The reset from the Lotus Concealed in the Womb was originally a complete physical reset.
Even the meridians and the dantian were entirely replaced, so naturally, no cultivation could be preserved.
While it enhanced one's innate talent, it also directly turned the person into a blank slate.
Therefore, if a cultivator with already high cultivation wished to use the Lotus Concealed in the Womb to break through a bottleneck, they would have to make an immense sacrifice.
After Gu Yuye fled to Qingman, he sacrificed Gu Lianqian, then started over, breaking through to the Second Rank. That was truly an act of endurance beyond what ordinary people could bear.
But Gu Fangchen's situation was different.
His cultivation had never relied on his meridians or dantian to begin with.
The essence of the Demon Refinement Method was to use an array covering the entire body to replace the function of the dantian, while also controlling the puppet body and its will.
When Gu Fangchen looked inward, he could still see the array formed by the Demon-Suppressing Nails, spreading like crimson mycelium throughout his flesh and blood.
Because his cultivation did not exist within his meridians or dantian, the Lotus Concealed in the Womb only reforged his foundation and did not erase his cultivation.
He could channel the spiritual power stored in the Demon-Suppressing Nails into his dantian and meridians at will, and withdraw it just as easily.
The growth in Gu Fangchen's cultivation at this time came entirely from digesting the excess medicinal power of the Primordial Pill, which had little to do with the Lotus Concealed in the Womb.
At most, it had provided him with a wider and more refined vessel for cultivation.
However, after several attempts to adapt to his new body, Gu Fangchen's expression grew strange.
He rubbed his chin.
"I think... I've triggered another bug."
The array from the Demon Refinement Method and the newly reforged cultivation system created by the Lotus Concealed in the Womb were completely independent of each other.
In other words, if he withdrew all the spiritual energy stored within the Demon Refinement Method, his current body would become that of a newly reborn cultivator, without any cultivation but with extraordinary potential.
In simpler terms, he could cultivate twice within the same body and gain double the strength.
Even Gu Fangchen himself hadn't expected this outcome.
After all, even in the game, no player had ever managed to destroy their meridians and dantian completely while remaining alive.
According to his analysis, achieving this situation required three essential conditions.
First, the body must be completely ruined, making normal cultivation impossible.
Second, the Demon Refinement Method had to be practiced before the reforging of the foundation.
Third, the reforging of the foundation had to be done using the Lotus Concealed in the Womb.
If the physical body had remained intact, then the array of the Demon Refinement Method, spreading through the entire body, would also involve the meridians and dantian, forming shared circuits of spiritual energy.
It was precisely because Gu Fangchen had been utterly unable to cultivate that the array of the Demon Refinement Method existed only in his flesh, not in his meridians or dantian.
Other resetting methods would not yield the same result, because only the Lotus Concealed in the Womb directly replaced the original dantian.
Those lotus flowers covering the floor earlier had looked ethereal and divine, but in truth, they were just fragments of the old meridians and dantian expelled by the Lotus Concealed in the Womb.
The Lotus Concealed in the Womb had even added a visual filter to make it look better, quite thoughtful, really.
"Unfortunately, splitting the soul is too dangerous, so I can only cultivate martial arts with my body. But that's enough."
"Originally, dual cultivation of body and spirit already made me a stat monster. Now, with double spiritual power and physical strength, I'm a stat monster among stat monsters. Who could possibly stop me?"
Gu Fangchen raised an eyebrow, his mind already set.
Now that his top-grade foundation had been reforged, it couldn't be wasted. Besides, he still had that conveniently placed master at the peak of Great Wei's martial path.
Back then, old Ding had declared himself Gu Fangchen's master purely to take advantage of him.
After all, Gu Fangchen's chosen persona at the time had been that of an ancient monster reborn after countless years, speaking to Ding Xingfeng as an equal.
But Ding Xingfeng, feeling slighted, had forcibly declared Gu Fangchen his disciple.
To that old man, it was Gu Fangchen who had lowered his own status, and he had even been proud of it.
Little did he know that it was actually Gu Fangchen who had taken advantage.
He hadn't even needed to bother tricking him.
"When I return, this cheap master of mine should finally be put to good use. I wonder if the next class I unlock will come in handy..."
Gu Fangchen was confident in his top-grade foundation, but not in himself.
