Condensing Spirit Sea was to extrude a room out in the place where the Chong channel and the Ren channel converged. This was not as simple as cutting a hole. It was to make the room by squeezing slowly and creating such a space. In the process, the Xuan Energy could not experience any turbulence, and the body could not have any overreaction. The anguish must be endured…
Lu Li mobilized his Xuan Energy to the intersection of Ren channel and Chong channel just as written on the Secret Warrior Book. He divided his Xuan Energy into two strands and made them rotate following the pattern of the Yin-Yang Fish Tai Chi Diagram.
This part was easy. The two strands of Xuan Energy rotated quickly. Lu Li could control the Xuan Energy at will now; he could do it with three strands, let alone two.
But it got much harder. Lu Li mobilized more Xuan Energy into it. With the increase in the amount of Xuan Energy, the intersection between the two main energy channels inevitably began to inflate and swell.
A faint feeling of pain passed through from the energy channels. Lu Li couldn't help but get distracted. His Xuan Energy ran helter-skelter uncontrollably…
He had failed!
Lu Li opened his eyes and spat the wood out. Lu Li exhaled and took some rest, and after which, he mobilized his Xuan Energy and started condensing Spirit Sea again.
It was better this time. Lu Li went on for the time it took for an incense stick to burn before he stopped out of the intolerable pain.
Lu Li's back was soaked in sweat. The sweat ran down his forehead like raindrops. He merely rested for the time it took two incense sticks to burn before he started again.
The first step in condensing Spirit Sea was to push the intersection of Chong channel and the Ren channel with Xuan Energy and make a room there the size of a fist.
It was a miserable process. If it were some disciples of big families, they usually had the help of pellets when doing this to reduce the pain physically. It would be less time consuming and less difficult.
Lu Li had no pellet. He could not afford even one pellet with the amount of contribution points he had. He had to rely on his willpower to break through bit by bit and to expand the room little by little.
Five days!
Lu Li used five days to finally finish the first step. But he had lost weight. He managed to expand the space at the intersection between the two energy channels to the size of a fist.
He took a good night's sleep and began the second step the next morning. It was the most important step, condensing the air whirl.
The principle was very plain as well. An air whirl was to be condensed in the expanded space using Xuan Energy. Once the air whirl was successfully formed, it would mean that the Spirit Sea was stable and that the Spirit Sea Realm was reached.
Lu Li made his Xuan Energy to flow following the pattern of the Yin-Yang Fish Tai Chi Diagram. The amount of Xuan Energy started going up. The Xuan Energy again was pressing down the energy channels. Lu Li had to tolerate the pain coming through.
Since it took more time to condense air whirl, without the assistance of any high level pellets, Lu Li had to control the Xuan Energy to circulate for about two hours before the Xuan Energy could actively form the air whirl.
With more Xuan Energy came more pain. Once again, Lu Li's back was soaked in sweat, and the sweat on his forehead was like rain. He was trembling.
Lu Li was determined to choke down the pain by biting the wooden stick in his mouth. He forgot all the pain that he was in and focused his entire mind on the intersection in his abdomen.
He could not pause while condensing the air whirl. More and more Xuan Energy needed to be allocated there. The pain, therefore, would not reduce, but increase…
Actually, the pain inside the body was not much of a problem. Most people could stand it. The matter was that the pain could affect a person's nerve. It made one distracted and unable to control the body.
But one had to endure the anguish during the condensing of the air whirl and control the Xuan Energy at all times. No single mistake could be made. Besides, the process had to go on for two hours.
Once a single thing went wrong, everything would be in vain. Even worse, Xuan Energy turbulence could be induced which would lead to death and his body exploding.
"Hiss, hiss..."
In the a short span of time for two incense sticks to burn, Lu Li had to stop because he could stand the pain no more. He hummed and disgorged the stick which had two rows of teeth prints on it. He lied on the floor face down and breathed heavily.
