Chapter 191: Unknown Strength
In winter, the top of Mount Ni is covered with white snow on the fallen leaves. When you step on it, you can hear a rustling sound, which is one of the most subtle collapse sounds in the world.
The inner court disciples who traveled between the five peaks could not help but walk out of the hall and look towards the direction of the mountain path.
Then I saw a long string of footprints starting from Zizhu Zen Forest and extending all the way to the inner courtyard of Xianju.
Beneath his footprints was melted snow, which turned into a clear spring with a crackling sound, covering the withered yellow grass leaves like amber that had not yet solidified.
There are five major immortal halls in Tianshu Academy, among which the disciples of Wuchen Hall mainly practice the way of Qiyuan.
There is a theory in the Tao of Qiyuan, which was proposed by Elder Jiao, that is, energy is never generated on its own, but is obtained through the transformation of work.
The transformation of certain energies is accompanied by an unquenchable heat...
After the winter snow in December comes sunny days with slightly warm sunshine. Although the bright sunlight is not enough to drive away the cold, it is still bright enough that people can’t look directly at it.
At this time, the outer courtyard teachers Ma Zhiyuan and Ding Ang came walking on the snow, arrived at the enlightenment field, and gently exhaled a puff of white smoke.
Although it is not yet the new year and the outer courtyard autumn competition next year is even further away, they still have to come every five days to check on the disciples' practice.
At this time, there were not so many disciples in the Wudao Field.
Only Fang Jincheng, Lu Qingqiu's sister Lu Hanyan and Puyang Xing, as well as five scattered disciples, were sitting cross-legged and meditating.
This phenomenon is just like what Cao Jinsong said to Ji You at the beginning. When they were admitted to the hospital, everyone felt that they would become a genius.
But as the gap gradually widens, the Tao aspirations of many of those who lag behind will gradually be extinguished.
In the end, only those few who were far ahead of the others and some guys who were unwilling to give up were left.
Lu Qingqiu's sister Lu Hanyan had already gathered the third ray of mysterious light, one step faster than Puyang Xing. Instructor Ma was very pleased.
Puyang Xingze is a student of Teacher Ding, and he is now chasing after him.
As for Fang Jincheng, he was personally recruited by the elders of the inner courtyard, and he still has the Five Mysterious Lights.
"Fang Jincheng seems to be slowing down?" Ding Ang spoke softly at the edge of the enlightenment field.
Ma Zhiyuan nodded: "He delayed his admission to the hospital for a year, but so far he has only five rays of profound light, and the speed is getting slower and slower, far worse than the two last year..."
"The lower three realms and the upper five realms are one for self-cultivation and one for enlightenment of heaven. There is a huge difference between them. Some people have good aptitude and can reach the lower three realms very quickly, but their enlightenment is very poor, so it is not uncommon for them to have a hard time reaching the upper five realms."
Ding Ang stroked his long beard and said, "It seems that Ah Xing and the second young lady of the Lu family still have a great chance."
Ma Zhiyuan nodded, then fell into silence, his mind vaguely in a trance.
Because although they, like in previous years, focused all their energy on the competition among their disciples' progress in cultivation, they did not seem to have the same tit-for-tat enthusiasm as in previous years.
Even when talking about so-and-so's disciples, who is more skilled than so-and-so, or who is obviously very talented, the tone is indifferent and weak, as if he or she is in low spirits.
After much thought, there are two reasons.
First, there is no such tit-for-tat atmosphere among the outer courtyard disciples.
At this time last year, the outer courtyard disciples were all paying attention to those few who were far ahead of the others. They were chasing each other and there was constant friction between them. Even the inner courtyard disciples were paying attention to them.
But this year, the focus of the outer and inner court disciples is on the inner court.
Coincidentally, no matter how the focus of the inner and outer courtyards shifts, it ultimately falls on the same person.
The second reason comes from themselves. To put it bluntly, the fights between their teachers are no longer tense.
Because in previous years, among their outer courtyard teachers, there was a fat man whose background was very poor, and every year his disciples would become the object of everyone's ridicule.
But since last year, this object of ridicule has disappeared, and instead, it has turned into a huge chest that is bulging to the point of bursting.
