...
In these familiar waters, Red-Scaled Eels are few in number and hard to come by, and even if you are lucky enough to encounter one, ordinary fishing nets would be torn apart. Catching one requires a combination of luck and skill.
Of course, if you venture into the territory of the Desolate Swamp Evil Water, Red-Scaled Eels become less rare. However, this uncharted and perilous land is likely teeming with dangerous creatures, and even those at the Spirit Platform Realm who wander recklessly could face mortal danger.
With Wang Dinghai's harvest of this Red-Scaled Eel, the atmosphere suddenly reached a peak, as the fishermen eagerly repaired their nets and continued their spirited endeavors.
Wang Dinghai personally led Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui aboard the boat, and they set sail back to Dingpu Ferry. After reuniting with a few remaining Household Generals, they returned all the way to the main residence.
As night fell, after cleansing themselves, they went to bed for rest.
That night, Wang Shouzhe groped his way into a state of Black Tortoise Cultivation. Due to the fusion of memories, after a brief familiarization, he entered the right track of cultivation.
The Cultivation Technique Wang Shouzhe practiced was called the "Wang's Profound Origin Technique" Qi Refining Chapter, said to be a method passed down by the earliest ancestors.
This technique cultivates a Profound Origin Qi Force that is balanced and harmonious. It possesses no outstanding strengths but also no fatal weaknesses. However, the further one cultivates in the later stages, the thicker their Profound Power becomes, revealing its subtlety.
Qi Refining Realm!
This is the process by which a Black Tortoise Practitioner refines Profound Qi and strengthens themselves through the purification of Profound Qi. The pure Profound Qi travels along the meridians and acupoints, nurturing them while stimulating each acupoint. These acupoints then generate invisible energy waves in a mysterious rhythm, which spread throughout the body, causing the circulation of blood and Qi to resonate.
As Profound Qi circulates through more acupoints in the body, the strength of this blood and Qi resonance intensifies, until twelve acupoints are successfully linked into a closed loop, and the consumption of Profound Qi reaches its limit, elevating the resonance of blood and Qi to a peak.
Suddenly!
A refreshing sensation spread instantly from the tailbone throughout the body. Wang Shouzhe felt a tingling in his scalp, as if his soul were about to float out, with a mist-like aura rising from the top of his head.
The entire process lasted for ten breaths or so. The intense resonance of blood and Qi within him subsided like a receding tide, transforming into a formless energy that converged toward his lower belly.
A murky breath was expelled from his mouth, and in the empty Qi Sea, a newly born stream of Profound Qi surged like a bubbling spring, soon filling the Qi Sea.
At this moment, Wang Shouzhe could vaguely feel that the newly born Profound Qi in the Qi Sea had grown slightly stronger than before, and his previously tired energy seemed to have recovered significantly, appearing somewhat more powerful.
This completed one cycle of "Profound Origin Technique" cultivation. The practice of Black Tortoise Cultivation is a long and accumulative process, where all formidable individuals are formed through such painstaking accumulation.
However, in this process, there is a significant consumption of blood and Qi. Black Tortoise Practitioners must supplement themselves with food and Elixirs to replenish blood and Qi. Otherwise, such cultivation not only brings no benefit but also depletes blood and Qi to the detriment of the body.
The deeper Black Tortoise Practitioners advance in their cultivation, the stronger their demand for food and nutrition becomes. This is why they establish Noble Families, capitalizing on the family's form to acquire wealth and abundant resources to support themselves.
Fortunately, Wang Shouzhe recently had abundant nutrition, with vigorous blood and Qi, without refinement.
Assessing his current condition, he immediately began a second cycle...
By dawn, in about two hours, Wang Shouzhe had completed four whole cycles of cultivation. At this point, he felt extremely energetic, with seemingly endless energy within him, clearly sensing some progress in his Cultivation Realm.
However, the previously abundant blood and Qi within his body had been greatly consumed. He could feel a sense of "hunger" from his body, which differed from the usual feeling of an empty stomach, yet was peculiar and distinct.
