Volume 4 Chapter 19

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Volume 4 Chapter 19: Ten Years

Xu Qingfan didn’t know that as he struggled in agony, tortured by the endless Spirit Qi pouring into him and nearing the brink of explosion, a few elder guardians watched him nervously, fearing they might miss even the slightest change in him.

In fact, although the elders repeatedly stressed the dangers of the "Jiuji Cave," since they hadn’t experienced it themselves, Jiuhua disciples remained wary but didn’t fully understand its peril. Almost every disciple and even elders encountered unexpected incidents on their first entry into the cave.

To leave a lasting impression on the disciples, the elder guardians of Jiuhua initially allowed these elite disciples to train without interference, even if accidents occurred. Only at the last moment would they intervene and rescue them, so the disciples would deeply understand just how dangerous the "Jiuji Cave" truly was.

Although Xu Qingfan had already reached the Condensed Core Stage without training in the "Jiuji Cave," which was quite miraculous, the elders still used this method to leave a stronger impression on him.

So, from the moment Xu Qingfan sat cross-legged with closed eyes to meditate, the elders kept a close watch on him, their expressions full of tension, ready to rescue him at the last moment.

Jin Qinghan and the others shared the elders’ thoughts and didn’t warn Xu Qingfan either.

As the elders predicted, it didn’t take long for Xu Qingfan’s body to undergo changes.

At first, Xu Qingfan absorbed the "Jiuji Cave’s" natural Spirit Qi calmly. But soon, his body began to tremble and radiate a multicolored glow, caused by the Spirit Qi rushing inside him without being fully absorbed, making it overflow.

Eventually, Xu Qingfan’s expression turned painful and fearful, and his body started to swell, becoming twice its original size, as if it might burst from the overwhelming Spirit Qi at any moment.

Seeing this transformation, the elders didn’t hesitate any longer and swiftly moved to Xu Qingfan’s side, ready to suppress the rapidly entering Spirit Qi.

But just then, the elders were slightly stunned. Xu Qingfan’s fear and pain seemed to fade from his face, and the swelling of his body, along with the multicolored glow, gradually disappeared.

The elders exchanged astonished glances, their eyes full of surprise. They never expected Xu Qingfan to control the incoming Spirit Qi with his own strength. This led them to admire Xu Qingfan a bit. Afterward, they returned to their original positions and continued to observe him. From that point on, Xu Qingfan no longer exhibited any unusual changes, and gradually, they felt reassured.

However, the elders were unaware that their measures, in some way, had actually harmed Xu Qingfan.

Although Xu Qingfan had managed to balance the speed of absorbing Spirit Qi with the speed at which it entered his body, he felt helpless inside.

When Xu Qingfan realized he might soon burst due to the overwhelming Spirit Qi rushing in, he had no choice but to activate the two qi of Wither and Flourish to absorb the world’s Spirit Qi.

Under Xu Qingfan’s guidance, the long-suppressed two qi of Wither and Flourish quickly traveled through his various meridians. Wherever it went, the accumulated Spirit Qi from the world was refined. The mutated Wither Qi was especially efficient, assimilating the world’s Spirit Qi faster than the combination of Wood-type Spirit Qi, Phoenix Spirit Qi, and the unknown Spirit Qi taught by Liu Huaxiang.

However, as a consequence, the mutated Wither Qi, which already concerned Xu Qingfan, began to grow even stronger at an extraordinary pace in such an environment.

With the combined refinement of the four Spirit Qi types, Xu Qingfan eventually managed to match the speed of Spirit Qi entering his body. Yet, the immense amount of Spirit Qi still pouring in made him uneasy. He dared not stop the two qi of Wither and Flourish and could only watch helplessly as the mutated Wither Qi grew stronger and stronger.

…

It was unclear how much time had passed, but Xu Qingfan realized that the Spirit Qi within him had become significantly denser compared to before he began meditating. As a result, his absorption speed finally surpassed that of the incoming Spirit Qi. Xu Qingfan then cautiously split off a portion of the Spirit Qi to form a protective shield around his body, blocking any further influx of Spirit Qi.

Finally, after Xu Qingfan finished refining all the Spirit Qi in his body, he slowly opened his eyes.

What Xu Qingfan didn’t know was that at the moment he opened his eyes, there was no distinction between black and white in them; instead, they were a terrifying ashen color, which gradually returned to normal after a long while.

Taking out a magical device to track time, Xu Qingfan discovered that he had spent five years in meditation. Looking around, the other disciples who entered "Jiuji Cave" with him were still meditating, and it was unknown whether any of them had regained consciousness during that time.

Furthermore, Xu Qingfan noticed that apart from himself and the other eight elite disciples, two more members of Jiuhua Gate reached the Condensed Core Stage within those five years, which must have caused many phenomena at the time. However, Xu Qingfan was too occupied with refining the Spirit Qi in his body to notice anything.

