svetikya Chapter 28 Lu Jin's Striving to Catch Up
Chapter 28 Lu Jin's Striving to Catch Up
The process of forming the Yin Elixir is completely different from the previous stages.
The first three stages are about unobstructed flow, ensuring the smooth circulation of vital energy.
The fourth stage is about condensing, which involves gathering true energy into a pill and letting it sink heavily into the dantian.
Zuo Ruotong said, "The key to cultivating Yin Elixir lies in the word 'combination.' By combining the essence of Kan water with the mercury of Li fire, Yin and Yang unite, lead and mercury blend together, and after nurturing for several months, the Golden Elixir is formed."
Li Cunzhen dared not be careless and listened carefully.
He continued to come here every morning after that, closing his eyes and circulating his qi.
He gathered all his true energy and sank it into his dantian, allowing it to merge with each other there.
At this moment, Li Cunzhen truly understood why Zuo Ruotong referred to the cultivation of the Threefold Reversal of Life as climbing a peak with bare hands.
When he sank his true energy into his dantian, the true energy churned, collided, merged, and separated inside, as if a pair of invisible giant hands were kneading something inside.
The entire dantian felt like a volcano about to erupt!
If you are not careful, your true energy will flow backward, your dantian will explode, and your meridians will be completely shattered!
But Li Cunzhen remained resolute.
He calmed his mind, using the pure essence and spirit gathered in his back as the core to gather true energy, and using the Ren and Du meridians and the twelve meridians as his field, he guided the outer true energy away from the dantian when the true energy was about to completely get out of control, thus relieving the pressure.
And so it goes, in a continuous cycle.
True Qi gradually condenses with essence, energy, and spirit.
On the first day, the true energy in his dantian was in complete chaos, without any order or structure.
On the third day, Li Cunzhen felt a faint, indistinct mass in his dantian, sinking heavily there.
On the seventh day, the substance solidified, as if it had transformed from mist into a gel-like substance, and pulsated slightly with each breath.
On the thirteenth day, the yang energy returned, and Li Cunzhen felt an extremely violent force suddenly erupt from his body, like a volcanic eruption. His meridians were vibrating, but he guided it in time and ultimately escaped danger.
Zuo Ruotong silently withdrew her hand.
On the fifteenth day, a pale golden light appeared in Li Cunzhen's dantian. It was very small, like the tail of a firefly, but the light contained an extremely powerful life force, and all the essence in his body was moving towards it.
On the twentieth day, the light spot had condensed into a round pill, about the size of a soybean, which was settling in the dantian and emitting a faint golden halo.
Until the twenty-first day.
Li Cunzhen felt a booming sensation within his body.
The pill in his dantian suddenly jumped, as if it had come to life! It throbbed slightly with his breath, once, twice, in sync with Li Cunzhen's heartbeat.
At the same time, Li Cunzhen's skin felt slightly hot, and his pores opened, as if exchanging something with the outside world.
It wasn't over yet. As the pores opened, a series of soft crackling sounds came from between the muscles and bones.
It's like a rearrangement, becoming more harmonious and cohesive.
Li Cunzhen has changed!
It's not just a change in the physical body, but an internal change! It's like being forged from a piece of stubborn iron into a sword blank. Although it's not sharp enough yet, its essence is completely different.
Li Cunzhen opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, stood up, kowtowed, and said, "Disciple, it's done."
Zuo Ruotong looked at him, remaining silent for a long time.
After a long pause, he slowly said:
"Back then, it took me a full forty-nine days from passing through the gates to condensing the Yin Elixir. You, however, only took twenty-one days."
Zuo Ruotong's voice was completely flat, but the slight upturn at the corners of his mouth betrayed him.
Twenty-one days versus forty-nine days may seem like just a little over double the time, but on the path of cultivation, the shorter the time, the higher the talent. The difference between the two is far more than just a matter of distance!
The Great Immortal of Daying lived his entire life, upholding the reputation of the Sanyi Sect for his entire life. He had seen all kinds of storms and encountered all kinds of geniuses.
But seeing his disciple's progress at this moment, he still couldn't help but feel excited.
There are successors!
These four words were enough to bring a smile to his face.
Li Cunzhen cupped his hands in greeting and was about to speak when someone suddenly knocked on the courtyard gate from the outside.
Shoujing's voice came in:
"Master, Junior Brother Lu has arrived. He says he has successfully established his foundation and wants to inform you."
