"So, how is it? Have you successfully joined the Dou Zhi Sect?"
Zhi Xuan, who was sitting at the table, suddenly lifted his head and looked at the middle-aged man who was eating in front of him.
Zhi Xuan replied slightly nervously, "No... I didn't join them..."
The man sitting before Zhi Xuan was Gu Qingzhou's father. His face looked sinister, and the claw scars on it made anyone who looked at him feel a sense of fear.
This man was named Gu Cheng.
Upon hearing Zhi Xuan's words, Gu Cheng immediately frowned and asked again, "No? What do you mean? Did you fail the test?"
Zhi Xuan shook his head and said, "No, but I gave up during the first test."
Gu Cheng's eyes suddenly widened, and his forehead creased upon hearing the answer.
"What!"
A deep voice erupted from Gu Cheng, instantly sweeping through the entire room and filling everyone's ears.
More than a dozen people in the room were shocked, and they all turned to look at Gu Cheng.
Seeing the shocked expressions of his family, Gu Cheng let out a sigh in the next moment, then lightly coughed and returned to his seat.
Gu Cheng asked, "Why did you give up?"
Zhi Xuan, still slightly stunned from the earlier outburst, quickly regained his senses when asked.
He swallowed and replied, "I want to cultivate on my own and build my strength without being bound by sect rules or relying on others."
His gaze was serious.
"Son, are you serious? In all these years, you've barely made any progress."
A soft voice suddenly came from a middle-aged woman looking at Zhi Xuan.
Zhi Xuan turned and replied, "I've already made my decision, and no one can change it."
Gu Cheng sighed and said, "Alright, we respect your decision."
Zhi Xuan smiled.
Even though he had transmigrated into Gu Qingzhou's body, who had experience in cultivation, he did not inherit any of Gu Qingzhou's memories.
So he had to start from scratch.
…
The next day.
Zhi Xuan returned to the large stone in the courtyard.
After spending several hours, Zhi Xuan opened his eyes and let out a relieved breath.
"Success..."
Now, he could clearly feel the flow of Spirit Qi circulating through his meridians like an endless river.
His body was filled with energy, and he had truly gained an understanding of how to control his Dantian.
This made Zhi Xuan satisfied, because it was said that it normally took several months just to enter the cultivation path.
Yet he had only spent two days to fully open his cultivation route.
Zhi Xuan could clearly sense the Spirit Qi within his Qi Sea.
"Peak Layer of the Xuan Qi Realm..."
Zhi Xuan glanced around.
"..."
After confirming that no one was nearby, Zhi Xuan immediately raised his hand and struck a certain point in his body, deliberately crippling his own cultivation!
Instantly, his cultivation level dropped like a receding tide, returning to the early stage of the Xuan Qi Realm!
Zhi Xuan quickly sat down to stabilize the Spirit Qi that was erupting from his Dantian.
After an hour, Zhi Xuan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled in relief.
"Success... The damage to the Dantian has been fully corrected, and the cultivation base has been stabilized."
The reason he lowered his cultivation to the early stage of the Xuan Qi Realm was to build a perfect foundation and fully utilize the potential of his Sacred Body.
Although his realm had decreased, his Spirit Qi and overall strength still matched that of a peak Xuan Qi cultivator—or even slightly stronger.
"Forcibly breaking through using pills will definitely waste a Sacred Body, but if you cultivate without relying on pills, the improvement will be significantly greater!"
Even the early stage of Xuan Qi Realm already matched the peak stage. If he reached the mid stage, he would likely rival the Jindan Realm!
Thinking of this, Zhi Xuan became extremely excited.
He immediately sat down again to cultivate.
Spirit Qi flowed endlessly through the void like a river without end, circulating continuously until an anomaly appeared.
Zhi Xuan exhaled and inhaled deeply. With each breath, a large amount of Spirit Qi flowed around his body in gentle currents.
Slowly, it passed through his breathing and entered his meridians.
All Spirit Qi gathered at a single point—his Dantian, the Qi Sea of a cultivator.
Several hours passed.
However, Zhi Xuan did not feel any improvement in his Qi Sea.
"It seems I need more effort to reach the mid stage of Xuan Qi Realm."
If this continued, he would not improve even after a year.
Thinking of this made his head feel numb.
Zhi Xuan stood up.
"Let's try using those Eight Jade Stones."
After speaking, Zhi Xuan left the residence and arrived at the golden lake from before.
He carefully looked around.
Inside the cave.
Zhi Xuan picked up the previous box and slowly opened it—just like before, the same event occurred.
Golden light filled the entire space.
In the next moment, Zhi Xuan opened his eyes again and took out the eight jade stones stored inside.
He counted them, then walked around the cave and placed one jade stone every meter, forming a circular formation on the ground.
Zhi Xuan stepped into the center and sat down.
Then he closed his eyes, calming his mind.
In the next moment, he spread his hands and brought them together in front of his chest, forming a Yin-Yang seal.
At the same time, an illusory Yin-Yang symbol expanded from where he was sitting, growing larger and larger until it reached the eight jade stones surrounding him.
"Spirit Gathering Formation activated!"
As soon as those words were spoken, Spirit Qi began pouring into the activated array.
A violent wind formed from the surging Spirit Qi swept through the cave, causing rocks on the side to shake and explode under the pressure.