There are some things that, no matter how much pain you endure or how much more effort you put in compared to others, you simply cannot achieve. The heavens favor those with extraordinary talent.
Just like Xu Taiping at this moment.
He had tried six times, and even though he endured the pain, he still failed to break through.
Even Lingyue Immortal Maiden, standing beside him, couldn't help but doubt—could ordinary mortals truly cultivate in this world of cultivation?
In her original world of cultivation, ordinary mortals could indeed cultivate with the help of elixirs. However, in this cultivation continent, the spiritual energy was scarce, and the heavenly laws were far more stringent than in her original world.
Looking at Xu Taiping, who was drenched in sweat on the bed, and then at the lightning flashing outside the window, Lingyue Immortal Maiden's expression was very solemn.
At this moment, she even regretted giving Xu Taiping hope, regretted not meeting this young man at the peak of her power.
Xu Taiping, however, wasn't thinking too much about it.
These repeated failures didn't discourage him; after all, he had always been like this from a young age.
When he was hungry, he found food himself; when he fell, he got up himself; when he was sick, he climbed the mountain to gather herbs.
"The power of the Qi Gathering Pill seems to have decreased a lot. One more time... one more time..."
Xu Taiping, numb from the pain, said to himself, and then without hesitation, he once again fully opened all his body's acupoints and fully activated the Residual Afterglow Technique.
When he again channeled all his true qi to冲击小丹田 (impact the small dantian), the intense pain still made him involuntarily let out a pained groan.
Just as his consciousness began to blur, two voices suddenly echoed in his mind—
"The clearer the pond water, the more it can only produce fish and turtles. Only the rivers and seas can nurture dragons. Therefore, the first realm of cultivation, the Gateway Realm, is also called the Gateway to the Sea. Do you wish to be the fish and turtles in the pond, or do you want to be the dragons in the sea?"
"Taiping, fight for your breath, fight for the breath of all ordinary mortals in this world!"
These two voices, like rolling thunder, continuously echoed in Xu Taiping's mind, resonating with the thunder outside the window.
"Grandfather, I... I... I won't give up!"
Xu Taiping, who had been closed-eyed, suddenly opened his eyes and roared almost like a lion defending its territory.
Lingyue Immortal Maiden was startled by Xu Taiping's sudden outburst.
She thought Xu Taiping had made a mistake in his true qi circulation, leading to a mental breakdown. However, her tense expression soon turned to surprise.
She saw Xu Taiping, with his eyes wide open and head tilted back as if facing something, suddenly surrounded by the Residual Afterglow true qi, which began to spin violently. It then formed a large vortex,疯狂地牵引天地灵气灌注入许太平的身体 (madly drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into Xu Taiping's body).
Lingyue Immortal Maiden could sense that the spiritual energy within a few miles of the surrounding forest was being absorbed into Xu Taiping's body through the Residual Afterglow Technique.
"Using divine consciousness to connect with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth... This... This should be a skill one acquires after mastering the second level of the Residual Afterglow Technique, right? But this young man... He doesn't even have the qualifications to practice the second level. How did he comprehend it?"
Lingyue Immortal Maiden was shocked.
She didn't know much about the Residual Afterglow Technique, but most cultivation techniques taught the skill of using divine consciousness to connect with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth at the second level, just like what Xu Taiping was doing now.
"Without a teacher, he can learn on his own. Could it be... instinct? The instinct for cultivation? Could he be the legendary Clear Mind Daoxin?"
A startling thought popped into Lingyue Immortal Maiden's mind.
In her original cultivation continent, there were many talented geniuses, but those with the Clear Mind Daoxin might only appear once in a thousand years.
"Letting an ordinary mortal have the Clear Mind Daoxin, Old Heaven, how cruel, how sinister, how ridiculous!"
Lingyue Immortal Maiden couldn't help but curse in her heart.
The Clear Mind Daoxin is indeed a rare and enviable talent, and many of the legendary Daoist origin techniques can only be inherited by those with the Clear Mind Daoxin.
However, it is also the constitution most likely to attract extraterrestrial demons, especially during breakthroughs. Ordinary cultivators usually only attract extraterrestrial demons after becoming high-level cultivators, but those with the Clear Mind Daoxin might attract them during their first breakthrough. A single mistake could lead to the demon entering their body, ultimately causing them to fall into the path of demons and suffer eternal damnation.
If Xu Taiping had good spiritual bones, it would be better, but he was just an ordinary mortal. The path of cultivation was already perilous, and now with the backlash of the Clear Mind Daoxin, his future cultivation path could be described as a matter of life and death.
If she could, Lingyue Immortal Maiden would rather Xu Taiping had dull cultivation talent than the Clear Mind Daoxin.
At this moment, the Residual Afterglow true qi swirling around Xu Taiping suddenly retreated into his body, and a wave of pure spiritual energy spread out from within him.
"Is he about to break through?"
Seeing this, Lingyue Immortal Maiden frowned.
If it were earlier, she would have been overjoyed to see Xu Taiping about to break through. However, after realizing he might have the Clear Mind Daoxin, she couldn't help but worry.
Suddenly, another wave of spiritual energy rippled around Xu Taiping.
Above his head, three different colored gas clouds—lead, gray, and white—gathered.
This was the sign of a cultivator about to break through a realm.
"There's no choice. If it's really an extraterrestrial demon, I'll have to use the last Nirvana Fire Spell I borrowed from the Buddhist sect. I'll just sleep for a few decades if necessary."
Lingyue Immortal Maiden quietly stood in front of Xu Taiping, her beautiful hands quickly forming a strange seal, her eyes glowing with a menacing light as she stared at the stormy window, and coldly said:
"Anyone I, Chu Lingyue, protect, even the Demon Lord cannot touch."
At that moment, the thunder outside and the spiritual energy fluctuations inside Xu Taiping's body echoed together, and the entire world fell into a deathly silence, with the thunder, wind, and rain sounds disappearing.
Xu Taiping breaking through the Gateway Realm wouldn't cause such a phenomenon. The only thing that could cause such a phenomenon was an extraterrestrial demon.
Not to mention a small sect like the Qingxuan Sect, even the top-tier sects on Chu Lingyue's original cultivation continent couldn't completely prevent the descent of extraterrestrial demons.
Chu Lingyue's lips curled up.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
A cold, sinister wind suddenly broke through the window of the small courtyard, and a huge, pitch-black hand slowly extended in from outside the window.
The hand, like a pool of ink, swallowed the light from the lamps inside the room as it entered the window.
In front of the extraterrestrial demon, the outer boundary of the Green Bamboo Residence was nothing but a decoration.