Yuan's eyes dimmed when he heard that. The little ray of hope that he always had was now distinguished immediately. Tears started appearing in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall.
"Mother always told me there would be a way; I just haven't found it", he muttered to encourage himself. His fists were tightly clenched as he stopped giving himself to despair. Still, he felt his heart was tearing apart.
But Senior San wasn't done yet. His next words lit the candle of hope in him once again, "To break the seal, you will need highly pure energy—a lot of it. I can help you lose the 1st layer so that you can cultivate, but after that, you will have to depend upon yourself."
Yuan's eyes widened as he listened. He couldn't believe his ears. To make sure, he immediately asked, "You can help me break it?"
"I can only help you loosen the first layer of the seal," Senior San confirmed. "But after that, you will have to rely on your own efforts to cultivate and gradually break the rest."
Yuan breath hitched, his voice trembling as he asked, "Does this mean I can finally cultivate?"
"Yes," Senior San firmly nodded.
Yuan jumped on his feet. He just couldn't contain it. He began laughing like a maniac. He felt his world lighting up all of a sudden. Senior San shook his head and smiled seeing him acting like an idiot.
It took Yuan a while to calm himself. "Senior, what materials are required to break the formation?" he asked.
"You don't need to gather any material," Senior San replied.
Yuan looked at him with confusion. A few moments earlier, he heard Senior San saying he would need highly pure energy, and now he was telling him he didn't require any material. Yuan couldn't understand.
Senior San saw through his confusion and smiled, "It is very simple. Once you start cultivating, the seal will gradually weaken. When your cultivation reaches the peak of your current major realm, you will have to break it using your own qi to enter the next major realm.
"But…" Senior San stopped to let him absorb his words before continuing, "But if you fail to break through when it's time, your cultivation will stall, and you might even suffer a backlash. Your meridians could be crippled, and you could die."
Yuan shuddered at the thought of his meridians breaking. He had known the pain of being unable to cultivate all his life, but at least he had the hope. However, if his meridians were to really break, he couldn't comprehend the idea.
"So, you have to prepare before attempting it." Senior San explained calmly.
Yuan nodded his head like a hen pecking the grains. "I'll do whatever it takes," he vowed. "Please, help me."
Senior San gave a rare, approving nod. "I will, but remember—this will be a long road. And once you start, you must commit to it."
The next month passed in a blur of training. Yuan's body was put through rigorous exercises, strengthening his muscles and fortifying his spirit. To him, this training regime was worse than his parents. He didn't know exactly why Senior San was doing this, but he trusted him.
Every day, his resolve grew stronger and stronger, especially when he thought about cultivating, he trained with more enthusiasm.
Finally, the day came when the first layer of the seal would be loosened.
Senior San had Yuan sit in the middle of the formation that he had carefully set up. Yuan sat down, trying to steady his nerves. He had spent the past month training his body under Senior San's watchful eye, but nothing could erase the nervousness he was feeling right now.
"Yuan, keep yourself calm no matter what happens," Senior San's voice echoed in Yuan's mind. "It will be a little painful at the start, but you must endure it."
Yuan's heart raced at the thought of the coming pain, but he steadied his breath and nodded.
He gave Red and Silver a reassuring look, who were watching him nervously from the side. After closing his eyes, Yuan began regulating his breathing and calmed his heart.
After making sure everything was ready, Senior San released his qi and activated the formation. As soon as the formation activated, the surrounding Qi gathered and began to flow into Yuan's body in a steady stream.
The moment Spirit Qi entered his body, Yuan felt refreshed but that feeling lasted only for a few moments. Suddenly, his whole body was engulfed by an unbearable pain, from both inside and outside of his body. He felt as if he has eaten a chunk of burning coal and someone was poking him with sharp needles all over his body.
Yuan gasped as pain ripped through his body. He remembered Senior San saying that it would be a little painful but this was far from little. He could hear himself screaming his lungs out. "This... this is too much!"
But Senior San remained calm and unwavering, using his overbearing qi to keep him in place. He even forbade Red and Silver from disturbing him. He knew this pain was necessary. If the formation had loosened naturally, Yuan wouldn't have felt any pain but now they were forcefully loosening the 1st layer.
"This is the only way to force the seal. You must endure it. Do not let it break you." Senior San calm voice echoed in his head.
Yuan writhed in agony, shouting out as the qi continued entering his body.
After half an hour, just when he was on the verge of falling unconscious, Senior San stopped the formation.
Yuan collapsed, gasping for breath, his body aching with exhaustion. His clothes were drenched with sweat and his limbs trembled from the toll the process had taken on him.
Senior San began inspecting Yuan's body, poking at various points to check his condition.
After a while, he nodded with a satisfied look on his face. "You've endured well," a sly smile appeared on his face as he continued, "You will need to go through this only six more times,"
Yuan froze, the thought of enduring more pain nearly overwhelmed him as Senior San's words echoed in his head.
Without waiting for Yuan to process his words, Senior San waved his paw, knocking Yuan unconscious.