Chapter 37 - 26: Daoist’s Method, Unexpected Breakthrough

Chapter 37: Chapter 26: Daoist’s Method, Unexpected Breakthrough

Inside the Grotto Heaven, Li Yinsheng sat cross-legged in silent meditation, immersed in the Circulation of Merits.

"Becoming a Daoist marks the reversal of one’s innate state, the beginning of shedding the mortal shell and forging immortal bones. It is fraught with extreme peril! Proceed with utmost caution."

Every journal left behind by senior Daoists contained differing insights and descriptions regarding the breakthrough to become a Daoist. This single sentence, however, was repeatedly emphasized in all of them.

It was widely acknowledged in the Cultivation Realm that before a Cultivator became a Daoist, they remained mortals of flesh and blood. The only distinction lay between "mortals without Cultivation," "mortals with Cultivation," and "mortals with profound Cultivation."

Even though Cultivators could cast Magic, go for days or even a full month without food or water, and Body Refining Cultivators possessed boundless strength—making them seem like Immortals in the eyes of true mortals—they still hadn’t completely shed their mortal shells. The most crucial point was that the lifespan of a Cultivator who had yet to become a Daoist would not increase due to their Cultivation. Having Cultivation only guaranteed that an ordinary Cultivator could live a life free of illness and pain until they died of natural causes in old age.

When it came to actual lifespan, most Cultivators could only live to be a hundred, with some living to a hundred and twenty or slightly longer. While this was undoubtedly a very long life for a mortal, there were ordinary mortals who had reached such ages as well. It wasn’t just in terms of "death" that the theoretical lifespan limit of Cultivators mirrored that of mortals; even when it came to "aging," Cultivators only fared slightly better.

An ordinary mortal who hadn’t cultivated would begin a noticeable physical decline starting at age thirty. At that point, no matter how hard they exercised or maintained their health, it was difficult to improve their physical condition. Merely preventing further deterioration was already a significant achievement. For Cultivators who hadn’t become Daoists, once their bodies began to decline, their Cultivation would similarly struggle to progress any further.

However, compared to mortals, Cultivators with relatively high Cultivation could delay this physical decline until past the age of fifty. Those with profound Cultivation could further extend this period to their sixties or even seventies.

Take, for example, the person who had sought out Li Yinsheng to venture out to sea a month ago. The "Martial Uncle Miaoyin" he spoke of was already in her eighties but had yet to become a Daoist. Even if she could maintain a youthful appearance through a unique Cultivation Technique, her internal meridians and organs had already deteriorated, making it difficult for her Cultivation to advance.

But if she managed to reverse her innate state and become a Daoist, her entire being—including her organs and meridians—would undergo a complete rejuvenation from the inside out. Not only would she no longer have to worry about her Cultivation declining, but she would also be able to continue improving. However, someone in her condition had virtually no chance of becoming a Daoist. This was because achieving the realm of a Daoist not only required a profound level of Cultivation, but it also strictly demanded that the Cultivator’s body not be too old.

The older a Cultivator was, the more difficult and perilous the breakthrough became, and the more disastrous the consequences of failure.

After breaking through to become a Daoist, a Cultivator would regain their youth and see a massive increase in lifespan. Their body would no longer be a mortal shell, and the Magic they cast would be several times more powerful than that of someone with equivalent Cultivation who hadn’t reached the Daoist realm. Furthermore, upon becoming a Daoist, the Three Souls and Seven Spirits would naturally merge as one. They would no longer be muddle-headed like mortals; their minds would be perfectly clear, their five senses transcending the mundane. They would be able to see ghosts and deities with the naked eye, and observe the flows of Geomancy.

When casting Magic with a Daoist’s Divine Soul, it would follow their heart’s desire with flawless precision, far surpassing the capabilities of those who had yet to become Daoists. Additionally, there were numerous other benefits, such as being as light as a swallow without needing Magical Power, easily healing from injuries, and not drowning in water or burning in fire.

Yet, with so many advantages, the price of a failed breakthrough was naturally extraordinary. The best-case scenario was a loss of lifespan and a severe drop in Cultivation, allowing the person to linger on for a while longer. The vast majority of those who failed died on the spot, their Cultivation completely erased. And those who stubbornly attempted the breakthrough despite knowing it was impossible would often lose control of their Magical Power, leaving not even a complete corpse behind.

As a result, despite the many Daoist Temples under the Zhengyang Dharma Vein each boasting hundreds of disciples, the number of Daoists in any given Daoist Temple could be counted on one hand.

