86: Chapter 86 Four Years of Cultivation

With his Spiritual Qi just restored to fullness, Yun Song was about to focus his mind on breaking through to the fourth layer of the Spirit Guiding Art.

The moment before his fingertips formed the seal, he slapped his forehead, his pupils constricting sharply; he had completely forgotten the important task of collecting his annual cultivation resources!

Thinking of the generous supplies about to be in his hands, a burning light rose in his eyes.

Wind rose beneath his feet as he sprinted toward the resource collection area, his sleeves flapping loudly in the rushing wind.

"Creeeeeak." The door to the stone house was pushed open, and inside, Steward Liu was hunched over his desk, organizing records.

Yun Song took two steps in one, moving forward to explain his purpose, but was met with a sigh of exasperation from the other man.

"It took a whole year just to form a Spirit Vortex? This progress is ridiculously slow!"

"How long does it take an ordinary person to form a Spirit Vortex?" Yun Song could not help but ask.

Steward Liu didn't even look up as he flipped through bamboo slips. "Half a month is enough for marrow cleansing, and at most half a year to condense a Spirit Vortex."

These words were like a basin of cold water poured over him; a trace of bitterness rose in Yun Song's heart, and he secretly swore to Cultivate twice as hard.

Complaining aside, Steward Liu did not treat him unfairly.

He tapped his Storage Pouch with his fingertip, and amidst swirling white mist, Spirit Stones, spirit gathering pills, and bigu pills rained onto the table, their colorful radiance illuminating half the room.

Yun Song took a deep breath and injected his Spiritual Qi into the Storage Pouch.

As a light flashed, the one-zhang square internal space unfolded within his Divine Sense.

With a slight movement of his mind, the white mist engulfed the resources and they instantly vanished, arranging themselves neatly inside the pouch.

"Wait!" Just as Yun Song was about to take his leave, he was stopped by a shout from Steward Liu.

The old man leaned forward, his gaze of exasperation seemingly trying to pierce through him. "A whole year to form a Spirit Vortex."

"Is it a lack of talent or are you just being lazy? The Sect expends resources to train you, not to let you slack off!"

Yun Song lowered his head, not saying a word, only nodding in agreement.

It was only after exiting the stone house that his tense expression relaxed, and he muttered softly, "This Steward Liu is noisier than a sparrow."

He kicked a pebble by the roadside, but he understood the good intentions behind the nagging, and quickened his pace to return to his place of Cultivation.

This time, he decided to first study the Turtle Breathing Technique obtained from the Cultivation Technique Pavilion.

This Cultivation Technique was quite profound; it did not specify a layer, but it could conceal one's aura.

Yun Song formed a strange hand seal with both hands, curled like a turtle's claw, and his breathing gradually slowed until it was so faint it was nearly stagnant.

His Spiritual Qi dispersed like fine sand to all parts of his Meridians, and his Spiritual Root emitted a faint, intermittent glimmer.

However, maintaining this state for a long time was a huge drain on both his Spiritual Qi and Mental Energy; within moments, he felt his Dantian grow empty.

Yun Song reached into his Storage Pouch and pinched out a glowing white Spirit Stone with his fingertips.

The moment the Spirit Guiding Art was silently activated, wisps of pale cyan Spiritual Qi emerged from the surface of the Spirit Stone, drilling into his body through his tianling acupoint like thin threads, slowly flowing along his Meridians into his Dantian.

In just a moment, the Spirit Vortex in his Dantian, which had been slightly empty, was filled with Spiritual Qi, and as the glowing light circulated, it reached a state of fullness and Perfection.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the Spirit Stone in his palm, which still held residual warmth and had not yet dissipated its Spiritual Qi. He sighed helplessly, "My Spirit Vortex is still too narrow; I couldn't even exhaust the Spiritual Qi of a single Spirit Stone."

After pondering for a moment, he had already made a decision in his heart.

He suppressed the thought of cultivating auxiliary Cultivation Techniques and resolved to first pour all his focus into improving his cultivation base.

With his mind set, he immediately cast aside distracting thoughts and began the method for the fourth layer of the Spirit Guiding Art, the initial opening of the Spirit Meridians.

Below the waterfall, the surging water stirred up a gale, carrying the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi like an inverted galaxy, pouring down.

Even in such a place rich with Spiritual Qi, he still needed the help of Spirit Stones when cultivating at critical junctures.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye; tens of thousands of Spirit Stones turned into powder, finally exchanging for the total opening of all 108 Acupoints throughout his body.

Although the Spirit Vortex had not grown larger, it had undergone a profound transformation.

When operating the Cultivation Technique, Spiritual Qi no longer entered only through the tianling acupoint; every Acupoint in his body became an intake channel, flowing into the Dantian like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

Feeling the Spiritual Qi surging within his body, Yun Song knew that he had taken another solid step on the path of Immortal Cultivation.