The qi converged as Wei Chen felt an energizing rush flow from the outside into his body, gathering in his stomach where his dantian should be. The sensation was refreshing, like being subrged in an onsen, as his entire body was revitalized by a strange, renewing power.
The feeling was intoxicating. No wonder cultivators can sit for so long, he thought. There’s no numbness or pain at all, just endless revitalization, like the cells and muscles themselves are constantly renewed.
At this mont, he could feel his strength steadily increasing.
Qi Refining... Level 1... Level 2... Level 3... all the way to Level 9.
Suddenly, sothing inside his body shifted dramatically, as if he had just taken a great leap. The qi within his dantian condensed from a mist-like substance into a solid state, forming a foundation. Yet the flow did not stop, nor did it slow down.
From what the Lord of Death had told him, in this cultivation realm, it all depended on the comprehension of each individual, how they used their own knowledge to form their foundation.
For example, idiots who just wanted sothing quick and easy would break through the Foundation Establishnt stage to Core Formation using wood or even plain soil as their foundation. The result? They’d usually get bitch-slapped by cultivators from prominent sects that are in the lower realms than them.
Why? Because soil or wood are the most basic materials, the stuff penniless cultivators can easily study and comprehend. But why don’t they use iron? Yeah, that’s where the word idiot really cos in.
As for him, with his access to far more knowledge and modern science, he wasn’t about to settle for sothing so cheap. If he were going to build a foundation, he’d use the densest celestial body known to man.
A black hole.
Yes, let’s use a black hole as the basis for the foundation comprehension.
For a start, let’s use the moon. By compressing it into a black hole, its mass would beco dense enough to sustain itself without dissipating, reducing its size to a fine grain with a spherical diater of about 2 mm.
With this in mind, Wei Chen began working toward forming his foundation.
...
Outside the cave, a vortex of qi began to form, swirling like a tornado as it violently pulled in spiritual energy from the surrounding area.
Trees and grass swayed wildly in the wind caused by the suction of spiritual qi. Spirit beasts and animals panicked, running and trampling over one another as they fled, terrified they might be caught up in the vortex.
True to instinct, even the trees, grass, and air within the vortex began to darken by a shade. It was as if the very essence that gave them vibrancy and energy had been sucked away. Yet, they were not dead, only stripped of their energy.
On a distant mountain trail, a group of cultivators traveling on foot noticed the disturbance.
The group turned toward the pointed direction and saw a massive vortex of spiritual qi, sucking in all the energy within its vicinity. The vortex stretched more than a kiloter in width.
"What! What kind of storm is that?"
"Could it be... are we witnessing the birth of a Heaven and Earth treasure!?"
The cultivators were startled and wanted to investigate. One of them was about to use his qinggong to rush toward the site, but he was stopped.
"Senior Brother Liu?" The cultivators looked at the man who stopped him.
This group belonged to the Sword Manor, a small sect with modest size but notable fa in the local region. They were disciples sent out into the mortal world to gain experience, broaden their knowledge, and refine their cultivation and smithing techniques.
Liu Shanhong, the senior disciple, was the one leading them on this expedition.
"Do not act recklessly, junior brother. Look there." The senior pointed toward a beast struggling to fly away, only to be caught in the vortex.
Its spiritual qi was quickly drained, and without it, the beast plumted from the sky into the waters below, its fate unknown.
"What... what kind of phenonon is this?" the junior muttered in disbelief.
"I don’t know, junior brother," the senior said gravely. "We can only observe from a distance. Once it calms down, then we will investigate."
His words were t with the approving nods of all his junior brothers.
The vortex that drained the spiritual qi continued for more than three hours before it slowly subsided. The spiritual qi within a ten-kiloter radius had been completely exhausted, and it would take at least a year or two before it could recover.
"Ah Yuan, Ah Feng, the two of you stay here. If we don’t return within three days, go back to the manor and inform the sect elders about this," the senior brother instructed.
"Yes, senior brother," the two disciples Liu Shanhong ntioned replied simultaneously.
Liu Shanhong then led his remaining two junior brothers toward the place where they had seen the vortex.
As they approached the cave where Wei Chen was cultivating, an indescribable dread washed over them. It was as if they were about to step into the lair of a primordial beast. The feeling was like staring into an endless abyss, sothing their instincts scread for them to avoid.
"This..." Liu Shanhong muttered. He had never felt such dread before. His two junior brothers wore the sa expression... No, it’s even worse than him, they’re shaken to the core.
But... as the senior brother, standing before his juniors, he couldn’t just turn back in fear. Otherwise, he would be branded a coward, and his juniors would never give him face again.