At the same time, he also felt some "soreness and swelling" and discomfort in his acupoints and meridians. Experience told him that even if his blood and Qi were abundant, he should not continue cultivation in this state. It was necessary to allow the overburdened acupoints and meridians to naturally recover.
Nevertheless, the progress was gratifying. Based on his previous life's memory and experience, evaluating his current situation, Wang Shouzhe felt that if he could make such progress every day, he would have a chance to break through the bottleneck and reach the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm in less than three months.
It's just that achieving such an ideal state is almost impossible under normal circumstances. After a large consumption of blood and Qi, relying solely on ordinary food for replenishment is very slow. A substantial amount of Spirit Rice and Spiritual Food is needed for supplementation.
Even as the first sequence in the allocation of clan cultivation resources, Wang Shouzhe currently receives just five catties of White Jade Spirit Rice, five catties of Spirit Fish Flesh, and five catties of Spirit Horned Yak Meat per month!
This amount of energy-rich high-level ingredients is sufficient for him to eat five meals, averaging a replenishment every six to seven days. Additionally, being in the family's primary cultivation sequence, he is allotted one Minor Primordial Cultivation Pill per month.
The Minor Primordial Cultivation Pill is a higher-grade cultivation resource compared to Spiritual Food, but it is priced at ten Qian Gold each, making it extremely expensive. Clan members further down the cultivation sequence can only request one from the clan when they are about to break through a cultivation tier as an auxiliary aid.
If he could eat Spiritual Food every meal and have a Minor Primordial Cultivation Pill every day, Wang Shouzhe estimated that his cultivation speed would take off...
"Patriarch, your breakfast is here." The servant Wang Gui knocked on the door from outside.
"Come in."
Wang Shouzhe got up from the bed, while Wang Gui entered and placed the breakfast aside. After serving the Patriarch to wash and brush his teeth with clear water, he then opened the food box and arranged the contents.
"Huh? A large bowl of White Jade Spirit Rice Porridge, and steamed Spirit Fish preserved fish chunks?" Wang Shouzhe looked curiously at his exquisite breakfast, which, besides the two precious spiritual foods, included several pastries and side dishes to accompany the porridge.
He knew this breakfast was not a regular setup. Though eating spiritual food at every meal could rapidly replenish blood and Qi and maximize cultivation progress, there is a principle of diminishing marginal utility at work here.
Particularly with frequent consumption, it inevitably leads to considerable nutrition wastage, reducing the cost-to-benefit ratio.
The Wang Family is too poor to afford such a luxurious style of cultivation. Moreover, the family has its rules; even a Clan Leader cannot arbitrarily exploit other clan members.
"Patriarch, this was delivered by Miss Xia He, who is by Lady Gongsun's side," Wang Gui honestly responded, "She said that Lady Gongsun prepared the breakfast personally at dawn. She also brought a message from Lady Gongsun, saying that the Patriarch is at a critical juncture of rushing the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm, so no need to be overly polite."
Indeed!
Wang Gui's words confirmed Wang Shouzhe's speculation. This was Lady Gongsun Hui's share of rations, spared for him. Especially her message of not being overly polite, which preempted Wang Shouzhe's excuses.
Alright then, don't waste Lady's heartfelt intention.
Besides, he believed the future of the family would become brighter and better. At least, with his efforts yesterday, the future earnings of Wang Dinghai's fishery fleet would more than double, significantly alleviating the strain on family resources.
A meal full of Spiritual Food slightly replenished his depleted blood and Qi, and as the food was digested and transformed, the blood and Qi grew fuller.
After eating and drinking to his fill, Wang Shouzhe contemplated visiting other clan industries to conduct inspections. Whether he liked it or not, he was now completely bound to the Ping'an Wang Family.
And as the Clan Leader, the helmsman, he should have comprehensive knowledge of each aspect of the clan so that he can contemplate the situation as a whole and find ways to revitalize this declining family.
...