Crimson Dantian

Late at night, in Yan Kuan's Courtyard House, the little boy sat alone before the Stone Table, fiddling with the Trigram Treasure Box he had obtained during the day.

"Strange. I can clearly sense that this thing contains extremely powerful energy, so why can't I trigger it? Is a divine artifact concealing its brilliance?"

Yan Kuan tried moving the slider on the Bagua box, but for some reason, no matter how much strength he used, it would not budge in the slightest. His current strength was far beyond that of an ordinary person. He could lift a half-meter stone vat with one hand, yet he could not twist the slider on this Bagua box. There was definitely something abnormal about this.

Yan Kuan let his thoughts wander as he tried other methods. Before his father and mother went to sleep, he had deliberately used Dou Qi to relax them. The two of them were now sleeping deeply; even if he tore the house down, they would not wake up.

"Could it require blood to recognize an owner? Or do I need to pour energy into it?"

Yan Kuan suddenly recalled many common tropes from novels. In his first life, he had loved reading novels and had dabbled in works such as Shrouding the Heavens, Coiling Dragon, Doupo, and Douluo. Situations like this were quite common in fiction. Besides, the Flame Emperor's Legacy he had received also contained memories of such things.

"Hiss! That hurts!"

Yan Kuan lightly sliced his index finger with his thumb. A drop of blood, like a red agate bead, fell precisely onto the Yin-Yang Diagram at the center of the Bagua box. After quickly stopping the bleeding, he hurriedly lowered his head to look at the box, but no matter how long he stared, there was not the slightest change.

"I really want to take you apart."

Yan Kuan's face darkened. Even knowing that this thing was a treasure, he could not help feeling annoyed. A genius like him, who was obviously the "protagonist," had already appeared. Couldn't this treasure be more self-aware and obediently recognize him as its master? Why did it have to make him put in so much effort?

Still, having lived several lives, he had developed a mature outlook on life. Though the influence of his body occasionally caused him to act childish, he knew clearly what he should do now. Since blood recognition had not worked, he could only try infusing it with energy.

Threads of fiery light gathered in his palm without being released. The Dou Qi within Yan Kuan's body slowly flowed into the Trigram Treasure Box. Yet to his disappointment, nearly ten minutes passed without the Bagua box showing any reaction at all.

"Did I guess wrong? Or does it require some special secret technique? If that's the case, then I'll be left staring at a treasure mountain without being able to obtain it."

Yan Kuan dejectedly prepared to set down the Treasure Box. At that moment, the silver moon emerged from behind the dark clouds, and threads of moonlight spilled into the courtyard. The instant the moonlight fell upon the Treasure Box, a sudden change occurred. Countless strands of Moon Radiance rapidly converged upon it.

"This thing can gather energy."

Yan Kuan's eyes filled with delight. He held the Treasure Box and was about to observe it more closely when the bright moonlight quietly drew in and finally vanished. Everything that had just happened seemed like a dream.

"It needs energy to activate before it can draw in energy? Could it be an Array Diagram?"

After tinkering with it for a while, Yan Kuan finally figured out some of the Trigram Treasure Box's functions. When he infused it with his own energy, it could draw in spiritual energy.

And in this nearly magicless age, only the essence of the sun and Moon Radiance still contained small amounts of heaven and earth spiritual energy.

Yan Kuan had previously tried cultivating beneath the blazing sun, but perhaps because Taiyang was too far from Blue Star, the heaven and earth spiritual energy contained in sunlight was exceptionally sparse. It was only somewhat effective on especially sunny days, and even then, it was not as useful as cultivating with the gas stove on.

However, the spiritual energy within the Moon Radiance drawn in by the Trigram Treasure Box just now was rather pure. It could greatly speed up Yan Kuan's cultivation.

"Although I still haven't figured out what this thing really is, it can at least function like a Spirit-Gathering Array. That's not bad. It would be even better if I didn't need to actively pour energy into it."

Yan Kuan thought greedily. Then he hugged the Bagua box and sat cross-legged in the courtyard to cultivate. Bright moonlight fell over him, seeming to drape him in a silvery gauze robe.

Time was like water, always slipping quietly away when one was not paying attention. This was even more true for Yan Kuan, who was so absorbed in cultivation that he could not pull himself away.

When he was three years old, Mr. Yan and Ms. Xiao had planned to enroll him in kindergarten. But Yan Kuan later convinced them with wisdom unlike that of an ordinary child, so he had remained free until elementary school.

Ever since obtaining the Trigram Treasure Box, Yan Kuan cultivated day and night. Whenever he had the chance, he slipped out of his parents' sight to bask in the sun or admire the moon. After more than half a year of such stealthy guerrilla efforts, he finally reached the Battle Qi Ninth Stage and could attempt to form a Qi Cyclone.

Today was a bright and beautiful spring day. Yan Kuan had sent his father and mother out shopping early in the morning, then stayed alone in the courtyard to bask in the sun.

Warm, gentle sunlight continuously entered Yan Kuan's body. Threads of golden-red airflow moved around him, constantly traveling through the meridians within his body before finally gathering at his dantian.

Rings of Golden Light rippled continuously around Yan Kuan. A distinct vortex had actually formed around him, while the Trigram Treasure Box in his arms continuously emitted an extraordinary radiance.

The Dou Qi within Yan Kuan's body kept expanding and converging toward a single point. His white Qi tinged with red had reached a critical limit beyond which it could not increase, yet he continued drawing in energy from the outside world.

Advancing from the Battle Qi Ninth Stage to become a Dou Zhe was an extremely crucial stage of cultivation on the Battle Qi Continent. Once the attempt failed and the energy within the body collapsed, more than half of one's Dou Qi would disperse as well. Many people who failed their breakthrough fell directly to the eighth stage or even the seventh stage.

Yan Kuan did not want to start over. He could only take a risk and compress more energy to increase his chances of success. With his limited conditions, this was the only thing he could do.

Once he sensed that the energy within his body had reached its limit, he took a deep breath and adjusted his condition. His hand seals suddenly changed, his index fingers and thumbs joined while his middle fingers touched, his ten fingers forming a strange seal.

As Yan Kuan's hand seal changed, the surging Dou Qi within his body seemed to be seized by an immense force of suction and violently contracted toward his dantian.

The white Dou Qi tinged with red gradually transformed into white-red Qi. His consciousness sank into his dantian, guiding the energy to compress and form a cycle.

Naturally, this process did not go smoothly. He could feel the resistance of the Dou Qi within his body, and fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on Yan Kuan's forehead.

At that moment, the Trigram Treasure Box in his arms suddenly lit up. A ray of Spiritual Light shot into his dantian, and the resistance from his Dou Qi vanished instantly. Yan Kuan only felt as though something within his body had been opened. A cloud-like crimson ball of light appeared within his dantian.

"A red dantian... is there such a Qi Cyclone?"

The instant his Qi Cyclone successfully condensed, Yan Kuan's consciousness abruptly relaxed. Yet just before his spiritual sense faded, he caught sight of his dantian, which had taken on the form of scarlet flames. This was completely different from the Battle Qi Cyclone in his inheritance.