Chapter 778: A Fortuitous Shortcut

For a moment, Ji An was unsure if this meant he had broken through to the Physical Relic Realm of the Acala Bodhisattva Skill.

In terms of the intensity of Qi and Blood Power, he had reached it, and his physical strength had met the requirements, but there was no Relic shining with golden light.

However, determining whether the cultivation technique has broken through the realm is simple; as long as one can cultivate the Physical Relic Realm techniques, it counts as a successful breakthrough.

The moist medicinal mud had already solidified and fallen off. Ji An used the Spring Breeze and Rain Skill to clean himself, feeling refreshed as he donned his Daoist Robe.

Returning to sit under the Gathering Essence Tree on a vine chair, he retrieved the Cultivation Technique Jade Slip from the Grotto Void Stone and carefully examined the cultivation methods after the Physical Relic Realm.

After browsing through it, Ji An felt a chill run down his spine.

Aside from not considering the meditation visualization parts, the technique created a void channel during Qi and Blood circulation and refined energy with the relic, but he didn’t have a relic at all.

“Haha…”

Ji An slapped his forehead with a bitter smile, feeling that the technique might have been practiced incorrectly, but fortunately, it had no adverse effects.

Yet, since it had come to this, he had to try if further progress was possible.

After all, the Body Cultivation Technique was merely auxiliary and relied solely on self-practice. The Stone Turtle was no help, and not being able to continue cultivating was just a regret but not a serious injury.

He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, calming his mind and heart, soon finding peacefulness free of distracting thoughts, with his Sea of Consciousness becoming Void Spirit.

When water is still, its reflection is clear, and when the heart is calm, wisdom arises.

Before cultivation, one must calm their mind, regardless of the type of Dharma Gate.

Ji An placed the Cultivation Technique Jade Slip on his forehead, carefully reading the technique word by word.

The phrasing of the Buddhist Cultivation Technique differed from Daoist Cultivation, but he had already tried and tested the meridian routes mentioned in terms of technique operation, so it wasn’t difficult for him.

Feeling peaceful and without mental burdens, and since Qi and Blood circulation didn’t involve the complicated aspects of meditation visualization, he was efficient in comprehending the technique.

It took just over four double hours for him to fully grasp a Buddhist Cultivation Technique related to enhancing Qi and Blood, and furthermore, he devised ways to tackle potential obstacles.

Removing the Jade Slip, Ji An strode towards an open space — success depended on this attempt.

He activated his Qi and Blood Power, the Fire Element Divine Mansion throbbed vigorously, and his body immediately heated up as his bodily functions mobilized instantly, with a sense of strength filling his entire being.

Under the control of his formidable Spirit Soul, the Qi and Blood surged along the predetermined route. Fearing any mishaps, he deliberately slowed the surging speed.

The Qi and Blood continued branching into tributaries, and ultimately, he needed to simultaneously control five streams of Qi and Blood circulating in different trajectories.

The meditation visualization of the Dharma Guardian Deity in the technique assisted cultivators in controlling Qi and Blood flow.

If the Dharma Guardian Deity was strong enough, it could manage the circulation of Qi and Blood without cultivator intervention, with the cultivator only needing to enhance the heart’s vigorous beating.

Ji An was thankful for receiving the Silk Thread Spell Secret Technique with the Golden Puppet Pavilion puppet purchase, allowing him to multitask and control multiple targets, making this step manageable.

He precisely controlled the flow of the five streams of Qi and Blood, with them converging into each Five Elements Divine Mansion at the same time.

Ji An confirmed without a doubt that the Acala Bodhisattva Skill had reached the Physical Relic Realm; otherwise, his body couldn’t support the technique running up to this point.

At this moment, he couldn’t help feeling a bit tense, as the time to test was near, seeing if the technique could continue progressing depended on the upcoming performance.

Qi and Blood gathered and surged within the Five Elements Divine Mansion, with the vein patterns on the surface of the mansions emitting a faint glow, and pale golden ‘Blood Qi’ emanating from the divine mansion, converging at the Chest Acupoint position.

At this point, Ji An noticed that the ‘Blood Qi’ could actually merge into the Middle Dantian, which was an exciting discovery for him.

The Golden Core began to rotate, with the ‘Blood Qi’ merging into it, and a silver glow actually sparkled on the brilliant Golden Core.

‘No, this can’t be Blood Qi.’

Ji An had an epiphany, his Divine Sense quickly entering the ‘Blood Qi’ created by the Water Element Divine Mansion, and thereby entering the interior of the Golden Core, discovering a brand-new world!

The Golden Core was incredibly solid and perfectly round, with the Divine Sense unable to probe it. Unexpectedly, now he entered its interior.

Always curious about the structure inside the Golden Core, today he finally saw it.

It was a silent black, like a deep night sky, but with silver ‘light lines’ forming an interconnected network.

And at the center of the network was a golden light mass, a shape that was unmistakably the ‘Blood Qi’ condensed during the breakthrough.

The pale golden ‘Blood Qi’ emitted by the Five Elements Divine Mansion connected with their corresponding channels, with five of the silver light lines turning into green, red, yellow, white, and black colors.

The light lines resembled channels, with the Five Elements Light converging at the core golden light mass, giving the Divine Sense a particularly intimate feeling.

At this moment, he had a bold guess, that this so-called Blood Qi wasn’t a physical entity, but rather his own ‘Divine Thought.’

The Buddhist Cultivation Technique involved condensing one’s own Divine Thought to feed the Dharma Guardian Deity, using the deity as a foundation to form a relic.

The relic would gradually grow stronger, with more of one’s own Divine Thought merging into it.

