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Chapter 11: First Glimpse of the Path

Hao Sansi’s facial muscles twitched as he raised his hand to wipe the wine from his face, saying resentfully, “You little rascal, what are you doing?”

“My throat hurts, I couldn’t hold it back. I think the injuries from last time haven’t fully healed yet—I can’t stand this smoke and oil. I’ll go back first, Master, please forgive me!” After saying this, he ran back to his room in a flash. Yue Qianchou patted his chest. His master was almost two hundred years old, yet even he had started singing. Though his earlier action was unintentional, it was still greatly disrespectful.

“Master is such a good person!” Thinking of how Hao Sansi had cared for him during this time without putting on excessive airs as a master, while his own bad reputation had implicated him, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. He sat cross-legged on the bed and continued his seemingly useless practice.

“Eh… what’s this?” Yue Qianchou, who had entered a meditative state, suddenly opened his eyes, his lips trembling as two words burst out: “Spiritual energy!” Unable to believe it, he closed his eyes again. It really was spiritual energy! That substance contained in the air that made one feel refreshed and clear-minded, like happy little sprites wandering about.

Yue Qianchou was so excited he trembled slightly. Nearly a year now—every day of boring, tasteless meditation, countless mocking glances and sneers. Did it really not matter? Everything had been about perseverance; he firmly believed he would succeed.

Happiness came too suddenly. Not daring to think too much, he stabilized his emotions and cleared away distracting thoughts. The Mysterious Heaven Technique, which he knew by heart, began operating. Air was inhaled and exhaled, and the spiritual energy he absorbed could now be felt and retained, slowly flowing into his meridians and circulating awkwardly through them. His entire body was like a precision machine—the loose spiritual energy circulated for several cycles, transforming into continuous true qi that flowed like rivers into the sea, entering his dantian.

The absorption of spiritual energy became increasingly smooth, operating methodically under the guidance of the Mysterious Heaven Technique. His originally collapsed dantian, with the infusion of spiritual energy, swelled up like an inflating balloon. Yue Qianchou immediately felt his whole body become warm and comfortable, letting out a soft moan of pleasure.

The spiritual energy on Azure Light Mountain was naturally worlds apart from that of the mortal world—otherwise, it wouldn‘t have been chosen by cultivators and claimed as their own. However, inflating the dantian in one go wasn’t something that could be accomplished in a short time. Immersed in this pleasant sensation, Yue Qianchou lost track of time, wholeheartedly absorbing spiritual energy. Two days passed in the blink of an eye without him noticing.

His disciple hadn’t come out to eat for two days. Could it be that he was afraid because he had sprayed wine all over his face? Hao Sansi was somewhat worried. Those who could truly go without food were cultivators who had reached the Core Formation stage and achieved fasting. If ordinary people went several days without eating, it could be life-threatening.

‘Am I really such a petty person?’ Hao Sansi had misunderstood and felt somewhat displeased, deciding to counsel his disciple. He walked over and pushed open the door without a word. Yue Qianchou was sitting cross-legged on the bed with a smile on his face, his forehead glowing with a lustrous sheen. He looked nothing like someone who hadn’t eaten for two days—his spirits were excellent.

“Mys… Mysterious Heaven Technique, he’s… he’s absorbing spiritual energy!” Hao Sansi‘s mouth immediately gaped wide enough to fit a fist, his face full of surprise and disbelief. With trembling hands, he extended one palm, releasing a stream of white true qi. The white true qi spiraled and curled into Yue Qianchou’s nose and mouth.

No need to think further—his disciple had already mastered the basics of the Mysterious Heaven Technique. Hao Sansi couldn‘t help but shed tears of joy. Had Heaven truly opened its eyes? When he had taken Yue Qianchou as a disciple in the Azure Light Hall, it was only to save Sect Leader Senior Brother’s face and avoid embarrassing him—just doing a favor. Otherwise, no one would take a disciple with absolutely no cultivation aptitude.

Taking such a disciple was pointless. The Azure Light Sect had stood in the cultivation world for thousands of years and had encountered such situations more than once or twice. Which elder‘s descendants didn’t want their offspring to live for hundreds of years? But what good did entering the Azure Light Sect do? They all achieved nothing and died in depression before reaching a hundred years old. With such precedents, the insurmountable chasm facing those without cultivation aptitude who wanted to cultivate was clear for all to see.

Initially, Hao Sansi hadn‘t thought much of it, treating it as taking on a menial disciple. As time passed, Yue Qianchou’s tireless persistence and perseverance moved him. He deeply felt his disciple’s unwillingness and bitterness. But what could he do? He had no way to help, only trying to treat Yue Qianchou better, hoping to let his disciple spend these few decades of human life happily.

