Chapter 37

Zhang Shixiong gave Wang Zhuo a cold glance and said, "The key to breaking through indeed has a great deal to do with one's talent. Some might succeed on their first attempt, while others might need hundreds, even thousands of tries, or they might never break through in their entire lives."

Wang Lin’s face showed a hint of melancholy. Suddenly, he asked, "Shixiong Zhang, is the breakthrough at every level this difficult? Is it the same for advancing from the second to the third level, and from the third to the fourth?"

Zhang Shixiong nodded and said, "That's right. The further you go, the harder it gets, especially from the third to the fourth, and from the fifth to the sixth, which are even more difficult!"

As he answered, many disciples from a distance gathered. A woman suddenly asked, "Shixiong, what exactly makes the breakthrough from the third to the fourth level so difficult? I am currently at the third level of the Qi Condensation stage."

Wang Lin recognized the speaker; she was the Zhou family girl whom Wang Zhuo had been pursuing.

Zhang Shixiong pondered for a moment and said, "Well, today I will take this opportunity to explain the bottlenecks of the Qi Condensation stage in detail. Below the sixth level, there are two bottlenecks. One is the transition from the third to the fourth level. For some, this bottleneck is easy to overcome, but for others, it might be impossible to break through in their entire lives. The key does not lie in talent. The focus is on whether one can understand the meaning of the phrase 'the Dao is ruthless'!"

After saying this, he looked at everyone meaningfully and continued, "Cultivators must sever their ties to the mundane world. If you can sever them, the breakthrough from the third to the fourth level won't be difficult. If you can't, it will be very hard! As for the bottleneck from the fifth to the sixth level, it is because this is a qualitative change in the Qi Condensation stage. The body undergoes a series of deeper changes as it is refined by spiritual energy, which requires a tremendous amount of spiritual energy, making it a bottleneck that stops most people."

Wang Lin was stunned and fell silent.

The other inner disciples also had varied expressions and asked more questions. It wasn't until the sky grew dark that everyone dispersed.

Wang Lin walked into the valley with a furrowed brow. The sound of flowing water gradually grew louder. Soon, a small river appeared before him.

A faint spiritual energy emanated from the river. Wang Lin scooped up a mouthful and drank it, thinking that although it wasn't as good as spiritual spring water, it could still increase his spiritual energy to some extent.

Without hesitation, he took out several gourds and filled them with river water. After a long time, he finally filled all the gourds. Just as he turned around, his pupils constricted. He saw Zhang Kuang standing not far behind him, like a ghost. While filling the gourds, his divine sense had been observing the surroundings, but he hadn't detected any abnormalities. Clearly, Zhang Kuang had been there for some time, and Wang Lin's heart sank.

"Wang Shidi, the river water contains spiritual energy. Drinking more of it will benefit your cultivation. However, I noticed you brought many gourds. Did you know you would need them before coming to the valley?" Zhang Kuang's eyes flickered as he spoke in a deep voice.

Wang Lin calmly put away the gourds and respectfully said, "My master informed me beforehand that the river water here would aid cultivation, so I prepared many gourds."

Zhang Kuang stared at Wang Lin for a long time before nodding and saying, "It's normal for Uncle Sun to know about this. Go back and cultivate. Reaching the first level of the Qi Condensation stage in just two years shows that you have made a great determination. Very good. I hope the next time I see you, you will have reached the second level!"

Wang Lin bowed and respectfully left. He returned to his cave, where he finally let out a sigh of relief. His back was drenched in sweat. Fortunately, he had developed the habit of concealing his cultivation at all times. Otherwise, if the other party had discovered that he was already at the third level of the Qi Condensation stage, he would have been suspected, and with his current strength, he would have no chance of defending himself if he were killed.

"Cultivators are actually no different from ordinary people; they have various desires. Sometimes, they are even more realistic and cruel than ordinary people. Therefore, I must not let anyone know about my mysterious bead." Wang Lin warned himself.

Pulling the wall handle to seal the cave, Wang Lin sat cross-legged and fell into deep thought.

In theory, cultivators sever their ties to the mundane world to eliminate various desires that could affect their cultivation. However, since entering the Hengyue Sect, he had seen that most cultivators could not truly achieve this state of desirelessness; instead, their desires were even more intense than those of ordinary people.

Thus, the concept of severing ties to the mundane world was vague. Yet, according to Zhang Shixiong, one must sever these ties to break through from the third to the fourth level, which seemed contradictory.

After much contemplation, he still couldn't figure it out. Wang Lin admitted that he couldn't sever his familial ties. Fortunately, the third level of the Qi Condensation stage was different from the first two. Although he couldn't break through, his spiritual energy continued to increase. After much consideration, he abandoned the idea of breaking through in the short term and focused on consolidating the third level.

Time passed quickly. One year, two years, and before he knew it, another two years had gone by. Wang Lin had been in seclusion in the back mountain for four years. In the last two years, he only left once to replenish the river water, which he used to soak the bead for cultivation.

In the real world, four years had passed, while in the dream world, it was twenty-five years. Including the previous time, Wang Lin had actually been cultivating for twenty-seven or twenty-eight years.

He was still at the third level of the Qi Condensation stage, without breaking through. However, his spiritual energy continued to grow steadily.

On the last day of the four-year cultivation, at dawn, Zhang Kuang's voice echoed outside: "All disciples, the four years are up. Come out quickly. Senior Master is performing a ritual in the main hall to summon you back!"

All the caves on the cliff walls opened, and the inner disciples emerged one by one.

More than forty people had gathered in the valley. Each had made progress during the four years of seclusion. Wang Lin scanned the area with his divine sense.

Wang Zhuo had reached the peak of the fifth level of the Qi Condensation stage, on the verge of the sixth level. As for the others, several had also reached this level. Everyone had made progress over the four years.

The Xu family girl had also reached the third level of the Qi Condensation stage. As for Zhang Shixiong, Wang Lin focused and saw that he was at the sixth level of the Qi Condensation stage!

Wang Lin had a vague feeling that his cultivation was different from others. First, his divine sense seemed to go unnoticed when he observed others.

Additionally, the Zhou family girl had said two years ago that she had reached the third level of the Qi Condensation stage, but Wang Lin just noticed that she was still at the third level, with no increase in her spiritual energy.

Wang Lin had a hypothesis: others might not have the same limit at the third level as he did. Or perhaps, he had already broken through the third level... Wang Lin's heart raced, but he suppressed this thought.