Zhang Sheng picked up a blank piece of Jade Paper, and a green Sword Qi shot out from his fingertips, creating a Visualization Map on the paper.
He handed the Jade Paper to Wei Yuan and said, "After much consideration, I've decided to bestow upon you the 'Jade Toad Moon Gazing Diagram' as the foundation for your Body Refining. Study this Visualization Map carefully. When you cultivate, you must use this map as a bridge to connect with the heavens and earth, drawing in Spiritual Energy to temper your body. To connect with heaven and earth during the Body Refining stage and borrow the power of Luck is indeed an extraordinary Cultivation Technique. However, with blessings may come misfortune, and the dangers encountered during cultivation are far greater than with other techniques. No matter what you see or feel during cultivation, you must always maintain your heart and Divine Sense, and not give in to panic or fear."
After giving his detailed instructions, Zhang Sheng took out three Elixirs and said, "These three Heart Purifying Pills have been specially obtained for you, which can slightly improve your root bone qualifications. There are three days left before the worship of the Ancestor Master, and it would be beneficial for you to take one pill each day before you pay respect to the Ancestor Master Statue."
Wei Yuan memorized the Visualization Map and began to cultivate according to the Cultivation Technique.
As described in the 'Jade Toad Moon Gazing Diagram', the Physical Body is the foundation of all. The first step of cultivation is to materialize the Visualization Map within the Sea of Consciousness, with the size of the map's scope indicating the quality of the foundation. Then, use the map as a medium to draw Spiritual Energy and one's own Luck from heaven and earth to forge oneself. When the Physical Body and Primordial Spirit are completely refined and transformed into the Immortal Embryo, the Visualization Map will ignite vitality and become as real as the actual world. At this point, reaching Body Refining Great Success, one can begin to condense their Dao Foundation.
Wei Yuan's temperament was extraordinary, and in a moment, he became lost in meditation.
Zhang Sheng then took out a Heart Purifying Pill and placed an incense burner in front of Wei Yuan, then placed the pill into the burner. With the charcoal laid out below, the heat from the coals began to smolder, a wisp of Elixir Fragrance drifted out from the eye of the burner, forming a thread, as if sentient, it entered Wei Yuan's nose.
Wei Yuan's vision, which had been pitch black, now detected a whiff of Elixir Fragrance. As the fragrance entered his body, it immediately transformed into strands of warmth, slowly spreading to his limbs and bones, an indescribable comfort. Under the guidance of the Elixir Fragrance, a point of light began to sprout within his Sea of Consciousness, illuminating a small world where, faintly visible at its center, lay a large rock upon which a Jade Toad perched, with a round moon hanging not far above it.
Once the Visualization Map manifested smoothly, the strands of Elixir Fragrance found their direction, flying into the map one after another, making it clearer and more stable with each wisp.
As Wei Yuan continually circulated the technique, he had no idea how much time had passed when suddenly his vision blurred and the scene changed entirely.
At that moment, Wei Yuan felt as if he had transformed into the Jade Toad, gazing at the round moon in the sky, incessantly swallowing at it. This sensation was so realistic that for a moment, Wei Yuan himself had trouble distinguishing whether he was a man or the Jade Toad.
Fortunately, he heeded Zhang Sheng's warnings to stay composed no matter what visions he encountered, keeping his heart undisturbed.
Now, through the eyes of the transformed Wei Yuan, the round moon in the sky was no longer a flat, false moon but a vast sphere that seemed within reach. Moonlight threaded from the moon and was consumed by Wei Yuan in huge gulps, becoming part of his body.
Time passed again, indeterminable, and as he swallowed moonlight, Wei Yuan suddenly felt his body expand, making the small world seem very cramped, even turning around became difficult.
Just then, Wei Yuan heard the sound of a Qing Yin, his Divine Sense withdrawing from the Jade Toad and returning to his own body, followed by Zhang Sheng's voice, "That's enough."
Wei Yuan got up after concluding his practice, only to notice that dawn's light had begun to shine outside the window, the night having passed without him realizing.
Zhang Sheng inquired about his experience during cultivation, offered some more advice, and then told Wei Yuan to rest. As Wei Yuan had not reached the state where he could replace sleep with cultivation, he returned to his bedroom to sleep, waking up naturally after an hour.
In the following days, Zhang Sheng imparted common knowledge of cultivation to Wei Yuan during the day, while Wei Yuan practiced on his own at night.
