The First Page of Mind Cultivation

The next morning, Li Tan went outside and fetched a bucket of water to hastily wash himself. Large areas of his skin, illuminated by the sunlight, resembled warm jade, exuding an alluring luster.

His previous skin was yellowish-white, a healthy color overall.

But now, Li Tan was surprised to find that after using the Wash Marrow Pill, his skin had transformed into a reddish-white color.

His current skin was fair with a hint of rosiness, like that of a young child, appearing as if it could break with a touch. Li Tan curiously reached out and caressed it a few times.

It wasn't just the appearance of his skin that had changed; its strength had also increased significantly.

His skin's outer surface was now slightly harder than before, though the hardness was limited, but overall, it was better than nothing.

Yesterday, Li Zhi frankly stated he would seek him out today. Li Tan's heart already held a faint guess as to what might happen if his father asked him to choose a Sect.

Would it be a Demonic Path Sect? Or a Righteous Path Sect?

Li Tan only pondered this trivial question for a moment before decisively choosing a Demonic Path Sect.

His father had already joined a Demonic Path Sect and had shown Li Tan through his actions that he was willing to invest resources in cultivating him.

So why would he foolishly go to his father's opposing side?

What would he gain by joining a Righteous Path Sect? Slaying Yao Beasts and eliminating devils, upholding justice? Or standing before Demonic Path Disciples...

To gamble on his father's so-called kindness?

Or to awaken the last shred of affection in his father's heart?

“No, no, no, that's too foolish.”

Not to mention the high probability that Li Zhi would instantly crush him into a meat paste, even if he survived, would it be gambling on his own talent?

Li Tan had no such confidence, naively believing he possessed outstanding talent.

Even with a decent Spiritual Root, a Genius still needs resources to accumulate before their value can be realized.

As one's Cultivation progresses, their understanding of the world naturally deepens.

Humans are the spirits of all creation, favored by Heaven, and from birth, their sentience awakens early.

Unlike the wild beasts in the mountains, whose Aptitude is dull, struggling for hundreds of years before finally Awakening their spiritual intelligence.

How difficult it is for a beast without spiritual intelligence to survive for a hundred years! The life-and-death crises it must face during that time are countless.

Relying on instinct to hunt, the beasts that survive are truly one in ten thousand.

But Awakening spiritual intelligence is just the beginning of the Dao. The level of one's Aptitude determines their upper limit.

Too many predecessors have explored this path, trying every possible means to improve their Acquired Aptitude, one could say they spared no effort.

At this moment, Li Tan recalled the book his mother had left him—Cultivating the Mind.

Cultivating the Mindis a legendary book containing fragmented writings of a powerful Cultivator's various perceptions of the world.

It records the small stories he once experienced, the Realms he comprehended, the intentions he felt, the emotions of the world he touched...

.....................

Cultivating the Mind, first page, “Man's Pursuit”

“The heart beats, and the path moves forward.”

Legend has it that the first person to discover how to improve talent was merely a low-status servant, whose name was Slave 369.

Most servants were not entitled to have names, and 369 himself was well aware of this, not complaining about his lack of a name.

According to his recollection: “Since I can remember, I was informed that my father had already passed away, and there were still 126 years of slave debt left unpaid. During this time, I had to work for my employer.”

And clauses such as not being allowed to escape, not being allowed to resist, and obeying the employer's orders, etc....

The employer, on the other hand, had the right to control their life. If the debt was not paid off during their lifetime, it would be repaid by their descendants.

To prevent some wicked slaves from harming their masters, they had no identity records. Strictly speaking, they were pitiful individuals deprived of human rights.

They had neither nationality nor identity; if they were killed, they could only consider themselves unlucky, as no one would stand up for them.

Whether it was inns, traveling airships, exchanging silver notes, joining mercenary groups...

All were explicitly forbidden and not allowed.

In the records of 369's deeds, the employer was particularly kind, paying them wages every month.

Although it was only 10 copper coins, this was simply impossible in other places!

This filled 369 with hope for life, as if a beautiful life was beckoning to him!

The employer even said repeatedly: “Do you see those exquisite and grand pavilions?”

“Whoever can save ten thousand copper coins can live in those pavilions!”

“Whoever can save three thousand copper coins will be rewarded with a wife!”

The crowd gasped in surprise, and some even knelt on the ground on the spot.

Expressing their gratitude to the employer, praising the employer's kindness.

369 secretly swore that he must work hard! When the time came, he would gloriously marry a wife and show those who looked down on him!

Although he couldn't save ten thousand copper coins, he could definitely save three thousand!

Once he had a wife, saving money for a pavilion would only be a matter of time!

As soon as he thought of those exquisite and grand pavilions, and the hope of living in them during his lifetime, 369's heart couldn't help but pound against his chest.

His blood was boiling, and the light in his eyes burned intensely like a candle flame.

......

Thereafter, 369, filled with hope for the future, worked diligently and never carelessly, fearing that his money would be deducted.

