Chapter 27: Merging with Heaven and Earth

  Tick-tock!

  A drop of water on the bell-shaped stone above, drips onto Ji Chang's shoulder.

  A chill ran down her spine, starting from that single drop of water, the oppressive cold air seeped into Ji Changkong's body, causing his body to stiffen up all at once. Every step he took became extremely difficult.

  Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tick-tock!

  A drop of water from the icicle on his shoulder, neck and forehead, a chill suddenly spread throughout Ji Changkong's body, causing his hands and feet to tremble slightly, his whole body shaking, and the cold air he breathed out was filled with white mist.

  So cold!

  Ji Changkong let out a cry of surprise, feeling as if his body had already turned to ice. The chill in the water droplets was tens of times more severe than the white mist, making Ji Changkong feel as though he would turn into an ice sculpture at any moment.

  The fiery liquor poured down his throat, and the intense alcohol boiled up inside his body, but it couldn't immediately dispel the chill within. As he drew closer to the icy pool, the dripping water on the stalactites above grew more frequent, and when he was still five zhang away from the pool, he felt his own body begin to falter.

  Staring blankly at the icy pool right in front of her, Ji Changkong didn't dare take another step forward!

  Too scary!

  Taking a deep breath, Ji Changkong finally realized that Ji Changxiao's advice was indeed wise words. With his current cultivation at the One Yuan Heaven level, even defending against falling water droplets was so difficult. Once he entered the Cold Pool, he feared there would only be a dead end.

  Fall back decisively!

  Two breaths later, Ji Changkong had already moved far away from the Cold Pond and no longer attempted to enter it to resist the even more piercing cold of the icy water.

  Gurgling!

  A mouthful of dragon fire burned into his abdomen, and Ji Changkong stopped in the place where Ji Changxiao had sat earlier. With the help of the dragon fire's flames and the yuan force inside his body, it took him almost half a day to dissipate the cold air inside his body.

  For ten consecutive days, Ji Changkong sat cross-legged in this position, letting himself fall into a state of nothingness, relaxing his entire body, emptying his mind, and gathering the thick cold mist above the distant Cold Pond to repeatedly temper his body...

  Half a month later, Ji Changkong discovered that by cultivating in this way, the yuan force inside his body was indeed becoming more profound, but he still couldn't circulate the yuan force to his brain and reach the last hurdle of the One Yuan Heaven.

  Holding her breath and concentrating, Ji Changkong flipped through the pages of Taixu's secret records in her mind, gradually realizing that bitter practice alone was not the solution, and understanding that one's state of mind played a crucial role in cultivation.

  The Tai Xu Secret Record is most afraid of a floating heart and restless energy, one must merge oneself with nature, and blend into the heavens and earth, only then can one align with the profound meaning of the Tai Xu Secret Record's cultivation.

  After spending a day, Ji Changkong realized that his current state was not suitable for continuing to stay in the Ice Cave for bitter cultivation.

  She resolutely walked out of the icy cave without informing anyone, and Ji Changkong returned to Yunmeng Daze alone in the dim night.

  The Yunmeng Great Marsh is lush with ancient trees, lakes, swamps and rivers everywhere, giving birth to all kinds of strange beasts and flowers. It's a rare treasure in the world where people are scarce. Ji Changlong has a feeling that only by cultivating in the Yunmeng Great Marsh can he break through this barrier.

  This time, Ji Changkong did not rush to the Poison Dragon Pool immediately, but instead walked alone in the Yunmeng Great Marsh at a leisurely pace, allowing himself to thoroughly relax.

  With a free and easy mind, Ji Changkong's mood was serene. Along the way, he didn't think about cultivation matters. He held a volume of "Hundred Grass Scripture" from the Cangjing Pavilion, specifically identifying some rare and strange flowers and grasses.

  The Baicao Jing is placed on the first floor of the Scripture Library, belonging to a miscellaneous book that no one asks about. It records some strange and peculiar medicinal herbs, as well as the heavenly treasures born from the spiritual energy of the land in legend.

  This volume of scriptures was borrowed by Ji Changkong from Mo Yunyi in the Scripture Storage Pavilion when he returned to the Ji family from the Cloud Dream Marsh for the first time. In his opinion, the Cloud Dream Marsh is a treasure land that produces many strange objects, especially the poisonous dragon pond, which has many rare and exotic medicinal herbs, but originally he didn't know their names.

