Chapter 23
Baek Mu-Ae patted Baek-Cheong’s shoulder with a much more relieved expression.
Having seen with his own eyes a Prodigy who had stepped onto the threshold of Five Elements Unification, he could enter Secluded Cultivation without any lingering regrets.
“Your Granddaughter Baek-Cheong will take her leave.”
Stepping out of the Supreme Clan Head’s Hall, Baek-Cheong returned to her Abode and slumped onto her bed.
The moment she had achieved Five Elements Unification continued to linger and circle in her mind.
It was the first time her thirst for cultivation had surged so strongly.
“To achieve Five Elements Unification, I need to raise my realm first…”
Baek-Cheong rested her chin on her hand and fell into deep thought.
The fastest way to raise her realm was to chew and swallow Top-grade Medicinal Pills inside the Spirit Gathering Formation of the Training Room.
However, there were many uncomfortable aspects to blindly filling herself with spiritual energy.
Her father’s strict lectures emphasizing Solidifying the Realm stuck to her ears like scabs and wouldn’t fall off.
“Solidifying the Realm, huh…”
It was easy to say, but she couldn’t grasp exactly what she was supposed to do.
Raising one’s realm was an intuitive process of filling the Dantian with spiritual energy and breaking down a thick wall.
Because the visible goal was clear, the sense of accomplishment upon achieving it was also certain.
On the other hand, Solidifying the Realm sounded more like grasping at floating clouds.
Strengthening the meridians and evenly spreading spiritual energy through the acupoints of the entire body to achieve harmony between the flesh and energy.
It felt so abstract that she was at a loss for where to even begin.
Solidifying the Realm was similar to the task of fertilizing a dry field and turning over the soil.
Since there were no distinct changes or immediate sensations of sprouts growing and bearing fruit, it was no different from torture for the impatient Baek-Cheong.
“Even in my past life, I always skipped the tutorial.”
Baek-Cheong scratched her head in frustration.
Due to the memories of her past life, her mindset was acting as a shackle in understanding the basic cultivation processes of the Cultivation World.
Even so, she couldn’t just run straight to her father and ask.
A Peerless Prodigy who had awakened Five Elements Mutual Generation on her own and even peeked over the threshold of Five Elements Unification.
To carry such a flashy title and now ask how to breathe.
The Clan elders would definitely find it strange and cast suspicious glances her way.
“In the end, the only thing I can trust is the Nameless Forum.”
Like a habit, Baek-Cheong moved her Divine Sense and connected to the Nameless Forum.
She lightly ignored the Chat Board, which was as noisy as ever, and moved over to the Information Board.
Then, she began typing various keywords into the search bar.
[Realm Stabilization], [Solidifying the Realm], [How to Solidify the Realm].
She scoured through with various variations, but the results were dismal.
Among the pouring information posts, not a single one covered the absolute basics.
“You call this an Information Board when you don’t even post things like this?”
Baek-Cheong pouted her lips and voiced her complaints.
To cultivators, the act of Solidifying the Realm was as natural and obvious as breathing and eating.
As a result, it was treated as trivial knowledge not even worth writing down on the Information Board.
Giving up on her search, Baek-Cheong had no choice but to return to the Chat Board.
With her usual confident and shameless attitude, she casually tossed up a question post.
『Dao Friend (913.14): How do u solidify the realm?』
[I just ate pills and broke through, so my Dantian feels loose. Give me a way to solidify my meridians.]
As soon as she registered the post, red notifications appeared in a row.
Various reactions poured in from Dao Friends who recognized Baek-Cheong’s Interface Number.
[Dao Friend (11.23): Aren’t you ashamed of acting like a Qi Condensation junior when you’re an Old Monster of Qi Condensation Stage?]
[Dao Friend (230.4): Questions go to the Q&A Board.]
[Dao Friend (201.9): When solidifying meridians, doing a handstand and circulating spiritual energy is a surefire way. All the blood rushes to your brain, making it perfect for getting Qi Deviation lol]
Most of the replies were sarcastic remarks or useless nonsense.
Baek-Cheong sighed and scrolled down before her gaze stopped on a short reply.
[Dao Friend (45.10): It’s in the announcements. What are your eyes even for.]
It was the answer of a Veteran User, strangely mixing kindness and annoyance.
Only then did Baek-Cheong tilt her head.
“The Nameless Forum had announcements too?”
Since it was a mysterious network of the Cultivation World, she had only vaguely guessed at the existence of a Forum Admin or manager.
She hadn’t known there would be officially registered announcements.
Baek-Cheong hurriedly exited her post and checked the very top of the Nameless Forum.
Looking closely, a pinned post in bold letters just below the various boards caught her eye.
[Guideline for juniors Who Have Awakened the Nameless Body]
Even in the communities of her past life, it was an unwritten rule to skip over the announcements stuck at the top of the board without reading them.
Habits were truly terrifying; her brain had unconsciously treated the announcements as non-existent and naturally filtered them out.
“So something like this was hiding here.”
Baek-Cheong let out an embarrassed cough and clicked on the announcement to enter.
Inside the guideline, starting from the origins of the Nameless Forum, to the characteristics of the Nameless Body, the hidden secret histories of the Cultivation World, and so on.
All sorts of miscellaneous knowledge were densely organized like an encyclopedia.
