Once cultivation begins, time flies by.
In the blink of an eye, fourteen days have passed.
The sky darkens, the last rays of sunset disappear at the horizon of the Nine Rivers Marsh, and Welcome Island is once again shrouded in darkness.
In a Quiet Chamber, a young man dressed in a cyan Daoist Robe, with five emerald green leaves embroidered on the cuffs, sits cross-legged, eyes tightly shut.
In his hand, he holds a piece of jade paper as thin as a cicada's wing.
However, the lustre of the jade paper has dimmed to the extreme, seemingly ready to vanish at any moment, and its already delicate thickness seems about to turn into dust.
Though the young man's eyes are shut tight, his brows are furrowed, as if lost in a dilemma.
On his exposed skin, spots of green light emerge from within, like invisible roots, circulating tirelessly, striving to absorb the "nutrients" of heaven and earth.
But these roots are exceedingly faint and tremulous, as if they could dissipate at any moment.
The young man's brows tighten further, with a black shadow seemingly looming between them.
But with his tenacious nature, he stubbornly endures, adjusts his breathing, and immerses his heart and spirit into the task.
"Boom!"
Something seems to have broken through a heavy barrier, bursting forth suddenly.
The sound is actually very light, like a seed breaking through soil, but to Gu Yuan, whose heart and spirit are entirely immersed, it sounds like thunder on flat ground, deafening.
Heaven and earth suddenly brighten, spiritual qi surges like a tide, converging toward the dantian from all directions.
Gu Yuan feels as if he has turned into a "sapling," with every inch of his skin and each strand of his hair becoming like roots, constantly absorbing the spiritual qi of the world.
"Rushing!"
This is the first time Gu Yuan has cultivated so effortlessly. In a daze, it seems he can hear the sound of spiritual qi surging like waves.
If the previous Ten Thousand Wood Technique was a small water pipe, now the Evergreen Diagram is fitted with a pump, running at full power.
"Rushing!"
The spiritual qi, like water, illuminates Gu Yuan's skin, bones, and even hair as it absorbs the endless spiritual qi of the world.
The spiritual qi flows into the dantian, then condenses into mana, flowing like a trickling stream through the meridians and all four limbs, nourishing the body, and strengthening the heart and spirit.
"I've finally succeeded!"
Feeling the continuously growing mana, Gu Yuan can't help but open his eyes and exhale deeply.
For fourteen days, Gu Yuan has been visualizing the True Map, attempting to comprehend the Technique contained within it.
Unfortunately, though his nature is tenacious, his comprehension remains mediocre.
Through half visualization, half summarization, after taking many detours, it took a full fourteen days to barely understand and learn the True Map.
"Huff!"
At that moment, the Imprinting Jade Paper in Gu Yuan's hand quietly turns to dust, dissipating in the Quiet Chamber.
Looking at the vanished green jade paper, Gu Yuan can't help but mutter to himself,
"According to Senior Brother Qiu, those with excellent talent can comprehend in three days, and even the average requires only ten days, but it took me a full fourteen days—almost the standard of the Lower Institute, such a huge disparity!"
This cultivation was a trial Gu Yuan set for himself, to see the gap between himself and the disciples of the Cyan Peak Daoist School.
But now it seems that he still lags behind the Inner Courtyard disciples, let alone the True Inheritance of the Golden Core Sect.
His talent and comprehension barely reach the threshold of the Inner Courtyard, not much different from the Lower Institute disciples.
Thinking of this, Gu Yuan couldn't help but smile wryly and shake his head.
With such talent, unless there are unforeseen circumstances, he is destined to be mediocre among the crowd.
"But luckily, I still have the Stone Bottle..."
Gu Yuan rubs his palm, feeling the Stone Bottle about to be filled, and his heart slightly eases.
This will be his greatest reliance.
"With poor talent, I can only rely on fortune to change things. Fortunately, in this world, besides Dharma Seals, there are also Body Seals and Life Seals. Given enough fortune, defying destiny is not impossible..."
Feeling the four differently shaped Dharma Seals engraved with natural seal characters within him, Gu Yuan's heart stirred.
"Buzzing!"
Accompanied by the circulation of mana, the four Dharma Seals instantly emerged from his body, floating beside Gu Yuan.
