8mi Chapter 4: Cultivation Successful, Opening the Sea of Bitterness!
Chapter 4: Cultivation Successful, Opening the Sea of Bitterness!
This is exactly the effect Jiang Yu wanted.
"I know you don't believe me, and to be honest, I think it's a bit of an exaggeration myself."
Jiang Yu spoke frankly, her expression quite composed.
"So, let's try it the way my brother suggested. Let's see if we can escape this sea of suffering. If I practice for a long time and don't feel anything, or if I feel it's just psychological, then I don't need you to tell me. I'll admit that this is a huge joke my brother played on me. Today's live stream is scripted. I, Jiang Yu, will retire from the anti-counterfeiting world and never do live streams again."
Her words were a bit harsh, and the chat was quiet for a moment before becoming even more heated.
"Playing this big?"
"Is the streamer serious?"
"Alright, we'll keep an eye on you and see how you train!"
"Do we need to chant a spell? 'Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!'"
"Host, do you need to shower, change clothes, burn incense, and pray? I have electronic incense here."
Jiang Yu didn't say anything more.
She adjusted the angle of her phone holder to ensure the camera could capture her upper body while she was sitting cross-legged and part of her surroundings.
Then, right there on the cold cement floor of this abandoned factory, she sat cross-legged, facing the sky with her palms facing upwards, as described in the opening chapter of the Heavenly Emperor Scripture in her mind, and tried to relax her body and adjust her breathing.
The first step is to sense the "Wheel of Life," which is the so-called origin of life, three inches below the navel.
For Jiang Yu, who had never encountered these things before, it was like the blind men touching an elephant.
She could only try to clear her mind and focus her attention on her lower abdomen, while slowly inhaling, exhaling, and inhaling again according to the breathing rhythm in the scripture...
Time passed second by second.
Driven by curiosity, the number of viewers in the live stream has approached 1,500, and the comments, which started as jokes, have gradually become somewhat boring.
"It's been five minutes, has the streamer fallen asleep?"
"Anyone can breathe, right? I've been breathing for twenty years, how come I don't have any superpowers?"
"That's all, that's all just making a fuss."
"Don't rush, cultivation doesn't happen that fast. According to the tropes of fantasy novels, you'd have to sit for at least three days and three nights, right?"
"Three days and three nights? I'll just send them away..."
Jiang Yu was initially a little anxious, her mind filled with all sorts of thoughts: her mother's medical bills, her brother's sudden appearance and disappearance, the ridicule from the viewers in the live stream, the force of three thousand jin... all these thoughts mixed together, making it impossible for her to calm down.
I don't feel anything below my navel, only a slight soreness and numbness from sitting for a long time.
She even considered giving up.
Am I being too far-fetched? Is the cultivation technique left by my brother something that requires special conditions and can't be practiced on Earth?
Jiang Yu gritted her teeth and forced herself to concentrate again.
"Don't rush, don't rush... Feel your breath, feel your internal body..."
She silently recalled the guidance in the scriptures, as well as fragments of similar experiences and insights left by her brother.
She stopped trying to find that vague point and instead tried to truly relax, calm her mind, and simply observe her breathing and the natural rise and fall of her lower abdomen with each breath.
Gradually, the noise from the outside world seemed to fade away from her.
She entered a semi-focused meditative state.
Just when she thought it might just be her imagination, suddenly, deep in her lower abdomen, in that area about three inches below her navel that she had always ignored, she seemed to "twitch" very faintly.
It was very slight, like a fingertip brushing against the skin, more like a hallucination.
But Jiang Yu was in a relatively acute state of mind, and she noticed this slight abnormality.
Is it there?
She wasn't sure, but subconsciously focused more attention on that area.
She opened her eyes and picked up the storage bag next to her.
Following the instructions in her mind about how to use the storage bag, she probed into it and found the glowing stones.
Originium.
My brother put it inside.
She tried to take one out with her mind, and as soon as she had the thought, a stone appeared in her hand.
The stone was small, slightly smaller than an egg, and crystal clear, emitting a soft light. When held in the hand, it felt warm, as if it were breathing, pulsating slightly.
Jiang Yu looked at the stone and a strange feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.
This really is... something that can be cultivated.
She held the Originium in her left palm and closed her eyes again.
