"But this time, it was also this Strategist Ji's great fortune. The paper book he obtained had already had its protective layer of immortal art shattered and eliminated when the storage pouch exploded, so it was very easy to see the contents of the book. The immortal art recorded in this book should be owned by some demonic cultivation sect. The sect's immortal art uses poison to enter the dao. First, after sensing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth and drawing it into the body, one then refines it with a special secret formula, using the juice of various poisonous herbs as a medicinal guide. Then, one absorbs it into the body, and while absorbing the external spiritual power, one uses spiritual power to drive these spiritual qi to refine these juices. Then, after these spiritual qi have grown, they are stored in the body, strengthening the meridians and internal organs, and finally completing the Qi Condensation initiation and entering the first layer of the Qi Condensation stage. This method of cultivation is not a righteous path. It is not like the step-by-step, steady cultivation methods of Daoist, Buddhist, or Confucian cultivators. Instead, it relies on the power of poisonous herbs to forcibly cleanse the meridians and forge the marrow, strengthening the physical body and widening the meridians even before the first layer. Speaking of which, it is truly an unorthodox method.
Besides having great fortune, this Strategist Ji is also an extremely ruthless person. Firstly, he did not know if he had a spirit root, but he dared to try. Sensing spiritual qi, especially for those who have cultivated secular internal energy, it is difficult for them to distinguish between the spiritual qi of heaven and earth and the internal energy they have cultivated. If he did not have a spirit root and mistook his internal energy for the sensed spiritual qi, and then continued to use the juice of those poisonous herbs to refine it into his body, he would have died immediately. Secondly, this cultivation technique matched his constitution's attributes, otherwise it would have been extremely difficult to succeed. He has a four-attribute Profound Spirit Root constitution, and it just so happens that his wood attribute is the best. This cultivation technique also happens to be a wood-element initiation technique, which is a perfect match.
After he got the book, he was naturally happy and planned to cultivate. But this immortal art uses poison to enter the dao. The beginning of the book also recorded the method for preparing this secret formula. For such an entry-level small formula, there would naturally not be any too hard-to-find herbs. Otherwise, if one needed some heavenly treasure just for initiation, this immortal sect would have long since been destroyed. But this was also in the context of an immortal sect. The few herbs needed in this formula were extremely rare in the Mortal Realm. But for the 'Immortal-Seeking Lineage,' which had been traveling in the deep mountains and primeval forests for many years, it was not too difficult. So, Strategist Ji also quickly found most of the herbs. But in the end, there were still two herbs that he could not find. And these two were very important for harmonizing the medicinal power. Otherwise, during absorption, because one could not neutralize the power of these poisonous herbs, the person absorbing the juice's qi would suffer extreme pain." As he said this, the old man looked at Li Yan again.
Li Yan was silent. He now naturally knew why his cultivation was so painful. It was because of the lack of herbs to harmonize the medicinal power.
"And after that Strategist Ji searched for another two years, he finally found another medicinal herb, but the last one could not be found no matter what. At this time, his ruthless personality was fully displayed. When he was missing one medicinal herb, and had not yet determined whether he had a spirit root, he began the cultivation of drawing medicine into his body. But it was destined in the dark. Both the cultivation technique and his spirit root were compatible. Although the process was painful, after seventy-seven, forty-nine days of cultivation, he actually successfully stepped into the first layer of the Qi Condensation stage.
However, he did not know that although this initiation formula of an immortal sect was as low-grade as it could get, it had been honed and perfected over tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years. It had already been simplified to the extreme. Every medicinal herb had its special function. It was not that because it was not the main ingredient, just an auxiliary one, it could be ignored. For him to forcibly cultivate like this, although he had advanced to the first layer of the Qi Condensation stage, he had already planted the seeds of disaster. The medicinal power that was not completely refined due to the lack of one harmonizing ingredient still remained in his body. Over time, it would slowly begin to breed fire poison.
In the beginning, there were not many signs or symptoms. But as Strategist Ji's cultivation gradually improved, after a few years, the unrefined and residual medicinal power in his body had slowly grown and began to form fire poison. The initial manifestation of this was just like how you felt a while ago: irritable and stuffy, with extreme restlessness in your body. But at this time, he had already cultivated to the second layer, so he could still suppress it. He thought that as his cultivation improved, his internal magical power would eventually be able to clear these fire poisons. And so, he cultivated while looking for ways to calm his mind and spirit.
