I offered sacrifices to the gods

Time flies, and more than a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

During this year, Lin Mo's training was very simple, focusing mainly on the cultivation of supernatural powers.

The rest of the time was spent tending to the spirit tree, going to the Golden Sun Hall to take the Qi-Nourishing Pill, watering the Dragon Blood Treasure Tree once a month as usual, and studying the "Supreme Contemplation Sutra".

The intense and fulfilling days of cultivation passed quickly. If it weren't for having to go to the Golden Sun Hall every now and then to take Qi-Nourishing Pills, Lin Mo would have almost forgotten about the life-or-death crisis he was facing.

"After studying the 'Taishang Guanxiang Jing' for a year, I have finally seen a glimmer of hope for successful spiritual practice."

During this time, he constantly consulted the abbot and Elder Wu about questions related to divine consciousness, and finally gradually came to understand what kind of power it was.

When a cultivator advances to the Visualization Realm, they must open their sea of ​​consciousness and condense their divine soul.

After successfully condensing one's own divine soul, one can use the power of divine sense, which is one of the biggest characteristics of the visualization realm.

What is the spirit/soul?

Elder Wu answered in this way: "The soul is the manifestation of the cultivator's original spirituality, transcending the physical body and reflecting the heavens and earth."

"The soul resides in the sea of ​​consciousness; it is both the root of awareness and the pivot of life, and is another manifestation of the self."

After much reflection, Lin Mo finally understood what the soul was and how the power of divine consciousness manifested.

He has finally mastered the profound and obscure "Taishang Guanxiang Jing" and can now attempt to cultivate it, using his Candle Illumination Realm cultivation to utilize his divine sense power ahead of time.

This method requires opening a soul aperture at the center of the forehead, filling it with one's own life fire, and then using this secret method to visualize one's own existence.

The life fire hidden in the soul aperture is used as an alternative kind of divine soul, thereby activating the power of divine consciousness.

Once mastered, one has entered the realm of enlightenment, and the success rate of advancing to the visualization realm in the future can be increased by 20% to 30%. With the help of the soul aperture, opening the sea of ​​consciousness will also be much easier.

In addition, the "Taishang Guanxiang Jing" can also help cultivate the soul. With daily practice, one's soul strength can become increasingly powerful.

"The soul can transcend the physical body, yet it cannot abandon the physical body."

"I see..."

Inside the cave, Lin Mo focused intently on circulating the "Supreme Visualization Sutra," using this method to visualize himself.

As time went by, the area between his eyebrows gradually began to feel hot, and even became somewhat stinging.

However, Lin Mo endured the pain, knowing that he was opening his soul aperture.

The stinging sensation between his eyebrows lasted for an entire day, growing increasingly intense. When a tearing pain finally struck, Lin Mo even wondered if his head had exploded.

It worked!

A new soul aperture appeared between his eyebrows. This aperture was formless and intangible, yet its existence could be truly sensed.

The most difficult step has been completed. Next, all you need to do is guide the life fire into the soul aperture, and then you can try to visualize yourself and transform the life fire into an alternative kind of divine soul.

Being able to use the power of divine sense in the Candle Illumination Realm is truly remarkable!

In the blink of an eye, several days have passed.

Lin Mo, inside the cave, had a slight thought, and an invisible and intangible power emanated from the soul aperture between his eyebrows.

The next moment, the entire scene inside the cave came into his view, and he could even clearly observe his own existence.

This is the power of divine consciousness!

"It's so strange. But this is just a simulated alternative soul. If one reaches the visualization realm, one can do even more with the help of divine sense."

Lin Mo sighed and used his divine sense to thoroughly observe his entire body.

Soon, he finally discovered the divine imprint that the abbot had placed on him.

There were three marks in total, located on his forehead, the back of his head, and his chest!

After confirming this, Lin Mo's lips twitched slightly. He thought to himself that the abbot was really cautious. One mark wasn't enough, so he actually planted three divine sense marks on him.

However, he did not dare to rashly try to conceal or remove these divine imprints, because if anything unusual happened, the abbot would definitely react immediately.

Before long, the life fire in his soul gradually weakened, and the vision provided by his divine sense also became blurred.

Power gained through trickery will ultimately not last.

But for Lin Mo, this was enough. Being able to use his divine sense at the Candle Illumination Realm was like having an unexpected trump card.

...

Several days later, in the Golden Sun Hall.

This time, the abbot prepared more supplies for Lin Mo, including a Qi-Nourishing Pill as always, a large piece of demonic beast flesh, and two dark red pills.

"Master... what is this?" Lin Mo asked, puzzled.

