"Sigh!"

A disappointed sigh came from a young boy with a plain appearance, his face expressionless. He had failed again. This was the forty-ninth consecutive failure in three months. Even with Li Bai's resilient mind, he was now surrounded by frustration and despair.

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of the boy's mouth as he shook his head and looked at his hands. Could it be that his aptitude was truly so poor? Li Bai clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his flesh, but he seemed to feel no pain.

Li Bai was seventeen years old and had been a disciple of the Misty Cloud Valley for three years. Misty Cloud Valley was a small sect in the world of cultivation, with nearly a thousand disciples, and Li Bai was among the lower-ranked ones.

In the span of three years, his peers who entered the sect at the same time had already advanced to the mid-stage of the Spirit Movement phase. Some with exceptional talent had even reached the later stage of the fifth level. Yet he remained stuck at the first level.

His slow progress was not due to a lack of effort. On the contrary, his diligence was unmatched among the lower-ranked disciples. While others practiced their techniques once, he did so three times; while others meditated for an hour, he did so for three. Despite such diligent efforts, his rewards were meager, leaving him far behind his peers, filling his heart with a sense of failure.

Cultivation was divided into eight stages: Spirit Movement, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Unity, Mysterious Cave, Separation of Spirit, and Tribulation Passage. Each stage had seven layers: the first two layers were the early stage, the third and fourth layers were the mid-stage, the fifth and sixth layers were the late stage, and the seventh layer was called the Grand Completion, which allowed one to break through to the next stage.

Even though the path of immortality was difficult, it was meant to progress from shallow to deep. For instance, the techniques of the first two layers of the Spirit Movement stage were merely introductory. Talented individuals could master the first layer within two months, and even those with lesser aptitude could achieve it in three to five months, provided they had a spiritual root.

A spiritual root was a term in the world of cultivation. There has been no definitive description of what exactly constitutes a spiritual root over thousands of years, but it is understood that having one greatly accelerates cultivation compared to ordinary people. In theory, even individuals with average talent could pursue cultivation, but they would have to work ten times harder for less than half the results. Simply put, it was all effort for little reward.

Unfortunately, Li Bai was one such ordinary person without a spiritual root. Normally, an ordinary person like him without a spiritual root would not be accepted by any sect. However, Li Bai's situation was special. Three years ago, by sheer chance, he saved a severely injured elder of Misty Cloud Valley, who, out of gratitude, introduced him into the sect, a small school of cultivation.

Throughout the three years, Li Bai had never neglected his cultivation. Winter practice continued through the coldest days and summer training persisted through the heat. Despite putting in more effort than others, he remained far behind his peers. In the pursuit of the immortal path, talent mattered more; hard work alone was insufficient to bridge this gap!

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Recently, in attempting to break through, Li Bai felt that his power had reached the peak of the first layer, just a step away from the second layer of the Spirit Movement phase. Yet this tiny discrepancy seemed like a vast chasm, impossible for him to cross despite his efforts.

After a long while, Li Bai unclenched his fists and exhaled, as if trying to expel the frustration from his heart. He then resumed a meditative position, preparing to use the internal visualization technique.

Internal visualization was a minor technique in the cultivation world. It allowed practitioners to examine the flow of spiritual energy within their dantian and meridians, serving as an auxiliary method used during cultivation.

His dantian appeared empty under this technique, with only a faint wisp of pale blue gas—the so-called spiritual energy. Yet, it was scarce and thin, indicative of Li Bai's low cultivation level.

Cultivation essentially meant going against the natural order, and to defy nature, one required immense talents, which could only be honed through rigorous trials, allowing practitioners to harness the elements, absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and refine it for personal use.

The thin strands of spiritual energy Li Bai had accumulated over three years of cultivation were far less than those of his peers. Without a spiritual root, his cultivation path was far more arduous.

Under the guidance of his spiritual consciousness, the strands of spiritual energy began to gather and intertwine. Originally, each strand was about as thin as a hair, but over time, they combined to about the thickness of a little finger.

A faint mist appeared over Li Bai's head, and his body was drenched in sweat. Just the process of gathering his spiritual energy had exhausted him. Clearly, the cultivation path for an ordinary person was fraught with challenges.

His breathing became heavier, yet his expression didn't change at all. He had long become accustomed to this over the past three years.

After condensing his spiritual energy, Li Bai's expression remained unchanged. Carefully, he released his spiritual consciousness and, following the mental techniques taught by his sect, guided the energy out of his dantian and into his meridians.

For a cultivator, the dantian is the fundamental storage for spiritual energy, while the eight extraordinary meridians are also crucial. As spiritual energy circulated through all eight meridians from head to toe, it completed what was known as a Great Circle.

Each time this cycle was completed, the spiritual energy would grow slightly stronger. Although the increment was minimal, over time, through repeated cycles each day, the energy would gradually increase.

Of course, there were countless methods of cultivation each sect employed, and every sect had its own path for the Great Circle cycle, differing in effect significantly.

The Great Circle might be a mandatory practice for every cultivator, yet it was not as easy as outsiders imagined. It was, in fact, quite challenging.

The path of spiritual energy was predetermined by the sect’s mental techniques, requiring no further concern. As long as one followed the instructions, it would be fine. However, the speed of the flow was something each individual needed to determine for themselves. The reason was simply that everyone's meridians differed.

Some people had strong meridians, capable of withstanding more spiritual energy and allowing for faster flow without problems, while others with weaker meridians faced the opposite. Generally, the better the spiritual root, the stronger the meridians, and vice versa.

Being an ordinary person without a spiritual root, Li Bai needed to expend more effort and time to complete a Great Circle cycle.

Every step had to be taken with extreme caution; if the speed was too high, not only would the cycle fail, but it could also damage the meridians.