Initially, Ding Yan thought that in his view, the practice of internal energy was nothing more than gathering and refining elemental energy. So, when he was in the Lotus Valley, Ding Yan mostly read ancient books related to tribulation. As for the cultivation methods, he had never read any of them.
"No wonder there are no cultivators in this world who cultivate the elemental infant. It seems that the gathering of elemental energy also involves completely different methods. But if that's the case, doesn't that mean I still have to find other cultivation methods?" Ding Yan came to his senses and pondered.
"Never mind, let's not think about it for now. The priority is to cultivate the Qi Condensation five-layer, then refine the Foundation Establishment Pill," he thought. With that in mind, Ding Yan focused on practicing the unnamed fist technique.
With the execution of the fist technique, Ding Yan clearly felt the elemental energy of the surrounding heaven and earth flowing through his meridians, meandering through the seven main acupuncture points and the eight extraordinary vessels, and finally settling in his dantian.
For martial artists, gathering energy in the dantian leads to internal power, while for cultivators, it is a way to store the elemental energy of heaven and earth. Once these elemental energies reach a certain level of condensation, they give birth to what is known as elemental force, which is the foundation of a cultivator.
In the world of scattered immortals, when elemental force accumulates to a certain extent, it will attract the heavenly tribulation. The stronger the elemental force, the more severe the heavenly tribulation. However, on the other hand, the stronger the tribulation passed, the more benefits the cultivator will receive.
Nevertheless, the heavenly might is unpredictable, and the inner demons are intangible!
Since ancient times, the heavenly tribulation has been the nightmare of all cultivators. Even in his previous life, Ding Yan, when he reached the stage of tribulation, was firmly suppressed and dared not to use his full strength during the mid-tribulation. The faint elemental force traversed through Ding Yan's meridians, and at that moment, the previously concealed injuries within his body began to slowly heal. His breakthrough in cultivation not long ago stabilized, and he began to advance toward the fifth layer of Qi Condensation.
Time passed day by day. In the ordinary days, apart from brewing wine, Ding Yan would spend time at the beach, practicing the unnamed fist technique.
Within a small village outside a thatched cottage, Ding Yan, resembling an elderly man, was practicing the unnamed fist technique in the courtyard.
"Uncle Ding, are you practicing that useless fist technique again?" A boy of eight or nine years old quietly sneaked into the courtyard through the door.
The boy looked resolute, and his wide eyes flickered constantly. The boy's name was Gou Er, a child from the Xu family in the eastern part of the village. Since he had a weak constitution in his childhood and often fell ill, his family gave him a humble name. It was said that a humble name was easier to sustain.
Since Ding Yan arrived in the small village, the first person he got to know was this boy named Gou Er, making him the closest person to Ding Yan in the village.
Stopping his fist technique, Ding Yan went over and patted Gou Er's head, asking, "Why did you come over here? Didn't your father ask you to go herd the cattle?"
The small village was isolated from the outside world, much like an earthly paradise. Children herded cattle from an early age. As they grew older, they would learn to plow, then marry and have children, repeating the lives of their ancestors.
"My father said he's got the urge to drink. He's so weak now that he can't plow the land, so he asked me to come ask you for a jar of wine. He'll send the grains over later," Gou Er replied.
Ding Yan smiled and went back into the house. Soon after, he returned with a jar of wine. "Be careful," he said, handing the wine to Gou Er. Due to Gou Er's age, Ding Yan specifically chose the smallest jar of wine.
However, although Gou Er was young, he was as strong as an adult. After all, he was not born in the common world. Born with a small amount of elemental energy, at present, he was a Qi Condensation cultivator with only the basic cultivation of the first layer.
"Hey, Uncle Ding, did you learn this fist technique from the village elder?" Taking the bottle of wine, Gou Er didn't rush to leave, but instead asked in a sly manner.
"Why, are you interested in learning it?" Ding Yan chuckled.
He genuinely liked Gou Er.
