Chapter 1

At the back of Taixuan Gate, a secluded and serene place, the green trees provided shade, and the flowers bloomed like brocade, with birds singing and insects chirping. Beside a gravel path, there was a large rock taller than a person, and atop it, a young man in a white robe sat cross-legged in meditation.

The young man, named Gu Fei, was a disciple of the younger generation of Taixuan Gate. Taixuan Gate was one of the three major Daoist sects on Tenglong Continent, with a long history and ancient lineage. Gu Fei was an orphan. When he was eight years old, his master, Wan Xiancheng, brought him back to Taixuan Gate during his travels and took him as an indoor disciple.

Although he was in a Daoist sect, Gu Fei did not practice Daoist techniques but a method called "Ancient Body Cultivation Technique."

As the name suggests, the Ancient Body Cultivation Technique was a method that focused on the body as the foundation, aiming to transcend the natural limits of the body. The techniques described in the method were powerful enough to elevate the physical body to a sacred level, and the ancient combat skills could even slay immortals and gods.

However, once one started practicing this ancient secret technique, it was extremely difficult, and even if one failed, they could not switch to other cultivation methods.

Gu Fei, sitting cross-legged on the rock with his eyes closed, activated the Ancient Body Cultivation Technique, absorbing the spiritual energy from the surroundings into his dantian, where it accumulated. When the spiritual energy in his dantian compressed to a certain degree, he guided it to impact the meridians in his body.

Spiritual energy gathered from all directions, whether it was the essence of the surrounding plants or the moonlight and sunlight floating in the air. Gu Fei absorbed everything, like a river accepting all tributaries, into his dantian.

Faintly, one could see fine streams of light, as thin as green silk, swirling around him. As time passed, the dantian in Gu Fei's body began to emit a seven-colored aura, which was the result of the highly concentrated spiritual energy.

The process of gathering, impacting, gathering, and impacting repeated, and the spiritual energy fluctuations from Gu Fei's body spread out in waves. The seven-colored spiritual essence from his dantian surged like a river breaking its banks, impacting the meridians in his body that had not yet been unblocked.

Each impact felt like a thousand-pound hammer striking inside his body, and each time, a look of pain appeared on his face.

The powerful spiritual energy rushing through his meridians brought a tearing pain, and the highly explosive spiritual energy from his dantian felt like countless sharp knives cutting through his meridians.

He gritted his teeth, sweat poured down his face, and his hair stuck to his face in clumps. His white robe was drenched in sweat, clinging to his body.

He was experiencing the second major hurdle of the Ancient Body Cultivation Technique—unblocking the meridians.

Unblocking the meridians involved gathering the spiritual energy from the world, condensing it in the dantian, and then using it to impact the acupoints on the meridians, making them flow smoothly. This way, the spiritual energy could circulate through the entire body, reaching every muscle and bone, thus refining the body and elevating it to a higher state.

The Ancient Body Cultivation Technique was a method that defied the natural order, and without a will as strong as a rock and relentless hard work, one could not even pass the first hurdle of gathering spiritual energy.

On Tenglong Continent, there were countless cultivation systems, but the realms of cultivation could be divided into five major stages: Awakening, Transcending the Mundane, Controlling the Void, Half-Deity, and Entering the Sacred. Each stage was further divided into nine levels, symbolizing the supreme power.

The Ancient Body Cultivation Technique had four major hurdles in the Awakening stage. The first step was to gather spiritual energy. Only by mastering the ability to gather spiritual energy could Gu Fei proceed to the next step of unblocking the meridians.

After unblocking the meridians, the next step was to refine the tendons. Once the tendons were refined, the next step was to temper the bones. When the bones were fully tempered, the body would undergo a transformation, and upon successful transformation, Gu Fei would break through the constraints of cultivation and advance to the Transcending the Mundane stage.

"The gathered spiritual energy is still not strong enough!" Each failure brought a pain like being flayed alive. Gu Fei's lips were bitten until they bled, but he persisted.

"I have only unblocked two of the twelve main meridians. Beyond the twelve main meridians, there are the eight extraordinary meridians. When will I be able to unblock all the meridians and enter the stage of refining the tendons?"

The difficulty of practicing the Ancient Body Cultivation Technique was truly terrifying. Most people who practiced this powerful but extremely slow-progressing method ended up dying before they could achieve any significant results.

By mid-morning, the time for morning cultivation was almost over. Gu Fei had sat there for the entire morning, and since two years ago, when he unblocked his second meridian, he had made no further progress!

The barrier to cultivation was like an insurmountable chasm in front of him.

Gu Fei was a bit disappointed but not discouraged. His personality was a bit like his master, Wan Xiancheng—stubborn as a bull, never giving up.

