’Could it be that to break through the True Martial Realm and enter the Qi Refining Realm, one must not only know how to absorb Spiritual Qi and refine it into Spiritual Power, but also how to strengthen the Dantian again so it can contain that power?’
Chu Lingguang wondered.
’The Spiritual Qi here is thin. If I want to test my theory, I’ll have to wait until I get back to Wolf Valley Pass.’
The Spiritual Qi in the mines beneath Wolf Valley Pass was countless times richer than in the outside world.
Since the Qi Refining Skill could absorb Spiritual Qi and refine it into Spiritual Power, Wolf Valley Pass was Chu Lingguang’s ideal training ground.
As for strengthening his Dantian, Chu Lingguang could only figure it out slowly. He now possessed the Qi Refining Skill and could even absorb and refine Spiritual Qi; strengthening his Dantian shouldn’t be too difficult.
After all, compared to breaking through the True Martial Realm, strengthening the Dantian was relatively much simpler.
Obtaining the Qi Refining Skill made Chu Lingguang’s future seem bright, and he was in high spirits.
Unfortunately, time flew by, and soon it was time for him to return to Wolf Valley Pass to report on his mission.
He said goodbye to Guo Wei, Mrs. Chu of the Zhang Family, and the others.
Riding his Han Gao Steed, he galloped all the way toward Wolf Valley Pass.
The journey was uneventful.
With the help of his control over his Sea of Consciousness, Chu Lingguang took less than six days to travel from Baiyang County to Wolf Valley Pass, where he met up with Lin Shirong and the others.
After returning, Chu Lingguang noticed that something was off with the soldiers and horses at the pass. It seemed like some men were missing.
"After you left, some madman from the Turkic side showed up and nearly fought his way into Wolf Valley Pass. The higher-ups are already investigating. They suspect it was Andre’s heir, Andenuk."
Lin Shirong explained the situation to Chu Lingguang.
"Oh, it was him."
Chu Lingguang was caught by surprise. It seemed the Little Prince had followed his tracks all the way to Wolf Valley Pass. Unfortunately for him, the pass was heavily guarded, and he had been driven back.
He hadn’t expected the Little Prince to be so persistent, to chase him all the way here for Xie Xiaohuan’s sake.
"You know him?"
Lin Shirong was clearly surprised.
"When I previously went to the Turkic lands with my master, I crossed paths with him once on the National Border. If Yan Zhen hadn’t saved me then, you probably wouldn’t be seeing me now, Lin."
Chu Lingguang explained.
"No wonder. Yan Zhen has already rushed over from the Demon Suppression Bureau and is searching for him in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Let’s hope he can take Andenuk down!"
"It looks like Great Yuan and the Turkic tribes are going to war again soon."
Lin Shirong sighed.
The establishment of diplomatic relations between Great Yuan and the Turkic tribes was merely a delaying tactic for both sides. Whether it was Great Yuan or the Turkic tribes, each had always wanted to annex the other’s territory.
The Court had received news long ago that the Turkic forces had been restless for months, with a possible southern invasion of Great Yuan on the horizon. Now that the Turkic Prince had charged to Wolf Valley Pass single-handedly and seen the Profound Iron Ore, the news would get back to the Turkic tribes. The Turkic King would surely order an immediate attack on Great Yuan.
Otherwise, how could the Turkic tribes possibly defend against a Great Yuan army outfitted from head to toe in Profound Iron Armor?
However, Chu Lingguang frowned.
’I have a feeling he was chasing me so closely because of that vine I destroyed.’
He suspected.
Xie Xiaohuan alone wasn’t enough to make the Little Prince, Andenuk, chase him all the way from the Turkic lands to Wolf Valley Pass. Besides, after he had vanished, it would have been incredibly difficult for Andenuk to follow his tracks all the way to the pass.
That would have required immense perseverance and outstanding intelligence.
It was even possible that the vine was the culprit. Perhaps it had a special aura that guided Andenuk, leading him all the way to Wolf Valley Pass.
Fortunately, he had destroyed the vine back at the Blood Wolf Cave.
Perhaps that was when the connection was severed. Of course, this was just Chu Lingguang’s wishful thinking. He had already learned from He Mingxuan about the importance of bizarre items; some people would risk everything to break through the True Martial Realm.
’I wonder if Yan can handle Andenuk.’
Learning that Yan Zhen had entered the Hundred Thousand Mountains to find the Little Prince, Andenuk, made Chu Lingguang a little worried.
As the Vice Commander of Wolf Valley Pass, he couldn’t easily leave his post.
"Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. He knew you were at Wolf Valley Pass and came specifically to see you. If you’d returned two days earlier, you two brothers could have met."
