Refining Essence into Qi

A beam of golden light broke through the clouds from the nine heavens above and descended, enveloping him in an instant. The golden light was as warm as spring sunlight, yet it contained a power that made his heart tremble.

Under the effect of that golden light, Xiao Yun's original body was directly manifested.

Th-This is... Before Xiao Yun could finish speaking, a tearing agony erupted from within his original body.

Streams of the Power of the Heavenly Dao poured from the golden light into his limbs and bones like molten lava, tearing apart and reconstructing every inch of his flesh and blood.

Xiao Yun dropped to his knees, his ten fingers digging deeply into the soil. Veins bulged across his forehead, and cold sweat poured down like rain. He felt as though countless red-hot steel needles were piercing his body from the inside out—the Power of the Heavenly Dao was forcibly opening his blocked meridians.

Dantian, open!

The Power of the Heavenly Dao suddenly surged toward the Sea of Qi Acupoint in his lower abdomen. Xiao Yun felt as if a mass of energy there was spinning and collapsing, eventually forming an imperceptible singularity. Then, as the Power of the Heavenly Dao poured in madly, it exploded with a deafening roar. The indescribable pain made him scream in a voice no human should possess. His entire body curled into a ball, and his clenched nails tore through the skin of his palms, blood trickling out in strands.

Amid that chaos, a tiny space suddenly formed along with the tremendous explosion. It was initially no larger than the tip of a needle, then continuously expanded until it became a special space of spiritual energy the size of a fist. This was the foundation of a Qi Refining practitioner—the Dantian Qi Sea.

As the Dantian formed, most of the Power of the Heavenly Dao was converted into Spiritual Power within it.

The remaining Power of the Heavenly Dao surged out through several openings from the Dantian Qi Sea, entering the body's Twelve Main Meridians.

Twelve Main Meridians, open!

A thunderous shout echoed from somewhere beyond, and the twelve meridians inside Xiao Yun's body lit up simultaneously.

The Three Yang Meridians of the Foot ran from his chest and abdomen straight to his toes, like three fire dragons coursing through his body. Wherever they passed, his flesh and blood nearly carbonized. The Power of the Heavenly Dao then returned from his toes to his chest and abdomen along the Three Yin Meridians of the Foot, like three water dragons flowing through his body, nourishing the meridians and flesh that had been scorched before and making them tougher than ever. Likewise, the Three Yang Meridians of the Hand ran from his chest and abdomen to his fingertips, nearly carbonizing the flesh in their path, before the Three Yin Meridians of the Hand restored it all.

The back-and-forth torment left Xiao Yun with his mouth wide open but unable to make a sound. His vision turned blood-red, as though he had been thrown into a furnace and then swiftly tempered.

Only after nine Great Heavenly Cycles did the Twelve Main Meridians finally stabilize completely.

Eight Extraordinary Meridians, open!

Even fiercer pain followed. The Ren Meridian rose from the perineum to the lower lip, while the Du Meridian ran from the base of the spine to the upper gums. The Chong Meridian, Dai Meridian, Yin Linking Vessel, Yang Linking Vessel, Yin Heel Vessel, and Yang Heel Vessel trembled simultaneously.

Xiao Yun's entire body convulsed, blood spilling from his mouth. He felt as though his torso and spine were being torn apart and reconstructed inch by inch.

The most agonizing part was opening the Ren and Du Meridians. When that power broke through the acupoints in his head, Xiao Yun's vision went black, and he nearly passed out. He bit through his tongue to stay conscious, blood dripping from his chin. Only by remaining awake could he fully grasp the paths of the spiritual energy's circulation and the position of every acupoint.

In his daze, he saw countless points of light illuminate within his body—those were the three hundred and sixty-five acupoints being opened one by one.

Spiritual energy, gather!

The spiritual energy of Clear Wind Valley suddenly surged toward Xiao Yun like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea. It entered his Dantian through the newly opened meridians, forming a small vortex.

Xiao Yun instinctively began circulating the Great Heavenly Cycle according to the Azure Lotus Sword Song. The spiritual energy cycled endlessly through his body; with every circulation, his pain diminished slightly, while the Spiritual Power in his Dantian grew stronger.

Three hours later, the golden light gradually faded.

Xiao Yun slowly opened his eyes. The world now looked completely different to him. He could clearly see the tiny motes drifting through the air, hear the faint rustle of ants crawling a hundred zhang away, and smell the roots of medicinal herbs deep beneath the earth.

A layer of black grime covered the surface of his skin—it was the impurities expelled from his body during the tempering process.

After being tempered by alternating heat and cold, those impurities had become like dried mud. They fell away in clumps as Xiao Yun moved, revealing his increasingly perfect body beneath.

Xiao Yun immediately took out a set of green equipment and put it on, then began testing the new power within his body.

He clenched his fist and felt tremendous Bloodline Power surging through his muscles. He felt that he could now easily deal with a hundred of his former selves.

He then tried controlling the Spiritual Power in his Dantian, guiding it smoothly through his meridians and gathering it in his palm. With a casual wave, a tree branch three zhang away snapped in response.

This was power his true body had mastered, not the power he had borrowed when using the Sword Immortal Spirit Body. This power belonged entirely to Xiao Yun, power he could take out of the Vast Wilderness World.

After gaining his own Spiritual Power and comparing it with that of the Sword Immortal Spirit Body, he realized the gap was truly enormous. One Qi Sea was like a vast ocean, while the other was like a small pond; one Qi Sea held countless Azure Sword Lotuses floating within it, while the other was completely empty.

The reason Xiao Yun had displayed such pathetic combat strength while using the Sword Immortal Spirit Body was mainly because most of its strength remained sealed away. It required massive amounts of gold coins, Spiritual Power, and many Breakthrough Stones to gradually break through the seals and reveal the splendor of the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal.

After his true body's strength improved, Xiao Yun was eager to continue exploring Clear Wind Valley. Yet this time, the battle was somewhat difficult. On one hand, the monsters had grown in both number and strength. On the other, Xiao Yun was now using his true body's power rather than the Sword Immortal Spirit Body's power. Furthermore, Tu Yaoyao, who was helping in the battle, was only level 10, and they had no Healing Type War Spirit. Once surrounded, Xiao Yun was still unable to hold on. In the end, he had no choice but to use the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal Spirit Body again. With just one ultimate move, Myriad Swords Returning to the Source, he wiped out all the Demonic Monsters.

After gathering the loot, Tu Yaoyao suggested that they return to Imperial Capital City first and come back to subjugate the monsters after their health had recovered.

Xiao Yun thought it over and agreed. Forcing themselves to continue fighting would indeed cost more than it was worth, so he accepted Tu Yaoyao's request.

Xiao Yun directly ordered Youyou, "Youyou, return to White Jade Capital."

Upon receiving the command, Youyou immediately activated her ability. Two beams of light shot down from White Jade Capital, enveloping the two of them and bringing them back to the White Jade Capital in the Heavens.

The two returned to the Summoning Temple.

The moment he entered the Summoning Temple, Xiao Yun felt the Sword Immortal Spirit Body's health beginning to recover, at roughly 5% per minute. That meant twenty minutes of rest would fully restore its health. At the same time, Xiao Yun had the Sword Immortal Spirit Body absorb all the experience and Spiritual Power they had gained, directly raising it to level 20. It only needed a few more Breakthrough Stones to break through the first seal.

As for Tu Yaoyao, she immediately sat cross-legged after returning and began recovering her depleted health and Spiritual Power.

Half an hour passed, and both the Sword Immortal Spirit Body and Tu Yaoyao had fully recovered their health and Spiritual Power.