Volume 5 Chapter 44
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Volume 5 Chapter 44: Before Seclusion
After bestowing the spirit stones, pills, and artifacts to Ting’er, and following her thanks, Xu Qingfan offered a few words of encouragement to his three disciples and let them each go their separate ways.
Xu Qingfan had three disciples. Except for Ting’er, who had reached the Condensed Core Stage and could already perform the "Sleeve Space," Zhang Ningmei and Bai Yu were only at the Qi Refining Stage and couldn’t use the "Sleeve Space." They had to carry a large pile of spirit pills and stones that Xu Qingfan had given them. Since there were too many things, Ting’er helped them carry them out of Xu Qingfan’s room.
After Ting’er and the others left, the smile on Xu Qingfan’s face gradually disappeared, and his brows slowly furrowed. After settling these matters, Xu Qingfan began to think about the things he should do before and during his retreat.
At that moment, there were still seven years until the calamity began in the cultivation world and twelve years until Jiuhua Mountain’s reopening. It sounded like a long time, but for a cultivator, it would pass in the blink of an eye. Therefore, Xu Qingfan needed to use his time wisely, understand his goals clearly, and not waste a single day to maximize his strength.
For cultivators, retreat is not something to be taken lightly. First, they must restore themselves to full strength and maintain a calm mind. Otherwise, they risk going astray. Although Xu Qingfan had decided to go into retreat, there were many preparations to make, and the actual retreat time would be months away.
After fulfilling Liu Huaxiang’s will and returning to Jiuhua Mountain, Xu Qingfan set five goals he needed to achieve before its reopening.
The first goal was to complete his second divine power, "External Incarnation." Xu Qingfan had accomplished this, having forged Xu Zhiyuan and Xu Ying a year ago. Although they were destroyed in a duel with Feng Qingtian, their core, two jade tokens, remained. Once Xu Qingfan replenished them with Spirit Qi, Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan could reappear.
Xu Qingfan’s second goal was to reach the late stage of the Real Golden Core Stage before Jiuhua Mountain’s opening. At present, he was not far from the mid-stage, so this goal was more than halfway achieved.
The third goal was to refine the "Formula of Life and Death," a cultivation method he created by chance. However, unlike the previous goals, Xu Qingfan had no clue how to proceed. The "Formula of Life and Death" involved using the "Withered Qi" and "Flourish Qi" in his body. Though this method might become a significant reliance when facing future calamities, Xu Qingfan had neither the experience in creating cultivation methods nor a complete understanding of the two Qi types. For now, he had only developed the "Way of Life and Death."
The fourth goal was to improve his first divine power, the "Wind of Desolation," which was becoming difficult to perform. Xu Qingfan had some initial ideas on this and planned to test their feasibility after his retreat.
The fifth task was to use the mysterious "Formula of Life and Death" to improve Xu Qingfan’s abilities as much as possible. Although Xu Qingfan had never tried this before, he made great progress because the third skill he created, "Way of Life and Death," closely aligned with the "Formula of Life and Death." It wouldn’t be wrong to say it evolved from it. Each time he revived, there was a wonderful improvement in his abilities, but the rest would have to wait until Xu Qingfan secluded himself to focus on it.
These five points, whether they showed progress or not, would be Xu Qingfan’s focus during his twelve years of cultivation. They were the keys to significantly enhancing Xu Qingfan’s power in that time.
Before retreating, Xu Qingfan had two tasks. One was to quickly restore the long-depleted Spirit Qi within him, and the other was to figure out the origins and uses of the strange skull found in the ruins of the "Treasure Pavilion."
As for Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan, Xu Qingfan wasn’t in a rush to bring them back into the world. He planned to study the puppet he acquired during his retreat, hoping to integrate some of its advantages into Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan, thereby greatly increasing their power.
