Chapter 5: Closed-Door Cultivation

  One breath operates yin and yang, giving birth to heaven, earth, and the ten thousand things. The source of this one breath originally has no thing, no thing is true emptiness. The Way is attained through mental insight, spiritual source subtly penetrating...

  After recalling and digesting the mantra of the initial stage of Qi refinement in the Jade Swallow, one gradually enters the realm of clarity and emptiness. According to their own understanding, they begin to immerse their heart and soul into it.

  The universe is composed of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The human body is composed of the five spirits: soul, spirit, essence, energy and will, as well as the five organs: heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys. Cultivating truth is the process of cultivating and strengthening the five spirits and the five organs.

  Once you understand the most basic principles, it's much simpler to cultivate. Based on the incantation of the Wuji Magic Cultivation Qi Refining Initial Stage, concentrate your soul, spirit, and energy in the Dan Tian where the Eight-Winged Purple Python Inner Elixir is located. Gradually feel the fluctuations of spiritual power, use your heart and mind to drive this fluctuation according to the cycle of the Wuji Magic Cultivation method, that's what we call cultivation!

  The first time the Eight-Winged Purple Python's inner elixir was activated, it had already made a small modification to Ding Hao's heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Although Ding Hao had been in a state of torment, he had gained some understanding of the Eight-Winged Purple Python's inner elixir. This time, when operating his dantian through it, his body was already prepared.

  It's just that the feeling and the seizure are completely different, the first time the seizure occurred, the power of the Eight-Winged Purple Dragon's inner elixir was like a volcanic eruption, leaving you unable to control it, regardless of whether your body can withstand it!

  But now Ding Hao can guide the flow of this spiritual power according to his Dantian, unfortunately, the inner elixir of the Eight-winged Purple Python is like a dead water, only leaking out a little spiritual energy, making Ding Hao feel depressed. The inner elixir of the Eight-winged Purple Python provides only a small amount of spiritual power, but Ding Hao has already felt the changes in his body.

  The changes in the five internal organs are the most obvious, and after each passage of the spiritual energy, I can feel that the five internal organs have become more robust and resilient, and the vitality has become more exuberant. This feeling is mysterious and difficult to describe accurately with words.

  But Ding Hao knew that his body had really changed, his ears could hear farther away, his skin could feel the air flowing, and he could even feel the beating sound of his pulse.

  Such a discovery made him overjoyed, Ding Hao knew that he had really entered the initial stage of the Refining Qi period. He didn't know that reaching this stage in just one day was unimaginable for ordinary cultivators, and even the fastest ones would take at least three years to enter this realm without any foundation in cultivation.

  But before Ding Hao practiced the Tao, he spent his days climbing and hunting in the forest, already training his body to be exceptionally strong. The last outbreak of the Eight-Winged Purple Python's inner elixir had also made some minor changes to his body, but most importantly, Ding Hao's comprehension was truly astonishing.

  If an ordinary person comes into contact with cultivation for the first time, it's really hard to understand the abstract concept of cultivation, even if you give him a detailed explanation, he won't be able to understand it immediately. It's only after repeated failures that one can truly find the correct method of cultivation. But Ding Hao skipped this most important period of confusion, so it's also understandable that he was able to reach this stage so quickly!

  Ding Hao opened his eyes again to find that it was already noon the next day. However, after a night of cultivation, he didn't feel any discomfort in his body, but instead felt full of energy and refreshed. His eyes could even see the pores on plants tens of meters away. Ding Hao was no longer surprised by the changes in his body, and the mysterious power of Xiu had already made him believe that anything was possible!

  Although he didn't feel hungry, Ding Hao was still some distance away from the fasting period, so he still caught a rabbit to fill his stomach and replenish his depleted physical strength.

  When he arrived at the library again, he found that the third-generation disciple who was guarding the door was still sitting at the door, neither dead nor alive. This time, Ding Hao didn't hurry to pass by, but instead looked at him with great interest.

  This person's appearance is extremely ordinary, the kind that can be killed by throwing a big stone in a busy city. He looks like he's around twenty years old, but Ding Hao knows that the age of a cultivator cannot be judged by his appearance, as evidenced by Ma Feng's statement that there have been no new disciples for twenty years!

  It seemed as if he felt Ding Hao's prying eyes, this person opened his eyes, rubbed his eyes as if he hadn't woken up yet and looked at Ding Hao: "Young man, am I very good-looking?"

  "This isn't it, I just wanted to ask you something, originally I was going to wait until you woke up to ask, now that I see you're not asleep, it's just as well!" Ding Hao said calmly.

  Ding Hao was not a bored person, but as a newcomer to the Wuji Demon Sect, he knew very little about it. This situation would be unfavorable for his future actions, so it was better to ask clearly. This was also Ding Hao's cautiousness as a hunter.

  "Oh, kid, do I need to answer you? What's in it for me if I respond to you? Just by looking at your outfit, I can tell you're a newbie. What could you possibly have that's worth my while?" The man drawled, his tone extremely disdainful.

  Ding Hao felt that this person was somewhat interesting, although he was also motivated by self-interest, but looking at him didn't seem like the usual style of the Demon Gate, and was actually a different kind!

