Related thematic articles: Untitled Document "Alas!" A sigh of disappointment came, an ordinary-looking teenager, with a blank 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 tough, he was now surrounded by feelings of frustration and despair. A bitter smile appeared at the corner of the teenager's mouth as he shook his head and looked at his hands. Was his talent really that bad? Lin Xuan tightly clenched his fists, his nails deeply embedded into the flesh, but it seemed like he didn't feel any pain at all. Lin Xuan was seventeen years old this year and had been a disciple of Piaoyun Valley for three years. Piaoyun Valley was a small sect in the cultivation world, with nearly a thousand disciples, and Lin Xuan was one of the lower-level disciples. In three years, his fellow disciples who entered the sect at the same time as him had already reached the middle stage of the Lingdong period, and some of those with outstanding talent had even entered the later stage of the fifth layer. However, Lin Xuan was still stuck at the first level. His progress was so slow not because Lin Xuan wasn't working hard enough; on the contrary, his efforts were unmatched among the lower-level disciples. When others practiced the technique once, he practiced it three times; when others meditated for an hour, he meditated for three hours. But such hard work yielded little reward, and Lin Xuan was far behind everyone else, feeling a deep sense of failure. Cultivation is divided into eight stages: Lingdong, Zujī, Ningdān, Yuányīng, Líhé, Dòngxuán, Fēnshén, and Dùjié. 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 Dà Mǎnyuán. 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 the Lingdong period are merely considered beginner levels. Those with good talent can master the first layer in two months, while those with slightly worse talent can do so in three to five months. However, this only applies to those with spiritual roots. Spiritual root is a term used in the cultivation world to describe something that has never been clearly defined in tens of thousands of years. It is known that those with spiritual roots cultivate much faster than ordinary people without spiritual roots. In theory, ordinary mortals with average talent can also practice cultivation, but it is twice as difficult and half as effective... No, even if they put in ten times the effort, they cannot achieve half the results. Simply put, it's a lot of effort for little gain. And unfortunately, Lin Xuan was just such an ordinary person without spiritual roots. Originally, someone like Lin Xuan without spiritual roots would not be accepted into any sect if they wanted to walk the path of cultivation. However, Lin Xuan's situation was special. Three years ago, by chance, he saved an injured elder from Piaoyun Valley. Out of gratitude, the elder recommended him, making him a member of this small cultivation sect. Over the past three years, Lin Xuan had never slacked off in his cultivation, practicing diligently in the cold winter and hot summer, sweating more than others, yet despite all this, he was still far behind his peers. Pursuing the Dao of immortality, talent is more important, and relying solely on effort is hard to make up for it! Just like recently when attempting to break through, Lin Xuan felt that his cultivation had reached the peak of the first layer, only needing a little bit more to reach the second layer of the Lingdong period. However, this tiny gap was like a huge chasm, no matter how hard Lin Xuan tried, he couldn't cross it. After a long while, Lin Xuan loosened his tightly clenched fists, exhaled, as if trying to expel the frustration in his heart. He sat down cross-legged again, employing the method of inner visualization... Inner visualization is a minor technique in the cultivation world, used to check the flow of spiritual energy in the dantian and meridians within one's body. It is an auxiliary technique used during cultivation. Within the dantian, there was nothing but a void, the only thing present being a few strands of pale green gas - this was the legendary spiritual energy. But there wasn't much gas, it was very sparse, due to Lin Xuan's relatively low cultivation base. Cultivation is about going against the heavens, and to do so, one must possess great abilities. One must endure various hardships to harness the five elements, absorb the essence of heaven and earth, refine them, and finally make them one's own. These few strands of spiritual energy were what Lin Xuan had cultivated over the past three years. Of course, compared to his peers, they were much less, because without spiritual roots, his cultivation path was far more arduous than theirs. Under the influence of his spirit sense, these strands of spiritual energy began to gather, twisting together. Originally, each strand of spiritual energy was as thin as a hair, but with the passage of time, they coalesced into a single strand about the thickness of a pinky finger. A faint white mist rose from Lin Xuan's head, and his body was soaked in sweat. Just the process of gathering spiritual energy had exhausted him completely. Indeed, for ordinary people cultivating, every step was fraught with difficulties. His breathing became heavier, but Lin Xuan's expression remained unchanged. Over the past three years, he had long become accustomed to this. After gathering the spiritual energy, Lin Xuan's expression did not relax at all. Carefully, he released his spirit sense, controlling the spiritual energy to flow out of the dantian according to the techniques taught by his sect, entering the meridians. For cultivators, the dantian 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. Each time such a circulation is completed, the spiritual energy will increase slightly, although the amount is minuscule. However, little by little, doing this several times a day will gradually enhance the spiritual energy. Of course, there are countless techniques in the cultivation world, and the paths taken for each complete cycle differ between sects, leading to vastly different effects. Although the complete cycle is a required lesson for every cultivator, it is not as easy as outsiders might imagine, and could even be said to be quite difficult. There is no need to worry about the route of the spiritual energy flow, as it has already been clearly explained in the sect’s techniques, and simply following them will suffice. However, the speed of the flow needs to be explored individually, for no two persons have identical meridians. Some have strong meridians, capable of holding more spiritual energy and flowing faster without issue, while others have weaker meridians, resulting in the opposite situation. Generally speaking, the better one's spiritual root, the stronger their meridians, and vice versa. Lin Xuan was just an ordinary person, without any spiritual root, so he needed to invest more energy and time to complete the full cycle. Every step must be taken with extreme caution; if the speed is too fast, not only will the cycle fail to complete, but it may also damage the meridians. http://www.novbook.com/reading/2/104405/455743.html This novel is truly breathtaking, moving to tears, captivating its readers with its dramatic plot twists. Reading novels on -Reading Network- is quite pleasant, with clean pages, no pop-up ads, and bookmark functionality available upon joining the membership, making it very convenient.