After a moment of reflection, Xu Qingfan carefully checked his internal condition, and the result brought a faint, bitter smile to his lips.

Just as Xu Qingfan had sensed before, the amount of Spirit Qi in his body had increased by over thirty percent compared to before the meditation. While it’s normal for a cultivator to make rapid progress after breaking through a realm, it shouldn’t have been this fast. It could only be said that cultivating in "Jiuji Cave" expedited the process immensely.

However, remembering the previous dangers, Xu Qingfan would rather cultivate step-by-step outside the cave through his efforts. Though cultivation here was exceedingly fast, it was extremely perilous. If not for the mutated Wither Qi in his body, which refined Spirit Qi from the world much faster than ordinary Spirit Qi, he would have exploded and died long ago.

But the reason for Xu Qingfan’s bitter smile now was precisely the mutated Wither Qi that had saved his life.

Although the total amount of Spirit Qi in his body had increased by thirty percent, Xu Qingfan now had four types of Spirit Qi. One was Phoenix Spirit Qi, another was the Spirit Qi cultivated from a method taught by Liu Huaxiang, and the others were the Wood-type Spirit Qi and mutated Wither Qi cultivated from "The Formula of Wither and Flourish."

Among these four, the increase in Spirit Qi wasn’t the same. The Phoenix Spirit Qi grew at a pace similar to the total Spirit Qi within, about more than thirty percent, while the Wood-type Spirit Qi, which was refined along with the mutated Wither Qi, increased at a slower rate and had the smallest growth of only ten percent. The unnamed Spirit Qi that Liu Huaxiang taught also increased slowly, adding just over ten percent. The most alarming was the mutated Wither Qi, whose corrosive nature made its refining speed too fast, increasing its quantity by more than half this time.

Initially, during Core Formation, the mutated Wither Qi increased several times, but since the other Spirit Qi types also increased and Xu Qingfan’s body was greatly strengthened by Core Formation, he could barely suppress the mutated Wither Qi’s corrosive effect on his body.

Now that the mutated Wither Qi had grown significantly while the other three types lagged behind, its harmful effects on the body became immediately apparent.

Xu Qingfan felt that his meridians and dantian had been damaged to varying degrees due to the corrosion of the mutated Wither Qi.

With a helpless sigh, Xu Qingfan slowly closed his eyes and stopped thinking about it, choosing instead to continue meditating and cultivating. He knew that the only way to suppress the corrosion of the mutated Wither Qi was to quickly increase the amount of the other three Spirit Qi types in his body.

This time, though, Xu Qingfan came prepared. He set up a protective barrier around him to control the amount of Spirit Qi from the "Jiuji Cave" entering his body, ensuring that the influx matched the amount that could be refined without the mutated Wither Qi. Only then did he resume his cultivation.

However, this meant Xu Qingfan not only had to focus his mind deeply into the void for cultivation, but also had to allocate a part of his Divine Sense to control the barrier. This split concentration placed him at risk of Qi deviation. But compared to suppressing the mutated Wither Qi, Xu Qingfan felt he had no choice but to take the risk.

…

After Xu Qingfan and the others began their cultivation in "Jiuji Cave," time flew by rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, ten years had passed.

On this day, Xu Qingfan suddenly snapped back to awareness from his meditation. In front of him appeared a glowing portal, the exit of the "Jiuji Cave." The Jiuhua disciples and elders stood up and began to walk out one by one.

Jin Qinghan, Lv Qingshang, and others stood quietly by his side, waiting patiently.

Seeing Jin Qinghan and the others watching him with concern, Xu Qingfan gave a slight smile and joined them as they walked out of the cave.

Over the next five years, Xu Qingfan focused on increasing the amount of the other three types of Spirit Qi, besides the mutated Wither Qi. Although these three didn’t have the corrosive effect of the mutated Wither Qi, even with the help of "Jiuji Cave," their growth was fast but still not enough to counter the corrosion. Compared to five years earlier, however, the corrosion was much less severe.

What puzzled Xu Qingfan was the cultivation method Liu Huaxiang taught him. The Spirit Qi it produced was colorless and silent, showing no power, and its progress was slow even in the "Jiuji Cave," not even matching the Wood-type Spirit Qi without interference from mutated Wither Qi, leaving him unsure of its purpose.

Several times, Xu Qingfan almost gave up on this cultivation method. But recalling the seriousness with which Liu Huaxiang taught it, he felt it might not be so simple, so he persisted in practicing it.

Despite his efforts, Xu Qingfan faced three near Qi deviation incidents in five years, but with the help of the elders, he was unharmed. When Xu Qingfan asked why they didn’t assist sooner, the answers left him with a wry smile, attributing it to fate’s trickery.

