Foundations from the Pinned Notice and the Rise of Eohu
Was there even a notice on the Moomyeongbang? Baek Mu-ae patted Baek Cheong's shoulder, his expression visibly relieved. Having witnessed with his own eyes the prodigy who had stepped onto the threshold of Five Elements Unity, he could now enter secluded cultivation without a shred of regret.
"Your granddaughter Baek Cheong will take her leave."
Stepping down from the position of acting family head, Baek Cheong returned to her residence and plopped down on the bed. The moment of achieving Five Elements Unity lingered in her mind, replaying over and over. Never before had such an intense thirst for cultivation surged within her.
To achieve Five Elements Unity, I need to raise my realm first...
Baek Cheong propped her chin on her hand, lost in deep thought. The fastest way to elevate her realm was to pop supreme-grade pills inside the Qi Gathering Formation of the training chamber. But blindly stuffing her body with spiritual energy felt off somehow. Her father's repeated lectures on consolidating the realm echoed in her ears like a stubborn scab that wouldn't peel away.
Consolidating the realm, huh...
The words were easy enough, but she had no clue how to actually do it. Raising a realm was a straightforward process: fill the dantian with spiritual energy and shatter the thick barrier. The goal was visible, the sense of accomplishment tangible. Consolidating, on the other hand, felt like grasping at clouds. Strengthen the meridians, evenly distribute spiritual energy through the body's acupoints, harmonize flesh and qi—it was all so abstract, leaving her unsure where to even start.
Consolidating a realm was like fertilizing a dry field and turning the soil. No immediate sprouts or fruits, no tangible change. For the impatient Baek Cheong, it was pure torture.
Even in my past life, I always skipped the tutorials.
Frustrated, Baek Cheong scratched her head. Memories from her previous life were chaining her thinking, making it hard to grasp the fundamentals of cultivation in the Xuanshen Realm. But she couldn't just run to her father and ask. She was the once-in-a-millennium prodigy who had independently comprehended Five Elements Mutual Generation and crossed the threshold to Five Elements Unity. Asking now how to even breathe properly? The family elders would find it suspicious, shooting her doubtful glances.
In the end, the only thing I can rely on is the Moomyeongbang.
With habitual ease, Baek Cheong channeled her divine sense to access the Moomyeongbang. Ignoring the noisy chatter board as always, she headed straight to the information board. She began typing keywords into the search bar.
[Realm Consolidation], [Stabilizing the Realm], [How to Consolidate a Realm].
She tried every variation, scouring thoroughly, but the results were dismal. Amid the flood of info posts, not a single one covered the absolute basics.
"They don't even have this on the information board?"
Baek Cheong pouted in complaint. To cultivators, consolidating a realm was as natural as breathing or eating. It was treated as such trivial common sense that it wasn't even worth posting.
Giving up on search, Baek Cheong returned to the chatter board. With her usual bold, shameless flair, she tossed out a question post.
[I've just been popping pills and breaking through, and now my dantian feels all loose. Tips on strengthening meridians?]
As soon as she posted, red notifications lined up. The Dou users, recognizing her account number, unleashed a barrage of reactions.
Most were sneers or useless nonsense. Baek Cheong sighed, scrolling down, until a short reply caught her eye.
A vet's response, laced with kindness and irritation. Only then did Baek Cheong tilt her head.
The Moomyeongbang has notices too?
She'd vaguely assumed some board master or admin existed in this mystical cultivator network, but formal notices? News to her. Baek Cheong hurriedly exited her post and checked the top of the Moomyeongbang. Looking closely, below the boards, a bold, pinned post stood out in thick letters.
[Guidelines for Juniors Who Awakened Moomyeongjiche]
In her past life's communities, skipping pinned notices was the unwritten rule. Habit had tricked her brain into filtering it out as nonexistent.
This was hiding here all along.
Embarrassed, Baek Cheong cleared her throat and clicked into the notice. It was packed like an encyclopedia: origins of the Moomyeongbang, traits of Moomyeongjiche, hidden secrets of the Xuanshen Realm, and more.
[The Moomyeongbang is presumed to be a spiritual network left behind in jest by a ■■■ of the True Immortal Realm...]
[Disseminating images of True Immortals on the boards may cause soul collapse—exercise extreme caution...]
Fascinating stuff, but Baek Cheong skipped the irrelevant parts. She needed cultivation basics. Skimming quickly, she found the bold subheading.
[Qi Refining Cultivation Methods]
[The focus of Qi Refining cultivation is consolidating the realm through meridian stabilization. Obsessing over filling spiritual energy to break through causes meridians to rupture under expansion.]
[To consolidate, expelling impurities is essential. Split spiritual energy finely to stimulate acupoints and push it out through all pores. This cleans impurities from bones and muscles, enhancing meridian elasticity.]
[Repeat impurity expulsion for 2 hours daily to feel increased spiritual energy purity and thinner breakthrough barriers.]
The guide was simple and clear: expel impurities to boost meridian elasticity and qi purity.
So basically, keep manually sweating out the gunk.
Baek Cheong recalled the sewer-stink waste from breakthroughs. The thought of enduring that stench daily furrowed her brow.
But I have to do it.
To keep fooling her father, dodging her grandfather's eyes, and maintaining the prodigy act, solid basics were non-negotiable. Especially at Qi Refining 4th star, she needed max qi purity to shatter the massive barrier ahead.
Memorizing the guide, Baek Cheong withdrew her divine sense. She sat properly cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed. Focusing her divine sense, she split dispersing spiritual energy into hair-thin strands and forced them into meridian gaps. Needle-like stinging pain stabbed her whole body. The energy clawed at hidden impurities in blood vessels and muscles. Stimulating acupoints felt like tiny hammers pounding.
Grinding her teeth, Baek Cheong focused on consolidation. Soon, sticky sweat mixed with faint gray impurities seeped from her pores. Not as much as breakthrough waste, but still reeking unpleasantly.
Ugh, gross.
After barely filling 2 hours, she stopped. Her body was slick with cold sweat and impurity fluid, but her meridians felt light and refreshed, like a breeze blowing through. Circulating qi, the flow was smoother than before.
It definitely works.
Bathing it off, Baek Cheong nodded. Tedious and painful, but visible progress made it bearable. Clean and dressed, she lay on the bed. Insights from the acting head ceremony, the consolidation method from the guide—a fulfilling, productive day filled her with satisfaction.
Now, time for some gallery lurking...!
Her heart light, Baek Cheong reconnected to the Moomyeongbang. The sweet gallery time earned through hard training. The chatter board buzzed as always. The uproar from her drawing post had died down; Dous were back to mundane nonsense and chit-chat.
Scanning posts for juicy bait, one with sky-high views caught her eye.
[The guy who bragged he was our sect's best got charmed by a fox spirit, threw a fit about dual cultivation, got beat by his martial uncle and kicked out.]
A juicy gossip spilling her own sect's dirt. Replies were a mess of mocking Dous and fact-checkers.
Fox spirits are real...
Eyes sparkling, Baek Cheong rolled on the bed. An idea to blow off cultivation fatigue bubbled up. She quickly crafted attention-grabbing replies.