Chapter 17

When Gu Xuyao woke up, he was accompanied by a sharp pain. He opened his eyes groggily and saw the familiar room.

Memories flooded back. He vaguely remembered continuously absorbing the elemental forces in the air. The pain in his body was unbearable at the time, but later, he found his body gradually glowing, and the pain lessened. Overjoyed, Gu Xuyao accelerated his efforts. After an unknown period, he discovered that no matter what he did, he could no longer absorb the elemental forces, and eventually, he slowly fell asleep...

"You're awake." If it weren't for someone speaking, Gu Xuyao wouldn't have noticed there was someone else in the room.

Turning his head, he saw a figure as beautiful as a fairy, elegant and refined. Clearly, this person was not Zibi, so it could only be her...

"Senior Sister Yixia..." Gu Xuyao got up, puzzled as to why such a woman would be in his room. "Why are you here..." Gu Xuyao didn't know that he had just returned from the brink of death.

Yixia slowly opened her eyes.

"During your cultivation a few days ago, you didn't follow the correct method, which led to you absorbing too much elemental force that you couldn't digest. Fortunately, the Sect Leader rescued you in time, or you would have met your end."

Gu Xuyao was stunned. "Incorrect method? I followed the cultivation method given by the training room. Why would it be..."

Yixia's expression remained unchanged, and she didn't directly answer the question.

"The cultivation method itself is correct; otherwise, you wouldn't have just fallen into a coma. However, the complete method should include specific steps and precautions. As for why this part was omitted, I suspect the training room made a mistake. Now that your body has been fully infused with elemental force, don't dwell on this issue."

Gu Xuyao thought about it and felt it was indeed the case. That dirty old man didn't seem like a sane person; it was strange that he could give the correct method at all.

"I see. No wonder I felt more pain the more I cultivated. It turns out the method was wrong. Thank you, Senior Sister Yixia, for clearing up my confusion." Gu Xuyao bowed. "Senior Sister, you mentioned that my body has been fully infused with elemental force. Is that true?" As he spoke, Gu Xuyao recalled Yixia's words and couldn't help but feel extremely excited.

Yixia nodded slightly.

"That's correct. Although you cultivated using the wrong method, this isn't entirely a bad thing. First, the process of fully infusing the body with elemental force is quite simple, essentially forcing the elemental force into the body. The correct method should be to absorb it in moderation based on your body's condition, stopping when you feel pain, and continuing after your body has digested it."

As she spoke, Yixia handed him a piece of paper with elegant handwriting, detailing the complete method for fully infusing the body with elemental force.

"However, while this method is safe, it limits the body's potential development. Many disciples with strong bodies or willpower choose to endure more pain during this process to absorb more elemental force. This is the first time elemental force enters the body, known as 'initial absorption.' It's like a child; if you always indulge them, they will never grow up. But if you strictly train them from a young age, their future achievements will be unpredictable."

Gu Xuyao listened to Yixia's explanation, nodding. He had been eager to cultivate and ignored the pain, never expecting that his mistake would lay a good foundation.

"Now that your body has more potential, this is a good thing. However, don't be too happy. You should know that the path of physical cultivation is filled with difficulties and pain. Your body has now tamed a lot of elemental force, so the next step, strengthening your tendons and bones, will require you to absorb more elemental force than those who completed the full infusion correctly. This process will be more painful than for others." Yixia handed him another piece of paper, detailing the next stage of strengthening tendons and bones.

"The training room has had many issues recently, so the Sect Leader asked me to directly teach you the method for strengthening tendons and bones. You don't need to go to the training room anymore. Remember, if you encounter any problems, follow the instructions on the paper. This is not like the full infusion; bones are the foundation of the body. If you make a mistake, even the Sect Leader can't save you." With that, Yixia stood up, pushed the door open, and left Gu Xuyao's room.

Looking at the paper in his hand and recalling Yixia's words, Gu Xuyao felt a bit dazed. He had been cruelly rejected by the Dao cultivators at the age of nine, but now, under the guidance of physical cultivation, he had unexpectedly found a better path.

"Nothing is difficult for one who sets his mind to it. This is true. The path of physical cultivation is difficult, but I can walk it. No matter what lies ahead, I will not give up..."

Gu Xuyao pulled out a folded white paper from his waist. Without opening it, he knew the content. He looked at the paper deeply, then got up, closed the door, and began to cultivate!

