Volume 1 Chapter 7

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Volume 1 Chapter 7: Ten Years

In this way, the young Xu Qingfan, who had accidentally entered the cultivation world, officially began his cultivation journey.

It was clear that Lu Huayan cared deeply about ‘The Formula of Wither and Flourish’ because it was his only hope. So, from the very first day of Xu Qingfan’s learning, he eagerly began to teach him the methods of this cultivation technique, closely supervising and guiding Xu Qingfan’s practice at all times.

Xu Qingfan knew that Lu Huayan was eager to find the unique secrets of "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" to confirm it with his own "Changchun Grand Method," helping his power grow even more. Only in this way could he slow his aging and live a little longer. All of this also hinted that Lu Huayan indeed had little time left.

Who says that a person on the path of cultivation is carefree and does not care about life and death? That is just a misunderstanding from ordinary people.

From Xu Qingfan’s understanding over the years, most cultivators fear death more than ordinary people. After enduring countless hardships in cultivation, they finally made some progress and could live a little longer; how could they easily accept dying?

Moreover, the cultivation world has experienced thousands of years of development. Although cultivation methods and Taoist spells continue to improve, and geniuses and experts keep emerging, immortality is still just a legend. It has now become an obsession in the hearts of all cultivators.

From the very first day Xu Qingfan formally became Lu Huayan’s student, Lu Huayan began to carefully teach him the cultivation methods of "The Formula of Wither and Flourish." Every night, he personally helped Xu Qingfan refine the Wood-type Qi in his body, providing various elixirs as if they were free.

Lu Huayan was very strict with Xu Qingfan, not only setting strict requirements for his daily training time but also not teaching him any practical Taoist spells besides "The Formula of Wither and Flourish." He said that learning Taoist spells would wait until Xu Qingfan made some progress in "The Formula of Wither and Flourish."

Xu Qingfan knew that Lu Huayan was aging quickly and was very concerned about his own life and death, feeling anxious about the possibility of advancing his power. Additionally, Xu Qingfan also wanted to master the immortal technique soon to avenge his family. Therefore, although Lu Huayan was very strict about cultivation, Xu Qingfan did not mind at all; instead, he found joy in it and often trained far beyond Lu Huayan’s set time.

It must be said that Xu Qingfan, who loved reading since he was young, had a remarkable understanding. As long as Lu Huayan explained the main ideas of "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" once, Xu Qingfan could understand it almost instantly. Additionally, his diligent practice, the accumulation of Wood-type Qi over thousands of years, and Lu Huayan’s help every night allowed Xu Qingfan to progress quickly in his cultivation. Later on, Lu Huayan often sighed that with Xu Qingfan’s understanding and hard work, if not for his poor innate qualities and natural inability to absorb the energies of the world, Xu Qingfan could have likely reached a high realm and become a master in the cultivation world.

Unfortunately, understanding and diligence are only enhancements for cultivators after having great innate qualities; they cannot play a decisive role on their own. Therefore, Xu Qingfan could at most reach the late stage of the Lingji Stage in this life, truly a matter of fate.

Additionally, the book "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" that Xu Qingfan studied has many damaged parts due to its old age, and its cultivation methods are mostly incomplete. However, Lu Huayan, confident in his deep skills and unique insights, practiced the "Changchun Grand Method," which is just as advanced as "The Formula of Wither and Flourish." So he can somewhat fill in the gaps of the text. Only time will tell if his additions are correct.

Because "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" has many missing parts, Xu Qingfan faced great danger while practicing, having to explore and make progress on his own with each step. He nearly fell into the crisis of Qi deviation multiple times, and if it weren’t for Lu Huayan rescuing him each time, Xu Qingfan would have long become a pile of bones by now.

However, because Xu Qingfan has experienced more Qi deviations than the average cultivator, his meridians and energy center are much sturdier than those of an ordinary cultivator, which will greatly benefit his future training. Of course, neither Xu Qingfan nor Lu Huayan realizes this at the moment.

It must be said that "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" has its unique features, which is why Lu Huayan hopes to advance his abilities through it.

The cultivation world currently shares that most wood-type cultivation methods involve absorbing Wood-type Qi from the universe and transforming it into one’s own Wood-type Spirit Qi. This Wood-type Spirit Qi contains the strongest life force in the world, and when cultivated to an advanced level, it can even directly resist the power of nature.

However, Xu Qingfan does not know if it is because of his incorrect cultivation method that the Spirit Qi he cultivates within him is not pure Wood-type Spirit Qi.

Whenever he refines some of the Wood-type Qi stored in his body, that portion transforms into a blue and a gray Spirit Qi. The blue Spirit Qi naturally contains powerful life force, while the gray energy is the exact opposite; it has no life force and makes Xu Qingfan feel a deep sense of loneliness and desolation.

