Chapter 658: The Essence of Cultivation

Facing this future world, Chen Nan had too many doubts in his heart.

In reality, he wanted to know more about why he had awakened in the Shenmo Lingyuan; after all, given his status, he was truly unworthy of sleeping alongside the Gods and Demons of the heavens.

Before the age of sixteen, he was a peerless genius who drew everyone's attention, a young Heavenly Pride at the Second-Tier Peak.

But after sixteen, his cultivation not only failed to advance but regressed, reaching only the mid-First Order.

Such cultivation was merely an ant in front of Gods and Demons.

Yin Qi, while placing medicinal herbs, said, "I also do not know who built the Shenmo Lingyuan. If you want to know, you can go find the answer yourself."

"As for why the supposedly immortal Gods and Demons would fall and sleep in the Shenmo Lingyuan, I do know a little."

"It is said that ten thousand years ago, a violent, great upheaval occurred between Heaven and Earth."

Countless powerhouses slaughtered each other, shattering the mountains and rivers.

"I think those Gods and Demons must have died in this great upheaval of Heaven and Earth."

"Perhaps it was because of the great war of the Gods and Demons that the Immortal Fantasy Continent in the East and the Magic Continent in the West shifted, colliding with each other to form today's Tianyuan Continent."

"Our current location is at the boundary between the East and the West."

"Because of the collision and exchange between the East and the West, it is naturally no surprise that people from both sides have gathered in our Xuefeng Town."

"The great upheaval of Heaven and Earth!"

Chen Nan's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Why would such a great upheaval occur between Heaven and Earth, to the point that even Gods and Demons were implicated? Wait, that's not right; did the Shenmo Lingyuan exist before the upheaval of Heaven and Earth?"

He suddenly realized a problem.

Back then, he had fought a decisive battle against the successor of the Destruction Dao and died in defeat.

Logically speaking, it was impossible for him to be buried in the Shenmo Lingyuan, because before he died, the great upheaval of Heaven and Earth had not yet occurred.

Unless the Shenmo Lingyuan had already existed, and he just didn't know about it.

Yin Qi turned his head and said meaningfully, "Why the Heaven and Earth were in upheaval is not something you or I can concern ourselves with right now. However, I heard from the elders in town that the Shenmo Lingyuan already existed before the Eastern and Western continents merged. As for whether it was before or after the great upheaval, that is unknown."

Chen Nan looked at Yin Qi, who continued to organize the herbs, feeling as if the other party knew the truth but simply wouldn't tell him.

Immediately, he smiled bitterly and shook his head.

How could the other party possibly know about events from ten thousand years ago?

It would be better to wait until he went out in the future and visited some ancient, inherited major powers; perhaps he could find ancient books with relevant records.

Chen Nan suppressed the melancholy in his heart and said, "Brother Yin, from now on, I hope you can teach me the current language and writing."

Having someone to teach was definitely better than fumbling on his own.

Yin Qi nodded and said, "I can, but it will have to be in a few days; I need to refine a few furnaces of pills."

The Qi Gathering Pills were used up, and both he and Yin Mu needed them.

Furthermore, he was about to complete Viscera Refining, and the subsequent Marrow Refining would also require the assistance of the Marrow Cleansing Pill.

Chen Nan raised an eyebrow: "Pills, for increasing cultivation?"

Yin Qi nodded: "Yes."

Chen Nan frowned slightly; he remembered his father, Chen Zhan, saying that a martial artist should not rely on external forces, especially Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, because it would shackle one's own development.

Thinking of this, he kindly advised, "Brother Yin, as martial artists, we should tap into our own potential rather than relying on external objects; this will shackle our own development."

Yin Qi was startled, then shook his head and smiled: "Brother Chen, your words are biased. If cultivation does not rely on external objects, then what of the Heaven and Earth Qi we absorb? In essence, cultivation is the process of plundering Heaven and Earth to strengthen oneself."

"But..."

Chen Nan wanted to refute, but he didn't know how to say it.

He viewed his father as a peerless hero, so naturally, he believed whatever his father said was the truth.

But what Yin Qi said didn't seem wrong either.

Is Heaven and Earth Qi not an external object?

And "in essence, cultivation is the process of plundering Heaven and Earth to strengthen oneself"—this sounded full of demonic nature, yet upon careful consideration, it was a profound truth.

It was just that Yin Qi was younger than him, and he instinctively felt the other party was inferior to his father.

