Chương 106: Chapter 106 - Foundation Stage. (mini)
Breakthrough room, Elemental pavilion.
Xin planted another dose of conflict removal materials. Hopefully, this one is the last.
He exhaled, then signalled for the musician to start playing a tune. A moaning, weakening sound of a string instrument, with slight inclusions of upbeat notes of a flute. Should be just right. The sound was flowing in from a little hole on the wall to Xin's right, gently caressing the water on the bottom of a little waterfall.
The breakthrough materials were neatly arranged on a small tray before him. Some had been taken as part of his loot, while others were acquired through bartering, traded for his surplus supplies.
If I want to pay Feng Chonglin and improve my alchemical kit, I'll have to spend around fifty five spirit stones, which is almost everything I have. It's not a big deal, the steppe is abundant with natural resources, and with several bags of holding that I own, it won't be hard to set up a mobile field lab to gather more materials. With these gains and a refined white tiger totem, my situation will drastically improve.
The sect will provide me with all the necessary travel equipment, at least. Oh, and a free rank one dao shard! Will have to be smart about it.
Easy, easy. The deed is not done just yet, remember the last time.
Xin felt his tummy growl lightly, he was upholding a sattvic diet to help the qi flow better. The tiger totem wasn't too happy about it, and was only pacified once Xin started eating salted salmon and caviar the previous night. The young hunter felt the tiger's excitement about the breakthrough, just like the last time. It was clear that it genuinely wished for its master to become stronger. The more aspects the master could invoke, the more actualized the totem itself could become, after all.
A futon on top of a mossy stone. This time, the smell of the moss isn't as good, the exchange of two elements emanating a harsher aura. With lady Ting dead, the new formation master couldn't bring the breakthrough room to a former standard, imitating the techniques and following the recipes left over by the predecessor, but lacking her elegance. Still, it's not too bad.
The decorations are the same: the pots, the swords, the fans — everything is intact, and the Feng Shui is almost as good as the last time.
Wash my feet, wipe them with a towel. Cleanse my nostrils with a little teapot filled with salted water.
Sit down.
The inner materials I ingested prior are ready.
The energy is flowing through my meridians, my orifices are already absorbing the qi from the outer environment. So does my skin.
Xin slowly started opening up his meridians, one by one. Now he had to gather the energies of the environment and combine them with the breakthrough materials, to create a core and plant it, preventing the internal damage.
Destructive motion, metal defeats wood. Conflict removal materials are holding well, I can now channel this energy to widen my meridians. My body can endure this method, it's just a rank one breakthrough.
Xin felt a familiar pain assault his body, but it was more than bearable. A flawless execution of the motion.
The music is much calmer this time. My human qi seems more stable. Good. Xin felt a warm sensation spread through his chest. I'm on the right track.
He spent twenty more minutes meditating, putting himself into a trance and letting the materials settle and meridians adjust, then brought himself back into consciousness and prepared the most crucial step.
The three Qi!
Heavenly qi.
Xin opened up his mind and spirit again. An effortless move, my soul foundation is somewhat stronger than the last time. The totem is purring again, this time its voice is even stronger. I've fed it well.
Become one with the universe. Proclaim a revelation you've obtained the last time.
Things expand, and things condense. Things grow, and they wither. My urge to expand was half-broken, and I've repaired it. And if this world is a lie, if this sect is, I have to accept it if I am to grow. I know that my destiny lies elsewhere, and I accept this revelation.
The heavenly qi was flowing well, but no reaction followed. Makes sense, I didn't ask the heavens to inspire me again. Heavenly qi stage over, time to proceed.
Earth Qi. Xin felt his body assaulted by tingling and pain, and he started directing the broken down wood qi to the bottom of his Foundation core, and coating it with both metal and wood materials to reinforce it. It settled down perfectly, the walls of the core condensing slightly, creating a vulnerable ball that would need human qi to get stronger.
Wait! Xin felt his meridians move. A tingling turned into a suction, and his meridians condensed. What's going on? It wasn't in the breakthrough manuals!
Oh, I see. My meridians are stronger than those of an average qi active mortal, due to my many years of training I am essentially a low ranked physical cultivator, and now this excess potential is being sucked into the core, greedily trying to make my gains its own. Xin felt drained for a few moments, then exhaled, his head feeling lighter.
My core feels a bit more dense than the last time! I can't measure my qi pool right now, but it's certainly deeper than if it was a standard breakthrough. I tamed the earth qi!
Good, now for the human qi. With two out of three elements tamed, it's just a formality. All I need to do is to not blunder it completely again.
Envision a world that I want to create.
A dense forest, with a massive tower, resembling a twisted dagger protruding from the earth, looking alien yet in harmony with its surroundings. There are people inside, and we love each other. Some are my friends, some are my family, and some are just good neighbours. My world is filled with people, they push me to grow and I help them become their best. Whoever they are, they can come and they can go, and I'll welcome them back. Xin smiled.
"No!" The mantis yaoguai could only think this word before Xin smashed his chitin helmet-mask. With the next hit, his brain was penetrated. Woodcutter's Downswing!
"Hehehe. This fodder will die." The spoon holding baldie threw a bunch of enchanted metal balls at him. Twang. He was dead, an arbalest bolt protruding from his forehead.
Fuck off, fuck off, fuck off... Xin chased those thoughts away, and started breathing heavily. He was losing control again.
Ling Yue, I didn't kill her... A prodigy, just like me, a protagonist of her own story. Why was she just a mortal, with such a cultivation level? Why would such a beautiful girl end up on the frontlines of a bloody war? What happened to her?
I gouged her eye out. That creepy gaze of her, what if it wasn't creepy, what if she was just scared? Sheltered and abrasive, just like I am. If we met in a different situation, we could become friends... Or more.
Fuck off! It's not the time to overthink, I need to chase this thought away! Begone! A fume of dark human qi expunged from Xin's orifices, making him cough, but he quickly recomposed himself.
Now, five breaths.
In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.
In.
Xin's core formed a wall around it, and was stabilised! He reached the Foundation stage!
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