Courtyard Houses: From Bronze Compasses to Global Reach

Chapter 112 Thirty Years in Space - The Eight Meridians Fusion Yuan Pill and the Sword's Cry

After calming down completely, Lin Yan found Lin Gang and briefly instructed him: "Lin Gang, if Wenbin and Jiaming come looking for me, tell them that I have an urgent matter at home and need to return to the United States to handle it. My return date is uncertain. I will contact them again when I get back." Lin Gang calmly agreed.

After making the arrangements, Lin Yan went straight into the Qiankun Space, determined to undergo a long period of seclusion to thoroughly solidify his foundation and seek a breakthrough.

Within this space, the river of time flows silently; a day outside is equivalent to a year here.

Within this space, time seems to accelerate; a day outside is equivalent to a year here.

The most important thing is still cultivation. The Foundation Building chapter of the "Creation Technique of Heaven and Earth" is far more difficult than imagined. Ordinary cultivation methods can absorb spiritual energy and refine it into a ball of true essence. But he needs to condense and compress the absorbed pure spiritual energy in the eight major spiritual root meridians of his body, and finally form a drop of pure and shining true essence liquid at the end of each spiritual root.

This was already a painstaking and mentally taxing process. However, this was only the beginning. The real challenge lay in guiding these eight drops of true essence, each with different attributes and surging energy, yet subtly repelling one another, to the dantian, and then using secret techniques to perfectly fuse them into a single drop of "Heaven and Earth True Essence," which contained all eight attributes yet was perfectly integrated.

Each fusion was like a miniature storm within his dantian. The eight energies collided, repelled, and tore at each other, bringing pain and a sense of loss of control that almost ripped him apart. Failure was the norm; often, the energy would dissipate before the eight drops of true essence could even fuse, sometimes even backfiring on him, causing his blood and qi to churn and requiring a long period of recuperation to recover.

Lin Yan, however, possessed extraordinary patience and resilience. He failed time and time again, summarizing his experiences each time. His divine sense was highly concentrated, like the most precise instrument, regulating the output and balance of every bit of energy, sensing the subtle principles of mutual generation and restraint between different attributes. Time flew by in countless attempts and adjustments of his breath. His face was sometimes pale, sometimes flushed, and the spiritual energy around him fluctuated constantly due to his efforts.

After countless failures, the first drop of perfectly fused "Qiankun True Essence" finally floated in his dantian. Though tiny, it was incredibly stable, radiating a purity and depth far exceeding that of ordinary Foundation Establishment True Essence! The joy of success was brief yet inspiring, and he immediately threw himself into the next round of condensation and fusion.

This cycle repeated itself endlessly, tedious and painful, yet he could clearly feel his own tangible progress, bit by bit. When he successfully pushed his cultivation to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment, and the five drops of Qiankun True Essence within his dantian slowly rotated like stars, radiating a vast and stable power, nearly eighty years had quietly passed in the space! The difficulty and time taken in this process would be enough to leave any so-called genius speechless if it were to be reported back to the cultivation world. But Lin Yan knew that this extremely slow process had yielded a solid foundation that was unimaginable to those of the same level.

Having temporarily halted his cultivation, Lin Yan did not rest, but instead turned his attention to alchemy. He could already easily refine a full batch of top-grade pills for the Qi Refining stage, but the pills for the Foundation Establishment stage were the real challenge. He found the Pill Master and stated that he wanted to conquer several types of pills commonly used in the Foundation Establishment stage: the "Five Elements True Essence Pill" to increase true essence, the "Life-Generating Blood Pill" to quickly heal injuries, the "Purple Mansion Spirit-Nourishing Pill" to nourish and strengthen divine consciousness, and the "Heaven-Returning Qi-Replenishing Pill" to instantly replenish a large amount of true essence.

The medicinal materials required for Foundation Establishment stage pills are far more precious, and the processing methods are several times more complex. Lin Yan once again demonstrated his astonishing obsession. He strived for perfection in every detail, from identifying the properties of the herbs to processing them.

When refining the "Five Elements True Essence Pill," the energy of five auxiliary ingredients must be balanced and integrated into the main ingredient. Even a slight imbalance in the heat can result in a lower grade or, in severe cases, a conflict between the medicinal properties and an explosion in the furnace. He failed dozens of times, adjusting the order of adding the ingredients and the heat curve time and time again, scanning every change in the furnace with his divine sense, until he finally succeeded and was able to consistently produce top-grade spiritual pills.

The "Life-Generating Blood Pill" emphasizes a continuous cycle of medicinal power. When condensing the pill, a life-giving incantation must be infused using a special technique, and timing is crucial. He practiced repeatedly, exhausting his mind and energy, until he could precisely complete the technique at the moment the medicinal power reached its peak, achieving the magnificent life-giving phenomenon when the pill was made into a top-grade product.

He had previously refined the "Purple Mansion Nourishing Spirit Pill" for the purpose of refining the soul, but this time the requirements were even higher. He sought to ensure that the medicinal power that nourished the soul was completely contained within, without any leakage, thus achieving a flawless and supreme product.

The most difficult one was probably the "Rejuvenating Qi Pill," which required the medicinal properties to burst forth in an extremely short time, demanding extremely high standards for the purification of medicinal materials and the speed of pill condensation. He worked almost non-stop, breaking down the entire process into countless minute steps and repeatedly optimizing them, finally achieving a state where, at the moment the furnace was opened, the pill was of the highest quality, and its medicinal energy surged like a dragon!

