Chapter 230: Establishing Qi Division

Yang took a deep, steady breath as he drew in the qi from his surroundings, guiding it through his meridians towards his Sea of Consciousness, visualizing it rising from the lower dantian like steam, and pushing it up along the Ren meridian, over the crown of his head, and letting it descend the Du meridian along his spine. He diverted seventy percent of it inward toward his Sea of Consciousness and only allowing about thirty percent of it to flow down to be stored in his dantian.

He had been pushing his qi past the resistance through these unnatural pathways for a long time. It barely took much pressure from him now that his meridians were tempered and had sufficiently widened.

Even without the Pink Lotus tea, which he had run out of some time ago, he could feel how much easier it had become, especially with his backside planted firmly on the jade bed gifted to him by Senior Brother Xiao Zhan. 

Even before their foray into the Vermillion Cloud Realm, the first time he had tried cultivating on the ice jade bed, he had felt the difference. Cultivating on it was twice as effective at reducing the headaches, and now he could feel the cumulative result of it.

He was almost there.

He just needed to push a bit more, he thought as he kept drawing in qi and running it through his meridians.

As he got immersed in the exhilarating rush of the energy flooding through his body, finally being able to enjoy the surge of power into him, pulling in more and more concentrated wisps of qi, his eyes suddenly snapped open.

For a moment, he just sat frozen. Then he closed his eyes again and resumed absorbing the surrounding qi.

Just observing.

He let out a wide smile as he kept drawing the qi in. Feeling it glide through his Du and Ren meridians, splitting into his dantian and Sea of Consciousness. 

Three parts in the dantian and seven parts towards his Sea of Consciousness. 

Over and over again.

Automatically.

He had finally done it.

It had taken him longer than the expected three to six months, but he has finally managed to achieve Qi Division.

From now on, any qi he absorbs while cultivating will automatically be divided according to the Heavenly Refining Soul Sutra’s requirements without any conscious effort from him. 

He would be able to cultivate for as long as he wants from now on without any pesky headache to cut his cultivation sessions short.

It had been a couple of days since they had managed to leave the remnant on Qiarnan. After his Senior Brothers had returned hours later, after giving their account of the experience, they had been instructed to wait at the camp while the pearl message was sent to the Sect Master, along with the report and his Senior Brothers’ request to destroy the remaining rift.

Apparently, the ice-blue jade token had proven functional even outside the remnant as well. After testing it at almost every gateway in the palace, they finally managed to make the token point them toward the third rift in one of the doorways.

While Senior Brother Fan Xiao hadn’t managed to get the rift destroyed on his words alone, his report was enough to put a halt to any further rift crossing and exploration. 

For now, the disciples were only extracting the resources they had managed to find. Especially the new mine. According to Senior Brother Lu Feng, with the uncertainty about the secret realm's future, many Elders were in a frantic rush to draw out as many resources as they could while they still had the chance.

Yang let his mind go of all these thoughts and took a deep breath as he took out a large pile of beast cores. The ones that had been gathered by Senior Brothers Yuan Shen and Zhen Hao on their little forest trip.

He picked up a small one, almost spherical with a greyish-green tint running through it, and popped it in his mouth, feeling it immediately melt and slide down his throat.

Soon enough, he was completely lost in the process of consuming the beast cores.

The next morning, Yang stretched his arms over his head as he woke up, pulling out a flask of water from his storage ring to take a sip while he sat with his back resting against the headboard of his sunken four-poster bed. 

Climbing out of the bed, he made his way towards the bathroom to take a bath and freshen himself up.

Once he was done, he draped a fresh set of robes on himself, tying his hair half up in a top knot, letting the rest fan across his back. Satisfied with his appearance, he left the room, making his way towards Senior Brother Lu Feng’s courtyard, which had become the common gathering place for all of them since their arrival at the camp.

Yang walked past the small bamboo forest that enclosed his courtyard and headed towards the walkway.

As he reached and climbed the stairs and entered the ornately furnished building, he saw Senior Brother Zhen Hao casually sipping tea while Senior Brother Yuan Shen lounged across from him with his eyes closed.

“You seem to be in high spirits today, Junior Brother,” Senior Brother Zhen Hao noted as he took a sip of his tea.

Yang nearly beamed. “I managed to complete the Qi Diversion stage of my cultivation technique last night, Senior Brother.” 

