"The Congenital Qi Refining Method, this is a huge pitfall."
After reading through the entire Cultivation Technique, Zhuang Buzhou couldn't help but sigh to himself; this Cultivation Technique was truly a pitfall, and a massive one at that.
Its entry requirement was very simple; even the most foolish person could easily get started, but it only had Cultivation Techniques for the Innate Realm.
To achieve a Breakthrough, one must evolve.
Its Foundation was Qi Refining.
Moreover, in the Innate Realm, you must remain for ten years in a state of Innate fetal breathing.
A woman's pregnancy takes ten months.
The Congenital Qi Refining Method evolved from a woman's pregnancy; a fetus, before birth, is in a state of Innate fetal breathing.
This Cultivation Technique was meant for a Cultivator to enter an Innate fetal breathing state, condense an Innate Dao Embryo.
Then, continuously absorb and expel Innate True Qi, integrating it into the dao embryo.
Just as a woman's pregnancy takes ten months, the gestation of this Innate Dao Embryo takes ten years.
It absolutely cannot be broken before ten years, unless one abandons Cultivating the Congenital Qi Refining Method.
Furthermore, even if one reaches ten years and can Breakthrough, the outcome of breaking the dao embryo after the Breakthrough remains unknown.
Some Cultivators, after Breakthrough, advanced to Foundation Establishment Realm, which was even more of a pitfall.
The Innate Realm required ten years, and the Foundation Establishment Realm required a hundred years.
It was said that later Realms took even longer: Earthly Fiend Realm required seven hundred and twenty years, and Celestial Gang Realm three thousand six hundred years.
If one could still Breakthrough, Gathering Soul Realm would require at least eight thousand one hundred years of Cultivation.
Numbing Soul Realm was rumored to require eighteen thousand years.
It was said that the later Realms were even more 'touching', a pitfall within a pitfall.
Even if you spent so much time, you might not necessarily be able to Breakthrough.
Anything was possible, and any accident could occur.
Most importantly, this Cultivation Technique relied entirely on self-comprehension and creation.
Every Cultivator who stepped into the Foundation Establishment Realm and Cultivated the Congenital Qi Refining Method would evolve it into a Cultivation Technique unique to themselves.
If recorded and spread, it would become an entirely new Cultivation Technique.
However, for Zhuang Buzhou now, there was no other choice.
If it evolved well, the Cultivation Technique could evolve.
Becoming the top-tier Cultivation Technique was not necessarily impossible.
This was a heaven-reaching path laid before him, yet also a rugged one.
"Qi Awakening Talisman, whether I can Awaken a Spiritual Root depends on this Qi Awakening."
Zhuang Buzhou took a deep breath, looked at the sky, and saw that it was precisely midnight.
The night was deep and quiet; performing the Qi Awakening now, undisturbed by anyone, was the best time.
"Qi Awakening!"
He picked up the Qi Awakening Talisman and placed it on his chest.
Immediately, an invisible spiritual charm emerged from the talisman, instantly transforming into a spiritual light that rushed into his body.
At the same time, within the Heaven and Earth around him, streams of Spiritual Qi surged directly into his body through the location of the Qi Awakening Talisman.
Immediately, Zhuang Buzhou felt these Spiritual Qi instantly rush towards the location of his heart.
The next second, his entire consciousness appeared within his body.
Then, an incredible scene appeared in his mind.
"This is my heart."
What appeared before his eyes was indeed a heart.
He saw that this heart glowed all over, its surface like nine-colored glazed glass, emitting brilliant divine radiance.
However, on this heart, there were nine orifices, each as deep as a black hole, giving a feeling of devouring everything.
On one of these orifices, there was a bronze gourd.
The surface of this gourd seemed to bear patterns of the sun and moon, as if it were situated within the Time-Space River, and its entire being exuded a sense of imperishable eternity.
"Nine Orifices Exquisite Heart, space-time gourd, my Spiritual Root is actually a special Spiritual Root, and it's even a dual Spiritual Root Awakening, a symbiotic Spiritual Root.
How can this be?"
Zhuang Buzhou's heart was filled with disbelief.
According to the Record of Cultivation World Oddities, Spiritual Roots are divided into many types: some directly Awaken as weapon or Magic Treasure type Spiritual Roots, and some Awaken as spiritual plant type Spiritual Roots.
The most special are the unique Spiritual Roots, for example, when a certain part of the body transforms into a Spiritual Root, such as fingers, bones, or even eyes, ears, internal organs, and so on.
These special Spiritual Roots are often very unique.
This type of Spiritual Root is special in that it can enhance oneself, but it cannot be directly manifested and used against enemies.
Its connection with oneself is much closer, and it often bestows entirely different special Physiques.
The heart was one of the most special of these.
Without a heart, a person dies.
The heart is the most vital part of the human body.
"Nine Orifices Exquisite Heart, so that's it.
No wonder, no wonder my lifespan is being consumed so quickly.
My heart has nine orifices; a heart with holes means leakage.
Nine orifices, plus my own consumption, means my lifespan is being consumed ten times faster than an ordinary person.
With such a heart, I'm destined for a short life."
In an instant, Zhuang Buzhou had already guessed why his lifespan was being consumed so quickly.
It was clearly due to the Nine Orifices Exquisite Heart.
This kind of defect, he feared, could never be remedied.
Whoosh!
