To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Chapter 873: Chapter 370 Inborn Extreme Realm_3

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However, with his own Changsheng Dao Guo, possessing an endless lifespan, he believed that one day, he would eventually reach such a profound realm.

All it took was the quiet passage of time, and everything would be naturally achieved.

Therefore, Lu Yuan was not in a hurry.

A Human Immortal could live for a thousand years, at most two or three thousand years.

Looking at his own situation, not to mention two or three thousand years, even compared to the Heavenly Immortals without lifespan limitations, it was still uncertain which one would find it more difficult to endure!

Lu Yuan had this confidence; as long as he remained careful and dealt with things steadily, he absolutely could survive to the end and become the strongest in the world.

The Heavenly Immortal might not be the limit, but just an important milestone, a turning point in one’s life journey.

…

After restoring his True pneuma, Lu Yuan did not end his cultivation; instead, he continued to communicate with the Heavenly Pillars, drawing the Heavenly Qi into his body and refining his magic power.

Now, as Chu State achieved consecutive victories on various battlefields and secured the three prefectures of Lingnan, along with many prefectures and counties in Yuzhang and Jianan, Lu Yuan’s territory had suddenly expanded by nearly half, and the population had also increased accordingly.

Moreover, after emerging victorious in the wrestling for power and defeating Ning Country in the decisive battle, the Qi Luck of the entire Yangzhou began to shift and turn towards Chu State.

The hearts of the people of the Nine Provinces were also gradually converging upon him.

With all these enhancements, the Qi Luck accumulated around him was almost twice what it had been before the war began.

Under such flourishing Qi Luck, drawing the Heavenly and Earthly Aura now was incredibly convenient.

With just a thought, vast amounts of aura would be drawn from the depths of the heavenly vault, descending from the Heavenly Pillars and pouring into Lu Yuan’s body to be absorbed and circulated within.

If previously, he was constantly in a state of poor spiritual energy, managing only to use three or four tenths of the efficiency of his state of drawing Qi, even with the aid of the Heavenly Pillars.

Now, when he absorbed spiritual energy, he reached an efficiency of six or seven tenths.

From barely surviving to just getting by, he was no longer malnourished.

Even for a moment, the significant increase in the amount of spiritual energy absorbed was so overwhelming that he felt somewhat at a loss.

Never having enjoyed such abundant spiritual energy before, he felt like a beggar who had suddenly become rich, his mind bewildered and at a loss.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan’s state of mind had become exceptionally firm over these years of cultivation, and he quickly cut through these miscellaneous thoughts and began to focus on his cultivation.

After a long while, he concluded his cultivation for the day.

“Based on the amount of spiritual energy I am now drawing in, it is about seventy percent of my total refining capacity. Although it is not yet perfect, it is already much better than before.

And this is only temporary. Right now, I have only taken a large part of Lingnan and a small part of Jiangdong; the occupied territory and population have not yet reached their limit.

If later I can annihilate Song Country, subdue the southwestern Dali and Nanzhao, and then capture the two prefectures of Yuzhang and Jianan, then with such Qi Luck, the amount of spiritual energy I can draw will further increase by several tenths.

At that time, when I absorb spiritual energy, it will be possible to reach the current limit of perfection.”

Lu Yuan pondered in his heart.

The Heavenly Qi drawn in by such territorial Qi Luck would satisfy his limit of absorbing spiritual energy when he was concentrating on one level of Qi.

Later, when he began concentrating on two levels of energy (Qi) and after the breakthrough in his cultivation techniques, his capacity to absorb and efficiency of processing spiritual energy would further increase.

But that was not a significant problem.

Through his quiet observation based on his own cultivation level, as well as his comprehension and research into cultivation techniques, he roughly knew the limit of his capacity for absorbing spiritual energy when he began concentrating on two Qi levels.

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As long as he could unify the entire Yangzhou and annex one hundred thousand li of mountains and rivers, by that time, with tens of millions of common people under his rule, using this Qi Luck to attract Spiritual Energy, he would surely meet the cultivation needs of Gathering Two Qi.

Therefore, before the breakthrough in Gathering Two Qi, Lu Yuan only needed to properly manage Yangzhou and cultivate his own foundation, without the need for passive expansion to gain Qi Luck.

This was his next strategic goal.

Calculating carefully, from the twenty-eighth year of Longqing of Pre-Yue, to the current eleventh year of Shenwu, the land of Jiangnan and Yangzhou had been in chaos for a full twenty years.

In these twenty years, from Taiping Dao, Jinghai Country, Five Poisons Sect, Seven Star Sect, Xi Shu, Zhou people moving southward, pacifying the Southwest, civil unrest in Ning Country, developing the valley, the Northern Expedition against Hanzhong, to the current two major camps, the war of Five Kingdoms…

One by one, just the wars that Lu Yuan had experienced, witnessed, participated in, and intervened in, were countless.

The number of powers that had been exterminated during that phase was also beyond count.

Even the number of countries that had perished, who knew how many there were?

And among these wars, the soldiers and civilians who died, along with the natural disasters and calamities that came with war, were even more innumerable.

Twenty years of shattered landscapes, wars, and calamities had already left the land of Jiangnan in ruins, a pitiable sight of desolation.

Even the later period of stability, marked by the standoff between several states, the opposition of Chu Ning, and the coexistence of minor states for ten years, did not allow Yangzhou to fully recover its former glory.

Lu Yuan had experienced the end of Pre-Yue, its last flourishing era.

Although the grassroots level was chaotic, with corrupt officials, gangs rampant, and the hills infested with bandits and rebels.

However, the harm brought by these minor sores and toxins paled in comparison to the bloodshed of the current times of strife.

In the times of Pre-Yue, there were only eight prefectures, but the population exceeded thirty million.

Now, the territory Lu Yuan ruled over differed little from Pre-Yue, with nearly eight complete prefectures in terms of land, but the population was barely fifteen million, only half of Pre-Yue’s peak.

Perhaps only after conquering Ning Country and fully taking over Jiangdong would the population be comparable to that of Pre-Yue.

But, that would only be in terms of total population.

After unifying Yangzhou, the directly ruled territory of Chu State would be more than half again as large as Pre-Yue, and even if the population was similar, the local prosperity still fell far short.

To remedy this would naturally require a long period of rest and recovery, accumulating national strength, patiently waiting for the local population to multiply, and to mend the wounds of war.

The grand undertaking of seizing Yangzhou was progressing smoothly.

Unless something unexpected happened, by the end of this year, he could possibly take over the prefectures of Yuzhang and Jianan, occupying half of Jiangdong.

In three to five years, it would be possible to destroy Ning Country and unify Yangzhou.

This was much quicker and smoother than Lu Yuan’s original strategy of owning Jiangnan within ten years and looking north towards Central State.

And now, with more than a hundred years left until the eruption of the Southern Polar Poisonous Fire, there was ample preparation time.

Such an extended period was enough to allow Lu Yuan to unify Yangzhou, then quietly recuperate, gradually accumulate strength, and gaze northward.

By that time, having recuperated for a while, completely restored the prosperity of Jiangnan, or even further, accumulated the myriad financial and grain foundations of Chu State.

One command would suffice, and millions of soldiers could gather in a moment.

Leading the troops northward, at that time, the countries exhausted from resisting the cold waves and fighting over Central State, how could they resist such a lion?

They would be utterly defeated.