"Worthy of his title as the Martial Champion Scholar. To have reached the fourth level of the Mental Realm at such a young age... even I feel inadequate."
Lin Shirong said with admiration.
"Oh, so Yan’s Mental Realm has broken through to the fourth level."
Chu Lingguang was caught by surprise.
Then he smacked himself on the head.
He muttered to himself, ’Who is Yan? If my Mental Realm can enter the fourth level, of course his can too. I just wonder how many responding powers he has awakened. Who is stronger between the two of us?’
Ever since his own strength had improved, Chu Lingguang had been looking for a chance to spar with Yan Zhen again.
...
Wolf Valley Pass was heavily guarded.
Yan Zhen searched for the Little Prince in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Chu Lingguang, meanwhile, led his troops on patrol around the area, coordinating with Lin Shirong’s work. Only in his spare time did he go down into the mines to absorb Spiritual Qi.
Under the effect of the Qi Refining Skill.
Chu Lingguang discovered that the Spiritual Qi in the mines was indeed much richer. The world down here seemed cleaner, and he felt clear-headed and refreshed.
He activated the Qi Refining Skill and found that the surrounding Spiritual Qi was rapidly drawn into his abdomen, quickly forming a strand of Spiritual Power within his Dantian.
Chu Lingguang was startled.
The speed at which the Qi Refining Skill absorbed Spiritual Qi and converted it into Spiritual Power was somewhat surprising.
His Dantian had not yet been strengthened, so it couldn’t store too much Spiritual Power.
At this rate, he worried his Dantian would be torn apart.
So he quickly stopped absorbing.
Looking at the few strands of Spiritual Power remaining in his Dantian, he tried to use them to strengthen it, searching for a point of resonance between the Spiritual Power and the Dantian itself.
Although Chu Lingguang didn’t have a Dantian strengthening Skill, he had personally experienced the entire process of Opening the Dantian and Qi Sea.
He also knew that cultivation was about awakening power from responses, fusing those powers together, and thus breaking through the body’s shackles. All cultivation methods fell within this framework.
The reason people couldn’t break through the True Martial Realm, aside from not mastering a cultivation Skill for it, was primarily that they didn’t know how to transform True Qi into Spiritual Power, or how to absorb Spiritual Qi from the outside world and convert it.
If they could obtain the corresponding power, perhaps someone could break through the realm’s shackles based on the true words of cultivation.
Now that Chu Lingguang had mastered a method for obtaining Spiritual Power, as long as that Spiritual Power could resonate with his Dantian and the two could fuse, it might just serve to strengthen the Dantian.
Of course, he was proceeding based on the true words of cultivation. Whether it would be effective or not would require step-by-step experimentation.
And so, Chu Lingguang had a new goal.
Every day after finishing his official duties and leading his men on several patrols inside and outside Wolf Valley Pass, he would hide in his tent and try to get the Spiritual Power in his Dantian to integrate with the Dantian itself, using Spiritual Power to strengthen it.
His Mental Realm was now at the fourth level. On his Mental Realm map, out of 363 responses, he had awakened 39 streams of Qi Vortex Power. Each could form a vortex in his palm. When the power in these vortices condensed to a certain strength, he could even instantly kill an ordinary expert of the same rank.
On his path of cultivation, he had always been searching for responses, for points of resonance, and fusing those mutual resonances together.
Now he was back on the path of strengthening his Dantian.
In his perception, the barely detectable Spiritual Power in his Dantian was like a solitary catfish, sending the True Qi Power within his Dantian scattering in all directions.
Under this interference, Chu Lingguang realized that it was impossible for him to find the point of resonance between his Spiritual Power and his Dantian.
He pondered this for many days.
Suddenly, he had a Flash of Inspiration.
’The Qi Refining Skill... it doesn’t just refine Spiritual Qi. It should be able to refine True Qi as well!’
’If a True Martial Realm expert steps into the Qi Refining Realm, their own power must first undergo a transformation.’
’If I use the Qi Refining Skill to refine my True Qi and convert it into Spiritual Power, wouldn’t it be much easier to make it integrate with my Dantian?’
’True Qi is already inside the Dantian. Perhaps in the process of its transformation, the Dantian itself will also be strengthened?’
’Whether I’m right or not, I have to try.’
As if he had found the correct method, Chu Lingguang couldn’t wait to begin his experiment.
The days passed one by one.
「Five days later.」 News arrived from the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Yan Zhen had found the Little Prince. They had been entangled in the Hundred Thousand Mountains for seven or eight days, but neither could claim victory. He returned to Wolf Valley Pass covered in injuries.
The blood on his body seemed to be alive, squirming in Yan Zhen’s wounds.