Volume 1 Chapter 9

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Recruitment of Editors: https://gravitytales.com/recruitment-of-editors/

Volume 1 Chapter 9: Friendship

Looking at the young man who suddenly fell, Xu Qingfan hesitated for a moment but still walked over to him.

When Xu Qingfan reached the young man, he noticed that the young man’s face was pale, his eyes were tightly closed, and he was obviously unconscious. His skin had an unhealthy pale golden color, indicating serious internal injuries.

Seeing this situation, Xu Qingfan did not hesitate any longer. He helped the young man sit up on the ground and then placed his hands gently on the two acupoints called ‘True Tiger’ and ‘Spirit Spring’ on his back. The blue Wood-type Spirit Qi from his body flowed steadily into the young man to try to heal his internal injuries with his Wood-type Spirit Qi.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Xu Qingfan sent the Wood-type Spirit Qi into the young man’s body, the situation he sensed shocked him greatly.

At that moment, the young man’s Gold-type Spirit Qi was in chaos inside him. The uncontrollable Spirit Qi was crashing around, causing great damage to his veins. More importantly, there was a trace of Fire Spirit Qi inside him that did not belong to him. Although it was much less in quantity than the Gold-type Spirit Qi, its destructive power was greater, rushing straight toward his heart.

It seemed that the young man had suffered serious internal injuries while battling the young man skilled in fire-type techniques. Not only was he unable to control his Gold-type Spirit Qi, but he was also injured severely by his opponent’s Fire Spirit Qi entering his body.

If he had sat down to gather his Spirit Qi to heal right after being injured, the situation wouldn’t have been so dire. But the problem was that the young man was too proud and didn’t want to lose face in front of his opponent. So, after the battle, he stubbornly stood there with his grievously injured body until the fire type practitioner left before he was willing to heal. But by then, it was already too late.

By forcing himself to endure, he not only missed the best chance to heal but also made his injuries worse. If things went wrong, his veins could rupture, and he would lose all his power.

Fortunately, there was Xu Qingfan, who had been watching the scene unfold.

"Honestly, why is he pushing himself like this? Is his life more important or is his pride?" Xu Qingfan complained silently in his heart, but the Wood-type Spirit Qi in his body continuously flowed into the young man, trying to control the chaotic Gold-type Spirit Qi and force out the more destructive Fire Spirit Qi.

At that moment, Xu Qingfan was only at the late stage of the Qi Refining Stage, while the young man was already a master in the Inedia Stage. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for Xu Qingfan to control the young man’s Gold-type Spirit Qi. However, the young man had exhausted too much Spirit Qi during the fight, and the Gold-type Spirit Qi inside him was less than a third of its full strength. Additionally, the young man was currently unconscious and unable to control his Spirit Qi, allowing Xu Qingfan to barely manage the chaotic Spirit Qi and gather it. Even so, Xu Qingfan was struggling to do so, as the power difference between them was significant.

Time passed, and Xu Qingfan kept helping the young man reorganize his Spirit Qi. Finally, after much effort, Xu Qingfan managed to control the chaotic Gold-type Spirit Qi completely and expelled the trace of Fire Spirit Qi from his body. He was drenched in sweat and pale, almost as pale as the injured young man.

Although his own Spirit Qi was severely depleted, Xu Qingfan did not stop after cleaning the young man’s Spirit Qi. Instead, he continued to push Spirit Qi into him with all his might. Xu Qingfan knew that the young man’s meridians were badly damaged, and if not treated promptly, it could lead to chronic issues that would be difficult to fix, making it hard for him to improve his power in the future.

Xu Qingfan knew that his abilities were quite ordinary, and he had learned from his master Lu Huayan about the difficulties of cultivating. So, he couldn’t bear to see such a talented young man ruin his future right in front of him. He wanted to do everything he could to help this young man recover.

For many people, it is most comforting to think that if they cannot have something, then no one else can have it either. But for Xu Qingfan, he could never feel that way.

