On Taian Island, within the protective array.
"A bottleneck? Heavenly tribulation?" Li Fan browsed through the purchased "Miscellaneous Records of Cultivation," his brows slightly furrowed.
Since returning from Ten Thousand Immortals Island a few days ago, he hadn't stopped his cultivation for a moment. He had initially thought of seizing the opportunity to break through to the later stages of Qi Condensation.
But even though he had clearly felt that he was close to a breakthrough, no matter how hard Li Fan cultivated, he always felt like he was just a tiny bit short. It was as if this tiny difference was an insurmountable chasm.
After perusing the "Miscellaneous Records of Cultivation," Li Fan finally confirmed that he had encountered a bottleneck.
During ancient times, there were mentions of cultivation bottlenecks. These were points in the cultivation process where progress seemed to halt.
In today's cultivation world, these bottlenecks had an even greater impact on cultivators. Starting from the middle stages of Qi Condensation, every cultivator would inevitably encounter bottlenecks when advancing through various stages.
Breaking through these bottlenecks was not only about hard work. It required finding an opportunity that resonated with one's current cultivation, allowing them to break through successfully.
These opportunities could be as simple as seeing a painting, drinking tea, sudden enlightenment, or flashes of insight during life-and-death struggles. It could also be something someone casually mentioned or the careful guidance of a senior.
In essence, these opportunities were unpredictable and could only be perceived through fate.
These bottlenecks significantly slowed down a cultivator's progress, as if a heavenly disaster had descended to obstruct their cultivation path. For this reason, cultivators referred to it as a heavenly tribulation.
Now, this heavenly tribulation had descended upon Li Fan.
His plan to break through quickly had fallen apart due to this obstacle.
Sitting in the protective array for several days, Li Fan hadn't sensed any opportunities to break through.
Knowing that he couldn't rush this process, he didn't feel anxious. He temporarily set aside the cultivation of the Minor Yan Water Technique and started practicing Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra.
Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra consisted of five layers, corresponding to the five major realms of ancient times: Innate, Qi Condensation, Foundation Building, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul.
The Innate realm was a unique existence in some ancient sects' cultivation methods during ancient times. It focused on cleansing the impurities acquired after birth to return to a state of innate purity. According to these sects, starting cultivation from the Innate realm would make it easier to comprehend the heavenly Dao, allowing for faster and higher cultivation progress.
However, with the advent of new cultivation methods that emphasized expedited cultivation, few people practiced the Innate realm.
Despite this, the foundation of the Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra was in the Innate realm.
So, what Li Fan needed to do was use Qi Condensation to replace the Innate realm, completing the first layer of cultivation.
Normally, substituting a higher realm for a lower one would be smooth, but in this case, the differences between ancient and contemporary cultivation systems posed difficulties.
Moreover, Li Fan had only been practicing for a few years and had a limited knowledge base. This was why it had taken him a considerable amount of time to just grasp the basics, despite the help of the Liuli Pills.
He persisted in his studies despite the difficulties, one word at a time, and contemplated the insights.
According to the description of the Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra, after successfully cultivating the second layer corresponding to Qi Condensation, one would be able to master the divine ability of "Discerning Variations".
"Discerning Variations" was the ability to distinguish and sense the various auras of heaven and earth.
This was also the foundation of the Thousand Mechanisms Jade Huan Golden Chapter. Only by first distinguishing and sensing these auras could they be captured and refined afterwards.
The difficulty of practicing the second layer was even more difficult than Li Fan had imagined. If the Minor Yan Water Technique was simple and clear in telling you how to cultivate without a single shred of nonsense, the Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra was intentionally obscure and esoteric, leaving the reader to puzzle things out themselves. Not only that, random ideas and dated analogies of the ancient cultivation world randomly intruded.
With this unreasonably dense and incomprehensible text, Li Fan was quite frustrated. Fortunately, Li Fan was not a person who gave up lightly. Even if it was difficult, Li Fan was patient and slowly studied word by word.
A year passed by in his diligent cultivation.
His progress in Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra had been minimal.
Li Fan didn't despair. When he went to Ten Thousand Immortals Island to collect his guardian compensation for the second time, he exchanged his 800 contribution points and five mature Taian fruits, which he had saved for two years, for some insights into ancient cultivation techniques.
He then used the enhanced cultivation mode of the Tianxuan Mirror to read these insights without actually practicing the techniques. He compared them to his own experiences from the past year.
This process allowed him to clarify many doubts and questions he couldn't understand before.
He was overjoyed at some points, and now he felt he had finally understood some of the most confusing parts.
Five days passed quickly.
Having gained insights, Li Fan hurried back to Taian Island and resumed his seclusion. This time, he found that his cultivation was remarkably different from before.
The obscure aspects of the cultivation technique had become clear, and there were no more hindrances.
Li Fan soon immersed himself in his cultivation.
Time passed unnoticed during his practice.
One day, a golden mist of spiritual energy, entirely different from the water element, suddenly appeared in Li Fan's dantian.
Li Fan opened his eyes abruptly, revealing a look of delight.
"I've finally mastered the second layer of Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra! Li Fan breathed a sigh of relief.
Stretching his somewhat stiff body, he looked at the time, feeling somewhat dazed.
He hadn't expected that this seclusion would last a full year.
However, in Li Fan's perception, it felt like he had only slept for a short while.
Nonetheless, hard work always bore fruit.
Li Fan's eyes lit up as he gathered the golden spiritual energy in his eyes, activating the "Discern Variations" ability.
"Let me see what the so-called heaven and earthly auras are like." Li Fan was excited to test his newfound power.
He looked towards Taian Island.
What he saw, however, sent shivers down his spine.
A dense, black aura, like a thick layer of dark clouds, shrouded the entire Taian Island.
The oppressive death aura made the island look like the underworld, even in broad daylight.
Li Fan dispelled the technique, and then used it again.
After several repeated attempts, Li Fan could only confirm that he wasn't seeing things.
"How could this be?" Li Fan was filled with disbelief.
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and quickly cast the Discern Variations technique to examine himself.
In the reflection, the accumulation of death aura on his head was hundreds of times denser than that on the island's ordinary people!