Bai Zichen, having returned to the Clan and slept soundly for two days, felt refreshed and invigorated. He learned that both Bai Ying and Bai Chongwu had come to visit while he was resting, so he had a cook prepare a feast. He even reluctantly parted with a whole Spirit Stone—a huge sum—to buy two jugs of Spirit Wine from a neighboring clan member skilled in brewing, inviting his two friends over for a drink.
"Chubby, how are you still at the First Layer of Qi Refining? Even if you have no ambition for the Immortal Path and plan to avoid combat in the future, you should at least reach the Mid Stage of Qi Refining."
Normally, another's cultivation was their own business, but he had grown up with Chubby. After several rounds of drinks, Bai Zichen couldn't help but try to persuade him.
"Cultivation is so boring! With a Pseudo-Spiritual Root like mine, even if I work my hardest, the amount of Magical Power I refine in a day isn't even a third of what you guys manage. Besides, don't I have you, Brother Chenn, and you, Brother Chongwu? In a few years, when your cultivation is higher, what idiot in the clan would dare to bully me?"
Chubby clutched a chicken leg, completely unashamed of his low cultivation.
"Bai Ying, Brother Chenn is right. We might be able to protect you for a time, but when you're out traveling for business with only a First-Layer Qi Refining Cultivation, even mortal Martial Artists won't treat you with much respect. If you truly find cultivating Magical Power to be a chore, go find one of the Body Refining Techniques. After just a few years of cultivation, you'll be on par with a top-tier Innate Expert among mortals. That's another path you could take."
Bai Chongwu put down his wine cup and said seriously.
"Alright, alright! I'll spend an hour cultivating every day from now on. I'll strive to reach the Qi Refining Second Layer by next year."
Bai Zichen shook his head helplessly. Everyone chooses their own path. If Chubby wanted to be a happy, wealthy man of leisure, he couldn't very well force him to cultivate.
After resting for two days, he officially began to cultivate the Divine Casting Technique.
Inside the Quiet Chamber, Bai Zichen wore a grave expression. The entire Divine Casting Technique was only a few hundred characters long, and he had long since memorized it so well he could recite it backward.
'Use heaven and earth as the furnace, merge one's own Divine Sense within, evolve a True Flame for tempering... How is it that I recognize every word, but when I put them together, I'm completely lost?'
He failed on the very first step: constructing an image of the Heaven and Earth Furnace in his Sea of Consciousness.
No matter how deeply he entered Meditation, the image would completely collapse, shattering into countless fragments when it was at most one-third complete.
Furthermore, cultivating the Divine Casting Technique consumed an immense amount of mental energy. Bai Zichen discovered that after sketching the image only twice, he already felt utterly exhausted.
He bit his tongue, trying to rally for another attempt, but a powerful wave of sleepiness washed over him. His head drooped, and he instantly fell into a dream.
When he awoke, ravenously hungry, it was already the morning of the next day.
'I actually slept for an entire day... There's something uncanny about this Divine Casting Technique!'
Bai Zichen shook his head, which still felt heavy and sluggish. He ate a Grain Avoidance Pill, took a walk outside, but returned, still not ready to give up. He once again attempted to enter Meditation and sketch the Heaven and Earth Furnace.
A few minutes later, Bai Zichen, who had only just become clear-headed, fell into a deep stupor once again.
'It must be that my Power of Heart and Spirit can't handle the load, so my body is forcing itself to sleep. But if I fall asleep every time I practice this Cultivation Technique, the actual cultivation time is far too short. When in the world will I ever reach the entry level? No wonder the technique's description said that its cultivation is extremely time-consuming and that it's not recommended for Qi Refining Cultivators to force it.'
This time, Bai Zichen simply rested for an extra day and even went to his uncle's place to scrounge a cup of Spirit Tea.
The moment the bitter Spirit Tea touched his lips, his depleted Power of Heart and Spirit began to recover rapidly. Good things really do have only one flaw: they're expensive.
One tael of Silver Needle Spirit Tea sold for eighty Spirit Stones.
Only when he was back in peak condition did he begin his third attempt at cultivating the Divine Casting Technique.
