Chapter 975 Four Seasons

From now on, I'll call you 'Yin Yang Wu Hua Dan'.

Ji An was too lazy to think of any other name, so he just added a prefix to it as a name change.

He put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it, then calmed his mind and activated the Yin-Yang Cave True Technique to begin refining the pill.

The Five Elements Divine Palace is like a furnace, rapidly purifying the spiritual energy in the pills, and the Yin-Yang Dao Seed emits wisps of energy that blend into the spiritual energy.

These Dao seeds are usually nourished and provided with energy by the divine palace, and this is when they come into play.

With the blessing of the Yin and Yang power emanating from the Dao Seed, the magic power crystal and the soul power essence merge into an inseparable whole, becoming even purer.

This is a huge advantage that other cultivators do not possess; these crystals can subtly nourish the body and nascent soul, forming a perfect closed loop.

Through years of purification, Ji An's magical power surpasses that of other cultivators of the same level, and even surpasses that of some cultivators in the mid-stage of the Three Flowers Realm.

During the Nascent Soul stage, the magic crystals were golden, while the soul power was light black. Now, the crystals are distinctly black and white.

The black is deep and the white is crystal clear, with a shimmering light on the surface.

In the upper dantian, the nascent soul sat upright in the Guanghan Palace, with a radiant spiritual cloud above its head emitting a dazzling light.

Compared to when it first broke through, the brightness and texture of the light have improved considerably.

Ji An's hair changed from black to white, and then from white to black, in a continuous cycle.

The images of the sun and moon appeared on his forehead, and as the sun rose and the moon set, one could also see the moon waxing and waning.

At this moment, he looked inward at his body and saw that the immortal meridians were like channels of light, and the crystals were like surging river water, constantly merging into the upper and middle dantian.

About one-tenth of it flowed into the lower dantian and was taken by the stone turtle and the primordial fire.

The stone tortoise tilted its head slightly and swallowed the crystal, while the yin-yang symbol on its carapace rotated.

The black and white light alternated in brightness. When the white light was more dazzling, Ji An's forehead would inevitably show the phase of the sun, and when the black part was bright, his forehead would show the phase of the moon.

Ayun was guarding nearby. She noticed that the smoke rising from the incense burner was slowing down. She tiptoed over, cleaned up the burnt-out ash, and lit a plate of soul-nourishing incense, placing it into the burner.

After doing all this, she retreated to a place twenty feet away and began to slowly simmer the spiritual water condensed by the cloud tree.

She didn't know how long her master needed to cultivate, but she would keep the spiritual water boiling.

Ji An maintained a highly efficient refining pace, taking ten hours to completely refine the pill.

He carefully sensed the increase in his cultivation level, and a satisfied smile appeared on his tired face.

Refining a tiny pill was equivalent to more than twenty years of arduous cultivation, and his cultivation level advanced by leaps and bounds.

At this moment, his spiritual power was nearly exhausted, and his temples were throbbing slightly, so he reached out and pressed the acupoints with a little force.

Upon seeing that her master had finished his cultivation, A-Yun immediately added some bamboo charcoal to the stove and then put tea leaves into the pot.

After brewing the tea, she quickly stepped forward to pour it for the customer.

"Your Majesty, please have some tea."

Ji An took the teacup, tilted his head back and drank the tea in one gulp. The pot of tea was quickly finished, his consciousness was replenished, and his headache lessened a bit.

He waved his hand gently and said:

"I am going to sleep soundly. Do not wake me unless there is something urgent."

To mortals, he is no different from an immortal, but he still needs sleep, which is a good aid to speed up the recovery of his consciousness.

Ayun replied respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty. Please rest well."

When Ji An woke up from his dream, six hours had passed. He felt refreshed and his mind was sharp.

Ayun prepared a sumptuous feast of spiritual food, which he ate gracefully and quickly.

Over the next few days, he refined all the five-colored flowers into pills, eventually obtaining one hundred and two pills.

He was not satisfied with the result because the success rate of pills improved slowly. At first, it was only about 40%, and it only reached 80% in the last batch. Overall, the success rate was only about 50%.

With the elixir in hand, Ji An no longer left his house, hiding in his small world to cultivate, refining one elixir every month, letting spring and autumn pass by.

Sixty years have passed. On this day, Ji An held up the Yin-Yang Five Elements Pill and grinned, saying:

"What a symbolic number! The breakthrough is today!"

He suppressed his smile, sat cross-legged on the futon with a solemn expression, tilted his head back and swallowed the pill, then activated his cultivation technique to begin refining the medicinal power.

After refining the pills, he reached a bottleneck in his cultivation after using only eighty pills. He then stopped taking the pills and began a long journey of breakthrough.

Once cultivation reaches a bottleneck, taking pills becomes a waste, unless the bottleneck is loosened; otherwise, the effect of a single pill is negligible.

He was multitasking, rapidly refining the medicinal power on one hand, and simultaneously channeling his nascent soul's magical power like a tidal wave to continuously challenge the bottleneck.