Xu Qingfan might never reach the Condensed Core Stage in his lifetime, but if he saw others succeed, he would feel just as happy. He might feel a little disappointed, but he would never feel jealous, and he would never try to sabotage anyone.

Xu Qingfan is that kind of person. You can say he is naive, and you can say he is too kind, but you can never say he is mean.

Just now, while helping the young man control his unruly Spirit Qi, Xu Qingfan’s blue Wood-type Spirit Qi was almost completely used up. Now, as he treated the young man’s internal injuries, the Spirit Qi was being consumed even faster! Soon, Xu Qingfan felt his Spirit Qi was gradually running out, but since there were still many injuries in the young man’s meridians, Xu Qingfan reluctantly continued to draw from his dwindling Spirit Qi to keep sending it to the young man.

Originally, Xu Qingfan had a gray Spirit Qi in his body that was at least as powerful as the Wood-type Spirit Qi, but he dared not use this gray Spirit Qi to heal the young man. This gray Spirit Qi felt so desolate and lifeless, and who knew what would happen if it were sent into someone else’s body.

It must be said that the Wood-type Spirit Qi that Xu Qingfan cultivated contained a vast amount of life energy and had excellent healing effects. So before Xu Qingfan used up the last bit of his blue Wood-type Spirit Qi, he finally repaired all the damaged meridians in the young man’s body. At the moment Xu Qingfan stopped, he felt the young man’s Gold-type Spirit Qi starting to flow on its own.

Knowing that the young man had awakened under his treatment and was beginning to circulate his Spirit Qi to heal himself, Xu Qingfan felt relieved and quickly sat down to try to recover his own Wood-type Spirit Qi.

Just as Xu Qingfan was getting ready to meditate and restore his Wood-type Spirit Qi, the other, lifeless gray Spirit Qi within him suddenly began to uncontrollably surge.

Facing this sudden change, Xu Qingfan was startled. Ever since he had practiced the strange cultivation method called "The Formula of Wither and Flourish," he had two opposing types of Spirit Qi in his body: one blue and one gray. The blue Spirit Qi was full of life and represented pure Wood-type True Qi, while the gray True Qi was lifeless and resembled dark cultivation. Now, due to the overuse of the Wood-type Spirit Qi, the two Spirit Qi had lost their balance, and the gray Spirit Qi had gone out of control!

"Am I going to have Qi deviation?" Xu Qingfan thought desperately, feeling the uncontrollable gray Spirit Qi within him.

For a cultivator, Qi deviation is absolutely one of the most terrifying things. Once Qi deviation occurs, one can lose all their power, making it impossible to cultivate again, or even worse, it can lead to death and fall into the cycle of reincarnation!

Ever since he started practicing this incomplete "The Formula of Wither and Flourish," Xu Qingfan often experienced Qi deviation. But because his master Lu Huayan was always there to help him in time, he managed to escape each time.

As Xu Qingfan’s cultivation became more stable and his power grew, the occurrences of Qi deviation reduced. In the last three or four years, he had not experienced such terrifying events again, so he gradually stopped worrying about it. But he never expected that he would suddenly fall into Qi deviation this time because he was saving someone.

At this moment, with no great expert like Lu Huayan, who had reached the Golden Core Stage, by his side to help, and with his Spirit Qi severely depleted, it seemed impossible for Xu Qingfan to safely get through this crisis.

"Am I going to die here today?" Feeling the uncontrollable and frantic movement of the gray Spirit Qi inside him, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but begin to despair. "I won’t give up; my family’s revenge has not yet been achieved."

Just when Xu Qingfan began to sink into despair, things slowly started to turn around.

It turned out that with each full cycle of the frantic gray Spirit Qi within Xu Qingfan, a small amount of blue Wood-type Spirit Qi would be produced. As the gray Spirit Qi spun faster and faster, more and more Wood-type True Qi gathered inside Xu Qingfan. After an unknown amount of time and numerous cycles, finally, the produced Wood-type Spirit Qi rebalanced with the gray Spirit Qi and returned to his control, settling back into his dantian.