"I heard from several disciples in the inner courtyard that Ji You has achieved a breakthrough again."
Ding Ang nodded: "Yes, I heard that it took him half a month to break through the realm of Tongxuan this time, which was beyond many people's expectations."
Ma Zhiyuan pursed his lips and said, "I really don't know whether it's fast or slow."
Fast and slow are actually not absolute concepts in the field of spiritual practice, but relative ones.
It took Ji You only one year to reach the upper realm of Tongxuan, which was actually considered incredibly fast.
You know, Pan Bin, who came one year earlier than him, and Liu Qichen, who came two years earlier than him, are still only at the same Tongxuan upper realm.
And slow refers to the process of his breaking through.
It took a full half month just to break through a small realm. This speed is almost unmatched by the outer courtyard disciples. Otherwise, it would not have triggered a large-scale discussion about "not practicing body skills".
A few days ago, the inner and outer courtyards held lectures for this purpose, and the teachers from the outer courtyard also attended.
What was said in the lecture hall was that students with extremely high talents were not allowed to practice physical training.
But today, the discussion about "not practicing body training" suddenly decreased. The reason seemed to be the evaluation of Ji You after he broke through the realm by the disciples of the candidates for the Palace Master.
Ma Zhiyuan looked at Lu Qingqiu who was protecting her sister. She was talking about something with several sisters, Lou Siyi, Sun Qiaozhi and others, and her eyes glanced towards the outer courtyard from time to time.
"They said that Ji You had a strong spirit after breaking through the realm."
"Yes, they also said that the snow was melted. I don't know if it's true or not."
"But combat strength cannot be judged solely by aura. For example, the five hall masters in the inner courtyard have almost no aura around them."
"Courage is indeed not a measure of combat power. If he doesn't take action, perhaps no one will know how far he has come..."
Ma Zhiyuan and Ding Ang chatted with each other, then looked up at the white sky.
At this time, other people would often mention this protracted breakthrough.
There are even some senior and junior sisters in the academy who really want to try this heat.
A breakthrough in a small realm is not a big deal. Not to mention in the seven major immortal sects, even in those inferior mountain villas it would not attract so much attention.
Ultimately, it’s because it’s difficult for everyone to judge Ji You’s combat effectiveness at this time.
In the past world of immortal cultivation, people still basically judged combat power based on the level of their realm, but no one could tell what level Ji You, who was in the middle realm of Tongxuan and could repel a soldier king and kill a mysterious demon, was at.
At this time, Ji You, who had just broken through the realm, was in a deep sleep.
It was indeed not easy to break through this small realm, especially when you rushed to the end, you felt a strong sense of restraint, as if your whole body was wrapped in a layer of sticky substance, bringing an inescapable feeling of suffocation.
Although that feeling was just an illusion and not real suffocation, the panic it brought was the same.
And at the moment of breakthrough, fatigue came like a tide, making his five senses less alert.
Meanwhile, a figure in loose clothes came floating in, stood in his room for a long time, tinkered here and there, and then restored everything to its original state, leaving even the dust in its place.
Finally, he calculated with his fingers and threw three pieces of charcoal allowed by the constant into the furnace that was about to burn out.
Then he lightly pointed his finger and flames rose.
Ji You was sleeping as soundly as if dead, unaware of anything, and only kicked off the quilt when the temperature in the room gradually rose.
Then the loose figure quietly disappeared from the room without causing any wind or leaving any trace on the snow.
The sound sleep lasted until noon of the second day. At this time, the winter snow in December had stopped. The snow water melted by the sunlight at noon dripped down the eaves, but was frozen into hanging icicles little by little in the afternoon.
"Done?"
"Yes, it's done."
Ji You, who had just woken up, came to Cao Jinsong's yard in the midday sun.
Because he had sweated a lot when he broke through the realm, his immortal robe had already been stained. At this time, Ji You had changed into a scholar's robe, with a scholar's cloak on the outside. His aura was restrained and it was impossible to tell his depth.
While making tea, Cao Jinsong looked at Ji You, and finally sat down on the cushion of the stone bench with a slightly dazed look on his face.