During this period, some resisted and some were dissatisfied, but ultimately, they were only a minority.

And without exception, these people failed to make any waves; they were even ostracized by the masses! Suppressed everywhere!

369 thought these people were truly stupid beyond redemption, after all, he had never heard of any slaves having better treatment than them!

369 often gazed at the horizon, fantasizing about marrying a wife and living in a pavilion in the future! This was the good life!

This was also the deepest desire of most people's hearts.....

30 years later....

369 married the wife he had longed for day and night.

This truly made the newly enslaved people envious; they all regarded 369 as a Senior, and even set 369 as a benchmark in their hearts, as their goal to pursue.

And 369's favorite thing to do was to boast about his achievements in front of the new recruits and guide them through some intricate tasks they didn't understand.

At this moment, 369 felt that he had reached the most fulfilling moment of his life, believing himself to be incredibly happy and incredibly fortunate.

It was only by meeting a good employer that he could be who he was today.

Until one day, 369 was called to serve a young master. This young master needed a temporary servant to accompany him to test his talent.

Thus, 369 witnessed a truly grand spectacle and was even fortunate enough to eat delicacies he had never seen before.

The young master's talent Aptitude was Third Grade High Grade! Perhaps it was due to the young master's influence, or perhaps the envoy from the Upper Sect was in a good mood, even servants like 369, who had no identity, were exceptionally allowed to test their talent.

“As expected, Fifth Grade Low Grade...”

The young master was playful and unwilling to return. The person accompanying the young master was a Foundation Establishment expert, naturally unafraid of danger.

So the young master came up with a plan, asking 369 to take his place for a few days while he went off to play.

369, of course, could not disobey the order, and so...

“369 became the young master.”

Because of the Family Elder's arrangements, no one dared to question the identity of Young Master 369.

“Pointing to a deer as a horse.”

In the following days, 369 enjoyed the power and privilege he should never have touched in his life.

He learned that buying things only required the guards to pull out silver notes, and that every meal required the attendance of young and beautiful maidens.

Time quickly passed another five days. Although there was no news from the young master, 369 knew his dream was about to end.

369 walked blankly towards the study, casually picked up a book, and opened a page, but 369 suddenly realized that as a slave, he couldn't read at all.

He furiously slammed the book onto the ground!

Then, he boisterously called out to the young and beautiful maidens. These maidens had all received strict education and training, excelling in all arts like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

369 unceremoniously ordered the maiden to read the book on the floor for him.

The maiden, without a word of complaint, knelt on the ground, quietly picking up the book, continuously flattering 369, which made 369 extremely satisfied.

“Demonic Path Elder Ming—Bloodthirsty Immortal Master! Deeds”

This Devil Head was exceptionally fond of slaughter, and was never happy without blood. He enjoyed tormenting people to death, then drinking their blood and eating their flesh.

He slaughtered several cities to refine Demonic Pills, which was intolerable by Heavenly Dao! A person of monstrous evil!

He founded the Blood Sect and spread the Dao of Slaughter to the outside world.

According to statistics, during its Peak, the Blood Sect had over thirty thousand Disciples and five Golden Core True Persons, and it publicly proclaimed...

“The Dao of Slaughter is the true great unity of this world. Those who seize my Opportunity must be killed! Enemies must also be killed! Those useful for my Cultivation must still be killed!”

“Slaughter has never stopped, nor will it end because of this. So, does killing equal life?”

“For this ethereal result, this old man has painstakingly searched for hundreds of years, and in the end, I truly found some clues.”

“I discovered that when they die, they become my nourishment, helping me reach the Peak!”

And they will become a part of my body; I will take them with me to the Peak of the mountain!”

“They helped me achieve, and I achieved them!”

“They are still alive! They are my body!!!”

“Hehehehehehe!!!”

Bloodthirsty Immortal Master: “During my exploration, I discovered many interesting things.”

“Actually, everyone is slaughtering. Cultivators eating Yao Beast meat is killing, fighting for Opportunities is killing, and refining Magical Artifacts with living beings is also killing...”

“And Mortals felling trees and clearing weeds is killing, cooking sheep and slaughtering cattle is killing, and enjoying living beings fighting each other is also killing.”

“This world is truly interesting to the extreme. All living beings either kill or are killed, and the Heavenly Dao does not seem to reject slaughter.”

“So, is killing life?”

———Bloodthirsty Immortal Master

Under the encirclement of the Righteous Path Alliance, this Devil Head actually Broke Through to the Golden Core Peak Realm at a critical moment! Then, this Devil Head escaped, though injured.

Hateful, hateful! ———Chu Tian of Blood Blade Sect

As the maiden below finished telling the story, 369 lowered his head, silent, his eyes shining brightly!

“Eating is killing? Then killing must be...”

“My life!”

“Then, as the spirit of all creation! If one eats, would it not be even more beneficial?”

The moment this thought took root, 369's mind surged like a tide, creating enormous waves that did not subside for a long time.

