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Chapter 76 - Marrow Cleansing
🕑 Added 2025-04-07 00:33:40 +0000 UTC'I still have two uses left to test Ancestor Bao Wuji's ability today. Let's start with a more general search to better understand this world—let's look for spiritual veins of all levels. The amount shouldn't be too overwhelming mentally... no, wait, I have to do something first!' Aotian thought about continuing the tests, but then remembered something more urgent.
'To more easily process the amount of information from Ancestor Bao, let's first condense everyone's Enlightened Minds. And there will be a lot of them!' Aotian thought, excited.
Every evolution of the sect was a complete level-up, so Aotian always got hyped during those times. But his excitement made him act a bit strange due to his intense focus.
So, he let his other minds handle the processing and focused the mind of his main body on the present—and on Rihai, who was looking at him with curiosity.
Aotian scratched his head, slightly embarrassed, not knowing how to explain, and could only offer her a strange smile.
...
With the decision made, all the elders sat down and began condensing their Enlightened Minds. The process, already done several times and with Aotian having lots of experience, was completed quickly.
In total, Aotian had this many Enlightened Minds:
- 4 at Nascent Soul.
- 3 at Golden Core.
- 40 at Foundation Establishment.
- 51 at Qi Refining, including his own.
Plus the regular minds of the avatars and his own, totaling 73, he now had 171 different thought processes.
'This is getting insane! Even without exercises, I should be able to create some Foundation Establishment techniques in a few months just from experimenting with all these powerful minds. But of course, since I have better options, I won't waste too much time trying.' Aotian thought, returning to what he was doing.
Bao Wuji once again used his ability, searching for all spiritual veins.
Dots slowly began to light up around him, the first being the spiritual vein of Black Rock Mountain itself.
Then more and more dots appeared, but Bao Wuji frowned. There were far too few considering the vast distance already scanned.
'What is this?' Bao Wuji suddenly became alarmed.
The number of dots started increasing rapidly. The further he searched, the more dots appeared, until at a certain point, they were everywhere, like weeds.
But what scared him most came next. Suddenly, no more spiritual veins appeared in a certain area. It was completely empty.
When the reach of his search ended, he still couldn't see the end of that area where no spiritual veins could be sensed.
'How is this possible? Not a single vein in such a large area! This… I can only imagine two things: that is a forbidden area, devoid of spiritual energy… or something is blocking my perception!' Bao Wuji—or rather, Aotian—frowned in concern.
But then he shook his head bitterly.
'What am I thinking? That's still way too far from me. Even if I wanted to worry, there's nothing I can do. One step at a time. Maybe, when I get near that area one day, I'll be strong enough not to fear anything.'
With that thought, he tried not to dwell on it and refocused on the present—and on the veins he had detected.
'Whether it's the area I'm in or the one my avatars are in, both seem to be very poor. Judging by the number of veins, there's probably a much richer intermediate area between our two continents. But it's far too distant for any of us to reach with our current strength.'
Since there was nothing he could do about it for now, he shifted his focus.
'Time to get back to what matters most: techniques, spells, inheritances, and materials.'
With determination, he activated the ability again, using the remaining daily use. This time, there was no focus on a specific treasure, but rather on quality.
Only Founder-Tier and above items were targeted.
The amount of information was once again too much to process. Even though it wasn't as terrifying as the Qi Refining items, the range for Founder-Tier was still immense.
So, after reaching a certain radius he estimated would take no more than a year to travel, he deactivated the ability.
Looking at the massive amount of information in his mind, Aotian couldn't help but smile with Bao Wuji's face.
'We have targets. Time to assign tasks!'
...
It was a new day at the Infinite Dao Sect when, once again, all the disciples were summoned by Elder Zhao's shout.
"All disciples, gather in the courtyard! Inner and Outer Disciples!"
The shout, though loud, gently woke all the disciples from their meditation.
The elder's voice carried his spiritual energy, which softened the intensity of the call. Although his voice reached everyone, if any disciple was in a state of epiphany, the shout wouldn't wake them nor disturb that rare and precious moment.
Quickly, all the disciples arrived at the courtyard. The veteran disciples were confused about the reason for being summoned, since it should just be the distribution of materials and techniques—which they had already received before.