At this moment, the sound of waves emanated from his body, as if he were in a vast ocean.

The veins on the surface of the Five Elements Divine Palace change in brightness and darkness, and the Yin and Yang Dao Seeds gush out Yin and Yang energies.

Not only them, but also the stone tortoise spewed out strands of yin and yang spiritual light from its mouth, all of which gathered into the magic crystal.

When the time was right and heaven and earth joined forces, Ji An remained calm and maintained his rhythm as he refined the medicinal power.

Originally, his body only emitted the sound of waves, but later, along with the sound of waves, a strong wind surged out from his pores, creating ripples in the gourd world and greatly accelerating the flow of the wind.

About five hours later, Ji An felt his body suddenly lighten, as if he could float without any force.

At the same time, the nascent soul, which was performing hand seals in the Guanghan Palace, felt a refreshing sensation rising in its lower abdomen, and a cool feeling spreading throughout its body. Suddenly, a spiritual flower appeared above its head.

He broke through to the mid-stage of the Three Flowers Realm naturally, like water flowing lightly down from a height.

The cultivation of the Three Flowers Realm by cultivators involves condensing the three flowers of essence, qi, and spirit. When breaking through to the Cave Heaven, the three flowers unite as one, just as all laws return to oneness.

When one breaks through to the Three Flowers Realm, the essence flower that condenses is pure white like jade and has a warm and smooth appearance; when one's cultivation breaks through to the middle stage of the Three Flowers Realm, the essence flower that condenses is silvery white and has a sharp aura.

The powerful spiritual pressure surged outward like the shockwave from a nuclear explosion, spreading outward from the Gathering Yuan Tree and reaching every corner of the gourd world in a very short time.

Whether it's a lake in the black soil or a lava lake in the red earth, ripples spread outwards in concentric circles.

From high above, one can see the spirit trees falling outwards, and the immense wind pressure sweeping across the entire small world.

As a natal spiritual treasure, the Qilin beast transformed from the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner was the first to let out a deep, resonant roar, reigning supreme over this world along with the raging wind.

This is both a cheer and a declaration: after its master's cultivation breakthrough, it too can break through the shackles and reach the mid-grade level of the fifth rank.

As the roar of the Qilin spread in all directions, the spirit beasts transformed from the other five flags followed suit, roaring or neighing, filling the air with a joyful atmosphere.

Ji An ignored the changes in the outside world and continued to circulate his cultivation technique, slowly restraining the spiritual pressure that had become uncontrollable due to the improvement of his cultivation.

After his cultivation level improved, his physical strength and spiritual power became even stronger. It seemed that there was an invisible spring within his body, which rapidly replenished the consumed spiritual energy and magical power.

After half a day, Ji An finally managed to contain the spiritual pressure that was constantly dissipating.

He rose from the prayer mat and let out a clear, heroic whistle that pierced through the clouds and shook the surrounding area.

At that moment, he felt a mysterious rhythmic fluctuation rising from the depths of the earth beneath his feet. The earth seemed to come alive, like a dormant giant beast breathing.

Aura emanated from various plots of land, and the stable spiritual energy in the small world became turbulent. Just moments ago, everything was calm, but now it was like boiling water in a cauldron.

Ji An was very familiar with this situation, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter, his laughter echoing throughout the entire little world.

The spiritual energy of the five elements surged from the ground, and the turbulent spiritual energy caused the musk oxen, golden-feathered chickens, and other monsters that were kept as a source of meat to run around restlessly.

The two lakes became murky, and fish leaped out of the water, creating a lively scene.

A day later, the restless spirit gradually calmed down, and the spiritual vein reached the fifth-grade lower level.

The Five Sacred Mountains True Lords, Yue Ling'er, along with the Golden Hair, the Golden Feathered Eagle, and the Azure Water Turtle, all gathered under the Gathering Yuan Tree and loudly congratulated them:

"Congratulations on your advancement in cultivation, Your Majesty, and congratulations on the improvement of the spiritual vein grade of your small world."

The Five Sacred Mountains True Lord, with eyes like crescent moons, chuckled in a simple and honest voice:

"Judging from the speed at which Your Majesty's cultivation is improving, reaching the Cave Heaven Realm is as easy as taking candy from a baby."

With the improvement of his spiritual vein grade, he will also gain greater benefits. With more spiritual energy nourishing his body, the speed of purifying his bloodline will be much faster than before, and the time it takes for his cultivation to reach the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage will be shortened accordingly.

Not only him, but all living beings living in the small world will benefit from it, and Yue Ling'er also had a happy smile on her face.

Ji An smiled gently, her eyes sparkling like stars:

"Haha, even I dare not say that I can steadily break through to the Cave Heaven Realm, but you seem to have more confidence than I do."

Even though I know the other person is just flattering me, it's still nice to hear those words of praise.

Ah Yun, who was behind him, chimed in, "The Azure Jade Fruit was already close to ripening, and now that the spiritual vein's grade has been upgraded to the fifth level, the fruit will ripen in a few years."