He learned from the introduction in the paper book that he had to cultivate to the third layer of the Qi Condensation stage before his divine sense could leave his body, so that he could read the contents of the jade book and jade slip. So, for the time being, he could not open the jade book and jade slip, and thus did not know if there was a solution in them. So, he found the simplest methods, such as going to the cold barren lands, immersing himself in musical instruments, and so on. And so, he managed to cultivate to the third layer of the Qi Condensation stage. When his divine sense could leave his body, he eagerly used his divine sense to read the jade book and jade slip. He naturally could not open the jade book. When he opened the jade slip, he first learned that this jade slip and the paper book were a set of cultivation techniques, and he was naturally even more excited, thinking that he should be able to find a solution in it. But the final result made him pale with shock.
The front of the jade slip recorded the Qi Condensation incantations for the fourth to tenth layers of the immortal art. The back of the jade slip actually emphasized the benefits and drawbacks of the formula. The benefit was that by using this medicinal liquid to enter the body and coordinating with an appropriate initiation technique, this person's physical body would be much stronger than that of other sects of the same rank. This point would become more prominent in the later stages of cultivation, which could greatly enhance combat power in a fight. And this cultivation speed far exceeded that of righteous immortal arts; the time taken was incomparable. The drawback was that if one forcibly cultivated with an improper formula, the result would be the generation of fire poison in the body. And this fire poison would be continuously nourished and grow along with the spiritual power in the body. Later, one's own magical power would begin to be unable to suppress it. By the peak of the third layer of the Qi Condensation stage, the fire poison in the body would multiply at a crazy speed, giving the cultivator no chance at all. It would erupt immediately, causing the cultivator's qi and blood to flow in reverse, and they would die from their body exploding. But if you wanted to not cultivate and just stay below the peak of the third layer of the Qi Condensation stage, that was also a delusion. This fire poison would self-generate and strengthen every day. One had to continuously cultivate and improve one's realm to suppress it, otherwise one would only die earlier. This was a vicious cycle. Knowing that it was death, one still had to step into it step by step. Seeing this, Strategist Ji was so angry that he cursed loudly, almost causing the fire poison to attack his heart.
In the cultivation world, especially for sects that have been passed down for thousands or tens of thousands of years, which sect doesn't have a set of protective measures for their cultivation techniques? Even for the lowest-level introductory cultivation technique, they would do some tricks. So, not explaining these things in the paper book was because they were afraid that if the paper book were to fall into the outside world by accident, even if someone obtained it and cultivated it, they might deliberately not explain some details. By the time they discovered it later, it would be too late. The only outcome awaiting them would basically be a gruesome death.
This result made him both shocked and angry. So, he began to look everywhere for a solution. Until one day, he met a Foundation Establishment stage senior. And coincidentally, this cultivator was also from the 'Immortal-Seeking Lineage.' But at that time, with this Foundation Establishment stage cultivator's magical power, if he was willing to expend a great deal of his own true essence, he could have helped him sort out and clear the fire poison in his body. But in the cultivation world, the law of the jungle is followed. The strong prey on the weak, and it is common for people to kill at the slightest displeasure. Often, when encountering a cultivator of a lower level than oneself, or a lone cultivator, the basic action is to kill for their treasures. For him to have survived this time was already a stroke of luck. Firstly, his level was too low, and the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator looked down on him. A rookie who had just embarked on the path of immortality, what treasures could he have? Secondly, it was out of consideration for him also being from the 'Immortal-Seeking Lineage' that he did not take his life.
Strategist Ji had finally found a senior expert he could talk to. How could he let go of this chance to live? He pleaded bitterly. The other party naturally would not help him circulate his energy to cure the poison. But in the end, out of consideration for them being from the same lineage, he still pointed out a path to survival for him. He told him that if he could cultivate to the fourth layer of the Qi Condensation stage, he might be able to clear the fire poison in his body. But the probability of this was not very high. After all, this cultivation technique clearly stated that at most, one could cultivate to the peak of the third layer of the Qi Condensation stage, and then the fire poison would erupt centrally, and one would die from the reverse flow of qi and blood. How could there be time for him to continue cultivating?
