Three days after leaving Suotuo City, it was a cloudless night of the full moon.
In the Jianshan Mountain Range, at the junction of the Balak Kingdom, Hagendas Kingdom, and Silves Kingdom, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu found a rather good spot. After setting up alarm measures in the surroundings, they prepared to enjoy the benefits brought by the monthly Moonlight Essence.
Tonight, when the Moonlight Essence descended, Yu Yan did not directly absorb it. He remembered his agreement with Xiao Wu to first fill her second spirit ring before attending to his own cultivation.
The Moonlight Essence was drawn in by Yu Yan and, without any refinement or transformation, was directly transmitted to Xiao Wu, who was currently in her Martial Soul Possession state.
Receiving the Moonlight Essence, Xiao Wu injected it into her second spirit ring.
On the thousand-year second spirit ring, which no longer hid its color, the hue of moonlight appeared due to the massive influx of Moonlight Essence.
This was the sign that the Moonlight Energy was fully stored, representing that Xiao Wu could control more Moonlight Energy and also that she could burst forth with even stronger power in an instant.
Under normal circumstances, it would take a year or perhaps longer to fully store Moonlight Energy. The full-state Moonlight Possession was originally supposed to be a depleting burst state that could only be used after accumulating energy for a long time.
Now, however, because of the addition of a 'cheat' like Yu Yan, it had become a powerful Spirit Ability that could be easily filled and used.
"Yu Yan, the Moonlight Energy stored in my second spirit ring has reached its maximum. We can start cultivating."
Hearing Xiao Wu's reminder, Yu Yan passed a portion of the Moonlight Essence to her, then closed his eyes to begin refining the Moonlight Essence that belonged to him.
Receiving the Moonlight Essence, Xiao Wu also closed her eyes to begin her cultivation.
Dark Snow, lying between Yu Yan and Xiao Wu, could clearly feel the spirit power around her becoming denser once the two began refining the Moonlight Essence.
Soaking in such dense spirit power, Dark Snow stretched herself and worked hard to absorb this high-quality and continuous stream of spirit power.
After a night of cultivation, Yu Yan was only one step away from Rank 24. As long as he cultivated diligently for another three to five days, he would be able to successfully Breakthrough to Rank 24.
"Xiao Wu, show me your Moonlight Possession in its full state?"
Opening his eyes, Yu Yan saw Xiao Wu looking like she wanted to show off her gains from last night. He didn't leave her hanging; he took the initiative to ask, allowing her to follow his lead and show herself off.
"Well then, I'll reluctantly let you see it."
The thousand-year second spirit ring, its color no longer altered by the Cang Feng Secret Art, appeared, and Yu Yan immediately noticed its change.
On the purple circular spirit ring, an extra ring of patterns shimmering with Moonlight Energy had appeared; the moonlight it emitted was coming from these patterns.
Looking closely, one could even find rabbit elements within these patterns.
As Yu Yan leaned in to carefully observe the spirit ring, Dark Snow also came over, leaning in to look closely at this circle emitting purple light, even extending her claws as if to touch it.
A spirit ring not being actively used by a Spirit Master is composed of energy. Xiao Wu was merely maintaining the spirit ring without using its Spirit Ability, so the Spirit Cat's claws naturally couldn't touch the glowing ring.
After her claws passed through the energy-composed spirit ring, she refused to believe it, raising her paws and swiping repeatedly at the purple circle in front of her, only to fail again and again.
The cat's energy was frighteningly high; she didn't get discouraged by being unable to touch the purple circle. Instead, she seemed to grow more determined with each failure.
Seeing Dark Snow's attitude starting to become irritable, Xiao Wu, who had been watching her, reached out and patted Dark Snow's head. After saying "Stop messing around," she pulled her into her arms.
Dark Snow, who was initially a bit resistant, was stroked a few times along her fur by Xiao Wu and then lay obediently in her arms, no longer causing a fuss.
"How about it? Were you shocked by my second spirit ring?"
After soothing Dark Snow, Xiao Wu looked at Yu Yan, her questioning tone full of pride.
"I'm a bit envious. I didn't expect your spirit ring could have such a change. Show me your Spirit Ability?"
Saying he was envious of Xiao Wu's Spirit Ability wasn't just to make her happy; he really was a bit envious. If possible, Yu Yan also wanted to add some pattern decorations to his own spirit rings.
Xiao Wu didn't dawdle. After her Martial Soul Possession, she activated her Second Spirit Ability. Moonlight Energy appeared on her body, and the filled Moonlight Energy was a full two times more than before.
With so much extra Moonlight Energy—
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The Meditation Technique can be defined as:
A practical system that trains the mind, enhances inner awareness, and achieves inner peace by consciously guiding attention and cultivating specific mental states (such as focus, mindfulness, and compassion).
Active Process: Meditation is not passive dazing or 'thinking of nothing,' but actively guiding and adjusting attention and awareness.
Mental Training: Like physical exercise for the body, it trains our mind, enhancing its flexibility, stability, and strength.
Core of Awareness: The core goal of most meditations is to enhance awareness—the ability to clearly perceive the present moment (including inner thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and the external environment) without judgment.
Diverse Goals: Different meditation methods have different focused goals, such as stress reduction, enhancing focus, cultivating compassion, gaining insight, and pursuing spiritual growth.
Main Types of Meditation (Based on Focus and Method)
Focused Meditation:
Core: Concentrating and stabilizing attention on a single object.
Objects: Breath (most common), a candle flame, a word (such as 'peace' or 'Om'), sounds (singing bowls), a part of the body, an imagined image, etc.
Process: When you notice your attention wandering, gently bring it back to the target object. This process is repeated, much like training an attention muscle.
Goal: To enhance focus, stabilize the mind, and reduce mental scattering. It lays the foundation for other deeper meditations.
Mindfulness/Open Awareness Meditation:
Core: Maintaining an open, non-judgmental awareness of any experience that arises in the present moment (thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, sounds, smells, etc.), without clinging to any specific object.
Process: Like a vast, calm sky, allowing all 'clouds' (various experiences) to float by, simply observing their existence and changes without trying to grasp or push them away. The focus is on awareness itself, not the content.
Goal: Cultivating deep awareness of inner and outer experiences, reducing automatic reactions, enhancing emotional regulation, increasing understanding of impermanence, and achieving deeper peace and acceptance.
Compassion and Loving-Kindness Meditation:
Core: Consciously cultivating positive qualities such as loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
Process: Usually by silently reciting specific phrases (such as 'May I be safe/healthy/happy/at ease,' 'May you be safe/healthy/happy/at ease'), sequentially directing warm and friendly intentions toward oneself, loved ones, neutral people, difficult people, and even all sentient beings.
Goal: Softening the heart, reducing hostility and judgment, enhancing empathy and connection, and improving well-being.