Chapter 38: Qi Cultivation

Eventually, we all had our fill of examining our new toys at the pagoda. We packed up all our new treasures and started making our way out o

Eventually, we all had our fill of examining our new toys at the pagoda. We packed up all our new treasures and started making our way out of the Amberwood. Though not before Pan Song took one of the decorative blossoms carved from amber away from the pagoda. It would be another bit of proof that he’d broken through the formations here.

Despite being weighed down a lot more than before, it didn’t take us long to leave the Amberwood. We also managed to clear the pagoda of treasure a lot faster than we’d thought, so we didn’t bother trying to camp anywhere. Instead, we just headed back to the city and got there just around sunset.

Along the way, Pan Song and Lin both expanded upon the two treasures that each had been very focused on. 

Lin’s explanation was a lot more succinct and quick, however. Apparently, the scroll she was looking at was a pill recipe. One for a pill that should help with reaching Foundation Establishment. Such pills were rare in an out-of-the-way city like Everlake, but the recipes themselves weren’t too uncommon. The interesting thing about this recipe, however, was that it seemed quite different from what little Lin knew about the pill.

We’d have to wait for Sun Xia to really evaluate the recipe, but Lin thought that it was potentially valuable if it was sufficiently different from the normal recipe. Even if it wasn’t less expensive in terms of ingredients, it could allow a talented alchemist to learn a lot.

If that was the case, then our previous estimation of the rewards from this trip was a lot higher. 

Pan Song’s treasure, in comparison, was less exciting. At least for the rest of us. For him, apparently, it was wonderful, and he spent a good portion of our trip talking about it. The iron plate thing was some kind of formation array compacted and made portable. It might have been some kind of control interface for the formations around the pagoda, and used a lot of symbols and formations unique to ancient ruins.

Pan Song thought he could learn a lot more about ancient formations from studying it. He spoke a lot about this on our trip back, but most of it went over my head. Still, when I asked if it could help with his performance in the trial, and he said yes, I felt a bit more excited about the plate. Hopefully, he was right.

We ended up reaching the Sun Compound not long after the sun set fully over the horizon. We’d come from the Northern Gate, not having to worry about being seen this time, so the trip was much quicker.

Everyone else was in pretty high spirits, given our success and what we’d manage to bring back. I, on the other hand, was less so. Mainly because I had to wait outside for them to report my encounter with the fox woman to Sun Xia. We didn’t want anything triggering if I walked into the protective formations of the Sun Compound without notifying her and Zhao Wei first.

After around fifteen minutes of waiting, both Sun Xia and Zhao Wei came out to take a look at me. Zhao Wei had a disapproving look on her face, but Sun Xia looked amused.

“Again, Li Lan?” Sun Xia asked, an elegant eyebrow raised and mirth on her beautiful face.

I shrugged helplessly. “My apologies… But… Well, it seems I don’t really have the best of luck. It's not like I went out looking for this.”

“Of course,” Sun Xia said, shaking her head as she directed me to follow her. “I imagine if you actually went looking to encounter such a powerful spirit beast in the Amberwood then you would not have managed to do it. Truly you have a strange karmic fate. I can’t tell if that means you might have been exceptionable or horrible in a past life.”

I chuckled a bit at that as she led me to a familiar isolated building. Then I winced as I realized the time, and that I was going to have another long night. Though perhaps if I was lucky I could go to bed at a more reasonable time. The sun had only just set, and being early summer, it wasn’t that late yet.

“Given the possible power of the spirit beast you encountered,” Sun Xia said as I moved to stand in the middle of an inscribed formation on the floor. “We’ll have to be a bit more thorough with your examination. I hope you understand.”

“That’s okay,” I said, wincing but accepting my fate. At the very least, this would give me peace of mind. Well, maybe… if the fox woman was actually a Rank 3 as I feared, could Sun Xia and this formation really detect something she did?

“So we don’t need to consult with Master Fang Hong or something?” I asked, unable to help myself. Sun Xia probably knew what she was doing, yet I wanted to be sure. “Given that the spirit beast might have been Rank 3.”

“Master Fang Hong has many talents,” Sun Xia said, sounding amused. “However, investigating such matters isn’t one of them, and we don’t have access to someone more skilled with higher cultivation. This array will have to be enough.”

I grimaced at that, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was really as okay with this as she seemed. After all, what if I was bringing an unknown danger into the compound? I probably shouldn’t bring it up, but I didn’t want to bring trouble for my friends. Not if I could help it.

“Then… would it be better if I left the compound? If we can’t know for sure nothing was left behind.”

