In the ancient era, the Hundred Arts of cultivation had yet to flourish. Back then, the human race's use of spiritual herbs was still in its primitive stage they consumed them raw, no different from savage beasts gnawing on flesh and blood.
At that time, if a cultivator wished to break through a bottleneck in their realm, it was purely a matter of luck. Out of dozens, or even close to a hundred people, perhaps only one would succeed. It was truly like ten thousand soldiers charging across a single-plank bridge.
As time passed, however, the various disciplines of cultivation began to thrive and mature. Alchemy, in particular, progressed by leaps and bounds, eventually leading to the invention of pills that could assist in breakthroughs.
The Foundation Establishment Pill itself was a creation of just the previous cultivation epoch. With its emergence, the dangers of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage were greatly reduced, paving the way for the current prosperity of the human cultivators.
Of course, this doesn't mean that ancient cultivators were stronger than today's. Cultivation itself has continued to evolve and improve over time. In truth, when it came to spell techniques and magical artifacts, the ancient cultivators lagged far behind their modern counterparts.
However, during those ancient times, the world's spiritual energy was far more abundant and purer. Cultivators didn't need spiritual veins to cultivate, which allowed for significantly faster progress but in terms of combat strength, they were much weaker.
Still, the ancient method of establishing one's foundation continued to attract the admiration of the most gifted among human cultivators, since it resulted in a sturdier foundation and stronger potential. Yet, due to the extremely high risk of death, most people still shied away from it.
Song Changsheng, however, had confidence in himself. Coupled with the assistance of the Vein-Guarding Pill, he dared to take the gamble. It was, ultimately, ambition that drove him.
"Cultivation is a high-stakes gamble. I just hope I've made the right choice this time too,"
he whispered, then placed the Vein-Guarding Pill in his mouth and began his attempt at breaking through.
This cultivation chamber had been specially built by the clan for the Foundation Establishment. Within it was a small spirit-gathering formation that could concentrate ambient spiritual energy.
Song Changsheng had also paid out of pocket to light a stick of Tranquil Mind Incense, crafted from the Fragrant Condensation Flower he had acquired in the "Wutong Secret Realm."
At the time, Chang Tianhua had even used the flower as bait in a trap to deceive him yet now it had become one of his greatest aids in this breakthrough.
The Tranquil Mind Incense helped him maintain clarity and focus, protecting him from mental demons during his cultivation.
Don't assume that only high-level cultivators are troubled by inner demons on the contrary, the lower the cultivation realm, the more turbulent the mind, making it even easier for demons to take root.
He still remembered how Cheng Xiao, the son of Cheng Yufei, had gone mad during their duel at Liuyun Market and nearly lost his life.
Now, with this incense burning beside him, it was as though he had added an extra layer of protection.
He closed his eyes and inhaled the soothing scent, quickly settling into a meditative state. All distractions faded from his mind as he began drawing in spiritual energy to fill his dantian.
There are three gates to the Foundation Establishment. The first is the Gate of Spiritual Power. In simple terms, this stage involves converting the gaseous spiritual energy in the dantian into liquid form, allowing the dantian to store a far greater amount of energy.
It might sound simple, but in truth, many cultivators fail at this very stage. The Foundation Establishment Pill was primarily designed to help overcome this barrier.
Time flowed quietly by, and after nearly a year of meticulous preparation, Song Changsheng was finally ready for the breakthrough.
The spiritual energy in his body suddenly became violent, surging madly through his meridians. The force of it scoured his internal pathways, giving his meridians and dantian a faint, tearing sensation.
He quickly swallowed the Vein-Guarding Pill. At once, he felt his meridians expand slightly, granting them the capacity to hold even more spiritual energy.
Spiritual energy surged through all of Song Changsheng's meridians, flowing throughout his body. The searing, tearing pain made him furrow his brows tightly, cold sweat dripping from his forehead in steady streams. Gritting his teeth, he circulated his cultivation technique, desperately trying to suppress the rampaging energy within.
The wild spiritual energy violently flushed through his meridian points, breaking through one after another. Everything progressed smoothly at first until the energy reached the Baihui acupoint at the top of his head, where something went wrong.
The spiritual energy crashed against the acupoint like a raging tide. Song Changsheng felt as though his head was about to explode as if something was trying to burst out from inside his skull.
The excruciating pain left him dizzy, stars dancing before his eyes. He clenched his jaw tightly, letting out suppressed, guttural roars through gritted teeth.
Though it was agony beyond endurance, he knew he couldn't stop now. Summoning every ounce of strength, he directed all his spiritual energy to force the breakthrough. His meridians began to crack, the torment nearly causing him to black out.
Enduring unimaginable pain, Song Changsheng held on with sheer willpower. Finally, the obstruction gave way the Baihui acupoint opened!
The spiritual energy surged forward, rapidly clearing the remaining meridian points. Eventually, all the energy was drawn back into his dantian, which began to expand larger and larger until it was several times its original size before stabilizing.
The spiritual energy recondensed into its liquid form, settling within his dantian. At that moment, his Yin-Yang Dao Foundation underwent a complete transformation shifting into a perfectly square Spiritual Platform, at the center of which lay a black-and-white Taiji diagram.
The spiritual energy within his dantian now circled the diagram, gradually forming a faint vortex.
Song Changsheng quietly exhaled in relief. The first gate, the Gate of Spiritual Power, was complete.
He began to circulate the energy through his newly opened meridian points. Each one acted like a water pump, drawing in the abundant spiritual energy within the cultivation chamber.
Every acupoint that absorbed spiritual energy itched and ached intensely. Song Changsheng bit down hard on his lip, drawing blood yet he remained oblivious to the pain.
The spiritual energy he drew in seeped into every muscle, every bone, every organ of his body.
Each strand of muscle was baptized by spiritual energy. The energy even penetrated down to his bone marrow. The pain was so intense it made him throw back his head and howl toward the ceiling.
His entire body was undergoing comprehensive refinement a process so long and draining that it consumed every bit of his strength.
Sweat poured from every pore on his body.
That sweat gave off a nauseating stench, sticky and foul. It clung to him in patches, forming dark, greasy layers of impurities. Time passed quietly, and when his body finally ceased expelling those toxins, Song Changsheng felt a wave of relief in his heart.
He had undergone nine rounds of body tempering in the past, so this wasn't too much for him certainly easier than the Gate of Spiritual Power.
Now came the final step: the Gate of the Soul.
His head felt heavy, eyelids were like iron weights. His soul began to drift, and images flashed through his mind memories from both this life and a past one.
They played like a film across his consciousness scenes of hardship, of rage, of joy...
Gradually, he began to see things that didn't belong to him.
He saw Song Lutong lying in a pool of blood, desperately reaching out for help; saw Song Luzhou's face twisted in despair as he was devoured by a beast, his body vanishing without a trace; saw Song Qingxi weeping bitterly, standing alone before a field of graves.
One gravestone in particular came into focus.
It read:
"Grave of Song Changsheng of the Song Clan."
Boom!
It was as if thunder exploded in his mind. His soul trembled violently, and more and more images flooded his vision. His head throbbed as if a massive hammer were pounding it from within.
"A heart demon..."
Sensing the chaotic blend of real and false memories flickering in his mind, Song Changsheng understood: the heart demon had come knocking.
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