Chapter 25

Due to the existence of the immortal root, Gu Xuyao's perception and control of primordial energy have greatly improved. Now, he no longer needs to repeatedly recite lengthy incantations to mobilize the primordial energy outside his body, or to force it to obey his commands. He only needs to think about it, and the immortal root will exert its power, forcibly drawing the primordial energy into his body.

"Right, think of yourself as a boat, and the primordial energy as water. You are filling the boat with water to make it float." Wang Suishi was not the best teacher, but for these basics, as long as one had a bit of insight, it wouldn't be difficult.

At this moment, Gu Xuyao was practicing the Dao technique to make himself fly off the ground, which is also one of the reasons many mortals want to cultivate: the ability to fly in the air.

"Remember, the key to this 'Soaring' technique is to maintain the balance between the boat and the water. The water should not be injected too quickly, or the boat will become unstable. At the same time, you must also control the oars well, so the boat doesn't spin in place." Wang Suishi's large body floated in the air, sitting cross-legged.

Compared to Wang Suishi, Gu Xuyao was much worse. He was only a finger's height off the ground, and his entire body was trembling, as if he might fall at any moment.

"Wang Senior Brother, it sounds easy when you say it, but why is it so hard for me to do it..."

Wang Suishi smiled kindly and patted Gu Xuyao's shoulder. However, this light pat caused Gu Xuyao, who was already struggling to maintain balance, to fall to the ground. Fortunately, the training ground had no dust.

"Xiao Gu, don't be too anxious. You've just started practicing the Soaring technique, and being able to do this much is already good." As he spoke, Wang Suishi landed on the ground. "That's enough for today, Xiao Gu. Follow me back to continue practicing the Force Technique."

On the spacious training ground, there were still over a dozen cultivators practicing Dao techniques, some of whom could already hover a foot off the ground. A foot was the basic requirement.

Gu Xuyao got up from the ground, looking at his fellow disciples, lost in thought.

"Wang Senior Brother, why can't the cultivators of our Lingxiao Realm freely soar in the sky?" Although Gu Xuyao had just started practicing the Soaring technique, he shouldn't only be able to hover a finger's height.

Wang Suishi also looked at the disciples practicing the Soaring technique nearby. Compared to Gu Xuyao, he was much calmer.

"This is the rule of heaven and earth. I don't know the reason. From the time of my great-grandfather's generation, it has been like this. It is said that it was the same even earlier. Sigh, why do you spend your days thinking about these unsolvable questions? Come, come, let's start practicing the Force Technique. Don't be too slow, or you'll make me lose face." Wang Suishi did not come from the mortal realm; he had lived in the cultivation world for generations.

Gu Xuyao retracted his gaze and followed Wang Suishi to the edge of the training ground. The training ground was rectangular, and along the left edge, there were huge stones, each about three people tall and requiring ten people to barely encircle.

"Alright, do you remember the key points I taught you? Feel the immortal root, mobilize the primordial energy from the immortal root to your limbs, and only then can you exert the special physical strength of a Force Cultivator." The immortal root is inside the bone marrow, so it provides more energy to the physical body. This is the biggest difference between Force Cultivators and Dao Cultivators. Force Cultivators rely on their physical bodies, while Dao Cultivators rely on the heavens and earth.

Gu Xuyao nodded, took a deep breath, and walked to the huge stone.

"Ha!" He grunted, bent down, and grabbed the bottom of the stone. Veins bulged on his forehead and neck, and the veins on his hands swelled like fat leeches.

Gu Xuyao looked very small in front of the huge stone, but this did not change the fact that he lifted it, albeit only a finger's height.

However, this was not Gu Xuyao's limit. With another loud shout, his eyes almost bulged out, and he managed to lift the stone to the height of a palm.

"Enough." Wang Suishi nodded.

"Thud..." The stone was put down, and Gu Xuyao felt a wave of exhaustion. Although the immortal root provided strength, lifting such a huge stone was still very strenuous for him.

"Continue, there are still forty-nine more times left today, at the same height, quickly!" Wang Suishi said, floating in the air and sitting cross-legged. As for Gu Xuyao, he could only grit his teeth and continue, leaving a series of loud thuds on the training ground.

As the sun set, another day passed. This was the sixth day since Gu Xuyao started practicing the basic Dao techniques.

"Fifty..." Lifting the stone to the height of a palm, Gu Xuyao completed his last practice.

Breathing heavily, Gu Xuyao plopped down on the ground. At this moment, he realized how far he was from the cultivators who could effortlessly play with objects several times larger than the stone.

