William Carter was also unable to stop the immortal energy from leaking out. Although it was a pity, there was nothing he could do about it—unless he could refine the Immortal Spirit Flower into a pill. But with his current cultivation, even if all the materials were laid out before him, he could only stare helplessly.

Three hours later, the sky was already gray and hazy, as if dawn was about to break. Meanwhile, the immortal energy in William Carter’s qi sea was growing denser and denser. William Carter stopped absorbing immortal energy; the immortal energy in his qi sea had reached a small critical point.

What William Carter needed to do now was to condense the immortal energy and break through the minor bottleneck—this would allow him to advance to the mid-stage of Qi Gathering.

On the path of cultivation, there are many bottlenecks. For example, William Carter now, advancing from early to mid-stage Qi Gathering, this is called a minor bottleneck. If one were to break through from the Qi Gathering stage to the Condensing Qi stage, that would be called a major bottleneck.

However, a minor bottleneck is not necessarily easier than a major one. Some special bottlenecks can bring about tribulations, and so are also called calamities. Some are due to special cultivation methods, which can also attract calamities.

But in the early stages, there are basically no tribulations. William Carter controlled the immortal energy, condensing it into a mass. This feeling was like kneading dough: first condensing the immortal energy for a while, then adding a bit of external immortal energy, and condensing again.

So it is said that all methods in the world can lead to the Dao. Perhaps kneading dough seems too mundane and out of place with the realm of cultivation, but cultivation itself is about seeking all methods, comprehending the truth, and pursuing the heavenly Dao. If one is too averse to mundane things, one will forever limit one’s cultivation and Dao heart.

William Carter felt that his cultivation was now stable, and the minor bottleneck to mid-stage Qi Gathering was like a thin sheet of paper before him, ready to be pierced at any moment.

William Carter was not in a hurry to break through the minor bottleneck, but gently probed it with immortal energy. The bottleneck immediately rippled slightly, extremely fragile—this is the very first bottleneck in cultivation, and for anyone, it poses no difficulty.

As long as one is not utterly foolish, the minor bottleneck is not hard. However, as cultivation increases, the difficulty of future minor bottlenecks will rise sharply.

William Carter directly used his full strength to break through the minor bottleneck. It shattered instantly, without the slightest resistance.

In that instant, William Carter’s body became one with heaven and earth. Even vaster spiritual energy from the world surged endlessly into William Carter’s body. William Carter directly absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, circulated it through his body, transformed it into pure immortal energy, and merged it into his qi sea.

After spending the entire night, William Carter finally refined about ten percent of the Immortal Spirit Flower’s immortal energy. At the same time, he successfully advanced to the mid-stage of Qi Gathering. As long as he continued to refine the remaining immortal energy diligently, he should be able to reach the late stage of Qi Gathering within a year.

By now, daylight had fully arrived. William Carter stood up and realized he had never been to this small courtyard of the Fang family before.

When he removed the concealment array, he immediately heard a bout of coughing. William Carter’s heart stirred slightly. The cough sounded weak, but the aura was incomparably robust—much stronger than his own father’s.

It seemed to be an old man gravely ill, but this person’s strength was definitely above his father’s. This was also the most powerful cultivator William Carter had encountered since birth.

William Carter did not shy away. He walked to the door, gently pushed it open, poked his little head inside, and looked around.

Although it was already broad daylight, the windows and doors inside were tightly shut. A single oil lamp cast a yellow glow. An old man sat at the table, eyes closed, forehead beaded with cold sweat. The solitary light shone on his face, making him appear especially lonely.

The old man seemed to sense a stranger’s arrival and opened his eyes slightly, only to see a mischievous little head, a pair of eyes darting about.

“Are you the fifth child of the Fang family?” The old man withdrew his cloudy gaze, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. He, too, felt a trace of warmth from this unexpected visitor.

“Old sir, are you ill?” William Carter pushed the door open with his small hand and walked into the room. The light streamed in, making the old man shrink back a little, as if unaccustomed to the brightness.

“It’s been fifty years,” the old man said calmly, as if he had seen through everything.

“Fifty years—enduring such a painful illness for fifty years, that’s truly suffering.” William Carter’s childish face took on a mature expression, and he sighed softly.

Chapter 0005 Old Wounds

William Carter climbed onto a chair taller than himself and sat beside the old man, gazing at him for a long time. The old man also sized up William Carter, looking at this fifth child of the Fang family.

After a long while, the old man finally spoke, a kindly smile on his face: “What are you looking at?”

“I’m looking at whatever you’re looking at,” William Carter grinned, revealing a row of not-yet-fully-grown teeth.

“I’m just an old man waiting to die—what’s there to look at?” The old man picked up a teacup and took a small sip.

William Carter beamed, “And I’m just a little kid still wearing split pants—what’s there to look at?”

“That’s true. One is an old man on his deathbed, the other is a little kid in split pants. We actually get along quite well, haha…” The old man laughed heartily. It had been a long time since he had felt so relaxed and happy.

All these years, he had holed up alone in this small courtyard. Except for some holidays when Henry Carter would come to visit, he usually had only solitude for company.

To say he wasn’t lonely would be a lie. No one likes being alone, waiting to die.