On the second day, Su Hao, carrying two vials of prepared genetic modification liquid, arrived at a secluded corner within the immortal sect. After confirming no one was around, he quickly manifested a diamond armor beneath his feet, forming a runic teleportation array.
Su Hao placed one vial at the center of the teleportation array and relayed a message to Yashan through a small black room, “Yashan, are you ready? Initiate the runic array disc!”
The voice of Yashan manifested in the small black room, “Ready, Boss Wei. Activate the runic array disc now!”
Su Hao then activated the runic array disc beneath his feet. In the next moment, two distant runic array discs simultaneously activated and sustained operation. In less than ten seconds, a faint smile appeared on Su Hao’s lips, “It worked!”
The spaces connected within the two spatial runic array discs, and a small disc nested inside the inner circle of the spatial runic array disc started up. The light above slightly distorted, and the reagent on the disc vanished.
Entering the space of the ball, Su Hao asked, “Yashan, did you receive it?”
Excitedly, Yashan replied, “Received, Boss Wei!”
Su Hao smiled, “It seems the runic array disc is indeed effective!”
Having sent the reagent to Yashan, Su Hao’s task was complete. He leisurely returned to his room, entered a meditative state, and began cultivating his ‘mind.’
“According to the Master’s explanation, merely sensing spiritual energy is not enough. At least, the ‘mind’ needs to possess a stronger ‘meticulous’ ability to transform spiritual energy into spiritual power. So, what is ‘spiritual energy’? I understand that, but what about ‘spiritual power’?”
A month passed as Su Hao focused on cultivation.
One day, Su Hao reached the peak, where Feng Cheng had been waiting. As Su Hao arrived, Feng Cheng quickly ran over with a small stool, “Senior Brother Feng Wei, please have a seat.”
Being born into a noble family and surrounded by lackeys, Feng Cheng had learned a bit of finesse. Now, when he employed his ‘lackey’ skill, it felt completely natural.
Su Hao sat down as a matter of course, took out a book, and started reading. Seeing the dazzling sunlight, Feng Cheng moved to the sunny side to shade Su Hao.
For the smooth progress of cultivation and the extension of life, Feng Cheng was also putting in great effort.
When Feng Ling arrived, Feng Cheng, in high spirits, set up a small stool, “Master, please have a seat!”
What should have been a solemn master-disciple meeting turned into a casual teatime talk.
Feng Ling didn’t mind and sat down, saying, “Feng Wei, Feng Cheng, let’s hear about your current progress in cultivation.”
Su Hao stated, “Master, my ‘mind’ has achieved meticulousness, and I can proceed to the next stage of cultivation!”
Feng Cheng added, “Master, I can now enter a meditative state…”
Feng Ling, unsurprised, said, “Very well. Feng Wei, let’s move on to the next phase of cultivation. Feng Cheng, continue practicing your cultivation technique!”
Feng Ling casually handed a small booklet to Su Hao, “This is the ‘Qi Induction’ part of the ‘Cloud Amidst Moon Spirit Technique.’ Memorize it all, and I’ll explain it to you.” Su Hao took it, read through it, and said, “Master, I’ve memorized it.”
Feng Ling, though anticipating it, always found it somewhat unbelievable whenever she witnessed Su Hao’s performance of the ‘Speed Memorization Technique.’ Could a person truly achieve such memory speed?
Feng Ling said, “Before explaining, let me talk about the subdivision of the early stages of the Qi Induction. This is just for reference, not absolute.”
“As the name suggests, the Qi Induction is the process of converting spiritual energy into spiritual power and accumulating enough spiritual power in the body. The Qi Induction has four small stages: ‘Sense Qi,’ ‘Accumulate Purity,’ ‘Simulate Existence,’ and ‘Form Residence.’ Of course, you can also abbreviate them as Initial, Intermediate, Advanced, and Completion. Of course, if you prefer to say Qi Induction Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4, I won’t object. However, those who truly have a profound understanding of cultivation won’t use clear distinctions like Initial, Intermediate, Advanced because the names of the small stages inherently guide cultivation. If encountering a bottleneck later on, repeating the names might bring enlightenment and help break through.”
