"Don't worry about such questions," Jing said, in an attempt to change the subject he nudged, "So, shall we begin?"

Wang Fei nodded with a grateful smile, and the both of them walked into a deserted place close to the lake. It was surrounded by two short thick trees with heavy foliage, and their trunks were clothed in a verdant underbush that made the place even more cozy and isolated.

"How should we go about it though?" Jing asked once the two of them sat down there gazing at the beginning of the lake where some small insects moved about, and crickets chirped one after the other.

"By the way," Wang Fei said. "Here, take this." He reached into his pocket and gave Jing a vial with a red liquid inside. "This is the low-grade Body Cleansing Elixir."

Understanding his intentions, Jing didn't reject and took it.

"We'll first drink the elixirs." Wang Fei explained. "Then we'll get into the lake to absorb it there and to wash everything off at the same time."

"But," Jing protested. "Won't the lake become dirty because of the impurities?"

"Yes," Wang Fei agreed. "But don't worry about it. There is a mechanism in place that purifies everything every single day. After all, we've been told to come to break through here, so they know what goes on."

"How do you know so much?" Jing suddenly asked. The guy seemed to have an answer to every question.

Wang Fei smiled, "The sect is very old, and it's the number one sect in the Dynasty. All of the previous outer and inner disciples have taken important roles in the dynasty and in the various big clans, so knowledge about the whole sect is a common topic. There are even books about it that we studied in school."

"I see," Jing mumbled. "Alrightyy then, let's go for it."

The duo drank the delicious sky-blue liquid inside the vial at the same time, and they began removing their clothes until only their undergarments were left. They hesitated slightly at the edge of the lake as they could tell it was cold, but after a few seconds, they exchanged a daring look before they jumped at the same time.

After two people leaped into the lake, the tranquil surface erupted into a cacophony of splashes and ripples, disrupting the serene ambiance of the surroundings. The sound of water crashing against bodies echoed across the tranquil expanse, followed by several disciples glancing in their directions.

As they emerged from the lake, droplets cascaded from their bodies, creating a shimmering curtain of liquid in the air. The water, now disturbed and alive with motion, flowed and danced in chaotic patterns before settling back into a gentle undulation around them.

Meanwhile, rivulets of water trickled down the slopes of the grassy ground beside the lake, nourishing the dry earth and quenching the thirst of the surrounding plants. Blades of grass glistened with droplets of water under the moonlight, their verdant hue deepening as they soaked up the precious moisture. The air, now infused with the scent of damp earth and fresh greenery, hummed with the unfatigued cricket cries.

Jing had a wide liberated smile on his face, 'How long had it been since I last felt the water all over my body.' He thought with a satisfied expression. Fresh memories of him getting carried away either by relatives or nurses to get cleaned up flashed inside of his brain, but he swiftly pushed them all down. Nothing can come in the way of his enjoyment at that moment.

The two boys sat down cross-legged, the water reaching up to their chins that began to cultivate small hair follicles, a testament to their journey into manhood. Jing closed his eyes, feeling the fresh energy moving inside of his body. Its movement was a paradox of both gentle affection and rapid intensity. The liquid bubbled inside of his stomach, and before long it began to evaporate, turning into a blue mist that randomly flowed through every part of his body.

He tried to control it, to guide its movement, but it seemingly had a mind of its own and was unwilling to listen. Confronted with that fact, Jing merely enjoyed the cool water all over his body and let it do whatever it wanted.

Both of his palms were held together in a subtle mudra above his thighs. Feeling a sudden itch in his nose, he tried to scratch it only to feel a small resistance on the back of his palm. Confused, his eyes jolted open, and he was shocked to find a disgusting dark green goo oozing from every pore of his body. His nostrils flared in a long exhale, and he almost vomited due to how strong the stench was. As motivated as he was to begin washing it off, he knew that he had to keep his body still for the liquid to do its job.

Gritting his teeth as he braced himself for what was to come, he closed his eyes and marinated in the foulest smell his nose had ever had the displeasure of smelling. He slowed down his breathing to a considerable rate, to avoid smelling it as much as possible and he was surprised to see how powerful his lung capacity was. He was able to hold his breath for more than four minutes before he gave up and sucked a deep breath.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

After a few cycles of him holding his breath, and finally letting go, he noticed how the blue mist had all but disappeared inside of his body. He and Wang Fei opened their eyes at the same time, and they scared one another. Both of them were covered in that filth from head to toe. The only white in Wang Fei's face was the solera around his pupils.

Jing took another disgusting breath, and dove down below the water. Opening his eyes there, he began to wash his face first before he moved to other parts of his body. When he finally stood up, he was all cleaned up. His wet skin glistened under the moonlight and he felt strangely invigorated.

