cultivated middle- or low-grade techniques, meaning their fundamental spells were also mediocre. Ning Zhuo’s techniques were top-tier, and according to the methods they would form three spells: Spirit Communication Mirror, Five Qi Rhythm, and Demonic Blood Sinew.
“Strange!” Ning Zhuo stared in shock.
When he officially entered the Phenomenon Seed Talisman stage, a sudden transformation occurred in his Divine Sea.
A tall mirror platform appeared.
The mirror platform gradually shrank until it condensed into a complete talisman!
“Why?”
“Could it be that my mysterious talent is actually deeply connected to the Buddhist path?!”
Ning Zhuo could not understand it no matter how much he thought about it.
In his Essence Sea, the phenomenon had only just begun—this was completely normal.
In the Qi Sea, a five-colored torrent sometimes spiraled together and sometimes separated clearly. The talisman seed had already formed halfway.
This was abnormal.
The main reason was Ning Zhuo’s profound mastery of the Five Elements. His understanding of the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art was extremely deep.
Thus, the cultivation in his Qi Sea had already leapt to the middle stage.
“But why has the Spirit Communication Mirror fundamental talisman seed in my Divine Sea already completed?”
Ning Zhuo truly found this hard to believe. Yet the fact had happened, forcing him to accept it.
“I really am best suited for the Buddhist path?”
The unexpected completion of the Divine Sea cultivation left Ning Zhuo both shocked and delighted.
Unable to find the reason, he decisively focused his time on comprehending the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art and the Demonic Blood-Stained Sinew Technique.
At this stage, the primary content of cultivation changed significantly, placing far greater emphasis on comprehension.
Two more days passed.
Ning Zhuo made considerable progress in understanding the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art, but his progress with the Demonic Blood-Stained Sinew Technique was only average.
The Paper Attendant appeared again, bringing a message and leading Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong into the garden.
Within the garden, the Silver-Robed Chief Steward appeared once more and announced publicly:
“You have already lived here for four or five days. This time, you have been summoned to receive cultivation techniques.”
“This is also one of the benefits provided by White Paper City. It is related to further evaluating all of you, so pull yourselves together!”
The Silver-Robed Chief Steward suddenly shouted, startling several people into stiffening reflexively.
Following the crowd, Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong soon arrived at the library tower.
Under the Silver-Robed Chief Steward’s lead, they filed inside.
Embryonic Radiance Nether Fire Scripture—allowed cultivators to temper the Embryonic Radiance soul and control Netherworld Ghost Fire.
Soul-Slaying Spear of the Subjugating Arrow—could transform the spine into a spear bone. When the spear struck, it released a soul-rending shriek, extremely powerful against ghosts and souls.
Withered Beauty Skeleton Curse—accelerated the decay of the physical body, almost exclusively suited for women.
Ghost Fetus Concealment Art—allowed cultivators, regardless of gender, to conceive a ghost fetus.
Soul-Fragrance Wisp Art—allowed a cultivator’s soul to refine a unique fragrance that could penetrate bones and reach deep into the soul.
…
Ning Zhuo had previously studied many texts related to ghost and soul cultivation.
For this, he had to thank Tian Shuang, who had contributed many techniques—many of them containing his personal cultivation experiences.
Thus Ning Zhuo knew that although the soul appeared to be a single entity, it actually consisted of many parts.
Normally speaking, the soul comprised the Three Souls and Seven Spirits.
The Three Souls were Embryonic Radiance, Refreshing Spirit, and Dark Essence.
The Seven Spirits were Corpse Dog, Subjugating Arrow, Sparrow Yin, Devouring Thief, Non-Poison, Removing Filth, and Stinking Lung.
Unless one possessed extraordinary talent or cultivated some strange technique, the soul would not differ from this structure.
After examining himself, Ning Zhuo discovered that he possessed an additional soul artifact—a ghost axe. This was the result of a related spell he had cultivated.
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong secretly observed the choices of others and could not help but look puzzled.
“Why are most people choosing Ghost Fetus Concealment Art and Soul-Fragrance Wisp Art?”
According to their understanding, these two techniques were the most useless among the options.
If something unusual happened, there was always a reason.
After asking around, the two finally learned the cause.
It turned out that the Hidden Yang Residence was only for recruiting newcomers. Next, all the Male Consorts would face an assessment. Only those who passed could remain.
Among them, the outstanding ones would advance to the Strong Yang Courtyard, Radiant Yang Courtyard, or Yin-Yang Courtyard.
The待遇 in those three courtyards were far better than in the Hidden Yang Residence, and cultivators would naturally have a much brighter future.
To enter the Radiant Yang Courtyard or Yin-Yang Courtyard, however, one needed to cultivate Soul-Fragrance Wisp Art or Ghost Fetus Concealment Art.
The former allowed the soul to produce a unique fragrance to please the White Paper City Lord.
The latter used the qi of the yin tide to conceive a child for the White Paper City Lord.
Of course, once those offspring were successfully born, they would not be human.
They would be Ghostfolk.
Ning Zhuo did not even have enough time to cultivate his three supreme methods and had no interest in these techniques. He merely pretended to pick one.
Sun Lingtong was only accompanying him and did not have the qualification to select a cultivation technique.
“Jiao Ma, wait a moment. I have something to discuss with you.” One of the Male Consorts from the same village called out from behind.
Ning Zhuo turned and saw a familiar face—it was Yang Weida.
“Didn’t Lord Wen take you away?” Ning Zhuo asked.
Yang Weida replied, “He grabbed me and took me around the areas surrounding the city for a full circuit, but found nothing. After returning to the city, he just threw me here and told me to fend for myself!”
His tone carried a hint of resentment.
Ning Zhuo was eager to return to cultivation. “What do you want with me?”
Yang Weida pulled him into a dark corner and whispered secretly:
“I noticed you didn’t choose either of those two techniques. That must mean you’re aiming to enter the Strong Yang Courtyard.”
“That’s my goal too!”
“Right now, I have a Strong Yang divine medicine. Just apply a little, rub a little, and the effect appears instantly. How about it? Tempted?”
“It’s not expensive. Not expensive at all. Just this amount…”