“So? Did you manage to join the Dou Zhi Sect?”
Zhi Xuan, seated quietly, suddenly looked up at the middle-aged man eating across from him.
He answered a bit nervously, “No… I didn’t join them…”
The man before him was none other than Gu Qingzhou’s father. His face was terrifying, made worse by the long claw-like scar across his cheek. Just one glance could send a chill down anyone’s spine.
This man was Gu Cheng.
Upon hearing Zhi Xuan’s reply, Gu Cheng’s brows furrowed.
“What do you mean, no? Did you fail the entrance exam?”
Zhi Xuan shook his head. “No, but… I gave up during the first trial.”
Gu Cheng’s eyes widened in disbelief. His frown deepened.
“What?!”
His booming voice echoed through the room, shaking the very air and leaving everyone stunned.
Over a dozen people had been sitting quietly inside—until now. All eyes turned toward Gu Cheng, startled by the sudden outburst.
Realizing the disruption he’d caused, Gu Cheng let out a deep sigh and cleared his throat. Then he returned to his seat.
“Why did you give up?” he asked, tone calmer now.
Still a bit shaken, Zhi Xuan swallowed hard, then replied, “I want to cultivate on my own… to grow stronger without relying on sects or others. I don’t want to be bound by their rules.”
His eyes were filled with determination.
A gentle voice broke the silence.
“You’re serious, child? Even after all these years, you’ve barely improved.”
It came from a middle-aged woman nearby, her eyes soft as she looked at Zhi Xuan.
He turned to face her. “I’ve made my decision. And no one can change it.”
Gu Cheng let out another sigh. “Very well. We’ll respect your choice.”
Zhi Xuan smiled faintly.
Even though he had transmigrated into the body of Gu Qingzhou—someone with past cultivation experience—he hadn’t inherited any of the original memories.
He would have to start from scratch.
…
The next day.
Zhi Xuan returned to the large stone in the courtyard.
After hours of focused effort, he finally opened his eyes and let out a long breath of relief.
“I did it…”
He could now clearly feel the Spirit Qi surging through his meridians, like an endless river.
His body felt vibrant and full of energy. He now had a complete understanding of how to control his Dantian.
Zhi Xuan was deeply satisfied. After all, it was said that most cultivators needed several months just to step onto the path.
But he had managed it in just two days!
He could clearly sense the Spirit Qi gathered within his Qi Sea.
“Peak stage of Xuan Qi Realm…”
Zhi Xuan looked around.
“...”
Seeing no one nearby, he suddenly struck a specific pressure point on his body, sealing off his own cultivation!
Instantly, his realm dropped like a receding tide, falling all the way back to the early stage of Xuan Qi Realm.
He immediately sat down to stabilize the Spirit Qi bursting within his Dantian.
An hour passed.
Zhi Xuan slowly opened his eyes and sighed with relief.
“Done. Dantian paralysis fully resolved. Cultivation base stabilized.”
He had intentionally suppressed his cultivation to the early stage of the Xuan Qi Realm—to build the perfect foundation and maximize the potential of his Sacred Body.
Though his realm had dropped, his actual Spirit Qi and power were still equivalent to someone at the peak of the Xuan Qi Realm—perhaps even stronger.
“Forcing a breakthrough using pills would’ve wasted the Sacred Body. But by refining it without external aids, I’ll gain much more in the long run!”
If just the early stage of his realm already rivaled the peak, then once he reached the mid stage, he would likely be comparable to someone at the Golden Core Realm!
The thought made his blood race with excitement!
Without wasting time, Zhi Xuan sat again and resumed cultivation.
The Spirit Qi flowed like a boundless river, endlessly circulating through the void, growing stronger and denser—until something strange began to happen.
Zhi Xuan exhaled, then drew a long, deep breath. With each inhale, more Spirit Qi surrounded his body like a gentle current.
Slowly, the flow reached his meridians.
All of it gathered in one place—his Dantian, the reservoir of Spirit Qi for every cultivator.
Hours passed.
And yet… Zhi Xuan felt no further growth within his Qi Sea.
“Looks like it’ll take more effort to reach the mid stage of Xuan Qi Realm.”
He realized that at this pace, it could take a year to break through.
The thought made his scalp tingle.
Zhi Xuan stood up.
“Time to test those eight jade stones.”
With that, he left his quarters and returned to the golden lake.
His eyes scanned the area carefully.
Inside the cave...
He retrieved the same box from before and opened it slowly—immediately, the same phenomenon occurred.
A radiant golden light filled the chamber!
He opened his eyes, then reached into the box and took out the Eight Jade Stones nestled within.
Zhi Xuan counted them carefully, then began pacing around the chamber.
He placed each stone one meter apart, forming a perfect circle on the ground.
Then he stepped into the center and sat down.
Calming his thoughts, he closed his eyes.
He extended both hands forward, then brought them together in front of his chest to form the Yin-Yang Symbol.
In that moment—a glowing illusion of the Yin-Yang symbol emerged beneath him, expanding outward until it reached the circle formed by the eight jade stones.
“Spirit Gathering Formation… activate!”
The moment he spoke, Spirit Qi surged into the newly formed array!
A fierce wind began to howl from the incoming energy, shaking the cave and causing several stones nearby to crack and explode under the pressure!
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