Senior Brother Yuan Shen snapped into a sitting position, turning to Yang. “That is indeed very good news, Junior Brother.”

“And a reason to celebrate.” Senior Brother Zhen Hao added as he made the teapot and teacup disappear with a wave of his hand, replacing them with three crystal goblets and a flagon of wine instead.

“Come sit here, Yang.” Senior Brother Zhen Hao called out as he patted the empty  spot next to him and poured out the deep red, almost purple wine, handing the goblet first to Senior Brother Yuan Shen and the second to Yang, before taking the last one for himself.

Yang sniffed the wine, feeling the potent qi swirling in it as he took a seat.

He sipped the wine, feeling the burst of sweet, chilled taste explode across his tongue, followed by the familiar warmth as the qi spread through his body. Yang looked at the wine in appreciation as he took a few more generous gulps and emptied the goblet.

He reached out to grab the flagon and poured himself another goblet filled to the brim.

“Pace yourself, Junior Brother,” Senior Brother Yuan Shen warned with a wry smile. “It may not seem so, but it is a very potent wine.”

“Yes.” Senior Brother Zhen Hao's expression turned serious as he pulled the flagon away from Yang. “The last thing I need is Senior Brother Lu Feng raking me over the coals for getting you drunk on spirit wine.”

“Indeed.” Senior Brother Yuan Shen said with an amused smile as he turned to Yang. “You haven’t gotten the chance to spend much time with our Senior Brother Lu Feng, but he has a rather volatile temper.”

“Like Senior Brother Xiao Zhan?” Yang asked tentatively.

“Hardly,” Senior Brother Zhen Hao snorted into his cup.

“While Senior Brother Xiao Zhan is prone to driving others to misery when offended, Senior Brother Lu Feng, on the other hand, would outright beat them.” Senior Brother Yuan Shen explained.

“He means that literally,” Senior Brother Zhen Hao stressed as he looked at Yang intently.

“Beat them?” Yang questioned, incredulous. “Like mortals?”

“Indeed,” Senior Brother Yuan Shen nodded. “He has a terrible temper and less restraint over it, at least compared to our other senior brothers.”

“No need to be scared or overthink it, Junior Brother.” Senior Brother Zhen Hao said with a dismissive wave of his hand, noticing Yang's expression. “Everyone ranked above Senior Brother Qing An, apart from Senior Brother Luo Yun Xi, is prone to behaving as if you killed their ancestor at the smallest slight. You’ll get used to it.”  He looked at Yang with a warning look. “Though that doesn't mean I am eager to suffer under him.”

“Is getting drunk that frowned upon amongst cultivators?” Yang asked, curious. Because from what he had seen, drinking in this world was treated as a standard, even respectable pastime by the mortals, especially in social settings where it was even encouraged.

He was even aware of some other things cultivators used to get intoxicated, especially in the context of Senior Brother Zhen Hao, who was famous for his antics even amongst the outer sect.

“Not really,” Senior Brother Yuan Shen said as he took a sip of his wine. “Senior Brother Xiao Zhan has an intense disdain for people losing their senses in such a manner. Since he is the eldest, his preference in this regard naturally carried over to most of us,” he said with a side-eye towards Senior Brother Zhen Hao, who merely rolled his eyes before turning to Yang.

“He is not wrong.” Senior Brother Zhen Hao conceded. “We as cultivators are supposed to take control of every aspect of our lives. Getting drunk till we lose our senses goes against that. Unless, of course, you follow that particular Dao.”

“People even pursue the Dao of drunkenness?” Yang asked, baffled.

“Oh, absolutely. The cultivation world is full of weirdos.”

“Everyone has their own path; it's not necessary for others to understand it.” Senior Brother Yuan Shen spoke as he glanced at Yang. “There will be even more who will wonder at your own choice of technique. You may not have an established path yet, but the technique you have chosen is littered with cultivators who fell without ever taking it to completion."

“Though it certainly helps that you have a Senior Brother cultivating the same technique." Senior Brother Zhen Hao mumbled into his goblet before turning to Yang with a curious look. “What is the next step in your technique?”

“Condensation of soul mist. I need to get it done before I attempt to establish a foundation.”

Senior Brother Zhen Hao had barely opened his mouth to reply when an amused voice called out from the doorway.

“Already planning on establishing your foundation, Chen Yang?”

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