The first Dharma Seal on the left is earthen yellow, inscribed with a miniature Profound Turtle, with seal characters and Dao Pattern below, combining to form a unique pattern that flows without end.
The spiritual qi of the world seems eager, echoing this strange seal pattern.
"Profound Turtle Seal!"
The cultivation in this world is quite unusual.
It is a world where Dao and magic are separate.
Cultivators visualize True Maps and study Techniques, allowing them to cultivate through breathing exercises, gathering mana.
Mana carries power, can condense qi into barriers, move mountains and rivers, focus into needles, like a lump of invisible clay, capable of myriad transformations and many unbelievable feats.
Cultivators gain longevity through the power of mana.
However, mana is difficult to connect with the spiritual qi of the world, to move the rules of the great Dao, to perform earth-shattering feats.
It seems there is a barrier between mana and the heavens and earth, the two do not merge.
But the great ancient sages, with wisdom reaching the heavens, unraveled, and integrated the Dao Charm from all things within the heavens, and eventually deduced the "Dharma Seal."
The so-called Dharma Seal involves refining an object naturally possessing "Dao Pattern," condensing its Dao Pattern onto a "seal" through a specific method, then absorbing it into themselves, becoming part of the cultivator.
This is the Dharma Seal.
With the Dharma Seal, a cultivator's mana can connect with the world, forming magic, moving Dao Principles, achieving earth-shattering effects.
Like Gu Yuan's "Profound Turtle Seal," it is made primarily from the carapace of a thirty-year-old Profound Turtle.
The Profound Turtle carapace is naturally imbued with Dao Pattern.
But refining a Dharma Seal isn't so simple; although the Profound Turtle carapace naturally carries Dao Pattern, it cannot directly cast spells or be used by cultivators.
It must be thoroughly melted with auxiliary materials and Spirit Fire, then the Dao Pattern needs to be re-drawn in the cultivator's vision to condense into a Dharma Seal.
Once formed into a Dharma Seal, it is like a seed, nestled within the cultivator. As long as mana persists, the Dharma Seal can continually be activated to protect the Dao or attack.
In this vast, grand world, known not how many rare treasures and Dao Patterns exist.
Through the exploration of innumerable sages and prodigies, other marvelous items like the Sword Seal, Body Seal, and Life Seal were born successively.
Among them, the Body Seal is a wondrous seal technique that can alter a cultivator's talent and Dao Body, highly profound and mysterious.
When Gu Yuan was in the Cyan Wood Sect, he heard of a Body Seal called the Seven Treasures Body Seal. This seal refines seven types of rare treasures from heaven and earth, and once cultivated, the cultivator acquires the equivalent of seven additional dantians, capable of simultaneously cultivating seven Techniques, each enhancing the other, resulting in ever-growing mana, extremely profound and mysterious.
Enough to alter anyone's innate potential.
Apart from this, it is said that the Cyan Wood Sect founder once cultivated a Wood-Seizing Seal.
Upon acquiring this seal, there is no need for cultivation; as long as one finds spirit wood over a thousand years old and sits under it, it can automatically siphon Wood Spirit Qi, growing cultivation, extending longevity, and increasing lifespan.
However, it is said this seal has drawbacks; the Cyan Wood Sect founder seemingly disappeared because of this, leaving only a fragmentary legend.
But in any case, the mysterious techniques of this world are unparalleled; given sufficient fortune, the chance to change fate is available.
"I currently only have the Profound Turtle Seal, Flame Flood Dragon Seal, Chasing Moon Seal, and Ice Lock Seal, and they are all lower-grade seals from the Cyan Wood Sect. There is still quite a way to go before I match the cultivation of the Cyan Peak Daoist School disciples..."
Looking at the four Dharma Seals beside him, Gu Yuan couldn't help but sigh again.
Though he joined the Daoist School, his strength hasn't improved much, causing some unease in his heart.
For he knows that the cause and effect with the Golden Core Ascendant are settled, and once this news is known by outsiders, many trials will likely follow.
The Daoist School is a bustling world.
Without a backer, and being mediocre himself, it's destined to be difficult to find one's footing.
"I wonder if the Stone Liquid can help me rely on fortune?"
Suddenly, the previous thought resurfaced in Gu Yuan's mind.