After He Kao took the elixir with Xing Rui last time, his Alchemy Cauldron Skill progressed beyond Tier Three, and now he has successfully advanced to Tier Four.
In the eyes of others, this can be considered rapid advancement, but for He Kao, it's not too surprising, because he already had Tier Five cultivation, with the Insect Concealment Skill as his foundation; the Alchemy Cauldron Skill is merely an auxiliary practice.
He Kao's cultivation has never slackened. After breaking through Tier Five, he must experience a state wherein every movement and rest becomes cultivation, and further, he must train various applied techniques to the point where they can be executed instantaneously.
In his spare time, He Kao also participated in the construction of Floating Colors Grotto Heaven, assisting in the creation of grotto buildings and various landscapes, which also served as a honing of Divine Power.
But recently, He Kao has felt the so-called "bottleneck," not as something obstructing his progress, for Divine Power continues to grow steadily yet slowly.
However, no matter how he cultivates, it is merely an increase in quantity rather than a change in quality. Moreover, it is foreseeable that this quantitative increase will only slow down, approaching a certain limit.
This is actually the normal state of cultivation for most people; breaking through realms is not so easy.
To break through the realm of cultivation, one must first accumulate sufficiently and achieve perfect merit and conduct, secondly align one's mind and body with the requirements, and sometimes even require some indescribably mysterious opportunity.
After millennia of exploration, the Magic Sect has summarized many experiential rules, including various advancement rituals.
An advancement ritual is akin to a sort of foolproof tutorial: once the ritual is completed according to the requirements, it signifies that merit and conduct are perfected, and the mind and body are attuned to a certain state, making it highly likely to successfully advance.
For instance, the traditional ritual for a Tier One Diagnoser's ascension to Tier Two Acupuncturist involves aiding a patient in restoring health and cultivating entry-level Observing Body Skill.
The latest ritual for a Tier Two Scholar's ascension to Tier Three Appraiser is to personally craft a commonly recognized item, secretly replace the original, remaining unnoticed, and gain public approval.
According to the Magic Sect's rules, afterward the item must be switched back.
Some rituals are relatively simple, while others are quite challenging, yet breaking through from Tier Five to Tier Six has never had any referable rituals; it fully relies on personal cultivation insight, and is considered a formidable gap.
Therefore, true genius disciples do not follow existing rituals to break through cultivation realms, and the Magic Sect encourages and values this approach.
As for He Kao, his cultivation experience is even more unique; the Hidden Moth Sect has been extinct for a millennium, with hardly any advancement rituals to speak of, many experiences he has to explore on his own, not to mention how to become a Tier Six Master Yan.
At this stage, many choose to cultivate various applied techniques or cross-train techniques from other sects in hopes of gaining insight into the breakthrough opportunity during this process.
Following the experiences of predecessors, He Kao also has been cross-training various sect techniques during this period.
To his embarrassment, among the three elders, Jiang Daozhen is his main mentor, yet he happens to be still entry-level in the Lingxi Skill. As for Li Xiuyuan's adept Spirit Awakening Skill, he could barely advance to Tier Two.
Heart Plate Skill and Micro-Entry Skill, however, have advanced to Tier Three.
Observing Body Skill and Alchemy Cauldron Skill, have progressed to Tier Four.
From the height of cultivation view, he approaches Tier Five Perfection but always feels not yet perfect; however, from the breadth of cultivation view, considering his age, it's already exceptionally rare.
Since Mei Guyu noticed his Alchemy Cauldron Skill had already advanced to Tier Four, he explained that lately, his focus was on the Alchemy Cauldron Skill's auxiliary practice, and after dual cultivation with Steward Xing Rui, he broke through Tier Three.
Of course, what is meant here by dual cultivation is all legitimate training, merely taking pills together. And today, after "dual cultivation" with Sect Leader Mei, as if blessed by mental fortune, the Alchemy Cauldron Skill naturally progressed to Tier Four…
Mei Guyu laughed upon hearing: "It's said that you're an independent cultivator, a secret disciple of some elder, either Elder Jiang, Elder Gu, or Elder Li.
Had I not been born a generation later, and hadn't come to Qi Yuan before, given your current Alchemy Cauldron Skill cultivation, someone might speculate—you're my secret disciple."
He Kao suspected she might have guessed something, perhaps even teasing him, but he had no evidence, only able to awkwardly laugh, saying: "Hasn't the Magic Sect yet initiated the next generation's discipleship?"
Mei Guyu put away her smile and said: "Then let it start from today; it's about time. Later, I'll contact the Ancestral Hall."
The so-called beginning of the next generation's discipleship means disciples like He Kao and Mei Guyu can formally take apprentices. This matter Mei Guyu can decide, and the other elders in the Ancestral Hall have been waiting for this day.
The Magic Sect also has customary rules, where disciples must usually be at least twenty years younger than their mentors, so conventionally, Mei Guyu couldn't take He Kao as an apprentice. Even if she wanted to teach him something, it could only be under the name of acting as a mentor-in-waiting.
In the latest generation of Magic Sect disciples, like Mei Guyu and Wei Luo, their age indeed is not yet apt for taking apprentices, but for those like Qian Guran, their age is already considerable, and they can formally recruit the next generation of disciples.
