Chapter 53: Cultivators Have Calamities

On Taian Island, within the island-protecting formation.

"Bottleneck? Heavens Calamity?" Li Fan flipped through the Cultivation Notes he had purchased, his brows furrowing slightly.

Ever since returning from Ten Thousand Immortals Island a few days ago, he had not stopped Cultivating for even a moment.

He had originally planned to strike while the iron was hot and break through to the Late Stage of Qi Refining in one go.

However, even though he clearly felt that he was not far from a Breakthrough, no matter how Li Fan Cultivated, he always felt that he was lacking just a tiny bit.

It was this seemingly subtle gap that stood before Li Fan like a chasm.

After looking through the Cultivation Notes, Li Fan finally confirmed that he had encountered a Bottleneck.

During the ancient era of Cultivation, there was already the concept of a Cultivation Bottleneck.

During the process of Cultivation, one's cultivation level might get stuck at a certain node, unable to make any progress.

In the current Cultivation World, the impact of a Bottleneck on a Cultivator is even greater.

Starting from the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, every Immortal Cultivator will inevitably encounter a Bottleneck when breaking through each minor Realm.

This kind of Bottleneck cannot be broken through by blind, hard Cultivation alone.

One must find the Opportunity sensed in the ethereal darkness to dissolve it and successfully achieve a Breakthrough.

This Opportunity could be seeing a painting or drinking a cup of tea.

It could also be a sudden Epiphany or a flash of inspiration during a life-or-death struggle.

It could even be a casual remark from a bystander or the careful guidance of a Senior.

In short, there is no pattern to follow; it all depends on the "Heavenly Fate" in the ethereal darkness.

The existence of this Bottleneck undoubtedly suppresses the Cultivation speed of Immortal Cultivators to a great extent.

It is like a calamity sent down by the heavens, obstructing Immortal Cultivators from Cultivating.

Thus, Cultivators also refer to it as the Heavens Calamity.

In any case, this Heavens Calamity had now descended upon Li Fan.

It caused his plan to achieve a Breakthrough in a short time to fall through.

Sitting in the formation for several days, Li Fan felt absolutely no sense of where his Opportunity for a Breakthrough lay.

Knowing that this matter could not be forced in a short time, he did not get impatient. He temporarily set aside his Cultivation of the Small衍Water Decisive and instead began to Cultivate the Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter.

The Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter has five levels, which in the ancient era corresponded to the five major Realms of Innate, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul.

The Innate Realm was a relatively special existence in certain Sect Cultivation Techniques during the ancient era.

It emphasized expelling all the turbid Qi accumulated after birth to return to a state of Innate purity.

Those Sects believed that starting Cultivation from the Innate Realm would make it easier to comprehend the Heavenly Dao.

Both the speed and the upper limit of Cultivation would far exceed that of ordinary Cultivators.

The Celestial Mystery Sect was one of the Sects that advocated that all Cultivation should begin from the Innate Realm.

However, after the New Law replaced the old, Cultivators began to plunder the heavens and earth, no longer emphasizing the unity of heaven and man.

Naturally, there was no longer any talk of returning Qi to the Innate state.

But the most fundamental part of the entire Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter Cultivation Technique is the Innate Realm.

Therefore, what Li Fan had to do was replace the Innate Realm with Qi Refining to complete the first level of Cultivation.

Generally speaking, using a higher Realm to replace a lower one naturally allows for downward compatibility, and Cultivating it is often relatively easy.

However, when matters involve the differences in the Cultivation systems between ancient and modern laws, it is not so easy.

Especially since Li Fan was still just a beginner who had only been Cultivating for a few years, and his relevant knowledge base was severely lacking.

This was also the reason why it had taken Li Fan a whole year just to get started previously.

And that was even while consuming the Azure Glaze Pill, which provided a bonus to his Comprehension Ability.

Now, after Li Fan fell into a Bottleneck while Cultivating the Small衍Water Decisive, he began to switch to Cultivating the second level of the Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter.

He intended to Cultivate both Cultivation Techniques to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining simultaneously to see if he could use this to break through the Bottleneck.