According to the cultivation method, one must use the energy in the source stone as a guide, and with the help of one's mind and spirit, forcefully tear open a hole at the wheel of life to escape the sea of suffering.
Jiang Yu took a deep breath and, following the guidance of the cultivation technique, began to channel the energy within the source stone.
At first, it was slow; the energy seemed trapped in a stone, unwilling to come out. But as soon as her mind touched that energy, it was as if it had found an outlet, flowing down her arm, into her body, and finally converging below her navel.
That spot started to get hot.
It wasn't the kind of burning sensation you get from a scald, but rather a very comfortable warmth, like someone had placed a hot water bottle there.
Then, the warmth began to spread.
Starting from below the navel, it slowly spreads to the entire abdomen, then to the chest, then to the limbs, and finally to the whole body.
Jiang Yu felt an extremely gentle yet domineering force flowing through her body. The feeling was wonderful, like being soaked in warm water, with every cell relaxing.
"what……"
Jiang Yu couldn't help but let out a very soft, trembling cry!
so comfy!
She could clearly feel that some impurities and blockages in her body were being expelled by this gentle yet domineering force.
But strangely, there was no scene of being covered in black mud and smelling foul as expected.
Only extremely fine, almost invisible gray sweat seeped from the skin's pores, and was quickly evaporated and purified by the flowing heat. The air contained only a very faint, fresh scent, similar to grass after rain and sun-dried grass, which vanished in an instant.
All these changes happened in just a few breaths.
In the live stream, sharp-eyed viewers had already noticed something was wrong.
"Hey? Look at the streamer's face!"
"It seems... to be steaming?"
"My face is so red! Not the kind of red from shyness, but the flushed red like after exercise when blood circulation is accelerated!"
"It's not just her face; the skin on her neck and the backs of her hands is also a bit red!"
"Holy crap, is he really using his internal energy?"
"Was it an act? Were you holding your breath?"
"Holding your breath until your skin turns slightly red and there's a faint white vapor on the top of your head? That's a bit over the top of your acting skills."
"Wait...when did she get a stone in her hand?"
"Yes! Her hand was empty just now! Where did that white stone come from?"
"The camera didn't cut to her; it was focused on her the whole time! Could it have been taken out of that small bag? But that bag looks flat..."
"Special effects? Or was the footage edited? I didn't see it..."
"This is getting weirder and weirder..."
Jiang Yu was completely oblivious to the live stream at that moment.
Her entire being was immersed in the earth-shattering changes happening inside her body.
Below the navel, it transformed into a... sea.
A very, very small puddle, about the size of a fingernail, with a strange color, a pale black color that also faintly revealed a noble golden hue, as if it were the color of the beginning of chaos.
This is... the sea of suffering?
It was completely different from the turbulent, lifeless sea she had imagined.
It was tiny and calm, but Jiang Yu could clearly feel that it contained an indescribable, primal, and boundless life force!
This force, through some invisible connection, is continuously feeding back, cleansing, and strengthening her entire body!
She could feel her power growing!
My mind was clearer than ever before, and all the previous fatigue and anxiety vanished.
Is this what it feels like to break free from the sea of suffering?
Jiang Yu resisted the urge to continue immersing herself in this wonderful transformation and slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes seemed brighter and more alert than usual for a moment when she opened them, but they quickly returned to normal.
She looked down at her hands.
The skin on my palms and arms seemed to be more delicate and firm, with a healthy glow.
An unprecedented, abundant sense of energy filled my entire body.
她成功了！
I truly followed the "Heavenly Emperor Scripture" and escaped the sea of suffering! I took the first step on the path of cultivation!
Moreover, the time it took... from the moment she started trying to the moment she succeeded... seemed very short? Definitely less than half an hour!
Whether this speed was fast or slow, she didn't know, but the annotations left by her brother seemed to vaguely reveal that this speed was astonishing, mostly related to the heaven-defying nature of the "Heavenly Emperor Scripture" itself and the fact that her brother may have used some means to help her lay an unparalleled foundation.
She held the Originium, whose color had dimmed slightly, in her hand, feeling the still surging vitality within it, her heart filled with shock and ecstasy.
Brother... you weren't lying to me after all! It's all real! This technique is real! This cultivation is real! This power... is real too!