When Wang Fei stood up as well, Jing's mouth was parted open in shock. His skin was smooth and supple, with a radiant glow that emanated a healthy vitality, unlike how it was just half an hour ago. Intrigued, he touched his own face as well. The texture was velvety soft to the touch, devoid of imperfections or blemishes. It boasted an even tone, with a natural flush of color highlighting the boy's youthful appearance. Fine lines and wrinkles were virtually nonexistent, a testament to its firmness and elasticity.

"Damn, you look good Old Wang!" Jing teased the boy.

"Thanks," Wang Fei said with his usual polite embarrassed smile. "You too!"

The duo emerged out of the lake and stood there for a while until they dried up. They donned their clothes and walked back to the dorms. If they were to break through, they had to have their gold and pills in hand, both of which they had forgotten to bring into the lake with them.

When they opened the door to their room, they noticed that Shen Yun was still cultivating, and Zho Tu was nowhere to be found. Unbothered, they climbed into their beds, and began the most important part, building a cultivation base and finally breaking through. However, before that, they had to do something else. Thanks to the purification brought by the elixir, their body now had room to evolve and be tempered even further before they could set foot in the wonderous realms of Qi Condensation.

Jing sat cross-legged once again and downed one of the pills he received from the treasury, Qi Gathering Pills. Upon making contact with his saliva, it dissolved into a stream of Qi that after some tinkering around with the Body Tempering symbol became under his control. He began with the most difficult body parts eyes and teeth. After a few minutes of soldiering through an itch so intense he wanted to cut his eyes off, they were finally up to par. When Qi passed through them now he wasn't able to feel anything. He continued cultivating in the next hour until all of his body could no longer be improved and he stopped.

'Now, into the most important part,' He thought with nervous anticipation.

He stole a look to the sides, and seeing that Shen Yun was in deep cultivation, he brought out the 5kg mass of gold he received from the donations.

A rugged spherical mass of black gold landed above the cushion of the bed with an inaudible thud.

It was black with hints of gold, and it possessed a mesmerizing allure, defying what one would expect from the word gold. Despite its dark hue, glimmers of gold peeked through, adding depth and richness to its overall complexion. The sphere reflected light in a captivating manner, casting intricate patterns that dazzled Jing. 'There is something weirdly beautiful about this,' He thought with wide eyes as he inspected it with his hands.

It emanated a subtle aura of Qi that further intrigued him. Its surface, though rough to the touch, carried a hint of texture. When he held it above his palms, it exuded a subtle warmth, as if pulsating with a hidden energy that he was unable to sense. He put it down above the bed once again and grabbed the other two spheres of normal gold that had 1kg each, putting them beside it.

From his loot, he summoned one Qi Condensation Crystal and one Middle-grade Spirit Stone, and he put them beside the gold. He grabbed the porcelain bottle with the remaining nine Qi Gathering Pills inside and put it beside them.

'Now,' He thought as he gazed at his materials. 'Everything is ready, but what should I start with first?'

The spirit stone was a black small pebble that had a slight white hue surrounding it, and the Qi Condensation crystal had a geometrical shape, its facets meticulously arranged in a dance of angles. Each facet reflected light with precision and glowed with a blue hue casting shimmering reflections on wooden walls.

'I'll start with that one, too bright!' Jing decided. With a loudly beating heart, he deeply exhaled and grabbed the Spirit Crystal. Using the strand of Qi he had just filtered through his symbol, he created a bridge between the two, and soon the rich energy inside the Spirit Crystal began flowing inside of his body.

Jing's eyes widened at the intensity of the energy that was getting poured into him, and he felt a slight sense of danger. After all the Spirit Crystal had Qi that was stronger than any he had ever dealt with before, and so caution had to be exercised. His body was still relatively weak, and if he wasn't careful, things might turn awry.

He concentrated on the Golden Mountain's cultivation manual, and he began to control the violent but rich energy now inside of his body to morph itself into the shapes he had in mind. After a while, he was successful in creating a very thin but powerful membrane that managed to store all of that Qi. The Spirit Crystal cracked in his palms, and without opening his eyes, he threw it aside and grabbed the Middle-grade Spirit Stone.

Repeating the same process, he used a strand of Qi to bridge the two together and began pouring all of the energy inside of the spirit stone inside of the container he had created using the manual. Once the spirit stone cracked as well, he started throwing one pill after the other into his mouth, until none of them remained.

Sensing the immense energy that was held inside of his body, Jing hesitated, and he contemplated just letting it all out slowly instead of letting it explode inside of his body. Most disciples established their cultivation base using simply the ten Qi Gathering Pills, but he was different.

He understood that the amount of Qi used was always proportional to the gold refined in setting the base, and most disciples broke through using only 1kg of gold, however, he had seven, and five of which came from a very high-quality gold. If he wanted to successfully merge that gold with his initial cultivation base, he had to take the risk.