"You've been stuck at the early stage of the Candle Illumination Realm for a year now. Without the help of some external aids, it's hard to say how long it will take to break through this bottleneck."

"Eat it all, and you will break through to the mid-stage of the Candle Illumination Realm today."

The abbot waved his hand, and all the cultivation resources flew to Lin Mo's front.

Looking at these valuable supplies, Lin Mo's lips twitched slightly.

He only stayed at the early stage of the Candle Illumination Realm for about a year. For an ordinary cultivator, it is very likely that they would stay at this realm for more than ten years, or even several decades.

Now his foundation is completely destroyed, the spiritual energy in his dantian is chaotic and disordered, and the burning of his life fire seems vigorous, but it is not solid.

Under the supervision of the abbot, Lin Mo had no choice but to bite the bullet and do as he was told.

The unknown beast's flesh and blood had already had its malevolent energy refined away; he only briefly burned it with his life fire before it was completely cooked.

The aroma of roasted meat filled the hall, and Lin Mo tore into it without hesitation.

Before long, a whole piece of roasted monster meat was gone.

boom!

A rich life essence surged within his body, and the life fire in his dantian burned even more intensely.

"Don't just stand there, hurry up and activate the Blood Transfer Scripture!"

Urged on by the abbot, Lin Mo belatedly began to circulate the "Blood Transporting Scripture," and two internal blood and qi pillars formed in his body's meridians.

With the essence provided by the flesh and blood of the demon beast, his blood and energy became vigorous again.

Soon, the third internal blood energy pillar was formed.

It was at this moment that his "Blood Transporting Scripture" was successfully cultivated to the point of mastery.

His blood surged like a gushing spring, and Lin Mo's complexion became much rosier. At this moment, his physical body became even stronger.

"roar!"

Within his body, the probability of the Imperial Dragon Qi surged once again, and the faint sound of a dragon's roar could be heard emanating from it.

Once the "Blood Removal Scripture" is mastered, one can expel the waste blood from the physical body every so often, allowing the body to replace its own blood.

From then on, watering the Dragon Blood Tree once a month was no longer a burden for him.

Feeling the essence and blood constantly filling his body, Lin Mo's pupils shone brightly.

The opportunity to break through to the mid-stage of the Candle Illumination Realm has arrived!

Without even needing the abbot's reminder, he picked up the Qi-Nourishing Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.

boom!

The immense spiritual power nearly pierced through his dantian, his aura surged, and the chaotic spiritual power within his dantian continued to surge.

Finally, the bottleneck of the mid-stage of the Candle Illumination Realm collapsed with a roar.

Lin Mo has entered the mid-stage of the Candle Illumination Realm. In less than two years, he went from the initial ignition of his life flame to breaking through to the mid-stage of the Candle Illumination Realm.

Such astonishing speed! It's comparable to the legendary geniuses of ancient times described in ancient texts.

However, this breakthrough not only caused his bottleneck to collapse, but also destroyed his foundation in the Great Dao.

The magical power accumulated in his dantian was far too vast. It was not something he had acquired through his own cultivation, but rather it was increased by external objects like the Peiyuan Pill.

Such immense magical power was extremely complex and chaotic, making it impossible for Lin Mo to control it freely.

His eyes widened as he watched in disbelief as the immense spiritual energy within his dantian began to surge and rage wildly.

It's about to self-destruct!

Soon, the abbot appeared in front of Lin Mo in a flash, and placed his aged hand on Lin Mo's shoulder.

A sharp surge of spiritual energy invaded his body, suppressing the turbulent spiritual energy along his meridians.

"Indeed, too much of a good thing can be bad."

The abbot's expression was solemn, but he was not helpless. As if he had expected this, he took the two dark red pills from his hand and put them into Lin Mo's mouth one after the other.

"This is a Spirit-Stabilizing Pill, which can temporarily suppress the restless spiritual energy within your body."

"If you don't want your spiritual energy to backfire and cause you to explode and die, take this opportunity to gather your spiritual energy and regain control over it."

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo had a fleeting thought of disregarding everything, letting his spiritual energy run rampant, and simply self-destructing to take the other person down with him.

But he understood that doing so was pointless; he had already witnessed how powerful cultivators in the visualization realm could be.

Even if it were to self-destruct at close range, it wouldn't necessarily harm the opponent in the slightest.

After swallowing two Spirit-Stabilizing Pills, the dark red energy instantly sealed off every meridian in his body.

All the chaotic spiritual energy immediately quieted down.

Lin Mo breathed a sigh of relief and took the opportunity to gather all the spiritual power in his body and bring it back under his control.