"Let's give it one more try!" Gu Fei looked at the sky. There was still time for one more attempt. He gritted his teeth, his face showing determination.

The technique activated, and the spiritual energy that had not yet dissipated around him gathered again. In his dantian, a ball of spiritual energy slowly rotated, absorbing the spiritual energy from all directions.

A powerful energy fluctuation emanated from his body, and various star-like lights appeared in his dantian. This was the highly compressed spiritual energy from the world, untransformed.

The spiritual energy quickly gathered in Gu Fei's dantian. When he felt a painful swelling, he steeled himself and forced the highly compressed spiritual energy in his dantian to surge towards the third main meridian.

The powerful and explosive spiritual energy rushed through Gu Fei's meridians like a small stream suddenly flooded by a torrent. The meridians swelled rapidly, almost bursting from the surge.

"Boom!" A thunderous sound echoed in Gu Fei's ears as the surge from his dantian fiercely impacted the barrier of the meridian.

Gu Fei's body shook violently. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. His body swayed, and he fell off the rock.

Lying on the ground amidst the grass, Gu Fei looked up at the sky. Through the gaps in the leaves, he saw the leisurely drifting smoke and occasionally a few spiritual birds flying by.

His eyes showed no discouragement or despair, only a firm and almost terrifying determination.

Slowly, he got up from the ground, wiped the blood from his lips, and headed towards the front mountain. On the mountain path, there were already a few figures heading towards the front mountain.

These were other Taixuan Gate disciples who, like him, had come to the back mountain early to cultivate.

Taixuan Mountain rose high into the clouds, with mist swirling around the peak. The temples on the mountain were visible and invisible, the terrain was majestic, and it was a rare spiritual mountain and holy land on the continent.

High-level cultivators practiced on the mountain, while young disciples like Gu Fei, who had been in the sect for less than ten years and had low cultivation, could only practice at the foot of the mountain.

"Hmm! Still no breakthrough!" Gu Fei examined his internal condition and found that the barrier of the third meridian was only slightly loosened, far from being broken.

"Eight years, and I've only reached the stage of unblocking the meridians in the Ancient Body Cultivation Technique, with only the third level of the Awakening stage. Sigh!" Gu Fei gave a self-deprecating smile. "Even the lowest-ranking disciple, Wang Yuanzhi, from the other branches has reached the fifth level of the Awakening stage!"

Thinking of Wang Yuanzhi, who often caused him trouble, Gu Fei's face showed disgust. The disciples from other branches practiced Daoist techniques and progressed rapidly, while his technique progressed as slowly as a snail.

In the cultivation world, only the strong were respected. With low cultivation, one could only be a target for bullying.

Gu Fei tidied his clothes and then followed the mountain path to the front mountain. On both sides of the quiet mountain path, unknown flowers bloomed.

The faint scent of grass and the subtle fragrance of flowers occasionally wafted into Gu Fei's nose.

After the failed attempt to break the meridian barrier, Gu Fei's body had suffered a significant impact, and he was inevitably injured. However, he did not take the injury seriously because, after practicing the Ancient Body Cultivation Technique, his body's self-healing ability was astonishing.

When Gu Fei reached the front mountain, he encountered more disciples, but none of them greeted him. They either ignored him or glanced at him with disdain and walked away.

Gu Fei remained expressionless, calm, and indifferent to the contemptuous looks from his fellow disciples.

"Hey, isn't this our cultivation genius Gu Fei? No, he should be called a cultivation failure, ha ha..." Suddenly, a loud, mocking laugh came from ahead.

Three young men, dressed in white robes and white sashes, walked towards Gu Fei. The leader laughed loudly, and the two behind him chuckled softly.

Seeing these three young men, a look of disgust flashed in Gu Fei's eyes. He ignored them and turned onto a side path leading to a pine forest.

"Hey, failure disciple, where are you going?" The three young men followed Gu Fei, laughing, onto the side path. There were also seven or eight other young disciples on the path.

However, when these disciples saw the three young men mocking Gu Fei, they quickened their pace, trying to avoid them.

"Who are you calling a failure!" Gu Fei suddenly stopped, turned around, and shouted at the three young men. His shout drew the attention of the nearby disciples.

"So what if I call you a failure? Not only are you a failure, but your master is also a failure. Hmph! What Ancient Body Cultivation Technique, elevating the physical body to a sacred level? It's just a pile of garbage. No one would pick it up if it were thrown on the ground, but you and your master treat it like a treasure. You must have been kicked in the head, how stupid can you be?"

The leader of the three young men was taken aback by Gu Fei's sudden shout but quickly launched into a tirade, pointing at Gu Fei and spitting out insults.

"Hey! Wang Yuanzhi, you've gone too far!" Gu Fei's fists clenched tightly, the knuckles turning white from the force. The anger in his chest erupted like a volcano.