However, just as the Nine Orifices Exquisite Heart was absorbing and expelling Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, in an instant, his entire consciousness was swallowed by the Nine Orifices Exquisite Heart.
The next second, he appeared in a gray, hazy world, where gray gases flowed everywhere.
"This is the Chaos Sea."
Zhuang Buzhou looked around, instinctively understanding where this was.
The Chaos Sea, according to the note he received from the old man earlier and the records in the Record of Cultivation World Oddities, stated that once a Cultivator underwent Qi Awakening, they would have one Opportunity to visit the Chaos Sea.
After going there, they would have one Opportunity to realize a wish, which was closely related to their Spiritual Root.
This was a creation bestowed by the Chaos Will of the Chaos Sea.
The prerequisite was that you could pass the trial.
The greater the wish, the greater the difficulty of the trial, and the lower the possibility of passing.
In the Chaos Sea, what was honored was one's purest desire.
This would bestow the most fundamental characteristics upon one's Spiritual Root.
He looked at the boundless Chaos Sea before him.
Suddenly, an invisible will appeared in his mind.
"What do you want?"
This question was the Chaos Will asking him.
"What do I want?"
Countless thoughts flashed through Zhuang Buzhou's mind.
In his previous life, his yearning for the extraordinary, his longing for immortals and gods, and for that carefree, eternal, immortal existence.
After Transmigration, his pursuit of power.
His fear and dread of the eerie and malevolent.
He thought of the dried corpses he had seen earlier.
"What do I want? I want to be eternal and imperishable."
"I want to be carefree; no power in Heaven and Earth can bind me, free from worries, disasters, and misfortunes."
"I want to experience all kinds of different splendors in Heaven and Earth."
"The world is like a sea of suffering; if there is a shore, I want to see it."
The world was so wonderful; he wanted to live a long time, to see all sorts of different things, to experience various exciting stories, and to appreciate countless local customs.
Invisibly, all these thoughts were magnified countless times at this moment.
"Live on, as you wish."
An invisible will responded to Zhuang Buzhou.
"Can wishes only be fulfilled if I live on? Is the Chaos Sea really so magical?
However, what kind of trial will I face next?
This wish is too grand; I'm afraid I'll miss the Opportunity, miss the good fortune."
Zhuang Buzhou brought his thoughts back, a bitter smile secretly appearing.
What you get, you must pay for.
The grander the wish, the lower the possibility of it being realized.
However, that was indeed what he most wanted to achieve in his heart.
Whoosh!
The next second, a divine light that pierced through Heaven and Earth enveloped Zhuang Buzhou.
Then, his surroundings became a kaleidoscope of light and shadow, and when he reappeared, he was already above a bizarre, boundless black sea.
Moreover, this time, it wasn't just his consciousness that appeared, but also his body.
Zhuang Buzhou carefully examined it; this body was almost identical to his original one, with no discernible differences.
Inside, he could even feel a Nine Orifices Exquisite Heart beating strongly and powerfully, and he could clearly sense the space-time gourd within one of the orifices shimmering with light.
"This is the Gui Xu Sea, rumored to be the place where all things are annihilated, where all desires and obsessions gather."
There were records about the Gui Xu Sea in the Record of Cultivation World Oddities.
It was only known that Gui Xu was the end of all things.
"Gui Xu Sea, where are the enemies, and how do I survive?"
Thoughts flashed rapidly through Zhuang Buzhou's mind.
Whoosh!
Just then, a grotesque skeletal hand emerged from the sea without warning.
It grabbed towards one of Zhuang Buzhou's feet, appearing very abruptly.
However, Zhuang Buzhou, having suddenly appeared in this unfamiliar environment, was already on guard, his vigilance raised to the extreme.
Without thinking, he directly stomped down on that skeletal hand.
Crack!
A surge of power erupted from his foot, instantly crushing the skeletal hand into pieces.
After crushing it, he immediately saw a wisp of gray Qi fly out from the skeletal claw, then, at an astonishing speed, it drilled directly into his body, entering his Nine Orifices Exquisite Heart.
"Killing the life forms here can obtain Origin power."
Almost instantly, a piece of information naturally appeared in his mind.
Origin power could enhance Spiritual Roots and bestow unique characteristics upon them.
As long as one could reach the corresponding limit, the wish could directly come true.
This point instantly made Zhuang Buzhou's eyes turn red.
This was a tremendous stroke of good fortune, a supreme Opportunity.
As long as he survived and passed the trial, he could ascend to Heaven in one step.
Even if he couldn't, he could still gain astonishing benefits from it, laying down a supreme Foundation for the future.
Crack!
At this moment, he could see grotesque skeletal figures continuously crawling out from the Gui Xu Sea beneath him, appearing directly on the surface of the sea.
Some held bone knives, some carried bows and arrows.
Their numbers, at a glance, were dense and almost inestimable; there were simply too many.
This was completely a sea of undead.
Not only were there humanoid skeletal warriors, but also various beast-like skeletal creatures, such as bone wolves and bone birds.
Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, even billions.
Countless, the scene was truly shocking.
"Indeed, even a wish cannot be too grand; this simply gives no possibility for it to be realized."
After witnessing this, Zhuang Buzhou couldn't help but feel a touch of bitterness.
Such a sea of undead was simply a trial no human could pass.
If the wish was too grand to be realized, then it would just lead to death.