"Bones are like the foundation of a house, the branches of a nest. Without bones, there is no body. Even if the body perishes, the bones remain, the strongest barrier of a person. If you want to build the roots of immortality, you must use bones as the foundation, ensuring everything is perfect."

After carefully reading the method Yixia gave him, Gu Xuyao understood why she had warned him not to act rashly.

Compared to the full infusion, the steps for strengthening tendons and bones were not complicated, but the time required was longer, and the pain endured was greater.

"No wonder many cultivators give up on the path of physical cultivation during bone strengthening, unable to bear the pain. Those selected for physical cultivation are all people with strong willpower, and even they cannot endure the pain, which is truly unimaginable..."

Gu Xuyao muttered to himself, but he was not afraid. The image of Zibi flashed in his mind, strengthening his resolve.

"The first step is to learn how to control the elemental force..." To strengthen bones, the elemental force must enter the bone marrow and refine it.

During the full infusion, Gu Xuyao had only absorbed elemental force into his body using the white light arm. Now, he needed to learn how to control the flow of elemental force.

Following the method on the paper, Gu Xuyao closed his eyes and sat cross-legged. The first step was to connect with the elemental force within his body.

After the full infusion, Gu Xuyao's body was filled with elemental force. He silently recited the method, and although he couldn't directly see the elemental force inside him, he gradually felt its presence.

At first, only a few small points appeared in the darkness before his closed eyes. After a while, Gu Xuyao felt more and more light points, forming a human shape. Upon closer inspection, it was himself.

He knew this was the initial success of the method. He began to silently recite the second part of the method. The method was long, and Gu Xuyao recited it ten times before it finally took effect. The originally stationary elemental force began to stir, as if someone was trying to control it.

Gu Xuyao was delighted and sped up his recitation. The method, which was initially unfamiliar, gradually became second nature. Strangely, the more he recited, the faster it became. What was once recited word by word was now completed in a flash, and before he realized it, he had finished a round!

Soon, as Gu Xuyao mastered the method, thoughts began to rise in his mind. These thoughts were not his own but those of the elemental force particles within his body.

"Connect with these thoughts and control the elemental force..."

The next part of the method followed, the final section. This time, it was not about reciting faster but slower. This part was the opposite of the previous two sections. As soon as he started reciting, it became uncontrollably fast, so fast that Gu Xuyao didn't know what he was reciting. His task was to slow it down.

This was not as simple as it sounded. It was like pushing a cart; pushing it faster was not difficult, but stopping it required a lot of effort.

As the sun set and the moon rose, a day passed. Near midnight, Gu Xuyao finally slowed down the recitation.

As the method took effect, Gu Xuyao's vision changed. He no longer saw himself but a deeper part of himself, delving into his mind and the thoughts beside each elemental force particle.

He reached out to touch the pure, unadulterated thoughts. At first, they resisted, but gradually, the thoughts of the elemental force particles merged with Gu Xuyao. At the same time, he felt a subtle connection with a strand of elemental force in his body, as if it were a part of him, and he could use it at will!

The full infusion was like filling a container with water, while strengthening tendons and bones taught cultivators how to use the water.

Soon, Gu Xuyao connected with all the elemental force particles in his body, completing the initial step of controlling elemental force.

"Phew..." Reciting the method to stop the connection, Gu Xuyao opened his eyes and saw the real world again, feeling a bit dazed.

Seeing that it was already midnight, Gu Xuyao deeply understood the saying that cultivation has no sense of time.

"The next step is to connect with the elemental force around my body..." Gu Xuyao took a sip of water, didn't rest, and continued to the next step.

When Gu Xuyao connected with all the elemental force in his body, his body would appear as elemental force itself, at least from the perspective of elemental force.

This made it possible to connect with the elemental force in the air.

Gu Xuyao closed his eyes and sat cross-legged again. This time, it took him only an hour to connect with all the elemental force in his body. Next, he needed to use their thoughts to connect with the elemental force in the air.

This sounded simple but was extremely difficult, as physical cultivators could not sense or perceive like Dao cultivators. In the eyes of elemental force, Dao cultivators were revered, while physical cultivators were always brutal.

Gu Xuyao began to recite a new method. This time, he saw not the elemental force in his body but the free-floating elemental force particles around him.

Due to the connection with the elemental force in his body, he quickly saw all the elemental force particles around him. They glowed white, and the originally dark room was now filled with light.

"The first step is complete, so now for the next step." Gu Xuyao thought. "Come, all under my control!" He slowly recited another new method.

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