According to the journals Li Yinsheng had read, if a Cultivator attempted to break through before the age of fifty, their age wouldn’t act as a hindrance. As long as their Cultivation reached a level equivalent to the Tenth Layer of the Qingxuan Scripture, the success rate of becoming a Daoist was a solid seventy to eighty percent. If they only reached the Tenth Layer of the Qingxuan Scripture in their sixties or seventies, the success rate would plummet to a mere ten percent. If they delayed it until their eighties, when their Cultivation was already beginning to decline, attempting a breakthrough meant "out of a hundred who try, ninety-nine will die."

Of course, age and Cultivation weren’t everything; other factors influenced the success rate as well. These included the quality of the Cultivation Technique, how well the technique suited the individual, the superiority or inferiority of one’s own Root Device, and whether they had Heavenly and Earthly Treasures to assist them during the breakthrough.

Therefore, Li Yinsheng was quite curious. For someone like him—only twenty-two years old but already at the Tenth Layer of the Qingxuan Scripture—would he have an even greater advantage during the breakthrough than a fifty-year-old Cultivator, or would it be about the same?

Logically speaking, if a Cultivator could reach the Tenth Layer of the Qingxuan Scripture by age twenty-two, their Root Device had to be that of a peerless genius, and breaking through to become a Daoist would likely happen naturally. However, Li Yinsheng’s Tenth Layer of the Qingxuan Scripture was achieved entirely through bitter Cultivation; his own innate talent was nothing more than an ordinary, inferior Root Device. In reality, the Cultivators mentioned in the journals—those who possessed Cultivation comparable to the Tenth Layer of the Qingxuan Scripture before fifty and successfully broke through—invariably possessed exceptional Root Devices.

Thus, the "seventy to eighty percent" estimate surely factored in having an outstanding Root Device. Because of this, Li Yinsheng felt rather uncertain. With a Root Device like his, that "seventy to eighty percent" would likely be slashed in half, reducing his chances to thirty or forty percent.

Fortunately, the seniors’ journals also mentioned that the higher one’s Cultivation, the easier the breakthrough, and the greater the likelihood of success. Moreover, when a Cultivator whose Major Cultivation was Qi Refining took Refining Body as a Minor, or vice versa, reaching a certain level of proficiency in their Minor path would provide significant assistance during the breakthrough.

For the vast majority of Cultivators, this knowledge was of little use. Everyone knew that higher Cultivation made breakthroughs easier, but as one aged, Cultivation became increasingly difficult to improve, and the difficulty of the breakthrough itself skyrocketed. The same applied to Minoring in another path. Who had that much time to spare? By the time one achieved a decent level of proficiency in their Minor, they might have already missed the optimal age for breaking through, making the benefits entirely not worth the cost.

But Li Yinsheng had no such concerns. He still had fifty years of rewards to "claim"!

If worst came to worst, he could claim the first forty-nine years and use them entirely to elevate the Qingxuan Scripture and the True Blood Secret Scripture, leaving the remaining bit of Cultivation time for the breakthrough. After all, breaking through to become a Daoist was a perilous and difficult process, not a time-consuming one.

Having made up his mind, Li Yinsheng temporarily pushed the matter of breaking through to the back of his mind and fully immersed himself in his Cultivation. This was the longest he had ever spent cultivating in a single session.

When Li Yinsheng opened his eyes again, his irises remained black, but the radiance swirling within them had turned completely azure.

"It’s been forty-eight years... nearly one hundred and fifty years of Cultivation," Li Yinsheng slowly exhaled, murmuring to himself. "The Qingxuan Scripture is at the Eleventh Layer now, and a completely stabilized Eleventh Layer at that.

"As for the True Blood Secret Scripture... this Cultivation Technique is honestly a bit absurd.

"Even though it’s inevitable that a Minor path progresses slightly slower than a Major Cultivation, adding the previous time to this session totals over eighty years of bitter practice. Yet, it has only just barely reached the Seventh Layer.

"The Qingxuan Scripture only took fifty years of bitter practice to reach the Eighth Layer, and the Ninth Layer took around seventy years. The True Blood Secret Scripture is powerful, but it’s far too difficult to train."

But immediately after, Li Yinsheng shook his head. "However... different Cultivation Techniques have their own unique systems for dividing layers. Although the True Blood Secret Scripture is only at the Seventh Layer..."

He casually swiped his hand through the air. The edge of his fair palm drew several white trails in the void, compressing and detonating the air in front of him before thrusting forward violently. The palm wind slammed into the lake’s surface hundreds of feet away. Amidst a deafening BOOM, a wave as tall as a four- or five-story building surged into the sky, before transforming into a pattering drizzle that splashed back into the lake.

