Chapter 281

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Zhang Xiaohua’s speed of absorbing Yuan Qi from the Yuan Stone did not slow down just because he was not deliberately focusing on it. On the contrary, it intensified at a terrifying rate, wildly drawing in the energy. Yet, Zhang Xiaohua remained motionless, staring at the crimson sun. No, to be precise, the flames in his eyes reflected the rising sun as it gradually ascended.

By the time half of the sun had emerged, the True Qi within Zhang Xiaohua’s meridians had already reached saturation. Without altering his cultivation method, he followed the guidance of the Carefree Heart Sutra, focusing all his strength on breaking through a hidden acupoint in his meridians, just like when he had advanced for the first time back in Guo Village. Previously, his attempts had all ended in failure, unable to pierce through that thin yet resilient membrane. However, each failed impact only caused more True Qi to accumulate. The True Qi drawn from the Yuan Stone continued to be refined and supplied in an unending stream. He had no idea how many times he had attempted the breakthrough, but at last, the thin membrane could no longer withstand the pressure. Tiny cracks began to form, and the abundant True Qi surged through like a flood, pouring into a newly opened meridian. With a shift in his cultivation method, Zhang Xiaohua smoothly transitioned into circulating the third layer of the Carefree Heart Sutra.

At this very moment, the sun at the horizon broke free from the ocean’s grasp, leaping into the sky. The newly risen sun was warm and gentle, resembling a golden egg yolk, inspiring awe and admiration. At the same time, the flames in Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes receded into the depths of his pupils, vanishing from sight.

Only then did Zhang Xiaohua close his eyes. When he reopened them, there was finally a trace of human emotion within them. By now, the True Qi inside his body had settled into harmony, flowing smoothly through the newly opened meridians, continuously refining itself. Meanwhile, the speed at which his hands absorbed Yuan Qi had also stabilized—yet it was now several times faster than before.

Zhang Xiaohua did not immediately rise. Instead, he silently circulated the third layer of the Carefree Heart Sutra several more times, tempering his meridians before letting out a bitter laugh and standing up. When he had broken through from the first to the second layer, it had been on the southern slope of Guo Village, where he had spent several days in seclusion. At that time, he had been in a state between wakefulness and sleep, still somewhat aware of the process. Now, this breakthrough to the third layer had also occurred in that same half-dream, half-awake state. However, the feeling of overcoming the bottleneck was undeniably real—every impact had been carried out through his own control over True Qi. It was not something obtained without effort.

Picking up the two Yuan Stones in his hands, Zhang Xiaohua swept them with his divine sense and was astonished to find that more than a tenth of the Yuan Qi within them had already been absorbed by him. Only then did he realize—he had advanced from the second to the third level of Qi Refining in just a few dozen days. That was truly unbelievable! Thinking back on the past few dozen days, he had experienced countless hardships—slaughtering bandits on West Cui Mountain, fleeing from Qin Shiyue, enduring torment under Qin Shiyue’s hand, and later intervening in Jingyue City to resolve a crisis. His mental state had already been tempered through these trials; what had hindered his advancement was merely a lack of True Qi. But last night, he had gained enlightenment through his communion with Heaven and Earth, and his comprehension had deepened. To think that he had absorbed a more than full tenth of two Yuan Stones’ qi—equivalent to an entire stone! These were not the fragmented stones that Auspicious Three Treasures possessed, but genuine, high-quality Yuan Stones that never seemed to diminish in energy, no matter how much he absorbed. How could he not advance? It would have been stranger if he hadn’t!

However, there was something Zhang Xiaohua remained unaware of. The first six layers of Qi Refining were considered the introductory stage, with the first step into cultivation being the most difficult. But once one succeeded in practicing the first layer, advancing through the next few layers was not particularly challenging. The real difficulty lay in the six intermediate layers and the six advanced layers beyond them—those could not be mastered merely by absorbing Yuan Qi. Yet, in this era where the Immortal Dao had declined and martial arts prevailed, who was there to tell him these things? Even the records within the Carefree Heart Sutra were merely theoretical; they could never compare to the detailed guidance of a true master.

Outside the window, the sky stretched infinitely blue, seagulls soared freely, and the boundless sea rippled with endless waves, painting a scene of breathtaking beauty. Unable to resist, Zhang Xiaohua released his divine sense once more, and to his delight, he discovered that its range had expanded significantly—several times larger than before. Now, his perception covered not only the entire massive ship but also a vast expanse of the surrounding sea. Even the ocean depths that he could not probe into yesterday were now within his reach. This kind of divine ability typically only emerged in the mid-stage of Qi Refining, yet Zhang Xiaohua had grasped it so early. It was truly an enigma.

On the deck, the crowd was still lost in admiration of the sunrise over the sea, oblivious to the fact that the unremarkable youth on the second floor had just stepped into an entirely new realm.

Zhang Xiaohua had no intention of descending to the deck. After all, he was still Qin Shiyue’s prisoner. Even though he had once saved Qin Shiyue’s life, it did not mean he would be placed on the same level as the leaders of the Three Seas and Seven Waters. If a conversation had no common ground, even half a sentence would be too much. There was no need for him to mix with them needlessly. More importantly, what he needed most right now was to increase his strength. Once he had fully appreciated the grandeur of the ocean, it would be time to find an opportunity to escape.

Thus, Zhang Xiaohua did not leave his room the entire morning. Aside from the sailor delivering breakfast, he remained inside, practicing his fist technique. Only after circulating the technique nine times to temper his bones did he finally stop. As for the nameless sword technique with his left hand, there was no need for further repetition—he had already mastered it thoroughly. Then, with full concentration, he turned to practicing the spell formula for the Earth Escape Technique.

