Hidden moth

Chapter 345 As usual, unaware that one has entered a state of delusion

After He Kao took the pill with Xing Rui last time, his cultivation of alchemy broke through to the third level. Now he has made further progress and has actually broken through to the fourth level.

To others, this could be described as rapid progress, but it was not too strange for He Kao, because he already had a fifth-level cultivation level, with the Hidden Moth Technique as his foundation and the Pill Cauldron Technique as a secondary cultivation.

He Kao never slackened in his cultivation. After breaking through to the fifth level, he needed to experience the state of cultivation in every movement, including walking, sitting, and lying down. He also needed to cultivate all kinds of applied spells to the point that they could be cast instantly.

When he had free time, He Kao would also participate in the construction of Piaocai Cave, assisting in the creation of cave buildings and various landscapes, which was also a way to hone his divine power.

However, He Kao recently experienced what is known as a "bottleneck." It's not that something is hindering his progress; his magical powers are still growing slowly and steadily.

But no matter how much he cultivates, it's only a quantitative increase rather than a qualitative change. Moreover, it's foreseeable that this quantitative increase will slow down and eventually approach a certain limit.

This is actually the normal state of cultivation for most people; breaking through to a higher realm is not so easy.

To break through a cultivation barrier, one must first accumulate enough experience and perfect one's practice, and secondly, one's physical and mental state must meet the requirements. Sometimes, a mysterious and inexplicable opportunity is also needed.

After thousands of years of exploration, the art of esoteric practices has summarized many empirical rules, including various advanced rituals.

The so-called advancement ritual is like a foolproof tutorial. As long as you complete the ritual according to the requirements, it means that your practice has been perfected and your mind and body are in harmony with a certain state. Then you will likely be able to advance successfully.

For example, the traditional ceremony for a first-level diagnostician to advance to the second-level moxibustion practitioner is to guide a patient to improve their health and to begin practicing the art of body observation.

The latest ritual for advancing from a second-tier scholar to a third-tier appraiser is to personally create a well-known item, quietly replace the original, and do so without being detected, while gaining public approval.

According to the rules of the sect, this item must be returned afterwards.

Some rituals are relatively simple, while others are quite difficult. However, there has never been a ritual to refer to when breaking through from the fifth to the sixth level. It all depends on one's own cultivation and understanding, making it an insurmountable barrier.

Therefore, the sect encourages and values ​​true genius disciples who do not follow established rituals to break through cultivation realms.

As for He Kao's cultivation experience, it was even more special. The Hidden Moth Sect had been extinct for thousands of years and there were no advancement ceremonies to speak of. He had to figure out a lot of experience on his own, not to mention how to become a sixth-order Hidden Master.

Many people at this stage choose to cultivate various applied techniques or study other techniques in order to gain a comprehensive understanding, and perhaps in the process they can glimpse a glimmer of opportunity to break through the barrier.

He Kao, drawing on the experience of his predecessors, has also been studying various arts and techniques during this period.

To his shame, among the three elders, Jiang Daozhen was his primary teacher, yet he had not even mastered the Spirit Rhinoceros Technique. As for Li Xiuyuan's Spirit Awakening Technique, he had only barely broken through to the second level.

The Mind Compass Technique and the Subtle Technique have indeed broken through to the third level.

The Body Observation Technique and the Alchemy Cauldron Technique have both broken through to the fourth level.

Judging from his level of cultivation, he is close to the fifth level of perfection but he always feels that he is not yet perfect. However, in terms of the breadth of his cultivation, he is already very rare for his age.

Since Mei Guyu could tell that his alchemy skills had broken through to the fourth level, he explained that he had been focusing on alchemy skills during this period, and had broken through to the third level after practicing with Steward Xingrui.

Of course, the so-called "dual cultivation" here refers to proper cultivation, simply involving consuming pills together. However, after today's "dual cultivation" with Sect Leader Mei, it was as if a divine inspiration had struck, and his pill-cultivation technique naturally broke through to the fourth level…

Upon hearing this, Mei Guyu smiled and said, "Everyone says that you, this wandering cultivator, are a secret disciple of some elder, either Elder Jiang, Elder Gu, or Elder Li."

"If I weren't a generation younger and hadn't previously visited Qiyuan, given your current level of alchemy skills, some might have guessed that you are my secret disciple."

He Kao suspected that she had already guessed something, or even was flirting with him, but he had no evidence, so he could only chuckle awkwardly and say, "Hasn't the sect not yet begun the inheritance of the next generation of disciples?"

Mei Guyu put away her smile and said, "Then let's start today. It's about time. I'll contact the Clan Law Hall later."

The so-called initiation of the next generation of disciples refers to how disciples of Mei Guyu's generation can formally accept apprentices. Mei Guyu has the final say on this matter, and the other elders of the Clan Law Hall have been waiting for this day for a long time.

There are also unwritten rules in the art of magic that disciples are usually at least twenty years younger than their masters. Therefore, according to convention, Mei Guyu could not possibly accept He Kao as a disciple. Even if he wanted to teach him something, he could only do so under the guise of passing on the teachings on behalf of his master.

Among the newest generation of disciples in the martial arts school, those of age like Mei Guyu and Wei Luo are indeed not yet old enough to accept disciples, but people like Qian Guran are already quite old and can formally recruit the next generation of disciples.