Yin Qi continued: "Everything in Heaven and Earth, besides Qi, any Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure—even immortal treasures and rare flowers—has impurities, just more or less. If they accumulate in the human body day after day, they will indeed shackle one's own progress."

"But as long as one masters the method and knows how to clear and refine these impurities, then there are no concerns."

"Another factor is psychological."

"If one relies entirely on external objects to improve cultivation, one will form a psychological dependence, leading to degeneration and neglect of cultivation."

"Over time, this will also imprison one's own progress." Chen Nan nodded thoughtfully and asked in return, "Won't you?"

Yin Qi's tone was calm but revealed incomparable determination: "Everything in Heaven and Earth is for my use, just like eating and drinking. Would we slack off in our training just because eating and drinking are easy?"

Chen Nan was speechless.

He looked at Yin Qi and had the feeling of facing his father, Chen Zhan; every sentence was full of deep meaning.

………

Five days later.

Yin Qi finished his Alchemy session.

This time, he obtained a total of ten Marrow Cleansing Pills and eighty-five Qi Gathering Pills.

Ten Marrow Cleansing Pills were enough to allow him to cultivate to the Marrow Refining Peak.

As for the Qi Gathering Pills, they were daily consumables.

Yin Qi walked out of the Alchemy Room and found that Chen Nan was not there. After asking his mother, he learned that Chen Nan had gone into the mountains to hunt; the other party did not want to eat and live for free in the Yin Family and wanted to earn money to buy a house.

Please... you.... bookmark 6... 9... shu....!

"Mother, these are thirty Qi Gathering Pills. You should also cultivate more when you have time. I might go out to travel in the future. With cultivation, you can protect yourself even if you encounter danger."

Yin Mu said nervously, "You are going out to travel? When?"

Yin Qi said, "In another year. My current cultivation is still a bit low, and it would be dangerous to go out now."

Although Yin Mu was reluctant, she knew her son possessed great ambitions and that she could not keep him by her side, so she could only nod and say, "Alright, I will practice diligently later."

……

At dusk.

Chen Nan returned carrying a plump grouse, told Yin Qi that he had hunted a wild boar weighing over five hundred jin today and sold it for three gold coins, and asked Yin Qi how much money it would take to buy a courtyard near the Yin Family.

Yin Qi told him that ten gold coins were enough for an Ordinary courtyard.

……

Night fell.

The pharmacy was, in reality, also Yin Qi's study.

Yin Qi taught Chen Nan to read; in fact, the process of learning to read was also the process of learning the modern common language.

In just one hour, Chen Nan learned thirty characters; after all, he was also an intelligent person, his comprehension and aptitude were at least at the Heavenly Grade Immortal Bone level, so his memory was naturally not bad.

At this speed, it would only take one month for Chen Nan to be able to communicate proficiently with others.

Because daily spoken language only required a vocabulary of about one thousand words.

But to read books without obstacles, one needed to master at least three thousand words.

In the end, Yin Qi said, "Too much is as bad as too little; just familiarize yourself with these thirty characters for today. You continue practicing your writing, and I will go out to practice my arts for a while."

Chen Nan thanked him, saying, "Alright, thank you for the trouble."

"No need to be so polite."

Yin Qi smiled, walked out of the pharmacy, and came to the courtyard.

The moonlight was bright today; a full moon hung in the sky, casting endless hazy moonlight.

Yin Qi took out a Marrow Cleansing Pill and swallowed it.

He was already at the Organ Refining Peak, and by taking the Marrow Cleansing Pill, he could step into the Marrow Refining Stage in one go.

Afterward, he set his stance to practice boxing.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Strong winds raged in the courtyard, blowing Yin Qi's clothes until they rustled.

His entire body's Blood Qi was boiling, as if he were a burning furnace, emitting scorching heat.

He did not know how much time had passed when Yin Qi suddenly felt the heat in his body retract, all his pores closed in an instant, and his surging spirit and energy collapsed and converged into his bone marrow, causing the bone marrow itself to vibrate inexplicably.

Marrow Refining, complete!

Following the breakthrough to the Marrow Refining Stage, an even more majestic aura erupted from within Yin Qi's body.

Chen Nan walked out of the pharmacy at this moment.

He looked at Yin Qi practicing martial arts in the courtyard, his heart incomparably shocked.

Not only because Yin Qi's momentum was majestic, almost reaching the Second-Tier Peak, but also because Yin Qi's entire body was actually emitting terrifying Blood Qi, simply like a furnace heated until red.

What kind of profound art is this? (End of chapter)