Chapter 22: Essence, Qi, and Spirit

Wu Tong looked at the diagram of meridians and acupoints and pondered for a moment, then reached out and pulled.

A panel appeared beside the "Wu Tong" figure. It was entirely azure blue, radiating a system-like aesthetic.

However, this wasn't an actual system. It was a tool Wu Tong had created based on his own information—something to help him understand the abilities he had mastered.

On it were detailed records of Wu Tong's experimental data, along with entries from his journal:

"Second year in the Crown Prince's residence: I can no longer practice the Scarlet Wheel Scripture. Every time I circulate it, I feel a burning sensation in my meridians and acupoints. Why is this happening? Is it because my body can't handle it? Or is it the technique itself? I'll try strengthening my body first."

"Third year: Why? It's been a whole year and there's still no progress. Every time I circulate my energy, my body explodes from the pressure. Is there something I've missed? Maybe I should try medicinal baths."

"Fourth year: Damn it, why is this energy so violent? Is there no way to suppress it? Why won't it obey me inside the human body? Wait… human? I might have a lead..."

"Theoretical supplement: According to Daoist thought, the human body consists of three treasures—Essence, Qi, and Spirit. They correspond to the body, energy, and the mind.

The original design of my Scarlet Wheel Scripture focused solely on accumulating energy, ignoring the growth of body and spirit. Even though each session trained the body somewhat, the body's strength couldn't keep up with the increase in true qi.

After a year of physical training, although my body is still lacking, it can now barely withstand the energy. So the real reason for failure must be only one thing—insufficient 'Spirit'. A weak Spirit prevents me from controlling this massive energy. I've finally found the cause. My next priority is to develop a technique for cultivating the Spirit."

"Last day of the fourth year: Success. With the help of the Purple Extreme Demon Eye, I've finally created a Spirit-cultivation method—Solar Visualization. This technique draws on the power of the sun and complements the Scarlet Wheel Scripture perfectly."

"First day of the fifth year: The methods for cultivating Spirit and Qi are now complete. Next, I need to develop a technique for cultivating Essence. But how do I even begin? I have no ideas.

For Spirit, I had the Purple Extreme Demon Eye as a reference. For Qi, the Scarlet Wheel Scripture drew from Xuan Tian Technique and meditation. But for physical refinement… what can I do? In Douluo Continent, those with strong bodies owe it to their martial souls. So creating an Essence-cultivation method is a headache."

"Mid-fifth year: I'm such an idiot. I completely forgot about Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound, the body-training method that uses vibration. This is it. I finally have something to reference."

"Sixth year: Success. The Essence-cultivation technique is complete—Dawn Body Tempering Art. It also uses solar power to temper the body by harnessing solar waves. This body-forging method shares the same roots as the Spirit and Qi methods. Time to test it...

Training process shows no errors. Constitution is slowly improving. Testing extreme circulation... no internal damage during high-intensity operation. Physical stats rising. Body-tempering technique—successfully created!!!"

"Mid-sixth year: Essence, Qi, and Spirit are finally balanced. Now I just need to integrate the three techniques and revise my original concept to create a unified method of cultivating all three treasures."

"Late sixth year: Integration complete. Time to test for any issues.

Hm? Qian Renxue sent someone to find me... I'll test it later."

The diary ended there, interwoven with vast amounts of data—records of Wu Tong's process of developing his new method.

Staring at these notes, Wu Tong's eyes were filled with anticipation as he looked at the other "Wu Tong" before him.

As the figure began cultivating according to the integrated technique, the artificial sun in the dream world descended its solar power and transmitted energy into the body.

As the figure pushed the technique to its limits—circulating through one hundred cycles without issue—and as all of his physical attributes slowly improved, Wu Tong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The fused technique was running with great stability.

Calling it the Scarlet Wheel Scripture was no longer suitable.

It would now be called the Scarlet Wheel Heart Scripture—a method of simultaneous cultivation of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

'This might even count as a decent divine art in some mid-tier cultivation worlds,' Wu Tong thought to himself.

He then released the soul skill and awoke from the dream, beginning real-world cultivation of the Scarlet Wheel Heart Scripture.