Sun Xia paused in her preparation for a moment and gave me a surprised look. Then she smiled. It wasn’t her usual amused smile but something smaller. 

“That won’t be necessary,” she said, shaking her head. “You shouldn’t underestimate me just because of my cultivation. And if the spirit beast was as powerful as you say, I doubt she would need to use such underhanded means to strike at us. Just take a seat and leave it to me.”

I wasn’t sure why she was so confident about this. A Rank 3 spirit beast was at a similar level of power as a Core Formation cultivator. And that was the strongest level of cultivator that resided in Everlake City. It seemed odd she would feel that she could test her skills against such a powerful—and probably ancient, regardless of what that woman said—opponent.

But despite that, I found myself relaxing just a bit as I moved to sit. I may not have known her long, but I was pretty damn confident Sun Xia wasn’t stupid or foolhardy. So if she thought this wasn’t a problem, then I would just have to trust it. It wasn’t like I had any other options anyway.

After another moment of preparation, the formations around me lit up like they’d done before. And… perhaps more of them were activated than the last time I was here. Instead of just the ones on the floor, the ones on the ceiling lit up as well.

Then I found myself under a familiar heavy scrutiny.

This passed for quite some time, with me trying to meditate to pass the time. Sun Xia came and went, though Zhao Wei stayed and watched the entire time, mostly silent. I tried holding a conversation with the quiet woman, but her lack of desire to talk and my own uncomfortableness made things difficult.

Eventually, though, after who knows how long, it was done.

“It seems that you truly simply had a lucky encounter with that fox,” Sun Xia said, having returned for the final part of this scanning thing. “Nothing seems to have been left in your body.”

“That’s good,” I said, a bit groggily. The room didn’t have any windows, but I saw daylight when Sun Xia had re-entered the building. Another all-nighter it seemed. If it wasn’t for my cultivation, I would probably have already passed out. 

“It is,” Sun Xia said, smiling. “Now, you should get some rest. Afterward, please come find me. I’ve altered my schedule a bit, and we should be able to begin your attempt at spirit cultivation with my supervision.“

It took me a second to register what she said. Then I perked up. “Really? I thought you wouldn’t have time for another three days.”

“Yes, but some things have changed,” Sun Xia said as we left the isolation building. I looked up and saw that the sun was still too low in the sky to be seen over the walls of the compound. “One of the reasons is the upcoming trial. Since you will be aiding my newest retainer there, it seems only fitting that I endeavor to help you two out. Four days would normally not be enough to make a difference with cultivation unless you were on the cusp of a breakthrough. But given your unique situation and what you four managed to recover from the ruins, I thought it would be worth my time to move things ahead of schedule.”

“Oh, then thank you very much,” I said, both grateful and eager. I did wonder what she meant about what we recovered, but that could wait until later. For now, I wanted to sleep. Just because I could last a long time without sleep didn't mean that I wanted to.

Sun Xia seemed to sense my feelings because she chuckled softly and said, “We can speak about this more later. Go and rest.”

I nodded, grateful at that, and headed back to my residence to do just that.

—line break—

Later that day, after resting and eating a whole bunch of food—I refrained from taking another spirit beast core after the last one finished since I didn’t know if it would affect my cultivation—I met Sun Xia in the same cultivation building Sun Yun had taken me to. Zhao Wei was there as well as Sun Xia’s ever-present shadow.

“So, what did we recover from the ruins that would help with my cultivation?” I asked as Sun Xia waved her hands, and the formation on the floor began to glow.

“It was one of the bottles of pills you all recovered,” Sun Xia said. “There was a bottle of five quite potent cultivation pills. If you can cultivate successfully and make use of one of those pills, you might be able to make major progress in the four days you have left until the trial. It is unlikely to help you make a breakthrough in such a short amount of time, but you should be able to preserve the benefits for after the trial and reach a breakthrough sometime after that.”

“Oh?” I asked, perking up. That sounded amazing. “Are they really that good? Like super powerful ancient pills or something?”

Sun Xia laughed at that but shook her head. “Not so secret, or else it would have taken me longer to identify them. But Immortal Blooming Lotus pills are quite valuable and rare. I’ve spoken with the others already, and as long as you are okay with it as well, we will split four of them amongst the four of you. The last I will buy from you all and the profit will be split in four ways.”

“That works for me,” I said happily. I hadn’t expected the pills to be that amazing. “How much is one of the pills worth?”

“Hmm…” Sun Xia tapped her chin for a moment as she thought about it. “Several thousand spirit stones I’d imagine. I will need to double-check the current market prices to be sure.”