"Hehe, Xiao Gu, you did well today. Usually, you finish when it's dark. It seems I'll have to increase your limit the day after tomorrow." Wang Suishi landed on the ground, smiling kindly. The practice of the Force Technique emphasizes constantly pushing the limits of the physical body, so Gu Xuyao was using all his strength each time he lifted the stone.

"Ha... Wang Senior Brother, don't do it so quickly. I only started lifting to the height of a palm a few days ago. Do you really need to increase it so soon? Wait, you said the day after tomorrow, does that mean we don't practice tomorrow?" Gu Xuyao also got up from the ground.

Wang Suishi walked towards the room.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. Tomorrow is a small practice session that happens every ten days. Since you have officially joined the Force Academy and started practicing Dao techniques, I think you should participate. Even if you don't gain much, it's good to meet your senior and junior brothers."

Gu Xuyao nodded instinctively.

"Is that so? I didn't expect to be able to participate in the practice so soon. I thought it would take at least a year or two..."

Wang Suishi laughed heartily and patted Gu Xuyao's back hard. "Xiao Gu, don't be too excited. Participating in the practice isn't a big deal. The small practice is just a chance for everyone to meet after a long time of cultivation, to spar and discuss. Of course, you don't need to feel constrained. Observing and discussing with other disciples will also benefit you."

Wang Suishi almost knocked Gu Xuyao off his feet. Gu Xuyao barely stood steady, smiled awkwardly, and followed Wang Suishi into the Dao room.

At night, Gu Xuyao was not allowed to rest. The quiet of the night was the best time for the cultivation of thoughts.

Thoughts are something that cultivators form by expanding their perception through the immortal root or divine jade. They allow cultivators to see things they cannot see and go to places they cannot reach, thus understanding the situation. Thoughts can also observe other cultivators. In short, the application of thoughts is very broad. If thoughts do not keep up with cultivation, even the highest level of cultivation may not be powerful.

"Remember, thoughts are related to your cultivation, but not absolutely. You should treat thoughts as an independent existence. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist. You must open yourself up to your thoughts completely, so they can grow faster." Wang Suishi would say this every night before closing his eyes to meditate, leaving Gu Xuyao to practice alone.

Cultivators' teachings are not like children's private school; they rely more on personal insight. If one cannot even do this, they might as well go back to farming.

After previous practice, Gu Xuyao had gained some understanding of the cultivation of thoughts. The method is somewhat elusive, roughly involving seeing oneself as one's thoughts, but not entirely.

By connecting primordial energy to the brain and opening up all memories, allowing the primordial energy to flow through until it can float out of the top of the head, that is a strand of thoughts. This strand of thoughts can be controlled by Gu Xuyao, but with his current ability, he can only make the thoughts slip out of the door of the Dao room and bask in the moonlight.

Of course, to control more thoughts, one needs to practice. The method is to read, specifically, to read "stones."

Hexagonal stones, as their name suggests, have six edges. They can store information drawn by primordial energy for cultivators to read with their thoughts. A thin hexagonal stone can store as much information as a hundred paper books. Not only that, since the information is stored by drawing with primordial energy, it gives a more intuitive feeling, making the information in the hexagonal stone more memorable than in books.

Gu Xuyao was reading a hexagonal stone that recorded many insights from the cultivation world. He still had a lot to learn about the cultivation world.

The entire night, Gu Xuyao spent creating thoughts to read the hexagonal stone. Due to the limited number of thoughts, he had only read a small portion of the hexagonal stone.

"Is it morning again..." Unconsciously, time passed quickly, and the sunlight replaced the darkness.

Gu Xuyao gently placed the hexagonal stone on the table, and Wang Suishi, sitting on a cushion, came out of his meditation, looking at Gu Xuyao.

"Did you have a good night?"

Gu Xuyao shook his head.

"Everything is the same, there's nothing particularly good or bad."

"Since that's the case, let your senior brothers give you some inspiration, so you won't be 'the same' anymore." Saying this, Wang Suishi stood up and walked out of the Dao room.

The small practice was not necessary for many accomplished cultivators. Instead of wasting time, they preferred to research on their own in their rooms. However, even so, there were already many cultivators standing on the training ground.

There were thirty-six cultivators like Wang Suishi in the "Ten Thousand Men's Strength," who were permanently stationed there to teach the younger disciples.

The small practice also had its own small groups. Disciples could ask their senior brothers about cultivation questions.

"Xiao Gu, remember to greet your senior brothers properly."

As he spoke, six cultivators in a group seemed to notice Wang Suishi and walked over.

"Here they are." Wang Suishi smiled and pointed to the approaching group.