Chapter 58: Re-enlightening the Dao Scripture
“Creak.”
Pushing open the wooden door of his small courtyard, a gentle breeze swept through, rattling the copper bell by the window and producing a crisp "ding-dong" sound.
“In the blink of an eye, it’s been years since I last lived here. This place still brings me the most peace.” Song Changsheng gazed at his small courtyard, his heart experiencing an unprecedented tranquility.
He had been through too much recently, his nerves constantly taut. Only now could he truly relax.
The small courtyard had been uninhabited for several years and had accumulated a thick layer of dust. Song Changsheng took it upon himself to clean the room inside and out.
After finishing, he sat cross-legged on his bed, beginning to contemplate his plans.
Currently, the most important task was naturally to find clues related to the Dragon Blood Orchid. Once found, he could begin attempting to cultivate the Inscribing Formations Upon the Body Method, which was his top priority.
Apart from that, his formation dao cultivation had already broken through to low-grade second rank, temporarily unable to progress further. His artifact refining skill still remained at top-grade first rank, always just a hair's breadth away from low-grade second rank.
He planned to apply to his family clan for a batch of artifact refining materials during this period to temper his refining skills, striving to break through the bottleneck as soon as possible and advance to the low-grade second rank level.
His own cultivation had also reached the critical point of the ninth layer of Qi Refinement, just a step away from grand perfection. He needed to cross this threshold as soon as possible.
This was because grand perfection of Qi Refinement was a very special stage. Cultivators at this stage had to condense their own unique Dao Foundation.
This was a prerequisite for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Without a Dao Foundation, one didn't even have the qualification to try.
Condensing a Dao Foundation relied heavily on aptitude and was time-consuming. Many cultivators with mediocre aptitude might spend decades unable to complete this step, only to helplessly watch their vitality gradually decline, eventually turning into a handful of yellow earth.
Although Song Changsheng's aptitude was decent, he was unsure how much time it would take to condense his Dao Foundation, so starting as early as possible was best.
“Although I've tried to avoid consuming pills all these years, my meridians and acupoints have still accumulated quite a bit of pill toxins and impurities.
I must clear them out before breaking through to the grand perfection of Qi Refinement. It seems I need to exchange for a Marrow Cleansing Pill. This would also be a good opportunity to post a mission for the Dragon Blood Orchid.”
Song Changsheng rose and headed to the Contribution Hall. First, he posted a mission to acquire the Dragon Blood Orchid for a price of five hundred spirit stones.
Then, after demonstrating his cultivation to the clan elder, he successfully exchanged for a Marrow Cleansing Pill as he wished.
Although the Marrow Cleansing Pill was only a high-grade first rank medicinal pill, it was exceptionally precious. The Marrow Cleansing Flower used to refine it had to be grown in superior spiritual fields and required daily irrigation with spiritual spring water.
It could only be used in medicine after a cultivation cycle of fifteen years. Even with the Song clan's resources, they could only refine a few batches a year.
It possessed effects such as cleansing meridians and marrow, dissolving pill toxins, and expelling impurities from the body. A cultivator could only consume three such pills in their lifetime, typically used when breaking through bottlenecks.
This single pill, if exchanged normally, would require at least three hundred contribution points. However, as a Purple Mansion seed of the family, Song Changsheng had an allowance to use one for free, which was one of the benefits of his status.
Upon returning to his courtyard, Song Changsheng sat cross-legged by the pond in the backyard, took out the Marrow Cleansing Pill and consumed it.
The thumb-sized pill instantly transformed into a sweet medicinal liquid upon entering his mouth, spreading through his esophagus to his limbs and bones. He quickly circulated his cultivation technique to refine the medicinal power.
In a short while, Song Changsheng felt a warm and extremely comfortable sensation throughout his body.
Half an hour later, the medicinal power of the Marrow Cleansing Pill was finally refined. His body was covered in a layer of greasy, foul-smelling sweat, vaguely blackish.
These were the pill toxins and impurities expelled from his body. The smell was incredibly pungent, almost making Song Changsheng himself vomit.
He plunged into the nearby pond, meticulously washing himself several times. He almost scrubbed off a layer of skin before finally coming ashore.
After evaporating the water from his body and dressing neatly, he once again sat cross-legged and took out the Blazing Sun Pill he had obtained earlier from the immortal's cave.
Consuming the Marrow Cleansing Pill had already opened his bottleneck. Now, he only needed to consume this pill to directly step into the grand perfection of Qi Refinement realm!
Upon consuming the crimson pill, Song Changsheng immediately felt a surge of pure spiritual energy explode within his body. He quickly circulated his cultivation technique, fully refining this enormous energy.
After all, it was a low-grade second rank spiritual pill, and refining it was exceptionally difficult. This process lasted for a full day and night. As his Dantian Qi Sea expanded to a critical point, Song Changsheng successfully entered the grand perfection of Qi Refinement realm, now just one step away from Foundation Establishment!
After slightly consolidating his cultivation, Song Changsheng, as usual, consumed a large amount of spiritual wine, then held his breath and entered his Sea of Consciousness.
As he was only a Qi Refinement cultivator, his Sea of Consciousness was very vast and empty, with only a single jade slip suspended in mid-air, emitting a faint glow.
With an excited heart, Song Changsheng slowly unfolded the Dao Scripture and began to meditate and comprehend it.
Every time he broke through a minor realm, comprehending the Dao Scripture would bring unexpected gains. From the Yin-Yang Mystical Essence Sutra to the Water-Fire Commanding Technique, all had provided Song Changsheng with great assistance.
Therefore, he was greatly anticipating what miraculous profound method he would comprehend this time.
This comprehension lasted for three days and two nights.
Just as Song Changsheng’s mental strength, physical strength, and spiritual power reached their limits, a golden character, “瞳"(pupil), flew out from the Dao Scripture.
It gradually began to twist and evolve…
Several hours later, Song Changsheng opened his eyes, a brilliant smile appearing on his pale face. “I didn’t expect to gain a pupil technique this time. It truly gives me a surprise every time.”
The pupil technique he obtained was called Delusion-Breaking Eye, also a secret art, possessing the ability to see through illusions and trace things back to their origin.
This pupil technique wasn't of great help in combat. Its main purpose was auxiliary. For example, when Song Changsheng needed to find the eye of an formation in the future while breaking it, activating this pupil technique would make it much easier.
There had been no news about the Dragon Blood Orchid. This waiting period, besides condensing his Dao Foundation, would be perfect for cultivating this pupil technique…
Cultivation knew no years, and in the mountains, one lost track of time.
Time flew by, and five months passed in the blink of an eye.
During this period, Song Changsheng continued to absorb the essence of the sun and moon daily without fail, using it to condense his Dao Foundation.
His ambition was not small. He didn't want to condense an attribute-less Dao Foundation or an attribute Dao Foundation; instead, his target was the Grand Dao.
An attribute-less Dao Foundation was purely condensed from spiritual energy, the most common type and rather unremarkable.
An attribute Dao Foundation was condensed from the spiritual energy corresponding to one's spiritual root, which was more difficult. However, once one broke through to Foundation Establishment, they could comprehend the corresponding True Meaning.
A Grand Dao Foundation referred to the laws of the Grand Dao such as life and death, destruction, and slaughter. One had to absorb the corresponding power to condense it, and similarly, one could comprehend the corresponding True Meaning!
(Chapter End)