One point, two points, three points...
Li Qingyun counted them with delight.
That phantom figure cultivated in meditation, producing roughly one point of mana every second!
These tiny specks of mana scattered throughout his meridians multiplied, soon strewn across them like stars in the sky, somewhat chaotic and disorderly.
In the span of a moment, a hundred "glimmers" lit up!
Then they drew one another in, like raindrops gathering into a trickle, abruptly condensing into a thread of mana that flowed like silk!
Following the circulation path of the Precious Furnace Qi Absorption Art, this thread of mana began to move through his meridians as though it possessed a spirit of its own.
Wherever it passed, his impoverished inner self and frail mortal shell began to benefit, nourished and repaired by it...
Just as the Precious Furnace Qi Absorption Art described, his three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit were being nourished.
"A hundred points in a hundred seconds, a hundred points forming one thread... How many threads make up the furnace of mana Lu Nanling spoke of?"
"At this rate, I might enter the Dao and step into Qi Refining Layer One within half a day. I wouldn't be inferior to those so-called prodigies and chosen geniuses in the slightest..."
Yet he had no time to rejoice.
The instant the first thread of mana condensed within his body, a piercing, twisting pain suddenly erupted in his chest.
He sensed that something lay hidden and coiled deep within his heart. Stimulated awake by the mana, it began to devour, bite, and thrash about.
Most of all, that newly cultivated thread of mana vanished like mud sinking into the sea, completely swallowed by the thing in his heart.
"What is this? How could there be such a bizarre Gu worm in my heart?"
Borrowing a trace of newly generated mana, he looked inward—and saw a sight that filled him with terror!
Deep within his heart lay coiled a strange insect, white and ghostly all over!
It had the shape of a white silkworm, yet exuded a savage and sinister aura, looking ravenous, greedy, and vicious!
A chill ran through him, and even his body began to tremble.
He had no idea when he had fallen victim to it, when someone had secretly cast a spell and implanted this Gu worm inside him—inside his heart, of all deadly places.
Thoughts raced through his mind as memories of life in the Marquis's Manor flashed past like a revolving lantern.
Then realization dawned upon him.
"What a Cui family of Hejian! What a fine eldest brother, the heir! Such venomous methods!"
"No wonder they had been so at ease about letting me enter a Daoist temple. I thought they merely believed my mortal body of mud and clay made cultivation in the temple futile. Who would have thought that this mother and son had secretly placed such a sinister shackle upon me!"
"This must be the legendary Spirit Devouring Gu! Rumor says that once they dwell within a cultivator's body, they endlessly devour mana. After consuming enough nourishment to grow strong, they go on to devour the soul, blood, and qi. In the end, they transform from silkworm to butterfly, split their shell, tear through the body, and depart. As for the original host they parasitize, naturally, he breathes his last..."
Li Qingyun felt stormy waves churn within his heart, impossible to calm.
He was far from ignorant of information concerning Gu worms and other unorthodox paths. On the contrary, he had gathered and studied quite a great deal.
He simply had not expected that Madam Cui and the heir would truly intend to put him to death!
Once real competition for benefits was involved, these "natives" of the Cui family could be so ruthless and cold-blooded!
Whether it was Li Jiuling's Yang Sha Refining or the Gu arts Cui secretly employed, both were considered unorthodox paths, at the very bottom of this world's supernatural hierarchy of contempt.
But to mortals, they were still crushing forces with no solution.
Li Qingyun had thought that leaving the Marquis's Manor meant escaping the cage for good. Who could have imagined that even within Lingbao Temple, he remained shrouded by the shadow of the Cui family of Hejian, controlled from afar?
Recalling Yin Xunshan's punchable expression and manner on the road to Lingbao Temple, he finally understood why that old servant had been so unrestrained and fearless...
At this moment, having tasted mana, the Spirit Devouring Silkworm coiled deep in his heart had already grown excited. It constantly swayed its head and tail, swallowing every point of mana generated within him without the slightest restraint.
Its table manners were atrocious, like an insatiable Taotie.
"Let's see just how much you can eat. Aren't you afraid of stuffing yourself to death?"
Li Qingyun watched the plump, white Spirit Devouring Silkworm. After swallowing several threads of mana, its body had visibly swollen considerably, and an idea stirred in his heart.
He simply gritted his teeth, maintained his meditative posture, and let mana continue to generate without end.
He allowed it to feast to its heart's content.
"Everything should have a limit. The Spirit Devouring Silkworm can't be an exception. No matter what, it's merely an unorthodox thing—and still a larva..."
With that mysterious Daoist phantom in his mind as his foundation, Li Qingyun had confidence.
An hour passed.
Nearly two hours passed.
One desperately poured mana into it while the other devoured with all its might. Li Qingyun endured bitterly, suffering through the ordeal.
Before he knew it, dusk was near.
Outside the Bamboo Lodge, the last rays of light had vanished from the horizon. Maple leaves covered the mountain in dark red, a mournful beauty tinged with the eerie look of spilled blood.
"Junior Brother Qingyun, could it be that you've been meditating all this time? You're diligent enough! But just sitting there is useless—you have to use the qi-gathering posture specified by the cultivation art!"
He Xiao had finally awakened, and the room was thick with the smell of alcohol.
After getting up and washing, he saw Li Qingyun's handsome face drawn tight with severity as he continued to sit in meditation, stubbornly locked in a contest with himself. He could not help shaking his head and laughing.
In his eyes, this was simply blind cultivation without the proper method.
No talent, no comprehension, and foolish too. His roommate was truly rather pitiful!
"If following the art's instructions gives you no sense of qi, do you think you can gather qi just by sitting there like an idiot? Sure enough, stupidity is the greatest roadblock on the path of cultivation..."
With such a pig-like roommate to contrast him, He Xiao's sense of superiority rose of its own accord.
"Take a break. I'll bring you to the Dining Hall. If we go too late, we won't be able to buy the good stuff..."
He Xiao's smile became even more radiant as he walked over, intending to pull Li Qingyun off the bed.
"Then sorry for the trouble, Brother He. I'd also like to see what the Dining Hall has to offer!"
Li Qingyun stood, moving his numb and aching limbs. His smile was slightly forced, which in He Xiao's eyes looked like disgruntled dejection.
Li Qingyun was naturally somewhat displeased.
Nearly two hours!
If not for the Spirit Devouring Silkworm lodged in his heart, he felt he should already have achieved something in cultivation, possessing at least one furnace of mana!
That was the entry standard Lu Nanling had mentioned, and also Qi Refining Layer One described in the Precious Furnace Qi Absorption Art!
Yet this Spirit Devouring Silkworm had swallowed every last bit of his mana clean.
Though the silkworm's body was swollen and bloated, more than twice as large as when it had first awakened, it had not burst. Instead, its aura had grown increasingly powerful.
It was brimming with vigor.
"If this keeps up, I might just be feeding this bug for nothing..."
Since He Xiao had happened to wake and invite him along, Li Qingyun conveniently stopped meditating.
Leaving the Bamboo Lodge, he walked side by side with He Xiao, and the two began chatting and laughing.
In the hazy dusk, night began to blanket the mountains and forests. He saw Daoists occasionally emerging from the nearby Bamboo Lodges, hurrying toward the Dining Hall.
They were disciples of the temple much like himself. At least over half showed no aura or fluctuations of mana; they likely had not truly entered the path yet, meaning they had not condensed a furnace of mana.
Before you continue