During the days that Ji You was in a coma, there were many different opinions in the outer courtyard.
Some said that after he broke through the realm, he melted the snow in Zizhu Zen Monastery with his burning scalds. Others said that he burned the female disciples in the inner courtyard so hard that they couldn't sleep at night. Some even said that his clothes were burned through and he returned home naked.
Of course, it is still questionable whether the naked butt is due to being burned out or being horny.
After all, the accents are different within Kyushu.
The most exaggerated statement is that he is about to ascend to the immortal world with just a stomp of his feet.
But at this moment, Cao Jinsong felt that the feeling Ji You gave him at this moment was not as exaggerated as the rumors.
"Try to release your breath."
Ji You looked at him and said with a little tiredness: "What are you talking about? It's tiring."
Cao Jinsong immediately put on a serious expression: "Let go if I tell you to!"
"How much money can you give for releasing your aura?"
"I really brought an ancestor here!"
Cao Jinsong's beard trembled with anger, then he took out his purse and pulled out a bunch of silver coins.
Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin pushed the door open at this time. They had actually gone to Ji You's yard to see Ji You once last night, but Ji You was in a coma at that time, so they did not disturb him. They only rushed here after receiving the news.
As soon as they pushed the door open, they saw Cao Jinsong taking out silver and handing it to Ji You, and they couldn't help but hiss.
Did he just break through the realm and rely on his strength to rob? Filial piety! Ji You accepted the silver at this time, and raised his eyes to see Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu: "Senior Brother and Sister?"
Cao Jinsong looked at them and said, "You're just in time. Take a seat."
Ban Yangshu waved his hand: "No, I remembered something else..."
Wen Zhengxin also smiled and responded: "I think there's still some tea boiling in my room..."
"?"
Cao Jinsong later realized that they had misunderstood, and hurriedly said that he was not robbing, but wanted to spend money to see Ji You's aura.
Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin were sitting on a stone bench at this time, thinking to themselves, what's the difference between this and robbery.
Afterwards, Ji You began to open up the acupoints throughout his body, guiding the omnipresent spiritual energy of heaven and earth into his body.
After his spiritual energy was full, Ji You gently clenched his fist and began to release his aura, which gradually rose.
Soon, the sound of whistling wind gathered around him, and the scorching energy instantly spread to the courtyard, shaking the osmanthus tree in the room.
At this time, Ji You could already feel a more surging energy flowing throughout his body. Especially after his energy and spirit were replenished, he felt quite heroic as if he hated the sky for not having a handle and the earth for not having a ring.
However, the meridians in his arms have not been completely unblocked yet, and the energy flowing through here will cause a pain.
In addition, he discovered that the improvement of his realm had another impact on himself, which came from the physical body.
Because just now, as the spiritual energy in Ji You's body continued to fill up, the spiritual energy carried out by the shattered spiritual essence ignited the spiritual fire when his mind moved slightly.
At this moment, the powerful sense of calm brought by the sixteenth micro-lighting seemed to disappear...
Another point is that when he looked inward with his spiritual sense, he found that his spiritual energy was fragmented even more severely.
Cao Jinsong stopped it at this time.
In fact, the leap to a small realm will not make the cultivator possess more supernatural powers. The change it causes is only the improvement of spiritual energy and divine consciousness, which eventually turns into a leap in combat power.
Therefore, just by observing his aura circulation, it is still impossible to judge Ji You’s current combat power.
"Half a month, Ji You, you know that even students with less talent than you have never taken such a long time."
Cao Jinsong couldn't help but sigh.
Although Ji You was his rebellious disciple, he never worried about his cultivation. Apart from giving guidance to this evil disciple when he was comprehending the Heavenly Book, he never asked about other matters concerning enlightenment and breaking through the realm.
It's not that Cao Jinsong doesn't care about him, but the gap in talent between them is there, and Cao Jinsong doesn't want to lead him astray with his superficial understanding of the way of heaven.
It was also because of this that he never asked about Ji You's addiction to body training.
It was not until this breakthrough that Ji You spent more time than everyone else, which caused him to worry.
Refining the body is really a waste of one's talent for cultivation, and it will really offset the cultivator's closeness to the Way of Heaven.
