In body cultivation, you couldn't simply rely on medicine to take effect, you had to actively temper your body. Su Wen rose and assumed the stance for the Heavenly Body Fist, his specialized fist cultivation technique for the body refinement.
He swallowed the Yang Essence Pill and began practicing. Soon, a warm sensation spread throughout his body. The yang-rich qi coursed through him like fire, his muscles and bones burning with energy as they were tempered. Rather than stopping, he deliberately circulated the qi into his bones, feeling it penetrate every fiber.
He increased the weight of his silver rings threefold and accelerated his movements. Step by step, he added more weight and speed. Bones cracked and healed under the dual tempering of martial exercise and medicinal refinement. Pain contorted his face, yet his eyes remained calm, as if enduring agony were trivial.
Sweat poured from every pore. After thirty minutes of relentless training, his bones were completely refined, completing the breakthrough, Su Wen flexed and punched a few times, feeling the surging power in his body. The strength in his bones was particularly remarkable, they gleamed faintly like yellow jade, imbued with the fiery energy of the Yang Essence Pill.
A heavy layer of black, pungent sweat coated his body which are the impurities released by the bones in his body after the breakthrough, but there was no time to dwell on it for now.
Satisfied, he then retrieved the Soul-Lustre Pill. Now… it was time for the breakthrough to Soul Awakening.
For his soul, Su Wen sat cross-legged once again. He swallowed the Soul-Lustre Pill and began practicing the Heaven's Will Mantra, the soul cultivation technique gifted by his grandfather. A cool sensation spread through his head, filling him with an extraordinary sense of comfort.
This step was crucial, it strengthened the cultivator's consciousness and awakened the unconscious Pure Soul, which resided on the forehead between the eyebrows.
Su Wen guided the medicinal energy to his forehead and activated the technique. After some time, he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his head, as though some invisible shackle had been removed from his soul. The sensation was deeply relaxing. As his Pure Soul awakened, his mental power began evolving into a clearer, richer form, the Soul Sense.
Using his newly acquired Soul Sense, he peered into his consciousness. It appeared as a vast, dark space, dotted with a few distant, twinkling stars. In the centre floated his Pure Soul, a fog-like sphere coalescing into form. The Pure Soul represented the original essence of a living being, it was like a unique barcode containing all the information about that person, similar to DNA. Every Pure Soul was unique; no two could ever be identical, just as the number one will always remain number one no matter what.
After the breakthrough, Su Wen could sense everything within a 1 km radius, and his perceptions and mind felt sharper, more precise than before. Opening his eyes, he noticed a thick, tar-like substance on his forehead. He simply shook it lightly, paying it no mind, and continued on to the Spirit Cultivation.
He took out the Foundation Establishment Pill and, without hesitation, swallowed it. Within moments, a surge of spiritual energy erupted throughout his body. He immediately began practicing the Dao of the Nine Heavens, the spirit cultivation technique he had mastered earlier.
According to the technique, the spiritual energy in his dantian, which had been in a gaseous state, slowly condensed into liquid drops. He focused intently, refining the spiritual qi, and watched as the liquid drops multiplied and thickened. Thanks to his breakthrough into the Soul Awakening realm, his control over the qi had improved dramatically, allowing him to manipulate it with precision.
As he continued, he felt his meridians and dantian expanding. The cultivation method not only condensed his spiritual qi into a liquid state but also gradually and continuously refined his meridians, body, and soul with each circulating drop.
After some time, he finally achieved the Foundation Establishment Layer breakthrough. A comfortable warmth spread throughout his body, and he could feel both his body and Pure Soul growing stronger. The flow and control of spiritual qi in his meridians had increased exponentially, giving him a newfound sense of power and stability.
Again, he noticed a black, tar-like substance coating his body, mostly around his belly, came after the refinement from his dantian and meridians. This time, he couldn't hold it any longer, the smell from the impurities released by his body is becoming unbearable. Without a second thought, he stood up, stripped off his clothes, and headed straight for the lake.
He plunged into the cool water, letting it wash away the residue. The morning sunlight bathed his face, giving him a radiant, almost ethereal glow.
The old grandparents, sitting quietly inside the house, had a faint melancholic look in their eyes.
Old grandpa took a slow sip of his tea and said softly,
"He finally broke through to Grade 2 in all three paths… I truly didn't expect that the little bird would tell me to give those cultivation techniques to Su Wen. When I first saw them, I knew how difficult they were, far beyond what ordinary cultivators dare to touch. I only wanted him to practice one of them, The Dao of the Nine Heavens, and use the other two merely for reference, to broaden his understanding of the cultivation paths. But that brat… he actually practiced all three."
Grandma didn't refute him. Instead, she lifted her chin proudly.
"My grandson is a genius after all."
But then her expression darkened, her voice filled with regret and anger.
"When Su Qing died, I wanted to bring Su Wen back to the mountain immediately… but we didn't. We thought that he would have a better future staying with his father, and that our remote mountain would only limit him, turn him into some country bumpkin. But when he came here at ten years old… and told us everything he had suffered… I was so angry I wanted to burn that bastard's soul for eternity. But as mortals… I could only swallow my rage."