She set small goals for herself, repeating a silent mantra in her mind: just one more lap, just one more.
Once she reached a goal, she would hypnotize herself again.
She no longer had the mental capacity to pay attention to the outside world.
What she didn't know was that the four others, who had already slowed to a walk, saw this youngest girl still persevering in her run and were inspired to start running again as well.
Martial Uncle Lu, who had been reading under the tree and only glancing up occasionally, had long since put away his book to focus intently on the situation in the square.
His gaze was primarily fixed on Gu Ningyun, who was running at a steady pace. Spirit energy flickered at his fingertips, as if he were ready to intervene at any moment.
Even for a cultivator, the body was still a mortal shell at this stage.
Such high-intensity training could potentially cause a physical collapse.
Gu Ningyun had lost track of how many laps she had run.
When she reached her goal yet again and prepared to hypnotize herself once more, she thought she heard someone calling her name through the haze.
Martial Uncle Lu, who had kept a thread of his divine sense on all of them, moved as soon as he realized Gu Ningyun had completed fifty laps, appearing by her side in a flash.
“That's fifty laps, Ningyun.”
Seeing no reaction, he repeated himself.
This time, Gu Ningyun heard him clearly. It was finally fifty laps.
The taut string in her mind suddenly snapped, and a wave of intense exhaustion surged through her. Her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Martial Uncle Lu was quick to support her arm, leading her into a slow walk. “Walk a few more laps. Your body won't be able to handle it if you stop suddenly.”
Sweat dripped from her eyelashes onto the ground, but more of it was blurring her vision. Martial Uncle Lu took out a handkerchief and wiped her face.
Gu Ningyun leaned on his strength for a while. Only after her body began to adjust did she nudge her arm slightly.
Martial Uncle Lu released her. Seeing that she was fine, he returned to the edge of the square.
Gu Ningyun walked slowly for six more laps before heading over to Martial Uncle Lu and sitting down on the ground against a tree.
She felt like she was about to fall apart from exhaustion.
However, the thought that she had actually persevered through fifty laps filled her with a sense of accomplishment.
Once she had rested enough, Gu Ningyun closed her eyes and began to review the sections of the spiritual plants chapter from the 《Almanac of Heavenly Wonders》 that she had recently read.
She only opened her eyes when she heard Wen Xuan calling her name.
Her companions had all finished their fifty laps, whether by running or walking, and had gathered under the tree.
Gu Ningyun stood up and walked over to Martial Uncle Lu with Wen Xuan.
With a wave of his sleeve, eight spirit herb packs appeared, floating in front of each person.
“These are spiritual plants meant to aid body refining during the initial stage. After you return each day, empty one pack into your bath.”
Gu Ningyun put the spirit herb packs into her storage bag. She noticed that the wrapping paper for her and Wen Xuan's packs was a different color than those given to the three boys.
It was likely because the physical constitutions of men and women differed, so the appropriate spiritual plants would vary as well.
After class, they dragged their sweat-soaked bodies straight to the dining hall. Gu Ningyun was so hungry that her stomach felt like it was stuck to her back.
After eating twice her usual amount, she finally felt full.
However, she was still mentally and physically drained.
She shook her groggy head. Wen Xuan and Jiang Yao had already finished their meals in a hurry and left; the two of them still had to attend remedial classes for the common script.
Gu Ningyun silently shed a tear of sympathy for them.
Jun Luo and Mu Chenze, worried about her, escorted her back to Tingfeng. They only left after seeing her enter the gate of the Cloud Residence from a distance.
Gu Ningyun—the one with the smallest build and the youngest age—hadn't wanted to trouble her friends, but her protests had been useless.
Back at the Cloud Residence, Gu Ningyun first washed off the sweat, filled the tub with fresh water, and then opened a spirit herb pack.
Inside were several spiritual plants she had read about in the spiritual plants chapter of the 《Almanac of Heavenly Wonders》. They were all suited for the early stages of body refining, intended to regulate the body and build a foundation.
She poured all the plants into the water. They seemed to have been specially processed, as they dissolved directly upon contact with the water.
Before long, the bathwater turned a pale green, emitting the distinct, fresh fragrance of spiritual plants.
Gu Ningyun submerged herself completely. The gentle essence of the spiritual plants entered her body through her skin, circulating along specific pathways.
Wherever the essence passed, her fatigue vanished, replaced by a sensation of rebirth.
She only stood up and dressed once the water had turned clear again.
She stretched her body; the soreness and weakness had faded, leaving her feeling light and comfortable.
If not for her lingering mental fatigue, she felt as though she could run another fifty laps.
After a moment's thought, she went to the cultivation chamber, sat cross-legged, and took a sip of spirit spring water from her space.
Unlike before, she now used her divine sense to look inward. She clearly saw the spirit spring water transform into countless motes of light, flowing through her meridians and flesh to every corner of her body.
Her meridians and flesh felt increasingly resilient and filled with energy.
Even her mental exhaustion began to lift.
Noticing that the light began to fade after reaching only a small part of her body, Gu Ningyun took a few more sips.
She only stopped drinking when the light had permeated her entire body and she felt a sense of fullness.
Feeling that her physical and mental states were now quite good, Gu Ningyun brought up the cultivation content for the first level of Qi Refining from the divine-rank high-grade 《Xiaoyao Wind Records》 that she had obtained at Book Peak earlier that day.
Following the instructions of the 《Xiaoyao Wind Records》, she mobilized the spirit energy in her dantian, starting from the Huiyin and moving upward along the midline of her abdomen...
The spirit energy flowed through the Huiyin, Qugu, and Zhongji points...
As the spirit energy circulated, the wind spirit energy from the outside world also entered her meridians through these acupoints, merging with the original strand of spirit energy.
She guided the spirit energy through the twenty-four acupoints of the Ren Meridian and the twenty-eight acupoints of the Du Meridian, completing a Minor Orbit circulation. Simultaneously, the external wind spirit energy entered her body through these fifty-two acupoints.
The fifty-two streams of spirit energy converged into a massive torrent. Because of the divine-rank technique, this energy flowed into her dantian like a rushing river—incredibly fast, yet without causing the slightest damage to her meridians.
Gu Ningyun also observed that as this spirit energy traveled through her meridians, a small portion of it would vanish into them. The meridians that absorbed this energy were tempered, becoming wider and more resilient.
At the same time, after her internal spirit energy completed one Minor Orbit, a mysterious power identical to that described in the 《Xiaoyao Wind Records》 appeared.
As the Minor Orbit continued, the same mysterious power appeared in the meridians and dantian that had been tempered by the spirit energy.
She didn't understand what this power was, but she could feel its mystery and strength.
She wondered if this power could be controlled.
After some thought, she tried to control the spirit energy in her dantian, attempting to mobilize only a single strand of wind spirit energy that did not contain the mysterious power.
She had expected it to be difficult, but as soon as her divine sense reached out, the spirit energy followed her will and obediently left the dantian to enter the Ren Meridian.
She then tried to mobilize only the mysterious power, but she was unsuccessful, likely due to her low cultivation level.
However, being able to easily mobilize wind spirit energy alone, as well as wind spirit energy containing the mysterious power, was a pleasant surprise for Gu Ningyun.
She had a feeling that this mysterious power was anything but simple.
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