"I won't learn this kind of useless fist technique, it's too slow. I'd be beaten before I even got close to anyone," Gou Er quickly shook his head, then mysteriously added, "Uncle Ding, when I grow up, I'll surely learn my father's martial arts. A few days ago, I saw him punch a tiger to death with my own eyes. The momentum was..."
As he spoke, stars shone in Gou Er's eyes.
Ding Yan shook his head wryly. The fist technique he was currently practicing was not meant for hurting an opponent. At most, it was a means for him to absorb the elemental energy of heaven and earth and cultivate his mentality.
"Uncle Ding, can you tell me stories about the outside world again?" Gou Er longingly said. "When I grow up, I'll leave this island to see the outside world..."
"The outside world?" Ding Yan looked up and gazed into the distant sky, murmuring to himself.
...
Autumn has passed, winter has come. In the winter of this year, it is especially cold. From the winter solstice, snow has not stopped falling from the sky.
Feather-like snow fell from the sky, covering the entire courtyard, leaving the ground covered with a vast expanse of whiteness. Ding Yan stood in the courtyard, slowly practicing the set of old people's boxing. He was covered with a thick layer of snow, giving the impression from a distance of a moving snowman.
Silence is the world of cultivation.
A month ago, Ding Yan's cultivation level broke through again, finally reaching the fifth level of Qi Refinement, the lowest standard for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill.
The realm of Qi Refinement has twelve levels of control. Generally, the higher the cultivation level, the more difficult it is to progress, and it is even more difficult to stimulate the Divine Transition. Ding Yan, who looks only seventeen or eighteen years old, was already considered a rare genius to have cultivated to the ninth level of Qi Refinement in the first place.
As for the Foundation Establishment Pill, Ding Yan had put it aside and had not gone to refine it.
As the name suggests, Foundation Establishment is the fundamental issue of cultivating. The more solid the foundation, the higher the future achievements. Originally, Ding Yan thought that the cultivation methods of the two worlds were the same, which is why he was eager to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill, but as his understanding of this unnamed boxing technique deepened, Ding Yan was not in a hurry to refine the pill. Only occasionally, he would practice some fasting pills and familiarize himself with alchemy techniques after dusk.
It was precisely because of realizing this that Ding Yan did not desperately try to improve his cultivation level in the past half a year, but instead experienced the cultivation realm of this world step by step.
With a deep breath, Ding Yan suddenly opened his eyes, clenched his fist, and struck into the air.
Crack!!
A cracking sound rang out, and in front of Ding Yan, a log was directly split in half, scattering wood chips all over the ground. Under the force of this punch, the accumulated snow under his feet was blown away, revealing the underlying bluestone.
"A casually thrown punch has a momentum that surpasses the full force strikes of those martial masters in the mundane world. In this current state, if I were to take a Foundation Establishment Pill, I could at least advance three to four levels. However, this body is too weak, and the chances of failure are too high if I rashly advance my cultivation level and stimulate the Divine Transition," Ding Yan pondered.
Although the Divine Transition aims to shed the physical body and achieve the body of an Immortal, there are still requirements for the physical body. For Immortal cultivation, the most important thing is to absorb the vitality of the body during the Heavenly Tribulation to achieve the body of an Immortal. If the body collapses, there will be no support for this vitality. As a result, even if the cultivator passes the Thunder Tribulation, they cannot be considered an Immortal, at most, they are considered a Ghost Immortal.
What's more, Ghost Immortals cannot stay in this realm. If one becomes a Ghost Immortal, the laws of the world will guide them to the netherworld.
Just as he was pondering, a hurried knocking at the door interrupted Ding Yan's thoughts.
"Uncle Ding, Uncle Ding, are you there?"
The voice of Gou Er came from outside the courtyard.
In three years, Gou Er had already turned twelve. Being a child of the countryside, he matured early. Now, Gou Er looked like a teenager of fifteen or sixteen, strong and sturdy.
"What's wrong?" Ding Yan walked over and opened the door.