This time, he felt progress. He managed to sketch out one more section of the Heaven and Earth Furnace. At this rate, after a few hundred more attempts, perhaps he could complete the full image.
After the image collapsed, Bai Zichen was instantly exhausted and weak, but the strength of his heart and spirit had indeed increased by a sliver.
This time, he slept for a full two days.
Unlike before, when Bai Zichen awoke this time, his thoughts were sharp and his mind was clear and serene, as if a thick layer of dust had been wiped away.
The cultivation of the Divine Casting Technique was tedious—a repeating cycle of sketching the image, exhausting his spirit, and sleeping to recover—but he found himself becoming unexpectedly engrossed in it.
The feeling of his spirit growing stronger, sliver by sliver, brought a sense of satisfaction that was utterly addicting.
Just as Bai Zichen was about to throw himself into another round of cultivation, urgent knocking from outside the Quiet Chamber interrupted him.
"Chenn'er, hurry and come out of seclusion! The Clan Leader is summoning you and Bai Ling today. You're leaving for the Qingfeng Sect tomorrow!"
"I know! I'm coming!"
As Bai Zichen stood up, his legs went soft and he nearly fell. A quick count on his fingers revealed that he had been in the Quiet Chamber for six whole days.
'Has it been six days? I didn't even notice time passing. What a terrifying thing, this Divine Casting Technique!'
No wonder the path of Divine Sense was said to be the most mysterious and inscrutable.
Just the introductory stage of a single Divine Sense cultivation method had nearly trapped him, unable to pull himself away.
If he cultivated endlessly without any external aid to replenish his energy, there would be only one end: his spirit would be depleted, and he would die like a lamp that had run out of oil.
'I must control my time when I cultivate this technique. Or maybe, when my cultivation is higher, I'll be less susceptible to the allure of the Divine Casting Technique.'
Although he had nearly fallen into a demonic trance while cultivating the Divine Casting Technique, as Bai Zichen walked out of the Quiet Chamber, he noticed that his mind seemed to be working faster.
For instance, the moment he thought of the Fireball Technique, all the cultivation information for the magic—along with the twelve Fire Element Runes that formed it—automatically surfaced in his mind. It even listed, one by one, how to adjust and combine the Fire Element Runes to add variations to the Fireball Technique.
Stray thoughts vanished, leaving his mind empty and clear.
In the clan's great hall, Clan Leader Bai Xianzhong, who had just come out of seclusion after mastering a powerful new magic, received several pieces of good news and immediately summoned the two juniors.
After reviewing the prepared copies of the Desolate God Stealing Sun Technique and the Taiyin Su Yun Xuan Shui True Skill, the corners of his mouth lifted. He was clearly very satisfied with the gains from the trip to the Five Mountains Temple's Inheritance Stele.
"Honggu once promised that as long as you placed in the top ten, you would each be rewarded with five hundred Contribution Points. The final rankings aren't out yet, but you are undoubtedly at the forefront. I will take the liberty of transferring those points to your names in advance!"
"Our thanks, Clan Leader!"
Bai Zichen and Bai Ling exchanged a smile. Within the Clan, Contribution Points were hard currency, just like Spirit Stones. Five hundred was no small sum.
"Furthermore, Bai Ling's Taiyin Su Yun Xuan Shui True Skill is a top-tier Water Element Cultivation Technique. It will be stored on the top floor of the Clan's Hidden Skills Pavilion. Aside from the Clan Leader and the Elders, no one else will have permission to access it. Only Clan Cultivators approved by us will be qualified to cultivate it. For contributing this Cultivation Technique, Bai Ling is awarded another five hundred Contribution Points!"
"As for Bai Zichen's Desolate God Stealing Sun Technique..."
Thinking of this Life-Extending Technique, Bai Xianzhong's heart burned with fervor.
No Cultivator would ever complain about having too long a lifespan; an additional thirty years was naturally a wonderful thing.
If one were truly blessed by the heavens and could cultivate to the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, having the Desolate God Stealing Sun Technique would be equivalent to possessing an extra Core Formation Spiritual Object compared to other Cultivators!