After listening to this, Ji You raised his teacup and said, "I know what you mean, instructor. My physical strength has indeed hindered my speed of breaking through the realm, but combat power has always been what I pursue, so I may continue to refine my body."
Cao Jinsong pursed his lips and said, "This is just a small realm leap, but it's already so difficult. Aren't you really afraid that you won't be able to successfully merge with the Dao in the end?"
"Everything depends on human effort. Anyway, I have already cultivated to this point. It is nothing more than adding flour if there is too much water, and adding water if there is too much flour. Moreover, I have always felt that as long as I can grasp the balance between the physical body and the spiritual mind, my way of cultivation may not be wrong."
"I am not as talented as you, a traitor, and I cannot give you much advice, but you should be cautious when cultivating your body."
"Don't worry, I'll stop when I realize something is wrong."
Ji You put down the teacup and whispered.
After Yuyang County advanced through two realms in one night, his spiritual essence was shattered. Logically speaking, he should not be able to continue practicing.
But now that he has been able to cultivate to this level, it is like a gift for free to Ji You.
When it comes to spiritual practice, one must let nature take its course. Since it has come to this, he feels that continuing to practice in this way is also a way of letting nature take its course.
However, just as Cao Jinsong said, Tongxuan is only the first step. What he will face next is how to break through and enter Rongdao.
Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin were both cultivators at the Dao Fusion Realm. Seeing that Ji You had reached this stage, they shared their own experiences in Dao Fusion.
The realm of Tongxuan is about observing the Way of Heaven, while the realm of Rongdao is about integrating the observed Way into oneself.
For example, in the five halls of the inner courtyard, there are those who focus on the way of force, and their attacks are like mountains attacking, with unparalleled energy; there are those who focus on the way of the four symbols, with tremendous thunder and lightning and using the wind as a shield; there are also the ways of light and darkness, the ways of blooming flowers, and the ways of flowing water, all are different, and correspond to the myriad great ways.
The opportunity to achieve the state of integration of the Tao lies in the state of concentration.
Some cultivators set their path in mountains and rivers, some in the mysterious sea, and some in the stars.
It is said that the greater the path of concentration, the more immeasurable the practice.
However, the determined path is not the result of subjective choice, but the visualization thoughts that emerge from the depths of the cultivator's heart when he breaks through the realm of Tongxuan and enters the realm of Rongdao. It comes from fate or the sound of his obsession.
And when the cultivator finds the opportunity to settle down on the path, he can then enter the path of integration.
Afterwards, you can focus on the power method, light and darkness, and the heavenly secrets, and rely on the various methods of the Heavenly Academy to improve your combat power and slowly improve your realm.
In this realm, as the practitioner's understanding of the Way of Heaven deepens, the feedback from the Way of Heaven they receive will become stronger.
Therefore, what Ji You needs to do now is to stabilize his current state first, continue to observe the Tao, and then comprehend the mysteries of heaven and question his heart and destiny.
Wen Zhengxin said frankly that the path he had set was the Inner Courtyard Zizai Mountain.
When she first merged with the Dao, she was competing with He Lingxiu. The Freedom Mountain in the inner courtyard was what she visualized in her mind.
Ji You looked up at this time, thinking that it was over, he would not be fixed on the snow-white feet, he thought for a long time and looked at Ban Yangshu: "What is the way that Senior Brother Ban has decided?"
Ban Yangshu gently put down the teacup: "A wall."
"Don't they say bigger is better?"
"In fact, in my opinion, the matter of settling the Dao may not have any impact on your future path of cultivation. At least I don't feel that way. So I think that reaching the first level of the Dao of Integration still depends on your understanding of the Dao of Heaven. Settling the Dao is just a process. No one usually talks about this kind of thing."
Cao Jinsong couldn't help but say at this time: "Not necessarily."
Ban Yangshu looked up when he heard the voice: "?"
"What you students see is different from what we teachers see. As far as I know, there are people in the inner courtyard who have made rapid progress in their cultivation because of meditation. Chai Ze is one of them."
