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The description of the Path of Immortality in the *Five Spirit Qi Absorption Technique* made Li Fan feel increasingly uneasy.
The Golden Core Stage was still relatively normal, with practices like absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, borrowing the wonders of heaven and earth, and peeking into the methods of heaven and earth.
However, after the Nascent Soul Stage, the tone gradually became more and more insane.
Seize the Essence of Heaven and Earth, Extract the Marrow of Heaven and Earth, Sacrifice the Spirit of Heaven and Earth...
And finally, Defy the Laws of Heaven and Earth.
Just reading these words would make one feel a chill run down their spine.
Heaven's Will is supreme, giving birth to all things.
For cultivators to practice in such a way is no different from rebelling against heaven, a grave act of defiance.
What does this mean? Don't cultivators know this?
Unfortunately, this method of cultivation progresses too quickly.
The book records that after Venerated Immortal spread his teachings, a large number of ordinary people who originally could not cultivate suddenly rose to prominence within a few decades.
Cultivators at the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Soul Transformation stages sprang up like mushrooms after rain.
At that time, the prosperity of the cultivation world was such that Golden Core cultivators were as common as dirt, and even Nascent Soul cultivators were more numerous than dogs.
And those who insisted on the ancient methods of cultivation, seeing their own cultivation levels easily surpassed by mere mortals, how many could still hold on to their principles and not try Venerated Immortal's method?
Thus, the ancient methods of cultivation gradually declined, and the new methods took their place.
A thousand years after the new methods spread, the cultivation world reached its peak.
Unfortunately, the heavens are just, and when things reach their peak, they must decline.
Countless cultivators greedily plundered the resources of heaven and earth without restraint.
Even the increasingly frequent Heavenly Tribulations could not suppress the growing number of cultivators.
Finally, the day came when Heaven's Will retaliated.
Great Change of Heaven and Earth, Great Tribulation Arrives.
Since then, the cultivation of immortal arts could no longer be practiced together!
The thriving cultivation world was dealt a severe blow.
Cultivators, in their struggle for survival, fell into endless mutual killings.
For a long time, the cultivation world had a sense of decline and decay.
It took thousands of years to slowly recover.
Now, cultivators have become accustomed to the malevolence of heaven.
They have learned from their experiences and established a new cultivation order on the wasteland left after the great calamity.
...
With the introduction of the current cultivation world's origins complete, the subsequent content of the book was about the "Five Spirit Qi" technique.
If a person who has removed the miasma cannot easily draw qi into their body, they can cultivate their own five spirits, forcefully absorb the essence of heaven and earth, and then refine it to break through to the Qi Condensation Stage.
The so-called five spirits refer to the five innate emotions of a person.
Greed, Fear, Rage, Hatred, and Selfishness.
These five emotions are hidden in the human heart, inexhaustible and unceasing.
The Five Spirit Qi uses these five spirits as the driving force to cultivate the [Root of Heaven and Earth] in the dantian.
The Root of Heaven and Earth connects the cultivator's dantian to heaven and earth. Once formed, the cultivator can use it to forcefully absorb the essence of heaven and earth and convert it for their own use.
Compared to the ancient methods of cultivation, which relied entirely on talent, the Five Spirit Qi method is characterized by its stability.
Those with exceptional talent can cultivate the Root of Heaven and Earth in just one day and night, embarking on the path of cultivation.
Even those without any cultivation talent can, through persistent effort, form their own Root of Heaven and Earth within a maximum of ten years.
Having learned the method to draw qi into the body, Li Fan began to practice the *Five Spirit Qi Absorption Technique* at home, rarely going out.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself that his cultivation path might not be smooth, it still took him three full years, and he still had not successfully drawn qi.
Li Fan was very clear about his cultivation talent—average, not a genius, but certainly not bad.
The current situation must have another reason.
"The Yellow and Black Heart Cultivation Spell... truly, it's hard to predict whether it will bring good or bad fortune," Li Fan thought, feeling somewhat helpless.
The Five Spirit Qi requires the five emotions as fuel to form the Root of Heaven and Earth.
However, Li Fan's cultivation of the Yellow and Black Heart Cultivation Spell resulted in very little accumulation of these five emotions.
Even if he did not deliberately run the heart-cultivation spell, it would instinctively crush these negative emotions in his mind.
It was like carrying a heavy burden, which significantly slowed down Li Fan's progress.
Li Fan had also tried to draw qi into his body without the Root of Heaven and Earth.
But he clearly did not have Xiao Heng's talent.
The external essence qi completely ignored him.
Without guidance from others, relying solely on his own exploration, Li Fan had no confidence in how long it would take to draw qi into his body.
Therefore, Li Fan decided to stick to the *Five Spirit Qi Absorption Technique* to break through to the Qi Condensation Stage.
It was slow, but it was stable.
What Li Fan had the most of was time.
At the beginning of the three years, He Zhenghao occasionally sent people to inquire about Li Fan's cultivation progress.
But after Li Fan showed no improvement for a long time, he stopped sending people.
On the Tianbao Tower's side, due to Li Fan and Xiao Heng, even without the backing of the Ten Thousand Flowers Chamber of Commerce, their operations in the surrounding islands actually improved.
No one wanted to offend a merchant house that might have a background in immortal teachers, and they tried to avoid conflicts with the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion as much as possible.
Thus, the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion expanded its market significantly over the three years, with a thriving business.
Yin Yuzhen's confidence was greatly boosted, and he was eager to return to Nightfall Island to reclaim control of the Tianbao Tower headquarters.
...
Li Fan only occasionally paid attention to external matters.
Most of his energy was focused on cultivating the Root of Heaven and Earth.
Unfortunately, this was something that could not be rushed.
Li Fan estimated that, if nothing went wrong, he would need about two more years to succeed.
He had been cooped up at home for a long time, and on this day, feeling restless, he decided to go out for a walk.
Without disturbing anyone, he changed his clothes, put on a felt hat, and came to the market on Jade Island.
Compared to three years ago, there seemed to be no change here.
The sounds of haggling, vendors calling out to customers, and children playing and laughing echoed continuously.
Here, Li Fan felt a long-lost sense of "humanity."
The thoughts in his mind, like withered saplings receiving nourishment, sprang up in large numbers.
In just this moment, the progress of the Root of Heaven and Earth exceeded what he had achieved in three days of closed-door cultivation at home.
Li Fan suddenly realized.
For ordinary cultivators, seclusion and focused cultivation are necessary because ordinary people do not lack the five spirits as fuel.
However, Li Fan's situation was special. The heart-cultivation spell in his mind was always running, turning these杂念 into nourishment for his mental strength.
And the *Five Spirit Qi Absorption Technique* was clearly not as advanced as the Yellow and Black Heart Cultivation Spell, unable to compete for much and only able to pick up the leftovers.
Li Fan could not change this situation for now. To speed up the formation of the Root of Heaven and Earth, he needed to increase the amount of杂念 in his mind each day.
Seclusion every day was clearly not the solution; he needed to engage with the world.
Realizing this, Li Fan felt a sense of joy.
It seemed that he might not need two years to reach the Qi Condensation Stage.
...
"Elder Li?" At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind him.
Li Fan turned around, recognized the person, and after a moment, remembered who it was.
It was Zhang Haobo, the captain of the Cangyuan ship from Jade Island, whom he had met once before.
(End of Chapter)