On his second attempt at cultivation, Wei Yuan had become much more adept, quickly losing himself once again and transforming into the Jade Toad.
He felt the space around him was cramped, as if he were caged, with any turn being laborious. Immobilized, Wei Yuan could only strive to swallow the moonlight. With every ingestion of moonlight, he felt his body become more solid. As he swallowed, Wei Yuan suddenly saw a colossal figure looming in the round moon, followed by a wisp of familiar dark Qi, which entered his belly with the moonlight.
As the dark Qi entered his stomach, Wei Yuan's perception instantly expanded a bit, finally breaking through the invisible barrier, and extending into the void. Floating in the void were many invisible particles that could be drawn by consciousness and integrated into the earth beneath him. As more particles were drawn in, the ground beneath Wei Yuan finally expanded a bit, and the restraints on his body correspondingly loosened slightly.
Within Wei Yuan's Sea of Consciousness, there was a piece of land about a zhang in size. On the ground, there was a large rock, and on it lay a completely white Jade Toad, with its head raised to swallow the moonlight. Now, at the edge of the ground beneath the rock, a new patch of land the size of a palm appeared, slowly taking form.
As soon as the new patch of land solidified, Wei Yuan was awakened by Zhang Sheng. Following his usual routine, Zhang Sheng inquired about the cultivation process and then deduced that the shadow Wei Yuan saw in the round moon was a reflection of his own Luck, and the black Qi mixed in with the moonlight was extracted from his own Luck.
The third day of cultivation was the same. From the start, Wei Yuan saw the shadow in the round moon, and as he swallowed the moonlight, he continuously absorbed the dark Qi, causing a new ring of soil to appear beneath him.
The three days of cultivation flew by. All of the Heart Purifying Pills were used up, and next was the grand ceremony of ancestor worship.
That morning, Wei Yuan got ready early, and after meditating for half an hour under Zhang Sheng's guidance, with a sincere heart, he made his way to the Ancestor Master Hall.
The Ancestor Master Hall stood atop a high mountain, with craggy rocks and a waterfall cascading from the heavens, eventually forming Mirror Lake at the foot of the mountain. The mountain was dotted with flowers of various colors, their exotic fragrances pervasive. Should a mortal spend some time on this mountain and inhale the scent of the Immortal Trees' blossoms, they could extend their life by ten years. A path paved with azure jade meandered upwards, leading directly to the summit.
Wei Yuan was carried to the top by Zhang Sheng's Daoist Skill. Each breath caused a blurring in Wei Yuan's vision, and when it cleared, he found himself a hundred zhang away. Wei Yuan tried to discern his surroundings and realized that during the blurring, the landscape around him was rapidly retreating due to the high speed, making it difficult to distinguish.
Even at Zhang Sheng's pace, it took a while to arrive in front of the Ancestor Master Hall. By then, the square in front of the hall had already gathered several hundred people.
The Ancestor Master Hall was a hundred zhang tall, with two red copper doors each thirty zhang high, seemingly designed for some exceedingly tall Immortal.
At that moment, the doors of the hall stood wide open, revealing an Ancestor Master Statue thirty zhang tall that looked like a young Cultivator, even with a somewhat youthful air. It was said the Ancestor Master had established his Dao Foundation before reaching the age of twenty, so his appearance was fixed from that point on, unchanged even until his ascension. The statue had one hand behind its back and the other holding a scroll, with four Immortal Swords floating around it.
The sculpture was lifelike, the robes seeming to flutter in the wind. More surprisingly, the four Immortal Swords floated in mid-air without any visible support.
Wei Yuan was brought outside the hall by Daoist Zhili, along with all the other newly accepted disciples, waiting for their names to be called.
Daoist Zhili called out names one by one. The new disciples paid their respects in batches, grouped by region, with some groups having five and others having seven or eight.
The induction notice distributed to the new disciples had already listed the procedure for worshiping the Ancestor Master, which required seven kowtows followed by silently reciting the eulogy in their hearts. The eulogy, consisting of over a thousand characters, primarily recounted the deeds of the Ancestor Master, described the current situation in the Mortal World, and the disciples' motives for entering the sect to cultivate, among other details. There were no techniques in the entire eulogy, but if a new disciple approached it with sincerity and possessed a good foundation and Luck, they might receive the Ancestor Master's favor and a gift.
Previously, Zhang Sheng had received two strands of Sword Qi from the four Immortal Swords, using them to establish his Immortal Foundation, creating quite a stir at the time.