Chapter 657: Gan Arrives

Chapter 657: Chapter 657: Gan Arrives

The appearance of the "Pill" in the Dantian is one of the key breakthroughs of the Primordial Pill Realm. Although it is still very small, it is an extremely critical step. For the Lower Dantian, there is only one, which can only be opened once. If you fail to seize that fleeting opportunity and perceive that indescribable feeling just now, you will lose this only chance.

Now that the "Pill" has manifested, regardless of its size, Shen Hao has already opened half the door to the Primordial Pill Realm and stepped one foot inside. All that remains is to open the other half of the door.

Does the appearance of the "Pill" mean that he can now attempt to condense the first thread of True Essence?

However, Shen Hao was in no hurry to proceed to the next step. He steadied himself first, carefully sensing what wondrous qualities this newly emerged "Pill" in his Dantian might possess.

The first miraculous aspect was that with the appearance of the "Pill", the flow of True Qi in his body underwent a tremendous change. This transformation arose spontaneously, beyond his own will, just like digging an outlet in a river so the water naturally pours out through the opening.

Only when the True Qi reached the "Pill" in the Lower Dantian did it begin to spiral through, as if compressing itself, then returned to the meridians after passing through. After each cycle, Shen Hao could distinctly feel that a minute trace of True Qi had been left inside the "Pill", becoming part of the "Pill" and gradually "materializing" with it.

Does this mean that all cultivation from now on will proceed in this way? Will the True Qi formed from cultivated energy continue to be absorbed and strengthened by the "Pill"? Moreover, compared to the agonizing pain of actively opening the Dantian before, this natural process of strengthening was almost imperceptible, let alone painful.

On the other hand, Shen Hao once again noticed that his speed of absorbing external energy to generate True Qi became a bit faster, and this, he deduced, was surely the effect of the "Pill".

However, upon careful sensing, Shen Hao found that even though the "Pill" had successfully appeared in his Dantian, his realm had not advanced in the slightest—he was still at Gathering Spirit Realm Ninth Layer, and his meridians and Sea of Consciousness had not gained any new room for improvement. It seemed that opening half the door was not enough.

Picking up an Elixir Food at hand and swallowing it, the hunger in his abdomen quickly faded. Then, after drinking down a large jug of water, he consumed a Great Nourishing Pill.

Though the breakthrough was not finished, Shen Hao had reached a certain plateau. He took the opportunity to regroup, replenishing both his physical strength and the vast reserves of True Qi consumed within.

Once he had restored himself to peak condition, Shen Hao once more steadied his mind and plunged into cultivation. This time, his focus still remained on the Lower Dantian—now that the "Pill" was formed, all that was left was to condense True Essence.

This required a specific technique. According to the Great Five Elements Technique, after forming the "Pill", the next step was Awakening the Pill—only by passing through this step could the "Pill" become a new vessel, and only then could the condensation of True Essence become possible.

The method involved starting from inside the "Pill", initiating tremors to hollow out a container-like shape within.

Shen Hao’s approach remained unchanged: he steadily used spiral oscillations to work bit by bit within the core of the "Pill". Luckily, compared with the previous opening of the Dantian, this did not cause any discomfort.

This time there was no need to endure several days of exertion; after only two hours, Shen Hao sensed that he had opened a minute "space" in the center of the newly formed, minuscule "Pill". The next instant, he instinctively controlled the intensity of True Qi flooding into the "Pill", and change followed.

Originally, when True Qi passed through the "Pill", some would be left behind to strengthen the "Pill", while the rest would rejoin the meridians. But this time, something different occurred.

When the True Qi passed through the "Pill" now, because a new space had been carved inside it, the True Qi did not immediately materialize as part of the "Pill", nor did it flow straight through as before. Instead, it liquefied, assuming a "liquid"-like state and remaining within that tiny space inside the "Pill".

That "liquid" gave Shen Hao an impression: this was a higher-level existence of True Qi!

Regardless of either the "Pill" or the newly formed "liquid", both were extremely small. Even though they lay within Shen Hao’s body, inside the cramped Dantian, it still took some effort for Shen Hao to clearly sense them. However, in time, he should be able to perceive them more easily.

"Now that the ’Pill’ is formed and True Essence has begun to condense, it’s time for the final step."

According to the Great Five Elements Technique, when both the "Pill" and True Essence appear, the breakthrough is ninety percent complete. The last step, if successful, would formally open the doors to the Primordial Pill Realm and step into a new stage.

The final step is: Opening Pill!

Taking a deep breath, Shen Hao knew what remained was to use his Sea of Consciousness to draw the newly formed "Pill" into his domain of control, and simultaneously attempt for the first time to use the "Pill" to activate the True Essence within and complete the initial vibration of True Essence. By doing so, he could integrate the Sea of Consciousness, "Pill", and True Essence—formally entering the Primordial Pill Realm.

However, the Great Five Elements Technique gave three consecutive "cautions" for this last step—warning that a great many who failed to break through the Primordial Pill Realm perished at this stage of Opening Pill, and some even damaged their Sea of Consciousness or injured their soul, becoming cripples.

Shen Hao was naturally exceedingly cautious. But soon he understood why this final step stymied so many: because connecting the Sea of Consciousness to the "Pill" put immense strain on the Sea of Consciousness’s depth, thickness, and strength, as if forcing a massive amount of True Qi into the Sea of Consciousness. On reflection, wasn’t the "Pill" just True Qi in material form? No wonder this sensation arose.

Thus, for cultivators whose Sea of Consciousness was shallow or whose soul strength was insufficient, this juncture became an insurmountable barrier, and if they were unwilling to stop or recklessly forced the connection, their Sea of Consciousness would definitely suffer damage.

But for Shen Hao, this obstacle posed no threat. Since the Qi Refining Realm, he only broke through each small realm after accumulating to his utmost limit. By the Gathering Spirit Realm, he proceeded the same way. Layer upon layer of accumulation rendered both his Sea of Consciousness and soul strength far superior to almost every peer.

Therefore, even though Shen Hao felt the pressure and impact as he linked the Sea of Consciousness with the "Pill", it affected him not in the slightest; he smoothly established a connection between his Sea of Consciousness and the "Pill".

At last, with a single thought, his Sea of Consciousness stirred the "Pill", and the "Pill" in turn triggered those subtle traces of True Essence within...

"This is..."

In just a single instant, Shen Hao felt an incomparably mighty power surge from the "Pill", following the network of meridians and guided by his will to converge at his fingertips.

Then, flicking his finger, Shen Hao released a simple thread of Qi Force—yet the result was an impact that directly blasted a deep pit, a full zhang in depth and as thick as a thigh, into the ground before him!