Something Gained

Immortal Dynasty, Year 797.

The Forest of Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.

Watching the figure alternately gulp down spirit wine and trace the inscriptions with a flick of his finger, the old man observing in secret stroked his beard in amazement.

"I've never seen anyone break a restriction like this! At first, he wasn't after treasure at all—just trying to fill his belly. Now he's even using the wine to enter a state of complete self-forgetfulness!"

The man raised his cup and drank again, absorbing its spiritual power in an instant. The old man couldn't help clapping his hands. "This wine attacks the mind and spirit. A drinker with even the slightest distracting thought will gradually become drunk; the more distractions, the stronger the intoxication. Even Samadhi True Fire can scarcely refine it. Yet this state of Supreme Forgetfulness of Emotion—free of thought and desire—is precisely this wine's bane..."

As he pondered, the old man suddenly furrowed his brows.

"Could this boy really be about to take it? This thing is..."

Before he could finish, a ripple suddenly passed through the vault's domed ceiling.

The old man looked up, astonishment on his face.

"The heavenly secrets have shifted. Change is coming!"

Amid a sigh, his figure gradually faded.

The figure in the tower kept drinking the immortal brew and tracing the carvings, tireless and oblivious to the changes beyond...

The present world, Misty Gorge Mountain.

Chen Qing's eyes snapped open. A flash of light, sharp as lightning, streaked through his pupils, leaving two white trails in the dim meditation room.

Then, violent changes surged through his body. Supreme Harmony Qi rushed like a great river, surging thirty percent higher than before he entered the dream! The life-light in his dantian shone like a brilliant star, showing faint signs of solidifying.

"Phew—"

He exhaled a breath of Turbid Qi. It ate a shallow pit into the wall.

"The situation in that dream was truly complicated. I needed to get out and breathe some fresh air. Still, the feedback this time was substantial. I feel like if I guided the earth's spiritual energy into my body now, I could flush my main meridians four or five times at least."

As Chen Qing was thinking, a coolness suddenly touched his crown!

A thread of starlight seemed to descend from the ninth heaven, thin as a hair yet incredibly concentrated, and pierced straight into his crown!

Chen Qing's heart gave a jolt. He guided the thread of stellar power down along his Conception Vessel.

Where the starlight passed, his meridians took on a jade-like sheen. At last, it flowed into the life-light in his dantian.

"Hmm—"

The light quivered softly, forming a subtle connection with a star in the distant heavens. The link was indistinct, yet undeniably real.

A flash of insight came to Chen Qing, and he suddenly understood.

"The insights I gained while comprehending the Cosmic Star Tribulation in the dream have come back to me too."

This time, Chen Qing had gained a great deal from entering the dream. Not only had he condensed a life talisman, he had also experienced the methods of a Third Realm cultivator ahead of time. He was now far more confident about facing the Sea Abyss Temple's Third Realm cultivator.

After waking, besides the spiritual energy feedback, what was even more precious was his comprehension of the Primordial Chaos Qi Scripture. Though he had only obtained a fragment, its principle of "refining all methods into one" had given him an entirely new understanding of his own cultivation art.

"The Sea and Mountain Remnant Scroll emphasizes the grandeur of mountains and the unending rhythm of the sea, while the Cosmic Star Tribulation focuses on the shifting stars. They should be incompatible, but if I follow the principles of Primordial Chaos Qi..."

He spread his five fingers. A thread of azure light flowed around his fingertips, sometimes taking the phantom shape of a mountain, sometimes surging like a sea wave. At last, it even took on a trace of starlight! The wonder of Primordial Chaos Qi was beginning to emerge!

He nodded in satisfaction.

"If I explore this further, I might develop techniques as powerful as collapsing mountains and crashing seas, without harming my body. For now, I have only the faintest trace, but the future looks promising! What a pity I couldn't bring the life talisman back..."

He sighed softly, then shook his head with a laugh.

To receive spiritual energy feedback and be connected to the stars was already an enormous blessing. How could he still be so greedy?

As he pondered, he suddenly felt warmth at his crown!

"Whoosh—"

A scarlet talisman seal appeared there!

"What's this?"

Chen Qing's Sea of Consciousness shook violently. He saw a red talisman marked with golden patterns hanging high within it. As its flames flowed, distracting thoughts melted away like snow!

"Samadhi True Fire Talisman!? I can bring this thing back to the present world? But there were three in the dream, and only one came back..."

Delighted, he felt his thoughts grow much clearer.

The Samadhi True Fire burned quietly in his Sea of Consciousness, incinerating all the agitation and anxiety that had built up over the past several days. His inner energy grew purer with it, flowing like a clear spring without the slightest obstruction.

"Though there's only one seal, it's incredibly wondrous. It can burn away inner demons and distracting thoughts, making cultivation twice as effective. I can use it to refine all the feedback I received, discarding the dross and keeping the essence, then carefully sort it all out!"

In the mountains, time slipped by unnoticed.

When he opened his eyes again, three days had passed.

"Pssh—"

Black specks seeped from his skin. The mountain wind blew them away, turning them to ash. Chen Qing stood tall, feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

"Rumble—"

The Supreme Harmony Qi in his body had condensed to the consistency of quicksilver, flowing in a steady stream.

