Chapter 268 - 188: Nourishing Body, Mana Barrier

Chapter 268: Chapter 188: Nourishing Body, Mana Barrier

Inside the Scripture Pavilion, Zhao Zuo spent three thousand contribution points to obtain the Cultivation Technique for the Nourishing Body stage of the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture. According to the sect’s rules, however, he could only view and read it on the Sixth Layer of the Scripture Pavilion. This access was granted for life, meaning he could return to read it whenever he had time in the future.

The Nourishing Body Realm has only two layers: the Mana Barrier and the Tao Body Barrier.

The former involves forging and compressing one’s Mana to make it purer. Each completed compression and purification can break the Dantian’s limit once more, further increasing the amount of Mana to a level equivalent to the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer.

After the breakthrough, one’s Mana is naturally replenished, with no need to absorb more to build it back up.

The Mana Barrier allows one to break the limit of their Mana a maximum of three times, which is equivalent to the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer.

This was the true nature of the Mana Barrier: an unconventional path to continuously increase the strength and quantity of one’s Mana. It brought a Cultivator closer to the threshold of Foundation Establishment, further reducing the difficulty of breaking through that barrier.

Zhao Zuo found a corner in the Scripture Pavilion, holding a book in his hands. Each of its pages was golden, like thin sheets of gold, yet they were surprisingly soft with the texture of silk.

He read the entire text from beginning to end, committing it all to memory. A photographic memory... for a Cultivator in the Qi Cultivation Stage, this was just an ordinary ability.

Immediately after, he picked up a second book. It contained the key points, taboos, and annotations from previous generations of Moyun Sect seniors who had practiced the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture. This provided Zhao Zuo with a wealth of experience and ideas for his own Cultivation.

Zhao Zuo finally understood why someone with Chu Yijie’s status as a True Inheritance disciple needed so many resources. The cultivation of the Mana Barrier primarily had two aspects: compression and purification.

Compression relied on one’s mastery of the Cultivation Technique to condense their Mana. Purification, on the other hand, required absorbing the pure energy from Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects to practice the Cultivation Technique for the Nourishing Body stage of the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture: the Golden Fire Refining Technique.

"—Focus, activate."

The world around him fell silent. Zhao Zuo’s hands flew through the two golden books, the words rapidly integrating into his mind in a way he could instantly comprehend. His mastery of the Golden Fire Refining Technique was increasing at an incredible speed. Unfortunately, this state only lasted for about forty-five minutes.

When Zhao Zuo opened his eyes again, he already had a slight understanding of the Golden Fire Refining Technique. At this rate, it would only take about three more days to master it completely. At that point, he could officially begin practicing this Cultivation Technique.

Before that, however, Zhao Zuo still needed to prepare some Fire Series Spiritual Objects. After all, his primary Spiritual Root was the Fire Attribute, so for absorption efficiency... Fire Attribute items were naturally the best. For this, he estimated he would have to buy some more Fire Element Seeds to keep on hand, continuing to nurture them on his wrist to start practicing the Golden Fire Refining Technique as soon as possible.

Of course, Zhao Zuo planned to cultivate the purification part first, then spend time on the compression part. He aimed to complete his cultivation of the Golden Fire Refining Technique within two years and achieve three breakthroughs of the Mana Barrier. After that, he would only need to complete the cultivation of the Tao Body Barrier, and Perfect Foundation Establishment would be within reach in ten years.

Zhao Zuo first closed his eyes and rested for half an hour.

After returning to his Cave Mansion, Zhao Zuo first put on the Spirit Silk Gloves and the Silver Breath Mask. Only then did he begin to inject his Mana for the Refinement. Three minutes later... a pile of items appeared in the empty space before him.

There were about twenty thousand Spirit Stones, which was... a haul that left Zhao Zuo quite satisfied. The negative feelings from being threatened by Young Master Chu quickly vanished into thin air.

The rest consisted of some Pill Medicines for cultivation or healing, as well as some techniques for unleashing one’s latent power during battle. To Zhao Zuo, neither of these... was of much value.

He absolutely did not dare to use those Pill Medicines rashly. He could only place them in a different Storage Bag and wait for Shen Yunjiao to awaken before giving them to her to absorb.

Zhao Zuo burned the clothes, letters, and Sound Transmission Talismans from the Storage Bag to ash with a flame, then used a Cleaning Talisman to dispose of the ashes. With that, the cleanup was more or less complete.

He re-examined the few scrolls, and after confirming there was nothing out of the ordinary, he immediately began to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power to cultivate. The amount of Mana within his body increased at an extremely fast rate.

Over the next few days, Zhao Zuo frequently visited the Scripture Pavilion to perfectly master the Golden Fire Refining Technique. Finally, on the evening of the fourth day, he officially began cultivating the purification aspect. He took out several Fire Element Seeds that had reached the level of Lower Grade Spiritual Objects and placed them in his palm.

First, using his Mana as a needle, he swiftly pierced the interior of the Fire Element Seeds. He then mobilized his Mana to absorb the pure energy inside while simultaneously severing his own connection to the natural world, allowing his Mana to perform a Minor Circulation within his body.

Freed from the influence of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power, Zhao Zuo could focus all his attention on the inside of his body. This technique came directly from the Golden Fire Refining Technique: using the essence of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects as a material to ignite one’s own Mana, expel impurities... and perform purification.

Zhao Zuo had already completed the first step: using his body as a furnace. Next, he drew the pure energy from the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects into his Dantian, but he did not absorb it. Instead, he continuously adjusted his mental state until he reached his absolute peak.

He brought his hands together in front of him, then gently pressed his palms against the area over his Dantian.

Mana pulsed from his palms, like a spark delving deep into his Dantian. The pure energy from the spiritual objects ignited like a fierce fire, transforming into a raging inferno... and began to burn the Mana within his Dantian. This process was surprisingly not painful; in fact, Zhao Zuo could feel himself growing stronger, his Mana increasing.

Half an hour later, the Fire Element Seed’s energy was depleted. Zhao Zuo opened his eyes. He noticed that the amount of impurities burned out of his Mana was very limited. This was likely due to the enhancements from the Huayang Bead, the Thousand-Year Red Ginseng, and the Moonlight Essence. As a result, more of the energy had been used for the purification step rather than for expelling impurities.

Without resting, he picked up more Fire Element Seeds to absorb. This time, Zhao Zuo directly absorbed the Spiritual Power from within three of them, letting the essence of the spiritual objects scorch his Mana to further enhance its purity.

For a while after that, Zhao Zuo dedicated most of his time to the Mana purification step. According to the Cultivation Technique, once the Mana in his Dantian began to show faint, mist-like signs, it would mean he could attempt to break the barrier within his Dantian and achieve a breakthrough.

However, the time he spent refining two Middle Grade Magical Artifacts each day was non-negotiable.

In addition, Zhao Zuo was also studying the Chapter of the Golden Fire Refining Technique concerning Mana compression, striving to master this aspect of the technique sooner and completely overcome all the difficulties of the Mana Barrier.

Later, Zhao Zuo had a thought. ’Since I don’t need to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power for my Cultivation right now, living in a Cave Mansion doesn’t really matter. I might as well move to the core district of the Moyun Workshop.’

It would be more convenient for Artifact Refining there.

After Zhao Zuo left, a Sound Transmission Talisman quietly appeared outside the Array of his Cave Mansion.

.....

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