"A casual strike from the Seventh Layer of the True Blood Secret Scripture is no weaker than the White Blade Skill at the Ninth Layer of the Qingxuan Scripture..." Li Yinsheng muttered to himself. "From the looks of it, while the True Blood Secret Scripture and the Qingxuan Scripture each have their own merits, the upper limit of the True Blood Secret Scripture is somewhat higher."

Of course, having a high upper limit didn’t mean it could actually be utilized. Compared to a high upper limit, a Cultivation Technique that allowed a Cultivator to achieve greater strength and higher Cultivation within the same amount of practice time was far more practical. After all, how many Cultivators could train their Cultivation Technique to its absolute limit? Ordinary people didn’t need to consider such matters at all. But Li Yinsheng had to consider it.

The Qingxuan Scripture was already at the Eleventh Layer. He still had fifty years of Cultivation left to claim from the three-hundred-thousand talismanic coins reward tier. Upgrading to the Twelfth Layer shouldn’t be difficult when the time came. And after that, the Qingxuan Scripture would hit its ceiling.

While it wasn’t impossible to continue practicing it, Cultivation Techniques were divided into layers because each layer represented a minor qualitative change. Once he reached the peak without a better technique to switch to, he would only be able to blindly accumulate Cultivation. Would he really have to shift his main focus to the True Blood Secret Scripture by then, flipping his Major Cultivation and Minor? Wouldn’t that be a complete reversal of the natural order?

However, he only briefly entertained the thought before setting the issue aside. Compared to what he would cultivate in the future, the immediate breakthrough to become a Daoist took precedence.

Li Yinsheng adjusted his mindset slightly, and the Technique and operational methods for breaking through to the Daoist realm, as recorded in the Qingxuan Scripture, naturally surfaced in his mind. His original intention was simply to recall the breakthrough Technique once more to clear away any stray thoughts. Yet, as the Technique appeared in his mind, he felt the Cultivation of the Qingxuan Scripture within him begin to flow and circulate of its own accord. Moreover, he experienced an inexplicable, refreshing sense of relaxation, as if he were floating toward immortality.

The Technique naturally flowed through his mind, line by line, and the Qingxuan Scripture circulated flawlessly in tandem with it. A moment later, all the sensations faded away, and the circulation of the Cultivation Technique ceased.

Li Yinsheng opened his eyes in bewilderment. First, he looked down at himself, then glanced around, before closing his eyes to calm his mind and perform Introspection. After completing his Introspection, he opened his eyes again, pinched his face, and massaged his limbs. He then stood up, bent his knees, and hopped lightly. Without exerting any force or circulating his Magical Power, he felt as light as a swallow. Relying on his Body Refining Physique, he leaped a hundred feet with the ease of a casual stroll. As he descended, neither his Magical Power nor Qi Blood circulated. With a mere thought, his falling speed drastically slowed, and he eventually touched down gently onto the White Jade Platform.

He raised his hand again and flicked his finger. A hundred-foot-wide blade of light sliced across several hundred feet, instantly clearing a waterway through a sea of lotus flowers wide enough for a large ship to navigate. Furthermore, the waterway curved three times in succession, winding and twisting without the slightest rigidity in its path.

After a moment of contemplation, he raised both hands. With a slight twitch of his left fingertips, a miniature blade of light pierced through his right palm, leaving a one-inch-long puncture wound. As crystal-clear blood oozed from the cut, Li Yinsheng willed his Magical Power to circulate toward it. The bleeding stopped instantly, and a few breaths later, the wound was completely healed.

Once his palm had healed, he cast the Burning Wind Skill. A massive ball of fire burned silently in front of him. Li Yinsheng thrust his hand into it, still refraining from using his Magical Power or Qi Blood to protect his body. A moment later, he pulled his hand out. His palm remained as fair as ever, without even a hint of redness; only the slight traces of blood left from the earlier wound had been burned clean away. He sat back down on the ground, scratching his head.

"My mind is incomparably clear, and the subtlest of colors are distinguishable to my eyes. My internal organs, meridians, and acupoints have all been completely renewed.

"Without needing any Magical Power or Qi Blood, I can make myself as light as a swallow, or even as light as a falling feather.

"When casting Magic, its power has massively increased, yet the consumption hasn’t changed at all. It is also incredibly easy to control, allowing me to achieve fine manipulations that are theoretically impossible.

"As long as there is Magical Power or Qi Blood supporting it, my body’s regenerative abilities are also greatly enhanced...

"I haven’t tested whether I won’t drown in water, but as for not burning in fire... well, mundane fire certainly doesn’t affect me."

Li Yinsheng’s bewilderment gradually faded, replaced by a state that was a simultaneous mix of understanding and profound confusion.

"Looking at it this way, I must have already broken through to become a Daoist, right?

"But... I haven’t even started my breakthrough yet..."