Chapter 124: Cultivation Gone Wrong

Booom!

The heavy blast echoed far beyond the thick stone walls of the training pavilion, cutting sharply through the quiet night air of the northern estate.

Outside the hall, Song Heng had been standing vigil at his post, his hand resting on the hilt of his sabre as he scanned the moonlit courtyard. The moment the muffled explosion rattled the heavy iron-studded doors, sending a sudden vibration through the stone paving under his boots, his instincts kicked in. ’The Young Master!’

Without a second thought, Song Heng slammed his palm against the heavy wooden doors, shoving them wide open. "Young Master!" he shouted, his sabre drawn halfway from its scabbard as he burst into the room, his eyes sharp and ready to strike down any unseen enemy or assassin.

Instead of an enemy, his gaze met a thick, swirling cloud of white smoke drifting lazily toward the high rafters.

As the dense haze slowly cleared, Song Heng stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw dropping in absolute shock. Sitting cross-legged atop the scorched stone platform was Lu Feng. The explosion had completely shredded his fine robes into worthless tatters, leaving him sitting entirely naked amidst the drifting ash, his pale skin dusted with soot, and his chest heaving as he gasped for air.

Realizing the situation instantly, Song Heng’s face flushed red with deep embarrassment. He hurriedly sheathed his blade, unfastened the thick fabric of his outer guard robe in one swift movement, and stepped forward while keeping his eyes respectfully lowered toward the floor.

"Young Master, please cover yourself!" Song Heng said hastily, extending the dark outer robe with both hands to wrap around Lu Feng’s shoulders. Once the fabric was securely over his master, Song Heng retreated two steps, dropping down onto one knee with his head bowed deeply. "Forgive me, Master Lu! I heard the explosion and feared an attack had occurred within your private hall. I breached your seclusion without permission!"

Lu Feng pulled the heavy guard robe around his body, tying the sash tightly over his waist. He let out a ragged, raspy cough, waving a soot-covered hand through the lingering smoke to clear his vision.

"There is no need to apologize, Song Heng," Lu Feng replied, his voice hoarse but completely steady. He gave his loyal guard a faint, reassuring smile. "It was merely a minor drawback with my cultivation. The technique I am attempting to master is somewhat... unpredictable upon initial contact. You acted out of genuine concern for my safety, and I appreciate how quickly you responded."

Song Heng lifted his head slightly, a look of profound relief washing over his tense features. "I am deeply relieved to hear you are unharmed, Young Master. However, given the intensity of that blast, I shall remain posted directly outside the main doors tonight. Should you require anything at all, or if another incident occurs, I will be right outside."

"Thank you, Song Heng," Lu Feng nodded calmly. "Resume your post."

Song Heng bowed once more with deep respect, stood up, and backed out of the hall, carefully pulling the heavy wooden doors shut until the thick iron latch clicked firmly into place.

Once the hall fell dead silent again, Lu Feng let out a long, weary sigh, running his fingers through his soot-stained hair. He looked down at his trembling hands, a wry, self-deprecating smile touching his lips.

’That was entirely too close,’ he thought, looking around at the shattered remnants of his spirit stones.

When he had accepted the Seven Immortal Path Arts from his system notifications, the vast torrent of knowledge had been engraved directly into his memory. Yet, possessing the memories and actually mastering the technique were two entirely different matters.

As he probed deep into his sea of consciousness, he realized with a sense of quiet frustration that he had barely comprehended even a tenth of the profound scripture’s true depth. It was like holding a key to a massive, ancient library while only knowing how to read the first page of the introduction.

’I cannot let a single artifact dictate my path,’ Lu Feng’s eyes narrowed with sharp, unshakeable resolve.

He adjusted the heavy guard robe around his shoulders, crossed his legs once more atop the scorched stone platform, and closed his eyes.

This time, he didn’t approach his Dantian with cautious curiosity. He mobilized every shred of his conscious willpower, focusing his mental strength into an absolute, unyielding hammer directed squarely at his spirit space.

’Sit down and obey,’ Lu Feng commanded his Dantian mentally, his voice echoing like thunder inside his own mind.

He opened his spiritual pores once again, guiding the tiny, microscopic trickles of ambient Qi into his meridians. The moment the cool energy touched his channels, the Primal Chaos Bead at the center of his spirit space reacted instantly. Like a wild, ravenous beast scenting blood, the bead rumbled in outrage, attempting to unleash that same terrifying, gravitational vortex to devour everything in sight.

"No!" Lu Feng snarled internally, clamping down on the artifact with the full force of his soul.

The backlash was instant and brutal.

Because he refused to let the Chaos Bead absorb the Qi freely, the artifact fought back against his mental suppression with terrifying violence. A blinding, searing pain detonated behind Lu Feng’s eyes, so intense that his brain screamed inside his skull. It felt as if a white-hot needle was being driven straight into his consciousness, threatening to tear his mind into ragged pieces. For a terrifying moment, the excruciating agony felt like a literal death sentence.

’Grit your teeth... hold it!’ Lu Feng roared inwardly, his knuckles turning stark white as his hands balled into tight fists against his knees.

He refused to yield. He held the Chaos Bead in an iron grip of pure willpower, forcing it to consume only the razor-thin, controlled trickles of Qi he allowed through his meridians—not a single thread more.

As the agonizing minutes dragged on, the initial, explosive pain slowly shifted. It ceased to feel like an immediate death sentence and instead settled into a prolonged, excruciating form of mental torture.

Every second felt like an eternity. Cold sweat mixed with soot poured down his face and chest, dripping steadily onto the cold stone floor, but Lu Feng kept his posture locked, forcing his body and spirit through the brutal crucible.

He maintained the agonizing tug-of-war continuously, completely losing track of time as the dark hours of the night slowly bled away.

Minutes turned into hours. The cold night wind outside gradually died down, and the deep black of the sky began to soften into the pale, cool grey of early dawn.

When the very first ray of golden sunlight broke through the high wooden lattice windows of the training pavilion, it struck Lu Feng directly across his closed eyes.

Lu Feng’s eyelids fluttered, and he slowly opened them. His dark pupils were bloodshot, his vision slightly blurred from sheer exhaustion. He let out a long, heavy breath—a thin cloud of grey, stagnant air escaping his lips and dissipating into the morning light.

He was completely, utterly spent.

With his mental energy completely drained and his physical strength depleted to its absolute limit, Lu Feng could no longer maintain his sitting posture. His muscles gave out, and he collapsed backward, falling flat onto his back against the cold stone platform.

He lay there in the quiet morning light, staring up at the dark wooden rafters of the high ceiling, his chest rising and falling in shallow, exhausted rhythms. The heavy guard robe was crumpled beneath him, and every nerve in his body throbbed with a dull, aching fatigue.

A tired, breathless chuckle escaped his dry throat as he stared blankly upward.

"I haven’t even proper started the actual cultivation technique yet..." Lu Feng muttered softly to himself, his voice barely a whisper in the empty hall. "...and it is already this exhausting."

He closed his eyes for a moment, the memory of his struggle against the Chaos Bead still echoing in his weary mind, before a random thought crossed his head.

He opened one eye slightly, staring out at the golden sunlight streaming through the window.

"Is this... how Ye Chenxue feels every single day too?"