“Hmph, so what if you have perseverance? Ordinary people are destined to achieve nothing on the path of immortality. Trash will always be trash!”

……

On the way back, William Clark happened to overhear people talking about him. Even though they noticed him, those disciples didn’t care at all and continued to mock him in a sarcastic tone.

William Clark frowned, but he didn’t get angry, because it was pointless. In the cultivation world, there’s only one way to earn others’ respect—strength. Rather than getting needlessly upset here, it was better to go back, rest, and continue practicing.

Back at his residence, William Clark opened a drawer and took out a sheet of paper filled with cultivation methods.

Object Manipulation Technique—a spell that uses spiritual power to move objects from a distance—is one of the most basic yet most important spells in the cultivation world. It’s the foundation for using magical treasures. Of course, magical treasures are still far out of reach for William Clark right now, but he could practice this spell.

Channel true essence, focus the mind, attach your consciousness to an object, and make it move.

All afternoon, William Clark practiced over and over again. He had tried before, but failed. After so many days of training on the Heart-Refining Path, his spiritual power had increased a bit, so he was making a new attempt.

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye. He kept his eyes fixed on the cup in front of him, until his eyes were sore and his head was spinning. William Clark took a short break, then continued…

Hard work pays off. Suddenly, the cup moved a little.

Although it was very slight, it definitely moved. William Clark didn’t stop, channeling his spiritual power and continuing to practice the Object Manipulation Technique until it was very late, only then going to bed.

The next day, William Clark returned to the Heart-Refining Path.

Thick mist, ghostly shadows everywhere—this time, the illusion was the underworld, and countless fierce ghosts lunged at William Clark, but the young man ignored them.

During this period of arduous cultivation, not only was his strength increasing, but William Clark’s mind was also becoming more resilient and mature, and his endurance had greatly improved. At first, William Clark could only last a few minutes in the terrifying illusions. Now, even as he ventured deeper and the illusions became more frightening, he could endure for an hour.

Ghosts and all sorts of terrifying scenes flashed through his mind. All kinds of overwhelming negative effects assaulted him, but William Clark gritted his teeth and endured the pain, working hard to absorb spiritual energy and cultivate.

……

Leaving the range of the illusion, William Clark sat cross-legged on the ground, refining the spiritual energy he had absorbed, then began a full circulation of his energy.

He circulated it through his meridians, finally returning it to his dantian. William Clark did this nine times in total. Spiritual power flowed through his meridians. Although this allowed it to grow slowly, it was also a huge burden on the body. Most disciples only did three cycles, but William Clark required himself to do nine.

This was already close to the human limit. The first three cycles were fine, but by the fourth and fifth, his meridians were sore and swollen. By the seventh and eighth, it felt like they were being cut by knives. As for the ninth, it was pure agony—large beads of sweat covered William Clark’s forehead, and his body trembled uncontrollably from the pain, but he stubbornly persevered. After several hours, he finally achieved his goal.

After finishing the full circulation, William Clark re-entered the illusion.

And so, over and over, William Clark trained hard on the Heart-Refining Path, enduring pain that usually only Foundation Establishment cultivators could withstand, relying on his tenacious willpower to push through.

William Clark sat cross-legged on the ground, like an old monk in meditation. At this moment, in his dantian, there was a faint blue sphere, constantly twisting and changing, formed from gathered spiritual power.

Threads of spiritual power continued to be injected into the sphere. After a month of cultivation on the Heart-Refining Path, William Clark felt his cultivation had increased significantly, and once again attempted to break through to the second level of the Spirit Movement stage.

For cultivators, every time they ascend a level, their spiritual power undergoes a transformation. William Clark was now at the most critical stage.

Just a little more!

His divine sense expanded to cover his entire dantian, searching for any remaining spiritual power and injecting it into the sphere. William Clark felt like a sponge that had been wrung dry, yet still trying desperately to squeeze out a little more water.

Crackle…

The spiritual power sphere changed again. Streaks of lightning appeared on its surface, spiritual energy began to leak out, and the sphere was on the verge of collapse.

William Clark didn’t give up, trying his best to maintain it, but he had reached his limit. With a soft pop, the blue sphere burst, the gathered spiritual power broke apart, turning into strands as fine as hair, evenly distributed throughout the dantian.

Chapter 5: Marrow Cleansing Pill

Failed again!

For a long time, William Clark remained silent, his expression betraying no emotion, but his hands were clenched tightly, fingernails digging deep into his flesh, and his lips were bitten until they bled.

But this state didn’t last long. A few minutes later, William Clark took a deep breath, sat down again without a word, and continued to work hard…

……

Morning. The sun was just rising, marking the start of a new day.

The Flying Cloud Hall was grand and imposing, its area rivaling that of a stadium on Earth. It was the most important building in Floating Cloud Valley. On the first day of every month, disciples in the Spirit Movement stage would gather here to receive their cultivation supplies.