  Although Ding Hao didn't have much contact with the people of Mo Dao, just by looking at Ma Feng and Chen Ling's behavior, he already had a number in his mind. And this person's tone was unpleasant, but there was no malice!

  "Looking at my senior brother's majestic appearance, although we are both third-generation disciples, he is already able to manage such a large library. Every time I see him, he is diligently cultivating his skills, and his moral character must be quite profound, making me admire him greatly!" - He had an ulterior motive for speaking to others, but his tone changed quickly, and his emotions seemed genuinely heartfelt.

  "This... junior brother, although just starting out, has extraordinary eyesight, and was actually guessed by you more than half the time. Never mind, I'm in a good mood today, so go ahead and ask whatever questions you have, and don't need to offer me anything!"

  His lazy appearance was gone, and he looked refreshed and revitalized. His gaze at Ding Hao also became more pleasant to the eyes.

  "I'm a newcomer to the sect and know nothing about it, I hope you can tell me some basic information about our sect. How is our sect's strength in Duanhun Mountain? What is the power of our sect's cultivation method? Are there any things that need attention? I will remember your kindness!" Ding Hao said humbly with a bow.

  He let out a sigh, "To be honest, I'm not afraid of being laughed at by my junior brother. Our sect is actually the weakest in the entire Duanhun Mountain. Cultivating the truth is a long process, but the creator of this unranked demonic art seems to have forgotten that point and has instead increased the difficulty of the process indefinitely. Other demonic sects' cultivation methods take about 200 years to reach the Yuanying stage, while ours takes 400 years. No matter what level you're at, our progress is slower than other sects by a significant margin. If two people start cultivating at the same time, after 100 years, those who enter our sect will generally be at least two levels behind others. The gap only grows wider as time goes on! It's not just that our sect's cultivation method isn't as fast as other demonic sects', it's also slower than Daoist sects' methods. What's even more infuriating is that we're not even a match for other sects at the same level, I really don't know how such an inferior art has been passed down."

  It's precisely this situation that has resulted in fewer and fewer people coming to our sect to learn the demonic arts. Even those who initially didn't know better and mistakenly joined our sect would leave once they found out, and most of those who stayed would secretly switch to practicing other techniques. It's even said that the sect leader was only able to break through to the Split Soul stage with the help of another technique. That's why you're the only disciple I've taken in over twenty years. When I first saw you come in, I thought you were a complete idiot and didn't even bother to pay attention to you. By entering our sect, you'll have to be extremely careful from now on, as we can't afford to provoke any other sects. If you don't want to die young, then don't leave the mountain, or else you might get humiliated by another sect and end up like those several disciples who were killed on the spot after being insulted and unable to endure it, resulting in their souls being scattered. Our sect leader, Li Nan Tian, doesn't even dare ask questions, claiming he's in closed-door meditation and ignoring everything... This person spoke with increasing sorrow, his expression extremely painful!

  At this point, Ding Hao had a clear understanding of the Wuji Demon Sect and felt that his initial feeling was correct - he had indeed boarded a pirate ship!

  But it's too late for regrets now. Not to mention the outbreak of the Eight-Winged Purple Python's inner elixir, which I couldn't handle myself, even if I were to flee to another sect, others might not necessarily accept me.

  If he escapes, Chen Ling only needs to say that he has the Eight-Winged Purple Python's inner elixir and a small Eight-Winged Purple Python on him, and he will immediately be treated as a precious creature by the cultivators, just like Tang Monk. The cultivators have many secret methods, and with his newly acquired abilities, no matter who he encounters, there is only one dead end, being able to die intact is already a luxury!

  After careful consideration, Ding Hao decided to temporarily stay in the Wujie Magic Sect. It was precisely because of its decline that it became safer, and others wouldn't pay attention to it either. Although his progress in martial arts was slow, for Ding Hao who had no other skills, it was better than nothing!

  The methods of the hidden book room were all basic, but for Ding Hao who had just entered the door, they were just right!

  Tomorrow is the time when the Eight-winged Purple Python's inner elixir will erupt again. Since he has already made this decision, Ding Hao won't think about it anymore. The Eight-winged Purple Python's inner elixir must not be discovered by anyone, and the most secluded place for cultivation is of course the mountain cave behind the Cold Pool!

  Due to the departure of many Wuji Mozong disciples, either by death or abandonment, the mountain caves were largely empty. Ding Hao could directly occupy one that was already available for use. Since Ding Hao had not yet reached the Yuan Ying stage and did not possess flight capabilities, he had to bypass the Cold Pool and chose a cave with dense vines surrounding it, at an angle somewhat off-center.

  The cave is five meters deep and about three meters wide, with only a dozen grass mats for sitting, and nothing else, quite simple.

  At the entrance, a insect-repelling charm was posted, and several bundles of grass were used to simply cover up the entrance. The insect-repelling charm is the simplest talisman to make, just use the juice of the leaf lan flower to draw on yellow paper according to the rules, input spiritual power can be used, no attack effect, only can confuse animals and ordinary people. Before coming over, Ding Hao made a few.

  After re-examining and confirming that the worm-expelling talisman was indeed effective, he sat cross-legged on the grass mat and began his first closed-door meditation to cultivate magic!