There was a lot of symbolism in Gu Zhi's staircase and that seemed to have a positive effect on his soul. More so than most of the previous iterations he had tried. The stairs themselves could have many different meanings and interpretations. But to Gu Zhi it represented his cultivation journey. For every step his soul took it was a step towards a greater cultivation for Gu Zhi. This typically means a greater foundation for him. In this case a step back would mean lost progress, a damage to his cultivation and his foundation. So whenever his soul took a step forward he noticed that his soul would have just a little bit more power to it. However the longer he went up the staircase the harder it was. As that is the nature of cultivation. The higher you climb the harder it is to climb higher. This is just one of the many reasons for Gu Zhi obsession with foundation in regards to cultivation. That being said although it was harder for each step there was more reward that came with it as well - as that also follows the nature of cultivation. In this way he has recreated his cultivation journey in a simpler and more symbolic way. As a result this proved to be a very effective way to temper his soul. That being said it was also the first way that he has found such consistent success with. That did not mean that it was the best way.
Gu Zhi went more radical with his next approach and tried something strange. He changed the entire environment to that of a giant beating heart with his soul meditating inside of it. For each beat of the heart his soul grew stronger in sync with the rhythm of the heart. To make it even better he synced up the rhythm of the heart in his spiritual domain with the one he has in his body. He looked at the changes and compared them to his previous one. If he had to guess however he would say that the progress between this one and his last were largely the same. While his first experiment was more symbolic this one was more personal. Although they both had their advantages he would wager that they both will result in a similar powerful soul given the same time. While the heartbeat one would give him better control over blood and his body, the power of his soul would be the same as the cultivator's journey one if not a little less. The cultivator's journey one however will have greater bottlenecks and even greater breakthroughs that come with it. He could also imagine that for this instance it would benefit his cultivation more while his heart idea would benefit his combat prowess more.
'Taking the ideas of my first instance and second instance together I would need something that is both symbolic and personal to a high degree. That would be what's best for my soul.'
Although the cultivators journey instance was personal, it wasn't as personal as his heartbeat one. For the heartbeat one even though it was more personal, it wasn't as symbolic as his cultivators journey one. Gu Zhi pondered on the topic deep in his mind as he went through scenario after scenario in his head. Until the idea hit him like lightning and he had sudden epiphany.
'THAT'S IT!'.
An idea unique to him, a soul that will only be his. With an environment that describes him as a person and a highly symbolic meaning.
He changed the environment to be pitch black with nothing but darkness to surround his soul. As he wrapped in around in pitch black chains that chained him to the ground. Covered in chains his soul was bound, as he made it wear a blindfold over his head leaving nothing but his ears, nose, and mouth as the only things not covered.
'Yes, this is it' Gu Zhi thought to himself with a smile on his face.
He was done that was it... for now. His soul would slowly grow in power, biding its time with patience and waiting for the perfect moment... to become alive and break free from its chains.
It was symbolic on many levels. It described his personality of stoic patience only to erupt forth in passion when the time comes. It described his blindness, a sea of nothing but darkness with only his hearing, smelling, taste and touch to guide him. It described his bloodlust: how he would be calm and tame, until he erupted forth with furious violence during crucial moments. It was both highly symbolic and personal, and with it, came the rewards.
His soul was now gathering power faster than any of the other scenarios or techniques he used. In reality that was quite the small amount and it would take years to see progress but for a foundation building cultivator it was more than any of them could ask for.
'Perhaps it was on the same level as some highly inadequate nascent soul cultivators.'
Though Gu Zhi knows he was being delusional. There was no such thing as an inadequate nascent soul cultivator as just making it to nascent soul proved your own adequacy. It was however a true soul technique that fit Gu Zhi like a glove and all it took him to achieve was one month. If some people heard that they would claw out their eyes in envy.
As Gu Zhi exited secluded cultivation he had a smile on his face that went from ear to ear.
"Well it looks like someone had some great success in this month. Just in time too the auction is about to start" said Gu Xiao as she was taking care of Gu Bo.