Dongting Immortal Clan

And so, Chen Xiaohu settled down on Zilu Mountain.

He lived in a small courtyard behind the stone hall, which contained three stone rooms. They were not very big, but they were kept very clean.

Inside the room were a stone bed, a stone table, and stone chairs. On the table were an oil lamp, a stack of yellow paper, and a small brocade pouch.

Chen Xiaohu had seen that brocade pouch on Zhou Yan before. It was called the "Hundred Treasures Pouch," also known as the "Little Qiankun Bag" or "Storage Bag," and it had the effect of containing Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed.

Don't be fooled by its small size; it can hold at least one square meter of space inside.

According to his master Li Ziyan, he only needed to imprint his spiritual consciousness on it to control it at will.

Chen Xiaohu had shed his wooden body and developed spiritual consciousness. As soon as he had a thought, his spiritual consciousness spread like a tide, quickly covering the entire hut.

The treasure pouch seemed to be sentient; upon sensing the spiritual aura, it immediately emitted a burst of light.

Chen Xiaohu felt a connection between his mind and spirit, and could control it at will.

With a thought, he placed all the contents of the bag on the stone table.

There weren't many items: a scroll of jade, a purple longsword, a small alchemy furnace, and some sect disciples' clothing.

Chen Xiaohu first picked up the jade scroll and wrote "Xiao Xuan Zhen Qi Yuan Fa" on it.

A quick glance revealed it to be a cultivation technique, but it was more detailed than the "Taiyin Refining Form and Response Chapter" and "Mysterious Water Primordial Method Spiritual Treasury Treatise" that he had previously obtained, almost completely describing the entire process from drawing qi into the body to refining qi into true essence.

"With just nine strands of magical power, one can attempt to shed the wooden body."

"Very few people, like me, would choose to shed their wooden form only after cultivating thirty-six strands of magical power."

"In the early stages of the Spirit Realm, once you cultivate thirty-six strands of magical power, you can attempt to open a spiritual spring; once you cultivate seventy-two strands of magical power, you can attempt to temper your golden marrow..."

"No wonder there are signs of a spring spring spontaneously regenerating within my dantian; it turns out I've reached the threshold."

"The method passed down by that small cauldron allowed one to cultivate thirty-six strands of magical power, or even more, before shedding the wooden body. I wonder if that's better or more difficult..."

After studying this technique several times, Chen Xiaohu finally gained a direct understanding of the cultivation of the Spiritual Treasury Realm.

The method states, "Those who practice this method should first refine their physical form. The key to refining the physical form lies in concentrating the mind. When the mind is concentrated, the Qi gathers. When the Qi gathers, the elixir is formed."

Uphold your principles and act accordingly, through action, ultimately achieving non-action.

Action is the refinement of life, inaction is the refinement of nature; life comes before nature, and nature before spirit.

The so-called "spiritual practice" refers to physical cultivation.

With a strong body, magical powers and supernatural abilities can naturally arise.

The five paths of cultivation in the Spiritual Treasury Realm are respectively called "Bright Heart Fire", "Unbridled Wood", "Drinking Jade Spring", "Tempering Golden Marrow", and "Mastering Life Palace". They are the process of transcending the mortal realm for those born after birth.

This inner fire is the fire in one's heart, which is the spiritual will of the practitioner, or what can be called obsession.

With a firm conviction in one's heart, one naturally cultivates oneself gradually, nourishing one's vital energy and strengthening one's body. As a result, one is reborn and transformed. This is to break free from the shackles of the mortal body and seek the innate state.

At this point, one can generate magical power, spiritual consciousness, and the Jade Spring.

The Jade Spring never dries up, the magical power never runs out, and this body is immortal.

Reaching the third realm of the Spiritual Treasury means that the cultivator already possesses profound magical power, can perform numerous spells, and can even wield magical artifacts to kill enemies. This is considered the peak of the mortal realm, the mid-stage of the Spiritual Treasury realm.

Above that is the Refined Gold Marrow.

Golden marrow is not bone marrow, but a true form within the spirit.

As the saying goes, the key to refining form lies in concentrating the mind; tempering the marrow is tempering the spirit, making it as stable as the physical body.

Once one has refined the Golden Marrow, one's spirit can leave the body, allowing for free movement and freedom from the constraints of the physical body.

In Chen Xiaohu's opinion, it would be more intuitive to call this golden marrow the golden soul.

This realm is the method of refining the spirit, and is the late stage of the spiritual treasure realm.