Zuo Ruotong paused slightly, then the smile on her lips widened: "Let him in."
Li Cunzhen turned his head to look at the courtyard gate, and his eyes met a pair of bright, sparkling eyes.
Lu Jin stood at the door, dressed in a clean white robe, his white hair gleaming silver in the morning light, holding a visiting card wrapped in red silk from who-knows-where.
He glanced at Zuo Ruotong first, then looked at Li Cunzhen. His eyes widened in surprise, followed by a complex expression.
This senior brother has gotten ahead of him again.
"Disciple Lu Jin greets Master."
Lu Jin strode up to Zuo Ruotong, bowed respectfully, her voice seemingly calm, but her speech was rapid:
"This disciple achieved foundation building this morning and has come to inform Master."
Zuo Ruotong nodded slightly: "How long did it take?"
Lu Jin puffed out his chest: "Seventy-five days."
As he said this, a hint of smugness finally crept into his voice.
Firstly, it was youthful impetuosity; secondly, after all, achieving Foundation Establishment in seventy-five days was a remarkable feat, making him a top-tier genius anywhere.
Zuo Ruotong naturally saw through Lu Jin's thoughts, and with a slight smile, she didn't say anything to discourage him.
Just as he thought about the letter from Dongshan yesterday, Li Muxuan had also successfully established his foundation, taking a total of seventy-four days.
As Li Cunzhen said, the two were indeed at roughly the same level in terms of the time it took to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
If it weren't for Li Cunzhen's existence, Lu Jin and Li Muxuan would already be considered rare geniuses in the world.
But now...
Zuo Ruotong could only sigh inwardly.
All he could do was try not to tell anyone else how far Li Cunzhen had progressed, so as not to damage the children's confidence in cultivating Taoism.
"good."
Zuo Ruotong praised him, then reached out to help Lu Jin up from the ground.
"Seventy-five days to establish your foundation demonstrates your talent and dedication. Next, you will begin the cultivation of refining essence into qi. I will pass on to you the cultivation method and a technique."
He took a thin booklet from his sleeve and handed it to him:
"This technique is called Escape Light. It's a method to assist in circulating Qi and also has an acceleration effect. You should learn it first; it will be of great use in your daily cultivation."
"Thank you, Master!"
Lu Jin accepted the cultivation manual, but unlike usual, he did not immediately take his leave. Instead, a hint of hesitation appeared on his face, and his lips moved slightly.
Zuo Ruotong sensed that he had something to say, so she said:
"Is there anything else?"
Lu Jin took a deep breath, as if gathering all his strength, straightened his back, and asked loudly:
"Master, judging by the days, Mu Xuan should be back in half a month. I remember I have a match with him."
"right."
"Then... is there any chance for me to spar with Senior Brother Cunzhen?"
After Lu Jin finished speaking, she subconsciously glanced at Li Cunzhen standing next to her, then quickly looked back and stared at Zuo Ruotong.
Since he began his apprenticeship, he knew that Li Cunzhen had become his disciple half a month earlier than him, and now he had personally witnessed Li Cunzhen successfully cultivate some unknown technique.
This senior student is definitely progressing faster than me.
But he didn't know exactly how much faster it was, and he had no reference point.
Now that I've established my foundation and am about to learn magic, I'll have the ability to fight, and I'm eager to give it a try.
Zuo Ruotong glanced at him, her expression a half-smile.
Having seen countless people in his life, how could he not see through Lu Jin's little scheme?
The child didn't want to spar with his senior brother; he wanted to test his abilities.
A competitive spirit is a characteristic of youth, neither good nor bad.
However, Zuo Ruotong did not point it out.
They even saw it as an opportunity.
He had already decided that Li Cunzhen would be the next leader of the sect. If he had no prestige among his peers, he would probably have difficulty winning people's hearts in the future.
It's a good thing to use this competition to let Li Cunzhen establish his authority in front of Lu Jin.
Thinking of this, Zuo Ruotong nodded slightly: "Okay."
Lu Jin was overjoyed and cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you, Master!"
He then turned to Li Cunzhen and added, "Senior brother, I look forward to your guidance then."
Li Cunzhen smiled slightly: "Okay."
Lu Jin kowtowed to Zuo Ruotong again, then turned and left.
He secretly planned how to study hard in the next two weeks.