"Uncle Ding, my father has been dragged away by a tiger demon, please come quickly to save him," Gou Er said anxiously, and upon seeing Ding Yan, he quickly grabbed him and rushed towards the village entrance.
Hearing that someone needed help, Ding Yan did not dare to delay. He followed Gou Er and asked as they went, "Where's the village head?"
"The village head went out to sea. My father said now you are the only one in the village who can save him," Gou Er was on the verge of tears as he spoke.
Ding Yan nodded and did not ask any further questions.
In this village, apart from the village head who had reached the fifth level of Qi Refinement, most of the others were only at the first or second level. Although Ding Yan did not openly state his cultivation level, no one was foolish, and naturally, they could sense the elemental fluctuation on Ding Yan.
The two of them hurried to the village entrance.
But Gou Er's father was already gone, and the lingering traces, still visible in the uncovered snow, were yet to be completely covered.
Ding Yan crouched down, stretched out his index finger, felt the ground, closed his eyes, and expanded his spiritual sense. After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards a stone mountain outside the village.
"You go back first, I'll go rescue your father," Ding Yan said without waiting for Gou Er's response and leapt towards the stone mountain.
With his cultivation reaching the ninth level of Qi Refinement, Ding Yan’s agility was ghost-like, and his footsteps on the snow-covered ground did not leave any footprints. This ability was akin to flying through the air, though Ding Yan was not yet able to do so. Flying through the air would only be possible upon reaching the realm of an Immortal.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ding Yan arrived at the foot of the stone mountain.
Due to the accumulated snow, the entire mountain was covered in a blanket of whiteness, and with the snowfall persisting, any previous footprints had been fully obscured.
Roar!!
A tiger's roar suddenly echoed.
In this cold season, ordinary animals were already hibernating, leaving only those demonic beasts practicing the demonic arts. The roar was undoubtedly a deliberate attempt to lure Ding Yan over.
"This tiger demon has gained sentience?" Ding Yan frowned, but still followed the sound.
In Ding Yan's memory, demonic cultivation was divided into ten major realms. The strongest, a tenth-tier demonic beast, was on par with a human Grand Cultivator. However, the path of demonic cultivation was extremely arduous. Not to mention tenth-tier demonic beasts, even seventh or eighth-tier demonic beasts were almost extinct.
Generally speaking, demonic beasts that gained sentience were at least as powerful as a third-tier demonic beast, equivalent to a cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage.
However, Ding Yan could clearly sense that this tiger demon was not as powerful; its aura was only slightly stronger than his own.
Carefully treading on the thick snow, Ding Yan cautiously climbed to the mountaintop.
"This…" Ding Yan looked at the scene before him, slightly taken aback.
Contrary to the rest of the mountain, which was covered in snow, the mountaintop was not cold at all. Instead, it resembled a paradise on Earth, filled with bird songs, fragrant blossoms, and colorful butterflies fluttering about. In the center was a hot spring, emitting constantly rising steam.
In Ding Yan's knowledge, such a place could not form a hot spring. This was because, generally, the formation of hot springs required three main conditions: the presence of underground hot water, differential static pressure that caused the upwelling of hot water, and deep and long cracks in the rock that allowed hot water to reach the surface.
The current conditions of this mountain obviously did not meet any of these requirements. However, it wasn’t particularly surprising considering demonic cultivators were present. If even demonic beasts were appearing in the mountains, the appearance of a hot spring wouldn't seem out of the ordinary.
Taking in the scene, Ding Yan noticed that Xu Zhengyang, Gou Er's father, was lying in the hot spring, completely unharmed and seemingly enjoying the warmth. Not far from him was a spotted tiger demon. When Ding Yan arrived, the tiger demon, with its eyes the size of bronze bells, focused on him.
"Huh, Brother Ding, what brings you here?" Sensing the movement, Xu Zhengyang opened his eyes and quickly stood up upon seeing Ding Yan
Ding sighed and smiled wryly. It seemed that things were not as bad as he had imagined. Now it seemed that the tiger demon and Xu Zhengyang were more like friends.
