C13 Cultivate!

Time flowed like water in the cave; before long, six days had passed.

After the 490th Meridian Herb entered his body, the last bit of damage his meridians had sustained vanished. The aura around Chu Zhongtian changed—he now seemed like a dangerous, ferocious beast out on a hunt.

After releasing a suppressed sigh, Chu Zhongtian opened his eyes.

After consuming more than 500 Meridian Herbs and spending a total of six days, Chu Zhongtian had finally repaired his meridians. Right now, he felt as if his body was filled with energy, and he could turn a rock into smithereens with a single punch.

Of course, this was only an illusion brought about by the first circulation of Qi in his body after his meridian network was repaired. If he dared to use his fist to hit a rock right now, his fist bones would be the ones being shattered into smithereens.

"Now that my meridians are healed, I can finally drop my 'trash' title."

"People from the Chu Family, the Qi Country, and everyone who has mocked me—just you wait! I will show you what true fear is!" As Qi circulated rapidly in his meridians, he felt his heart beating with a newfound ferocity.

He took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the surging thoughts in his mind. Then, Chu Zhongtian carefully tidied up the remaining Meridina Herbs and put them aside.

Not only could Meridian Herbs repair damaged meridians, but they could also strengthen them. Of course, the degree to which they could reinforce them was limited. For example, a five-year-old Meridian Herb could only be used in the first three levels of the Qi Refining realm.

If he wanted to strengthen his meridians further, he had to use older Meridian Herbs.

The Qi Refining realm and the Body Refining realm were the foundation of cultivation. Only a sturdy foundation could guarantee glorious future achievements.

As someone from the modern world, Chu Zhongtian was well aware of the fact that a tall building required a firm foundation.

Not that his meridians were healed and he also strengthened them in the process, cultivating using them was the next step.

Chu Zhongtian had already found the cultivation method in previous Chu Zhongtian's memories.

"Taixuan Heart Sutra!"

The ranking of cultivation methods was the same as the cultivation talents. It was just that cultivation talent went from one to ten, but cultivation methods were only divided into three levels and four grades.

Among them, the lowest grade was called the Yellow Grade. The highest grade was called the Heaven Grade. Taixuan Heart Sutra, as a treasure of the Chu Family, was a low-level Profound-Grade cultivation technique, which could only be accessed by the patriarch and elders of the inner clan.

Given Chu Zhongtian's status, he could've never even seen a Profound-Grade technique. However, he could because of his astonishing performance during the family's talent test. Because of his talent, Chu Tianyun and a few elders decided to let him cultivate it that night, forcing him to memorize the first two levels of the Taixuan Heart Sutra.

Thanks to his talent, he could learn a much-coveted Profound-Grade technique.

One should know that the most precious things in the Eternal Continent were not heavenly treasures or divine weapons—they were cultivation methods.

Basically, A good cultivation method could accelerate a cultivator's cultivation speed.

For example, while a cultivator would need 30 years to break through to the Body Refining realm if using a low-level Yellow Grade cultivation technique, they would only need 15 years for a breakthrough if they used a low-level Profound Grade cultivation technique.

If it were an Earth-Grade or Heaven-Grade method, one could even break through to the Body Refining realm within a few years. Therefore, cultivation methods and cultivation talents were equally relevant to cultivators.

From what he had heard from patriarch Chu Tianyun, Taixuan Heart Sutra wasn't just a low-level Profound Grade cultivation technique—it could actually even be a Heaven-Grade technique. Sadly, the Chu Family didn't have the complete sutra; they only had the first three levels. Therefore, it was temporarily classified as a lower Profound Level.

Originally, Chu Tianyun and the others had hoped that Chu Zhongtian would be the one retrieving the rest of the technique. They thought that once he broke through and became an expert at the Qi Transformation realm, he could travel around to improve his cultivation and find the complete technique.

Unexpectedly, before he could even start cultivating, he was left a cripple by some battle's aftermath.

After getting in a comfortable posture, he carefully recalled the first level's content of the Taixuan Heart Sutra. After correctly evoking the first level, he didn't open his eyes; instead, his breathing began to change.

A cultivator became a Qi Refiner by sensing the Qi present in the air all around. Only after recognizing the existence of Qi could one guide and circulate it through his meridian network.

Chu Zhongtian calmed his heart and cast aside all distracting thoughts. He used his consciousness to feel the spiritual Qi scattered between heaven and earth.

One minute...

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

Thirty minutes...

One hour...

Then, Chu Zhongtian suddenly felt a slight fluctuation in his consciousness, a very weak fluctuation. Had he not been focusing so intently, he couldn't even have detected it.

When he felt this weak fluctuation, joy flooded Chu Zhongtian's heart. This meant that he was just half a step away from success.

However, the joy broke his focus, and the feeling floated away. But that didn't discourage Chu Zhongtian—if he could do it once, he could do it twice.

When he calmed down, however, Chu Zhongtian's face, which was filled with joy when he sensed the Spiritual Qi, suddenly turned gloomy.

Although his cultivation was delayed by a year due to his damaged meridians, he had a year's worth of knowledge. So he wasn't a newbie who didn't know anything.

Having lived in the Chu Family, Chu Zhongtian had come into contact with martial artists of different stages. He knew very well that everyone at the beginning of their cultivation could sense the difference in the time they spent in the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth.

However, there was a fundamental rule regarding the time one spent sensing the Qi around them. It all depended on one’s cultivation talent, potential, and cultivation technique. Great talent, excellent potential, and unparalleled cultivation technique meant that one would spend a minimal amount of time sensing the Qi around.

The only one who ever sensed Qi the quickest was an expert born 300 years ago in the Qi Country. He was a peerless expert with a peak Level-7 talent from the royal family of the Qi Country. Coincidentally, he also used a low-level Profound-Grade cultivation technique.

When he first started cultivating, he used a mere six hours to sense the Spiritual Qi around him.

Chu Zhongtian was only a peak Level-8—a whole level lower than the peerless expert. So how could he sense the Qi quicker than the peerless expert? Not just quicker, but he actually sensed Qi in one-sixth the time it took that expert.

‘Could it be that my potential is shockingly high?’

He shook his head and rejected his own guess.

Potential could not be seen with the naked eye. It depended on the speed of breakthrough in one's future cultivation and one's strength, among other factors.

Chu Zhongtian was a little worried that he did not get a definite answer, so he carefully recalled the sensation he felt just now. He did not find anything wrong with it, so he temporarily put this worry at the bottom of his heart.

Since he had already sensed the Qi of heaven and earth, the next thing he needed to do was to absorb a wisp of spiritual Qi into his body. Only by doing so could he truly be considered a Level-1 Qi Refiner.

After becoming a Level-1 Qi refiner, he could use the Qi within the Ultra Spirit Stones to increase his cultivation.