Once cultivation begins, time flies by.
In the blink of an eye, fourteen days have passed.
The sky darkens, the last rays of sunset disappear at the horizon of the Nine Rivers Marsh, and Welcome Island is once again shrouded in darkness.
In a Quiet Chamber, a young man dressed in a cyan Daoist Robe, with five emerald green leaves embroidered on the cuffs, sits cross-legged, eyes tightly shut.
In his hand, he holds a piece of jade paper as thin as a cicada’s wing.
However, the lustre of the jade paper has dimmed to the extreme, seemingly ready to vanish at any moment, and its already delicate thickness seems about to turn into dust.
Though the young man’s eyes are shut tight, his brows are furrowed, as if lost in a dilemma.
On his exposed skin, spots of green light emerge from within, like invisible roots, circulating tirelessly, striving to absorb the "nutrients" of heaven and earth.
But these roots are exceedingly faint and tremulous, as if they could dissipate at any moment.
The young man’s brows tighten further, with a black shadow seemingly looming between them.
But with his tenacious nature, he stubbornly endures, adjusts his breathing, and immerses his heart and spirit into the task.
"Boom!"
Something seems to have broken through a heavy barrier, bursting forth suddenly.
The sound is actually very light, like a seed breaking through soil, but to Gu Yuan, whose heart and spirit are entirely immersed, it sounds like thunder on flat ground, deafening.
Heaven and earth suddenly brighten, spiritual qi surges like a tide, converging toward the dantian from all directions.
Gu Yuan feels as if he has turned into a "sapling," with every inch of his skin and each strand of his hair becoming like roots, constantly absorbing the spiritual qi of the world.
"Rushing!"
This is the first time Gu Yuan has cultivated so effortlessly. In a daze, it seems he can hear the sound of spiritual qi surging like waves.
If the previous Ten Thousand Wood Technique was a small water pipe, now the Evergreen Diagram is fitted with a pump, running at full power.
"Rushing!"
The spiritual qi, like water, illuminates Gu Yuan’s skin, bones, and even hair as it absorbs the endless spiritual qi of the world.
The spiritual qi flows into the dantian, then condenses into mana, flowing like a trickling stream through the meridians and all four limbs, nourishing the body, and strengthening the heart and spirit.
"I’ve finally succeeded!"
Feeling the continuously growing mana, Gu Yuan can’t help but open his eyes and exhale deeply.
For fourteen days, Gu Yuan has been visualizing the True Map, attempting to comprehend the Technique contained within it.
Unfortunately, though his nature is tenacious, his comprehension remains mediocre.
Through half visualization, half summarization, after taking many detours, it took a full fourteen days to barely understand and learn the True Map.
"Huff!"
At that moment, the Imprinting Jade Paper in Gu Yuan’s hand quietly turns to dust, dissipating in the Quiet Chamber.
Looking at the vanished green jade paper, Gu Yuan can’t help but mutter to himself,
"According to Senior Brother Qiu, those with excellent talent can comprehend in three days, and even the average requires only ten days, but it took me a full fourteen days—almost the standard of the Lower Institute, such a huge disparity!"
This cultivation was a trial Gu Yuan set for himself, to see the gap between himself and the disciples of the Cyan Peak Daoist School.
But now it seems that he still lags behind the Inner Courtyard disciples, let alone the True Inheritance of the Golden Core Sect.
His talent and comprehension barely reach the threshold of the Inner Courtyard, not much different from the Lower Institute disciples.
Thinking of this, Gu Yuan couldn’t help but smile wryly and shake his head.
With such talent, unless there are unforeseen circumstances, he is destined to be mediocre among the crowd.
"But luckily, I still have the Stone Bottle..."
Gu Yuan rubs his palm, feeling the Stone Bottle about to be filled, and his heart slightly eases.
This will be his greatest reliance.
"With poor talent, I can only rely on fortune to change things. Fortunately, in this world, besides Dharma Seals, there are also Body Seals and Life Seals. Given enough fortune, defying destiny is not impossible..."
Feeling the four differently shaped Dharma Seals engraved with natural seal characters within him, Gu Yuan’s heart stirred.
"Buzzing!"
Accompanied by the circulation of mana, the four Dharma Seals instantly emerged from his body, floating beside Gu Yuan.
The first Dharma Seal on the left is earthen yellow, inscribed with a miniature Profound Turtle, with seal characters and Dao Pattern below, combining to form a unique pattern that flows without end.
The spiritual qi of the world seems eager, echoing this strange seal pattern.
"Profound Turtle Seal!"
The cultivation in this world is quite unusual.
It is a world where Dao and magic are separate.
Cultivators visualize True Maps and study Techniques, allowing them to cultivate through breathing exercises, gathering mana.
Mana carries power, can condense qi into barriers, move mountains and rivers, focus into needles, like a lump of invisible clay, capable of myriad transformations and many unbelievable feats.