Unexpectedly, a major affair affecting the Magic Sect's structure was decided in a seemingly idle chat between him and Mei Guyu, making it awkward for He Kao to continue speaking on this topic.
Thus, he asked the most important question: "I already have Fifth Realm cultivation, but recently feel unclear about which realm I have truly cultivated to, such as whether I'm perfect, what counts as perfection, and what to do after perfection?"
Mei Guyu glanced up at him: "You mean to ask how to break the gate?"
He Kao quickly shook his head: "I know there's no answer to this question, just want to ask how to achieve perfect merit and conduct?"
Mei Guyu asked a seemingly unrelated question, "How many Pure Yang Pills have you taken?"
He Kao answered truthfully, "Actually, I've been taking Peony Pills all along."
Mei Guyu: "When taken together, the spiritual effects are the same, primarily enhancing one's cultivation aptitude."
He Kao: "Today is my fourth Pure Yang Pill, the first two were taken with Steward Wei Luo, and the last one with Steward Xingrui... Is it a bit too much?"
Mei Guyu: "Although too much is unnecessary, there's no harm in it either. Taking pills is your chance. I once read in the Alchemy Sect's classics a record about our predecessor Tan Jun, Immortal Tan, who also crafted two furnaces of Pure Yang Pills a thousand years ago.
Unlike the current Magic Sect, which combines everyone's efforts, Tan Ancestor crafted two furnaces of Pure Yang Pills on his own.
The classics didn't record his precise pill-taking methods, like the Peony Pill or the Tai Chi Yin Yang Array, but it did mention that Tan Ancestor invited everyone to take pills together, granting them karma.
Some only took it once, while others were invited to take it multiple times. As for Tan Ancestor himself, he took the pill seventy-two times."
He Kao let out a sigh of relief, "I see, now I'm reassured... Thank you for the guidance, and thank you for your elixir!"
What was he relieved about? Of course, it was about taking the pills. He had already consumed four Pure Yang Pills and had five more, two from Mr. Mi and three of his own.
As for today's Pure Yang Pill and the accompanying Peony Pill, they were distributed by the Ancestral Hall to Mei Guyu.
Mei Guyu: "Actually, I should thank you too. After all, finding someone to take pills with is not easy and saved me quite a bit of trouble."
It's true; in her current state, Mei Guyu couldn't take the pills alone and needed someone to accompany her, someone she could respect and trust wholeheartedly, which was hard to find.
Everyone knew Elder Mei had a Pure Yang Pill, and many wanted to find her to take it together. But she chose He Kao, and once the pill-taking was over, the troubles were gone as well.
He Kao thought for a moment and said, "Elder Mei, I have a request. I have more Pure Yang Pills; after you break through to Tier Seven Cultivation, may I invite you to take pills with me again?"
Mei Guyu laughed, genuinely happy, and nodded, "Sure, I'll bring you along then!"
After agreeing, she thought for a moment and asked, "Some time ago, you went to Phoenix Tail Town for a lecture. What did Elder Zong Zheng advise you?"
He Kao: "He advised me on breaking illusions before breaking the gate, but my understanding is still lacking. I heard that he once advised you too; could you share your experience?"
Mei Guyu laughed and shook her head, "No real experience to share, and even if there were, it might not suit you. I can only tell you one thing—go do things that align with your cultivation.
For example, back then, my main focus was sword training. This might not be suitable for you, depending on what you're cultivating."
He Kao was still somewhat persistent and asked, "Is there anything special about breaking illusions before the gate?"
This time, Mei Guyu surprisingly gave a clear answer, she blinked and said, "Yes, of course. Breaking illusions before the gate is just an easily understandable phrase, without a specific order.
If you can't do it, there's nothing else to say, but if you can, often you don't realize you're in the Illusion Realm until you've broken through."
He Kao: "What you said sounds a bit mystical, I didn't quite get it,"
Mei Guyu: "Let me give you an example: breaking through Tier Six Cultivation requires breaking the Illusion Realm, and the prerequisite for that is to verify entering the Illusion Realm. Back then, I was training with the sword in the mountains, nurturing the sword heart without realizing I was already in the Illusion Realm.
I was just practicing sword normally, and when I achieved Great Success in sword control, my cultivation also achieved Great Success."
He Kao remarked with great interest, "Your experience is indeed mystical!"
Mei Guyu added meaningfully, "If you could also achieve that, it's possible you're in the Illusion Realm right now, including the scene of taking pills and our conversation, possibly all an evolution of the Illusion Realm."
He Kao shivered inexplicably at her words, instinctively looking around and then glancing at the shadowy sky above the trees, patting his chest, "What you said is a bit scary!"
Mei Guyu actually giggled, showing a face of succeeded strategy, "I didn't say it definitely is, just that it's possible. Surprised, huh? So, I can only tell you to go do things.
Don't ask me more, the pill-taking is done; I suggest you enter the realm to nourish and consolidate the spiritual effects."
For a moment, He Kao was genuinely startled by Mei Guyu, instantly feeling a blur between reality and illusion. He then calmed down, sat in meditation, and didn't practice any technique, just nurturing his divine qi.
Meanwhile, Mei Guyu was quietly watching him, with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
**
