Chapter 227 - 225: Xuanji

Chapter 227: Chapter 225: Xuanji

At that moment, Chen Qingyang was on the road.

For some inexplicable reason, a number of Immortal Seedlings and many faces appeared in his mind.

Small golden characters floated into view. He glanced at them—he had obtained 24,654 Immortal Seedlings.

He recognized some of the faces but not others. The ones he did know were all people he had only seen at Fuyuan Temple.

’Why am I still receiving so many Immortal Seedlings when I’ve already left?’

’After thinking it over, there could only be one explanation. That Temple Master must have had a powerful backer, who had now learned of his death. They were taking their anger out on all the disciples, severely injuring and punishing them, which in turn caused their Immortal Seedlings to fall to me.’

Thirty-some people, totaling over twenty thousand—that was nearly a thousand from each of them. He truly hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise.

’Today is the day I break through.’

He traveled another two hundred li using Wind Control. By now, he was deep within a mountain valley. He sat down beneath an ancient pine tree, took the Immortal Seedlings, and applied them to the Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual.

In an instant, his Spirit Platform reached Perfection.

First, a powerful Qi Mechanism materialized out of thin air, settling over his Spirit Platform. A cool sensation then emanated from the Spirit Platform and spread throughout his body. Its color deepened to a vibrant cyan, and the Qi Vortex upon it grew fuller and more robust.

The Cyan Nether Sword Embryo, just as it had during his last breakthrough, also contributed a considerable amount of power.

Once his Spirit Platform reached Perfection, the acupoints throughout his body opened. The Spirit Stones in his palm were consumed at a frantic pace, and wind swirled ceaselessly around Chen Qingyang, startling the surrounding birds into flight.

He absorbed sufficient Spiritual Qi to fill his Dantian and Spiritual Sea. The energy then passed through the Qi Vortexes of the Earth Root, Mingtang Hall, Jiang Palace, and Spirit Platform. Its aura grew more intense before it finally settled in the center of his chest, forming a new Qi Vortex.

This new location was not far from the Jiang Palace and Spirit Platform. It was situated at the head of the Ren Meridian, the seat of the true heart within the chest. The qi cultivated here was exceptionally clear and righteous, leaning toward an upright, Pure Yang nature.

Once this Xuanji Acupoint was formed, the baleful energy of the Earth Root, the Mingtang Fire, the Jiang Palace Essence, and the Profound Qi from the Spirit Platform flowed into it endlessly. The Xuanji Qi Vortex then refined these energies, condensing them into a golden-white qi.

This new energy was impartial and perfectly balanced, serving as Xuanji’s Body Protection in the form of a protective Gang Qi.

This breakthrough was immensely draining. Chen Qingyang continued to operate his Dharma Gate. Despite support from the Cyan Nether Sword Embryo, he burned through handful after handful of Spirit Stones. In the end, he had to grasp a Top Grade Spirit Stone just to keep up with the demand.

Every stream of aura entering his body would, after passing through the Seven Meridians and Eight Vessels, first enter the previous four acupoints before finally flowing into the Xuanji Acupoint. The Xuanji Acupoint then continuously transformed it into that golden-white qi.

As time passed, a golden-white sphere formed around Chen Qingyang, steadily protecting him within it.

This was the Xuanji Gang Qi. With the previous Four Acupoints as its foundation, it could offer some resistance against anything from the elements of water and fire to Heart Demons and external evils.

This breakthrough seemed to take an extremely long time. He witnessed sunrises and sunsets, consumed five or six Top Grade Spirit Stones in succession, and absorbed an unknown amount of power from the Cyan Nether Sword Embryo. Only then did he feel the source of the golden-white qi become abundant and flawless, and the Qi Vortex at his Xuanji Acupoint become stable and self-sustaining.

Chen Qingyang slowly opened his eyes to see dark clouds gathering on the horizon. At that moment, his Cultivation had achieved a complete breakthrough.

[Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual (1/52000)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 24,413]

He looked at the golden characters again. ’The upper limit increased by that much after the breakthrough!’

’The cap increased by eight thousand for the first three realms, ten thousand for the Fourth Realm, and now it’s jumped by eighteen thousand.’

However, considering the growth in his Cultivation and overall strength, he was on a completely different level now that he had formed the Xuanji Gang Qi.

It wasn’t just his resistance to physical forces that had improved; his Dao Heart Divine Soul had also been greatly fortified.

He set aside a portion of the remaining Immortal Seedlings and used the rest on his Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual. As long as he didn’t rashly break through this realm, he could use the abilities of the Great Soul Scripture to continue concealing his Qi Mechanism.

Chen Qingyang ceased his cultivation, used his Conscious Fish to pinpoint a nearby town, and sped toward it.

...

Yesterday, it had rained heavily for the entire day.

The world was a murky, indistinct haze—damp, gloomy, and cold, enough to make anyone feel utterly frustrated.

Chen Qingyang decided to stop traveling for the time being. He paused in a city, leaning against the entrance of a teahouse and watching the pedestrians hurry by, bustling about their lives.

He was already at the border of the Western Continent Kingdom. Any farther and he would be leaving the country. According to the map’s directions, there was another Fuyuan Temple three hundred li away.

’I’ll start with this one. Then I’ll find a secluded place to work on my next Cultivation breakthrough. After a trip to True Demon Mountain, I can take another route through Duling City and back to Nine True Mountain.’

’This way, I’ll have covered nearly all the accessible areas without venturing deep into the Demon Sect’s heartland.’

Seeing that the rain showed no sign of stopping, Chen Qingyang found an inn to stay for the night.

That night, the clouds scattered, revealing a brilliant starscape. He pushed open the window and looked out. The sky was full of shining stars, a sure sign that the morning would be clear.

Thinking about those inexplicable Immortal Seedlings, he decided to perform an Astrological Inference.

The Star Sand Pattern manifested in his eyes, and then starlight shone from them, reaching toward an extremely distant point. His thoughts followed suit, sinking into the sea of stars.

In that hazy state, Chen Qingyang seemed to sense something, but he couldn’t see it clearly. This was not a normal occurrence; something was definitely happening.

He continued to push his Dharma Gate, and his chest began to ache faintly. But he was so desperate to find out what was happening that he didn’t stop his Cultivation Technique.

Then, amidst the starlight, a star suddenly streaked across the sky. Everything was blurry and indistinct, but he managed to make out a tiny speck of color—yellow on top, white on the bottom.

The vision caused the pain in his chest to intensify, as if he had been struck a heavy blow. His vision suddenly went black. The starry sky vanished, and he was left clutching his chest, gasping for breath.

He closed the window, sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, and began to recuperate. Only after a couple of hours did he start to feel slightly better.

There was no shortage of stars that were yellow on top and white on the bottom, and his vision had been far too blurry. But as he calmed his mind and thought about the sudden influx of Immortal Seedlings, two words surfaced in his thoughts: Chiyou Banner.

This star resembles a comet, but its tail curves like a banner. It is described as being yellow on top and white on the bottom, or sometimes pure red like crimson silk, with a red aura that soars to the heavens.

It was an omen of great misfortune!

’In other words, it’s highly likely that the former Temple Master’s backer has laid a trap at the Fuyuan Temple three hundred li from here. If I were to just charge in headfirst, my chances of survival would be slim to none.’

The thought made him break out in a cold sweat.

He was keenly aware that here, in the Demon Sect Territory, he could not afford a single mistake. One slip-up would be fatal. This served as a potent reminder: in the future, before undertaking any significant action, he would first perform an Astrological Inference.

After a moment of thought, Chen Qingyang took out the map Senior Brother Ruan had given him. He could no longer take his planned route; he had to plot an entirely new one.