I stared at her in complete surprise at that number. Several thousand spirit stones? Holy hell. And Array Masters consider these minor ruins not worth the effort? How? Did we just get really lucky?

“Let us begin,” Sun Xia said, gesturing to the middle of the room before I could ask any more questions. “Have you gotten the chance to find a new cultivation method for yourself, or will you be using the imperial standard?”

“The imperial standard,” I said, fighting my urge to ask questions. That could be done later. Now was cultivating time. I really wanted to make use of this pill if I could.

I moved to sit cross-legged on the ground, quickly recalling the imperial standard cultivation method. It was quite simple and easy to remember the basics that Lin had taught me in the mines.

“That will keep things simple then,” Sun Xia said, nodding and moving to sit in front of me. Then I felt her spirit sense on me. It wasn’t overbearing or a pressure, instead just a watchful and almost comforting presence. “You may begin when you are ready. Should your Qi deviate, I will disrupt the process and keep you from harm.”

“Thank you,” I said gratefully before I closed my eyes.

Then I began reciting the simple mantra that was supposed to help me cultivate in my head. At the same time, I breathed in the necessary pattern that the cultivation technique dictated.

I cycled through the pattern once. Then again. And again. And again. Constantly running the mantra in my mind and doing my best to stay consistent.

This time, unlike before in the mine, I could already begin to feel it working. I could feel the Qi around me—denser than in the rest of the compound because of the formations that Sun Xia had activated when we entered the room—react to my technique. 

It wasn’t flowing into me yet, but as I kept cycling my breathing, I could feel the Qi start to circle around me slowly. With each cycle of my breathing pattern, the Qi around me seemed to speed up just a bit. Flowing towards me before it eventually entered my mouth and nose. It was just a tiny wisp at first. A wisp that entered my body and soon disappeared. Completely beyond my control unlike the other Qi inside of me.

But as more time passed, the amount that entered me grew and grew. Then, it finally seemed to reach a new threshold. In one breath, Qi flowed into my body in much greater amounts than before. It entered pathways that I could feel in my body—my meridians—and started to flow through them. My breathing would direct them in a specific pattern meant to keep a steady cycle within myself as the Qi became mine.

Or at least, that was what was supposed to happen.

Instead, not long after the Qi started traveling through my meridians something happened to it. There was a force much stronger than the minor guidance of my technique. It pulled my Qi away from the necessary pattern.

For a second, I thought it was Sun Xia interfering because something was wrong. But as the Qi flowed towards my chest, I realized that wasn’t what was happening. Damn it! What the hell?

The Qi entered my spirit beast cultivation core, which eagerly devoured it. And then it was gone, barely a drop in comparison to how much Qi was already in there.

“Try again,” Sun Xia said just as I was about to open my eyes. “See if you can overpower the draw from your core. If not that, then try and suppress the core instead.”

I nodded at that, not speaking as I needed my mouth for breathing. To my annoyance, I noticed that the slight cyclone of Qi around me had lost cohesion, meaning I had to start over from the beginning. Just great.

But, given how much Qi my meridians could probably hold, it would be worth it if I could cultivate them as well as my core. And Sun Xia was here watching me. So I tried again.

I repeated the same process once more, and when a sufficiently large concentration of Qi entered my meridians, my core started sucking it up again. I didn’t falter this time and tried to fight it by using my cultivation technique. When the Qi still went to my core, I didn’t relent, and soon another strand entered my body.

That one was consumed by my core, too. As was the next one. And the next. And the next. But I kept going as the amount of Qi entering me grew and grew each time. And each time it took my core just a bit more time to redirect things.

I just had to hold on a bit more and, hopefully, I would be able to get it moving strong enough that my core’s pull couldn’t redirect it.

Eventually, after an unknown period of time, I seemed to reach the maximum amount of Qi and speed my cultivation technique could handle. Yet the Qi still was pulled in at the end, stopping me from finishing a proper cycle. 

But that was okay. I still had options. And I’d gotten into a rhythm with my breathing now. I barely had to focus on it, and could instead focus on my core. I didn’t quite know just what I needed to do to get it to stop messing around with the Qi I was trying to cultivate. So I just tried observing at first, seeing what it was doing when the Qi entered my system.

This took even more time to do, but eventually, I started to understand. That the force that took in the Qi was a natural part of the core. That this core was like a devouring beast, eagerly pulling anything within its territory to itself, regardless of my wishes.

I needed to stop that, so I did the only thing I could do, as I didn’t really have much control over the core itself. I could pull on the Qi inside of it but not affect the physical thing all that much. So I just tried to focus hard on it. Tried my best to will it, like I willed my Skills. To will it to stop. To ignore the Qi flowing in my body.