Only by cultivating both body and spirit, and possessing both form and soul, can one hope to break through the innate barrier.

The final realm of the Spirit Treasury is the Realm of the Palace of Destiny.

One must cultivate one's entire body into a unified whole, with no flaws, and complete in both spirit and body, before one can be said to have perfected spiritual energy, thus being able to gather qi and inquire about the innate gate.

"The next step is to cultivate my magical power to seventy-two strands, or even one hundred and eight strands..."

Chen Xiaohu understood the focus of his subsequent cultivation.

At the Jade Spring Realm, one can cultivate at most 108 strands of magical power. To make further progress, one needs to undergo a complete transformation.

Each time it is reborn, the Jade Spring doubles in size, and correspondingly, its own magical power also doubles.

After undergoing three transformations, one can attempt to temper the marrow and condense the divine soul.

"However, these various methods are not detailed in the teachings passed down by Xiao Ding. Those methods only teach people to cultivate continuously, and success will come naturally..."

Chen Xiaohu looked somewhat helpless.

After examining the jade and silk, he carefully read the book "A First Glimpse into the Flame of Elixir," a method for controlling fire, which allows cultivators to manipulate flames with their magical power.

This flame is not an ordinary flame either; it can be mainly divided into three types:

Spiritual fire, earth fire, elixir fire.

Spiritual fire is formed from magical power, earth fire is generated by fire veins, and alchemical fire can only be activated by an alchemical furnace.

If one cultivates to a high level, the spiritual fire formed from magical power can also be transformed into elixir fire, which is nurtured within the body and burns slowly.

Chen Xiaohu couldn't understand it, so he could only make a rough note of it and study it slowly later.

At dawn, his master, Li Ziyan, summoned him to the stone hall and inquired about his progress in cultivation.

Chen Xiaohu told the truth and recited all the key points of the incantation. Li Ziyan was slightly surprised, but she did not expect that he had memorized the Fire Control Technique word for word in just one night.

Regardless of talent, this dedication deserves recognition.

"Your memory is quite good."

Li Ziyan said coldly, "In that case, you can borrow the jade slips on the first bookshelf on my left whenever you have time. They will be helpful for your understanding of cultivation."

"There aren't many tasks in this hall. There used to be a page, but he left the sect. Now that you've come, you'll have to take over his work. You'll be responsible for chopping wood, carrying water, tending the herb garden, and operating the alchemy furnace."

"Any problems?"

"Your disciple obeys."

Chen Xiaohu quickly kowtowed in agreement, and Li Ziyan nodded:

"Rest assured, you will have no shortage of supplies while cultivating in my palace. If necessary, you can also take on alchemy tasks to exchange for cultivation resources."

"Come with me."

Li Ziyan led Chen Xiaohu to the alchemy furnace and pointed to the fire inside, saying:

"Now that you have memorized the method of fire control, I will officially begin teaching you... Listen carefully."

"This is alchemical fire, made from a fire vein deep underground, not ordinary fire."

"You have to learn to control its size, strength, and direction; even the slightest deviation will not do."

She asked Chen Xiaohu to stretch out his hand and place it on the furnace opening to feel the temperature of the fire.

Chen Xiaohu reached out his hand, and the flames licked his palm, burning him so much that he pulled it back.

Li Ziyan didn't say anything to him, but just told him to stretch again.

He stretched out and then retracted.

Extend again, then retract again.

After repeating this process more than ten times, his hand gradually adapted to the temperature and stopped pulling back. The flames danced in his palm, but they no longer burned like they had at first.

"He's quite talented."

Seeing that Chen Xiaohu was gradually getting the hang of things, Li Ziyan nodded slightly.

"From today onwards, you will stand here for two hours every day, placing your hands on the furnace opening. You are not allowed to pull them away, nor can you use any magic to isolate them. You must feel them with your heart."

After saying that, she turned and left the stone hall.

Chen Xiaohu stood in front of the alchemy furnace, his hand outstretched to the furnace opening, palm facing the flames, motionless.

The flames licked his palms, burning his forehead and making him sweat, but he did not flinch.

He gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and silently recited, "The fire of the elixir is like the heart; do not be hasty or impatient."

After standing for an hour, blisters appeared on his palms.

Two hours later, the blisters burst, leaving his palm a bloody mess.

When Li Ziyan returned, she glanced at him, said nothing, took a bottle of ointment from the wooden shelf and threw it to him, then turned and left.

Chen Xiaohu applied the ointment to his palm. The ointment was cool and refreshing, and the pain was immediately relieved by more than half.