"The dog said you were kidnapped by the tiger demon, so I came here..." Ding finally spoke after Xu Zhengyang had put on his clothes.
"That little guy." Xu Zhengyang was slightly distracted, then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Can you tell me what's going on?" Ding asked.
From the look of the dog, it seemed that the dog wasn't lying to him, but the scene in front of him was too bizarre.
"This tiger demon swallowed a ginseng king and needs to absorb human energy to digest and accelerate its transformation," Xu Zhengyang explained simply.
Ding nodded. In his understanding, it was extremely difficult for demon beasts to cultivate. By using human energy, they might be able to cultivate faster, which is why there were so many snake and fox demon legends in the mortal world.
Before ascending, demon cultivators face two great tribulations, transformation tribulation and ascension tribulation. Generally, before transformation, demon beasts only possess primal instincts, and only some ancient species have complete intelligence. Of course, this was all based on Ding's past life's knowledge. In this world, obviously, things were different. This tiger demon, with a cultivation level of only six layers of Qi Refining, had actually awakened its intelligence.
"Today, I happened to be practicing at the village entrance, and the tiger demon saw me and 'invited' me over." When Xu Zhengyang mentioned the word 'invited', he also showed a bitter smile.
"After all, demon beasts are demon beasts, and as long as they have not transformed, they cannot be viewed with human eyes. Are you ready to stay here?" Ding looked at the tiger demon and asked telepathically.
Xu Zhengyang didn't have as deep understanding of elemental power as Ding, so he couldn't communicate with Ding without the tiger demon noticing. He simply shrugged helplessly.
Ding frowned.
The tiger demon was stronger than him by a notch, so he didn't have full confidence in fighting it.
"Okay, the environment here is elegant, so I might as well cultivate here too." After speaking, Ding looked towards the tiger demon on the side.
The tiger demon didn't respond and lay down to sleep after taking a glance at Ding. For it, the more people, the better, as the island only had inhabitants in the village. Normally, demon beasts wouldn't dare approach the village. It was only during this time, after the snowstorm had isolated the fearful aura, that the tiger demon dared to approach. Even then, it didn't dare enter the village, only kidnapping Xu Zhengyang at the village entrance.
Seeing the tiger demon's lack of reaction, Ding ignored it as well.
Looking around, Ding found that the environment here was much better than in the village. The air was filled with a sense of spirituality, making it easier to sense elemental energy.
"I didn't expect to find such a place on the island!" Ding's eyes sparkled.
A wandering immortal, only a wandering immortal could be considered a true cultivator!
After informing the dog and returning to the mountaintop, Ding picked a secluded spot and established a cave residence. Then, he went inside and sat down, setting up a modified gathering spirit array next to him.
Hoo...
As soon as the gathering spirit array was set up, Ding felt a rush of spiritual energy pouring into his body.
"What a perfect environment for seclusion!" Ding closed his eyes, shut off his senses, and began his first deep seclusion since arriving in this world.
Under such conditions, Ding was confident that when he emerged from seclusion, it would be time for him to take a Foundation Building Pill and break through to the wandering immortal realm!
Days passed.
Meanwhile, in the Lianhua Valley.
The sky became increasingly overcast.
Within the clouds, there were faint flickers of lightning snakes, and a terrifying pressure descended from the sky.
Tribulation!
In the Lianhua Valley, someone had actually broken through to the twelfth layer of Qi Refining and successfully triggered the tribulation, taking the first step on the path to becoming a wandering immortal.
At this moment, at the peak of the top disciple of the Lianhua Valley.
A young man in white stood with hands behind his back, his white robe rustling in the thunder and wind. His pitch-black hair billowed in the wind, and his pitch-black eyes gazed straight at the sky, exuding an unyielding and resolute aura.
He was the number one of the top ten disciples of Lianhua Valley, Mo Feifan!
"Come, let me see this legendary tribulation," he said.