Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Chapter 193: Group Cultivation

Gurgle, gurgle. The boiling hotpot sizzled and bubbled, with various ingredients bobbing up and down in the richly flavored broth, filling the entire cave with a mouthwatering aroma.

"This Winged Fire Python meat is indeed delicious," Jiang Yuebai exclaimed happily as she dipped a piece of meat into the bubbling oil and savored the steamy delicacy, her face beaming with satisfaction.

Today, she was wearing a dark cyan fringe skirt with trousers, which made her fair skin and slender legs stand out. As she enjoyed her meal, she instinctively wanted to curl up one leg in contentment but quickly held back, remembering that Chu Liang was sitting next to her.

"Yeah, my teacher said that Winged Fire Python meat is spiritually nourishing and invigorates the blood and qi. It's excellent food," Chu Liang smiled. "I immediately asked you to come and taste it."

Once Senior Sister Jiang started eating, she lost the elegance of Fairy Jiang and reverted to the carefree and unreserved "Jiang Xiaobai" that Chu Liang had first met. Yesterday, he brought back a large Winged Fire Python to the Silver Sword Peak, and the first thing he did today was invite Jiang Yuebai to taste it.

"Not bad," Jiang Yuebai smiled brightly, her eyes curving with joy. "It's nice to see you remembering me when you get good things. My efforts in teaching you divine skills all this time have not been in vain."

"Absolutely," Chu Liang affirmed with a firm nod. "I will always remember and be grateful for all the kindness you've shown me. I won't stop at just hunting fifth-realm spirit beasts. As I grow stronger, I'll even hunt creatures from the sixth and seventh realms for you to enjoy."

"Only meat?" Jiang Yuebai chuckled again.

"Of course, if you want something else, I'll get it. I'll gather various spiritual plants, treasures from heaven and earth, and ensure we have a balanced diet of meat and vegetables," Chu Liang improvised.

"It seems like you only see me as someone who loves to eat, huh?" Jiang Yuebai felt a bit off hearing that.

"Hehe," Chu Liang chuckled nervously before changing the subject. "Senior Sister Jiang, have you been studying the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony's riddle these past few days? Any progress?"

"Why? Are you trying to gather information?" Jiang Yuebai's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Just asking," Chu Liang replied. "Your team is the best on Mount Shu, so I'm naturally curious about how you're doing."

"But I don't mind telling you. The riddle this time is really tricky, and we have no idea what the answers are," Jiang Yuebai said.

Her team wasn't alone in this. Every team in the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony was just as clueless. When all the teams got the riddle, cries of frustration echoed throughout Mount Shu.

"The theme of this year's ceremony is to find the White-Jade Porcelain Cup that belonged to the Weapons Masters. It's similar to previous years, where an elder gives a treasure and a general location, and teams then explore to find it." She sighed. "But the clues this time are really vague and hard to understand."

"Half of December. Peak of the Valley Mountain. Right of the Jinlin River. Manifestation of the Mountain God.[1]" muttered Chu Liang.

"Yes," Jiang Yuebai said, "It's only the beginning of summer now, and by December, the Mount Shu Summit will already be over. So why would we be searching for treasure then? And as for this Jinlin River, no one has any idea where it is."

Her question reflected what all the disciples participating in the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony were feeling. The hints about the date and location were completely confusing.

Chu Liang had been busy with other things recently and hadn't thought about the riddle. Now that he did, he found it quite puzzling.

"Never mind, let's not worry about it," Jiang Yuebai said, waving her hand. "After we finish eating, I'll teach you the Dimension Compression."

"Huh?" Chu Liang's eyes lit up with excitement. "Trading a snake meat hotpot for an immortal technique? That's a fantastic deal!"

"I told you before that I would teach you immortal techniques once you reached Core Formation. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon," Jiang Yuebai said with a smirk. "But whether you can master it or not is up to you."

"Great!" Chu Liang responded eagerly.

...

After they returned to the Silver Sword Peak, Chu Liang couldn't stop thinking about the Dimension Compression. This was the first time he felt completely lost trying to understand an immortal technique.

It wasn't that the technique was especially complicated, but it contained many insights into the "Dao," which were still far beyond his current understanding.

The seventh realm of cultivation was known as the Dao Attainment Realm. Cultivators usually began to explore Dao at the sixth realm.

It was precisely for this reason that those who could comprehend immortal techniques at the fourth realm were considered geniuses. The technique Jiang Yuebai would be teaching him, Dimension Compression, required an understanding of the Dao of Distancelessness, which pertained to space.

Before learning this difficult technique, Chu Liang needed to understand the very deep and complex Great Dao of Space, which was quite hard for him. Even after listening to Jiang Yuebai's explanation, he was still confused.

Seeing Chu Liang confused for the first time, Jiang Yuebai couldn't help but smile a little. Finally, she saw him struggle to learn a new skill.

However, since it took Jiang Yuebai six months to master Dimension Compression during her training, she knew she shouldn't celebrate too soon.

