I proved immortality through the imperial examination.

Chapter 19 Blessed Spirit Realm
"I'm in Jiufen Mountain, so it's easy for me to get information. The fact that the Imperial Guards are recruiting on a large scale is no secret."

Xue Xiang slowly stood up, staring at Xue Yi and said, "The food in the government office is hard to eat, and being a secret agent is an even more dangerous business."

It's good that you're ambitious and unwilling to settle for mediocrity, but don't court disaster.

Xue Yi said with her neck stiff, "For a family like ours, if we don't break through the dead end, how can we survive?"
I'd rather die than live a mediocre life.

Xue Xiang was stunned. For the first time, he realized that he knew absolutely nothing about this younger brother he had taken for granted.

But seeing his youthful spirit, Xue Xiang knew that if he told a teenager that playing online games had no future, the boy would definitely have a lot to say in rebuttal.

"The Imperial Guards only want people who can fight and kill. Even if you cultivate in secret, your current level wouldn't be high, would it?"

"I have already reached the third level of Qi Refining. My mentor in the Imperial Guard said that my spiritual root is excellent and my cultivation effect is extraordinary."

In the dimly lit room, Xue Yi's eyes shone like two candles.

Xue Xiang knew all too well how difficult cultivation was. If he hadn't accidentally obtained the Sage's Diagram, he probably would never have been able to break through to the third level of Qi Refining in his entire life.

Xue Yi's cultivation time will definitely not exceed half a year.

If that's the case, joining the Imperial Guard might not be a bad way out.

"Even if you join the Imperial Guard, you can't even spend the New Year at home?"

"The newly selected members all have to participate in trials, I really don't have time. Eldest brother, what about Mother..."

"I will cover it up completely."

"Take this."

"Give this to Sister Mei."

The two brothers handed over a money bag at the same time.

The drum in Xue Xiang's hand.

"When you're out and about, there are always places where you need money. I'm a deputy section chief now, surely I can protect my family, right?"

Without saying a word, Xue Xiang stuffed the money bag into Xue Yi's arms.

Xue Yi's eyes were slightly red. He grabbed Xue Xiang's hand tightly, got out of bed, put on his clothes and shoes, opened the window, and before Xue Xiang could speak, he flipped out of the window and, with a few leaps, climbed over the wall and out.

The swirling snow made Xue Xiang feel icy cold all over.

He was wide awake, closed the window, took out the statue of a sage and the Nebula Box, put in hundreds of spiritual threads, and began cultivating again.

He was filled with mixed feelings. He suddenly realized that his current status and strength were not enough, far from enough, to protect his family.

"To die for righteousness."

Xue Xiang recited softly.

Strangely, the hazy field surrounding the Kang Guangling statue showed no reaction whatsoever.

Xue Xiang recited it three times in a row, but the result remained the same.

"Could it be that they're tired of eating leftovers?"

With a sudden thought, Xue Xiang began to recite the entire "Zhengyan" from memory.

Half an hour later, after reciting a passage from "Zhengyan" (正言), Xue Xiang read aloud: "Is it not a pleasure to learn and practice what you have learned? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar? Is it not the mark of a gentleman to remain unperturbed when others do not understand you?"

As he chanted, the hazy field suddenly transformed into specks of clear light, rising into the air and surrounding Xue Xiang.

Xue Xiang hurriedly activated the Spirit Guiding Technique. Surrounded by clear light, hundreds of spiritual threads almost instantly transformed into spiritual power, slowly entering Xue Xiang's body.

In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed, and Xue Xiang had refined four hundred spirit threads before feeling deeply exhausted.

He closed the portrait, put the light into the portrait, and before he could even put away the Nebula Box, he fell asleep on the bed.

When Xue Xiang woke up the next morning, he didn't get up immediately; he was still reflecting on the changes to the statue of the sage the day before.

He keenly realized that this change was not only reflected in the accelerated absorption of spiritual energy.

Because of his body, he also seemed to receive some kind of benefit.

Realizing his lack of knowledge about cultivation, he felt he should find a teacher in the field.

It took Xue Xiangcai and Liu Mei the entire morning to work together to calm Xue's mother down to her breaking point due to Xue Yi's departure.

The family ate a tasteless New Year's Eve dinner.

In the afternoon, Zhang came again. Her ability to disrupt things was unparalleled, and this time it came in handy, successfully diverting Xue's mother's attention.