Elder Zhao, the outer elder responsible for the outer disciples, looked at those who had arrived and frowned, as many were still absent.
'Is our sect not being taken seriously even by its own disciples?' Aotian thought, narrowing his eyes in displeasure.
But then a shout rang out, snapping him from his thoughts and making him understand what was going on.
"Wait for us!"
The elderly voice echoed, drawing everyone's attention to a crowd of elderly folks "running" at their fastest speed.
Elder Zhao raised his hand and massaged his forehead, powerless.
The surrounding disciples couldn't help but be amused by the scene.
Zhao looked at Cang Song, who was trying to hold back a smile, and called him over.
"Cang Song, come here." He said, making Cang Song freeze.
"Elder Zhao, I wasn't laughing! I swear!" He quickly pleaded, and all the disciples who had been smiling a second ago now wore serious expressions.
Some even shook their heads at Cang Song, as if they were helpless before his lack of decorum.
Cang Song saw that and clenched his teeth in anger.
'You damn traitors, I saw you laughing too!'
Elder Zhao rolled his eyes.
"I'm not arguing with you, I just want you to do something for me. Take this and give a pill to every disciple who is struggling due to excessive impurities and age," Elder Zhao said, tossing a bottle of pills to Cang Song.
Cang Song, startled by the sudden throw, fumbled a bit but quickly caught the bottle full of pills and was left stunned.
"Go on, don't just stand there," the elder rolled his eyes and urged him.
"Uh… yes, elder!" A bit dazed, he hurried off to deliver the medicine to the sect's elderly.
'Damn, I just wanted to cultivate in peace, away from everyone's gaze—don't put me in the spotlight!' Cang Song thought bitterly.
'At least it's to help my fellow sect members, which doesn't cause any enmity…'
As he thought that, he quickly completed the delivery and returned the remaining pills to Elder Zhao.
Elder Zhao merely nodded and looked at the old disciples who were still some distance away, now standing still, staring wide-eyed at the pills in their hands.
"You all, don't waste time—swallow the pill. This is a Founder-Tier marrow cleansing pill. Not very useful for the young, but for old folks like you, it still has excellent effects," he said, making the elderly breathe heavily upon realizing they were holding something so precious—something they never imagined they'd even touch.
Extremely grateful to the sect but also anxious, they dropped everything they were doing, sat cross-legged "hurriedly," and swallowed the pills.
Some disciples who had already arrived but were older and starting to feel the effects as well also requested the pill, and Elder Zhao gave it to them.
While they waited for the elders to digest the pill, Elder Zhao didn't intend to stay idle and wanted to move things along.
But then a young disciple, about twelve years old, raised her hand.
"Elder… can we younger ones also take this marrow cleansing pill?" she asked timidly, a bit nervous.
Elder Zhao looked at her and smiled.
"There's no need to be afraid to ask, little one. Our sect greatly values fairness and isn't like those irrational people out there. It's good to fight for your opportunities. Asking doesn't hurt, and the worst you'll get here is a 'no,'" Elder Zhao said, smiling gently at the girl.
But his words touched many of the other disciples, especially the older ones who knew the cruelties of the cultivation world.
The girl's eyes lit up.
"So… can we?" she asked excitedly, her eyes now shining.
Elder Zhao laughed and stroked his beard before nodding generously, smiling.
"Hahaha! But of course… not!" he said with a smile, making the girl and the whole crowd freeze.
Aotian almost burst out laughing in his main body at the look of shock on their faces.
"Hahaha!" Elder Zhao couldn't hold it and laughed.
"Sorry! Sorry! I was just joking!" Elder Zhao wiped the corner of his eyes after finishing his laugh and explained.
"So…" The girl snapped out of her daze upon hearing it was a joke, but still asked with uncertainty in her tone.
"The part about 'no' was serious," Elder Zhao shook his head.
"Ah!" The girl was stunned.
"Well, let me explain, girl. When we cultivate during our prime, the dantian is full of vitality. The energy it stores and circulates through our body is pure and powerful. But as we get older, the vitality in our dantian is no longer as strong, the energy becomes less pure and vigorous, and our spiritual energy can no longer expel impurities like before. So, the impurities start to build up more and more in our bodies, and we slowly become like mortals..."