Cao Jinsong placed his hands on his knees and said, "For thousands of years, the seven great immortal sects and the thousand-year-old families have been deeply studying the path to immortality. The matter of determining the path may seem insignificant to us, but they may have discovered the mystery and just don't tell others."
Ji You clicked his tongue twice after hearing this: "Another bloodline monopoly?"
"That's true, because apart from Chai Ze, He Lingxiu and You Buyu are actually the same."
"The Chai family...?"
Cao Jinsong nodded: "Chai Hu, the master of Changsheng Palace, is from a noble family. Chai Ze is the legitimate son of the main branch of the Chai family."
Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin frowned: "So there is such a thing..."
"The resources in the world of immortal cultivation are like the taxes in the world of Qingyun. They are never equal. Even if you join an immortal sect, the difference in your background and position is huge. Some resources are not something you cannot access even if you try your best, but something you may not know even if you try your best. This is reality."
Ji You was silent for a while before he said, "Then where is the best place to find the way? Does the teacher have any information to share?"
Cao Jinsong shook his head: "I don't know, but as long as you don't mind the money, I think it's fine."
Wen Zhengxin turned around at this time: "Don't tell me, I think Junior Brother is very likely to choose silver."
Ban Yangshu agreed: "To find enlightenment, one must ask one's heart. Sometimes one's thoughts represent one's inner desires..."
Ji You smiled when he heard the voice: "It seems that if the Immortal Emperor Rulong is melding the Dao, he will probably pin it on his buttocks."
"What Junior Brother said is very true."
"By the way, speaking of Rulong, why didn't he come? I haven't seen his money bag in a while, I miss him so much."
Ji You raised a smile and said, "You can't break through and have worked hard in seclusion, right?"
Ban Yangshu looked at him sideways and said, "He seems to have found a Taoist partner recently."
Wen Zhengxin nodded: "After he came back, he secluded himself for three days, saying that practicing was too tiring, and he didn't care about the round buttocks and tail, so he spent the whole day wandering around the outer courtyard."
"?"
As he was speaking, Cao Jinsong's courtyard door was suddenly pushed open.
The Dragon Immortal Emperor walked in elegantly, his face flushed, as if bathed in spring breeze: "Brother Ji, you finally broke the mirror!"
Ji You couldn't help but narrow his eyes. He was very dissatisfied with his romantic behavior when he was working hard to break through the realm. He decided to punish him by purse, so his expression was quite unfriendly.
The Immortal Emperor Rulong was also quite alert. He felt a sudden chill two inches below his chest, where the purse was, and he immediately changed the subject, talking about the woman he met today.
What about reciting poems and having fun together, traveling together arm in arm, showing off to everyone.
After saying this, the Dragon Immortal Emperor looked at Ji You and said, "Brother Ji, the New Year's Day will be here in the middle of the year. There will definitely be a lantern festival in Shengjing City by then. Do you want to invite a few of your fiancées to come and join us for the festival?"
Ji You: “Hehe.”
The Immortal Emperor Rulong restrained his smile and found that the chill two inches below his heart had not diminished at all, and even became a little more serious. He immediately became alert, not knowing what had provoked the bandit in front of him.
In fact, the immortal cultivators of the same age as Ji You, especially those who have no hope of breaking through, have recently found a Taoist partner.
When he was coming down the mountain from the inner courtyard earlier, he saw someone going into the grove.
People say he has many fiancées, but in the end he is still alone.
Ji You patted the hem of his robe and stood up, looking at the snow reflecting the sunlight: "Let's go down the mountain."
Cao Jinsong stood up at this time, his chest puffed up quickly as if inflated: "I'll go with you."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm not going down the mountain. I'm just going to visit the Wudao Temple. I haven't been there for a few days. I wonder if Instructor Ma and Instructor Ding miss me, hahaha."
Ji You couldn't help but grin, thinking that Instructor Ma and Instructor Ding were really unlucky.
Dingdao...
He muttered to himself, walked out of the yard and headed down the mountain.
At this moment, the disciples in the enlightenment field, the two instructors Martin, and countless eyes in the outer courtyard turned to look at Ji You, who appeared for the first time after a long period of seclusion.
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(End of this chapter)
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