Su Hao silently noted Feng Ling’s words and then pondered the meaning of these terms repeatedly.
These words widely circulated in the cultivation world must be the essence summarized by senior cultivators with a profound understanding of cultivation. Su Hao had no doubt about the accuracy of these terms.
‘Qi Sense,’ ‘Purity Accumulation,’ ‘Existence Simulation,’ and ‘Residence Formation’ correspond to the characteristics of each small stage of the Qi Induction.
Su Hao asked, “So, Master, now that I can sense spiritual power, and my ‘mind’ is meticulous, can it be considered that I have reached the ‘Sense Qi’ stage?”
Feng Ling smiled, “Feng Wei, in our cultivation, we only distinguish clear realms, not specific small stages. The division into Initial, Intermediate, Advanced is just to give cultivators a clearer idea of how to proceed on their cultivation path. You don’t need to worry about whether you’re at ‘Sense Qi’ or ‘Accumulate Purity.’ In general, it’s all part of the Qi Induction.”
Su Hao realized, “I see.”
Feng Ling said, “These stages are just guidelines. Let me tell you, the approach to cultivation is just a roadmap. You need to know where you want to go, but it doesn’t mean that to achieve your cultivation goals, you must follow the same roadmap. As long as you achieve your cultivation goals, any path you take is correct! If you get stuck in the subdivision of small stages, thinking today I’m in ‘Accumulate Purity,’ tomorrow I’ll strive for ‘Simulate Existence,’ you’ll fall into a fixed pattern of cultivation, and the path of cultivation is destined to be short-lived. Truly advanced cultivators in the Nascent Soul and Fusion stages are insightful and agile in thinking. Those who rigidly stick to a path, regardless of their outstanding spiritual roots, reach Foundation Establishment and then disintegrate in around three hundred years, turning to ashes!”
“In our cultivation, before the Golden Core stage, we look at spiritual root talent; after the Golden Core stage, we consider the realm of thought. Don’t let your superior spiritual root talent make you arrogant. Do you understand, Feng Wei?”
Su Hao furrowed his brow, pondered, and then asked, “Master, does that mean that each realm, like Qi Induction, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, etc., has a final purpose, and as long as you smoothly achieve this final purpose, regardless of the process, it’s okay? Similarly, everyone’s ultimate goal in cultivation is to break through the Fusion stage, and the standard method for breaking through the Fusion stage is ‘Qi Induction,’ ‘Foundation Establishment,’ ‘Golden Core,’ ‘Nascent Soul,’ ‘Fusion.’ However, there is no rule stating that you must follow this process to achieve the goal. The reason why the cultivation world follows this process is simply because it is universally applicable, right?”
Feng Ling said, “You can understand it that way! What I want to tell you is that in cultivation, the initial intention is more important than anything else. What we detest the most is losing direction midway through cultivation. Cultivation is not something that can be achieved overnight; it takes ten, a hundred, or even a thousand years. During this long period, sitting in meditation every day, it is easy for inner demons to arise. If one day you cannot resist the temptation of inner demons, forget your initial intention, forget the ultimate goal of cultivation, the path of cultivation will be completely cut off.”
Su Hao thought, “In other words, cultivation is an activity oriented toward goals. So, there is much more flexibility in the space that can be manipulated!”
Achieving goals was something Su Hao excelled at; he believed he had many methods. If Plan A didn’t work, there was always Plan B… up to Plan Z.
After thinking for a moment, Su Hao asked directly, “Master, what is an inner demon? Is there any specific explanation?”
Feng Ling shook her head, “There is no specific explanation. Any thoughts contrary to the initial intention can be called an inner demon.”
Su Hao understood. The so-called ‘inner demon’ wasn’t a sinister creature that emerged from the heart to devour the soul. The term referred to thoughts or ideas deviating from the established path due to external temptations.
In the long years of cultivation, what was most easily lost was the purpose of cultivation. Who could guarantee that they would sit in meditation daily for ten years, maintaining their initial intention? Unintentionally, one might head in a different direction.