He explained and watched to see if the girl was following. Seeing that she understood, he continued.
"At that point, our hair turns white, our bodies bend, wrinkles appear. This is the effect of a dantian running out of vitality. The energy becomes cloudy with impurities, and our bodies can no longer sustain themselves like before, so they start to age. Qi Refiners suffer the most from this, because their dantians haven't undergone a real transformation—they've only strengthened, and aren't much different from those of mortals. That's why the lifespan of a Qi Refiner isn't much greater than that of an ordinary mortal, and there are even some lucky mortals who live not much less than a typical Qi Refiner. Of course, Qi Refiners still retain their youthful state for longer and are guaranteed a longer life, so it's not without benefits."
He explained clearly. These insights came from the many techniques Aotian had studied, and also from the things he had asked Rihai.
"Yes, I understood that, elder. But what does that have to do with the pill?" She grasped what he had said, but was still confused.
Elder Zhao smiled.
"Well, these marrow-cleansing pills are meant for people who have relied too heavily on pills over time or, due to circumstances like age, have weakened energy and can no longer expel the accumulated impurities that hinder their bodies and cultivation. As for you young ones, since you haven’t consumed many pills, your energy is still strong enough to naturally purge the impurities from your bodies, so you don’t need these pills." He explained patiently and kindly.
"Oh! I see! Thank you, elder! But…" She thanked him with a happy smile, but in the end, her face still showed doubt.
"Well, just ask. We'll have to wait a bit until they finish digesting the pills, so there's no harm in asking." Elder Zhao smiled and encouraged her, showing no impatience.
She felt a little embarrassed about asking so many questions, but seeing that the elder remained gentle and patient, she decided to speak.
"So… can they become young again? And… I can feel I have some small impurities in my body, but I can't remove them. Isn't the pill still useful?" She asked, a bit shyly. It was only after she spoke that she realized it might come across as greedy for the pills.
But the truth was, she was just curious now.
Elder Zhao didn't mind.
"That’s not exactly how it works. Their bodies have already reached this aged state, and simply cleansing impurities or advancing in cultivation won’t return them to a youthful appearance. If vitality alone were enough to make cultivators younger, then high-level cultivators would turn into children, then babies, and eventually vanish altogether upon breaking through to a new realm. Poof!" Elder Zhao said with a smile, and at the end, he widened his eyes, made a funny face, and mimed an explosion with both hands.
"Ehehe!" The girl was amused by the elder's antics and covered her mouth with her hand, giggling.
The other disciples also looked surprised at the elder.
They were used to the idea that elders of a sect were arrogant and distant. But this elder from their sect didn't seem like that. He was much more straightforward, lively, and kind — far more human than most cultivators they had met.
Elder Zhao, still smiling playfully, continued his explanation.
"But it's not like there's no way. Higher cultivation realms mean greater control over your own body, and restoring your youthful appearance, if desired, is not impossible. Besides, there are cosmetic pills that can do that too. But for now, they should focus more on breaking through and extending their lifespan than on appearances. The marrow cleansing pill will help for a while, but their bodies will start accumulating impurities again soon enough. The sect can provide the pills — the problem is their lifespan."
His smile faded, and he spoke seriously, then concluded:
"As for your last question, the pill really is useful for those minor impurities that accumulate in your body. But the main cause of those impurities is your flawed cultivation techniques, which make your energy not pure or strong enough to expel them on its own. But today, the sect will distribute its cultivation techniques, and you won't have those problems anymore. You can ask your senior peers about it."
Elder Zhao smiled, and the people in the crowd looked at the nearby elderly disciples with surprised, shining eyes
Elder Zhao's mouth twitched.
"Not those seniors, you fools!" he said helplessly.
Only then did they react, feeling embarrassed. In their eagerness for powerful techniques, they hadn't processed the instruction properly.
This time, they looked at their actual senior disciples and were met with serious nods and smiles.
The senior disciples, in fact, were very eager to see the faces of all the new disciples when they saw and used the techniques.
And they all had the same thought:
'They'll definitely be just as stunned as we were when we were in their place.'
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