Chapter 22

Making it onto the new book chart is no easy feat. I've never asked for votes before, but this time I'm thick-skinned enough to beg for a bit, hoping not to fall off.

There will be another update in the afternoon.

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After returning to his room, Wang Lin immediately closed the door. He didn't take the four Spirit Seizing Pills but instead placed them in his storage bag. He was about to conduct an experiment with the mysterious bead.

Carefully, he took out the bead and the gourd. Wang Lin pondered for a moment, his expression uncertain. He weighed the pros and cons in his mind. Dew was crucial for his future cultivation; without it, his progress would slow down.

However, the cloud on the mysterious bead tightly gripped his curiosity. After a long time, he made up his mind. If the dew was gone, he could always collect more, though it would take some time. But if the bead produced the tenth cloud, it might undergo some strange changes. Soaking it in the spring water might increase its spiritual energy to an unimaginable level.

With this thought, he immediately took out the best morning dew gourd, prepared a stone bowl, and slowly poured the jelly-like liquid from the gourd into the bowl. After a short while, the dew was completely poured, and the stone bowl contained a small, greenish liquid. A fresh fragrance gradually spread, and Wang Lin, upon smelling it, felt instantly refreshed and comfortable.

Worried that the fragrance might attract attention from others in the sect, he immediately threw the bead into the bowl and observed it carefully. After a long time, the liquid had decreased slightly.

Wang Lin was somewhat disappointed. He had hoped it would catalyze immediately, but at least the fresh fragrance disappeared as soon as the bead was thrown in. After pondering for a moment, he placed the stone bowl under the bed and sat cross-legged on the bed, holding a low-grade spirit stone to meditate and practice breathing.

His long and short breaths gradually stabilized. Although he still hadn't managed to draw spiritual energy into his body over the past two months, he was no longer as short of breath as before. He had become accustomed to this breathing method and often practiced it even when not meditating.

After a night passed, Wang Lin opened his eyes in the morning and quickly took out the stone bowl from under the bed. He found that the liquid had decreased by half, but the tenth cloud still hadn't appeared on the bead.

He didn't lose heart. After putting the stone bowl back, he hesitated for a moment, then took out a Spirit Seizing Pill from his storage bag and swallowed it. Immediately, a warm current surged through his body.

During his month with Sun Dazhu, he went through this process every day. He was well-versed in it and quickly began to meditate and practice breathing. By the time night fell again, he slowly exhaled a long, white breath, his brows furrowed. He smiled bitterly to himself, "This Spirit Seizing Pill is similar to Sun Dazhu's medicinal soup, both containing some herbs rich in spiritual energy. Each time I take it, my body feels comfortable, my spirit is refreshed, and even my hunger disappears. Unfortunately, it still can't help me gather a single thread of spiritual energy."

He sighed softly. Wang Zhuo could cultivate the first level of the Qi Condensation stage in just three months. On the surface, Wang Lin showed no signs of abnormality, but he felt quite moved. Talent, indeed, was the key to cultivation.

However, Wang Lin's character wouldn't allow him to give up easily. He told himself that he had the mysterious bead and no lack of spiritual energy. Although he couldn't gather spiritual energy now, he would naturally succeed with time.

"Time..." Wang Lin bit his lower lip and took a deep breath. He took out the stone bowl from under the bed and saw that the liquid was almost gone, but the bead still hadn't produced the tenth cloud.

He immediately took out the night dew gourd and poured the liquid into the bowl. This time, the liquid was slightly more, and a little remained after filling the bowl. Wang Lin drank the remaining liquid in one gulp and continued to practice breathing.

The warm current that rose within him this time was much thicker than before, almost reaching a substantial state as it slowly flowed through his body. He immediately felt a dry and thirsty sensation. Wang Lin gritted his teeth and continued to practice the long and short breathing method.

Before long, Wang Lin felt something was wrong. The warm current in his body didn't dissipate as it usually did but instead grew stronger with each breath. A tingling pain spread throughout his body, and Wang Lin had the illusion that he was a balloon that was continuously inflating, reaching the limit of his body.

In shock, Wang Lin immediately stopped practicing breathing, but the pain persisted. He opened his eyes and was horrified to see that all his blood vessels were bulging, like vicious green worms attached to his skin, a sight that was truly alarming.

Wang Lin didn't know that the medicinal soups he had taken before contained very little spiritual energy. Even if he absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy using the long and short breathing method, it couldn't match the rate at which his body lost spiritual energy due to the lack of a spirit root.

Moreover, every time he reached a critical point, the Spirit Transforming Grass would take effect, preventing the accumulation of spiritual energy.

But now, the dew he drank contained far more spiritual energy than the medicinal soups, almost to an unimaginable degree, far exceeding the rate at which his spirit root dissipated spiritual energy. If he didn't practice breathing, the spiritual energy would naturally dissipate over time. However, once he started practicing breathing, it was like adding fuel to the fire.

Realizing he had made a mistake, he didn't know how to handle the situation and could only watch as his blood vessels bulged, nearing the point of collapse. At that moment, a flash of inspiration entered his mind. Without time to think, he gritted his teeth and immediately began to practice the reverse breathing method, which involved short and long breaths.

He thought that if normal breathing absorbed spiritual energy, then reverse breathing might release it.

Wang Lin's guess was somewhat correct. The reverse breathing method was known to everyone in the cultivation world, as it was the preliminary step for解散功 (dissolving one's cultivation) and starting over.

As he breathed, threads of spiritual energy began to dissipate from every pore in his body. As soon as they appeared, they were drawn into the stone bead under the bed.

Time passed slowly, and the swelling in Wang Lin's body gradually subsided. The green blood vessels on his skin also flattened. At this point, what was being released from his body was no longer spiritual energy but a murky gas. The stone bead did not absorb this gas, which dissipated into the air on its own.

By chance, Wang Lin had completely expelled the Spirit Transforming Grass from his body.

To expel the Spirit Transforming Grass, there were only two methods. The first was to use a large amount of spiritual energy to gradually wear it down until it was completely dissolved. This was the method Sun Dazhu used, but later, due to his disappointment with Wang Lin and the cost of the herbs, he stopped caring for him.

The second method was to解散功 (dissolve one's cultivation), dispersing all the spiritual energy in the body and starting over. Sun Dazhu didn't choose this method because Wang Lin's body lacked spiritual energy, and any that appeared immediately dissipated, making it impossible to meet the requirements for解散功 (dissolving one's cultivation).

The process of解散功 (dissolving one's cultivation) lasted for a day and a night. Wang Lin finally collapsed on the bed, weak but grateful to have saved his life. He resolved never to drink dew water recklessly again.

Feeling drowsy, he drifted off to sleep.