My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar-Chapter 35: Consummation of the Condensation Art
「The 5th Year of Longyuan.」
In the third year of his Foundation Establishment, Wang Ping’s progress in Foundation Establishment and Qi Gathering had reached (15/100).
On the thirteenth of the sixth month, a light summer rain had been falling for three straight days. Wang Ping woke at the rooster’s crow as usual and, undeterred by the wind and rain, walked to the pagoda tree to cultivate Qi for his Foundation Establishment.
「Six hours later...」
The rain was falling harder now. The sky, which should have been bright, remained dim and gloomy. Wang Ping, standing before the pagoda tree, was not wet from the rain—not because he was shielding himself with Spiritual Qi, but because the tree’s branches and leaves were automatically blocking the rain for him.
Yang Zhiping wasn’t carrying water today. Instead, he was holding an umbrella and patrolling the Lin Garden, checking to see if any of the ditches were clogged so he could clear them out in time to prevent water from pooling and ruining the Spirit Grass.
Upon completing his daily Foundation Establishment cultivation, Wang Ping immediately awoke from his meditative state. He then mentally checked the ’Foundation Establishment Chapter’ to view the Spiritual Qi density: (42/100).
’A clear change from the bare mountaintop at the start.’
The garden was now well-established, but the rate of Spiritual Qi growth was slowing daily. Wang Ping worried it still wouldn’t be enough when the time came to complete his Foundation Establishment.
Lost in thought, he walked toward the small courtyard when he heard Liu Shuang call out, "Master, it’s time to eat..."
Breakfast was vegetable congee, with an egg for everyone. Wang Ping ate his as usual with a side of small pickled vegetables. As he stepped out of the main house, he saw Yu Lian playing in the water under the eaves. A sudden feeling came over him, and he casually took out his divination blocks and cast a divination...
Favorable!
He had good luck today. The only thing currently occupying Wang Ping’s thoughts was his progress in the *Five Elements Condensation Art*. After three years of nonstop practice, his success rate for refining Spirit Medicine was now consistently above 75%.
This was already very high, but the progress bar being stuck at (99/100) was especially frustrating.
So, Wang Ping walked as quickly as he could to the Alchemy Room, which was situated outside the Spirit Gathering Array to the north of the courtyard. It had been built on a leveled mountaintop according to feng shui principles. He sat on the cattail cushion beside the Pill Furnace and began the day’s Spirit Medicine condensation.
The first attempt was a success...
On the second attempt, during the condensation process, Wang Ping sensed the characteristics of attraction, repulsion, and derivation among the Five Elements within the five types of Spirit Medicine. The speed at which he guided the Spiritual Qi for purification and condensation suddenly accelerated.
In that moment, Wang Ping felt he could combine the two steps of condensation and fusion into one!
"Open!"
While accelerating the condensation, Wang Ping flipped open the lid of the Pill Furnace, activated its built-in furnace fire extraction function, and placed the condensed Five Elements Spirit Medicine inside.
It was followed by a sharp CRACK.
It was a failure. Thick, acrid smoke billowed out from the Pill Furnace.
Wang Ping gave a self-deprecating smile. With his left hand, he quickly formed a sequence of three hand signs for a spell, casting the ’Cleaning Spell’ to tidy up the Pill Furnace before moving on to his third attempt.
Another failure...
But Wang Ping wasn’t discouraged. ’I’m on the right track,’ he thought.
But the fourth and fifth attempts were also failures.
Wang Ping, who hadn’t failed consecutively in a long time, frowned. He didn’t try again, but instead cast a divination to check his current luck.
It was a Yang Trigram...
Wang Ping was a little speechless. He had no choice but to enter a meditative state for Half an Hour before casting another divination.
He continued with his sixth attempt...
This time, during the final tempering process, Wang Ping subconsciously sent a stream of Spiritual Qi into the Pill Furnace based on his past refining experience. Through that stream of Spiritual Qi, he could feel the Five Elements Spiritual Qi within the condensed Five Elements Spirit Medicine pulsing and combining in a rhythmic pattern.