Jiang Yuebai advised Chu Liang to take his time and think deeply about it. When he could sense the first hint of the Dao essence from the space around him, he would have understood the basics.

However, getting from nothing to even a little understanding was really tough, and nobody knew how long it might take for him to sense that first bit of Dao essence.

Typically, cultivators at the Earthly Gate advance by gathering enough resources, while those at the Heavenly Gate focus on understanding profound concepts like the Great Dao.

Despite Chu Liang having just advanced into the fourth realm, he was already trying to understand the Dao. This was like trying to reach the doors of the Heavenly Gate despite still being a beginner at the Earthly Gate. Naturally, it was an extremely tough task.

However, he wasn't in a hurry. While it would be great to master an immortal technique, he didn't want to rush and risk messing up his mental state.

After a fruitless period of contemplation, he immersed his divine sense into the space of the White Pagoda and prepared for the practice of dual cultivation with the Golden-Core Puppet to strengthen his basics.

As he looked at the two Large-Headed Dolls sitting together, he realized he hadn't practiced enough. Since he got these dolls, he hardly ever did the Qi-Circulation Technique himself.

Although the technique of dual cultivation allowed for rapid progress, the limited time spent in cultivation resulted in modest improvements.

If he were to dedicate a significant amount of time to cultivation every day, it would be somewhat challenging. With the increasing number of divine techniques he had mastered and the frequent busyness of his affairs, time needed to be allocated accordingly.

Chu Liang honestly wished that someone could practice dual cultivation in his place.

Eh? He stared at the two dolls and suddenly fell into deep thought

Would it be possible for him to let the two dolls practice dual cultivation with each other?

As he kept thinking, he couldn't seem to stop his thoughts from running wild. The Large-Headed Dolls moved in a predictable way, and he wondered if they would keep moving like this if he used the dual cultivation method.

It seemed very likely!

However, expecting the two dolls to connect with each other using the Qi-Circulation Technique by themselves was unrealistic. Chu Liang understood that he would have to guide the dolls first.

This meant that he would first practice...triple cultivation.

In the past, some practitioners tried group cultivation, which was even more intense than dual cultivation. However, succeeding in this type of cultivation was very challenging.

Each person's foundational qi differed in some way. Even if several people were practicing the same cultivation technique, their foundational qi would still be different, leading to chaos and disorder.

Synchronizing and smoothly circulating foundational qi between two individuals was already an extremely difficult task. Adding another person into this circulation of qi would increase the difficulty by tenfold or even a hundredfold.

In the end, these people could likely experience qi deviation[2].

However, this greatest challenge was no big deal for Chu Liang.

Indeed, the foundational qi generated by the Large-Headed Dolls was identical to his own. This uniformity between them would be impossible if they were real humans. Consequently, he could effortlessly integrate the other Large-Headed Doll into the circulation of qi within his body.

With that said, Chu Liang started the work.

He moved the two Large-Headed Dolls together, allowing them to lean against each other. Then, he sat down beside them, placing his hands on the shoulders of each doll.

Phew.

He activated the circulation of his foundational qi. Then, he first included the Golden-Core Puppet in his qi circulation. As both he and the Golden-Core Puppet began circulating their qi, the vortex expanded. After the circulation stabilized, Chu Liang then included the other Large-Headed Doll in his qi circulation, causing the vortex to suddenly expand even further!

Boom!

Triple cultivation!

This exhilarating sensation far surpassed that experienced during the practice of dual cultivation, causing Chu Liang, who was accustomed to rapid cultivation, to tremble! He could even hear the roaring sound of qi flowing like a river within his body.

His cultivation speed skyrocketed!

After a while, Chu Liang abruptly withdrew his foundational qi from the circulation, leaving the Golden-Core Puppet and the other doll to continue circulating qi together within their bodies due to inertia.

It worked!

As expected, the Large-Headed Dolls continued to operate according to their previous pattern. With this, Chu Liang's cultivation speed would significantly increase once again.

He had been experiencing a speed boost every three days.

Chu Liang smiled contentedly as he thought back to the group cultivation he had just experienced.

How exciting!

1. The raw says 十二月半 [Half of December] 谷山之巅, [Peak of the Valley Mountain], 锦林江右 [Right of Jin (锦) Lin (林) River]，山神显现 [Manifestation of the Mountain God]. I need to show you guys the raw because the clues are in some of the Chinese characters. This riddle tells the date and location in which the team members have to gather. I have dropped random explanations of locations in past chapters. I wonder if you guys can figure out the location. ☜

2. 走火入魔. During martial arts practice, we often encounter various effects. While these issues may initially arise briefly and disappear with adjustment, ignoring them can lead to lasting psychological and behavioral problems known as "deviation in practice." Carelessness can cause the reversal of qi and blood flow, damage to delicate nerves or meridians, and may even result in vomiting of blood. In severe cases, martial arts skills may be completely lost or result in death. ☜

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