He still wanted to see whether he could cultivate properly through his own effort. After all, he wasn't lacking in cultivation right now, so he could treat it as fulfilling a dream.
If it didn't work out, he could always use pills and experience tomes to force his way through.
Though even Gu Fangchen felt that would be a waste of potential.
"Also, now that my Upper Dantian is complete and my soul is stable, I can begin seeking rare poisons to conduct the Heart Demon Tempering."
"To refine the Heart-Poison Mark, I must at least reach the Fourth Level of the Demon Refinement Method, and I'm only barely at the Second."
The two lethal toxins within his body, along with the fiery spiritual energy from the protective mining array, had brought him to the peak of the First Level.
This reforging of his foundation had allowed him to advance to the Second.
To progress further, he would have to endure even greater pain or find the right poison.
Once he had made up his mind, Gu Fangchen stepped out of the secret chamber.
Waiting outside were Hu Wenxin and Si Jian.
The young man who emerged from the darkness looked as handsome as ever, but after the reforging of his foundation, the decadent demonic aura between his brows had vanished completely. His eyes shone with sharp light, his expression calm and distant, his white robes fluttering lightly. His bearing was serene and divine.
The two merely sensed his cultivation briefly, and both were shocked.
In seven days, he had advanced from early Sixth Rank to the peak of the Sixth Rank?
What kind of cultivation speed was that?
Hu Wenxin's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He had originally thought Gu Fangchen's consumption of the Primordial Pill was a death wish, that he would either explode or cripple his meridians.
Yet not only had he survived, but his cultivation had soared!
This man's cultivation method must be something unimaginable.
A hint of evil intent flickered in Hu Wenxin's mind, but when he remembered that Gu Fangchen had seen through even his Molting Cicada Escape Technique, and that he had sworn a Heart Demon Oath, the thought immediately vanished.
He put on a fawning smile, dashed forward, and slid to his knees.
"Congratulations, Young Master, on your successful seclusion and the completion of your divine art! This old servant is honored beyond words!"
Gu Fangchen ignored him and turned toward Si Jian, asking with mild curiosity, "Which sword did Xu Zhenguan choose?"
At that, Si Jian's expression grew peculiar.
"I had intended to bring him to the upper levels of the Hall of Sword Offering to choose a sword," he said. "But after walking through all nine floors, not a single sword resonated with him."
Gu Fangchen was unsurprised. He raised an eyebrow. "And then?"
Si Jian gave a helpless smile.
"Then he said that since none of the swords responded, it meant his cultivation was insufficient and he was unworthy of such treasures. He didn't wish to make you lose face before the Daoist, so he simply took an iron sword from one of the puppets and left."
Truthfully, even more than Gu Fangchen, Si Jian couldn't understand why he was on such good terms with Xu Zhenguan.
In his eyes, Gu Fangchen was clearly not a sword cultivator, while Xu Zhenguan was little more than rotten wood.
Gu Fangchen laughed heartily.
That was Xu Zhenguan for you, the most honest of men.
He had no talent whatsoever, yet his comprehension and heart were unmatched, shining brightest only in adversity.
It seemed there was no forcing fate upon him; he would have to find another way to pressure him into growth.
Gu Fangchen shook his head, then set up a teleportation array once more, bringing the two back to the quiet chamber of the Sword Pavilion.
Qingjian, who had been waiting there all along, saw the three figures emerge from the array and froze in shock.
When he had left, Gu Fangchen had gone alone, so why had he returned with two unfamiliar cultivators of the Fourth Rank?
Gu Fangchen waved his hand casually. "Don't be nervous, they're my people."
"This is Little Hu, and this is Little Jian. Both are my servants."
He sighed. "Bringing them out took quite some effort."
Hu Wenxin and Si Jian both twitched at the corners of their mouths, but could only bow respectfully and accept the titles.
Qingjian gasped.
Fourth Rank!
She herself was of the Fourth Rank, and when Princess Prajna had assigned her to serve Gu Fangchen, she had felt countless layers of disdain.
Yet now, two completely unknown Fourth Rank cultivators, people she had never heard of, were behaving so humbly before him.
Connecting this with Gu Fangchen's words, Qingjian's eyes grew solemn.
It seemed that the princess's long-held suspicion had finally found confirmation.
This man was definitely an ancient monster reborn from the Pool of Lament.
That mysterious teleportation array must have led to that very place, and he had brought his old servants back from it.