Every time Xu Qingfan practices "The Formula of Wither and Flourish," the Wood-type Spirit Qi circulates within him and spontaneously transforms into a gray, lifeless energy that continues to flow. After a cycle, it turns back into blue Wood-type Spirit Qi, repeating this process over and over.

The two types of Spirit Qi, although completely opposite, surprisingly coexist harmoniously within Xu Qingfan, even enhancing each other in some ways. Yet, the gray, lifeless Spirit Qi does not seem like the Spirit Qi that should be produced by practicing wood-type cultivation methods; instead, it bears some resemblance to the Spirit Qi cultivated by demon cultivators but lacks the malevolence typical of theirs. After much study, even Lu Huayan, who considers himself knowledgeable, was left puzzled.

In the mountains, cultivation lasted for decades. During all this practicing and more practicing, time unknowingly passed for a whole ten years.

…

Ten years later.

Without realizing it, Xu Qingfan had already spent more than ten years training at Jiuhua Gate. The once youthful look of a seventeen-year-old boy had now changed to a calm expression. However, his master and senior brother had become even older and more worn.

Xu Qingfan sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyes tightly shut, with a serious expression. Following the method from "The Formula of Wither and Flourish," Xu Qingfan carefully guided two types of Spirit Qi, one blue and one gray, within him.

First, a faint blue mist slowly radiated from his body, filling his room with vibrant life. But after a while, the blue mist gradually faded, and a light gray glow became more visible, completely replacing the blue mist, filling the room with a sense of stillness. Then, the gray glow slowly transformed back into the original blue mist, which was now even brighter than before, before slowly shifting back to the gray light.

In this way, the blue and gray lights continued to switch back and forth.

Time passed, and it was unclear how many times the blue and gray lights exchanged with each other. Finally, both lights began to fade slowly and were gently drawn back into Xu Qingfan’s body.

After finishing his practice, Xu Qingfan slowly opened his eyes, let out a sigh, and his expression was mixed with satisfaction and disappointment.

Energy overflowed, which was a sign that Xu Qingfan had reached the peak of the Qi Refining stage. If he made even the smallest improvement, he could break through the Qi Refining stage and reach the Inedia Stage.

A cultivator who reaches the Inedia Stage can directly absorb the energy of the world to nourish their body, no longer needing to consume ordinary food. At this stage, a cultivator’s body can continuously absorb the elemental Spirit Qi from the surroundings, and their connection with the world is greatly enhanced. Therefore, both their abilities and cultivation speed will increase significantly, making it a world apart from the Qi Refining Stage.

In fact, many radical cultivators still believe that those at the Qi Refining Stage cannot be considered true cultivators; they are merely powerful mortals. Only cultivators who enter the Inedia Stage can be considered to have truly crossed into the realm of cultivation.

Unfortunately, very few people in the world have the talent for cultivation, and about two-thirds of them will remain at the Qi Refining Stage for their entire lives. These people are known as registered disciples, holding low status in various cultivation sects, and are no different from servants in the ordinary world.

Xu Qingfan reached the peak of the Qi Refining Stage in just ten years. Although this was due to the presence of a thousand-year-old Wood-type Qi within him and the constant help of a powerful master like Lu Huayan, his speed of cultivation is still commendable.

Although his cultivation speed is somewhat acceptable, the power of the "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" is far from what he had imagined.

When Xu Qingfan first reached the late stage of the Qi Refining Stage, he could not contain his curiosity and persuaded his senior brother Yue Qingru to secretly teach him two basic Taoist spells. One was the Falling Wood Technique, which, once mastered, allowed him to transform his Wood-type True Qi into giant trees that fall from the sky to strike enemies. The other was the Heavenly Vine Technique, which used his Wood-type Qi to create long vines to whip or bind enemies. These are the most basic and practical spells for cultivators practicing the wood-type cultivation method.

However, when Xu Qingfan finally mastered these two spells after much effort, he shocked the three people at Changchun Residence. It turned out that the power of the two spells he cast using "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" was only half that of cultivators at the same level!

Discovering that his Taoist spells inexplicably had their power reduced by half meant that Xu Qingfan would have no chance of resisting against cultivators of the same level! Upon realizing this result, Xu Qingfan felt utterly disheartened, as his hope of avenging his clan members seemed even more distant. When Lu Huayan learned about this outcome, he began to suspect whether Xu Qingfan had practiced "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" incorrectly.

In these ten years, Lu Huayan wanted to help Xu Qingfan turn the gray, lifeless Spirit Qi in his body into Wood-type Qi more than once. But that gray Spirit Qi was very hard to refine, and every time it finally turned into Wood-type Qi, once Xu Qingfan used The Formula of Wither and Flourish again, the refined Wood-type Spirit Qi would return to its original form, making both the master and the student very troubled.

