The Foundation of the Immortal Path, the Heaven-Opening Art Appears

A chilling sense of dread, like a festering wound, had been spreading within Chen Beixuan—or rather, within the core consciousness of this wisp of innate immortal qi named "Xuanwei"—for a long time.

He huddled in the deepest crevice of the rocks, not daring to move. Although the [Beginner Qi Concealment] provided by the system was effective, it consumed his already meager origin energy at an alarming rate. In less than fifteen minutes, his energy reserves plummeted from a critical 0.01% to a more despairing 0.009%, forcing the system to forcibly shut down the function to prevent him from dissipating entirely.

The lingering aura of the malevolent spirit outside was like a sword hanging over his head. He could only rely on the innate spiritual sense of his immortal qi to perceive the cold, malicious intent sweeping back and forth nearby. Each pass made his consciousness core tremble.

"No, I can't just wait to die..."

An intense will to survive forced him to calm down. He began to circulate the basic breathing technique taught by the system with greater focus, frantically absorbing the relatively dense spiritual energy in his hiding place. Strands of warmth flowed in, slowly repairing the previous consumption and slightly strengthening his weak origin.

0.011%... 0.012%...

The progress was agonizingly slow, but at least it was moving in the right direction. This visible growth dispelled some of the gloom in his heart.

Time flowed by in absolute concentration. After an unknown duration, perhaps a few hours, perhaps a whole day, the malevolent spirit seemed to finally confirm that its "prey" had completely vanished. With a resentful, screeching intent, it slowly retreated.

Only when he could no longer sense the malevolent spirit's presence did Xuanwei finally breathe a sigh of relief, but his taut nerves didn't fully relax. He cautiously extended a barely perceptible wisp of spiritual sense, like a tentacle, to probe the world outside the crevice.

Safe.

He still didn't dare to leave this relatively secure refuge. The recent encounter had taught him a bloody lesson: in this world, weakness itself was a sin. Even with a system and an extraordinary origin, he could easily become nourishment for other beings before he grew stronger.

"System, bring up my status panel," he murmured in his mind.

A faint, translucent screen, visible only to him, appeared in his consciousness.

[Host: Chen Beixuan (Unnamed)]
[Origin: First Strand of Innate Immortal Qi (Nascent Stage)]
[Realm: None]
[Energy Level: 0.015%]
[Cultivation Technique: Basic Spiritual Energy Breathing Technique (System Adapted Version)]
[Spiritual Power: None]
[Items: None]
[Current Quest: Energy Accumulation (0.015%/1%)]

Looking at the pathetic energy progress, Xuanwei felt a wave of powerlessness. At this rate, when would he ever reach the 1% quest requirement? Moreover, staying hidden here, while safe, offered limited resources. Once the spiritual energy here was depleted, he would still face death.

He had to find a way to speed things up!

He recalled the feeling of absorbing that faint spiritual light earlier. Although the process was crude, the energy gain was far greater than this slow breathing.

"System, is it feasible to actively devour other spiritual energies? What is the efficiency? What are the risks?" he asked cautiously.

[Reply: Active devouring is an effective way to rapidly increase energy.]

[Efficiency: Significantly higher than passive breathing. Depending on the target energy's purity and the host's digestion ability, efficiency can increase tenfold to a hundredfold.]

[Risks: 1. If the target energy contains impurities or negative intent, it will require extra energy and time to purify, otherwise it will contaminate the origin. 2. The devouring process may generate energy fluctuations, attracting the attention of stronger entities. 3. If the target energy's strength far exceeds the host's, it may lead to devouring failure, and instead result in contamination or assimilation.]

[Recommendation: Under the premise of ensuring safety, prioritize devouring unconscious, highly pure low-level spiritual lights or ownerless spiritual extracts.]

The system's analysis was cold and objective, clearly laying out the pros and cons.

Risks and opportunities coexisted.

Xuanwei pondered for a moment and made his decision. He couldn't give up because of potential setbacks. To survive and thrive in this Primordial World, he couldn't just play it safe. He had to actively strive and seize opportunities, albeit with caution!

He limited the range of his spiritual sense to the vicinity of the rock crevice's exit, like a patient hunter, and began searching for suitable targets.

Soon, he locked onto a target. It was a small, pale blue dot drifting slowly nearby, only the size of a rice grain, emitting faint and pure water-attribute spiritual energy fluctuations. It had no consciousness, merely a natural condensation of spiritual energy.

This was it!

Xuanwei carefully controlled his immortal qi, his own body, extending an extremely fine wisp of air, like a tentacle, to silently reach out. Closer, closer... Then, he suddenly wrapped around and enveloped it!

The pale blue dot seemed to sense danger and trembled slightly, but it was powerless to resist. The immortal qi tentacle quickly pulled it back to the core of his main body.

[Detected absorbable energy source: ownerless water spirit micro-light. Beginning devouring and conversion...]

As the system prompt sounded, Xuanwei felt a cool, pure stream of energy integrating into his origin. It was much faster than breathing in spiritual energy! It was like a drop of ice water falling into a pot of boiling oil; though small in quantity, it instantly created ripples.

The energy level jumped: 0.018%!

Effective! And he barely felt any impurities or negative emotions!

The joy of success dispelled his initial fear. He pressed on, searching for the next target.

A ball of pale yellow earth spirit micro-light... Devoured! Energy level: 0.022%!

A wisp of gold spirit micro-light with a sharp intent... Devoured! Energy level: 0.028%!

