Chapter 3: 50 Years of Cultivation, Advancing Straight to the Third Layer!

It didn't take long for Li Yinsheng to accept reality.

Clinging to a final shred of hope, he sat cross-legged on the White Jade Platform and began meditating for Qi Refining.

The Qingxuan Scripture progressed step by step. The First Layer only cultivated the Physique and Primordial Energy. Starting from the Second Layer, one would temper the Physique while nurturing Magical Power. After reaching the Fourth Layer, the foundation of the Flesh Body would be solid enough, shifting the focus primarily to Qi Refining, no longer requiring martial arts practice or stance training.

As he meditated and cultivated, a sliver of hope lingered in his heart. He wondered, "What if this so-called 'please cultivate on your own' is just a formality?"

He hoped that maybe as soon as he sat down to cultivate, his Cultivation would automatically skyrocket, and in mere moments, he would gain thirty years of Cultivation.

An unknown amount of time passed before Li Yinsheng opened his despairing eyes. The speed of cultivation in here was exactly the same as outside; there was absolutely no difference. However, this place wasn't entirely useless.

Feeling the slight increase in his Cultivation from this period of practice, along with his vibrant and energetic state, Li Yinsheng came to a realization.

Practicing Qi Refining required a focused and tranquil mind, internal visualization, and circulating Magical Power through the body's meridians. During this process, one had to maintain intense concentration at all times. The slightest carelessness could result in all previous efforts being wasted, or worse, succumbing to qi deviation.

Almost every year, Li Yinsheng would hear several sigh-inducing stories about a certain disciple from a certain Daoist Temple being too eager for quick success, making a mistake during cultivation, and suffering qi deviation.

In Li Yinsheng's own experience, the immense toll cultivation took on the Heart and Spirit was akin to taking a math class in his past life where the teacher only spoke without writing on the blackboard, delivering the lecture at the speed of a rapid-fire comedian. The students in the audience not only couldn't let their minds wander, but they also had to process the complex information while simultaneously doing aerobic calisthenics.

The most crucial part was that the entire process required absolute focus. They couldn't mishear a single sentence or mess up a single movement. Otherwise, a minor mistake would lead to corporal punishment, and a major one would mean execution by firing squad.

With such a severe drain on the Heart and Spirit, even if the Cultivators from various Daoist Temples possessed a Root Device, exceptional innate talent, and extraordinary intelligence, those who could focus on cultivation for more than four hours a day were in the minority. Many struggled to last even three hours.

As for replacing sleep and rest with meditation and cultivation, that was an absolute pipe dream. Even legendary Daoists, who had supposedly shed their mortal bodies and no longer needed food or drink, probably couldn't treat cultivation as rest.

Having lived two lives, coupled with the immense focus ingrained in him as a relentless exam-crammer in his previous life, Li Yinsheng could only manage to meditate for five or six hours a day at most. And even that had to be split into two or three hours in the morning and evening. Otherwise, he risked losing his mental grip and succumbing to qi deviation.

But he estimated that he had just cultivated for at least twenty or thirty hours in one breath, yet he felt no fatigue in his Heart and Spirit. He remained thoroughly refreshed and alert. Normally, with his Cultivation, let alone cultivating for twenty or thirty hours straight, just staying awake for that long would leave him impossibly exhausted.

Similarly, after so much time had passed, he didn't feel the slightest bit hungry or thirsty.

"It seems the advantage of this place is that cultivation doesn't deplete the Heart and Spirit. There's no need for food, sleep, or rest. I can just keep cultivating indefinitely..."

Li Yinsheng's eye twitched, unsure if this was a blessing or a curse. He pondered, "Do I really have to stay in here and cultivate continuously until I gain thirty years of Cultivation?"

He stood up and looked around on his tiptoes. An endless expanse of lake water surrounded the White Jade Platform beneath his feet.

"How is this any different from being locked in a prison..." he couldn't help but grumble.

The faint Golden Characters on the White Jade Platform changed.

[The Master of the Cave Heaven may exit at any time. Upon leaving, the remaining portion of the current reward will be voided. Re-entry will not be permitted until the next reward is claimed.]

Li Yinsheng fell silent.

He screamed internally, "What kind of tyrannical clause is this! I worked so hard to complete... My junior sister worked so hard to complete the task, on what grounds won't you even allow me to claim the reward in installments!

"On what grounds!"

After calming himself down, Li Yinsheng gritted his teeth and sat cross-legged again.

He told himself, "Quitting is out of the question. Cultivating outside takes a toll on the Heart and Spirit and wastes time on eating, drinking, and sleeping. I absolutely love practicing in here."

Time lost its meaning in the mountains; years slipped by unnoticed.

Li Yinsheng had no idea exactly how long he had been cultivating. At first, he could still estimate the time based on a vague feeling, but as time dragged on, he lost track completely.

Especially since there was no cycle of the Sun and Moon in this Grotto Heaven. The moon hung eternally in the sky, and the lotus flowers on the water bloomed without ever withering. He had no point of reference to judge the passage of time.