After a long while, once the effects of the Spirit-Stabilizing Pill wore off, he was able to move freely again.

"Let's go back. We can slow down our cultivation progress for a while, but we can't delay our practice of the Blood Transporting Scripture."

"In a little over a year, it will be the Ancestor's 500th birthday. The cultivation traditions of the four kingdoms in the Southern Region will all send envoys. Before that, you must cultivate the Blood Transporting Scripture to perfection."

The 500th birthday celebration of Taoist Jinyang?

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo felt a slight ripple in his heart. That towering figure who surpassed the entire Yu Kingdom had actually lived for so long!

"Your disciple obeys!"

Without lingering, Lin Mo left the Golden Sun Hall.

The abbot watched his retreating figure until, after a long while, he sighed softly, "It seems I can only stop at the mid-stage of the Candle Illumination Realm. Extending my lifespan by more than thirty years is barely enough."

...

Upon returning to his cave, Lin Mo noticed a note that had been left there at some unknown time.

The inscription read: "After the Ancestor's birthday celebration, it is time to open the furnace and refine the elixir."

An outsider might not understand the meaning of this seemingly random statement, but to Lin Mo, it was like a thunderclap exploding in his mind.

In other words, in a little over a year, the abbot will use him to refine medicine.

No wonder he was instructed before leaving to perfect the "Blood Transporting Scripture" before the 500th birthday of Daoist Jinyang.

Lin Mo's heart sank to the bottom. He only had a little over a year left, yet he had not yet completed the "Wu Xin Zuo Shan Guan" technique!

After all, it is an earth-based supernatural power. He did not cultivate earth-based techniques. Even if he cultivated the Stone Skin Technique to the great perfection, it would not be an easy task to master this supernatural power.

"Time is running out..."

If he hadn't mastered his supernatural powers before this, he wouldn't have been confident he could survive in the abbot's bronze cauldron.

We need to hurry!

With this thought in mind, Lin Mo returned to his cave and devoted all his attention to cultivating the "Wu Xin Zuo Shan Guan" technique.

Time flies, and several months have passed in the blink of an eye.

There is only one year left until the birthday celebration of Ancestor Jin Yang!

Lin Mo's life has truly begun its twelve-month countdown.

He felt as if a sharp sword was hanging over his head, ready to fall when the time came.

Since breaking through to the mid-stage of the Candle Illumination Realm, the abbot has stopped summoning him, instead giving him a lot of time to cultivate his supernatural abilities.

The news of Ancestor Jinyang's 500th birthday also spread, causing a sensation throughout the entire Yu Kingdom.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this Taoist Jinyang was no different from a terrestrial immortal. He had lived in the world for five hundred years, and there were shrines and temples dedicated to him all over the country.

"Five hundred years old...that's truly a long life."

"May the Golden Sun Immortal bless us with favorable weather and bountiful harvests year after year..."

"..."

The 500th birthday of the patriarch of the temple naturally requires a large portion of the celebration, so Jin Yang Temple began preparations a year in advance.

First, he announced it to the world, then he levied spirit rice from all over the country and ordered the royal family to cast an even more magnificent pure gold statue.

The entire Yu Kingdom mobilized in earnest for this birthday banquet.

Lin Mo, however, remained immersed in the cultivation of "Wu Xin Zuo Shan Guan".

Another surge of pure earth elemental energy emanated from his cave, revealing a bright yellow crystal.

"Finally, I'm no longer Huang Yuanshi!" Lin Mo opened his eyes and sighed.

In the past two years, while cultivating his supernatural powers, he has not forgotten to collect the earth's energy to condense earth-based spiritual objects.

There were occasional failures during this period, and sometimes what was refined was still yellow ochre.

At this point, he had finally refined the third type of earth-based spiritual object, named Xuanhuang Crystal!

At that very moment, a series of illusory words burst forth.

In his mind, a celestial palace appeared.

[Successfully completed the second pilgrimage to the statue of the Earth Deity, and obtained the "Heart Sutra of Thick Earth"]

[Next pilgrimage reward: "Mountain Seal"!]

Before Lin Mo could even check the rewards he had received, he sensed a massive amount of earth elemental energy converging from all directions.

Soon, his mind stirred slightly, and taking advantage of this hard-won opportunity, he intensified his cultivation of the "Wu Xin Sitting Mountain Pass"!

boom!

At that moment, he felt his body become incredibly heavy, as if he were about to merge with the entire Golden Sun Peak.

Not only that, his physical body also began to petrify. Although it looked like a body of flesh and blood, it was incredibly hard, like a mountain rock.

He finally mastered the "Earth Heart Sitting on the Mountain Pass"!

...