  This time, having nothing to do, he borrowed the Hundred Herb Scripture and wanted to go to Yunmeng Daze to identify some rare flowers and herbs, hoping to find some spiritual objects containing yuanqi to add some help to his own cultivation, as well as that of his grandfather and aunt.

  Although the Hei Yu Yuan Jing is an extremely rare treasure, its power is not enough to reach the Three Cai Tian realm, and it cannot be used to increase the power of the divine soul. Therefore, Ji Changkong handed over all of them to Ji Yusheng and Ji Wanyun. After Ji Yusheng and Ji Wanyun obtained the Hei Yu Yuan Jing, they immediately closed their doors to cultivate, hoping to use the Hei Yu Yuan Jing to enhance their divine soul power.

  Huh?

  A single stem with three dark red small flowers, emitting a fragrant and intoxicating scent, yet growing in the center of a patch of muddy ground with a faint smell of blood. After flipping through the "Hundred Herb Scripture" and reading it carefully, Ji Changkong let out a startled cry, his face filled with joy.

  Three-leaf red orchid, can be taken directly, in the realm of Sancai Tian, when using yuan force to create blood, essence and fluid, it can speed up the generation of blood, essence and fluid, extremely useful for the heavenly masters in the realm of Sancai Tian.

  Ji Changkong dug a large piece of soft soil beside him, kneaded it into a ball, and threw it far away towards the marsh. He carefully observed for a while to make sure there were no giant alligators hiding in the depths of the marsh before quietly approaching, plucking the three-leaf red orchid, crushing it, and stuffing it into a small bottle.

  Just then, a cry of surprise came from afar.

  The princess suddenly accelerated, rushing towards the source of the sound, and crashed into a lush forest covered in green toxic mist.

  In front, a middle-aged man dressed as a southern barbarian, covering his throat "wailed" loudly, his body emitting a faint green smoke, and after a while he fell to the ground and did not get up.

  Once the green toxic gas is inhaled into the heart and lungs, it will start to rot a person's body from the inside out. Except for some ferocious beasts that can adapt to this place, and powerful heavenly masters who can easily use yuan force to protect their heart and lungs, ordinary people who inhale the toxic gas will rot completely within a day at most.

  However, Ji Changkong miraculously discovered that his body seemed to be unaffected by the toxic gas of Yunmeng Daze. Since he was unscathed in the poisonous dragon pond's toxic gas, he found that whenever he inhaled the toxic gas, the fresh blood in his body would boil for a short while, and those toxic gases seemed to disappear instantly, without leaving any trace, and would not poison him to death.

  The most terrifying and frightening of all the poisonous miasma in Yun Meng Daze is the black poisonous miasma above the Poison Dragon Pool! Even the poisonous miasma there had no effect on him, let alone those in other areas.

  This is also one of the reasons why Ji Changkong dares to venture into the vast expanse of Cloud Dream Marsh alone.

  ……

  A month's time passed quietly and unhurriedly, Ji Changkong, who had been heading to the Poison Dragon Pool at a steady pace, finally arrived here with ease.

  As soon as he approached the Poison Dragon Pool, he took a deep breath of the fresh air that was free from the toxic miasma, and Ji Changkong suddenly had a strange illusion that he was merging with the entire Cloud Dream Marsh.

  He didn't deliberately use his yuan force, yet he directly entered the state of no self, standing there in a daze, as if he had suddenly vanished from the world.

  A wave of imperceptible fluctuations rippled out from Ji Changkong's body, with him as the center, the dense yuanqi of Yunmeng Daze quietly converged on him, slowly cleansing the turbid air in his body...

  Empty and hollow soul, thunderous shock!

  The next moment, a thread of wonderful insight surged into my mind. Ji Changkong, who had originally disappeared from the world, suddenly became aware of his own existence and could clearly feel the omnipresent heavenly energy of Yunmeng Dazhe flowing slowly...

  His soul stirred, and the yuan force was like a warm current that suddenly filled his brain. Ji Changkong suddenly felt refreshed and clear-headed. His eyes, ears, and nose seemed to have become more sensitive... He could see very far away, his ears could hear the faint sounds of insects crawling beside him, and his nose could smell the fragrance of a wild flower ten feet away.

  He realized that the one barrier that had been holding him back no longer existed.

  ……

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