Cultivation Starts with Rejuvenation

As he spoke, Li Ji’an felt an invisible energy from Ning Sujin’s hand slowly entering his Sea of Consciousness, instantly dissipating his sense of fear.

"Sister Jin, how can one avoid this soul-level fear?" Li Ji’an slowly exhaled, feeling a bit embarrassed.

After all, he was a Great Cultivator in the Late Period of Foundation Establishment but showed such fear in front of Ning Sujin.

"Hehe~" Seeing Li Ji’an trying to maintain his dignity, Ning Sujin’s thoughts were clear: "Li Lang, don’t overthink it. The Soul Forging Technique strengthens the Divine Soul by reinforcing the soul. Nearly no one can face the soul’s terror on their first attempt. Your mere intake of breath without a cry already shows your soul is stronger than most."

Li Ji’an’s eyes flickered, unsure if Ning Sujin was comforting him or being truthful.

"Come, let’s try again." He took a deep breath and attempted once more.

"Again?" Ning Sujin was instantly moved, her eyes filled with admiration as she looked at Li Ji’an.

She still remembered her first attempt with this technique, wailing in pain, collapsing to the ground in a ball, and not daring to try again for seven days.

And that was when she was already prepared to risk her life for it.

Without waiting for her to speak, Li Ji’an once again entered the meditation of the Divine Mill.

"Ah!" Moments later, Li Ji’an exclaimed, waking up again.

His face had turned ghostly pale.

This time, as soon as his soul landed, he faced the rolling stone mill, attempting to resist with his body. As the stone mill crushed him, countless long spikes with bloodstains suddenly appeared, piercing his soul until it was torn apart.

Along with fear came the agony of a torn soul.

This time, Ning Sujin immediately held his head tightly and calmed his spirit with Primordial Spirit Power.

"Sister Jin, what should I do? This soul-level fear is something I really can’t overcome." After calming down again, Li Ji’an no longer had any image to uphold. Having lost composure twice, he no longer cared.

"There is no fixed rule in the Heaven and Earth Divine Mill; everyone has their own method. However, this cultivation technique doesn’t require you to resist it, but to endure it. All the fear will eventually turn into nutrients for your soul!

However, if your Innate Soul is insufficient and you force yourself to endure such fear, it could lead to soul shattering," Ning Sujin explained.

"Endure? Increase the fear threshold?" Li Ji’an focused his mind, seemingly understanding.

"Again!"

Soon, Li Ji’an entered the Divine Mill for the third time.

Rumble~

As the towering stone mill rolled over again, Li Ji’an wanted to run, trying to avoid being crushed by it.

But just as he turned, he felt as though his legs were glued to the ground, and his whole body moved in slow motion.

His mind was determined to run, but his soul wouldn’t obey.

The roaring sound of the stone mill grew closer, amplifying that fear infinitely...

----------

In the following days, aside from daily cultivation, Li Ji’an specialized in puppetry skill, making Spirit Talismans, and almost every night Ning Sujin accompanied him in the Divine Mill for Soul Forging.

After being enveloped in fear time and again, he could clearly feel the enhancement of his soul.

This enhancement wasn’t directly strengthening the existing Divine Soul but was similar to "Rejuvenation," enhancing the foundation of the soul, its fundamental base.

With this foundational base, his progress in Dharma Cultivation would accompany a significant increase in the speed of soul growth.

However, Ning Sujin mentioned that once the Soul Forging Technique reached the ninth level, visualization could begin, and then the Divine Soul would experience a qualitative leap.

Li Ji’an was very much looking forward to this, but he had just barely entered the basics of the Soul Forging Technique and had a long journey ahead.

Three months later,

On this day, a vortex of Spiritual Qi suddenly appeared over the Biyun Sect, almost instantaneously absorbing half of the sect’s Spiritual Qi.

The entire sect was in shock, and everyone stepped out of their cave mansions to observe.

"That is Xiao Changfeng’s cave mansion of secluded cultivation!"

"This is... beginning to condense a Pill."

"How can there be such a large Spiritual Qi vortex? Could it really form a True Pill?"

...

Ever since Zhao Qi returned to the sect four months ago, the rivalry between him and Xiao Changfeng over the Core Formation Spiritual Talent had become a common topic among the disciples during their leisure time.

The disciples had long divided into two factions over this.

In the end, after Zhao Qi forcibly charged into Xiao Changfeng’s seclusion cave mansion and was stopped by three guarding Fake Pill Elders, Zhao Qi went to the border of the Celestial Cyan Domain to seek justice from the Supreme Elder.

The disciples talked even more about this afterward.

Some disciples had opened wagers on Xiao Changfeng’s pill formation result. If it was a Fake Pill, the odds were even; if it was a True Pill, the odds were ten to one; for a Middle Level True Pill, a hundred to one; as for an Upper True Pill or even an Immortal Golden Core, the odds were maximized.

At that moment, seeing the Spiritual Qi vortex above Xiao Changfeng’s cave mansion, the disciples who had opened bets were all tense.

Additionally, the seven existing Fake Pill Elders in the sect all had expressions of delight in their eyes.