He only knew that as he cultivated on this White Jade Platform, his nearly twenty years of accumulated Cultivation began to gradually increase. From just a few wisps at the beginning, it grew to an extra ten or twenty percent of his original Cultivation, then thirty or forty percent, then over half, until the increased Cultivation equaled his original amount.

The enhancement of his Cultivation consequently pushed the Qingxuan Scripture from the Fifth Layer to the Sixth Layer, and then from the Sixth Layer to the Seventh Layer...

During this time, he thought about quitting countless times. After all, even if he didn't feel sleepy, hungry, or physically uncomfortable, the endless loneliness and boredom, along with the resulting agitation, were still sheer torture.

Moreover, this Grotto Heaven actually didn't allow him to zone out and slack off for too long. Whether he stopped to enjoy the scenery, wanted a change of pace by practicing Magic, or simply stared blankly into space—in short, as long as he stopped cultivating for even a slightly extended period, the Golden Characters on the White Jade Platform would warn him that he was about to "leave the Grotto Heaven." He had no choice but to immediately sit down cross-legged and resume his practice.

There were moments when he even regretted completing the task so quickly. He thought, "If I had dragged out the time it took for Junior Sister to learn the Cultivation Technique, the rewarded Cultivation would have been reduced to twenty or ten years, and I wouldn't have had to suffer through such an agonizingly long stretch."

Although he could forfeit the remaining reward at any time, he simply couldn't bear to let it go. He could only grit his teeth and endure.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this would definitely not be his only time cultivating here. Even though future rewards might not be this lengthy every single time, there would undoubtedly be an unknown number of such occasions. If he couldn't even survive the first time, how would he cope in the future?

He pondered, "This broken scroll doesn't allow claiming rewards in installments, so am I really going to just waste the reward?"

The only thing Li Yinsheng was thankful for was that the cultivation space was fairly open, rather than being confined to a sealed cave dwelling or a meditation room. Otherwise, under the crushing weight of extreme boredom combined with claustrophobia, he absolutely wouldn't have lasted this long.

Perhaps because he gradually got used to it, the further he progressed, the less frequently he felt bored or agitated. By the end, his mind was as tranquil as standing water, entirely immersed in his meditation and cultivation.

That was until a clear, melodious bell chime from an unknown source echoed by his ears, awakening him from his cultivation.

Li Yinsheng abruptly opened his eyes. Before him was no longer the Bright Moon Lotus Lake, but Mu Xiaoyu, who was still maintaining her punching stance. He wasn't in his cross-legged cultivation posture either. Instead, he was standing upright next to Mu Xiaoyu, exactly as he had been before.

Li Yinsheng instinctively circulated his Magical Power. His Magical Power was about one and a half times stronger than before.

Previously, he had twenty years of Cultivation. This meant that the rewarded thirty years of Cultivation was equivalent to him cultivating normally for thirty years, rather than practicing non-stop for twelve hours a day over thirty full years.

At this rate, he estimated that the actual time he spent cultivating inside that Grotto Heaven was probably only a little over a decade.

As for his current Qingxuan Scripture... he was already fairly proficient in the Fifth Layer, and now, propelled by thirty years of Cultivation, he had straightforwardly broken through to the Eighth Layer in one fell swoop!

His Magical Power, which had previously been like a small stream requiring his conscious effort to circulate through his meridians, had now transformed into a constantly rushing river flowing on its own accord.

"Alright. Judging by your movements, your Qingxuan Scripture has already reached the Beginner level. Take a rest," Li Yinsheng said to Mu Xiaoyu.

Perhaps because he had sat idly in that Grotto Heaven for far too long, only muttering to himself occasionally during breaks in cultivation, his tone was completely flat. It sounded as if he had developed a very heavy and bizarre accent.

However, Mu Xiaoyu was far too exhausted to notice this. The moment she heard his words, she flopped backward, landing hard on her bottom as she let out a long breath. "PHEW—"

Aside from pure relief, her face was completely numb from sheer exhaustion.

Her entire body was aching right now. If she could go back to the moment she made her choice, she would definitely grit her teeth and choose getting her palms smacked. Let alone forty times, even if she had to be smacked a hundred times, or even four hundred times, she would still choose getting her palms smacked!

She thought indignantly, "If I've made a mistake, the sect rules and disciplines will punish me. They shouldn't let this senior brother force me to cultivate for four hours straight!"

"SOB..."

Mu Xiaoyu sat on the ground, feeling more wronged the more she thought about it. Her nose stung, and she felt like she was on the verge of tears.

She decided she was going to cry right in front of this awful senior brother! Cry at the top of her lungs! She would even cry outside his room while he was sleeping! Cry all night! Annoy him to death!!!

"You performed well today, Junior Sister. The punishment is waived," Li Yinsheng casually remarked. "Although the Nourishing Essence Pill can replenish Primordial Energy, it can't stop hunger. I remember that besides the leftover steamed buns in the dining hall, there's also a bag of candied plums, a jar of wild honey, and a jar of pickled spring bamboo shoots. Take all of it, Junior Sister. Consider it your reward for reaching the Beginner level in the Qingxuan Scripture within a single day."

Mu Xiaoyu froze for a moment, sniffled hard, and swallowed the saliva furiously secreting in her mouth.

Oh no, she realized, she couldn't cry anymore.