’Success!’
Wang Ping stared at the Pill Furnace. After a few breaths, the lid flipped open, and a freshly-made ’Power Pill’ lay quietly before his eyes.
"Haha!" Wang Ping laughed happily. He took out a pouch made from Yin Yang Vine Skin and tossed the finished pill inside.
’Let’s try again...’
The satisfaction of success left Wang Ping feeling invigorated, and he immediately tried again without stopping... and succeeded again.
’Should I try two sets of materials at once?’
The thought suddenly popped into Wang Ping’s head, and he immediately acted on it. Then, as if blessed by the gods, he succeeded again!
「In the blink of an eye...」
The entire morning passed just like that.
The existing materials in the Alchemy Room were completely used up, replaced by two full bags of ’Power Pills’. Wang Ping looked at the depleted Spirit Medicine, let out a slightly regretful sigh, then picked up the two bags and walked toward the courtyard in the drizzling rain.
Liu Shuang and Yang Zhiping were busy making lunch. Wang Ping stood in front of the main house and called out, "Zhiping, come here a moment."
"Yes, Master!" Yang Zhiping’s voice came from the kitchen, and a moment later he emerged, wiping his hands on the corner of his clothes.
"These are two bags of Power Pills. First, take them to your Martial Uncle Zhao. Then, tell him to send more Spirit Medicine to the Alchemy Room!"
"Yes, Master!"
Yang Zhiping agreed without hesitation. If it had been Liu Shuang, she would have tentatively asked if she could deliver them after lunch.
As the young disciple left the courtyard, Liu Shuang poked her head out of the kitchen to watch, an unhappy expression common for a child her age on her face.
As a result, lunch was a little late today, but it still tasted good. The dishes were also a bit oilier—that was Liu Shuang’s cooking. Yang Zhiping, though diligent, could never bring himself to use much oil when he stir-fried.
After finishing lunch with his two disciples, acolytes from the base of the mountain began transporting Spirit Medicine to the Alchemy Room. Wang Ping paid them no mind, focusing instead on watching his two disciples practice their techniques.
Today, perhaps because the gentle rain made one lose track of time, Liu Shuang finished her usual ten repetitions but didn’t stop immediately.
As if possessed, she continued to practice haphazardly for a while longer. Then, her eyes lit up as she threw a punch. In the wake of that punch, a vortex of Qi Force could be clearly seen around her fist, scattering the raindrops.
"Congratulations, Senior Sister!" said Yang Zhiping, who had long since finished his own practice, offering the first congratulations.
"Haha!"
Liu Shuang laughed proudly, then turned to Wang Ping and bowed. "Thank you, Master, for your guidance and for clearing my doubts."
"Very good. Your Junior Brother is also on the verge of sensing his Qi. Look after him for the next few days. Once you have both developed a sense for your Qi, I will impart to you a Qi Cultivation Method."
"Yes, Master!"
Liu Shuang accepted the task, then winked and made faces at Yang Zhiping, her meaning obvious.
"Furthermore, once you officially begin Qi Cultivation, you will no longer need to clean or cook. Take the next two days to go to the front hall and find two diligent acolytes."
"Yes, Master!"
Yang Zhiping found his sense of Qi half a month later... 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
The Qi Cultivation Method Wang Ping passed on to his two disciples was also the *Guiyuan Technique*. However, unlike Yu Cheng Taoist, he didn’t impart it all at once, instead starting with the ’Qi Cultivation Chapter’.
Of course, he had to get permission from Yu Cheng Taoist before passing on this Cultivation Technique.
Liu Shuang and Yang Zhiping’s first Qi Cultivation session took place in the main house of the courtyard. Just as Yu Cheng Taoist had done for him, Wang Ping transferred a sliver of Spiritual Qi into each of them to guide them.
And it was precisely because of guiding them with this sliver of Spiritual Qi that Wang Ping learned that for these two to achieve any success in Qi Cultivation, it would take at least ten years of ascetic practice!
