Chapter 6: Ten Years of Life Burned Out in a Morning

This cultivation method can be perfected in just six months.

Of course, this doesn't mean he can break through to the ninth level of Qi Condensation in six months. The mastery of cultivation methods is similar to that of spells: the higher the mastery, the more comprehensive one's control over spiritual energy and the development of the body's meridians.

Practicing a perfected cultivation method can significantly mitigate Wang Yu's poor aptitude, allowing him to use skill and experience to compensate for insufficient spiritual energy absorption.

Essentially, it's a way to accelerate cultivation.

Generally, complete cultivation methods come with complementary spells, secret techniques, and even mutually reinforcing elixir recipes and artifact blueprints.

The Blood Burning Technique has only one "Life Burning Secret Art." This art, when combined with the cultivation method, simultaneously enhances comprehension. Wang Yu can use it without any prerequisites.

With both placeholder slots active, he can refine a wisp of spiritual energy daily. He will be able to break through to the second level of Qi Condensation in at most ten days. Given this, his main body needs to immediately practice the Life Burning Secret Art to conceal this anomaly.

According to the plan, Wang Yu needs to burn ten years of his lifespan in a very short period for noticeable physical changes to appear due to the rapid depletion of his vital essence.

He is too young; gradual burning won't work. He must burn it all at once to achieve the desired effect.

"Qi Condensation cultivators live for 150 years. Even sacrificing 50 years would be worth it."

Comforting himself, Wang Yu steeled his heart, formed the Life Burning hand seal, and activated the Blood Burning Technique at full power.

A faint red mist emanated from his pores, completely enveloping him. A bloody scent permeated the stone chamber, and his body experienced sharp pangs, though they were still within tolerable limits.

Strictly speaking, this was his first attempt to actively cultivate with his main body's inferior spiritual root aptitude.

Although he had tried yesterday, he failed at the first step of "sensing spiritual energy." His entry into cultivation was purely achieved through the placeholder slots.

This time, the sensation of burning his lifespan was completely different.

The air seemed to be filled with scattered specks of five-colored spiritual light. The blood-red mist generated by burning his lifespan acted like a net, capturing all the spiritual energy within a three-meter radius around him and slowly absorbing it into his body.

The grand circulation route of the Blood Burning Technique also took on a reddish hue. After breaking through to the first level of Qi Condensation, Wang Yu could perform internal vision, which was a very peculiar sensory ability.

That blood-colored light was transformed from his lifespan, greatly assisting in the refinement of spiritual energy. Even though most of it escaped due to his aptitude, a small portion was still thoroughly captured by Wang Yu.

Soon after.

A new wisp of blood-red spiritual energy emerged within his dantian. This was a characteristic after activating the Blood Burning Secret Art, clearly distinct from the initial wisp of normal spiritual energy.

The two did not merge.

When casting spells, this blood-burning spiritual energy would manifest with a unique blood-red visual effect. Its surging power was most evident when confronting others with spiritual pressure, serving as evidence Wang Yu kept for himself.

It was as if to say: "I cultivated this spiritual energy by burning my lifespan; how dare you doubt me? You're in the wrong."

Upon awakening from his cultivation, Wang Yu instinctively touched his face. A very noticeable strand of white hair, quite striking, stood out among his shoulder-length hair.

"One year of lifespan for one wisp of spiritual energy..."

This terrifying consumption made his expression even grimmer. According to the pamphlet, reaching the first level of Qi Condensation only required having spiritual energy. The second level needed ten wisps, and the third level required a hundred wisps.

If he continued at this rate, he would be reduced to a husk before reaching the third level of Qi Condensation, perfectly consistent with his poor spiritual root aptitude.

"Sigh..."

"Is it true that poor spiritual root aptitude even weakens the effects of quick-achieving demonic cultivation methods? Damn it!"

A surge of irritation welled up in him. Wang Yu knew this was due to burning his lifespan too quickly; although he captured a lot of spiritual energy, he couldn't refine it all.

He should reduce the amount of lifespan burned at once to avoid waste, but what he wanted was precisely the physical changes that resulted from rapid lifespan depletion.

This would make it appear as though he had burned even more of his lifespan!

Wang Yu did not continue practicing the Blood Burning Technique. Consuming too much lifespan in a single day could lead to a drastic decline in bodily functions.

Even if he could live for 150 years, burning 30 years at once carried the risk of sudden death.

This was a condition that could result from rapid bodily imbalance. Having deeply studied ancient medical texts since childhood, he understood this well and would never take such a risk.

With two streams of spiritual energy in his body, Wang Yu attempted to condense spirit sand using the cultivation he gained from the placeholder slots. This technique was not some profound art but rather an instinct for cultivators.

Condensing spirit sand required a medium. Qi Condensation cultivators did not yet possess the ability to solidify and manipulate spiritual energy. Generally, the medium used was powdered or broken pieces of depleted spirit stones.

The cloth bag delivered on the first day contained one tael of it.

It was a volume about the size of a medium egg, wrapped in a cloth bag. Wang Yu took out half the amount and infused it with his own cultivation, depleting some of his spiritual energy.

He ultimately obtained two qian of spirit sand.

One tael equals ten qian. Since one wisp of spiritual energy only condensed into two qian of spirit sand, it meant that a spirit slave needed to cultivate five wisps of spiritual energy each month to meet the standard of one tael.

This was not difficult for those with triple or dual spiritual roots, but for those with mixed or inferior spiritual roots, it was incredibly challenging!

This implied that one had to sacrifice lifespan just to meet the basic requirement. If one accepted the supervisor's enticement, an additional four qian of spirit sand would be required on top of that.

And if one wanted to improve their cultivation, they would have to burn even more lifespan.

With exploitation from all sides, lives would grow shorter and shorter, while the value created would increase, until death.

"A cunning scheme!"

Weighing the spirit sand in his hand, Wang Yu realized there wasn't much he could do given the circumstances. He lay down and fell asleep.

The two placeholder slots felt like "clones" to him, cultivating continuously for him in places he couldn't see, twenty-four hours a day.

This resulted in 96 cultivation cycles per day for him. Even so, he could only refine one wisp of pure spiritual energy.

An inferior spiritual root—truly horrifying!

The next day, Wang Yu skipped the morning lecture. He fully immersed himself in cultivation, repeating the entire process from the previous day.

By the fifth day, he had accumulated one tael of spirit sand. He had specifically experimented with the blood-burning spiritual energy, discovering that once transformed into spirit sand, the internal aura belonging to Wang Yu would dissipate after a period of time.

It would change from a blood-tinged, glowing appearance to pure spirit sand.

This reassured him that there would be no flaws concerning the spirit sand. Apart from Supervisor Duan, the other two supervisors had also passed notes to Wang Yu, undoubtedly indicating their more profound backgrounds.

However, what was currently apparent was that all three were Foundation Establishment stage true disciples of Cold Blood Peak. The disparity in their statuses was like dirt and gold, so it was best to simply comply.

On the twelfth day since arriving at the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect.

Sitting cross-legged in the stone chamber, Wang Yu's aura fluctuated. A dense blood-burning spiritual energy emanated from his body, and his cultivation suddenly advanced a level.

"Qi Condensation, second level!"

Wang Yu clenched his fists, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Although the increase in cultivation primarily involved augmenting spiritual energy, the changes to his physical body were not to be underestimated.