Crossing the Cultivation Realm: Two Souls Coexist

When the first ray of morning light penetrated the treetops and fell on Gu Yang, he woke up from his sleep.

He found that all the scars on his body disappeared and his skin became whiter and tougher.

After a simple packing, he climbed up the cliff. At this time, Hu Qing in his body began to wake up due to Gu Yang's movements. He was also surprised to find that his soul was not as illusory as yesterday, but more solid. He asked in surprise:

"Brother Gu, my injury seems to have healed. Did you practice last night?"

"You're awake. Did I move too much? No, I was just wondering too. I found out this morning that I was basically recovered, and even felt better. You take it easy, I have to hurry up." Gu Yang answered the question while climbing up quickly.

"Brother Gu, be careful and watch your step. There's a rock on the left that you can use as leverage. There's also a branch above that, and you should be almost there."

Hu Qing was floating nearby, pointing the way and chatting: "Why are you in such a hurry? Is it because of the exam?"

"No, the morning is almost over. I need to absorb the morning light for my Changqing Gong training. I got up late today, so I have to hurry to the top of the mountain."

Gu Yang just climbed up the cliff and rushed towards the distant hill.

(The skills are divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow, and further divided into three grades: Upper, Middle, and Lower.)

After a while, he sat on the bluestone, adjusted his breathing, tapped his hands lightly, practiced his skills, absorbed spiritual energy, and tried to break through the early stage of the body tempering period.

However, as usual, the cultivation process was extremely difficult. He felt that the flow of spiritual power in his meridians was not smooth, as if there was an invisible barrier blocking his progress.

Half an hour later.

Gu Yang's cultivation still did not improve, and he began to feel frustrated, so he gave up practicing and started exercising to prepare for the upcoming hunting trip.

"What's wrong? Is your practice not going well? The sun hasn't risen yet." Hu Qing was surprised to see Gu Yang stop practicing and start warming up, and asked.

"It still doesn't work. I started practicing at the age of seven, relying on common practice techniques. At the age of eight, I reached the early stage of the Body Tempering Stage. Everyone in the village thought I was a genius in cultivation and jointly bought me a mid-grade Yellow Rank Changqing Gong for me to practice."

Gu Yang's face grew increasingly bitter. "But now I'm sixteen years old, still in the early stages of the Body Tempering Stage, and haven't made any progress in my cultivation. Although no one in the village has said anything, I still feel sorry for them."

"Could it be a problem with the technique? After all, you were able to reach the initial stage of cultivation with common techniques before, but after learning the technique, you haven't made any progress."

"I tried practicing other techniques, but to no avail, so I decided to take the imperial examinations to repay my fellow villagers."

Gu Yang stopped warming up and said, "Let's go hunting and replenish our food for the journey. It will take several days to reach Haitian City, the capital of the East Sea Kingdom. The exam is coming soon."

Gu Yang led Hu Qing into the dense forest. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling onto them. The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and vegetation.

Relying on his cultivation in the early stage of the Body Tempering Period and his familiarity with the mountains and forests, Gu Yang quickly found some suitable targets for hunting.

They chose some agile but medium-sized prey. Gu Yang's movements were quick and accurate, and in a short while, he hunted several hares and a deer.

Although Hu Qing could not personally participate in the hunt, his soul in Gu Yang provided strategy and observation, helping Gu Yang avoid possible dangers and choose the best time to hunt.

As the sun gradually set, Gu Yang and Hu Qing returned with a full load. They skinned and gutted the animals they had hunted, roasted them over a fire, and ate some of them immediately while making the rest into dried meat for easy portability.

They hung the processed prey on the trees to let the night breeze dry it, and at the same time stored enough food for the next day's journey.

Around the campfire.

"Brother Gu, I want to learn some martial arts. Can you teach me the Changqing Gong tomorrow? I also want to contribute." Hu Qing said as he looked at the sizzling venison on the campfire.

"Sure, but can the soul really be cultivated?" Gu Yang began to eat the meat and spoke vaguely: "Let's get up early tomorrow and guide you through the circulation and try again."

As night fell, the two of them, having eaten and drunk their fill, fell into a deep sleep under the starlight, and the day passed quietly.

Before dawn, Gu Yang gently awakened Hu Qing's soul.

"Aqing, let's go to the top of the mountain to practice." Gu Yang's voice sounded in Hu Qing's consciousness, with a hint of freshness in the early morning.

Hu Qing's soul awakened in Gu Yang's body and felt an inexplicable excitement.

