Cultivation: Beginning with the Heart Reflecting Heaven and Earth

"The Celestial Aperture? That's a bit of a pipe dream!"

After returning to his residence, Lu Qian pressed the jade slip close to his mind and looked through the information inside, immediately feeling a sense of absurdity.

To cultivate the Zhou Tian Xing Qiao (a type of acupoint), the first step is to draw upon the power of the stars, and this first step alone is enough to kill 99% of people.

"Unless one possesses a special physique related to the stars, forcibly draws stellar power into their body using formations, or consumes specific stellar-related spiritual items, what kind of person can draw upon stellar power during the Qi Refining stage if even one of these conditions cannot be met?"

"Of course, even without a formation, you can still achieve this by utilizing special terrain. I can do that too, though the effect will be a bit weaker."

Lu Qian's spirit sank into his inner world. With a thought, countless glittering stars appeared above his head, within easy reach. "The stars that are conjured in my inner world are somewhat different from the stars in the outside world, but not by much. So this step is not difficult for me. The next step is to open the star aperture."

"These star apertures are divided into primary apertures and secondary apertures. The primary aperture must have a physical part to rely on, and one aperture can contain one spirit. The secondary apertures are illusory and can be opened around the primary aperture to assist its function."

"After the main aperture is opened, a little thought will settle down, becoming the spirit of the star aperture. By nurturing it constantly, it can develop a little intelligence to assist itself."

"The only problem is that the opening of the star apertures should ideally be done in one go, and they are mostly in vital locations. For example, when opening the eye aperture, if you're not careful, your eyes will explode. And the heart aperture, if you make even the slightest mistake, your heart will explode, and you'll die instantly."

The Star Aperture must be opened in one go, mainly because its nature is illusory. If it cannot be opened in one go, it will dissipate. Moreover, ordinary people cannot maintain the power of the stars, so it is impossible to accumulate progress slowly. If one has a physique related to the power of the stars, perhaps the process can be extended a little, but it cannot be sustained for too long.

"Furthermore... to create a star aperture from nothing, one must use the power of stars to outline a tiny talisman in an instant. This is called a seed of knowledge, which is essentially a seed of supernatural power. Only after the seed of knowledge takes root can something be created from nothing and a star aperture be created in the flesh and blood."

"Supernatural powers... these are things that only those at the Golden Core stage can cultivate. Even if they've been simplified a lot, their essence remains the same. Is this really something I can even begin to understand?"

Even with his inner world, Lu Qian lacked confidence in mastering the Zhou Tian Xing Qiao technique. This technique was far too demanding, a veritable collection of troubles. It required a certain physical constitution, was prone to danger if one was not careful, required speed of completion, and demanded some understanding of supernatural powers and talismans. He doubted that even a Golden Core cultivator would find it difficult to master the Zhou Tian Xing Qiao technique.

"For me, everything else is barely manageable, but this Seed of Knowledge is something that I'm afraid I can't comprehend in a short time. After all, my comprehension isn't particularly outstanding. My advantage lies in the fact that I can try and fail infinitely in the world of my mind. But Seed of Knowledge is something that really tests one's comprehension. If I want to grind it down over time, it will definitely take a considerable amount of time."

Lu Qian was somewhat helpless. He only wanted Chu Liu to recommend a body-refining technique, but Chu Liu brought back the Zhou Tian Star Aperture and the Twelve Yuan Chen Sword Formation instead. Chu Liu's answers were completely irrelevant.

However, the Zhou Tian Star Aperture also has a body-strengthening effect. Especially after the Star Aperture is formed, with the help of the Star Aperture Deity, it will greatly enhance the part or organ where it is located. Moreover, it can absorb the power of stars to strengthen the body. Theoretically, it is a very comprehensive and powerful body-strengthening technique.

More importantly, this technique does not rely on spiritual roots. In other words, if someone has five spiritual roots and exceptional comprehension, they can also master the basics of the Zhou Tian Xing Qiao technique, and their cultivation speed will be just as fast, resulting in formidable strength.

"Want to break free from the limitations of spiritual roots? So start with the power of stars. But such a technique cannot be widely promoted. Perhaps only one in ten thousand cultivators can even get started. It can only be said to have some effect in very rare cases."

Regardless of the purpose for which the Zhou Tian Xing Qiao was created, it had nothing to do with Lu Qian. After much deliberation, he decided to give it a try first. Theory is no substitute for practice; it would be difficult to understand the situation without trying it himself.

First, he used the Zhou Tian Xing Qiao technique to draw in the power of the stars. This step went very smoothly. Lu Qian's head was surrounded by stars, and he couldn't draw in any star power, so he couldn't get into the air.

Then open the acupoints in the heart...

Lu Qian tried to channel the power of the stars into his heart, but he couldn't find a suitable spot. Seeing that he was about to lose control of the power of the stars, he simply opened a star aperture at random place. As a result, his heart exploded with a loud bang.

"The location of the star acupoint varies depending on the individual's physical condition. I need to slowly find a suitable location to open the heart, and at the same time, slowly learn to outline the seed recognition. With both methods working together, I should be able to see some results within one or two months."

For others to attempt to emulate the divine seed, regardless of their comprehension, the mental and physical exertion would become unbearable simply by practicing enough times.

But Lu Qian doesn't need to worry about this kind of problem. He can restore his original state at any time in his inner world and practice quickly again and again. Even a pig can learn something.

Lu Qian then continued to study the Twelve Yuan Chen Sword Formation, which was simpler than the Zhou Tian Star Aperture, but not by much. In fact, nothing related to formations was simple.

To master the Twelve Yuan Chen Sword Formation, one needs to multitask, using flying swords to set up the formation. Later, one will also need to craft a special formation diagram, which will further enhance its power.

In the mid-stage of Qi Refining, you can learn the most basic Three Talents Formation. If you can master it, its power is considerable and cannot be compared with ordinary spells.

In the later stages of Qi Refining, one can learn the Six Yin Formation, which makes one invincible among those of the same level and allows one to fight against opponents of higher levels. The downside is that the true Qi of the Qi Refining stage cannot sustain combat, so one must fight quickly.

Lu Qian is only at the early stage of Qi Refining. If he learns the Three Talents Formation, he might be able to put up a fight. However, he doesn't even have a flying sword. It seems he needs to buy one and practice before he can do anything else.

As for the basic swords used for chopping wood, they cannot be used as flying swords at all. They are just relatively sharp and durable swords, and cannot really be considered magical artifacts.

"Let's continue to optimize our cultivation techniques, seed recognition, and sword formation. It's unlikely we'll see any results in the short term, so let's focus on improving our cultivation first."

Without sufficient cultivation to support it, everything is just an empty castle in the air, beautiful but useless, and will shatter at the slightest touch.

In the end, Lu Qian still bought a few bottles of Huangya Pills. There was no point in keeping the contribution points. He also didn't go to the Scripture Pavilion to choose a body-refining technique. Since he already knew there were better techniques, it wouldn't be good to just choose randomly.

After two days of continuous grinding in the Heart World, Lu Qian finally optimized the Furnace-Filling Technique again, and it could now run for five cycles. At this time, Chu Liu finally sent word that the alchemy matter was settled.