Chapter 67

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That night, in the mortuary, Jiang Chen sat cross-legged on the bed in his room. In front of him lay the book of the Supreme Clarity Daoist Techniques that Uncle Nine had passed down to him. Under his control, the pages turned by themselves as he calmly read through them.

Well, although he had some other expectations, this so-called Supreme Clarity Daoist Techniques did not mention any golden elixirs, yuan infants, or any divine transformations and ascensions. As Uncle Nine had said, it was merely a basic technique for teaching one to sit in meditation, gather the essence of heaven and earth, and convert it into one's own magical power.

With magical power, one could perform Daoist techniques, much like how internal strength was used in martial arts. The principle was the same. This was why Uncle Nine and Daoist Si Mu's blood could subdue zombies—because they had already infused their magical power into their blood when they made the seals.

After reading through the book several times, Jiang Chen imprinted every word and symbol in his mind, striving to memorize it backward. Only then did he begin his first meditation and cultivation.

Cultivating Daoism differs from martial arts practice, placing more emphasis on one's innate talent and opportunities. There is a common saying of "a hundred days to lay the foundation," which refers to the first 108 days of cultivation, during which cultivators do everything possible to gather magical power and condense a spiritual root, laying the foundation for their cultivation!

A spiritual root typically requires at least nine strands of magical power as its base. The higher the level, the more strands are needed, such as the twelve earthly branches, twenty-four celestial beings, thirty-six heavenly stars, seventy-two earthly fiends, 108 minor heavenly cycles, and 365 major heavenly cycles. The more magical power gathered, the better the spiritual root.

The spiritual root, also known as the immortal root, is crucial for a cultivator's future achievements. Therefore, every cultivator pays special attention to the 100th day of cultivation, striving to complete the foundation as well as possible. Jiang Chen was no exception.

Thanks to his experience in cultivating internal strength, the first step of entering a meditative state was not difficult for him. The next step was to sense the essence of heaven and earth, which was also not challenging for Jiang Chen, who had reached the innate grandmaster level in martial arts. Even the process of absorbing the essence of heaven and earth into his body was simple. However, refining the absorbed essence into magical power was a realm he had never experienced before.

Fortunately, in the previous two cycles, although he had no chance to touch the path of immortality, he had cultivated ancient martial arts and internal boxing to the innate realm. Whether it was refining the essence of heaven and earth into true qi or integrating it into his flesh to enhance his internal strength, it was all experience. After some effort, he finally succeeded in condensing his first strand of magical power!

For ordinary cultivators, even those with extraordinary talent, it was already quite remarkable to condense a single strand of magical power on their first attempt at cultivation. However, for Jiang Chen, this was just the beginning. After all, as a martial grandmaster, his foundation was far superior to that of ordinary cultivators, not just ten or a hundred times better.

The hardest part is the beginning. With the first strand of magical power condensed, Jiang Chen's cultivation quickly entered a steady state. As he circulated the Daoist techniques, the essence of heaven and earth was drawn to him, flowing continuously through his 480 million pores into his body, where it was refined into his own magical power.

In one night, Jiang Chen condensed thirty-six strands of magical power. If he wished, he could have directly refined them into his spiritual root and started cultivating Daoist techniques. However, he was not a short-sighted person and would not neglect the importance of laying a solid foundation for the sake of quick results.

The next morning, Jiang Chen, as usual, got up early for morning exercises. Uncle Nine and Wen Cai did the same, but Qiusheng, who was staying at his aunt's house in town, rarely came so early.

Uncle Nine, with his years of cultivation, immediately noticed the change in Jiang Chen and asked in surprise, "Little Brother, have you already condensed magical power?"

Jiang Chen had no reason to hide it and replied honestly, "Yes, I stayed up all night last night, diligently cultivating, and successfully condensed magical power."

"Wow! Little Uncle, you're really amazing! You managed to cultivate magical power in just one night!" Wen Cai exclaimed in surprise. "I took seven whole days to barely condense my first strand of magical power."

"You should be ashamed to admit that!" Uncle Nine snorted, giving him a glare before turning to Jiang Chen with a gentle smile. "As expected of a martial arts expert, your foundation is solid. However, Little Brother, you must not become complacent. The first 100 days of cultivation are crucial. You need to gather as much magical power as possible to lay the best foundation."

Jiang Chen respectfully responded, "I understand, Brother."

In the following days, Jiang Chen worked hard on his cultivation. Perhaps, as Uncle Nine had said, his foundation as a martial grandmaster was very solid. Almost every time he cultivated, he could condense thirty to fifty strands of magical power. Over time, he had gathered a total of 240 strands.

It's worth noting that even his master, Uncle Nine, had only condensed 72 strands of magical power during his 100-day foundation period, which was already considered excellent among the disciples of Mount Mao in nearly a hundred years!

But Jiang Chen continued to cultivate regardless. He had already made up his mind to wait until the full 100 days before refining his immortal root.

However, after more than ten days, he had to abandon this idea. When he condensed 365 strands of magical power, no matter how hard he tried, he could not condense the 366th strand. Helpless, he sought advice from Uncle Nine.

When Uncle Nine heard that Jiang Chen had condensed 365 strands of magical power, his eyes widened in shock. After a long pause, he replied with a bitter smile, "Little Brother, I forgot to tell you, and it's not mentioned in the book. Condensing 365 strands of magical power to form an immortal root is already the limit of our Mount Mao cultivation techniques. Unless you can obtain a more profound and comprehensive technique, you will not be able to condense the 366th strand of magical power, no matter how much you cultivate."

"I see." Jiang Chen frowned. "Then, Brother, can I directly refine my immortal root and start cultivating Daoist techniques now?"

"This..." Uncle Nine hesitated for a moment and then said, "Let's wait a few more days. Your cultivation speed is too fast, and although your foundation is solid, it's better to be cautious. In these few days, refine and purify the magical power in your body to make it as pure as possible. This will be beneficial for refining your immortal root."

"Yes, Brother." Jiang Chen did not hesitate, as he came from an era of information explosion and had a broad perspective. He understood Uncle Nine's meaning. Since he could not increase the quantity of magical power, he would focus on improving its quality, which would also enhance the quality of his immortal root.

"Little Brother, although you joined the latest and have been here for a short time, I must admit that you are far stronger than my two incompetent disciples," Uncle Nine said, looking at Jiang Chen with increasing satisfaction. He patted his shoulder and said, "Go rest. Get up early tomorrow. Someone has invited me to discuss something, and you can come along. I'll take you to try some foreign tea."

Jiang Chen was initially taken aback but then couldn't help but smile inwardly, recalling the scene from the story where Uncle Nine and Wen Cai made a fool of themselves in the coffee shop. However, he said, "Brother, that might not be appropriate. After all, they invited you."

Uncle Nine replied, "What's the problem? You are my little brother and have seen the world. You can give me some advice." He then suddenly remembered something and asked in surprise, "I almost forgot, Little Brother, you lived in Hong Kong before, so you must have had foreign tea, right?"

"Of course," Jiang Chen smiled.

"Good, good!" Uncle Nine was delighted and immediately rubbed his hands together, asking, "Can you teach me the proper way to drink foreign tea?"

"Of course," Jiang Chen responded and briefly explained the etiquette of drinking coffee. Uncle Nine frowned and left, and with Jiang Chen's keen hearing, he could still hear him muttering from a distance:

"Who would have thought there are so many rules for drinking foreign tea. I must bring Little Brother along tomorrow. Yes, and Wen Cai too, in case we make a fool of ourselves, he can take the blame..."

Jiang Chen couldn't help but feel speechless and inwardly lamented, "Brother, is this really a good idea?"