Although he is a soul from the modern era and knows nothing about cultivation, he is full of curiosity and yearning for the world of Guyang.

The two of them came to the top of a nearby mountain together. The view here was wide and the air was fresh, making it a good place for cultivation.

Gu Yang stood on a flat rock, facing the east, waiting for the arrival of the first ray of sunshine.

"A Qing, I will teach you how to practice Changqing Gong. You don't have a body, so I don't know how you can absorb spiritual energy. First, follow the flow of my spiritual energy in your body and find the node for absorption." Gu Yang said seriously.

Following Gu Yang's guidance, Hu Qing's soul began to try to sense the surrounding spiritual energy.

He followed Gu Yang's instructions, adjusted his breathing, relaxed his body and mind, and tried to resonate with the natural energy around him.

"Feel your dantian, imagine there is a cyclone there, and slowly attract the surrounding spiritual energy." Gu Yang's voice echoed in Hu Qing's ears.

Under Gu Yang's guidance, Hu Qing's soul began to try to practice Changqing Gong.

Although he felt a little unfamiliar and difficult at first, he gradually found the feeling under Gu Yang's patient teaching.

As time went by, Hu Qing's soul began to feel a subtle change.

He felt his consciousness becoming clearer, and the surrounding spiritual energy began to slowly gather towards his head.

When the first ray of sunlight penetrated the clouds and shone on Gu Yang and Hu Qing, they began a new round of practice.

Gu Yang felt something unusual right from the beginning of his practice. Today's practice speed seemed to be twice as fast as before, and he absorbed more and more sunlight.

He looked at Hu Qing next to him, the small one sitting on his shoulder practicing. He understood that this was the effect of Hu Qing, and that Hu Qing's soul was beginning to take effect.

"Aqing, try to relax your breathing and don't force the flow of spiritual energy too much." Gu Yang said hurriedly, feeling that the dawn light on his body was about to turn him into a man of light.

Following Gu Yang's advice, Hu Qing relaxed his breathing and let his spiritual energy flow naturally.

At this moment, the half petal next to him seemed to sense his change, constantly absorbing the sunlight and emitting a warm and soft light, resonating with their souls.

This light penetrated into Gu Yang's meridians, like a warm spring breeze, melting the invisible barrier.

Gu Yang felt that his spiritual power began to flow at an unprecedented speed. His cultivation speed suddenly accelerated, and every breath seemed to absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

As time went on, Gu Yang's progress became more and more obvious. He felt that his spiritual power was constantly increasing, and his meridians were becoming wider and tougher.

When the sun rose high in the sky, Gu Yang finished his training. He felt an unprecedented sense of ease and joy. He had reached the middle stage of the Body Tempering Stage.

"A Qing, what's going on? Why did I absorb all the sunlight at once, and there was an additional warm force?" Gu Yang asked in confusion.

"It's that petal. You have half a petal inside you. It was there when I woke up. I thought it was something you were cultivating, so I didn't mention it."

Hu Qing pointed at Gu Yang's Dantian: "It was this that was absorbing the morning light just now. I think I have reached the early stage of the Body Tempering Stage."

"Petals, what kind of things are they, and why are they in my dantian?" Gu Yang directed his spiritual power towards his dantian, and sure enough, he found tiny petals next to Hu Qing, emitting an alluring glow.

He used his spiritual power to summon the half petal from his dantian and it fell into his hand, but he found that the texture of the petal was very hard, and seemed to be stronger than any metal he knew. Even his spiritual power in the middle stage of the Body Tempering Stage could not shake it in the slightest.

As his spiritual power deepened, Gu Yang began to try to understand and explore the secrets of the petals.

He discovered that whenever he circulated his spiritual power, the petals would emit a subtle fluctuation, as if resonating with his spiritual power.

This made him curious and made him realize that the petals might not be a simple foreign object, but possess some special power.

Hu Qing's soul also noticed the existence of these petals. From a modern perspective, he put forward some hypotheses and conjectures.

"Brother Gu, this petal may be a special substance, or it may contain some unknown energy. It may have an important impact on your cultivation." Hu Qing said.

Gu Yang nodded and decided to study the petals more attentively, trying to find a way to coexist harmoniously with them.

He began to try to circulate his spiritual power in different ways, observing the reactions of the petals, hoping to stimulate its potential.

As time went by, the petals had no effect other than emitting fluctuations. The two had no choice but to give up and started on their journey, hoping to uncover the secret of the petals as soon as possible.