[The Nameless Forum is presumed to be a Spiritual Network left behind for amusement by ■■■ of the True Immortal Realm…]
[Distributing the image of a True Immortal on the boards can cause Soul Collapse, so extreme caution is required…]
It was full of interesting content, but Baek-Cheong boldly skipped over the parts she had no interest in.
Right now, the only thing Baek-Cheong needed was information regarding the basics of cultivation.
Quickly skimming the text, she found a bold subheading titled [Qi Condensation Cultivation Method].
She focused and read down the sentences written below it, devouring every word.
[The focal point of Qi Condensation cultivation is Meridian Stabilization, which is Solidifying the Realm. If one obsesses only over filling spiritual energy to achieve a Realm Breakthrough, the meridians will be unable to withstand the expansion and will rupture.]
[To Solidify the Realm, Expelling Turbid Qi is essential. Finely split your spiritual energy to stimulate the acupoints and push it out through the pores of your entire body. Through this process, you can wash away the impurities left in your bones and muscles and increase your Meridian Elasticity.]
[If you consistently repeat Expelling Turbid Qi for half an hour a day, you will be able to feel the Purity of Spiritual Energy increasing and the thickness of the wall experienced during a breakthrough becoming thinner.]
The guideline’s explanation was simple yet clear.
Expelling Turbid Qi to increase Meridian Elasticity and raise the Purity of Spiritual Energy.
“So it basically means to artificially continue the Rejuvenation of Appearance.”
Baek-Cheong recalled the waste matter that smelled like a sewer every time she had a Realm Breakthrough.
Her brow naturally furrowed at the fact that she would have to endure that terrible stench every day.
“Still, I have to do it. What else can I do?”
To deceive her father, avoid her grandfather’s eyes, and continue acting as a Peerless Prodigy, a solid foundation was an indispensable element.
Above all, even though she was at 4th-Stage Qi Condensation, she needed to push the Purity of Spiritual Energy to its absolute limit just to tear down the massive wall.
Baek-Cheong filed away the contents of the guideline in her mind and withdrew her Divine Sense from the Nameless Forum.
She sat properly in the Lotus Position on her bed and closed her eyes.
Focusing her Divine Sense, she finely split the scattering spiritual energy to the thickness of a hair and forcefully pushed it into the crevices of her meridians.
A stinging pain, as if her entire body were being pricked by needles, washed over her.
The spiritual energy dug into the microscopic gaps in her blood vessels and muscles, beginning to scrape out the hidden turbid qi.
As it even stimulated her acupoints, it felt as though she were being beaten by tiny hammers.
Baek-Cheong clenched her teeth and focused on Solidifying the Realm.
Before long, fine grayish turbid qi began to seep out of her pores along with sticky sweat.
It wasn’t as much as the waste matter that flowed out during every Realm Breakthrough, but it still gave off an unpleasant odor.
“Ugh, so gross.”
Baek-Cheong only stopped Solidifying the Realm after barely filling the half an hour.
Her entire body was sticky, covered in cold sweat and turbid liquid, but her meridians felt light and refreshing, as if a cool breeze were blowing through them.
When she tried moving her spiritual energy, she could feel that the speed at which it flowed through her meridians had become much smoother compared to before.
“The effects are definitely clear.”
Baek-Cheong nodded as she got into the bathtub and washed herself off.
It was a tedious and painful task, but since the growth was visible, it was bearable.
After finishing her bath, Baek-Cheong changed into clean clothes and lay down on her bed.
From the enlightenment she had gained at the Supreme Clan Head’s Hall today to the method of Solidifying the Realm through the guideline.
A sense of pride washed over her, feeling that she had spent a rather fruitful and productive time.
“Now, should I do some forum browsing…!”
With a lightened heart, Baek-Cheong moved her Divine Sense again and connected to the Nameless Forum.
It was a sweet forum-browsing time that only those who had cultivated hard could enjoy.
The Chat Board was still bustling noisily.
The aftermath of the picture post incident she had uploaded had somewhat settled down, and the Dao Friends were back to sharing their usual nonsense posts and chatter.
Baek-Cheong looked through the posts, searching for some interesting bait.
While doing so, a post with an unusually high view count caught her eye.
『Dao Friend (331.87): Breaking News) Our Sect’s Eldest Senior Disciple Brother got expelled while descending the mountain lol』
[The Eldest Senior Disciple Brother, who was said to be the best in the Sect, got bewitched by a demonic beast and threw a fit about forming a dual cultivation bond with it, only to get beaten up by the Venerable Master and kicked out.]
It was an exciting piece of gossip that nakedly exposed the shameful secrets of their own Sect.
In the replies, Dao Friends mocking the Sect and Dao Friends asking for the facts were tangled together, creating a chaotic mess.
“Beast-fuckers actually exist…”
Baek-Cheong’s eyes sparkled as she rolled around on her bed.
An idea that would instantly blow away the fatigue of her boring cultivation sprang up.
She quickly began writing a reply that would draw attention.
[Dao Friend (913.14): Awoo.]
└Dao Friend (281.11): What does that mean?
└Dao Friend (913.14): Awooo.
└Dao Friend (87.22): Awoo?
└Dao Friend (913.14): Awoo.
└Dao Friend (281.11): Awooo.