I Cultivated Too Long and Got Isekai'd Into a Game-Chapter 195: Geraldine’s Struggles

While Xu Tao was busy repairing the new disciples’ meridians, back in the training grounds...

"This is... hard...!"

Geraldine was already struggling.

The scroll that Xu Tao had tailor-made for her was filled to the brim with detailed techniques that, if mastered, would work in perfect synergy with her physique. However, the first ten lines she had to practise—the basic cultivation method she was required to learn—were entirely different from what she had studied in the past.

In other words, not only was her previous experience as a cultivator useless in her current predicament, but it was actually confusing her even more!

"In the first place, there are three Dantians in this scroll, while I only have two!" she grumbled under her breath. "Senior, am I reading this right? I’m not mistaken, am I?"

Yifa, who was standing idly nearby and watching Henrietta train, sent a sidelong glance at Geraldine and sighed softly.

"Asking for help already?"

Of course, she didn’t refuse either. She turned around, walking toward Geraldine with an air of calm assurance, before taking a short glance at the contents of her scroll.

"Hmm... Echoing Heaven Cultivation Technique? Never heard of it before..." Yifa muttered. She shook her head, then continued. "Still, the structure is partly similar to something I learnt in the past. I suppose I can help you with that."

"Thank you, Senior..." Geraldine said, relief washing over her face.

She had been worried she’d disappoint Xu Tao immediately if she failed at something so basic!

"Alright, first... There really are three Dantians in our bodies." Yifa began patiently. "Although normally, only two of them are known to us. I only learnt of the third from Master Tao himself."

Carefully, Yifa moved behind Geraldine and placed a palm firmly against the back of her nape. "Now, relax your body. I’ll guide your Qi around once. Remember the pathway, and do the next revolution yourself."

Just as one couldn’t see through an eye they never knew existed, it wasn’t simple to discover the third Dantian without external help. Cultivators in this world, at least, found it difficult to overcome their deeply ingrained preconceptions with mere words.

"T-This is...!"

Geraldine felt the Qi within her body slowly moving through her repaired meridians. Since it flowed along with Yifa’s Qi, she couldn’t miss it even if she tried. It was like hot water was being poured into her veins, trickling in a winding, complicated path that she could barely keep track of.

"Ugh...!"

As the burning current reached her head, she finally noticed a shift. "There it is... the third Dantian!" she gasped in shock.

"Focus! It’s not over yet!"

Yifa’s sharp comment pulled her back to her meditation. Right—she had only completed half the cycle. The searing heat continued as the circulation pushed onwards, scalding but controlled, until finally the loop was complete.

"Done!" Yifa huffed, pulling her hand back with a small exhale. "Now, do it yours—"

She froze mid-sentence. Geraldine’s eyes were shut tight in deep concentration, but it wasn’t that which made Yifa pause. It was the flow of her Qi.

"No way..." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

She had only experienced it once. Yifa herself had needed to reread the text and practise several times before she could get the hang of it. But Geraldine—she had perfectly replicated the pathway the moment Yifa let go!

A flawless circulation, almost as if she had practised it countless times before.

Not only that, but her cultivation speed had shot upward like wildfire.

In just ten breaths, she consolidated her foundation, advancing into the Body Refinement First Stage—or Bronze Level 1, as this world termed it.

"So this is what they call a genius..." Yifa muttered, a drop of cold sweat sliding down her cheek. "Damn, at this rate, she’ll overtake my cultivation sooner than I’d like..."

Whether she truly would overtake her or not, no one could say just yet.

🔷🔷🔷

As the sound of ravens echoed against the darkening twilight sky, a clandestine meeting was taking place.

"All the preparations are complete." A young man with swept-back brown hair spoke matter-of-factly, his voice calm yet edged with tension. "With this, the plan should proceed without a hitch, Father."

Inside the dim room, seated behind an old wooden desk scarred with age, another man—his body showing the burden of decades—let out a low hum.

"How many times must I tell you, Phillip?" He harrumphed. "Never speak with finality. Plans are plans, but rarely do they unfold the way you wish. That is why we prepare backup plans."

The young man, though reprimanded, simply smiled faintly.

"Of course, Father. I know." He replied with confidence. "I wasn’t just referring to the main plan, but also the backup... and the backup for the backup."

His grin widened like a blade being drawn. "I’m certain that this time... the Campbell family will lose one of their kin for good."

SLAM!

The old man brought his fist crashing against the desk, splitting it in half instantly. His eyes, bloodshot and filled with seething fury, locked onto his son’s.

"Never... speak that name in front of me again."

His words dripped with killing intent, making Phillip shiver despite himself. "S-Sorry, Father. It will never happen again..." he stammered.

The old man’s glare lingered for several seconds before he finally exhaled a long, weary sigh. Slowly, he rose from his chair, his movements heavy as though bearing the weight of an entire world.

He walked toward the window, staring out at the setting sun half-hidden behind a forest stripped nearly bare. The trees looked lifeless, a dying husk of nature that seemed only one spark away from becoming an ocean of fire.

"At long last..." his voice was hoarse, trembling with restrained rage, "I will gain the upper hand against that bastard."

"Tomorrow," he declared, his hand tightening against the windowsill, "you shall learn the pain of losing a daughter."

Dark clouds gathered in the distance, rumbling with thunder that rolled faintly across the horizon. An omen. A sign. Something terrible was about to begin.