Related thematic articles: Untitled Document "Alas!" A sigh of disappointment came, a plain-looking teenager, with a wooden expression on his face, failed again. This was the forty-ninth time he had failed to break through in three months. Even though Lin Xuan was mentally resilient, he was now surrounded by frustration and despair. A bitter smile appeared at the corner of the teenager's mouth. He shook his head and looked at his hands. Was his talent really this bad? Lin Xuan tightly clenched his fists, his nails deeply embedded in the flesh, but it was as if he didn't feel any pain at all. Lin Xuan was seventeen years old this year and had been studying under Piao Yun Valley for three years. Piao Yun Valley is a small sect in the cultivation world, with nearly a thousand disciples, and Lin Xuan is one of the lower-level disciples. In three years, the fellow disciples who entered the sect at the same time as him have already reached the middle stage of Ling Dong, and a few outstanding ones have even entered the later stage of the fifth layer. But he was still lingering at the first level. Such slow progress was not due to Lin Xuan's lack of effort. On the contrary, his efforts were unparalleled among the lower-level disciples. If others practiced the technique once, he would practice it three times. If others meditated for an hour, he would meditate for three hours. Yet such hard work paid off with very little reward, and Lin Xuan was far behind everyone else. Lin Xuan's heart was filled with a sense of failure. Cultivation is divided into eight stages: Ling Dong, Zhu Ji, Ning Dan, Yuan Ying, Li He, Dong Xuan, Fen Shen, and Du Jie. Each stage is further divided into seven layers. The first and second layers are the early stage, the third and fourth layers are the middle stage, the fifth and sixth layers are the late stage, and the seventh layer is called Da Man Yuan. Once the bottleneck is broken, one can enter the next stage. Although the path of immortality is difficult, it also progresses from shallow to deep. For example, the techniques of the first two layers of Ling Dong are merely considered introductory. The first layer can be mastered by those with good talent in two months, while those with slightly worse talent can take three to five months to master it. However, this only applies to those with spiritual roots. Spiritual root is a term used in the cultivation world. There has been no definitive description of what it specifically refers to in tens of thousands of years. It is only known that those with spiritual roots can cultivate much faster than ordinary people without spiritual roots. In theory, ordinary mortals with average talent can also cultivate, but it takes twice the effort for half the result... No, even if they put in ten times the effort, they cannot achieve half the results of others. Simply put, it’s like working hard without getting anywhere. Unfortunately, Lin Xuan is an ordinary person without a spiritual root. Originally, people like him without spiritual roots wouldn't be accepted by any sect even if they wanted to walk the path of cultivation. However, Lin Xuan's situation was special. Three years ago, by chance, he saved a severely injured elder from Piao Yun Valley. Out of gratitude, the elder introduced him to the sect, making him a member of this small cultivation sect. Over three years, Lin Xuan never slacked off in his cultivation. He trained hard in winter and summer, sweating more than others. Despite this, he was still far behind his fellow disciples. Pursuing the way of immortality, talent is more important. Relying solely on effort is difficult to make up for! Recently, during his attempt to break through, Lin Xuan felt that his power had reached the peak of the first level, just a little away from the second level of Ling Dong, but this tiny gap was like a huge gulf. No matter how hard Lin Xuan tried, he couldn't cross it. After a long time, Lin Xuan relaxed his tightly clenched fists, took a breath, as if trying to drive out the frustration in his heart, sat down cross-legged again, and performed the internal vision method... Internal Vision is a minor magical technique in the cultivation world, which can check the operation of spiritual energy in the dan tian and meridians within one's body. It belongs to an auxiliary magical technique used during cultivation. In the dan tian, there was only a void. The only thing that existed was a faint blue gas, which was the legendary spiritual energy. But the gas was sparse, indicating that Lin Xuan's power was relatively low. What is called cultivation is going against the natural order. To go against the natural order, one needs great divine abilities. One must endure various hardships to control the five elements, absorb the essence of heaven and earth, refine them, and finally make them one's own. These strands of spiritual energy were what Lin Xuan had cultivated over the past three years. Of course, compared to his fellow disciples, he had much less because he didn't have a spiritual root, making his cultivation path much harder than theirs. Under the influence of consciousness, these strands of spiritual energy began to gather and entwine. Originally, each strand of spiritual energy was as thin as a hair, but with the passage of time, they gathered into a strand about the thickness of a thumb. A misty white vapor rose from Lin Xuan's head, soaking his whole body in sweat. Just the process of gathering spiritual energy had exhausted him completely. It was indeed full of thorns for an ordinary person to cultivate. His breathing became heavier, but Lin Xuan's expression remained unchanged. Over the three years, he had become accustomed to it. After gathering the spiritual energy, Lin Xuan's expression did not relax at all. Carefully, he released his spirit awareness and, according to the techniques taught by his sect, controlled the spiritual energy to flow out of the dan tian and into the meridians. For cultivators, the dan tian is the fundamental place to store spiritual energy, and the eight extraordinary meridians are also very important. When the spiritual energy circulates through the eight extraordinary meridians from head to toe, it is called one complete cycle. And each time such a cycle is completed, the spiritual energy will increase a little bit, although it may be minuscule, but accumulating little by little, doing a few cycles every day will gradually strengthen the spiritual energy. Of course, there are countless techniques in the cultivation world, and the paths for completing the grand cycle differ greatly between sects, and their effects also vary greatly. The grand cycle, although a necessary part of cultivation for every cultivator, is not as easy as outsiders imagine. It is actually quite difficult. The route of the spiritual energy flow doesn't need to be worried about, as it is clearly stated in the sect's techniques, and just following it will do. However, the speed of the flow needs to be explored individually, for no other reason than the condition of everyone's meridians varies. Some have strong meridians with high endurance, which can not only hold more spiritual energy but also allow faster flow without problems. Others have weaker meridians, and the situation is completely opposite. Generally speaking, the better the spiritual root, the stronger the meridians, and vice versa. Lin Xuan is just an ordinary person, without even a spiritual root, so he needs to invest more energy and time to complete the grand cycle. Every step must be done cautiously. If the speed is too fast, not only will the cycle not be successfully completed, but it will also damage the meridians. http://www.novbook.com/reading/2/104405/455743.html This novel is truly earth-shattering and ghost-tear-inducing, touching those who read it to tears and causing sorrow to those who hear it. The plot rises and falls dramatically, extremely exciting. Reading novels on -Reading Network- is pretty good. The page is clean and tidy, with no pop-up ads. Joining as a member allows you to use the bookmark function, which is very convenient.