Cultivation: From Poor Peasant to Celestial Lord

Chu Bai stroked his chin. ’My Guiyuan Technique allows for quick recovery, my Spirit Water Needle is great for crowd control, and I have a trump card like Golden Eye Shattering Illusion... If I only aim for the top ten instead of first place...’

’It might be worth a try!’

A flash of determination appeared in Chu Bai’s eyes.

’Besides, so what if I fail? The worst that could happen is that I don’t pass the exam and have to come back for my second year. There’s no real loss. I can just treat it as an opportunity to broaden my horizons and size up those third-year veterans.’

’But if, by some chance, I succeed...’

’I’ll obtain a White Talisman, skip the Celestial Examination, and proceed directly to Foundation Establishment! That wouldn’t just save me a year or two; it would be a heaven-sent opportunity to ascend in a single step!’

’Five months.’

Chu Bai clenched his fists, his mind now made up.

Of course, he didn’t tell Zhang Shan about this shocking plan.

After all, Zhang Shan himself was still struggling to break through to the Qi Cultivation Third Layer and preparing for an exam that was a year and a half away.

Some paths were destined to be walked alone.

’Looks like I’ll have to be even harder on myself in the coming days.’

Chu Bai gazed at the cold, bright moon in the night sky, his steps growing ever lighter.

......

After completing his routine check of the Law Net nodes and collecting his two Daoist Merit points for the day, Chu Bai continued without stopping, once again arriving at the dark green tower that countless Dayuan Prefecture Daoist School students yearned for—the Spirit Pavilion.

Standing before the light screen, Chu Bai expertly pulled up the list of Blessed Lands.

’According to Dean Chen’s guidance, now that my Innate Geng Metal Qi has taken shape, Metal generates Water, and Water generates Wood. Next, I should add a resilient Wood Attribute Spiritual Energy to my Five Elements Dao Foundation.’

Chu Bai’s gaze scanned the list, and he quickly locked onto a target among the Wood Element spiritual energies.

Life and Death Qi.

’This is the one.’

As his fingertip touched the screen, a familiar flash of white teleportation light engulfed him.

The space Chu Bai arrived in this time was not large; it was even a bit smaller than the previous Geng Metal Blessed Land. But the moment he landed, the sight before him made him pause in surprise.

This small world was split cleanly in two by an invisible boundary.

On the left, ancient trees reached for the sky and vines coiled like dragons. Even the soil underfoot pulsed with a vibrant life force so dense it felt tangible, as if a seed planted here would grow into a towering tree in an instant.

The right side, however, was a deathly gray-white expanse. The ground was cracked and littered with piles of old bones. A few dead, ancient trees twisted their branches toward the sky, exuding a heart-pounding aura of decay and withering.

’Extreme life on one side, extreme death on the other.’

Chu Bai walked to the borderline between life and death.

Here, two completely opposite auras collided and mingled. Instead of exploding, they produced a profound and mysterious balance. A wisp of cyan-gray energy swirled like a roaming dragon—that was the Life and Death Qi.

’Withering and flourishing in a cycle, life and death interdependent. So this is the Wood Qi with the "most tenacious life force" that Dean Chen mentioned...’

Chu Bai took a deep breath and sat cross-legged right in the center of the borderline.

He activated the Guiyuan Technique.

This time, unlike the bold approach he’d taken when absorbing the Geng Metal Qi, he proceeded with extreme caution.

As the first wisp of Life and Death Qi entered his body, Chu Bai immediately felt resistance.

At this moment, within his Dantian Qi Sea, his Water Attribute Magical Power was the most abundant, while his Metal Magic Power was sharp and domineering. The moment this new Wood Qi entered his body, the sharp Metal Qi instinctively tried to annihilate it, following the principle of Metal conquering Wood.

"HISS—"

A sharp pain shot through his meridians, and Chu Bai’s brow furrowed tightly.

’As expected, Five Elements Cultivation isn’t that simple. Even with my Water Attribute Magical Power acting as a buffer, getting these three to coexist peacefully requires extremely delicate control.’

He had to divert a portion of his focus to control his Water Attribute Magical Power, using it to envelop the agitated Metal Qi, while simultaneously guiding the Water Qi to nourish the nascent wisp of Wood Qi.

Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood.

It was a dynamic equilibrium.

At first, Chu Bai’s cultivation pace was extremely slow—practically a snail’s pace. He had to constantly monitor the status on his panel, ready to adjust the ratio of his Spiritual Power the moment he detected the slightest sign of conflict.

But as time went on, that initial awkwardness gradually faded.

Aided by the Guiyuan Technique’s powerful inclusiveness and the intuitive feedback from the system panel, Chu Bai gradually found the delicate point of balance.

Wisps of Life and Death Qi began to smoothly merge into his Qi Sea. Nourished by his Water Attribute Magical Power, they grew rapidly and, in turn, infused his entire Qi Sea with an indomitable vitality.

Half a double-hour later, Chu Bai’s cultivation pace finally returned to a normal level.

"Hooo..."

Chu Bai slowly opened his eyes. A cyan gleam and a golden glint flickered within them before receding into their depths.

’This Life and Death Qi is truly wondrous. After it entered my body, I can feel my internal vitality is much more vigorous than before. Even the soreness in my eyes from practicing Golden Eye Shattering Illusion has instantly dissipated by a great deal.’

He pulled up his panel to estimate his progress.

’At my current absorption rate, for this Life and Death Qi to fully mature and achieve a three-way balance with the Metal Qi and Water Qi, I’ll need about one hundred and twenty double-hours.’

’Three double-hours per day... that’s forty days.’

Chu Bai calculated in his mind, ’Of the three hundred double-hours of Class A Blessed Land time I was awarded, I used one hundred for cultivating Metal Qi. After subtracting another one hundred and twenty for this, I’ll have eighty double-hours left.’

’That’s plenty of time.’

’And even...’

A sharp glint flashed in Chu Bai’s eyes. ’Once the Wood Qi is fully developed, I’ll decide how to allocate the remaining eighty double-hours.’