Chapter 3: Soaring Cultivation

The sun was already high in the sky by the time Chen Ping slowly dragged himself out of his hard wooden bed, rubbing his sleep-laden eyes.

He pushed open the creaking wooden door, letting the morning light spill into the courtyard.

He froze.

The courtyard, which had been covered in a thick layer of dust just last night, was now clean and tidy.

The fallen leaves had been swept into a neat pile, the bluestone pavement revealed its original color, and even the cracked water jar in the corner had been scrubbed until it shone.

“Good morning, Master.”

Lin Xiaoyu poked her head out of the kitchen. Her small face was smudged with a bit of soot, and she held a broom that was taller than she was.

“This is…”

“I saw that Master wasn’t awake yet, so I decided to clean the place inside and out.”

Lin Xiaoyu set the broom down, looking a little embarrassed.

“There is hot water in the kitchen for Master to wash up.”

Chen Ping opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

This girl is way too hardworking.

He walked over to the old locust tree in the courtyard. A coarse clay bowl had already been set on the stone table, filled with steaming rice porridge, alongside a small dish of pickled vegetables.

“Have you eaten?” Chen Ping asked.

“I was waiting to eat with Master.”

A warmth bloomed in Chen Ping’s chest. He sat down and gestured for Lin Xiaoyu to join him.

Master and disciple sat opposite each other, sipping their porridge. A morning breeze swept through, carrying the distant chirping of mountain birds.

【Ding! Daily Quest triggered: Guide your disciple to draw Qi into her body and enter the Qi Refining Realm. Quest Reward: Massive rewards.】

Chen Ping’s eyes lit up.

“Xiaoyu,” he said, setting down his bowl with a serious expression.

“Stop cleaning. I will teach you how to cultivate in a moment.”

“Really?” Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up instantly, her excitement plain to see.

“Master is going to teach me right now?”

“Yes.”

Chen Ping stood up and went back inside. After rummaging under his bed for a long time, he finally dragged out a dust-covered wooden chest.

Unlocking it, he found a few yellowed booklets neatly stacked inside.

He pulled out the top booklet and slapped away the dust. On the cover were three ancient, simple characters: 《Qingyun Art》.

“Xiaoyu,” Chen Ping said as he walked back into the courtyard and handed the booklet to her.

“This is the basic cultivation method of the Qingyun Sect. Although it only contains the first volume, it can still take you all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm. It is more than enough for you right now.”

“Thank you, Master!” Lin Xiaoyu took it with both hands, cradling it like a priceless treasure.

Chen Ping patted her head and said gently, “Read it carefully. Ask me if there is anything you don’t understand.”

“Yes, Master.”

Lin Xiaoyu carefully opened the booklet. The first page was the general outline of the cultivation method, written in neat handwriting.

But as she flipped further, she froze.

Aside from the original text of the cultivation method, the margins of the pages were densely packed with annotations.

The handwriting evolved from childish and clumsy at the beginning, to neat and orderly, and finally to hurried and scribbled near the end.

Some notes explained the pathways of the meridians in detail, others marked insights on circulating spiritual energy, and there were even long passages of self-doubt:

“Why does the spiritual energy stagnate here?”

“Three failed attempts. Is my understanding flawed?”

“No progress again today. Am I truly…”

The handwriting on the last few pages was particularly heavy, almost tearing through the paper.

“Master, what are these…” Lin Xiaoyu looked up, her eyes filled with confusion.

Chen Ping sat calmly on the stone stool. He took a sip of the cold rice porridge and said nonchalantly:

“Oh, those. Those are the explanations your grandmaster gave me when I was cultivating back then. I just jotted them down as I went.”

Lin Xiaoyu blinked and said nothing.

Chen Ping felt a bit guilty.

In truth, those were notes he had scribbled down over the past twenty years after repeatedly sneaking over to the other peaks to eavesdrop on lectures.

After all, his own master had only taught him for three months before passing away. The rest of his path had been entirely self-guided.

Chen Ping had once harbored grand ambitions. He had worked diligently, meditating and breathing day after day.

Yet no matter how hard he tried, twenty years had passed and his cultivation had only reached half a level of Qi Refining.

According to the system, he had even cultivated the wrong way, leaving him with only two and a half years of lifespan.

A wave of mixed emotions washed over Chen Ping at the thought.

“Xiaoyu,” he cleared his throat.

“You don’t need to pay attention to those annotations. Everyone’s physique is different, and everyone walks a different path… Just follow your own understanding.”

“Yes, Master,” Lin Xiaoyu nodded obediently.