Was this truly Heaven rewarding diligence? Hao Sansi silently wiped away the tears covering his face. Looking at the smile on his disciple‘s face, his heart felt greatly comforted. He immediately went out and partially closed the door, then sat cross-legged right at the entrance. He would protect his disciple’s cultivation—this was the crucial moment of entry, and he absolutely couldn’t be disturbed.

As the saying goes, the sea accepts all rivers because of its capacity! When cultivators first begin, it’s the critical moment for inflating and shaping the dantian. Often, the more spiritual energy the dantian can absorb initially, the larger its capacity becomes, which represents higher future cultivation prospects. At such a moment, how could Hao Sansi dare be the slightest bit careless?

Cultivation realms in the cultivation world were divided into five levels: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and Tribulation Crossing. Generally speaking, those who couldn‘t inflate their dantian for more than two days would likely find it difficult to surpass the Foundation Establishment stage in the future. Exceeding two days meant hope for Foundation Establishment, exceeding three days meant hope for Core Formation, exceeding four days meant hope for Nascent Soul, and exceeding five days meant hope for Tribulation Crossing. Though these were just possibilities, other reasons for failure couldn’t be ruled out. However, these calculations were generally accurate in the cultivation world.

When Hao Sansi first began cultivation, he had inflated his dantian for over four days and had now reached the early Nascent Soul stage. Now that his disciple had been inflating his dantian for over two days, surpassing the Foundation Establishment stage shouldn’t be a problem.

Yue Qianchou sat peacefully on the bed. After two days, he felt his dantian had swelled into a round ball, and the speed of spiritual energy absorption seemed to have slowed down. He wanted to use spiritual energy to inflate this balloon a bit more, but his heart was willing while his strength was insufficient. He had read about inflating the dantian in the Mysterious Heaven Technique manual and knew about it, but he had already reached his limit. Just as he was preparing to conclude his practice, he suddenly felt something moving in his chest cavity. That thing seemed to be attracted by the true qi in his dantian and slid toward it.

When that thing burrowed into his dantian, the already small dantian was suddenly forced to accommodate something else, feeling as if it might tear apart. Yue Qianchou immediately broke out in a cold sweat from the pain, wanting to cry out but unable to make a sound. His mind roared, and an image appeared in his consciousness. In a white, misty space, a golden orb floated and slowly began to rotate. Yue Qianchou immediately realized—wasn’t this the golden pearl the white fox had given him that day?

Feeling the pain when his dantian was first invaded, he couldn’t help but be astonished. Could the image in his mind be the scene inside his dantian? He watched as the golden pearl rotated, stirring the white true qi in his dantian into wisps of white silk before absorbing them.

“Damn!” Yue Qianchou was shocked and dismayed. The true qi in his dantian had almost been completely absorbed by the golden pearl, and his recently inflated, not-yet-solidified dantian was slowly collapsing. If this continued, all his earlier efforts would be wasted. He wanted the golden pearl to stop, but unfortunately, it was completely beyond his control.

‘Damn it! A whole year of hard work, and now I’m back to square one.’ Yue Qianchou quickly operated the Mysterious Heaven Technique, continuously absorbing spiritual energy and converting it to true qi to inject into his dantian.

Don‘t let the golden pearl’s small size fool you—it was like a bottomless pit, absorbing however much true qi there was. Yue Qianchou couldn‘t figure out what it was, but he decided to fight it to the death. If he didn’t take advantage of his dantian’s current unformed state to prop it up, he could forget about having high cultivation in this lifetime. He pushed the Mysterious Heaven Technique to its limit, desperately absorbing spiritual energy while the golden pearl absorbed just as vigorously. Man and pearl were locked in struggle.

The third day passed. Hao Sansi was surprised that his waste disciple actually had some talent. He released true qi again, which was quickly absorbed by Yue Qianchou. Knowing his disciple was still inflating his dantian, he continued his dutiful protection.

The fourth day passed. True qi was still being absorbed. Hao Sansi was somewhat puzzled.

The fifth day passed. Hao Sansi trembled slightly with excitement. What did this mean? It meant his waste disciple had the potential to reach the Tribulation Crossing stage. Not just in the Azure Light Sect, but in the entire cultivation world—how many people could have such talent? He didn‘t dare meditate anymore, guarding his disciple’s door and staying alert to the surroundings.

The sixth day passed. Hao Sansi broke out in a cold sweat. How was this possible…

The seventh day passed. Hao Sansi was getting worried. Had his disciple encountered some problem in cultivation? As soon as he tentatively released true qi from his palm, it disappeared in the blink of an eye, shooting directly into his disciple’s nose and mouth. Hao Sansi wiped the sweat from his forehead. For a disciple who had just begun to absorb spiritual energy at this speed—how could his dantian possibly contain it all?