For the past ten years, every time Xu Qingfan practiced The Formula of Wither and Flourish, Lu Huayan would stand by his side and send a small amount of Spirit Qi into Xu Qingfan’s body to see how The Formula of Wither and Flourish worked, hoping to connect it with his own Changchun Grand Method.

Unfortunately, after ten years, Lu Huayan had not found anything unusual about The Formula of Wither and Flourish aside from the gray lifeless Spirit Qi. He finally began to believe that Xu Qingfan’s own cultivation method was the problem, so three years ago, he gave up hope for Xu Qingfan.

In the first seven years of Xu Qingfan’s training, Lu Huayan would stay by his side every day, using his own energy to help Xu Qingfan train and to study The Formula of Wither and Flourish, but this behavior has become less frequent in the last three years.

Because Lu Huayan’s own practice of the Changchun Grand Method clashed with the incomplete version of The Formula of Wither and Flourish, he could not cultivate this method himself.

But after giving up on Xu Qingfan, he did not lose hope for The Formula of Wither and Flourish because it was his last chance to improve his own skills. So, three years ago, he traveled again and took a new direct disciple named Nangong Qingshan, a good-looking boy who was said to be a prince from a small kingdom in the ordinary world. Unlike Xu Qingfan, Nangong Qingshan had great talent and a strong foundation suited for practicing Wood-type methods.

However, for some reason, Xu Qingfan did not like this disciple named Nangong Qingshan. Xu Qingfan felt that Nangong Qingshan’s gaze was like that of the blood wolves he had seen in the Southern Wasteland—proud, selfish, and cold by nature. But Lu Huayan could not care about that right now; he was just happy that Nangong Qingshan’s talent allowed him to learn The Formula of Wither and Flourish quickly.

Of course, Xu Qingfan would not hold a prejudice against his young disciple just because of his feelings; he did his best to help him. However, Nangong Qingshan did not show any signs of gratitude towards Xu Qingfan and Yue Qingru; he just appeared indifferent, as if it were all natural.

This time, Lu Huayan learned from Xu Qingfan’s lesson and greatly revised the flaws in The Formula of Wither and Flourish. It can be said that although Nangong Qingshan’s cultivation method was still called The Formula of Wither and Flourish, it was completely different from what Xu Qingfan practiced.

Nangong Qingshan did not disappoint Lu Huayan’s expectations. He not only made rapid progress in studying "The Formula of Wither and Flourish," but within just three years, he reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining, much faster than Xu Qingfan. Moreover, his body did not show any signs of the gray, dead Spirit Qi like Xu Qingfan did. Unfortunately, when Lu Huayan tried to find the special features of Nangong Qingshan’s practice of "The Formula of Wither and Flourish," he could not find anything that could compare or be referenced with his own "Changchun Grand Method."

Lu Huayan was also seeking quick results to increase his lifespan. However, he did not realize that out of fear of Nangong Qingshan experiencing the same gray, dead Spirit Qi that Xu Qingfan had, he unintentionally made "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" increasingly similar to his own "Changchun Grand Method" during the second revision. As a result, there was nothing left to compare or supplement each other.

After Lu Huayan’s constant support was gone, Xu Qingfan’s training speed decreased significantly. He thought that the cultivation method he was practicing was not very useful, and he almost decided to give up many times. But thinking about his family’s past troubles, he realized that while "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" was not ideal, it was still his only hope so far. With this in mind, Xu Qingfan forced himself to continue his training.

Another reason was that Lu Huayan’s aging had become more serious over the past ten years. When Xu Qingfan first met Lu Huayan, even though he had a full head of white hair, he did not look old. But now, looking at Lu Huayan, not only was his face full of wrinkles, but his originally neat and long silver hair had also fallen out significantly. He looked like an elderly man nearing the end of his life, losing the spirit he once had.

Over the past ten years, although Lu Huayan only wanted to extend his own lifespan, he had always taken good care of Xu Qingfan. Even after giving up hope for Xu Qingfan, he never treated him badly and still let him stay in Changchun Residence to practice. Whenever Xu Qingfan had questions during his training, Lu Huayan answered them seriously. So, to say Xu Qingfan felt no affection for him over these ten years would be a lie. Xu Qingfan really wanted to understand "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" better to help Lu Huayan improve his skills and gain a few more years of life.

Unfortunately, despite Xu Qingfan’s hard work over the past ten years, he still had not made any major breakthroughs and remained at the late stage of the Qi Refining Stage, which often frustrated him greatly.

Shaking his head, Xu Qingfan pushed these useless thoughts aside. Over the years, he had been so busy training that he never left the boundaries of Changchun Residence. Realizing his stagnant progress, Xu Qingfan decided to go outside for a walk and enjoy the scenery of Jiuhua Mountain to calm his increasingly restless mind.

With this thought, Xu Qingfan stood up from his bed and walked towards the door.