Trapped

Xu Chunniang had no time to feel despair before her whole body was engulfed by icy liquid surging in from all sides. There was actually a pool beneath her.

She was not dead?

Having snatched her life back, Xu Chunniang was nearly dumbstruck. It took her a while to recover, then she hurriedly held her breath, floated to the surface, and swam toward the shore.

By the faint moonlight, Xu Chunniang could only make out her surroundings vaguely.

This was a completely natural cave. At its center lay a small pool, and she had fallen through a crack in the mountain directly above it.

Judging by the height alone, the crack was some seven or eight zhang above the pool. It would be difficult to climb out by human strength alone.

She could only hope this cave had another exit...

Xu Chunniang shook her head and suppressed her thoughts. It was too dark, and she was exhausted as well. She would explore it properly tomorrow.

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Though she had accidentally fallen deep into the mountain's belly, she had not come away empty-handed. Not only had she found a natural cave where she could shelter for the time being, she had also found a water source, saving her quite a bit of trouble.

At the hour of the Rabbit the next day, Xu Chunniang woke on time.

Dawn had only just broken, and the sun had not yet risen. The cave was still a blur, making it impossible to search for a way out.

She could not sleep, nor was she willing to waste time, so she simply sat cross-legged and began to meditate.

She did not know whether it was merely her imagination, but after entering meditation today, she discovered that the amount of spiritual qi she drew in was nearly three times what it normally was.

Xu Chunniang only pondered it briefly before setting the matter aside. Meditation required complete concentration.

She closed her eyes and began harmonizing the spiritual qi around her.

The blue water spiritual qi was the most docile, and it fused quickly with the green Wood Spiritual Qi. Yet once yellow earth spiritual qi was added to the two, they would immediately disperse.

Xu Chunniang was not discouraged. She had encountered this situation more times than she could count. She patiently began again.

Finally, after repeating the process an unknown number of times, the blue, green, and yellow spiritual qi fused together for the first time!

Xu Chunniang steadied her mind and silently recited the cultivation art, guiding the cluster of spiritual qi into her body. The qi cluster lurched along crookedly, but it entered her dantian without mishap.

She had succeeded!

Xu Chunniang opened her eyes in delight. Though she was still far from truly achieving Qi Introduction, this step was crucial.

Next, she only needed to guide qi clusters into her dantian and continuously fill it, then use the cultivation art to guide the qi within her body through one full Greater Celestial Circuit.

Just as she was about to press on while the iron was hot, her stomach began to rumble. Only then did Xu Chunniang come back to herself. She had spent a full half day cultivating.

After cultivating for so long, she did not feel tired in the slightest. Instead, she felt wonderfully refreshed.

Xu Chunniang swallowed a Grain Abstinence Pill and prepared to explore the cave to see whether there was another exit.

The mountain's interior was not very large. Aside from the small pool and the place where she slept and cultivated, nearly everything else could be seen at a glance. There was no other exit at all.

Xu Chunniang, who had just been delighted by her breakthrough in cultivation, immediately became dejected. No other exit meant she would be trapped in this cave!

She counted the Grain Abstinence Pills in her Storage Bag. Only fifteen remained. If she still could not get out after eating them all, would she not be trapped here until death?

Xu Chunniang shuddered, somewhat frightened by her own thoughts.

She shook her head desperately, driving that terrifying idea from her mind.

"There will definitely be a way. There are still fifteen Grain Abstinence Pills. If I conserve them and eat half a pill a day, I can last thirty days! I'm small, so I don't consume much. Half a pill should be enough.

Thirty days is enough time for me to achieve Qi Introduction."

She raised her head and examined the mountain crack. Once she achieved Qi Introduction, she should be able to climb out, right?

Xu Chunniang was not certain, but she had no other options now. She could only do her utmost and try.

Having made up her mind, she sat cross-legged and began cultivating.

This cultivation session lasted a full ten days.

Other than the necessary three hours of sleep each day, Xu Chunniang spent every moment cultivating. Her progress was astonishingly swift as a result, and the spiritual qi in her dantian grew increasingly full, soon reaching its limit.

This day, after Xu Chunniang guided a qi cluster into her dantian, she discovered that it was completely full.

In a sudden flash of inspiration, she directly began circulating the Carefree Art, carefully guiding the spiritual qi.

As the cultivation art circulated, the spiritual qi traveled through her limbs and bones along her Spiritual Veins, undergoing some kind of transformation that shed the mortal and exchanged the bones.

Xu Chunniang felt comfortable all over. Everywhere the spiritual qi reached became warm, as though she were soaking in warm water.

Yet that warm sensation soon vanished, replaced by excruciating pain.

As the cultivation art circulated, the spiritual qi gradually left the places protected by her Spiritual Veins and traveled deeper within.

"Ah!"

Xu Chunniang could not help crying out in pain. Though she had prepared herself mentally, the agony still caught her completely off guard. Almost instinctively, she wanted to stop circulating the cultivation art.

But she quickly remembered what Martial Uncle Gu had said in the Lecture Room.

"When you achieve Qi Introduction, the places the spiritual qi passes through at first are protected by Spiritual Veins, and you will feel warmth. But as the cultivation art goes deeper, the spiritual qi will travel through more places without the protection of Spiritual Veins, and then you will feel intense pain. Many people stop cultivating because they cannot endure the suffering.

"If you stop because of the pain, although you can still be considered to have successfully achieved Qi Introduction, your Path of Cultivation will already be at its end.

"The pain you endure is, in truth, merely the spiritual qi transforming your body. The longer you persist at this stage, the greater the benefit to your future cultivation."

No, she could not give up here!

Xu Chunniang hardened her heart and continued circulating the cultivation art.

She had been a farmer's daughter, unable to recognize a single word. Now that she had finally obtained the chance to cultivate, she had to give it everything she had!

As time passed, the spiritual qi's transformation of her body grew ever deeper, even burrowing into meridians the cultivation art had not guided it through.

Xu Chunniang trembled all over from the pain, yet she gritted her teeth and refused to yield. She had to endure longer—longer still!

By the end, her consciousness had grown hazy. Unable to hold on any longer, she tilted her head and fainted...

Xu Chunniang was awakened by a foul stench.

She wrinkled her nose and opened her eyes. Her awareness still lingered on the moment of Qi Introduction, and she did not know whether she had succeeded.

Xu Chunniang first examined her body. She found her dantian exceptionally full and brimming with spiritual qi, while faint currents of qi flowed through the rest of her body. Only then did the stone in her heart fall to the ground. She had succeeded at last.

Only then did she have the leisure to search for the source of the stench.

To her astonishment, she discovered that the shocking odor was coming from herself?

Her entire body was covered in a layer of black filth, and a foul smell emanated from her from head to toe.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Chunniang understood. This was the filth expelled after spiritual qi transformed her body.

The place was secluded and empty of people. Xu Chunniang stripped off every piece of clothing and plunged headfirst into the pool, beginning to scrub herself clean.

It took a full hour of washing before she finally removed that troublesome layer of grime.

After washing, Xu Chunniang found that she seemed much fairer and cleaner than before. It was probably due to the spiritual qi cleansing and tempering her body.

"Now that I have achieved Qi Introduction, I wonder if I can leave this cave." She murmured, raising her head to look upward.