Chapter 18: Cultivation Method

This cave sanctuary should qualify as a safe haven.

In the main storyline of "Cangyuan," the protagonist faces circumstances identical to those he now endures—pursuers hot on his tail, and given that the plot had already entered its midsection, these hunters were capable of driving the mid-stage hero into chaos across the land. Naturally, they were no mere amateurs.

Though perhaps not as capable as Ran Qingmo of floating through the air, navigating the cliffs and rooftops to locate someone was still within reach.

Still, despite all this, none of the pursuers had ever found the protagonist hiding within this cave sanctuary.

It must be that something external to the cave—some object or incantation—was blocking their perception.

With that thought, Xu Yuan's gaze swept once more over the entire sanctuary.

At first awakening, he had failed to notice it, but now, as he looked again, he realized the sanctuary had no entrances or exits.

It resembled a hollow cavity seamlessly embedded within the mountain's body.

The way he and Ran Qingmo had been drawn inside must have been through activating a pre-set teleportation array.

By combining memories from the past with current information, he had reached a general conclusion that this sanctuary was safe—only then did he truly relax.

After traversing so many days, it wasn't until now that he had truly found temporary safety.

Thinking this, Xu Yuan exhaled softly.

If his method of transmigration had been any more advanced, he might have already been returned by his original body's father's men to become the second-generation prodigy heir.

Instead, here he was.

Xu Yuan shook his head, deciding to put the thought aside.

He had never been one to fear problems.

When a problem arose, complaints were useless—what mattered was finding a solution. A simple truth.

Sitting by the ice jade bed, Xu Yuan used the faint glow of the night pearl embedded in the stone wall to begin flipping through the scroll in his hands, titled *Blood Origin Heart's Fall Technique*.

This was the only viable method currently available to resolve the incompatibility between his body and spirit.

Though he had already obtained a Blood Spirit Fusion Pill, he could not consume it directly.

A medicine carries three parts poison—beneficial as it may be to cultivators, such a elixir could prove deadly to ordinary mortals.

The Blood Spirit Fusion Elixir, a concoction forged from myriad top-tier celestial treasures, contains a vast and overwhelming source of qi—something utterly beyond the capacity of Xu Yuan, an ordinary man, to absorb.

To consume it directly would likely result in a violent and sudden death.

Fortunately, he holds this Blood Yuan Heart-Phoenix Scripture in his hands.

This text is the very key to stabilizing his body and spirit.

"To face death and rise anew—through refining body and soul," the manual states.

Yet when theory becomes reality, Xu Yuan could never expect to master it as easily as he once did in the game, merely clicking a button to instantly learn.

For a moment,

within the cramped cave, only the faint rustle of turning pages from paper books remained.

Silence reigned.

Ran Qingmo quietly regulated her breath and healed her wounds, while Xu Yuan silently read through the techniques.

Time ticks by, slipping away—how long has it been?

At the head of the bed, Xu Yuan suddenly closed his book, exhaled deeply, and leaned back against the headboard, closing his eyes and drifting into thought.

This was the first time he had truly encountered the cultivation techniques of this world.

There was wonder, there was excitement—but mostly, confusion.

They were all Chinese characters. If read separately, he understood them perfectly. Yet when put together, they eluded him entirely.

What were Qi-source meridians? What was Bai Hai Pulse? What did it mean to absorb Qi into the body? What was the Heart Source and Mind-Soul?

Who am I?

Where am I?

What are these things?

Why can other transplanted individuals grasp the technique instantly and begin practicing—while I can barely read the characters?

"........."

Silence.

He rubbed his temples hard, his thoughts tangled and intricate.

Clearly,

the blood-red ranked technique—this very rare and exclusive method known as *Xueyuan Xin Yin Jue*—was not something suited for beginners.

To put it simply,

you've already mastered the Chinese characters; now go ahead and attempt to build a nuclear bomb by hand.

After reading through it thoroughly, the only thing he gained was a rough understanding of the initial steps involved in beginning the *Xueyuan Yinxing Jue*.

Take the Eryu Dan and the Xue Ling Rong Shen Dan and consume them together.

The first stage of Eryu Dan will directly impact the meridians hidden throughout the body’s limbs and organs.

Compared to cultivators, ordinary people suffer from blocked and unopened meridians.

Just as Ranzhengmo previously could not use Qi to aid Xu Yuan, an ordinary person in healing his injuries, the impact of Er Yun Dan causes the meridians being affected to physically split open.

When meridians are completely ruptured, the body enters a state of near-death.

At this extreme state of near-death, the spirit essence begins to dissipate.

At this moment, the second stage effect of Er Yun Dan spreads out, accelerating the dispersal of spirit essence by countless multiples.

If this continues, death is inevitable.

Yet, the effect of Xue Ling Rong Shen Dan works to refine the spirit essence, reuniting the scattered spirit essence.

These two opposing effects—completely divergent—merge together, further enhanced by the cultivation technique of Xue Yuan Xin Yun Jue.

The spirit essence is continuously broken apart and then reformed, repeating this cycle endlessly, until the body and spirit essence achieve perfect harmony.

And through these repeated near-death experiences, the immense effect of Xue Ling Rong Shen Dan also serves to repair the damage to both body and spirit essence.

Practicing this life-from-death Blood Essence Heart-Collapsing Art was a perilous dance with mortality, where a single moment of absent-mindedness during the brink of dissolution, a mere failure to circulate the technique in time, meant absolute and final demise.

Yet, standing in stark contrast to such catastrophic danger was an extraordinarily bountiful reward.

Once the threshold was crossed, not only would the body and soul condense to an absolute solidity, but all one hundred and twenty-seven meridians within the physical frame would be completely cleared and opened.