Volume 4 Chapter 15

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Volume 4 Chapter 15: Disappointment

Looking at Liu Huaxiang bathed in the glow of the sunset, confusion flashed in Xu Qingfan’s eyes. He had been unconscious for a long time and only remembered what happened before fainting after a while.

"Martial Uncle Liu, did I succeed?" Xu Qingfan asked.

Although he was asking Liu Huaxiang, his tone sounded more like he was talking to himself.

Liu Huaxiang nodded with a smile and softly said, "You succeeded."

Hearing Liu Huaxiang’s answer, Xu Qingfan seemed to suddenly remember something, quickly sat up, and started checking his body. After confirming there was nothing wrong, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

"It seems that decay didn’t eat away my body. My arms and legs are still here."

After a long while, Xu Qingfan lifted his head and smiled at Liu Huaxiang.

Liu Huaxiang responded with a smile, "This secret technique is meant to enhance your abilities, not to let the deathly Qi corrode your body. Now try using your skills and see what changes you feel."

Hearing this, Xu Qingfan quickly sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to meditate, circulating the Spirit Qi within him.

Sensing only a stream of Wither Qi with a corrosive aura inside him, Xu Qingfan frowned slightly but didn’t dwell on it. He simply started circulating his Spirit Qi according to "The Formula of Wither and Flourish."

In an instant, Xu Qingfan’s mind sank into a state of clarity, as the distribution of Spirit Qi around him began to clearly appear in his mind. He felt he was more attuned to the Spirit Qi of the five elements than usual.

However, what was most important was that as Xu Qingfan practiced, his body seemed to become like a black hole, continuously absorbing the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth. The Spirit Qi obediently transformed into a vortex, swiftly flowing into his body.

Unlike before, the Spirit Qi did not quickly dissipate after circulating around him. Instead, while most of the Spirit Qi returned to the world, a small portion remained within him, transforming into the two qi of Wither and Flourish, as he practiced "The Formula of Wither and Flourish."

Sensing this situation, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but feel immense joy.

Previously, he feared that the mutated Wither Qi within him would prevent him from cultivating Wood-type Spirit Qi and Phoenix Spirit Qi. But now, he discovered that by practicing "The Formula of Wither and Flourish," he could continue to cultivate the two qi of Wither and Flourish.

As for the Phoenix Spirit Qi, Xu Qingfan wasn’t worried. As long as he had the bloodline of the phoenix within him, he could continue cultivating Phoenix Spirit Qi.

More importantly, the reason he had such poor aptitude before was that his body couldn’t retain the world’s Spirit Qi for his own use. But now, Xu Qingfan could clearly feel the world’s Spirit Qi staying in his body and transforming into the two qi of Wither and Flourish, enabling him to perform magical arts.

Even though it was just a small portion, it was enough to make Xu Qingfan overjoyed.

However, before long, Xu Qingfan’s brow furrowed again.

He realized that as he constantly transformed the world’s Spirit Qi into the two qi of Wither and Flourish, it didn’t automatically balance out during its circulation as it usually did.

The Wither Qi with its corrosive effect, even after this mutation, kept strengthening by absorbing the world’s Spirit Qi, yet it didn’t transform into Wood-type Spirit Qi as Xu Qingfan imagined. Instead, it continued following the path of Wither Qi, holding a significant advantage over the still weak Wood-type Spirit Qi in both quantity and quality.

Moreover, because the Wither Qi had a strong corrosive effect, it assimilated much more of the world’s Spirit Qi than the Wood-type Spirit Qi did. As a result, the gap between the two qi of Wither and Flourish widened even further.

Coupled with the powerful corrosive ability of the mutated Wither Qi, Xu Qingfan felt that although his aptitude had improved, trouble was also on the horizon.

Xu Qingfan could clearly sense that during the three months he was unconscious, many parts of his body had been damaged by the corrosive effect of the mutated Wither Qi. Although he didn’t yet understand the full impact of the mutated Wither Qi, Xu Qingfan already considered it a chronic poison but didn’t know how to remove it.

After a long while, Xu Qingfan slowly opened his eyes and sighed softly.

Seeing Xu Qingfan’s expression, Liu Huaxiang’s eyelids twitched, and he quickly asked, "What’s wrong? Even after the secret technique transformation, has your ability not improved?"

To avoid waking Xu Qingfan, Liu Huaxiang only quickly checked Xu Qingfan’s body after he lost consciousness, and then let Xu Qingfan sleep deeply, so until now, he still does not know how Xu Qingfan’s condition is.

Seeing Liu Huaxiang’s worried expression, Xu Qingfan felt a bit of warmth in his heart and then said, "No, my body’s ability to retain the world’s Spirit Qi has greatly improved."

Hearing Xu Qingfan say this, a hint of joy flashed in Liu Huaxiang’s eyes, but having gone through many storms, he soon regained his calm and asked again, "So when you just circulated the Spirit Qi, can you recall how much world Spirit Qi you were able to retain?"

Xu Qingfan closed his eyes, recalled briefly, then opened them and said, "About thirty percent."

Upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s answer, a trace of disappointment flashed across Liu Huaxiang’s face involuntarily, but he still nodded and said slowly, "From being unable to retain any to retaining thirty percent is not bad."

Xu Qingfan curiously asked, "Martial Uncle Liu, is retaining thirty percent of the world’s Spirit Qi considered bad?"

Although Liu Huaxiang didn’t want Xu Qingfan to feel disappointed, he still needed him to face reality, so he said seriously, "A cultivator’s ability is primarily based on how much world Spirit Qi they can retain. The more Spirit Qi retained, the faster the cultivation and the greater the achievements. The distinction between nominal disciples, indoor disciples, and direct disciples, aside from intelligence and effort, is also based on this criterion."