The path of incantations was exceedingly difficult. Ever since he had comprehended the first incantation, he had made no progress with the second. The key issue, as Zhang Xiaohua discovered through repeated attempts, was that things did not unfold as he had imagined. It wasn’t a matter of comprehending each incantation individually and then linking them together. The first incantation was meant to extract true qi, while the second guided that true qi. Without qi being drawn forth by the first, the second incantation could not be executed no matter what. After multiple trials and his own deductions, Zhang Xiaohua completely overturned his previous notion of progressing through the incantations one by one.

Fortunately, he had now reached the third level of Qi Refinement, and the amount of true qi within his body had expanded severalfold. When casting the first incantation, drawing out true qi was still easily manageable.

One could see Zhang Xiaohua draw out a thread of true qi between his fingers, and a barely visible orb formed. Immediately after, he pinched his fingers into the second incantation, attempting to guide the orb of qi. Yet with a single misstep, a slip occurred, and the true qi instantly dissipated. Having experienced this many times before, Zhang Xiaohua remained calm. He released his divine sense to fully enshroud the wisp of true qi and drew it back into his meridians.

Several more attempts followed, but all ended in failure. A faint restlessness began to rise in Zhang Xiaohua’s heart. He understood that his comprehension for this incantation had reached its limit for today. Though he was unsure whether cultivation on the Immortal Dao had certain taboos, he recalled that when studying literature, Young Master Li Jinfeng had once said: the path of learning must be balanced between tension and relaxation. If one blindly charged forward without pause, not only would they fail, it might even harm them. Perhaps all learning was the same in this regard.

Zhang Xiaohua stood up and walked to the window. Even without extending his divine sense, he could see Qin Shiyue and Xu Jiaotong standing at the bow of the ship. Xu Jiaotong had her arms spread like wings, mimicking flight, her eyes gently closed. Qin Shiyue stood behind her, arms around her waist, facing the wind. What they were saying, he could not tell.

Zhang Xiaohua chuckled to himself, Truly a pair of lovebirds… shameless couple, more like it. It’s only been a few days, and they’re already this passionate.

Yet, after indulging in that envy-laced amusement, a trace of jealousy inevitably rose within him. Ever since the eyes from that dream flashed across his heart, Zhang Xiaohua knew that he had not forgotten her. It was just that the world was vast—who could say where in this heaven and earth she might be now?

His divine sense swept across the entire massive ship. The Three Sea Flood Dragon Kings and the Seven Waters Sect Masters were both hiding within the ship’s cabin, smiling faintly as they watched the infatuated pair basking in the sun. Ying Fei, on the other hand, was idly tossing his treasured sword into the air and catching it again and again. He was always full of complaints, but still didn’t dare disturb Lord Qin in his romantic pursuits.

Seeing Ying Fei toying with his sword, Zhang Xiaohua was reminded of something—besides the Big Dipper Divine Fist and the nameless sword technique, he had no other means of attack. If he could practice another sword technique or two, that would be ideal. He thought of the one-year agreement at Dalin Temple for the Dharma Sword, but his interest waned just as quickly. That was martial swordplay—very likely not suited to his path. Even if he did learn it, it might not be of much use.

Zhang Xiaohua drew out the small sword from within his robe. By now, he no longer doubted its origins—there was no question it belonged to the Immortal Dao. Once, the Immortal Dao had flourished in this world. Even if it had since fallen into ruin, surely many of its artifacts had been scattered across the land, just that the common people remained unaware.

His divine sense swept over the sword again and was once more drawn in by its faint fluctuations of Yuan Qi. He had sensed this fluctuation before, but hadn’t had the time to explore it. Now, was this not the perfect opportunity?

As Zhang Xiaohua extended his divine sense into the sword, he did not encounter what he had experienced with jade slips—no characters appeared. Nor did he face a restrictive backlash like with the jade rings. His divine sense simply flowed in with ease.

Inside the small sword, there did seem to be a space, but it was different from the space inside the coin pouch. The pouch’s space was for storing objects, but the one within the small sword clearly was not a tangible dimension. Zhang Xiaohua was puzzled. What purpose does this space serve? So, while playing lightly with the small sword in his left hand, he continued to scan the internal space with his divine sense.

As fate would have it, just then a great wave struck. The enormous ship swayed slightly. Below deck, Ying Fei lost his balance for a moment, and the sword in his hand slipped from his grasp. The same happened to Zhang Xiaohua above, but his reaction was lightning fast. His left hand instantly reached for the hilt of the small sword. However, his divine sense was still immersed in the sword’s internal space. Instinctively, through reflex, he attempted to control the sword with his divine sense, to halt its fall mid-air.

Then, something miraculous occurred. That weighty little sword actually paused briefly in midair before falling—right into the hand that had reached out to grasp its hilt.

He laid the small sword flat upon the table and immersed his divine sense into it, intending to manipulate it by means of divine sense. Yet once his divine sense entered the sword, it felt as though a suit of armor weighing ten thousand catties had been strapped to his body—no matter how hard he tried, he could not move it in the slightest.

If he hadn’t truly managed to make the small sword pause for a moment just now, Zhang Xiaohua wouldn’t have dared to entertain such a wild notion. As for the use of divine sense, Zhang Xiaohua had only ever employed it for scanning; how could he possibly know how to exert force through it? All he could do was to will it again and again in his heart—move, move—but the small sword didn’t budge in the least.

Just as Zhang Xiaohua was racking his brains trying to will the sword to move, he suddenly slapped his forehead. “Ay! Don’t I have a textbook in hand? Why am I fumbling around on my own?”

Immediately, he withdrew his divine sense from the sword and carefully recalled the contents of the Carefree Heart Sutra. Sure enough, in the section on the tenth layer of Qi Refinement, he found a passage describing the art of “Objects Manipulation”.