Time flowed by during these cautious hunts. Xuanwei was like a diligent ant, tirelessly collecting tiny bits of energy. His immortal qi core became slightly more condensed at a visible rate, and the spiritual light it emitted became increasingly warm and gentle.

However, good fortune didn't always accompany him.

When he attempted to devour a clump of slightly darker, slightly fishy-smelling dark red spiritual light, a sudden change occurred!

The moment it was being devoured, the spiritual light erupted with a violent, chaotic mental impact! It was like the desperate backlash of a miniature fierce beast on its deathbed!

"Roar--!"

The sound wasn't real, but a roar that directly impacted his consciousness. Xuanwei felt a sharp pain in his mind, as if pricked by needles. His immortal qi itself fluctuated violently, almost losing its form.

[Warning! Target contains malevolent resentment detected! Initiating emergency purification protocol! Consuming energy for purification...]

The system's cold voice carried a hint of urgency. A gentle yet firm power surged from the depths of his consciousness, forcibly grinding and dispersing the violent intent. However, this process instantly reduced his newly accumulated energy by 0.005%.

Xuanwei felt a lingering fear. As expected, the system's warnings were not baseless. This was merely a trivial wisp of resentful spiritual light; if it had been stronger, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

After this ordeal, he became even more cautious, his target selection far stricter. He would rather proceed slowly than risk recklessness.

The days passed in this monotonous, dangerous, yet rewarding cycle.

He still dared not stray far from the rock crevice he hid in, his range limited to a few dozen feet. Yet, within this small space, he gradually grew accustomed to using his immortal qi more efficiently, sensing energy fluctuations with greater precision, and discerning which spiritual lights could be absorbed and which needed to be avoided.

His energy level steadily increased to 0.3%. His immortal qi, initially a near-transparent, ethereal state, had become solid, like a milky white stream of light, full of spiritual vitality.

One day, after absorbing a cluster of vibrant green wood spirit light and feeling the vigorous flow of energy within him, suddenly—

Hum!

An indescribably grand rhythm, like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, swept across the entire eastern foothills of Kunlun Mountain!

This was not a sound, nor an energy impact, but a fluctuation of "Dao." It was vast, ancient, and profound, as if containing the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.

Xuanwei's immortal qi involuntarily trembled in response. His consciousness felt as if it were submerged in a warm ocean. Many obscure and difficult points in his cultivation suddenly became clear under the baptism of this rhythm!

He "looked up" towards the source of the fluctuation—the higher reaches of Kunlun Mountain, shrouded in clouds and mist, making it impossible to see clearly. But he could feel three indescribably great presences, like three brilliant suns hanging high in the heavens. Merely the residual ripples of Dao emanating from them benefited him immensely.

"The Three Pure Ones... it's the Three Pure Ones discussing Dao!"

An epiphany dawned in his mind. Was this the power of the top-tier existences of the Primordial World? From such a distance, a mere ripple of Dao could bring such benefits to his tiny wisp of immortal qi!

He greedily absorbed and comprehended the Dao ripples pervading heaven and earth, cross-referencing them with the Basic Spiritual Energy Breathing Technique taught by the system. He discovered that the efficiency of his breathing technique, under the influence of the Dao ripples, had increased more than severalfold! The surrounding spiritual energy, which had been calm, became exceptionally active, rushing into his body.

His energy level began to climb at an unprecedented speed!

0.35%... 0.4%... 0.5%...

This was like pie falling from the sky! No, it was like immortal pills!

He was completely immersed in the exhilaration of this rapid improvement, forgetting the passage of time, forgetting his location. Instinctively, he guided his immortal qi to move slightly outside the rock crevice, towards where the Dao ripples were denser and the spiritual energy more active, wanting to absorb more.

However, fortune is often followed by misfortune.

Just as he was fully absorbed in his cultivation, his consciousness resonating with the Dao ripples, almost forgetting the external dangers—

[Warning! High-energy lifeform detected approaching rapidly! Energy signature far exceeds host! Recommend immediate evasion! Repeat, recommend immediate evasion!]

The system's sharp alarm, like ice water poured over his head, instantly jolted him awake from his Dao enlightenment stupor!

He abruptly suppressed all his aura, his spiritual sense sweeping outwards, and his soul nearly fled his body!

He saw a crimson stream of light descending from high above at astonishing speed, its target... seemingly this very area! The scorching, violent aura emanating from the stream was more than a hundred times stronger than the malevolent spirits he had encountered before! Merely the pressure from its flight caused the surrounding spiritual energy to become scorching hot and agitated, and his immortal qi felt a burning pain.

It was a true primordial beast! Its form resembled an eagle, but it was immense, its wings spanning the sky, enveloped in raging flames. Where it passed, the air itself distorted!

It seemed to have been attracted by the unusually active spiritual energy in this area due to the Three Pure Ones' discussion of Dao, and had come to hunt!

Xuanwei's heart turned cold.

Just now, in order to absorb more Dao ripples and spiritual energy, he had unknowingly moved to the edge of the rock crevice. Although not completely exposed, his position was no longer absolutely safe!

The crimson flame fierce bird's sharp gaze, like a tangible searchlight, swept across the mountain ravine. Its gaze seemed to pause for a moment at the rock crevice where spiritual energy was abnormally concentrated.

Could it find me?

Xuanwei held his "breath," compressing his immortal qi to its absolute limit, pressing himself tightly into the darkest corner of the rock, with only one thought remaining in his mind:

It's over!