Chen Ping let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this girl was easy to fool.

If she actually cultivated according to his incorrect notes, wouldn’t she end up just like him?

Lin Xiaoyu clutching the 《Qingyun Art》, walked over to the old locust tree and sat down cross-legged.

She took a deep breath and, following the instructions on the first page of the manual, attempted to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Chen Ping watched from the side, his heart filled with anxiety.

Can a Heaven-Detested Physique really cultivate?

Time ticked by.

Lin Xiaoyu’s brow furrowed slightly, and her small face gradually turned pale.

She could feel the spiritual energy flowing around her, but whenever she tried to draw it into her body, the energy scattered in all directions as if encountering something terrifying.

An hour later, she opened her eyes, which were filled with disappointment.

“Master… I, I can’t feel the spiritual energy entering my body.”

Chen Ping’s heart sank, but he kept a warm smile on his face.

“No need to rush. It is normal not to feel it on your first day of cultivation. Back then, it took me three months just to…”

Before he could finish, the system prompt suddenly rang out:

【Ding! Detected disciple Lin Xiaoyu’s first attempt at cultivation, triggering a conflict between the Heaven-Detested Physique and the Heavenly Dao Divine Physique. Hidden concealment lifted, transformation process accelerated!】

Almost simultaneously, Chen Ping felt the faint spiritual energy inside him suddenly surge.

No, it was not just surging.

It was skyrocketing!

【Ding! Disciple Lin Xiaoyu’s cultivation has been obstructed, Bitter Cultivation Value +1. Host receives a 100,000-fold rebate: Spiritual Energy Reserves +100,000 units!】

Boom!

Chen Ping felt as if a sun had exploded in his dantian^[1].

A massive amount of spiritual energy surged out of thin air, rushing into his meridians, which had been dry for twenty years, like a burst dam.

“Ugh!” He let out a muffled groan, nearly slipping off the stone stool.

“Master?” Lin Xiaoyu stood up in a panic.

“I’m fine… I’m fine,” Chen Ping wheezed, waving his hand as cold sweat poured down his forehead.

He hurriedly turned his focus inward, only to find that the spiritual energy, which had once been as thin as gossamer, had now expanded into a raging river, roaring and rushing through his meridians.

First layer of Qi Refining, second layer, third layer…

His cultivation base soared like a rocket!

In the blink of an eye, he broke through the ninth layer of Qi Refining, heading straight for the Great Circle.

Yet, it was not over.

A massive torrent of spiritual energy continued to pour in, beginning to slam against the barrier that had troubled Chen Ping for twenty years,

the Foundation Establishment bottleneck!

“Wait, wait!” Chen Ping screamed in his mind.

“System, slow down! My meridians are going to burst!”

【Ding! Insufficient meridian strength detected in host. Automatically activating protection mechanism: Spiritual Energy Compression and Storage.】

The surging spiritual energy suddenly calmed down, forcibly compressed and refined by the system before being stored deep within his dantian.

Chen Ping panted heavily, feeling the unprecedented power coursing through his body.

Although he still appeared to be at the Great Circle of Qi Refining on the surface, the amount of spiritual energy stored in his dantian was likely several times greater than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

“Master, are you really alright?” Lin Xiaoyu asked, looking at him with concern.

“Your face is so red…”

“Red?” Chen Ping was taken aback. He touched his face, finding it burning hot.

He quickly circulated his cultivation technique to suppress the surging spiritual energy, and his complexion gradually returned to normal.

“I was just… recalling some cultivation insights and had a sudden realization,” Chen Ping lied through his teeth.

Lin Xiaoyu nodded half-understandingly, then lowered her head and whispered,

“But I am so foolish. I can’t even manage the most basic step of drawing Qi into my body…”

Seeing her dejected look, Chen Ping felt a stir in his heart.

“System, speed up the conversion of the Heaven-Detested Physique to the Heavenly Dao Divine Physique.”

【Please do not worry, Host. The two opposing physiques are currently undergoing full conversion. To speed up the process, the Heavenly Dao Divine Physique must actively communicate with the myriad paths of heaven and earth.】

“Xiaoyu, try again,” he said. “This time, don’t think about guiding the spiritual energy. Try… talking to it.”

“Talking to it?” Lin Xiaoyu asked, bewildered.

“Yes.” Chen Ping walked over to her and gently placed his hand on her head.

“Close your eyes. Don’t treat the spiritual energy as something you need to conquer. It is also a part of heaven and earth, just like you.”

Lin Xiaoyu did as she was told and closed her eyes.