Wind-Riding

As Xia Dong gained entry into the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art, his life once more settled into a calm, highly regimented period of lying low.

This technique was extraordinarily mystical. Although the proportion of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy he could retain remained pitifully small, with the vast majority still only able to "feed" the Bronze Ancient Bell in his sea of consciousness, the innate "qi" condensed by this technique was indeed subtly transforming his body.

The most obvious change was the nourishment of his divine sense.

Previously, every time he used his divine sense—even merely maintaining its ordinary operation—it frantically drained his body's vital blood and qi. It forced him to eat huge amounts of ordinary meat every day like a starving ghost just to make up the deficit.

But now, "qi" could not only perfectly nourish his internal organs, but also directly replenish his sea of consciousness. Xia Dong discovered that using "qi" to nurture his divine sense not only made his soul increasingly stable and lucid, but also greatly reduced his bodily hunger.

Together with the Bigu Pills that True Person Lone Moon had additionally gifted him, he gradually broke free from that state of bingeing and gorging.

What surprised Xia Dong even more was the chain reaction brought by the technique's advancement.

When he had gained entry into the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art, one day, while using the Crane Shadow Step, he suddenly realized:

"The upper limit of the Crane Shadow Step has risen too."

Xia Dong's heart stirred.

After giving it some thought, he immediately used the spiritual power newly accumulated by the Bronze Ancient Bell for a deduction.

Within the space of his sea of consciousness, the Bronze Ancient Bell, which had lain silent for some time, once again erupted with an ancient, boundless roar.

Twisted scarlet characters surfaced upon the bell.

Xia Dong's consciousness was once more dragged into that gray, misty deduction space. Yet this time, the space no longer held countless white cranes practicing their footwork.

He saw his own phantom repeatedly perform the Crane Shadow Step in the space. At first, its movements still borrowed force to counter force, leaping and twisting, darting and turning. But as that wisp of bluish-green "qi" within its body poured into its legs and meridians throughout its body, the phantom's movements became ever lighter, ever more ethereal.

In the end, the phantom seemed to have completely shed the heavy shell of mortal flesh and blood.

The white crane spread its wings, its feathers transforming into wind.

There was no foothold to borrow from, nor any need for an explosive burst of muscles drawn taut to their limit. That wisp of "qi" circulated over the body's surface and, unbelievably, produced some profound resonance with the currents of air between heaven and earth.

Clang!

The bell's chime rang clear, and the illusion scattered.

The scarlet words on the bell slowly settled into place:

[Crane Shadow Step (Limit-Breaking, Second Level): Wind-Riding Technique]

A vast torrent of information flooded into his mind.

"Wind-Riding Technique... This can no longer be considered martial arts. Driven by 'qi,' it actually possesses an effect somewhat akin to the mystical spells of the cultivation world!"

Late at night, all sounds were still.

Xia Dong stood alone in the rear courtyard of Changchun Medical Hall. He took a deep breath and began his first attempt at this brand-new art.

His eyes gently closed, and his divine sense drew inward.

The precious "qi" within him, as fine as a wandering thread, swiftly circulated through his limbs and every part of his body according to the peculiar route of the Wind-Riding Technique. In the end, thread by thread, it seeped through his skin and intertwined with the night wind around him.

There was no crouching of his legs to gather strength, nor any eruption of blood and qi from his toes pushing against the ground.

Xia Dong merely shifted his thoughts.

Whoosh.

A gentle whirlwind arose from nowhere in the courtyard, lifting his body as he slowly, soundlessly left the ground!

One foot, three feet, one zhang...

Xia Dong hovered steadily in midair, looking down at the crown of the date tree in the courtyard. His heart was filled with the marvelous sensations of weightlessness and control. He did not even need to consciously maintain his balance. The "qi" circulating around him was like invisible wings, steadily supporting him several zhang above the ground.

"What if I combined this state with the leaping method of the Crane Shadow Step?"

Thoughts raced through Xia Dong's mind. He lightly stepped on empty air, and the method of the Crane Shadow Step activated in an instant.

Whoosh!

Without a trace of sound, his figure became like a ghost blending into the night, instantly gliding more than ten zhang away before landing lightly atop the high main hall roof ridge of the medical hall.

If he used the Crane Shadow Step on the ground, each stride might carry him far, but he would ultimately have to land. Yet now, with the Wind-Riding Technique supporting him, he could continuously borrow force and glide through the air, even truly "fly" for a short distance.

