DEM Chapter 9: The Five Great Barriers of Breathing Techniques

Over the three-day holiday, Su Yuan had earned nearly four thousand yuan in total.

For an ordinary person, this sum could cover a month of living expenses comfortably, but when used for cultivation, it was clearly insufficient.

Forget about various cultivation-enhancing pills; just the rental fee for an artificial spiritual root could drain his hard-earned money in a few hours.

Looking at the hefty deduction from his account balance, Su Yuan felt a pang of heartache.

But the artificial spiritual root was worth its price.

He opened the box containing the artificial spiritual root. As soon as he lifted the lid of the precision preservation case, a wave of cold air surged out.

A silver-white patch, resembling a navel sticker, appeared before him.

After years of development, artificial spiritual root technology had advanced to the point where implantation wasn’t necessary, just slap it on your body.

Su Yuan took the patch and lifted his shirt, sticking it onto his abdomen.

Instantly, a cooling sensation spread from the patch, like plant roots burrowing into his body, connecting to his dantian.

As the artificial spiritual root took effect, the surrounding spiritual energy began actively gathering toward Su Yuan. By simply practicing his breathing technique, he could achieve over ten times his normal cultivation speed.

“If only the system could give me a spiritual root.”

Feeling the changes brought by the spiritual root, Su Yuan quietly hoped.

Even in this era of universal cultivation, those born with spiritual roots were as rare as in ancient times, one in ten thousand. Current cultivation technology hadn’t yet reached the point of altering newborn genetics.

Genius cultivators with natural spiritual roots had a ninety percent chance of entering key universities, with some even aiming for the top ten immortal academies.

If he could get his own spiritual root, he’d gladly trade it for a luxury car or a mansion!

Su Yuan repeated this wish in his heart several times, hoping the system would hear.

Suppressing his stray thoughts, he focused and began practicing the high school basic breathing technique. With his dantian as the center, a small vortex of spiritual energy formed around him.

Instant meditation.

This was the benefit of the Brahma Pure Demon Heart. Normally, it took Su Yuan over three minutes to enter a cultivation state, and he’d occasionally get distracted.

In the entire class, no one could achieve instant meditation.

Even Chen Nuoyi, the class’s top student, needed about thirty seconds to get into the zone.

Thus, Su Yuan’s performance stood out in the class.

Noticing the spiritual energy rapidly converging in one direction, Yue Lin cast his gaze over. Seeing Su Yuan absorbing spiritual energy at a remarkable rate, he was momentarily stunned.

How was this kid so fast? Was he cheating?

Or was this instant meditation just a fluke, unsustainable?

Yue Lin couldn’t help but pay closer attention to Su Yuan.

Time passed slowly, and all forty-eight students in the class had mostly entered their cultivation states.

However, breathing techniques required absolute focus. Even a fleeting stray thought or a disrupted breathing rhythm could drastically slow the absorption of spiritual energy.

Yue Lin stood at the podium with his arms crossed, scanning the class coldly before speaking. “When you hear the next sentence, you’ll find that swallowing saliva switches from automatic to manual.”

At those words, several students instinctively swallowed, disrupting their breathing rhythms.

One student, forced out of cultivation, opened their eyes, a flicker of panic crossing their face.

Here it comes! The Five Great Barriers of Breathing Techniques!

Yue Lin continued, “From now on, blinking will switch from automatic to manual!”

“From now on, some part of your body will feel itchy!”

“Feeling sleepy? Think about all the yawning you’ve seen in your life!”

“From now on, your breathing will switch to manual!”

With each sentence Yue Lin uttered, more students faltered, their cultivation rhythms collapsing.

These were the five great barriers every cultivator faced when practicing breathing techniques!

Blinking, breathing, swallowing saliva, yawning, and itching triggered by psychological suggestion, each bodily instinct, when prompted by external cues, forcibly shifted to conscious control.

For students who needed to maintain absolute focus to absorb spiritual energy, this was a thunderous blow!

After Yue Lin listed all five barriers, over two-thirds of the class broke their cultivation states, struggling to regain control of their bodily instincts. The more anxious they became, the harder it was to recover.

Yue Lin said coldly, “Stray thoughts abound, and your Dao hearts are unsteady. A few words keep you distracted. During an hour of breathing practice, you’re out of focus for at least half of it! Practice harder!”

After scolding the unfocused students, Yue Lin’s gaze returned to Su Yuan, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

This kid was completely unaffected by the five great barriers, cultivating at peak efficiency the entire time. His focus even surpassed Chen Nuoyi’s by a slight margin.

Had he awakened?

Such high focus meant his Heart of the Dao scores wouldn’t be low.

But Yue Lin knew his class representative well, Su Yuan’s Heart of the Dao scores were only above average. After just three days, he was already worth a second look?

Something was off.

Unlike cultivation, which could be boosted with external aids, the Heart of the Dao could only improve gradually.

A sudden spike in Heart of the Dao scores had two possible causes: a major life-changing event giving one a lifelong goal, or… going insane.

Yes, many mentally ill individuals had abnormal thought patterns, allowing them to maintain superhuman focus on certain tasks.

Su Yuan’s case… seemed to show some signs!

Recalling Su Yuan’s background as an orphan with no parents, an incomplete family, combined with the pressures of the college entrance exam and life, Yue Lin’s thoughts raced—hiss!

A trace of concern crept into Yue Lin’s usually cold and stern gaze.

Two hours later, the bell rang.

Su Yuan looked at the thousand yuan deducted from his account and sent the spiritual root patch back in its preservation case via the unmanned flying sword, as if bidding farewell to a plague.

But feeling the significant boost to his cultivation over those two hours, he thought the money was well spent.

The high school basic breathing technique included a self-assessment method. Running it briefly, Su Yuan saw a set of data in his mind.

[Spiritual Power: 57.5 (Qi Refining Fifth Layer)]

This wasn’t system data but an estimate he calculated. It wasn’t as precise as professional cultivation detectors accurate to three decimal places, but it was close enough.

Two hours ago, his spiritual power was only 57.0. Gaining 0.5 in cultivation progress was impressive.

“The Brahma Pure Demon Heart makes a difference. Normally, with the same time and artificial spiritual root, I’d only gain 0.2 to 0.3 progress. System bro is clutch.”

Su Yuan sighed inwardly.

Just then, he saw his homeroom teacher, Yue Lin, walking toward him.

His heart stirred, thinking, “I performed so well this class, Teacher Yue must have noticed. Maybe he’s seen my talent and wants to give me extra training.”

Excited at the thought, Su Yuan perked up.

Then, Yue Lin patted his shoulder, his tone laced with concern. “Su Yuan, if you’re facing any difficulties, come to my office. Don’t bottle things up or let your thoughts spiral.”

Su Yuan: “???”

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