Five Immortal Sects

Chapter 23: Mixed Feelings Of Military Advisor Ji

“That Military Advisor Ji had a great opportunity. When the storage bag exploded, the paper book he got was shattered and the layer of the immortal sect’s protection was eliminated, so it was easy to see the contents of the book.” 

“The immortal technique recorded in the book should belong to a certain poisonous immortal sect, and this technique was based on using poison to enter the path.”

“First, one had to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, then use various poisonous herbs to concoct a medicinal liquid through secret techniques, and finally absorb it into the body to refine it.”

“After the spiritual energy grew strong, it would be stored in the body, continuously strengthening the muscles and internal organs, and finally completing the Qi Condensation stage, entering the first stage of Qi Condensation.”

“This cultivation method was not a righteous path, unlike the steady and gradual cultivation of Dao, practised by Buddha, and Confucian practitioners. Instead, it relied on the power of poisonous herbs to forcefully cleanse the marrow, which was a deviated and unorthodox method.”

“Military Advisor Ji not only had great luck but was also an extremely ruthless person.”

“Firstly, he didn’t know if he had a Spirit Root, yet he dared to try, and if he didn’t have a Spirit Root, using his internal energy to sense the spiritual energy would be equivalent to drinking poison, and he would immediately die.”

“Secondly, this cultivation method matched his Spirit Root attribute, otherwise, it would be extremely difficult to succeed.”

“After obtaining the book, he was naturally overjoyed and planned to cultivate, but this immortal technique was based on using poison to enter the path, and the book recorded the secret formula for preparing the medicinal liquid.”

“Such an entry-level immortal cultivation formula wouldn’t require any rare or precious herbs, but for an ordinary person, the required herbs would be extremely difficult to find.”

“However, for the “Seeking Immortality Lineage” that had been walking in the deep mountains and forests for years, it wasn’t too difficult, and Military Advisor Ji quickly found most of the required herbs, but ultimately, there were still two herbs that he couldn’t find.”

“These two herbs were crucial for balancing the medicinal power, and without them, the person absorbing the medicinal liquid would suffer extremely.”

Li Yan remained silent, finally understanding why his cultivation had been so painful – it was because he lacked the balancing herbs.

“After searching for several years, Military Advisor Ji finally found one of the herbs, but the last one remained elusive. At this point, his ruthless personality was on full display.”

“Despite lacking one herb and being unsure if he had a Spirit Root, he began cultivating by absorbing the medicinal liquid into his body.”

“Fate had it that the cultivation method and his Spirit Root were compatible, and although the process was painful, he successfully entered the first stage of Qi Condensation after 49 days of cultivation.”

“However, he didn’t know that the immortal sect’s entry-level formula, although low-level, had been refined over tens of thousands of years, and every herb had a special function that couldn’t be ignored.”

“He forced himself to cultivate, and although he progressed to the first stage of Qi Condensation, he had already sown the seeds of disaster.”

“The residual medicinal power that remained in his body due to the lack of a balancing herb would eventually give rise to fire poison.”

“At first, there were no obvious symptoms, but as Military Advisor Ji’s cultivation progressed, the residual medicinal power in his body slowly grew, forming fire poison.”

“The initial symptoms were similar to what you had experienced earlier, such as feeling anxious and irritable, but he was able to suppress them with his cultivation.”

“He thought that as his cultivation improved, his internal energy would eventually eliminate the fire poison, so he continued to cultivate and search for a way to calm his mind.”

“He learned from the paper book that he needed to reach the third stage of Qi Condensation to be able to leave his body and read the jade slips and jade books.”

“Since he couldn’t open the jade book, he didn’t know if there was a solution inside, so he tried simple methods like sitting in the cold wilderness and playing musical instruments.”

“Eventually, he successfully reached the third stage of Qi Condensation, and when he could leave his body, he eagerly used his divine sense to read the jade book and jade slips.”

“The jade book was still inaccessible, but when he opened the jade slip, he first learned that it was part of a set of cultivation methods, which excited him, thinking finally found a solution. However, the result left him shocked.”

“The jade slip recorded the Qi Condensation oral formula for the fourth to tenth stages, and the back of the jade slip explained the benefits and drawbacks of using the formula.”

“The benefits were not mentioned, but the drawbacks were that using the formula incorrectly would lead to fire poison in the body, which would grow with the body’s spiritual energy.”

“Eventually, even one’s own internal energy would be unable to suppress it, and when reaching the peak of the third stage of Qi Condensation, the fire poison would rapidly multiply.”

“There would be no chance for the cultivator to recover, and they would die from the explosion of their body.”

“But if one didn’t cultivate, they would still be stuck at the peak of the third stage, and the fire poison would continue to grow every day, requiring continuous cultivation to suppress it, which was like drinking poison to quench thirst.”

