"From the information Qin Yuan shared about cultivation, the cultivation system in this world consists of many stages," Zhu Tian murmured inwardly as he slightly lowered his head. "The first stage is Qi Condensation, the second is Foundation Establishment, then Core Formation, and so on."
His thoughts slowly sank into the information he had just received. This world was far more structured than he had imagined, yet at the same time, it felt strangely familiar. As if everything he had read in novels all these years had never been mere fantasy, but rather vague reflections of the reality he was now standing in.
To step onto the path of cultivation, one had to first prepare a solid physical foundation—strong enough to contain, endure, and absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth.
"I used to do fairly extreme workouts to train my body," Zhu Tian sighed softly to himself. "I thought that if my body was strong and healthy enough, maybe I could sense spiritual energy."
Those memories resurfaced in his mind. Long-distance running until his body trembled, hours of breathing exercises, forcing himself beyond his limits. He did all of that for a single goal—one that might sound ridiculous to others.
"But the result was nothing," he continued bitterly. "I tried to sense spiritual energy while my body was at its peak… yet there was nothing at all."
Zhu Tian had indeed pushed himself into extreme exercise because he was obsessed with becoming a cultivator. Every cultivation novel he read made his heart tremble. For some reason, all those concepts felt reasonable to him. They didn't feel like empty fantasy, but rather something humanity simply had yet to fully understand.
Zhu Tian believed that within the universe existed a fundamental energy—an energy that maintained cosmic balance, kept stars in motion, allowed natural laws to function, and stabilized reality itself. If such energy existed, then cultivation was not impossible.
Slowly, Zhu Tian emerged from his contemplation. He reached for a scroll written on bamboo slips and carefully unrolled it. In truth, he could have simply asked Qin Yuan to explain everything directly. However, doing so would cause the "senior" image he had built to collapse.
Instead of asking directly, Zhu Tian chose to request information in a different form. In his mind, this was how a senior should act—receiving written reports, as if merely reviewing the state of the cultivation world in this era. Like a high-level existence simply verifying something he had long known.
Some matters had indeed been explained verbally by Qin Yuan, but the rest were recorded in this bamboo scroll. Zhu Tian took a meditative posture on his seat and began reading with full focus.
"Qi Condensation," Zhu Tian murmured inwardly, recalling Qin Yuan's explanation, "is the process of gathering, controlling, and compressing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the body, until a stable flow of energy is formed—one that obeys the cultivator's will."
He slowly drew in a breath.
"The process of entering Qi Condensation begins with forcibly absorbing spiritual energy," Zhu Tian read from the bamboo scroll. "Then drawing that spiritual energy into the body through every pore. The spiritual energy must not be dispersed throughout the body, but instead be forced to gather within the dantian."
Zhu Tian's brows furrowed slightly.
"At this stage, pain will arise," the text continued. "Spiritual energy that is too dense will press against the internal organs, meridians, and even the bones, creating a sensation as if the body is being crushed from within."
Reading this, Zhu Tian couldn't help but feel a chill spread across his body. Yet moments later, that fear was replaced by a sharp, resolute light in his eyes.
"No matter what," he thought firmly, "I've been given a chance. I won't waste it."
Yes, this had always been Zhu Tian's dream—to step onto the path of cultivation. A dream he once could only embrace in his imagination now lay vividly before him. Without hesitation, he cast aside his lingering fear and steeled his resolve.
Zhu Tian placed the bamboo scroll beside him. He adjusted his sitting posture, straightened his back, calmed his breathing, and began to meditate. His eyes closed, his thoughts gradually quieted, and his body relaxed as much as possible.
Time passed.
However…
"I can't sense spiritual energy at all," Zhu Tian muttered dejectedly in his heart. "Hah… my talent really is trash."
He opened his eyes and let out a long sigh. Ten minutes had passed, filled only with complaints and disappointment. There was not the slightest change—no warmth, no cold, no flowing sensation as described in the bamboo scroll.
At that moment, Zhu Tian suddenly remembered something extremely basic.
He hadn't eaten.
Since arriving in this world, Zhu Tian had not put anything into his stomach. After all, he was still an ordinary human. More than five hours had passed since he arrived here, and even before that, back in the modern world, he hadn't had time to eat either.
Without hesitation, Zhu Tian called out for Qin Yuan, who had just finished resting. After a short while, Qin Yuan arrived. His complexion looked slightly better, his skin healthier, and his aura more stable.
Zhu Tian asked Qin Yuan to prepare food and drink.
Hearing the request, Qin Yuan looked somewhat confused. In his mind, he wondered why a senior would still need mortal food. Yet he did not dare question it further and simply accepted the order.
Zhu Tian also requested that food and drink be prepared regularly—morning and night.
At times, Zhu Tian wondered whether these demands were excessive. However, Qin Yuan always answered that they were not excessive at all, though fear was still clearly visible in his eyes. After all, Qin Yuan regarded Zhu Tian as a terrifying high-level existence—one mistake could easily lead to death.
Once all arrangements were settled, Qin Yuan returned to his residence near the mountain, behind the waterfall, entering the cave he had carved out.
Zhu Tian resumed meditation after finishing his meal. The first day passed without results. The second day was the same.
But on the third day…
As he calmed his breathing, Zhu Tian suddenly felt something different.
Extremely faint.
Almost imperceptible.
But… it was there.
Spiritual energy.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, Zhu Tian successfully sensed it.