After setting goals for his retreat, Xu Qingfan felt much calmer. His days were surprisingly leisurely, filled with meditation to restore his Spirit Qi, playing chess and sipping tea with Zhang Ningmei while discussing their insights, or searching through books to uncover the origins and uses of the strange skull. He also made the most of his remaining time to teach Zhang Ningmei and Bai Yu.
If not for the impending disaster in the cultivation world, Xu Qingfan would have liked to continue this way of life indefinitely.
Three months later, Xu Qingfan’s depleted Spirit Qi was fully restored, and he achieved a peaceful state of mind. The day for his seclusion finally arrived.
After notifying Liu Huaxiang, Li Yuhan, and others at the front mountain and settling matters with his disciples, Ting’er and the others, he turned away and walked towards his room as their complex gazes followed him.
Once the door closed, barriers of various colors surrounded Xu Qingfan’s room, and in the eyes of his three disciples, Xu Qingfan’s figure completely vanished, unavailable even through their senses, leaving Ting’er and the others with a sense of loss.
This time, Xu Qingfan would retreat for twelve long years. It was not only the longest retreat since he began his path of cultivation, but it was also challenging and uncomfortable for his three disciples. Ting’er always wanted to stay by Xu Qingfan’s side, and Zhang Ningmei and Bai Yu had only been under Xu Qingfan’s tutelage for two years.
For a cultivator, time is both the most valuable and the least essential thing. At this moment, the three disciples deeply understood this concept.
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The door closed, and layers of barriers were set up outside. Suddenly, Xu Qingfan’s room and the outside world turned into two completely isolated worlds. Outside was one world, with sun, moon, stars, birds singing, flowers blooming, and friends from the sect, but inside was another world, with only Xu Qingfan himself.
Or perhaps, also a pile of problems requiring Xu Qingfan’s careful attention?
For a secluded cultivator, the greatest danger after closing oneself off is the unbearable loneliness and monotony beneath the silence. Day after day, studying the same problem, seeing the same scenery. Although cultivators are used to solitude, over time, it is easy for their mindset to become unsettled. Once the mindset falls out of harmony, not only does the effort of seclusion go to waste, but there’s also the risk of Qi deviation.
However, retreating in seclusion greatly enhances a cultivator’s abilities. With a focused mind entirely on cultivation, progress naturally follows. In fact, the longer the retreat, the greater the achievement, and equally, the risk also increases.
Xu Qingfan was well aware of this. Therefore, as the door closed, he took a deep breath, and his mind became calm and focused solely on cultivation, setting aside all other thoughts.
However, after sitting cross-legged on the bed, Xu Qingfan didn’t immediately start cultivating. Instead, he took out the skull obtained from the ruins of the "Treasure Pavilion."
Seeing the skull appear once again, Little Black, who had been quietly perched on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, became excited again, flapping eagerly.
This time, Xu Qingfan did not stop Little Black. He tossed the jade box, and the green skull floated quietly before him. Then with a wave of his sleeve, a black pearl appeared in his hand, floating just like the green skull.
The black pearl was the "Death Spirit Pearl" that Xu Qingfan had obtained from Number Two, known for gathering death energy.
Seeing the two items floating in front of him, Little Black let out a joyful cry. Although a crow’s call is unpleasant no matter how happy, Xu Qingfan sensed Little Black’s overwhelming joy.
Little Black swiftly flew to the skull and "Death Spirit Pearl." Without any visible action from Little Black, the skull began emanating thick death energy, turning into a black mist that surged toward him. With the help of the "Death Spirit Pearl," the black death energy grew denser and seemed endless, continuously flowing toward Little Black.
Little Black welcomed the surging death energy, absorbing it continuously. As it was still early, no changes were noticeable in Little Black from absorbing such a large amount of death energy.
Sitting silently beside and observing, Xu Qingfan watched the churning black death energy, his heart secretly shaken. Who would’ve thought the skull, revealing no unusual traits upon inspection, contained such powerful death energy? What level might Little Black reach with such abundant energy?
