253: Chapter 253 Daoist Enlightenment, White Lotus Spiritual Plant

"The Heavenly River Purifying Qi we are absorbing originates from the second-order Purifying Heavenly River. Its internal principles are extremely rich. Any student inclined toward the purification path might consider this to determine their Dao path; it is by no means a lesser path to the heavens."

"Following the Federation's vigorous promotion of the Heavenly River Water series of spiritual comprehension refining techniques, a large number of cultivators practicing Heavenly River Purifying Qi are expected to emerge. Given the profound nature of this Heaven and Earth Qi, I fear it will be in short supply. You students should plan early and apply for quotas."

Half an hour later, under the light of countless stars in the night sky, once Li Mingxiao was the first to successfully refine the first drop of Body Cleansing Dew, the other students also finished refining their first drops one after another.

After Li Mingxiao succeeded, he used his True Qi to draw this drop of Body Cleansing Dew into his body, allowing the Body Cleansing Dew to circulate throughout his entire being.

He clearly felt that the subtle sense of stagnation he usually experienced when True Qi circulated through his meridians was soothed by the Body Cleansing Dew. His three types of Qi became clear, and he felt a sense of comfort throughout his entire body.

The amount of time he could circulate True Qi throughout his body each day had actually increased slightly.

He couldn't help but marvel.

"It really is remarkable. This kind of wondrous effect is much more convenient than taking medicinal pills that still require True Qi to clear away impurities. It is also simple to produce, and for students like us, there is almost no cost."

Soon, with the help of the middle-aged teacher, all the students finished refining their first drop of Body Cleansing Dew. For these youths who had already begun to come into contact with supernatural knowledge during middle school, this simple refining technique was easy to grasp, even for those not skilled in this path.

Returning to his single dormitory at the school from the rooftop late at night, he chatted with his parents for a while using his personal terminal before opening the holographic projection module for the intermediate-to-advanced permission application assessment.

Today was the final question: "Understanding of Qi Refining Practice." This assessment only required the applicant to explain their understanding of cultivation, and once submitted, it would naturally be reviewed by a specialized intelligent entity.

Li Mingxiao had prepared for this question long in advance. In addition to some standard templates he found on the network, he had also added some of his own insights.

"Qi Refining practice, in essence, is still about learning from the Heaven and Earth Qi, comprehending principles, and aligning with imagery. In this process, one raises their life level step by step until reaching the limit to sublimate into the supernatural..."

"Submit."

After clicking the submit button, it took no more than 10 minutes for the application interface to display the message that he had passed.

"Student Li Mingxiao, you have passed the intermediate Qi Refining permission assessment. The system will now open intermediate knowledge to you. Please remain true to your heart and keep your feet on the ground."

Soon, new modules for Wondrous Qi, principles, and spells appeared in his personal knowledge interface.

It was not that those at the 1st to 3rd layers of Qi Refining could not come into contact with Wondrous Qi, but rather that due to the combination and nourishment of life essence, the power of Wondrous Qi refined nowadays was far different from the past.

For cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining, it is extremely difficult to master Wondrous Qi with extremely powerful and extreme attributes, which is why knowledge of the relevant refining methods was restricted.

Li Mingxiao did not dwell on this, but instead began to understand this higher-level knowledge, filling in the gaps in his plans for his future Dao path.

Three years passed. Relying on his ability to never forget what he saw and his increasingly powerful comprehension, he applied for and received advanced knowledge permissions at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Knowledge touching upon the first order of the supernatural, such as Qi numbers, imagery, and Dao Foundation spirit items, was revealed to him. Unlike the excitement he felt when applying for intermediate permissions three years ago, his temperament had gradually become steady after long-term tempering.

"Found it. It's you, [pure lotus]."

After entering Supernatural University, Li Mingxiao followed his plan and chose the Breeding Department of the Spirit Plant major, becoming an intermediate Qi Refining breeder.

Through his understanding over these years, he discovered that the success rate for Dao Foundation cultivators to advance was truly not high. In the last three years, only last year were there two who successfully built their Dao Foundation; otherwise, it remained one per year.

Compared to the countless talented cultivators in existence, it was truly too difficult.

Therefore, to ensure foolproof success, he thought of a method similar to the Bronze Human Race cultivating their natal magical treasures: cultivating a natal spirit plant.

Even if he failed to establish his Dao Foundation and had to take medicinal pills to save his life, he could still ascend to the supernatural by cultivating his natal spirit plant, which would, in turn, drive him to establish his Dao Foundation once more.

It was not that no one had researched this method, but the versions circulating on the market were too crude, and similar papers were still in the research stage.

This was also his own research direction.

And he intended to use the increasingly available spirit items related to the Heavenly River Water series to cultivate a White Lotus of World Purification with pure purification imagery.

The spirit plant and the host serve as Dao references for each other, jointly improving their understanding of purification imagery and principles, which is the only way to have hope of building a Dao Foundation and achieving the supernatural.

"However, I must first obtain a professor position at Supernatural University to use those expensive and precise large-scale observation instruments. Otherwise, the time required to cultivate a spirit plant with a single type of imagery would be at least a dozen years or more."

Thus, relying on his ability to never forget what he saw and his powerful comprehension, Li Mingxiao published multiple breeding papers and journals on lotus-type spirit plants during his university years.

As his Dao cultivation gradually deepened and fed back into his Qi Refining practice, he finally reached the late stage of Qi Refining before graduation and was able to stay at the school to take a position.

Subsequently, after another 7 years, he published a large number of papers related to lotus flowers and purification imagery, which propelled him from a lecturer all the way to an associate professor, securing a large laboratory for his White Lotus of World Purification project to conduct in-depth research.

By this point, 13 years had passed since the Federation released the Heavenly River Water spirit item refining technique.

Relying on his deep research accumulation in purification imagery and lotus spirit plants, he cultivated the first generation youth version of the White Lotus of World Purification. Likewise, relying on the many awards he received during his tenure, he achieved the Great Circle of Qi Refining.

However, there was still no progress on the construction of the supernatural law runes.

After learning about the concept of Qi Numbers, he keenly realized the bonus this direction provided to cultivation.

Using his associate professor authority, Li Mingxiao reviewed the experiences of previous Dao Foundation cultivators before they achieved their breakthroughs.

Every single one of them was a leader in their respective fields, having at least broken through a key technology and promoted the implementation of technology that benefited the majority of people.

"Looking at the achievements of every past Dao Foundation cultivator, they all had remarkable accomplishments in a certain field. Their results were quickly promoted, benefiting countless cultivators. In this regard, they must have gathered a large amount of Qi Numbers, which helped increase the probability of success."

"If I want to maximize the probability of building my Dao Foundation, the accumulation of Qi Numbers is also indispensable."

He then looked at the Pure Heart White Lotus sprouting in the laboratory, and ideas began to form in his mind.

Yet he did not know that this decision, under the grand trend of promoting Heavenly River Water spirit items, would accumulate an unimaginable amount of Qi Numbers for him.