There was another method, which was to delay the time from the early stage to the peak of the third layer of the Qi Condensation stage as much as possible. If he could capture a small cultivator who was also cultivating this technique during this time, he could forcibly absorb the spiritual power from the small cultivator's body and use it for a one-time surprise attack to break through to the fourth layer of the Qi Condensation stage. If he succeeded, he might be able to clear the fire poison in his body. If he failed, then both of them would die at the same time.
This method had conditions: First, the cultivation techniques of the two people had to be the same, so that there would be no conflict between their techniques. Second, the selected cultivator had to have cultivated to the peak of the first layer, and could only, and must, have cultivated to this level. If the selected cultivator's cultivation was too high, and he tried to absorb it with his meager third-layer cultivation, it would basically cause a backlash on the spot. Forget about breaking through to the fourth layer; he would probably die from his body exploding directly. If the selected cultivator's cultivation was too low, the spiritual power in their body would not be enough for him to break through to the fourth layer, which would also be a waste of effort.
After that, this Foundation Establishment cultivator did not waste any more words and passed on to Strategist Ji this method of absorbing others' spiritual power.
Although this method of absorbing others' spiritual power mentioned by the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator was not a secret technique in the cultivation world, very few people used it. First of all, regardless of whether the result was successful or not, the unlucky low-level cultivator who was absorbed would definitely lose all their primordial qi and die on the spot, a miserable end. At the same time, this method of absorbing others' spiritual power for one's own use was not something that could be successful just like that, and the probability of success was not very high. First, the attribute of the cultivation technique had to be the same, otherwise, if the attribute of one's own spiritual power and the absorbed spiritual power were different, the repulsion between the spiritual powers could also directly cause death. Second, this method of advancing one's cultivation was very much not worth the loss. Even with the same cultivation technique, the spiritual power of different people ultimately had to be assimilated. This required a long period of closed-door cultivation for refinement, from a few years to dozens or even hundreds of years. This depended on how much of the other party's spiritual power was absorbed. At the same time, one could not use any spiritual power during this period, otherwise, the two spiritual powers would be in chaos, and one would suffer a cultivation deviation. With this time, it would be better to cultivate steadily on one's own. Third, this practice was looked down upon in the cultivation world. Although it had not reached the point where everyone would shout to kill them, if one really encountered such a person, most would attack them in a group. Therefore, this kind of cultivation technique, unless it was a matter of last resort, would rarely be used. It was basically a useless existence.
This Foundation Establishment stage cultivator also told Strategist Ji frankly that whether he could clear the fire poison in his body after reaching the fourth layer was just his speculation. But even so, Strategist Ji was already kneeling on the ground and thanking him profusely. The Foundation Establishment stage senior finally gave him three packets of "Mind-Clearing Powder." This medicine was a low-grade medicinal powder among pills. It didn't have many effects. It was used for new cultivators who had difficulty entering a meditative state and were easily irritable. This medicinal powder was used to help these low-level cultivators quickly clear their minds and calm their spirits. But for Strategist Ji, it was extremely needed. This way, he could greatly extend the time he could suppress the fire poison.
After getting the guidance from the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, Strategist Ji began to think of ways to find a suitable candidate. Of course, the best source for such a candidate would be to find the sect or family where this immortal art belonged, then find an opportunity to sneak in and find a person at the peak of the first layer of the Qi Condensation stage, subdue them, and bring them out. Then he could absorb their spiritual power.
But he would never dare to do such a thing. First, he didn't have the guts. To take a step back, even if he did have the guts, with his unranked cultivation, he would probably be blasted to pieces before he even found the place, without even passing the sect-protecting great formation.
As a member of the long-standing 'Immortal-Seeking Lineage,' Strategist Ji knew that for someone like him who secretly cultivated the immortal arts of a sect or family, if this cultivation sect or family found out, the result awaiting him would basically be one path—direct extermination. Secretly cultivating another sect's or family's immortal arts without permission was a major taboo in the cultivation world.
In addition, the immortal art he had obtained was found next to a pile of bones. The stronger a cultivator was, the longer their bones would be preserved after death. He did not know how long these bones had been preserved. It was possible that this sect or family had long since been wiped out in the river of history. Where would he go to find this sect or family? Thus, Strategist Ji's chances of survival were extremely slim."