As the solar energy descended, the bottleneck that had plagued him for years finally shattered.

Boom!

With a dull thud from deep within his body, Wu Tong successfully broke through the level-40 bottleneck and became a rank-40 quasi-Soul Ancestor.

"I broke through? Perfect timing. When I visit Elder Dugu tomorrow, I might even snag a soul ring."

...

The next day.

Wu Tong arrived at the Dugu residence, accompanied by his bodyguards.

Just as he stepped through the door, he heard an elderly voice. Though the voice was old, it was loud and filled with energy.

"Well, if it isn't our great master. What brings you to my shabby place today? Isn't it always me who has to personally invite you?" The voice was dripping with sarcasm, and when it reached the word "invite," there was even a hint of gritted-teeth resentment.

Wu Tong looked up and saw an old man who appeared to be in his sixties or seventies standing at the doorway, staring at him.

Unlike other elderly men with graying or white hair, every strand of this man's hair was dark green. He was thin, with sunken cheeks, and his eyes shone with a faint glow like green gemstones. Being stared at by him gave the strange feeling of being eyed by a serpent—marked as prey.

His hands were hidden beneath a simple grey robe, and a faint stench lingered around him. Facing this old man felt like facing a snake.

This old man was none other than Wu Tong's close friend across generations—Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.

"Old man, from the sound of it, you don't seem too happy to see me? So I guess that treatment plan I researched for Sister Yan isn't needed after all?"

Wu Tong wasn't bothered by the old man's tone and joked casually.

"No, no, no! I was just kidding—don't take it seriously, you little freak."

Dugu Bo panicked at once and quickly reached out to wrap an arm around Wu Tong's neck like a buddy, afraid this little freak would flee before helping him.

"Alright, let go of me first," Wu Tong said, shifting uncomfortably as he squirmed against the arm around his neck. "As for your situation, I still don't have a proper solution. It'll require a large quantity of rare medicinal herbs. But as for Sister Yan, her condition can be remedied by sacrificing a bit of her potential. That way, at least, she won't die from the poison."

Unexpectedly, Dugu Bo's expression became a little strange. He glanced at Wu Tong and rolled his eyes. "How'd you figure that out?"

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Wu Tong blinked, feigning innocence.

"Little freak, do you think I don't know you?" Dugu Bo snorted. "If you didn't have a solid solution, you wouldn't sound so confident. Since you're here, you obviously have a way to cure me. So—what am I talking about?"

Hearing this, Wu Tong stopped pretending.

"The main problem is that the poison in your body is way too strong. Without some way to suppress it, there's no way you could have broken through to Soul Douluo, let alone reached Title Douluo. But you did it—and weren't devoured by your own poison. That means you must have some kind of treasure ground that keeps the toxins in check."

"There aren't many places that can suppress a poison like yours. Only three possibilities: the Lake of Life, the Spring of Purification, and the Icefire Yin-Yang Well."

"The Lake of Life is in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest and is guarded by the two Beast Kings. You clearly don't have access to that, so we can rule it out."

"The Spring of Purification can directly cleanse your poison. But neither you nor Sister Yan have been detoxified. In your case, I could believe you didn't want to weaken your strength by purging the poison."

"But if Sister Yan still has poison in her, that's a different story. With how much you dote on her, if you had the chance to cure her, you wouldn't hesitate. So this can be ruled out too."

"That only leaves one possibility—the Icefire Yin-Yang Well, one of the legendary three treasure grounds. It's a natural miracle formed by the intersection of the Extreme Cold Spring and the Extreme Heat Spring. Countless rare herbs grow around it, and the environment itself can suppress toxic energy."

"So? Old man, am I wrong?" Wu Tong asked, looking at the dumbfounded Dugu Bo.

"You're not wrong. I do have a place like that. From your description, it really does sound like the Icefire Yin-Yang Well. In that treasure ground, my poison is indeed suppressed—that's how I was able to cultivate to Title Douluo."

Seeing how Wu Tong had practically stripped him bare, Dugu Bo didn't bother hiding it anymore and admitted the truth directly.

(End of Chapter)

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