Over those three days, he had not only digested everything he'd gained in the dream, but also tempered his Supreme Harmony Qi until it responded to him like an extension of his own limbs.

"The present world's spiritual energy is thin and monotonous, nowhere near as abundant as in the dream world. So even though I'd reached the late stage of the Second Realm in the dream, I still have to break through step by step here..."

In the current age, advancing from the early to the middle stage of the Second Realm required tempering the body with Marrow Cleansing Grass to strengthen the flesh and bones, then using Lightning Struck Peach Wood Heart to guide the earth's spiritual energy into the body. After merging it with Supreme Harmony Qi, one had to flush the main meridians through nine cycles to succeed. Even someone exceptionally talented would need at least several years to accomplish all this.

"Though I can't do it in one leap, I have the rare advantage of seeking the Dao in my dreams. That can save me several years of hard work. At most, I'll reach the middle stage of the Second Realm within a year."

By the standards of the present world, that speed was already remarkable, aside from the inner disciples of great sects with abundant resources.

"However..."

Despite his delight, Chen Qing's brows drew together.

The dream world was changing with every passing moment. Before he entered it again, he needed to find a way to break the deadlock.

He couldn't strengthen himself in the dream by making progress outside it, but he could seek help in other ways—perhaps through information, or pills that could suppress the bloodline's mutation. The ancient pill formulae contained no such recipes. After all, pills that affected bloodlines were always precious...

As he thought, he rose abruptly and pushed open the meditation room door.

"Martial Uncle, you're out of seclusion!" Fang Da'ao was practicing his punches in the courtyard. When he saw Chen Qing emerge, he hurriedly bowed, sweat still beading on his forehead.

Chen Qing asked, "Has anything unusual happened these past few days?" The talismans and grand formation he'd laid had given no warning, which meant no one had used a spell. But they couldn't detect everyone who passed through the mountain.

Fang Da'ao scratched his head. "Nothing major. A woman in blue came by the day before yesterday, said she was from the Five Qi Pavilion, left a brocade box, and went on her way."

Chen Qing's heart stirred. "Where's the box?"

"It's in the main hall. Xiaoyao and I didn't dare touch it."

Chen Qing hurried to the main hall. Sure enough, a jade-green brocade box sat on the table, bearing the Bai family's insignia.

He lifted the lid. Inside lay ten neatly arranged pieces of Spirit Marrow, with a note beside them—

"Chen, please open: I heard you were in seclusion, so I prepared a small gift. If you have any new stories, I'll double the price. —Bai Shaoyou"

The moment Fang Da'ao and Qu Xiaoyao saw what was inside, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads!

They had never seen so much Spirit Marrow in one place in their entire lives!

"This has come just in time to solve our urgent need. He really is from a wealthy household—rich, and he knows how to treat people. As it happens, I was planning to seek him out."

Chen Qing had no intention of being polite. Ten pieces of Spirit Marrow were enough to keep the sect-protecting formation running for months and buy plenty of cultivation resources. The sect's operations wouldn't be a worry for the time being.

In the future, if he could use the stories from his dreams to establish a long-term partnership with the Five Qi Pavilion, he could obtain Spirit Marrow without having to venture out into danger. He could truly lie low in the sect and cultivate in peace.

As for the trials and insights cultivation required, he could get those from his dreams!

With that thought, he ignored the astonished looks of his two junior disciples and handed them the box. "Put this away. From now on, all our food, clothing, and expenses will come from it."

"Yes!"

Fang Da'ao's hand trembled as he took the box. He nearly dropped this heaven-sent fortune.

Lesser Yingzhou, Five Qi Pavilion.

Bai Shaoyou, the man Chen Qing had been thinking about, was reclining on a soft couch and flipping through two newly acquired books of strange tales. His brows were knitted together.

"Flap!"

He tossed them aside and complained, "They're all crudely made-up stories. How can these pass for ancient secrets?"

"Seventh Young Master!" Shopkeeper Zhou Dehai hurried into the inner room, followed by two attendants in blue carrying a three-foot-long sandalwood box. "The item you asked for has arrived."

Bai Shaoyou's eyes lit up, and he sat up straight. "Open it, quickly!"

The attendants carefully placed the box on the table and lifted the lid.

Bai Shaoyou leaned forward to examine its contents, then frowned. "This is the so-called relic of the Heavenly Fox?" His tone was full of disappointment.

Zhou Dehai said quietly, "According to the secret archive, this item is indeed connected to the Heavenly Fox."

Bai Shaoyou pursed his lips and waved a hand, his interest gone. "Forget it. Put it away for now."

The attendants closed the box and withdrew respectfully.

Bai Shaoyou then asked, "What about the thing I asked you to investigate?"

Zhou Dehai took a yellowed bamboo slip from his sleeve and handed it over. "People from the main branch looked through quite a few ancient texts. They really did uncover something."

Bai Shaoyou immediately perked up.

"There really is something? Then the Hidden Star Sect's headmaster wasn't just making things up!"

He continued, "Prepare a gift. I'm going to Misty Gorge Mountain in person within the next couple of days!"

Readers, please add this book to your collections and keep reading! A grateful newcomer bows to you all...