Condensing Qi into Liquid

Condensed Qi like liquid

It was a rainy day.

A drizzle fell from the sky.

As immortals, they could already control the weather. They could make the sky clear and cloudless, but rarely did so. Not only because rain was Heaven's gift, watering the earth and enriching the soil, but also because they were meant to embody Heaven's will. How could they casually defy it?

Ning Ye liked the rain.

Not only because practicing his blade beneath it, amid its bleak and desolate mood, stirred his killing intent, but also because it concealed his tears and let him give free rein to his feelings.

So whenever it rained, Ning Ye's blade grew especially fierce. Each strand of rain drifting down seemed like an enemy, an opponent, shattering and vanishing beneath his razor-sharp edge.

Blood-red light flickered, his blade flashed keenly, and wherever it passed, autumn's melancholy deepened.

After he finished a set of blade techniques and sheathed his weapon, scattered applause sounded from outside the house.

"Not bad, not bad. In only three months, you've brought Master's Killing Heart Blade to the minor mastery stage. Junior Brother, your talent is truly exceptional. Master's judgment was spot-on."

The speaker was Yu Chenguang.

His words were praise, but not a trace of a smile appeared on his stiff, withered face.

After meeting them more often, Ning Ye had gradually come to understand his senior brothers and sisters.

Yu Chenguang practiced the Withered Wood Technique, not Zhang Liekuang's Seven Kill Heavenly Blade, so his face hardly ever showed any expression. You would never know what his smile looked like; likewise, you would never see him startled or afraid. So you could never know what he was truly thinking. Ning Ye simply didn't understand why Zhang Liekuang would take on a disciple who didn't practice his own immortal arts.

Senior Sister Ling Wuyue, on the other hand, was a true inheritor of the Seven Kill Heavenly Blade. At the Hualun Realm, she had already mastered the Killing Heart Blade, Body Killing Blade, and Qi Killing Blade, and was now working hard to master the Momentum Killing Blade.

Ling Wuyue was indeed just as her name suggested: she rarely smiled, had a forthright temperament, and never used words when she could settle things with her hands.

On top of that, Ning Ye deliberately kept his distance from others. He didn't open his heart, share his innermost thoughts, or smile much. As a result, all three of Zhang Liekuang's disciples wore deadpan expressions. It was only fitting that Zhang Liekuang himself was also unsmiling. If the four of them sat together, three days might pass without a single laugh.

Seeing Yu Chenguang, Ning Ye sheathed his blade and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Senior Brother."

"Mm." Yu Chenguang asked, "How far have you gotten with the Basic Mental Method?"

Ning Ye replied, "I'm still on the first layer. It'll probably take a while to reach the second, but my magical power can already condense into liquid."

As he spoke, Ning Ye raised a finger. A glistening light appeared at its tip.

Condensing qi into liquid was the basic standard for measuring one's cultivation in immortal arts. Different sects manifested this in different ways.

The Black and White Divine Palace emphasized the Way of yin and yang, so Ning Ye's condensed qi appeared in black and white. Though it was just a tiny drop of crystalline liquid, it revealed the rotation of yin and yang and the principles of the Great Way.

If it were qi condensed by the Heavenly Mechanism Sect's mental method, it would appear as a chaotic radiance, containing myriad transformations of creation that were difficult to fathom.

With such a distinct form, one could tell at a glance where someone's cultivation came from. No wonder Ning Ye had wanted to dissipate his power.

Seeing that Ning Ye could already condense qi into liquid, Yu Chenguang was slightly taken aback. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Didn't I tell you that once you joined the sect, you could choose one of the Divine Palace's arts to study?"

According to the rules of the various Immortal Sects, new disciples generally had two ways to receive instruction: inheriting their master's teachings or learning from their sect.

Outer disciples without an inheritance could only follow the standard procedure. At the early, middle, and late stages of the Cang Xiang Realm, they could each choose one art to study.

Disciples with an inheritance could follow the standard curriculum and additionally learn their master's techniques. How many they learned depended on their master.

This restriction wasn't due to stinginess. In the eyes of the Immortal Sects, regardless of seniority or background, anyone at the Cang Xiang Realm was an apprentice. Learning too many spells at that stage was pointless. Those early, minor arts would only waste time; cultivation alone was the foundation.

Disciples with a master usually had some extra resources, so they could learn a little more.

Human ability had its limits, while spells were endless. Even someone like Yue Xinchans couldn't possibly know every art and divine ability in a major sect. The secret teachings of the Black and White Divine Palace therefore served as a useful supplement even for disciples with a master.

Hearing Yu Chenguang say this, Ning Ye replied, "To answer you, Senior Brother, my cultivation wasn't sufficient before, so I wasn't in a hurry to choose. But now, I suppose the time has come."

"Oh? From the way you put it, you've already made up your mind? You're not planning to ask Master?"

Ning Ye wanted to keep his distance from Zhang Liekuang, so he shook his head. "I'm afraid Master might disagree. Then I wouldn't be able to choose what I want, so..."

"So you're planning to act first and report afterward?" Yu Chenguang understood.

Ning Ye said nothing.

Yu Chenguang regarded him with a strange look. "Aren't you afraid that'll upset Master?"

Ning Ye replied, "My heart seeks the Great Way; my heart is my Way. Master is magnanimous, so surely he won't hold it against me."

Master is magnanimous?

Heh. Are you sure you're talking about Master?

The Seven Kill Heavenly Blade was indeed domineering and sweeping when used in battle, but that didn't mean Zhang Liekuang was broad-minded.

Once, after drinking, the master of Ink Wash Villa had misspoken and criticized Zhang Liekuang. When word reached him, Zhang Liekuang flew a million li overnight and wiped out everyone in Ink Wash Villa with a single strike of the Extinction Heavenly Blade. On another occasion, his Extinction Heavenly Blade was damaged in battle, and he sent someone to the Lieque Sect to ask for Xuanji Jade to repair it. Xuanji Jade was a treasured possession of the Lieque Sect. How could they possibly give it up? So Zhang Liekuang went to their door with his blade. He didn't kill the sect master; he simply cut down every last one of the sect's young and old, then left with the jade. After repairing the Extinction Heavenly Blade, he cut the person who had damaged it into seventeen or eighteen pieces and scattered the bones to the winds.

Zhang Liekuang might be full of heroic spirit in battle, but that had nothing to do with his generosity.

Yu Chenguang didn't say any of this, though. He wasn't close to this junior brother, and besides, he had no use for a junior brother who was too favored by their master. If the little junior brother was arrogant because of his talent, that was a good thing.

He nodded. "If that's the case, go ahead."

As he spoke, he tossed Ning Ye a token, then drifted away.