Return to Dou Zhe

Xiao Family, Back Mountain

At a secluded corner on the edge of the Back Mountain stood a hidden cave unknown to anyone. Concealed by the lush forest, even passing clansmen paid it little attention.

At that moment, strange sounds continuously came from within the cave.

"Pale white? No."

"Mm, still pale white. No."

"Milky white. Not bad, keep it up!"

Hearing this, the young man's entire body trembled uncontrollably, his face alternating between green and white as though he were suppressing something.

"I really can't go on."

"You have to persist even if you can't! You must persist! We've barely even begun!"

No one knew how long had passed before the young man could no longer restrain the stirring within his body, and it erupted wildly—

It was Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan had now reached the peak of Dou Qi. The aura around his body fluctuated between strong and weak, a telltale sign that Dou Qi was transforming into true Dou Qi.

Before breaking through to Dou Zhe, the more Dou Qi he could gather before condensing the vortex, the more powerful the Dou Qi Vortex Xiao Yan formed would be.

Of course, with his talent and foundation, even if he did not do this, the vortex he condensed would still far surpass that of ordinary people.

"Stop. That's enough."

Old Man Yao looked with satisfaction at the young man sprawled on the ground. Then, with a flash, he grabbed Xiao Yan by the collar and lifted him up, like an eagle catching a chick.

"No resting. Recover the Dou Qi in your body immediately. Remember, it must be true Dou Qi. Don't try to fob me off with Dou Qi."

". . . Yes." Xiao Yan answered weakly. Fighting through his exhaustion, he drew in thread after thread of airflow, converting them into pale-white Dou Qi.

What was miraculous was that, after these wisps of pale-white Dou Qi flashed through Xiao Yan's pupils, the originally pale-white Dou Qi began to gradually shrink and condense, eventually becoming dense, milky-white gas.

And that was true Dou Qi.

After nearly half a year of cultivation, Xiao Yan had long since pushed his cultivation to the peak of the 9th Duan of Dou Qi.

Yet under the guidance of Old Man Yao and Hun Ruoruo, he had not chosen to rush ahead and directly consume Qi Gathering Powder. Instead, while still at the Dou Qi stage, he had begun trying to gather a higher-grade true Dou Qi.

Although it took quite a long time, the benefits were clearly greater. A Dou Qi Vortex had limited capacity; if he could transform all the minuscule Dou Qi originally gathered within it into true Dou Qi, its capacity would naturally increase.

Half an hour later.

An indescribably wondrous sensation gradually arose within Xiao Yan's body.

It was similar to feeling full, but the pain far surpassed it.

It felt as though he were about to burst to death.

He panted heavily and looked pleadingly toward Old Man Yao beside him.

He could no longer speak.

However, the experienced Old Man Yao had already kept a close watch, firmly seizing this most crucial moment. With a slight turn of his hand, a small Jade bottle appeared in his palm.

As Dou Qi circulated, a blue-and-green pill floated into the air, then slowly and steadily entered Xiao Yan's mouth.

Rank 4 medicinal pill, Qi Gathering Powder. Effect: one hundred percent chance of advancing to Dou Zhe!

A faint chill spread through Xiao Yan's mouth. Even though the swelling sensation within him had already reached its limit, he still forcibly swallowed the pill.

Old Man Yao shouted coldly, "The breakthrough is imminent. Focus your body and mind!"

Xiao Yan nodded with difficulty, then sat cross-legged and formed a strange hand seal.

The next instant, an immense suction force seemed to arise around the cave, and faint swirling clouds actually appeared at Xiao Yan's abdomen.

That was condensed natural Dou Qi.

Old Man Yao was startled inwardly. Good kid. Such a commotion far surpasses that of any Dou Zhe breaking through that I have ever seen.

With Old Man Yao's discerning eye, the fact that he gave such an evaluation showed just how terrifying Xiao Yan's accumulated strength had become.

And that was indeed the case. Driven by the Qi Gathering Powder, the Dou Qi and true Dou Qi already overflowing within his body mixed together, then raced joyfully through his meridians at a speed that far exceeded Xiao Yan's usual circulation.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan endured the swelling pain in his meridians and frantically gathered the mixed Dou Qi toward his Dantian.

At this moment, only by condensing a Dou Qi Vortex could he contain all of it!

"Disperse!" Xiao Yan shouted. The mixed Dou Qi that had been darting about aimlessly was suddenly guided toward the nearest channels, and the pain immediately lessened considerably.

"Gather!" The mixed Dou Qi spread throughout his Four Limbs and Hundred Bones seemed to receive an order, gathering strand by strand into his Dantian.

Finally.

A brilliant glint burst from Xiao Yan's eyes, and his entire aura abruptly changed. Gritting his teeth, he roared, "Condense!"

In an instant, the mixed Dou Qi seemed to be firmly grasped by an invisible hand, compressing and condensing the originally chaotic energy within his Dantian bit by bit until it finally transformed into the purest true Dou Qi.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound suddenly rang out from within Xiao Yan's body.

Then, streams of pure airflow that had originally circled around Xiao Yan's body were swallowed into him like a giant whale drawing in water.

Only a Dou Qi Vortex could absorb and exhale Dou Qi in such a manner.

Xiao Yan threw back his head and let out a long howl. Even with his current composure, an irrepressible smile still appeared on his face.

Only the young man himself could truly savor the bitterness and satisfaction of this moment.

"I've returned to Dou Zhe!"

"Hehe, to be precise, ten of your former selves might not have been enough to fight you now."

Old Man Yao's strange laugh sounded at just the right moment, though his expression was filled with gratification.

"Ten of me..." Hearing Old Man Yao compare him to his former self, Xiao Yan's grin, which had stretched all the way to his ears, refused to fade.

One corner of his mouth rose while the other fell, twitching back and forth in a thoroughly comical sight.

"What, you don't believe me?"

"I believe you. Back then, I didn't even know any Dou Skills. I had nothing but cultivation."

Xiao Yan shrugged and frankly said, "Besides, with Ruoruo's and your help, this Dou Qi Vortex alone is probably enough for me to crush a whole crowd of opponents at the same level."

Xiao Yan had once become a Dou Zhe, so he understood even more clearly just how terrifying the Dou Qi Vortex within him now was.

In size alone, it was more than twice as large as his previous Dou Qi Vortex. And its density was even more vastly different, like heaven and earth.

Saying he could defeat ten of his former selves was probably still an understatement.

In truth, with Xiao Yan's abilities, he could not have remained at the peak of the 9th Duan of Dou Qi for so long. The reason he had managed it was largely thanks to Hun Ruoruo repeatedly draining him dry before, greatly increasing his Soul Force.

Even though his technique remained exceedingly crude, he still had complete confidence in merely dispersing the mixed Dou Qi throughout his Four Limbs and Hundred Bones.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yan sighed. "Teacher, leaning on powerful thighs feels so good."