Suppressing his fear, Liu Shanhong stepped into the cave.
"Who are you guys?"
The sudden voice startled the group. They imdiately unsheathed their swords and pointed toward the direction of the sound.
There, sitting on a stone, was a man in his early twenties. His ragged clothes were full of holes, with stains of dried blood marking them.
Judging by his fierce expression yet complete lack of discernible cultivation, he looked like so kind of escaped prisoner hiding out here. His blackened face, as if he had been digging and crawling through dirt, was a dead giveaway.
Most importantly, there was a pungent sll, as if he had just co out of a latrine pit. The odor made him want to vomit, but considering his face, he could only endure it. But that did not an he liked it.
"You! Are you here alone?" Liu Shanhong asked, a little bit angry.
"Of course. Did you see anyone else besides ?" the man retorted.
"You! Mortal! Show so respect to our senior brother!" one of the juniors barked, his voice sharp and fearless. After all, this was just a mortal; what was there to be afraid of?
"Ah? I’m not deaf, you don’t need to shout like that. Didn’t your ma and pa ever teach you manners?" the man quipped back.
"Insolence!" the junior brother spat, then rushed at the man without hesitation.
"Stop!" Liu Shanhong tried to restrain his reckless junior, but deep down, he didn’t put much effort into stopping him. This mortal was far too arrogant. Letting his junior cripple the man’s legs would teach him a good lesson.
The junior’s sword swung down, aiming straight for the man’s leg.
Clank!
Instead of cutting through flesh, the strike rang out with the sharp sound of tal clashing against tal. The blade shattered instantly, as though it had struck a divine treasure instead of a human body.
"What the hell?" the supposed prisoner exclaid, his voice carrying a trace of anger.
"Run!" Liu Shanhong shouted, imdiately turning to flee from the cave.
But before he could make it far, a gust of wind swept past him.
The next mont, that sa prisoner was standing directly in front of him, blocking the exit.
"What’s wrong with you people? You et soone for the first ti, dislike what they say, and imdiately try to cripple them? What kind of twisted logic is that?" the man said, flipping a middle finger at them.
Liu Shanhong did not know what a middle finger was, but judging from the tone, it could not be anything good. Was it so kind of secret technique?
He quickly cupped his fists, trying to salvage the situation. "Se... senior... this... this is a misunderstanding!"
"Misunderstanding my ass! I was just minding my own business inside this cave, and you barged in trying to chop off my leg over a few words?!" the man snapped, his anger flaring.
Because we thought you were just a mortal! If we had known you were stronger than us, so strong that we couldn’t even sense your cultivation! Would we really have done this? We’re not suicidal!
Liu Shanhong cursed in his heart, forcing a stiff smile, but he dared not voice those thoughts aloud.
"Se... senior! We’re disciples of the Sword Manor! Our sect elders will co searching for us if we don’t return!" the reckless junior brother threatened.
"What did you just say, you dipshit?"
Slap!
The prisoner’s hand struck like lightning. The ruthless slap shattered the junior brother’s teeth, blood spraying as his head whipped to the side.
"Now you’re using your sect to threaten !? Let tell you sothing! I wasn’t in the mood to kill anyone, but you’re pissing off more and more by the minute!" the prisoner growled.
"Senior! Please, have rcy!" Liu Shanhong dropped to his knees, begging desperately for his junior’s life. As the senior brother, he couldn’t just stand by and watch his disciple die.
Hearing this, the prisoner paused, as if deep in thought.
"You said you’re from a sect, right? That ans you must have so decent connections," the prisoner asked.
Liu Shanhong’s eyes lit up. A lifeline! He grabbed onto it without hesitation.
"Yes, senior! Our Sword Manor may not be as large or prominent as the Heavenly Sword Sect, but we do have connections! If senior requires it, we can call in favors to assist you! As long as it’s within our power!"
"Oh... don’t worry, I’m not asking you to do anything crazy, alright," the prisoner replied casually. "I just want you to distribute this."
He extended his hand, and in the next instant, a small jade slip materialized out of thin air.
Shit! He’s a Nascent Soul! Did we just offend a Nascent Soul powerhouse!?
Personal storage... the ability to create a space within one’s nascent soul to store items was a unique trait of the Nascent Soul realm.
And this prisoner didn’t have a storage ring at all... which could only an one thing.
He was a bona fide Nascent Soul powerhouse!
Soone on the sa cultivation level as their sect leader!
"Let ask you sothing," said the escaped prisoner.
"Please, ask away, senior. I’ll do my best to answer."
"What’s the trend lately?"
"Huh!?"
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