In the end, the Dharma Guardian Deity might completely replace the cultivator’s self, becoming another ‘person.’

‘Damn, how insidious, thankfully I don’t play by the rules.’

Ji An understood the reason why Buddhist Cultivators so openly passed on their teachings; by the time a cultivator reached the end of cultivation, they would have been ‘switched’ themselves.

He felt that the Daoist Monarchs’ efforts to suppress the Buddhist Cultivators were still not strong enough; cultivation techniques like these should be entirely confiscated to prevent further harm in the world.

What he didn’t know was that the Daoist Monarchs had assessed the risks of the cultivation techniques, and the advanced Dharma Gates of the Buddhist Cultivators pointing directly to the Nascent Soul Realm were not something that could be casually mastered.

If one didn’t possess a certain ‘divinity’, it would only lead to wasted time, with no possibility of further advancement.

Furthermore, the ordinary Buddhist Cultivation Techniques were indeed excellent Body Cultivation Techniques.

Such people with divinity are one in a million and would be cultivated as core members within the Buddhist Cultivator community.

At this moment, Ji An had accidentally reached a state that regular Daoist Cultivators would only encounter in the late-stage Golden Core Realm.

A Golden Core condensed from magical power could not possibly achieve Shattering the Pill to Form a Nascent Soul; it must incorporate one’s Spirit Soul.

How to plant the intangible Spirit Soul into the Golden Core is a conundrum requiring continuous refinement through secret techniques and demands sufficient spiritual strength; otherwise, having the secret techniques would be futile.

This is why resources that nourish the Spirit Soul have always been expensive; Daoist Cultivators emphasize Dual Cultivation of Life and Spirit, with life referring to the external path—body, life, energy, and so forth. Once the Five Elements Divine Mansion is established, the body’s life energy continuously condenses and refines.

Spirit, however, refers to the internal path—mindset, thoughts, spirit, etc. The Spirit Soul pertains to the spirit, and the mindset and thoughts act as tools for refining, serving to enhance the Spirit Soul.

Ji An didn’t comprehend all this, but he realized he had received some benefits, substantial benefits indeed.

His Divine Sense retraced the path back, and he continued focusing entirely on practicing the Acala Bodhisattva Skill, keeping distractions at bay.

Naturally, cultivation of the technique must continue. His Relic was self-consolidated, meaning he served as his own Dharma Guardian Deity.

Would one betray themselves? Certainly not.

The Acala Bodhisattva Skill is like a hook wrapped in bait. He, the little fish, swallowed the bait but didn’t take the hook, leaving the angler exasperated.

Ji An concluded his cultivation, and the surging Qi and Blood rapidly settled.

His body felt extremely fatigued, yet there was an unexpected sense of comfort in the Sea of Consciousness, akin to drinking Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea.

“Could it be that the Acala Bodhisattva Skill also has the effect of nourishing the Spirit Soul?!”

A leaf was blown before his eyes by the wind; he gently reached out with two fingers to catch it, smiling, “Marvelous!”

…

Golden Fur suddenly appeared, standing upright with its front paws clasped together, nodding and bowing, “Zhi Zhi.”

It communicated spiritually with its master, notifying that someone was shouting outside the portal.

Ji An wondered what had occurred, but his hands acted swiftly, quickly tidying his robe, and he left the Gourd World with the Beast Taming companion.

Upon reaching the doorway, he performed a hand gesture to unseal the Dharma Prohibition, and Ji An saw the visitor.

Wan Jinrong’s face beamed with an excited smile, animatedly saying:

“Good news, I’ve made significant breakthroughs in researching Yin Beads. Haha, I truly am an Artifact Refining genius.”

His tone conveyed a sense of elation; his eyes shone like light bulbs in the night, filled with brilliance, his demeanor starkly contrasting his usual composure.

Ji An pointed to the chair, “Quickly sit and speak.”

Once seated, he asked with some confusion:

“What have you achieved? Tell me, let me share in your excitement.”

To him, the importance of researching Yin Beads seemed limited, as the cultivators who developed Yin Thunder Beads would have surely comprehended this material derived from demon lords thoroughly.

“Listen carefully, fellow cultivator.”

Wan Jinrong coughed several times before slowly speaking:

“Yesterday, during the team’s patrol, I didn’t hand over the Yin Beads I collected—over sixty in total.”

Demon lords who reach the Foundation Establishment Level can cultivate Yin Beads, and their vast numbers and relatively quick cultivation pace make this material abundantly available.

“To utilize these Yin Beads, it’s essential to eliminate the Demonic Qi contained within the material to obtain pure Yin Material, which is the key to harnessing Yin Beads. I’ve identified a method using high-quality Washing Spirit Sand and Transforming Essence Divine Mud to rapidly remove Demonic Qi. I don’t know how other Artifact Refiners approach this, but they can’t surpass my method, at best, they can match it. This means we can mass-produce Yin Thunder Bead materials. The increased output of main materials for one-time exploding Spiritual Artifacts implies we can quickly refine more Yin Thunder Beads, causing True Demons to wail in agony!”

Ji An scratched his head, perplexed, and asked:

“It sounds great, but both materials are expensive, and why do you assume other Artifact Refiners haven’t thought of this?”

Transforming Essence Divine Mud is a synthetic Tier Three Earth-elemental Spiritual Object, and he even has the refining formula.

While refining the materials himself would substantially reduce costs, increased usage would also lead to highly exorbitant expenses.

Additionally, high-quality Washing Spirit Sand isn’t cheap either, and he couldn’t grasp the reason for the other’s exuberance.