Chapter 123: First Step To Cultivation

The quiet gloom of the training pavilion was absolute. Surrounding the raised stone platform, the soft, translucent glow of the high-tier spirit stones cast long, flickering shadows against the dark stone walls.

Lu Feng sat with his spine straight and his hands rested over his lap in a traditional lotus posture. With the profound knowledge of the Seven Immortal Path Arts firmly engraved into his consciousness, he cleared every lingering thought from his mind, allowing the quiet hum of the night to wash over him.

He began with the foundational breathing pattern prescribed by the ancient scripture.

Drawing a long, slow breath through his nostrils, Lu Feng pulled the cool night air deep into his lower abdomen, filling his lungs to their maximum capacity without straining. He held the breath for a quiet heartbeat, feeling the subtle sensation of warmth pooling near his center, before releasing it smoothly through his mouth.

Inhale… hold… exhale.

With every rhythmic cycle, the tension in his shoulders melted away. The lingering fatigue of the past few days, the stress of managing the estate, and the quiet vigilance he maintained against the threats of Crimson Vale vanished. His heartbeat slowed to a calm, steady rhythm, and his mental awareness expanded, becoming hyper-attuned to the delicate flow of air through his passages.

Once his mind achieved a state of pristine clarity, Lu Feng transitioned to the second phase of the technique—drawing in spiritual energy.

Following the precise instructions etched into his memory, Lu Feng did not rush to absorb the surrounding energy in large, greedy gulps. The Seven Immortal Path Arts emphasized absolute foundation and perfect purity above raw speed. He opened his spiritual pores just a fraction, guiding tiny, microscopic trickles of Qi from the ambient air into his skin.

The thin strands of Qi felt like cool, refreshing threads of silk as they entered his body, trickling smoothly down his meridians toward his Dantian.

For the first few minutes, the process went smoothly. The Qi circulated along the newly established pathways, refining his physical body and soothing his spiritual channels. Lu Feng began to relax into the rhythm, satisfied with the steady, controlled progress.

Then, deep within his lower abdomen, something stirred.

Without warning, a sharp, violent tremor rippled through his Dantian.

The Primal Chaos Bead—the mysterious, ancient artifact residing quietly at the center of his spirit space—woke up.

Having been fed only tiny, delicate trickles of Qi, the bead reacted not with contentment, but with primal, ravenous dissatisfaction. It rumbled violently, sending a jarring shockwave through Lu Feng’s internal organs that nearly shattered his focus completely.

Lu Feng’s eyes snapped shut tighter, his brow furrowing as a cold sweat broke out across his forehead. ‘What is happening?!’

Before he could attempt to soothe or suppress the artifact, the situation inside his body spiraled out of control.

The Primal Chaos Bead refused to abide by Lu Feng’s cautious, measured pace. It unleashed a powerful, dark gravitational pull from within his Dantian, acting like a starving beast that had just tasted its first morsel of food after an eternity of slumber.

VRRRRRR!

The gentle trickles of Qi instantly vanished, replaced by an aggressive, roaring suction force. The Primal Chaos Bead didn’t just accept the Qi Lu Feng was guiding—it forcibly seized control of his spiritual pores, yanking the surrounding Qi Essence directly into his body at a terrifying speed.

Inside the closed training hall, the calm air suddenly began to move.

The dense Qi Essence floating around the room—released from the dozens of high-tier spirit stones lining the floor—was pulled toward Lu Feng like iron filings to a massive magnet. A visible, swirling vortex of translucent blue energy formed around his cross-legged figure, spinning faster and faster with every passing second.

The soft rustle of garden bamboo outside was drowned out by the rising, low-pitched howl of wind inside the pavilion.

Lu Feng clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached, his hands balling into tight fists atop his knees. The sudden, violent surge of raw energy rushing through his meridians felt like liquid fire coursing through his veins.

His channels expanded to their absolute limits under the sheer volume of Qi, threatening to tear apart if the rate of absorption increased any further.

‘Stop! Control it!’ Lu Feng roared internally, mobilizing every ounce of his willpower and mental strength to clamp down on his Dantian, trying desperately to sever the connection between the Chaos Bead and the outside world.

However, the artifact’s hunger only intensified.

Within minutes, the Primal Chaos Bead devoured every last trace of floating Qi Essence present within the spacious hall. The high-tier spirit stones on the floor cracked one by one, their inner luster draining instantly before crumbling into dull, worthless grey dust.

When the Chaos Bead sensed that there was no more Spiritual Energy remaining in its immediate surroundings, its violent suction force spiked exponentially.

Unable to draw Qi from the air, the artifact began to pull directly on the ambient environment itself, generating a miniature spiritual hurricane centered squarely on Lu Feng’s body.

The heavy wooden beams above groaned under the localized pressure, dust and loose stone tiles lifting off the floor and spinning in a chaotic orbit around him.

Lu Feng’s veins bulged against his skin, his entire body trembling violently atop the stone platform. He was locked in a brutal, agonizing tug-of-war against his own Dantian, pouring every shred of his conscious focus into regaining control before his body was torn to pieces from the inside out.

“Suppress… down!” Lu Feng choked out through his grit teeth, his core burning with blinding heat.

For a terrifying split second, the violent vortex reached its absolute peak, compressing all the gathered, unstable energy into a single, razor-dense point at the center of his chest.

Then, the chaotic equilibrium collapsed.

BOOM!

A sharp, muffled explosion detonated directly from within Lu Feng’s body, sending a shockwave of compressed kinetic force radiating outward in all directions.

The heavy blast blew away the surrounding dust cloud, rattling the iron-studded doors of the training hall and echoing loudly into the quiet night outside.

As the thick white smoke slowly billowed and drifted upward toward the high wooden rafters, the roaring wind died down completely, leaving behind an eerie, dead silence.

On the center of the scorched stone platform, the dust gradually settled to reveal Lu Feng still sitting in his meditative stance.

His clothes—the fine, durable robes he had been wearing—had been blown completely to shreds by the internal blast, leaving tattered strips of fabric scattered across the stone floor. He sat entirely naked amidst the drifting cloud of smoke, his pale skin covered in a light layer of soot, his chest heaving up and down as he gasped for fresh air.