Unexpectedly, a major matter that could affect the landscape of the martial arts world was decided during what seemed like a casual conversation between him and Mei Guyu, so He Kao felt it was inappropriate to discuss this topic any further.

So he asked the most important question: "I have already reached the fifth level of cultivation, but recently I have been unable to clearly understand what level I have reached. For example, is it perfect? ​​What does it mean to be perfect? ​​And what should I do after I am perfect?"

Mei Guyu looked up at him and asked, "You want to ask how to break through the barrier?"

He Kao quickly shook his head and said, "I know there's no answer to this question, I just want to know how to achieve perfect cultivation?" Mei Guyu, however, asked a seemingly unrelated question in return: "How many Pure Yang Pills have you taken?"

He Kao told the truth: "Actually, I have always been taking peony."

Mei Guyu: "When taking the same pill, the effects are the same; the main benefit is improving one's cultivation aptitude."

He Kao: "So today is the fourth Pure Yang Pill I've taken. The first two were taken with Deacon Wei Luo, and the last one was taken with Deacon Xing Rui... Is that a bit too many?"

Mei Guyu: "Although saying too much is unnecessary, it's not necessarily a bad thing either. Taking the elixir is your own good fortune. I saw a record in the Dan Ding Sect's classics that the ancestor Tan Jun, the immortal, who lived a thousand years ago, also refined two batches of Pure Yang Elixir."

Unlike the current methods where many people work together, Tan Zu refined two batches of Pure Yang Pills all by himself.

The ancient texts do not record his specific method of taking the elixir, such as the accompanying peony and Tai Chi Yin Yang formation, but they do record that Master Tan invited everyone to take the elixir together and bestowed upon them the method.

Some people took it only once, while others were invited to take it multiple times. As for Master Tan himself, he took the elixir seventy-two times.

He Kao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I see, that puts my mind at ease... Thank you for your guidance, and thank you for the elixir!"

What was he relieved about? Of course, it was the pills. He had already taken four Pure Yang Pills and had five more, two of which belonged to Mr. Mi, and the other three were his own.

As for the Pure Yang Pill and the accompanying peony pills that Mei Guyu took today, they were distributed to her by the Zongfa Hall.

Mei Guyu: "Actually, I should thank you too. After all, it's not easy to find someone to take the pill with, and you saved me a lot of trouble."

That's the truth. In her current state, Mei Guyu can't take the pills herself; she needs someone to take care of her. This person has to be someone she can respect and completely trust, which is indeed not easy to find.

Everyone knew that Elder Mei possessed a Pure Yang Pill, and many wanted to take it with her. However, she chose He Kao, and after taking the pill, the trouble was over.

He Kao thought for a moment and then said, "Elder Mei, I have a request. I still have Pure Yang Pills. After you break through to the seventh level of cultivation, could you please let me take the pills with you?"

Mei Guyu smiled, and it was clear she was genuinely happy. She nodded with a smile and said, "Okay, I'll take you there!"

After agreeing, she thought for a moment and then asked, "You went to Fengwei Township to listen to lectures some time ago. What did Elder Zongzheng instruct you on?"

He Kao: "He instructed me on the method of first breaking through illusions and then breaking through barriers, but my understanding is still insufficient. I heard that he also gave you guidance back then. I wonder if I could ask him for his experience?"

Mei Guyu smiled and shook her head again: "I don't have much experience, and even if I did, it might not be suitable for you. I can only tell you one thing—do something, do something that aligns with your cultivation."

For example, back in my day, I mainly practiced swordsmanship, which might not be a good fit for you. It depends on what you're practicing.

Still unwilling to give up, He Kao pressed on, "Is there any special reason for breaking through illusions before breaking through barriers?"

This time, Mei Guyu unexpectedly gave a very clear answer. She blinked and said, "Yes, of course! Breaking through illusions before breaking through barriers is just a way of making it easier to understand. In fact, there is no difference in the order."

If you can't do it, then there's no need to say anything. If you can, then when you enter a state of delusion, you're often unaware of it, only realizing it after you break free.

He Kao: "What you said is a bit mysterious, I didn't quite understand."

Mei Guyu: "Let me give you an example. To break through to the sixth level of cultivation, one must see through the illusionary realm. The prerequisite for seeing through the illusionary realm is to enter the illusionary realm. When I was practicing swordsmanship in the mountains and cultivating my sword heart, I was unaware that I was already in the illusionary realm."

I'm just practicing swordsmanship as usual. Once I've mastered sword control, my cultivation will also be complete.

He Kao said with great interest, "Your experience is quite extraordinary!"

Mei Guyu said meaningfully, "If you could do that, you might be in the illusion right now, including the scene of taking the pill with me and the conversation, which may all be evolutions of the illusion."

He Kao shuddered at these words, glanced around instinctively, then looked up at the shadows of the trees and the sky above, patted his chest, and said, "What you're saying is a little scary!"

Mei Guyu actually chuckled, revealing a smug expression: "I didn't say it was definitely true, I only said it was possible. How about that? Surprised? So I can only tell you one thing: go do it."

"Don't ask me anything more. You've finished taking the elixir. I suggest you go and meditate to experience and consolidate its effects."

He Kao was truly startled by Mei Guyu. For a moment, he had a disorienting feeling that he couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion. At this moment, he composed himself, sat down, and entered a meditative state. He did not practice any techniques, but simply cultivated his spirit.

Mei Guyu just watched him quietly, her eyes filled with curiosity.

**
(End of this chapter)