After carefully checking his body, Xu Qingfan let out a small sigh of relief. The energy channels inside him had not been harmed by the wild flow of gray Spirit Qi just now, which was a small blessing amidst misfortune.

But perhaps it was just Xu Qingfan’s imagination, after examining his body, he felt that the two streams of true energy inside him had become even stronger after this change. The contrasting energies of life and death seemed to be more intense. Even the Qi Refining Stage, which he had struggled to break through for three years, now seemed on the verge of a breakthrough, as if the Inedia Stage was just within reach, needing only a gentle push.

Faced with this sudden increase in power, Xu Qingfan felt happy yet somewhat confused. There had been times when Lu Huayan helped him refine the gray Spirit Qi in his body, causing him to produce gray dead Spirit Qi after using the green Wood-type Spirit Qi. This time, however, it was the opposite; the gray dead Spirit Qi had autonomously generated the Wood-type Spirit Qi.

Could it be that mastering "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" requires these two opposing Spirit Qis to coexist?

Somehow, Xu Qingfan felt that "The Formula of Wither and Flourish" might indeed have its extraordinary aspects, and perhaps it was not as useless as he had imagined.

After finishing his cultivation, Xu Qingfan slowly opened his eyes, surprised by the strong sunlight before him. He realized that the sun was already high in the sky, and it was unknowingly noon.

"Were you the one who saved me yesterday?"

Just as Xu Qingfan was about to express his thoughts like his master Lu Huayan, pondering on meaningless sayings like "time does not pass in cultivation, and there are no years in the mountains," a voice suddenly appeared beside him, sounding clear like the clash of metal.

Xu Qingfan was startled by the sudden voice. Since he began his journey in cultivation, his senses had become sharper. No sound or movement within three yards of him could escape his awareness, except for experts like Lu Huayan at the Golden Core Stage.

Following the sound, he saw that it was the young man who had fought with someone using gold-type techniques last night. Although his face was still pale, there was a hint of color in it, which meant that his internal injuries had mostly healed.

The young man was lightly covered in dew, clearly having spent the whole night here.

Although this person was young, he had already reached the Inedia Stage of cultivation, which explained how he could escape Xu Qingfan’s watch.

"It’s me," Xu Qingfan replied immediately after coming back to his senses. To him, not answering someone’s question promptly was very rude behavior.

"Why do you want to save me?" To his surprise, the young man frowned upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s answer. His voice remained cool and didn’t change just because the person in front of him was his savior.

"Why can’t I save you?" Xu Qingfan found this question a bit funny and responded with a question of his own.

"What do you want by saving me?" the young man asked again, his frown tightening. "What benefits are you after?"

After hearing the young man’s words, Xu Qingfan frowned as well, thinking that the young man was being overly suspicious of others. He was just trying to help, but now he was doubted as if he wanted something in return.

Thinking this, Xu Qingfan felt he had nothing more to say to this overly cautious young man because they really had no common ground. So he waved his hand and said, "Because I want to save you, so I saved you. For some people, saving a life doesn’t need a reason or a reward."

Saying this, Xu Qingfan no longer hesitated and turned to walk toward the direction of Changchun Residence.

"Wait!" Just as Xu Qingfan was about to enter the small woods, the young man behind him suddenly called out again.

"What is it?" Xu Qingfan turned around and asked curiously. Did this young man want to hold him back to ask something more? That would be quite unreasonable, wouldn’t it?

"My name is Jin Qinghan," the young man said, seeming a bit hesitant. Then he gritted his teeth and said, "Thank you… for this time."

For this proud young man in front of him, he probably hadn’t said "thank you" very many times in his life, right? Saying those words now seemed quite unnatural.

But Xu Qingfan’s view of this young man began to change. With clear rights and wrongs, it seemed this young man was not simply suspicious and proud.

"My name is Xu Qingfan," Xu Qingfan said, a slight smile on his lips.

Maybe he would make his first friend at Jiuhua Mountain?