After pausing for a moment, Liu Huaxiang continued, "For example, if you can barely draw a trace of the world’s Spirit Qi, then you can qualify to enter a cultivation sect as a noted disciple, but you will likely achieve nothing significant in your lifetime. However, if you can draw over thirty percent of the Spirit Qi, then you can become an inner disciple. With hard work and some insight, it’s possible to reach the Condensed Core Stage. To become a direct disciple, aside from having superior insight, mindset, and diligence, you must draw at least fifty percent of the Spirit Qi."

"Consider the fellow disciples you know. For instance, Wang Qingfeng and Li Qingxian, who have just completed Core Formation, can draw about sixty percent of the Spirit Qi. Lv Qingshang and Dongfang Qingling can draw seventy percent, which makes them geniuses in the entire cultivation world. As for Jin Qinghan, Feng Qingtian, and your niece Ting’er, they are rare prodigies met once in a hundred years. They likely draw over ninety percent, perhaps even capturing it all."

After hearing what Liu Huaxiang said, the happiness Xu Qingfan felt quickly vanished, replaced by disappointment as he murmured, "Really? So, even though I can continue cultivating, my progress is not even a third of what Jin Qinghan’s is?"

"That’s correct," Liu Huaxiang nodded. But seeing Xu Qingfan’s despondent expression, Liu Huaxiang quickly added with a smile, "Why are you so downcast? With your former aptitude, you weren’t really suited for cultivation and could at most accumulate your inner energy to reach the Qi Refining Stage. Without the chance acquisition of the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster’s millennium Wood-type Qi and the Green Snake Dragon’s core, you might never have entered the cultivation world. Now, you’re not only one of the cultivators, but your aptitude has greatly improved, barely reaching the level of an inner disciple. Given your current prowess, which surpasses the ordinary late stage of Lingji, it’s likely that the Condensed Core Stage is within reach. This opportunity is one in a lifetime, and you should feel fortunate."

Hearing Liu Huaxiang’s words, Xu Qingfan bowed his head in silence for a while, then suddenly laughed and said, "Yes, before, my aptitude was far below Feng Qingtian and Jin Qinghan, yet my cultivation was not inferior to theirs. Now that my aptitude has greatly improved, why should I be dejected? My situation is much better than others. I’m confident that with diligent cultivation, I’ll have the strength to protect myself and others and control my own fate."

Liu Huaxiang nodded with a smile but then suddenly spoke seriously, "This is exactly what I wanted to discuss. Previously, although your aptitude was extremely low, your cultivation progress was not inferior to that of geniuses like Jin Qinghan and Feng Qingtian. This wasn’t just because of your good insight and lots of opportunities; there were other objective reasons as well."

Seeing Liu Huaxiang so serious, Xu Qingfan’s expression also turned solemn. He stood up from the bed and bowed to Liu Huaxiang, saying, "Please instruct me, Martial Uncle Liu."

Liu Huaxiang nodded and said, "Previously, your body had already accumulated the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster’s millennium Wood-type Qi and the Spirit Qi formed by the Green Snake Dragon’s core. Later, you even acquired the ‘Wutong branch.’ You have always absorbed these Spirit Qi to enhance your cultivation. That is to say, while others could only draw a certain percentage of the world’s Spirit Qi to enhance their cultivation, you could absorb all of it. This is why your cultivation progress has never been behind Jin Qinghan and Feng Qingtian."

Xu Qingfan nodded and said, "Indeed, that is the case."

Liu Huaxiang continued, "But from today onwards, your real challenge begins. The Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi is not as simple as the Spirit Qi you absorbed before. According to the rules of the universe, this Spirit Qi must return to its origin. You can only forcibly extract it, which is why most people can only capture a trace or none at all. From now on, you’ll need to rely on capturing Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi to increase your cultivation. Especially after reaching the Condensed Core Stage, you won’t be able to increase your cultivation with external aids, as your body has been transformed by the Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi, and you can only absorb the purest Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi. Even the most advanced elixirs carry impurities."

At this point, Liu Huaxiang’s expression grew more serious, "This is where your difference with Feng Qingtian and Jin Qinghan will truly show. As you mentioned, their cultivation progress will be more than three times yours. This means you must work more than three times as hard to keep up with them. Do you understand?"

Xu Qingfan nodded solemnly, saying, "I understand."

Liu Huaxiang nodded with satisfaction and was about to offer some words of encouragement when he noticed the worry in Xu Qingfan’s eyes. He asked, "What’s wrong? Qingfan, are you losing confidence in yourself?"

Xu Qingfan shook his head and said, "I won’t lose confidence over these matters. What I am worried about is another issue."

With that, Xu Qingfan explained to Liu Huaxiang the mutation of Wither Qi within him from the secret technique transformation and what he had just discovered.

After hearing Xu Qingfan’s explanation, Liu Huaxiang’s expression grew even more serious. After probing Xu Qingfan’s body with a trace of Spirit Qi, he smiled wryly, "Not only does the Spirit Qi feel desolate and lifeless, but it also carries a corrosive effect and a hint of malevolence. If I only knew about your mutated Wither Qi, I’d believe if someone called you a demon cultivator."

Xu Qingfan nodded with a troubled expression, saying, "That’s a minor issue, misunderstandings can be cleared up. The real problem is that the corrosive effect of the mutated Wither Qi is harmful to my body. Currently, I can barely suppress its corrosion with my Phoenix constitution and my own strength, but if it continues to grow unchecked, it might eventually harm me."

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Liu Huaxiang furrowed his brows deeply. After a long pause, he suddenly stood up, grabbed Xu Qingfan’s hand, and led him outside, saying, "Come, let’s test the power of this mutated Wither Qi."