After all, Cultivation Techniques are precious in this era, and it is truly rare for an ordinary Cultivator like him to be able to Cultivate multiple Cultivation Techniques at the same time.

According to the description in the Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter, after successfully Cultivating the second level, one would be able to master the Divine Ability of "Discernment of Qi".

The so-called "Discernment of Qi", as the name implies, is the ability to distinguish and sense the various Qi flows between heaven and earth.

This is also the Foundation of the Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter.

Only by first distinguishing and sensing the Qi flow can one proceed to capture and refine it.

The difficulty of Cultivating the second level of the Cultivation Technique exceeded Li Fan's imagination.

If the Small衍Water Decisive told you how to Cultivate in a simple and clear manner, without a single bit of nonsense.

Then this Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter hid the method of Cultivation within a pile of pretentious and mysterious words, leaving you to guess and ponder it yourself.

Not only that, but it was also interspersed from time to time with insights into the Heavenly Dao, allusions to anecdotes from the ancient Cultivation World, and so on.

With all sorts of messy things mixed together, Li Fan only felt dizzy and his blood surged as he read it.

After reading it once, he felt like he understood it. But when he started Cultivating, he realized he didn't actually understand anything at all.

Fortunately, Li Fan was not someone who gave up easily.

Even with difficulties everywhere, Li Fan patiently studied and comprehended it word by word.

Through Li Fan's diligent Cultivation, another year passed.

There was almost no progress in the Cultivation of the Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter.

Li Fan was not discouraged.

When he went to Ten Thousand Immortals Island for the second time to collect his agency remuneration, he used all 800 Contribution Points and the 5 tai an fruit he had accumulated over two years to exchange for some insights on ancient Cultivation Techniques.

Afterward, Li Fan activated the auxiliary Cultivation mode in the Tianxuan Realm.

He did not Cultivate the technique but only read these insights, comparing and verifying them with the experience he had summarized over the past year.

It was like a sudden enlightenment; all the difficulties he had been unable to figure out in the past were now answered.

When he reached the brilliant parts, Li Fan could not help but dance with joy and was filled with happiness.

Only now did Li Fan somewhat understand the saying, "If one hears the Dao in the morning, one can die without regret in the evening."

Five days passed quickly.

Having gained some insights, Li Fan hurried back to Taian Island and began his seclusion again.

This time, when he started Cultivating, it was indeed incomparable to before.

The obscure and difficult parts of the Cultivation Technique had all been clarified, so naturally, there were no obstacles to his Cultivation.

Li Fan's mind was soon immersed in it.

Cultivation knows no passage of time.

On this day, a golden, misty Spiritual Qi, completely different from the water-attribute Spiritual Qi, suddenly appeared in Li Fan's Dantian.

Li Fan opened his eyes sharply, a look of joy on his face.

"The second level of the Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter has finally been completed." Li Fan let out a long sigh of relief.

Stretching his slightly stiff body, he turned to check the time and was dazed for a moment.

He hadn't expected that this seclusion would actually last for a whole year.

Yet in Li Fan's perception, he only felt as if he had taken a nap.

Fortunately, his hard work had finally paid off.

With a thought, as the golden Spiritual Qi gathered in his eyes, Li Fan unleashed "Discernment of Qi".

"Let me see what the so-called Qi flow of heaven and earth is really like." Li Fan was a bit excited as he tested the Divine Ability for the first time.

He looked toward Taian Island.

But he saw a scene that made his heart tremble with fear.

Thick black Death Qi, like dense dark clouds, shrouded the entire Taian Island!

The dense Death Qi was almost tangible, making Taian Island, which was still in the daytime, appear like the underworld!

He withdrew the Spell and cast it again.

After looking several times in a row, Li Fan finally confirmed that he hadn't seen it wrong.

"How can this be?" Li Fan was shocked and uncertain.

Suddenly, as if he had finally remembered something, he hurriedly conjured a Water Mirror Spell and looked at himself in the mirror.

He only saw,

The Death Qi gathered above the Li Fan in the mirror was a thousand times greater than that of the Mortals on the island!