Not only that, Xia Dong keenly noticed that the emergence of the Wind-Riding Technique had brought his control over "qi" and the surrounding airflow to an entirely new height.

Standing on the roof ridge, he fixed his gaze on a coarse porcelain teacup atop the stone table in the courtyard.

"Dragon-Capturing Hand!"

Xia Dong grabbed through the air with his right hand.

In the past, using this martial technique required incomparably precise guidance from his divine sense and the release of force to seize an object. The expenditure was immense, and it was easy to alarm others.

But now, bolstered by the Wind-Riding Technique, the hidden force of the Dragon-Capturing Hand flowed with the current, perfectly merging with the night wind. That pulling force became exceptionally concealed and gentle, yet carried an irresistible tenacity.

With a whoosh.

The teacup was wrapped in an invisible whirlwind, smoothly crossing several zhang before landing firmly in Xia Dong's palm. Not even a drop of the remaining tea at its bottom spilled.

"This has long since surpassed the scope of ordinary martial arts. It can be considered true transcendence."

Xia Dong toyed with the teacup, and the confidence in his heart grew by another measure.

With the Wind-Riding Technique, whether he was infiltrating and assassinating or fleeing for his life when encountering a powerful enemy, he now possessed another weighty trump card.

He also understood perfectly well that although the Wind-Riding Technique was indeed effective against mundane martial artists, it might not gain him much of an advantage against true cultivators.

Cultivation Miscellany stated it plainly: cultivators at the Qi Refining Mid-Stage could skillfully wield magical artifacts. Riding flying swords or seated upon flying artifacts, they could not only fly higher and faster, but even set up defensive formations.

His brief aerial gliding might, in their eyes, be nothing more than a somewhat larger living target.

"At the end of the day, the gap in strength and resources is still far too great."

Xia Dong drifted down from the roof ridge, returned the teacup to its original place, and sighed helplessly.

Although the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art could alter his foundation, gradually turning him from a "leaking bamboo basket" into a bucket capable of holding spiritual energy, this technique cultivated at a pace so slow it was hair-raising.

He had calculated it carefully. Even with the meager spiritual energy of the Withered Well nourishing him, if he relied solely on meditating and cultivating methodically each day, he would need a full thirty years at minimum to perfect the foundational section of the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art, allowing his inner foundation to completely transform and produce a true Spirit Root.

Thirty years was nearly half a lifetime for a mortal.

If he wanted to shorten that long process, the only way was through pills—consuming large quantities of spiritual elixirs cultivators used to advance their cultivation.

But he was too poor.

The Cultivation Miscellany he had purchased at the Marketplace recorded a medicinal pill called the Qi-Gathering Pill. This was the most commonly used item for advancing cultivation among Qi Refining Realm cultivators. Yet each pill cost as much as ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

Qin Wan now sent him two spirit stones every month. He would have to save for a full five months just to afford a single Qi-Gathering Pill.

As for refining pills himself, that was even more absurd than an idiot's dream.

Pill formulas in the cultivation world were closely guarded secrets tightly monopolized by the major sects and the imperial court.

What was more, even if he had a pill formula, those rare medicinal herbs containing spiritual energy were firmly controlled by the imperial court and cultivation sects. They simply could not be found on the market. Taking another step back, refining spiritual pills required special Spirit Firewood to kindle the fire, and that stuff was likewise far beyond what he could currently afford.

On the other hand, his current state was quite unusual. He clearly did not even possess a Spirit Root yet, but due to the Yin Evil Pill and the Profound Yin Scripture, he had prematurely gained the "divine sense" that only a Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator could condense.

Though this state was malformed, it had also brought him a very fine hidden benefit.

When ordinary cultivators cultivated, they would encounter bottlenecks of varying sizes from the Qi Refining First Layer through the third layer, requiring insight to break through them.

But Xia Dong's divine sense realm was equivalent to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. That meant that before cultivating to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, his comprehension of realms would be a broad, unobstructed road. There would be no such thing as a "bottleneck" at all.

Once his foundation's transformation was complete, so long as he had enough resources—or simply enough time—he would surely cultivate onward without hindrance all the way.

"Thirty years, then thirty years."

Having sorted through his thoughts, Xia Dong's state of mind became tranquil as water once more.

Since he lacked the ability to seize resources in the cultivation world, he would not take that risk. Without medicinal pills to assist him, he would simply endure and slowly grind onward.

The waters of this world were still far too deep for him.

Lying low among mortals and biding his time was the path to lasting survival.