Meanwhile, in these five years, Xu Qingfan witnessed seven Jiuhua disciples advance from the Lingji Stage to the Condensed Core Stage. Including the two who reached the Condensed Core Stage in the previous five years, a total of nine disciples achieved this level in the "Jiuji Cave" retreat. Due to Xu Qingfan’s circumstances, only the first seven received training from the Jiuhua elders who had taken the "Sky Spiritual Pill."

Alongside Jin Qinghan Feng Qingtian and seven others forming their cores, plus Xu Qingfan doing so outside the "Jiuji Cave," these two openings of the "Jiuji Cave" depleted Jiuhua Mountain’s spirit stone reserves and precious materials but increased their ranks by eighteen Condensed Core Stage cultivators.

Soon, these eighteen disciples will assume the position of Jiuhua Elder, along with the seventeen Jiuhua Elders who have not taken the "Sky Spiritual Pill." In terms of numbers, Jiuhua Mountain now has two more Condensed Core Stage cultivators than it did over twenty years ago, before the calamity struck.

However, the strength of a sect is not just determined by the number of Core Formation cultivators. For instance, those sixteen elders who were forced to take the "Sky Spiritual Pill" had been cultivating for hundreds of years and had at least reached the late stage of the Real Golden Core Stage. Each could easily defeat more than five Fake Golden Core Stage cultivators. Unfortunately, the eight most powerful of them have already passed away, and the remaining eight will enter reincarnation after completing the empowerment for Xu Qingfan and others.

Even though Jiuhua Mountain now has eighteen new-generation Condensed Core Stage cultivators like Xu Qingfan and Jin Qinghan, their overall strength is still far from restored, not meeting the standards of the six Holy Lands.

Lost in his thoughts, Xu Qingfan followed the others out of the "Jiuji Cave" and saw Zhang Hualing and the rest silently waiting outside.

Seeing the group of disciples significantly enhance their strength after entering the "Jiuji Cave," Zhang Hualing nodded in satisfaction. He then slowly said to the eighteen disciples who had reached the Condensed Core Stage, "In the next three months, your time will be spent resting and stabilizing your realm. Three months later, Xu Qingfan and the top seven disciples who reached the Condensed Core Stage will receive the empowerment from eight Jiuhua Elders. In six months, I will grant you the position of Jiuhua Elder."

At this point, Zhang Hualing cast a special glance at Xu Qingfan and then addressed those who had not yet broken through, saying, "Although you have not reached the Condensed Core Stage, you have made significant progress in ‘Jiuji Cave,’ saving hundreds of years of hard cultivation. I believe that with diligent practice, you will all eventually reach the Condensed Core Stage, so don’t lose heart or slack off. Do you understand?"

Hearing the disciples respond in unison, Zhang Hualing nodded silently and waved his hand, saying, "Dismissed."

…

"Cough, cough…"

On the way back to their cave abode, Xu Qingfan and his companions were chatting when Xu Qingfan suddenly couldn’t help but start coughing.

Everyone was shocked when they heard Xu Qingfan coughing. Cultivators, who harness the essence of nature for their use, have bodies that far surpass ordinary people and aren’t susceptible to diseases. For a cultivator at the Condensed Core Stage, who can briefly resonate with the heavens and earth, something like coughing should never occur unless the body has sustained some kind of serious injury.

"Senior Brother Xu, what’s wrong? Did you get injured due to Qi deviation in ‘Jiuji Cave’?" Jin Qinghan quickly asked, while Lv Qingshang, Dongfang Qingling, and others looked at Xu Qingfan with concern.

Xu Qingfan smiled and shook his head, reassuringly saying, "Just a minor issue, no need to worry."

In fact, over the past ten years, the mutated Wither Qi had gradually begun to corrode and harm Xu Qingfan’s internal organs. Although the injury wasn’t severe, it was extremely hard to heal and left a persistent cough that couldn’t be eliminated. Xu Qingfan didn’t want to worry everyone, so he downplayed it.

As he comforted everyone, the scenery at the top of Jiuhua Mountain began to faintly emerge in his vision. After bidding farewell to his companions, Xu Qingfan accelerated towards the peak of Jiuhua Mountain.

As he got closer to the top of Jiuhua Mountain, the view became clearer; Liu Huaxiang’s kind face, Ting’er’s cold but attentive gaze, and even Little Green’s playful running and tumbling appeared vividly in Xu Qingfan’s mind.

Martial Uncle Liu, Ting’er, it’s been ten years since we last met, are you doing well?

Xu Qingfan’s usually calm heart felt a bit complex and indescribable at this moment.

That is the feeling of a traveler returning home.