For every type of elixir, he adhered to the principle of "never giving up until he had refined a whole furnace of the finest quality," honing the alchemy process to the point of instinct. This extreme pursuit consumed another thirty years of his life, but his alchemy skills had firmly reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, and his divine sense had become increasingly refined and acute under this extreme control.

Having achieved some success in both cultivation and alchemy, Lin Yan finally remembered the need to thoroughly understand his two thousand Golden Core cultivators. He gathered them all together and patiently inquired about their strengths. And when the swordsman named "Ling Jue" demonstrated his swordsmanship, Lin Yan's gaze was instantly captivated!

It was no longer a simple slashing and thrusting, but an art of perfect fusion of true energy, sword techniques, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth! The sword light flowed, sometimes as swift as lightning, sometimes as heavy as a mountain, containing boundless power and beauty. Lin Yan's deep-seated obsession with the "sword" was instantly ignited—a yearning that originated from the depths of his soul.

He immediately and respectfully sought instruction from Ling Jue. Seeing his sincerity, determination, and solid foundation, Ling Jue said, "The way of the sword is boundless, but it begins with the basics. I will then impart to you three foundational sword techniques, to be learned step by step."

*Basic Sword Essence Technique* (No Rank, Foundation Establishment Beginner): This is not a killing sword technique, but rather the foundation for cultivating the way of the sword. The focus is on teaching how to smoothly infuse true essence into the sword, how to make the sword an extension of the arm, and how to nurture the sword with true essence, cultivating a "sword sense." The principle of true essence circulation is simple; the key is consistent practice to achieve resonance between the true essence and the sword.

Lin Yan began by correcting his sword-holding posture, repeating the simplest thrusts, slashes, and upward parries thousands of times every day, feeling his true energy flow from his dantian, along his meridians to his arm, and then steadily into the sword. It was extremely tedious, but he practiced with great relish, clearly perceiving and adjusting the subtle differences in each output of true energy.

When one reaches mastery, the flow of true energy into the sword is unimpeded, as natural as an extension of one's arm or fingers. The sword hums softly, and its sharpness increases dramatically, laying the most solid foundation for learning subsequent sword techniques.

The "Flowing Light and Shadow Sword Technique" (Mid-Foundation Establishment) pursues ultimate speed and unpredictability. The circulation of true energy focuses on specific meridians in the legs and arms, bursting forth instantly. Simultaneously, it requires multitasking, manipulating the true energy to create subtle, disruptive sword shadows at and around the sword tip. The true energy is required to be divided into two streams: one for speed, bursting forth along the Foot Shaoyang Meridian to enhance movement speed; the other for illusion, flowing along the Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian to the sword tip, surging and overflowing to create a mesmerizing afterimage.

Lin Yan first practiced differentiating sword shadows while stationary, starting with a single blurry phantom and gradually increasing to two, three, and so on, while maintaining sword speed. Initially, he often struggled to manage both, resulting in scattered sword shadows or insufficient speed. He practiced tirelessly, becoming a blurry figure in the training room, his sword light dazzling. He often failed due to insufficient precision in controlling his true energy, but he repeatedly analyzed his mistakes and tried again.

This sword technique boasts incredible speed, making it difficult to pinpoint the true form of the sword. While the resulting sword shadows lack substantial offensive power, they effectively disrupt the opponent's judgment. Once mastered, it often provides a significant advantage against cultivators of the same level. Lin Yan, having reached a minor level of mastery, can now create two solid sword shadows, striking with lightning speed.

The "Thousand Layered Waves Sword Technique" (High-Grade Foundation Establishment) emphasizes the continuous accumulation and overwhelming power. The circulation of true energy is continuous and inexhaustible, with the power of each sword strike partially retained and superimposed on the next, like waves advancing layer by layer.

The true energy flows through the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin and the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming, forming a cycle. After each sword move is completed, some of the true energy is not completely released, but is cleverly guided to circulate and merge with the true energy injected later, making the next sword strike even more powerful. This requires a high level of control over the true energy and strength of the meridians.

Lin Yan initially struggled to grasp the "swirling and overlapping" power, often losing his strength with a single strike. He repeatedly studied the mental techniques, adjusting his breathing and the rhythm of his true energy output, starting with the simplest repetitive slashes, feeling the subtle sensation of power circulating between the sword and his body. The process was extremely arduous, consuming a great deal of physical strength and true energy, leaving him nearly exhausted after each session.

Once this sword technique is unleashed, its power grows stronger with each strike, each blow heavier than the last, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere. It excels at using force to overcome strength and destroy defenses. Lin Yan has initially mastered the power generation techniques for the first three waves. With a single swing of his sword, the sound of the tide can already be faintly heard, and the heavy sword wind can even crack the testing stone.

As for the more powerful "Starfall Breaking Sword Technique", Ling Jue said that it requires the late stage of Foundation Establishment or even the perfect stage to attempt it. Lin Yan did not delve into it for the time being, and instead devoted all his energy to practicing the first three sword techniques, especially "Flowing Light and Shadow" and "Overlapping Waves".

He became completely obsessed with swordsmanship, spending almost all his time in the training room except for necessary meditation and recovery. He would repeatedly swing his sword thousands of times on the hard testing stone, feeling every change in his true energy and correcting every subtle angle of his movements. He often practiced until his arms were swollen and his mind was exhausted, but he enjoyed it immensely.

His gaze swept across the space, his heart clear and full. This period of seclusion, long and arduous, had thoroughly tempered him from the inside out. Only four months had passed in the outside world; the prosperity of Hong Kong and the laughter of his friends seemed like yesterday. But this time, though he held no sword, his heart possessed a sharp edge.