“In the cultivation world, especially in sects that had been passed down for thousands or tens of thousands of years, there was no sect that didn’t have protective measures for their cultivation methods, even for the lowest-level entry formulas.”

“Therefore, the paper book didn’t explain these things, fearing that it might fall into the wrong hands, and by the time one discovered the truth, it would be too late, leading to a tragic end.”

“With such a result, Military Advisor Ji was shocked and angry, and he began to search for a solution everywhere.”

“Until one day, he met a Foundation Establishment stage senior who was also from the “Seeking Immortality Lineage”.”

“At that time, if the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator was willing to exhaust his own internal energy, he could help Military Advisor Ji cleanse the fire poison from his body.”

“However, in the cultivation world, it was a law of the jungle, where the strong preyed on the weak, and killing was a common occurrence. The Foundation Establishment cultivator, seeing that Military Advisor Ji was from the same lineage, spared his life.”

“Under Military Advisor Ji’s desperate pleas, the Foundation Establishment cultivator finally pointed out a way for him to survive.”

“He told him that if he could cultivate to the fourth stage of Qi Condensation, he might be able to eliminate the fire poison from his body, but the probability of success was not high.”

“After all, the cultivation method clearly stated that at most, one could only reach the peak of the third stage of Qi Condensation, and the fire poison would explode, causing death.”

“Another method was to delay cultivation time!”

“If he could find a junior cultivator who was also cultivating this method, he could try to forcefully absorb the junior’s internal energy to reach the fourth stage of Qi Condensation.”

“If successful, it might eliminate the fire poison from his body. If not, both would die.”

“However, this method had conditions:”

“Firstly, the two cultivators’ cultivation methods had to be the same, so there would be no conflict between their methods.”

“Secondly, the chosen junior cultivator had to have reached the peak of the first stage, and could only cultivate to that stage.”

“If the chosen junior cultivator’s power was too high, Military Advisor Ji’s third-stage cultivation would be insufficient to absorb their energy, and it would likely cause a backlash, leading to immediate death.”

“If the chosen junior cultivator’s power was too low, their internal energy would be insufficient to help Military Advisor Ji reach the fourth stage, making it a waste of effort.”

“After that, the Foundation Establishment cultivator didn’t waste any words and transmitted the method of absorbing others’ internal energy to Military Advisor Ji.”

“The Foundation Establishment stage cultivator’s method of absorbing others’ internal energy was not a secret in the cultivation world, but few people used it.”

“Firstly, the poor junior cultivator who was absorbed would lose all their internal energy and die on the spot, meeting a tragic end.”

“Secondly, absorbing others’ internal energy was not a simple matter, and it required the same cultivation method attributes, otherwise, the internal energy would reject each other, leading to death.”

“Moreover, this method of advancing cultivation was not suitable for normal cultivators, and even if the cultivation methods were the same, absorbing others’ internal energy would still require a long period of closed-door cultivation to merge the energies.”

“It would take a few years, or even tens or hundreds of years, depending on how much spiritual energy is absorbed. During this time, one cannot use any spiritual energy, or it would lead to chaotic spiritual energy and demonic possession.”

“It’s better to cultivate steadily and safely on one’s own.”

“Thirdly, this method is despised in the cultivation world. Although it’s not yet at the point where everyone would condemn it, if others were to find out that you used this evil technique, most would gang up on you.”

“So, unless it’s absolutely necessary, this technique is basically useless.”

“The Foundation Establishment stage cultivator also told Military Advisor Ji that, even if he reached the fourth stage, he might be able to clear the fire poison from his body, but it was only a guess.”

“However, Military Advisor Ji was already extremely grateful.”

“The Foundation Establishment stage senior also gave him three packets of “Clear Heart Powder”, a low-grade medicinal powder with limited effects.”

“For beginners who have just started cultivating, it’s difficult to calm their minds, and this powder helps them to quickly calm their minds and focus.”

“But for Military Advisor Ji, this was extremely valuable, as it could greatly prolong the time it takes for the fire poison to take effect.”

“After receiving the guidance from the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, Military Advisor Ji thought of ways to find a suitable candidate.”

“Of course, the ideal candidate would be someone from the same sect or family as the cultivator who possessed this technique, and then find a Qi Condensation stage cultivator at the peak of first level, subdue them, and then have their spiritual energy absorbed.”

“But Military Advisor Ji dared not attempt this, as it would be suicidal!”

“As a member of the ancient ‘Seeking Immortality Lineage’, Military Advisor Ji knew that if he were to steal and cultivate someone else’s technique, and the sect or family were to find out, his fate would be sealed – death would be the only outcome.”