Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 92 - 91: Array Refining for 20 Years, Nirvana!
"So, my earlier speculation was incorrect..."
Zhang Yao’s face shows a thoughtful expression.
In these days, besides delving into basic arrays, he’s been pondering the intricate teachings of the "Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature", gradually gaining a deeper understanding.
He once thought that the "Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature" should originate from the Cultivation Realm of the Ancient Era more than ten thousand years ago.
After all, only before the Ancient Great Destruction did the Five Spirit Roots qualify as "Perfect Spirit Roots", earning them the privilege of inspiring predecessors and sages to create top-level techniques.
But now, he has overturned this idea.
"The Five Elements Spirit Array has only two effects—enhancing cultivation speed, increasing magical power quantity."
However, Spirit Roots have their limits; the speed of Qi Refining Breathing cannot be endlessly improved.
Moreover, if it were the Ancient Era, the cultivation speed of Five Spirit Roots was still above the Celestial Spirit Root; even soaking daily in the Spirit Liquid Pool wouldn’t further increase efficiency fivefold.
"Therefore, the effect of the Five Elements Spirit Array, is evidently a thought process that emerged after the Ancient Great Destruction, and is incompatible with that before ancient times..."
The true purpose of the Five Elements Spirit Array seems to be compensating for some innate defect of the Five Spirit Roots after ancient times, allowing for a fivefold increase in cultivation speed in the current era.
This point sufficiently demonstrates that the pioneers who created the "Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature" lived in an era following ancient times.
"It seems that behind this top-level technique might be a complex story..."
Thinking this, Zhang Yao smiles faintly, paying it no further heed, and continues to immerse himself in comprehending arrays.
Time quietly slips away bit by bit.
......
Ten years later.
Deep within Panlong Ridge.
Zhang Yao stands before a mountain wall, Invisible Magical Power swirls, like a sharp blade slicing out.
The mountain wall before him is densely covered with complex Spirit Pattern Array Veins, forming a special array with the five directions as its foundation.
"Swoosh..."
With a wave of his sleeve, Zhang Yao causes the surface rock of the mountain wall to break up and disintegrate into sand and dust, scattering in the wind.
"I have attempted over a thousand times, nearly having turned the method of constructing and inscribing the ’Five Elements Spirit Array’ into instinct."
He takes a deep breath, his gaze firm:
"It’s time to officially abolish my skills and start anew!"
Zhang Yao turns and leaves, returning to the small wooden hut, sitting cross-legged on the bed.
He centers his mind and calms his thoughts, operates the Magic Skill, gradually dissipating his magical power.
Qi Refining Third Layer, Qi Refining Second Layer, Qi Refining First Layer...
Half an hour later.
All of Zhang Yao’s magical power has vanished, reverting from a Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator back to a mortal.
He slowly opens his eyes, exhales a breath of Muddy Qi, his expression reflective:
"A hundred years of diligent cultivation, now comes to nothing."
"Yet for a new future, all of this is worthwhile."
Though his magical power is gone, the realm achieved through diligent cultivation remains; he doesn’t need to re-open the Qi Vein, nor break through the bottleneck again.
As long as he can successfully construct the "Five Elements Spirit Array", officially begin with the "Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature", the re-cultivation process will be swift.
Moreover:
The effect of celestial and earthly spiritual qi washing over his body and strengthening his physique over a hundred years still remains.
If combined with his Martial Dao, which has long reached the pinnacle among mortals, in terms of sheer physical strength, he may even compare to a Foundation Establishment cultivator post Washing Marrow and Cutting Veins.
"Buzz!"
With a thought, his mind clears, and Qi Sensitivity regenerates.
Zhang Yao gathers the Earth Attribute Spiritual Qi around him, operates the Magic Skill, and slowly guides the spiritual qi into his body, converging it within his spleen.
The spleen, belonging to the earth in the five elements, is the foundation of the externally cultivated, governing the transformation of essential nutrients and fluids, enriching the qi, blood, and bodily fluids, harmonizing with the profound, earthy nature of the Earth Attribute Spiritual Qi; it is the first step in constructing the "Five Elements Spirit Array".
"Begin!"
Zhang Yao does not dare to slacken, immediately commencing with using his will as a blade and spiritual qi as a knife, inscribing spirit patterns upon the spleen.
The Five Elements Spirit Array is an extremely simplified and compressed array; each spirit pattern is reduced by hundreds of times compared to its normal size, so as to be accommodated by the five viscera.
Such minute spirit patterns, yet still needing to construct a complete array vein, demands an incredibly fine sensing power and manipulation skill, akin to carving a thousand characters upon a grain of rice.
"Ha..."
Zhang Yao breathes heavily, his forehead faintly pulsating with stress.
The five viscera are naturally delicate and sensitive; under the erosion of celestial and earthly spiritual qi, the flesh and blood tissues slowly peel off, leaving the pain unimaginable.
Yet Zhang Yao perseveres in silence, enduring with no visible tremor of resolve. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
A quarter-hour later:
Thanks to the strength of his viscera being comparable to Foundation Establishment, capable of withstanding substantial spiritual qi erosion, Zhang Yao’s progress is swift, having inscribed nearly half of the spirit pattern array vein corresponding to his spleen.
However, at this moment—
With a slight motion of the spleen, amidst the faint fluctuations of qi and blood, the spiritual qi loses control, abruptly bursting into chaos.
After several breaths, the piercing pain from the spleen slowly subsides, and much of the previously successfully inscribed spirit pattern array vein disintegrates into nothing.
"The difficulty is too high; the first attempt indeed failed..."
Zhang Yao shakes his head, but his expression doesn’t show much disappointment.
The human body is an integral whole; the five viscera and six viscera, flesh, and bones influence each other; any subtle fluctuation can cause the inscription of spirit patterns to fail.
Zhang Yao was prepared for this.
If it were simple enough to succeed after just a few, a dozen tries, he wouldn’t have estimated the time to be twenty years but merely ten.
He sits cross-legged, unperturbed, silently pondering the lessons of this first failure.
