The next day, at the Spirit Pavilion.
Chu Bai, holding the [Earth Bottle] he had borrowed from Jiang Kuo, stood before the light screen once more.
Looking at the remaining one hundred-plus double-hours of access time on his nameplate, he took a deep breath, his gaze firm as he locked onto a Fire Attribute Blessed Land.
[Earth Core Glaze Fire]
Produced in the depths of molten lava ten thousand zhang underground, it has been compressed and purified by the earth's core for hundreds of millions of years. This process removes its violent, fiery nature, leaving only a pure, glaze-like quality.
It is intensely hot and pure, possessing extremely strong assimilation and refining abilities, making it a top-tier choice for constructing a Dao Foundation.
"This is the one."
As the light of the Teleportation Array flashed, Chu Bai arrived in a space that seemed to be inside a volcano's crater.
Viscous lava flowed down the crimson rock walls all around. The air was filled with astonishingly high temperatures, yet strangely, there wasn't the slightest choking smell of sulfur. Instead, it carried a clear, glaze-like feeling.
Chu Bai sat cross-legged on a black, floating stone suspended above the lava.
He didn't rush to begin Energy Introduction. Instead, he first took out the [Earth Bottle], uncorked it, and placed it on his lap.
As he channeled his Spiritual Power, the mouth of the bottle began to glow faintly. A stream of heavy, gentle yellow Qi slowly seeped out—it was the [Thick Virtue Origin Earth] passed down in Jiang Kuo's family.
Sourced from the core of the Earth Veins of great mountains and rivers, it was as heavy as a mountain and as gentle as jade. It excelled at supporting all things and harmonizing yin and yang.
'Draw in the Glaze Fire from without, absorb the Thick Virtue Earth from within.'
Chu Bai focused his mind and spirit, simultaneously circulating the Guiyuan Technique.
This time, his actions were exceedingly bold and precise.
His left hand formed a seal, drawing the surrounding crimson [Earth Core Glaze Fire] slowly closer. His right hand pressed on the mouth of the bottle, guiding the strands of yellow [Thick Virtue Origin Earth] into his nostrils.
A mind split in two!
At first, the process was still incredibly difficult.
When the crimson Fire Qi and the yellow Earth Qi met in his meridians, it was as if two strangers with wildly different personalities had been forced into a tiny room together.
The Fire Qi wanted to burn, while the Earth Qi wanted to suppress. And the already stable structure of Metal, Water, and Wood Qi within his body reacted with extreme rejection toward these two outsiders.
HISS—
Veins bulged on Chu Bai's forehead, and sweat evaporated the moment it appeared due to the intense heat. A throbbing, swelling pain spread through his meridians, as if they were about to explode at any moment.
But he did not give up. Relying on the powerful control granted by his Perfection Level Guiyuan Technique, he desperately suppressed the two restless streams of Spiritual Qi.
'I can't rush this. I have to get them to move!'
'Fire creates Earth, and Earth creates Metal!'
Gritting his teeth against the immense pain, Chu Bai split most of his focus to forcibly control the wisp of Glaze Fire, making it burn and refine the wisp of Thick Virtue Earth.
This wasn't destruction, but catalysis!
Refined by the Glaze Fire, the Thick Virtue Earth became even more pure and active. Meanwhile, the once-violent Fire Qi, having its heat absorbed by the Earth Qi, also grew docile.
A full double-hour passed.
Chu Bai's body trembled slightly the entire time. He nearly lost control several times, but he always grit his teeth and persevered, repeatedly testing the limits on the verge of collapse.
Just as he was about to exhaust his strength, a wondrous opportunity suddenly appeared.
That wisp of Earth Qi, having been refined by the Fire Qi, actually followed his meridians and proactively merged into the Innate Geng Metal Qi Cluster within his Dantian!
Earth creates Metal!
The originally sharp and domineering Metal Qi, after being nourished by this stream of Earth Qi, surprisingly did not lash out. Instead, it let out a cheerful, soft chime.
'Now!'
A sharp glint flashed in Chu Bai's eyes. He hurriedly seized the fleeting opportunity and abruptly increased the force of his intake.
BOOM!
The [Earth Core Glaze Fire] from outside and the [Thick Virtue Origin Earth] from the bottle surged into his body simultaneously.
This time, they were no longer fighting their own separate battles. Under Chu Bai's guidance, they swiftly formed a perfect conversion cycle.
The Five Elements are gathered!
In that instant, Chu Bai felt a massive tremor in his Dantian.
The original three-colored vortex instantly disintegrated, only to reassemble in a far more profound and stable form.
Crimson, earthy yellow, pale gold, azure, and cyan-gray.
The glows of five different colored Spiritual Powers illuminated one another in his Qi Sea, connecting head to tail to form an endless Little Five Elements Cycle!
At that moment, all rejection and all pain vanished completely, replaced by an unprecedented sense of perfection and clarity.
"I did it!"
Chu Bai let out a long cry, feeling as if every pore in his body had opened up in that instant.
'This way, with fire and earth coexisting, I no longer have to suffer from the conflict of opposing elements. I can absorb both types of Spiritual Qi at the same time, doubling my efficiency!'
He had finally put the last two pieces of his Five Elements Dao Foundation into place with his own hands. All that remained was the slow and steady work of accumulation.
The prototype of the [Circulation Wheel] was formed!
During this period, the academic atmosphere within the Daoist School grew increasingly intense.
Everyone assumed Chu Bai was working so desperately to prepare for the upcoming first-year final examinations. After all, as the top new student, all eyes were on him to see if he could advance to the second year with the number one rank.
Inspired by Chu Bai, the students of Class Three, and indeed the entire first year, seemed to be on steroids, cultivating with a diligence that far surpassed previous years.
At the Magic Technique practice grounds.
Today was Instructor Jii Yu's practical Magic Technique class.
Dressed in green robes, Jii Yu stood on the sidelines, an undisguisable look of amazement sparkling in her beautiful eyes. Her gaze remained fixed on the tall, straight-backed youth in the center of the field.
Just a moment ago, Chu Bai had demonstrated the seamless combination of the Spirit Water Needle and the Formless Cloud Hand.
Its fluidity was like flowing water and moving clouds—so perfect that even Jii Yu, the instructor, couldn't find a single flaw.
'What terrifying talent...'
Jii Yu sighed inwardly.
'And he's been enrolled for less than a year!'

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