Yet this bestial thing was not so easily tamed. It seemed to fight back. Not really violently. More like… well a really stubborn house cat. Just casual defiance and ignoring my wishes. Occasionally swatting away my attempts to control it. It was a strange feeling, as I didn’t think it was actually intelligent or anything. Just a part of me. A stubborn part.

But, with persistence, I eventually broke past that stubbornness. Made it submit. Made it stop. And then, finally, a new strand of Qi finished a cycle within my meridians. Something seemed to click after that, and the speed of the Qi grew even more. So much so, that when my focus on my core slipped, and it began to try and pull on the Qi again, it couldn't pull the Qi from its path.

I grinned at the feeling, having finally accomplished the first step towards Qi-Gathering. It wasn’t enough to be considered an Early Stage Qi-Gatherer. That strand of Qi that was fully circulating through my meridians was tiny. I would need a lot more to have even reached the Early Stage. But it was finally some progress.

I opened my eyes to see Sun Xia still sitting across from me. She turned away from a scroll she was reading to give me a smile.

“Congratulations,” she said, a small smile on her face. “It seems you’ve overcome the issue your core was causing for your cultivation. There also didn’t seem to be any risks of Qi deviation.”

“Yes,” I said, nodding. “Thank you for watching over me. How long did it take?”

I’d lost track of time during all that. Hopefully, it hadn’t been that long.

“Six hours,” Sun Xia said, her voice calm. 

I was a lot less so after hearing that. 6 hours? That was a long ass time, and I was pretty sure I was still pretty damned far from reaching Qi-Gathering. At the rate I was going, I’d need another couple of days of nothing but cultivating at the very least.

And that wasn’t even the worst part. There was one more thing I needed to check. Something that I thought would just end up as an extra precaution, but now might actually be a lot worse than I’d originally imagined.

“Um, there's still one more thing I’d like to try,” I said hesitantly. She’d already been helping me for six hours, and I wasn’t sure if she’d be willing to indulge me longer. “I hope it will be quick, but I understand if you don’t have the time for it. I didn’t expect to need you to watch over me for so long.”

“That is fine,” Sun Xia said, laughing slightly. “6 hours is not beyond my expectations. With your unique situation, I knew something like this would be possible. I can spare you another hour if need be.”

I nodded at that, grateful. “Thank you.”

Then I reached into my robes and took out a spirit beast core. I kept most of them in my room, but I always kept two on me to minimize my downtime. Popping the core into my mouth, I ate it quickly and soon my body was absorbing and processing the Qi into my own core.

Unfortunately, I could already tell that things just became a lot harder. The pull from my core grew considerably. It wasn’t enough to pull what Qi I had circulating around inside of me away from its path. But…

I closed my eyes and tried cultivating once more. Things were a lot faster this time, and perhaps it was even easier to draw the ambient Qi into my body. However, before I could even attempt to force the strand of Qi down the same path as the Qi in my body, a force took hold of it. It dragged it straight to my core, despite my best efforts to stop it, and then it was gone.

Crap.

I tried several more times, but the pull from my core was just far too much now. I seemed to be able to reach the maximum amount of Qi and speed a lot faster than before. But it still wasn’t enough to come close to overcoming the pull from my core.

Damn.

I opened my eyes to see a puzzled look on Sun Xia’s face.

“It seems it might take more experimenting for you to be able to do both methods at once,” she said calmly. “There still no sign of Qi deviation, but until you have that under control, I’d advise you not to take the pill you gathered from the ruins. They were designed for human cultivation, and I’m not sure if they might not be wasted if absorbed by your core. At the very least, the efficacy of the pill and results might go down.”

I grimaced and nodded. I hadn’t even considered that, having mainly focused on the fact that I couldn’t cultivate both paths simultaneously. So much for another easy power-up for the trial. I wasn’t going to give up my spirit beast cultivation for this, so I would need to put this kind of cultivation on hold for the time being.

Disappointing.

But it was hardly the end of the world. After all, I still had spirit beast cultivation, which was a lot simpler and more convenient. I also already got some pretty powerful power-ups just recently with my two new passive Skills. Power-ups that would continue to boost me as I got stronger with the cultivation I could do.

And, since spirit beast cultivation didn’t really require much thought, I could also use the time to train other things instead. Like getting more used to my new Skills, as well as my new weapon.

So, perhaps, it was for the best. There were only four days left until the trial, after all. Better to work on my actual fighting skills than on another boost in stats and Qi.