The door was quietly opened. Lu Ling peeped through the door. She was worried, but she left after just one look.
To successfully condense Spirit Sea was the first barrier after one became a warrior. If Lu Li could not make it through, how could he achieve great things in the future?
Lu Ling also did not believe that her brother was so incompetent. If the offspring of the Lu Family could not get pass the first barrier, the Lu Family could not deserve such a reputation.
Lu Li was not incompetent, but the pain was intolerable. It was as if someone was cutting his flesh with a knife. Under this circumstance, he could only keep the Xuan Energy in order for the time it took for two incense sticks to burn. It was already hard as it was. Normally, people could not even stand it for the time for one incense stick to burn.
Lu Li rested for half a day and continued. As he expected, he only endured it for the time it took for two incense sticks to burn. He could not stand the pain any more nor could he control his Xuan Energy. All his previous efforts were wasted.
It was the same for the third time he tried, and the fourth, fifth, sixth time...
Lu Li failed again and again. At this moment, he finally understood what Patriarch Cai meant. He also came to the realization why there were so many Xuan Wu Realm warriors back at the tribe but so few warriors of the Spirit Sea Realm.
Without the resources of big families, without pellets and herbs, it was too difficult to condense Spirit Sea.
If the Liu Family could supply Lu Li with endless pellets and herbs to make it less of a suffering for him to condense Spirit Sea and to enable him to move faster, and let the air whirl more stable and much easier to condense, he would have successfully made it to the Spirit Sea Realm by then.
He could not join the External Clan or Internal Clan of any family. He needed to go to Central Plains and ask for the help of Lu Family powerhouse to rescue his parents. Once he joined the External Clan or Internal Clan of a family, his freedom would be at stake. These Families would not allow him to leave the Northern Desert.
As a result, Lu Li could not count on the Liu Family, or pellets or herbs. He had to rely on himself to condense Spirit Sea.
"I have to think of something to make it less hurtful. Otherwise, I can spend my entire life and still cannot do it."
The physical pain would affect a person's mind. Once his attention was messed up, the Xuan Energy would get out of control which consequently meant that he could not condense Spirit Sea.
But how to make himself less painful?
Pellet was the only solution!
Lu Li thought of something. He still had two pellets with him, the most average healing pellet. They were given to him last time at the Frigid Cloud Mountain by Patriarch Hong when they were fighting the Iron Spur Wolves.
The healing pellets could only be used in treatment and slightly reduce the pain. However, there was one crucial element—Lu Li had this magical animal tooth pendant. The animal tooth could magnify the efficacy infinitely. Maybe it would make it less painful for him.
Lu Lu crawled up and found the wound healing pellets. He kept the pellet in his mouth without swallowing it. Lu Li sat down with his legs crossed and began to mobilize his Xuan Energy to condense the air whirl.
The pellet would melt in the mouth. It seeped into his body bit by bit. At the same time, Lu Li had started to mobilize numerous Xuan Energy to try to make it.
By the time Lu Li felt pain, the pellet was melted completely. In the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the animal tooth pendant started glowing, twinkling.
"How..."
When the animal tooth glowed, Lu Li felt this indescribable force in his body that came from nowhere and flowed in the energy channels. When this intangible force reached the intersection between the Chong channel and the Ren channel, his pain was gone, vanished completely. No painful sensation was left.
"Nice!"
At this critical moment, how could Lu Li afford to get distracted? Right away, Lu Li desperately started mobilizing his Xuan Energy and condensed the air whirl.
Soon, sharp pain came again. Lu Li fought it back and minded it no more. As expected, the intangible force that passed through from the animal tooth pendant erased the pain quickly.
"Faster, faster, faster!"
Who knew how long the animal tooth pendant would keep glowing? If the animal tooth pendant glow died down before he could successfully condense, all his efforts would be for nothing. Lu Li focused all his attention on mobilizing his Xuan Energy. Right now, Lu Li didn't want to worry about even if the world was going to come to an end.