Published: March 2, 2025
Chapter 181: The Ordinary Abyss
The thrill of rapidly increasing one's cultivation is indeed captivating, especially the joy of comprehending knowledge and exploring truth, along with the steady growth in strength, which easily immerses cultivators, far surpassing physical instinctual desires.
No wonder so many cultivators remain single throughout their lives, unwaveringly pursuing the path of immortality from beginning to end.
Liu Yu felt a moment of sentimentality before quickly clearing his mind, preparing to practice the art of spirit preservation.
Although he lacked supportive spiritual objects, the practice of the art of spirit preservation had never ceased. He would practice once, then wait a day before practicing again, allowing the yuan spirit embryo to relieve pressure and using time to smooth out minor traces.
Without spiritual objects, Liu Yu practiced only every few days, and each session lasted no more than half an hour.
It wasn't that he couldn't endure the pain during spirit refinement, but rather that the yuan spirit embryo was still very fragile. A moment's carelessness could leave permanent scars, which would affect his future path.
Thus, Liu Yu was very conservative during his practice, never daring to be greedy or reckless. A slight mistake would mean an immediate cessation of cultivation.
With the Immortal Abode in hand, as long as he cultivated steadily, the chances of condensing the golden core or even forming the primordial infant were much higher than those of ordinary cultivators. He had plenty of time to plan slowly; there was no need to rush.
"Why rush to sacrifice everything? Taking time to savor it would be better, wouldn't it?"
Unfortunately, among the spiritual herbs he gathered this time, there were none beneficial for the yuan spirit, which left Liu Yu feeling a bit regretful.
As the most mysterious existence among "essence, qi, and spirit," the spirit typically refers to the yuan spirit. It is extremely difficult to cultivate, with few descriptions even in ancient texts, perhaps deliberately hidden.
The essence of the spirit subtly surpasses the former two levels, evolving from the soul into the yuan spirit, embodying the true spirit that governs the three as the core; it is the foundation of a cultivator.
In the absence of spiritual objects, Liu Yu would stop practicing the art of spirit preservation after at most half an hour, steadfastly ensuring he did not become greedy or reckless.
Generally speaking, the range of spiritual consciousness for ordinary early foundation establishment cultivators is one to three miles, four to six miles for mid foundation establishment, seven to nine miles for late foundation establishment, and ten miles for peak foundation establishment.
Due to his innate strong spiritual consciousness and spiritual perception, plus various factors, upon advancing to early foundation establishment, Liu Yu had a range of spiritual consciousness of four miles, but over the years, he had not made much progress, only increasing to nearly five miles.
The practice of the foundation establishment chapter of the art of spirit preservation was still relatively short, and thus had not significantly increased his spiritual consciousness.
"There are currently three goals to accomplish: a spiritual object to assist in the art of spirit preservation, a treasure to eliminate Dan Poison, and advanced alchemical pill refining techniques."
With his thoughts organized, Liu Yu closed his eyes, resting his hands on his knees, and silently began to operate the art of spirit preservation.
Immediately, two distinctly different sensations arose in the yuan spirit embryo, with the left side feeling icy and the right side feeling searing hot.
These two sensations were initially subtle but quickly intensified, gradually evolving into a level of pain.
The cold and the heat alternated, training the yuan spirit embryo in a painful yet not violent manner. This training did not touch upon the yuan spirit's essence, but a moment of loss of control might still harm its origin.