TL Note: For some reason my MTL made a serious mistranslation earlier. Xiao Heng is in Qi Condensation, and not Foundation Establishment. The previous chapter has been edited to correct this.
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The description of the Dao of immortality in Five Spirit Qi Sensing made Li Fan increasingly horrified as he read on.
Before the Golden Core stage, it was relatively normal: absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, consuming a natural Heavenly Treasure, and capturing a law of heaven and earth.
However, after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, the style gradually became more insane.
Seizing a subworld of heaven and earth, extracting the marrow of heaven and earth, slaughtering the soul of heaven and earth...
And even, ultimately, sacrificing the heavens and earth.
Just reading these words would make one's heart pound with fear.
The heavens gave birth to all living beings.
Practitioners cultivating in this way are essentially opposing and rebelling against the heavens, defying the natural order.
What does this represent? Don't these practitioners know?
However, this method of cultivation advances too quickly.
The book records that since the Immortal Ancestor taught the new Dao, a large number of ordinary people who were originally unable to cultivate became formidable in just a few decades.
Cultivators at various stages, such as the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Soul Transformation, emerged one after another like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
During that time, the cultivation world was truly flourishing, with Golden Cores everywhere and Nascent Souls as common as dogs.
And those who originally adhered to the ancient methods of cultivation, watching their own cultivation being easily surpassed by ordinary people, how many could remain true to themselves and not attempt the Immortal Ancestor's method?
As a result, the traditional way of cultivation gradually declined, and the new method gradually replaced it.
After the popularization of the new method, the prosperity of the cultivation world reached its peak.
Unfortunately, heaven's principles are clear, and prosperity will eventually decline.
Countless cultivators, like wolves and tigers, greedily plundered the resources of heaven and earth without restraint.
Even the increasingly frequent Heavenly Tribulations could not suppress the ever-growing number of cultivators.
So, one day, the counterattack of the heavens arrived.
The heavens and the earth underwent tremendous changes, and a great calamity descended.
Since then, different methods of cultivation cannot be practiced together! The flourishing and developing cultivation world seemed to have suffered a heavy blow.
In order to have a chance of survival, cultivators plunged into endless mutual slaughter.
For a long time, the cultivation world seemed to be declining and decaying.
It took thousands of years for things to gradually stabilize.
Nowadays, cultivators have become accustomed to the malice of the heavens and the earth.
They have summarized their experiences and lessons. After the great calamity, on the barren wasteland of the cultivation realm, they established a new order of cultivation.
...
With the introduction of the current origins of the cultivation world completed, the content in the book now is about the Five Spirit Qi Sensing method.
If an ordinary person, after dispelling the miasma, cannot easily guide the Qi into their body, they can nurture their own "Five Spirits," forcefully absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and then refine it, breaking through to the Qi Condensation stage.
The so-called "Five Spirits" refers to the five innate emotions inherent to every person.
Greed, fear, rage, hatred, and ego.
These five emotions are hidden within the human heart and are inexhaustible, and ever-present.
The Five Spirit Qi Sensing method utilizes these five emotions as fuel, cultivating the Roots of Heaven and Earth in the dantian.
The Roots of Heaven and Earth connect a cultivator's dantian to heaven and earth. Once formed, cultivators can forcefully absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through it, converting it for their own use.
Compared to the ancient method of cultivating based on aptitude, the "Five Spirit Qi Sensing" method emphasizes stability.
For those with excellent aptitude, they can cultivate the Roots of Heaven and Earth in just one day and night, stepping onto the path of cultivation.
Even those with no aptitude for cultivation can, through daily perseverance and hard work, form their own Roots of Heaven and Earth within a maximum of ten years.
Having mastered the method of guiding Qi into his body, Li Fan secluded himself in his home and practiced the Five Spirit Qi Sensing method.
Despite mentally preparing himself, Li Fan knew that his path of cultivation might not be as smooth as he hoped.
Yet, day after day went by, and three years had passed, but Li Fan still hadn't successfully refined Qi.
Li Fan was well aware of his innate talent for cultivation. He wasn't a genius, but he certainly wasn't lacking either.
The current situation clearly had another reason behind it.
"The Venerable Heart Refinement Mantra... truly unpredictable," Li Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness.
The Five Spirit Qi Sensing method required five emotions as fuel to drive the formation of the Roots of Heaven and Earth.
However, Li Fan, while practicing the Venerable Heart Refinement Mantra, had very little accumulation of these five emotions.
Even if he didn't consciously activate the refinement mantra, it instinctively dissipated the negative emotions in his mind.
It was akin to walking with a heavy burden, which led to Li Fan's slow progress.
Li Fan had also tried to guide the Qi into his body without using the Roots of Heaven and Earth.
However, he obviously didn't possess talent like Xiao Heng.
The spiritual energy outside his body completely ignored him.
Without anyone to guide him, relying solely on his own exploration, Li Fan had no idea how long it would take him to guide the Qi into his body.
So, Li Fan decided to patiently use the "Five Spirit Qi Sensing" method to break through to the Qi Condensation stage.
It might be slow, but it was stable.
Time was the one thing Li Fan had in abundance.
In the beginning, He Zhenghao occasionally sent people to inquire about Li Fan's progress.
However, when Li Fan made little progress for a long time, he stopped sending anyone.
In the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, because of Li Fan and Xiao Heng, despite the absence of Wanhua Chamber of Commerce's backing, the business around the surrounding islands improved.
No one wanted to offend a business that possibly had the background of an Immortal Master, so they tried to avoid conflicts with the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion as much as possible.
Thus, over the three years, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion expanded its market extensively and flourished.
Yin Yuzhen's confidence soared, and she eagerly planned to return to Night Island to regain control of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion headquarters.
...
Li Fan only occasionally paid attention to external matters.
Most of his energy was focused on cultivating the Roots of Heaven and Earth.
Unfortunately, this matter couldn't be rushed.
Li Fan estimated that barring any unforeseen circumstances, it would take him about two more years to succeed.
He had been cooped up at home for a very long time. One day, Li Fan, feeling restless, decided to go out.
Without alarming anyone, he changed into different clothes, put on a hat, and came to the marketplace of Liuli Island.
Compared to three years ago, it seemed like nothing had changed here.
The sounds of bargaining, calls to attract customers, and playful banter filled the air.
Here, Li Fan felt the long-lost "humanity."
Various thoughts in his mind, like dry saplings, were nourished and sprouted abundantly.
For just this moment, the progress of the Roots of Heaven and Earth was greater than spending three days in solitary meditation at home.
Li Fan suddenly realized.
For ordinary cultivators, seclusion and meditation were necessary because most people were lacking in the fuel needed for the Five Spirits.
Li Fan's situation was special; the Venerable Heart Refinement Mantra constantly operated in his mind, and these stray thoughts turned into strong nourishment for his spirit.
However, the Five Spirit Qi Sensing method was obviously not as advanced as the Venerable Heart Refinement Mantra and couldn't plunder much. It could only pick up the leftovers.
Li Fan couldn't change this situation at the moment. If he wanted to accelerate the formation of the Roots of Heaven and Earth, he needed to increase the daily stray thoughts that were born in his mind.
Daily seclusion wouldn't work. He needed to be in the world.
Having realized this, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of joy.
It seemed that he might not need two years; he might step into the Qi Condensation stage earlier.
...
"Senior Li?" At this moment, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind.
Li Fan turned his head, looked at the person's face, paused for a moment, and then remembered who it was.
It was unexpectedly Zhang Haobo, the captain of the Cangyuan ship, with whom he had a chance encounter before, on Liuli Island.