His body also trembled uncontrollably, perhaps from joy, or perhaps from fear....

Ultimately, 369 was unwilling to die an unknown death in obscurity, so he cruelly killed his young master, eating him in several batches.

The physical body contained a large amount of Spiritual Qi, until he found a gelatinous, half-inch long, jelly-like object near his Dantian.

After 369 devoured it, he was astonished to discover that his originally weak Spiritual Root, which was difficult to even perceive, had grown several times stronger! It even showed a subtle upward trend.

369's cold eyes stared intently at the young master's remains, looking at the pieces of fresh, disgusting matter.

He didn't know what organ fragments they were, but they emitted a bloody stench.

369 said in a cold tone, “I was originally a wild dog from the countryside, able to barely survive on scraps, but the Senior showed me the light!”

“It turns out I don't have to live like a dog; I also have the qualifications to contend for the highest position.”

Low Grade Spiritual Root holders will absorb High Grade Spiritual Roots, but about sixty to seventy percent will be wasted, probably because Low Grade Spiritual Roots have poor absorption.

Every appearance of an astonishing Genius is also a slaughter, and the Geniuses who can rise are even rarer.

After all, in this world, resources and time are clearly more important; only those protected by large Sects or those with talent in top Families have a hope of survival.

Everyone is unwilling to be limited by this and is desperately pursuing the so-called immortality.

For this, they become even more frantic, they will seize all the resources they can, after all, most people's Aptitude is still mediocre.

Those top Immortal Dao Sects and Demonic Path Sects even have Golden Core and Nascent Soul great experts with heaven-reaching Cultivation and outward-projecting spiritual consciousness.

There's no telling what methods they might have for extracting Spiritual Roots by drawing out souls and refining spirits.

Li Tan carefully took out the Storage Ring. Since a child from a poor Family couldn't possibly own a Storage Ring, this made it difficult for him; he didn't know where to start for a moment.

After some struggle, Li Tan unintentionally probed with his mind, and it worked!

Li Tan indeed saw the contents of the Storage Ring. Inside, there were 2000 Spirit Stones, and the space was not the lowest-grade 1 cubic meter, but a full 2 cubic meters!

The 2000 Spirit Stones were piled to one side, like a miniature mountain, shimmering with luxurious luster.

Li Tan's eyes widened; this was the first time in his life he had seen such a massive quantity of Spirit Stones, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Next to the pile of Spirit Stones was a Cultivation Technique. With just a thought, Li Tan took it out. Upon receiving the Cultivation Technique, he saw Fiend Corpse Condensation Method》written on the cover.

《Corpse Refining Method》. It indeed seemed to be a Demonic Path Cultivation Technique. Since Li Tan had not yet Awakened his Spiritual Root, he couldn't Cultivate it at the moment, so he could only read it first.

This feeling was very uncomfortable, like showing a delicious roasted chicken to a hungry homeless man, but then telling him it wasn't for him!

But rather, it was the food he was about to eat!

The last page of the Fiend Corpse Condensation Method introduced the types of refined corpses. There were many types of refined corpses, but the main ones were: “Fiend Corpse, Blood Corpse, Demonic Corpse, Puppet Corpse.”

Among them, the Demonic Corpse had the strongest combat power, but its Realm could not surpass its host!

Demonic Corpses were arrogant and worshipped powerful hosts. If the host's strength was lower than the Demonic Corpse, it would commit patricide!

It also didn't rule out the possibility of the host being injured and suffering backlash. This type of refined corpse was extremely dangerous!

Fiend Corpses were powerful and stable, but they had one major drawback: their heart pulse was connected to the host.

“Both prosper or both suffer.” If the host died, the Fiend Corpse would also die.

However, if the Fiend Corpse died first, the host would not die immediately, but would gradually be invaded by Evil Qi into the Cultivator's body through a slow loss of life.

Of course, this also gave the Cultivator more room for maneuver. If there were a large number of Heaven And Earth Treasures during this period, one could cling to life.

If there was dense Evil Qi around, one could also use the Evil Qi for their own benefit, thereby resisting the invading Evil Qi within their body.

However, Fiend Corpses were greedy. If the host did not improve them for a long time, there was a certain chance they would escape.

Even among the cruel Corpse Fiend, there were representatives of loyalty!

“Blood Corpse!”

Blood Corpses would not betray their host and were the host's most loyal slaves.

However, Blood Corpses were mostly used as cannon fodder, because Blood Corpses were not only small in size but also among the lowest in combat power among Corpse Fiend, and their advancement speed was very slow.

But their advantages were also obvious: feeding them only required a bit of ordinary blood, and they were safe to use without worrying about patricide.

As for the last type, “Puppet Corpse.”

Speaking of Puppet Corpses, they were quite special.

Puppet Corpses were the most stable and absolutely obeyed commands, but their Realm could not be improved.

This led many Demonic Path Sect Disciples to have a love-hate relationship with them....

Of course, Li Tan currently seemed to have no other choice....