Published: March 3, 2025
Chapter 677: Strengthening the Soul and Refining the Soul, Cultivation Technique Derivation
In the Central Domain, Jiangzhou.
Twenty-five years later, in the mansion of Xunyang City, in the training room.
A cultivator with a bare upper body and a robust physique sat cross-legged, practicing his cultivation.
As he reached a critical point in his training, beads of sweat the size of beans continuously surfaced on his skin, gathering into a stream flowing downwards.
He slightly furrowed his brows, and the corners of his mouth twitched from time to time.
One could sense that he was enduring significant pain, yet he persevered through it, maintaining a generally calm expression.
This person was Liu Yu!
At this moment, the operation of the "art of spirit preservation" had reached a critical point, and an almost unbearable pain surged like a tide from the Primordial Spirit.
The pain in his physical body was nothing compared to this.
In the Mud Pill Palace, while swallowing the "Soul Condensing Elixir" and operating the "art of spirit preservation," Liu Yu's Primordial Spirit, the "Red Light Ball," was fluctuating continuously.
On the surface, it appeared calm, but on a very subtle level, it slightly expanded and then retracted.
With each expansion, a burning pain akin to flames would come!
Threads of black light continuously ascended from the dantian, swirling into the red Primordial Spirit.
As the cultivation technique operated, it was gradually digested by the red light ball.
Having already prepared, when the intense pain struck, Liu Yu suppressed it with a will as solid as rock, struggling to operate his technique.
With each expansion and contraction of the Primordial Spirit, it would shrink imperceptibly.
Accompanied by several strands of black light being digested, under the effects of the "art of spirit preservation" and the "Soul Condensing Elixir," a wisp of black smoke rose from the Primordial Spirit.
It was expelled from the red light ball, ultimately vanishing into thin air.
Every time the Primordial Spirit expanded and contracted, and every time the circulating black light was digested, a wisp of black smoke would be expelled from the Primordial Spirit.
From the black smoke, one could feel various negative emotions, as well as some absurd, nonsensical, and impractical thoughts.
This aura seemed to possess a part of the Primordial Spirit's characteristics but belonged to the impurities of the Primordial Spirit.
Uncertain if it was an illusion, with each major cycle of the cultivation technique, every time the Primordial Spirit experienced an expansion and contraction process, its size would shrink imperceptibly, but its brightness would slightly increase.
Compared to the "dim" state before operating the technique, with each wisp of black smoke expelled, the red light ball would become a bit brighter.
If taking the "Mind Nourishing Elixir" helped in continuously strengthening the Primordial Spirit, it belonged to "strengthening the soul."
Then taking the "Soul Condensing Elixir" was to remove the impurities in the Primordial Spirit and improve its quality, belonging to "refining the soul."
First strengthening the soul, then refining the soul, could solidify the foundation of the Primordial Spirit and greatly benefit future growth.
Both strengthening the soul and refining the soul were indispensable; if one could not progress together, it would be difficult to go further on the immortal path.
In simpler terms, it was about the coexistence of "quantity" and "quality."
When one's realm was still low, and the Primordial Spirit had not grown to a certain extent, one should first carry out "soul strengthening" to enlarge the Primordial Spirit.
But when the Primordial Spirit had grown to a certain degree and was already strong enough, if it was not concentrated enough, every bit of enhancement would become extremely difficult.
At this time, it was necessary to "refine the soul," making the Primordial Spirit more concentrated.
Simply enlarging the Primordial Spirit was not advisable, just as a building made up of inferior materials would find it hard to exceed a certain height.