Currently in the Calabash World, the Azure Jade Tree, the Cloud-Panning Tree, and the Fusang Tree are all in their fruiting period. The improvement of the spiritual vein grade can accelerate the growth of all spiritual plants.

Ah Yun paused for a moment, then smiled and said:

"With the improvement of the spiritual vein's grade, more and more spiritual trees will break through to the fifth grade in the future."

"Your Majesty, when that time comes, may I begin refining fifth-grade spirit wine?"

She now thoroughly enjoys the winemaking process, where various spiritual fruits and herbs transform into wine, reaching their most beautiful state over time.

A subtle truth ferments in the wine, and at this time, time reveals its gentle side.

Ji An waved his hand vigorously and said heartily:

“Apart from the spiritual fruits that grow from the spiritual roots of heaven and earth, everything can be used to brew wine.”

Centuries later, he finally had a chance to drink the spiritual wine brewed in the gourd world, and he was filled with emotion.

A few days ago, while inspecting the spirit fields, I found that the lightning-struck Azure Dragon Wood, the Nether Moon Azure Jade Tree, the Blazing Fire Immortal Apricot, and the Mysterious Leaf Sword Bamboo all had fourth-tier top-grade plants that had begun to transform.

In addition, the phoenix tree, the enlightenment tea tree, the phoenix perch tree, the bodhi tree, and the purple-gold parasol tree also began to transform, and this gratifying change occurred even without his interference.

He was initially worried that the improvement in the grade of the spirit wood would affect the growth of the surrounding spirit plants. Such a happy trouble was something that other cultivators could only dream of experiencing.

Now that the spiritual veins of the gourd world have been upgraded, there is no need to worry about the adverse effects of the spiritual wood's transformation.

Judging from the current situation, the spiritual fruits that can be used to brew wine are the Fire Immortal Apricot and the Bodhi Fruit. It is unknown whether the Thunderstruck Wood, Red Cloud Pine and Jade Leaf Mulberry will break through to the fifth rank in the future.

Pine nut wine, made primarily from pine nuts and mulberries, is the best-tasting wine. Not only does it taste great, but it also possesses a unique quality and offers excellent health benefits.

One day, he might lavishly use spiritual fruits like the Azure Jade Fruit, a product of the heavens and earth, to brew wine.

Ayun bowed slightly and said happily, "I accept the order!"

With the emperor's approval, she no longer needed to worry about brewing wine, and she began to think about which medicinal herbs would be best to use as auxiliary ingredients.

Six months later, in the world of gourds, the autumn wind was blowing hard, the cicadas were chirping sadly, and the falling leaves were rustling.

Apart from the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots, the leaves of other spiritual trees returned to the earth. A few yellow leaves also fell from these Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots, a sight that had never appeared before.

Under the Gathering Yuan Tree, Ji An reached out and pinched a yellow leaf that fluttered down like a butterfly, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

Fallen leaves are a good thing, as they allow the spirit tree to retain more energy for growth, while the fallen leaves turn into dust and mud to nourish the soil.

Now that fallen leaves return to their roots, the world truly forms a complete cycle.

The laws governing the small world were not perfect in the past, but they are constantly being improved now.

Ji An suddenly realized that breaking through to the Cave Heaven Realm meant perfecting his own microcosm.

The so-called unity of man and nature means that the microcosm of the inner world and the macrocosm of the outside world resonate at the same frequency.

Previous scientific research speculated that the universe has a lifespan. When the external universe is annihilated, powerful cultivators use their inner microcosm to resist the force of annihilation, thus becoming independent of the world and continuing their legend in the next cosmic era.

Large snowflakes fell one after another, turning the world white. The falling snow blurred the outlines of the trees and concealed the traces of the medicinal herbs.

In the black spiritual field, a thick layer of ice, three feet high, had frozen over the lake.

A desolate atmosphere pervaded the gourd world, and in the snow-covered landscape, only the area around the lava lake remained unfrozen.

In the center of the sturdy house with its red bricks and green tiles was a small red clay stove, where Ji An, Wu Yue Zhenjun, and Yue Ling'er were enjoying warm wine and tea in a very pleasant atmosphere.

Outside, snow was falling heavily and the wind was howling, but inside the room it was very warm.

Yue Ling'er drank half a cup of hot tea and sighed:

"I never imagined that the four seasons would be so distinct after the spiritual vein's grade was improved. Even if I stay outside for a long time, I can feel the cold air seeping into my bones."

Spring brings a riot of flowers, summer offers lush greenery, autumn paints the landscape with colorful leaves, and winter blankets the ground in snow. The gourd world is distinct in its four seasons, maintaining the same rhythm as the outside world.

This year was the first cold winter. Due to insufficient preparation, many of the cattle, sheep, chickens and rabbits we raised froze to death. Later, we built animal sheds and heated kang beds, and things improved.

The Five Sacred Mountains True Lord nodded, “When the fourth-grade top-quality spiritual veins existed, day and night were distinct, but now the four seasons are distinct, and the laws of this world are becoming more and more perfect.”

(End of this chapter)