Sensing the spiritual energy was no problem for Luo Chen thanks to the combination of many factors, like his previous life lacking spirit energy and his profound cultivating technique.
After sensing the ever-present spirit energy of the heavens and drawing it into the body, it should be guided towards the meridians according to the cultivation technique.
Assisting and guiding the spirit energy and cleansing the meridians were the core of the Meridian Opening Realm.
And so, Luo Chen took his first step in cultivation.
From sensing the spirit energy to channeling it into his first major meridian happened in no time.
The process of opening the meridians was essentially digging through your body; it was bound to feel uncomfortable.
However, the gentle spirit energy of the heavens cleared and soothed his mind.
In the end, it was only the slightest discomfort, which wasn't a bother to him.
The actual hardship of the process was the patience required as well as the need to maintain focus.
As gentle as the spirit energy is, if you were to let go of your control, it could cause injuries.
As a mortal who is cultivating for the first time, his meridians were weak and fragile. They wouldn't withstand the trauma, no matter how small.
Therefore, you needed to stay focused and not let go as you cultivate.
It was also a slow process since both the amount of spirit energy he could gather and control were minuscule. So great patience was required.
Hours passed.
He still wasn't able to completely open his first major meridian, although he was close.
Still, he had to stop for today. He could feel the strain on his meridian. Continuing any longer would be more harmful than beneficial.
As he stood up from his bed, he could feel the difference. His body was lighter, easier to move. His limbs felt powerful. His senses sharper.
He jumped a few times and swung his arms around, feeling the thrill. Although he was probably weaker than a professional athlete from his previous life, he was still above average in physical condition.
Most importantly, this was achieved with only a few hours of cultivation. He couldn't wait for what the future held for him.
Since he couldn't cultivate for today, he needed to busy himself with something else. Something productive.
He decided on two options. First, learning. Second, body cultivation.
With something like the Dao Library in his possession, not using it would be a waste. Apparent from his choice of cultivation technique, he wanted to walk myriad paths.
Whether it is medicine or alchemy, he wanted to learn. As they say, a cultivator's journey needs four essentials: land, method, companion, and resources.
Dao Library took care of the method part for him. He couldn't do anything about the land right now. He was a solitary person, even antisocial, so companionship wasn't suitable for him.
This left the resources. Even though he had no access right now, he could prepare for the future.
Cultivation was an arduous journey. Every bit of help counted.
He could start learning now and build a foundation for the future. Even if he couldn't exactly practice with his low cultivation and poor environment, he could learn the theory with the assistance of his newfound mental prowess.
As for the body cultivation, it was also necessary in his opinion.
Right now, he was still a mortal, albeit a strong one.
Cultivation wasn't possible for prolonged durations, so his power increase was shackled.
Even if there were no guns or missiles, there were still blades and claws. So long as he could be killed by a child holding a slightly sharper stick or a rock, he was uneasy.
He got a connection with the supernatural. A chance to become immortal, to move mountains, split seas, and pluck the stars. He didn't want to die to some ruffian with a pocket knife and lose it all.
So body cultivation looked enticing. Cultivating a body impervious to blades, unaffected by hot and cold, immune to poisons...
And since he looked through all of the cultivation techniques in the dao section yesterday, he already had some thoughts.
He went back into the library and picked up the few body cultivation techniques he thought were suitable for him.
After going through them once again, he determined the one.
"Dao Star Body Scripture"
It was a technique that used starlight as a fuel to cultivate an eternal body containing the power of the stars.
It was similar to Dao Rhythm Heavenly Scripture in the sense that it was an all-encompassing technique with soft and hard features.
It didn't promise the toughest defense or the strongest power. It didn't have any bizarre specialties.
It was a comprehensive technique that cultivated all aspects of the body with no weaknesses.
At one point, it would also give the ability to cultivate star power, which would banish dark and evil and have nurturing effects.
As a proud 21st-century youth, he fantasized about having the powers of a certain Boy Scout like everyone else. Especially the part that he could get stronger simply by sunbathing, the dream of countless lazy bums, including him.
This technique also allowed you to cultivate using the powers of the stars. In his current poor conditions, this was as best as it gets.
He didn't have a treasure to temper his body, nor a medicine to nourish it. But starlight was everywhere, anytime. He could cultivate day and night, and his poor diet wouldn't hinder him too much, thanks to the nourishment of the stars.
After reading through it for a few hours, he gained an initial understanding. It was simpler than the Dao Rhythm Heavenly Scripture, which was expected.
No matter how much you cultivate the Dao Star Body Scripture, it wouldn't have much effect on the soul, unlike the Dao Rhythm Heavenly Scripture.
One of the most important reasons that the spirit cultivation was the most orthodox was that it was a complete life enhancement. Just by cultivating your spirit, your body and soul would also be elevated.
Body and soul cultivations, on the other hand, had the most effect on their own specialties, with little enhancement for the other two paths.
So he went to the windowstill, exposing himself to the sunlight, and started going through the moves depicted in the Dao Star Body Scripture.
It was a combination of body movements, breathing patterns, and will and imagination. There were certain Dao Runes going through his mind in varying patterns.
Dao Runes were, in his understanding, something like the language of the world. You would gain an intuitive understanding of them at first sight, but as you ponder deeper, you would find their depth immeasurable.
Dao Library's language was also entirely composed of Dao Runes. It was only thanks to this that he was even able to read through them. Otherwise, how could a poor farmer boy from a small village know how to read?
As he went through the motions, he could feel sunlight seeping into his skin and deeper into his bones and muscles.
He could feel the burning sensation from both the somewhat difficult movements and the fire of the sun.
There were no particular distinctions within the body cultivation realms. It went simply like the First Realm, the Second Realm, etc.
The process was also constant. You would burn the impurities within your body, shape it according to your own technique, and strengthen it through various means.
The star power entered every part of his body; burning, nourishing, empowering.
And the best part was that he could cultivate for as long as his stamina allowed.
Of course, if he cultivated for long, he would need to replenish nutrients at one point. No matter how nourishing the star power was, it couldn't entirely replace food for now.
So he cultivated for hours, ate his porridge, which he was starting to get tired of, and went to bed when he felt sleepy.
When he woke up again at dawn, he felt better than ever. The combination of spirit and body cultivation gave him a body comparable to peak athletes from his previous life.
He felt like he could lift hundreds of kilograms with ease, shatter bricks with a punch, and run for hours without getting tired.
But he knew that this was just the beginning, and he was still at the bottom.
After enjoying his newfound powers for a moment and getting used to it, he delved into cultivation.
He started with body cultivation, and when he felt his meridians were completely rested, he finished the spirit cultivation session and went back to body cultivation.
Of course, he couldn't continue body cultivation for the rest of the day since, as mentioned, it would require nutrients.
He was already at the edge of starvation with barely two weeks' worth of food; he couldn't afford to eat more and shorten that time.
His main focus was still the spirit cultivation after all.
So he planned his schedule. Apart from the essential spirit cultivation and others like eating, sleeping, and cleaning, he would have 12 hours left of his day.
He decided, based on his appetite, to cultivate his body for 6 hours and spend the other 6 hours reading in the Dao Library.
And so time passed.