His current location was in the north. A thousand li south lay True Demon Mountain, and just a few dozen li south of that was a Fuyuan Temple.

He could skip the entire journey in between and head straight there. If anyone was searching for him, they would never think to look for him there.

’Of course, the safest option would be to leave entirely. But I need so many Immortal Seedlings, and opportunities like this are incredibly rare. It’s a risk worth taking, despite the danger.’

He left the inn.

The morning glow was brilliant. It was, indeed, a beautiful, clear day.

He couldn’t help but feel a little grateful for the heavy rain from the past few days. If his journey hadn’t been delayed, he wouldn’t have stopped here for a day, and he certainly wouldn’t have accidentally witnessed the strange celestial movement.

While he didn’t have the ability to perform divination on a Foundation Establishment Master directly, a Master was unlikely to act alone. As long as the task was delegated to others with lower Cultivation, there was a chance his inference could detect them.

Once he was far from the city, he resumed using his Wind Control Skill. Along this route, he made a point to take a wide detour whenever he came within a hundred li of any Fuyuan Temple.

He then reached True Demon Mountain, bypassed it, and located the Fuyuan Temple he was looking for.

This country was called Qian, and it was the largest mortal kingdom among the ten nations of the Demon Realm. The signs of prosperity he saw along the way showed it to be immeasurably stronger than the Western Continent Kingdom.

The common people were prosperous, and it was rare to see anyone in rags. Many of them were literate, and well-educated, reasonable individuals were not uncommon. More importantly, this nation’s relationship with the Demon Sect was not as cold and hostile as the Western Continent Kingdom’s.

Although there were altars, Divine Temples, and towering statues everywhere, Chen Qingyang observed that they did not use live human sacrifices. At most, their Sacrificial Offerings consisted of the three traditional livestock and burning incense.

The Demon Sect seemed to have a gentler touch here; they could keep their Arrays running just by collecting the people’s faith. Consequently, everyone burned incense and worshipped, feeling grateful toward the Demon Sect. The common folk seemed completely oblivious to its terrifying nature.

The ten nations of the Demon Realm, and the people within them... perhaps in one kingdom, the sect took blood and flesh, while in another, they only took faith. When they had taken enough faith from one place, they would move on to another to collect souls.

In short, their needs were vast, so they couldn’t take everything from a single place. Even the Demon Sect understood the principle of not draining the pond to catch all the fish.

The only constant was Fuyuan Temple, the Dao Field of Netherworld Peak. Like its counterparts elsewhere, it was isolated, far from any human settlement. Perhaps the common people had no idea these places even existed, which allowed their faith in the Demon Sect to be preserved.

Despite having taken such a long detour, Chen Qingyang remained extremely cautious. He spent a full half-day using his Conscious Fish to scout the hundred-li radius around the temple. Then he spent another full half-day slowly approaching Fuyuan Temple, scouting it bit by bit...

This Fuyuan Temple was enormous, much larger than any he had seen before. And it didn’t have just one Temple Master, but three.

The three had distinct and disparate styles, appearing as three generations—old, middle-aged, and young. All were dressed as Profound Robe Daoists. The elder was exceptionally old, the middle-aged man was burly and robust, and the youth looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, with rosy lips and pearly teeth, the very picture of a young Child.

Their Cultivation was not to be underestimated, either; all three were at the Essence Condensation Fifth Realm. If it were the Chen Qingyang from before the breakthrough, he would have had no choice but to turn and flee.

Additionally, there were over one hundred Qi Refining Cultivators and more than fifty Essence Condensation Cultivators. The highest Cultivation among them was only the Essence Condensation Third Realm, a significant drop-off in power compared to the three leaders.

’Dealing with them would be a huge pain,’ he thought. ’If I attack them head-on, fighting one against three is incredibly risky, and the commotion would easily attract unwanted attention. I’d like to separate them and take them out one by one, but after observing for a long time, it’s clear the three of them are inseparable.’