Xue Xiang then took the opportunity to leave and headed straight for Baishui School.

The school had already closed for the holidays, but some people were still on duty. Xue asked for Long Youdao's address and hurried there.

When he arrived at the Long residence, it was filled with laughter and joy. Long Youdao was playing cards with several female relatives.

Upon recognizing Xue Xiang, Long Youdao nearly overturned the mahjong table. He rushed forward, shouting for someone to bring good tea and snacks.

Xue Xiang waved his hand and directly stated his purpose: he needed to find a senior instructor to teach cultivation.

Long Youdao, with his clear understanding of the Daoist path, immediately recommended Qian Ming, a retired instructor from Baishui Academy who had been dedicated to teaching cultivation.

An hour later, Xue Xiang met Qian Ming at Fuyun Teahouse.

An elderly man in his sixties, with a thin face and three long strands of beard under his chin, had the demeanor of an elder.

Xue Xiang bowed in greeting, and Qian Ming waved his hand, saying, "I owe Lao Long a favor, and I'm here to repay it."

"Mr. Qian, this..."

Long Youdao's chubby face turned red.

Xue Xiang said, "No matter what, I appreciate your kindness. Vice Headmaster Long, I'd like to have a private chat with Elder Qian. It's the New Year, so I apologize for bothering you."

Long Youdao repeatedly said "I dare not," and left the elegant room, turning back every few steps.

Xue Xiang poured the tea, but Qian Ming didn't touch the teacup. "Director Xue, if you have any questions, just ask."

"Does Elder Qian know of any methods to expedite the process of drawing spirits into the body?"

Yes, there are four main types.

First, advanced cultivation techniques, which have flourished to this day, are already quite brilliant.

It possesses advanced spiritual guidance techniques that allow one to overcome the barriers of inferior aptitude during lower-level cultivation, thus accelerating the cultivation process.

Second, Foundation Establishment experts are willing to sacrifice their cultivation to temper their spirit and guide it. Under such circumstances, it is not uncommon for them to draw more than one spirit fragment into their body in a single day.

Third, natural and precious materials improve qualifications.

The difficulty in drawing spiritual energy into the body stems from poor spiritual root aptitude. For those with top-grade spiritual roots, breaking through three barriers in a single day is not uncommon.

Fourth, find a blessed spiritual realm. Such rare treasures can provide a stable spiritual realm, thus accelerating the process of attracting spirits.

"What is the Blessed Spirit Realm?"

Xue Xiang guessed that the portrait of Kang Guangling should belong to this category.

Qian Mingdao said, "The Blessed Spirit Realm is mostly the legacy of great beings, and its existence takes many forms, so it is not easy to list them all."

Xue Xiang said, "I've heard that portraits of sages that have been released from the temple have extraordinary effects. Could this also be considered a blessing to the spiritual realm?"

Qian Ming nodded, "Of course it counts, it's the most widely known Blessed Spirit Realm."

However, the spiritual realm of blessings within the sacred statue is difficult to open. After all, the sacred statue embodies the will of sages, and only by resonating with the will of sages can the spiritual realm within the sacred statue be opened.

Of course, this doesn't mean that without activating the Blessed Spirit Realm, the statue is just a piece of waste paper.

When guiding a spirit into your body, placing the image beside you will, to some extent, help to draw the spirit into your body, as the residual spiritual energy within the image will still be beneficial.

However, this does not truly unleash the power of the blessed spiritual realm within the sacred image.

Therefore, a single icon is often passed down through several generations; the person who created it passes away, but the icon remains.

Only then did Xue Xiang understand why Xie Haiya would give him the portrait of Kang Guangling, which had such miraculous effects.

Xue Xiang composed himself and said, "I've heard that there are two kinds of blessed spiritual realms. One is like a field, surrounding the cultivator."
Another type is characterized by a bright, clear light that surrounds the cultivator; this latter type helps to attract spiritual energy into the body even faster.

Qian Mingdao said, "The former is the regular spiritual realm, and the latter is the spiritual realm's reflection."

The latter situation means that the Blessed Spirit Realm is about to decline.

Furthermore, the Spirit Realm Reflection is an even more refined Spirit Realm.

Being in the spiritual realm of radiant light allows one to draw spirits into the body at a speed ten times faster than in a regular spiritual realm.

Within the spiritual realm's radiant light, spiritual movement is virtually unimpeded, meaning the speed of cultivating any technique will be greatly enhanced.

(End of this chapter)