Magical Power

"It worked."

In the secret chamber at the bottom of the well, a gentle yet remarkably powerful breeze suddenly arose from nowhere. The invisible whirlwind circled Xia Dong, lifting his cross-legged body steadily into the air.

Xia Dong slowly opened his eyes, unable to hide his delight. At a thought, the breeze around him dispersed like wisps of smoke, and his feet settled lightly back onto the smooth stone floor.

Three years.

For three years, he had practiced the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art without a single day's break. Although he was still a long way from reaching "perfection" in the foundational chapter of the art, constant effort had worn away even the hardest stone. His constitution had undergone an unmistakable transformation.

Now, when he used his spiritual sense to draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into his body, he could steadily retain and refine a full tenth of it!

"If I keep practicing steadily at this rate, it'll probably take another five years to bring the foundational chapter of the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art to perfection. Then my ordinary constitution will truly advance to become a Spirit Root."

Xia Dong silently calculated the time in his mind, but soon pushed aside his anticipation for the future. Just moments ago, he had completed the most important and groundbreaking step of the past three years.

At last, he had successfully condensed the spiritual energy he had retained and refined into magical power within his dantian.

Whether or not he could truly be said to possess a proper Spirit Root, he now undeniably had both "magical power" and "spiritual sense."

That meant that from this moment on, he had crossed the divide between mortal and immortal once and for all. He had become a genuine cultivator.

The lofty spells and arts of the cultivation world, not to mention operating a Storage Bag or wielding a magical artifact, were finally within his reach. He now possessed the most basic requirements to use them.

Xia Dong closed his eyes and carefully sensed this new power, comparing it in detail with the "Innate Qi" refined within his body by the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art.

Qi and magical power were entirely different.

Although "qi" could also be used to activate martial techniques, such as the Wind-Riding Technique he had used earlier, that was far from its primary purpose.

To Xia Dong, "qi" was more like an exceptionally advanced source of life. Its greatest effect was to subtly reshape his constitution and physical body, defying fate itself.

Magical power, however, was different.

At a thought, Xia Dong drew out a wisp of magical power from his dantian and once again performed the Wind-Riding Technique, which he had derived by pushing the Crane Shadow Step beyond its limits.

Whoosh.

The instant his magical power circulated, Xia Dong clearly felt it resonate and mingle intensely with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth beyond the chamber, like a perfectly fitting key.

The Wind-Riding Technique flowed with effortless smoothness. It consumed far less energy, and the wind it summoned was denser and swifter.

Magical power came from refined spiritual energy, after all. Using it to cast spells was like water blending with milk, perfectly attuned to the laws of heaven and earth.

If he had to compare "qi" and "magical power"...

"Qi" was more like the concept of "cultivation" from his previous life.

Cultivation represented a practitioner's accumulated foundations, years of effort, and potential. The more abundant one's "qi," the larger and sturdier Xia Dong's "vessel" became—and the higher the limits of his life's potential.

"Magical power," on the other hand, represented output. It was the water held inside the vessel, a consumable used to attack and perform supernatural feats.

As Xia Dong carefully contemplated the differences between these two forces, he keenly noticed another astonishing phenomenon.

Through introspection, he cautiously sent a wisp of his newly formed magical power to touch the strand of pale green "qi" coiled deep within his heart.

Hiss.

There was no violent explosion, nor any fierce clash.

The instant that wisp of magical power touched the "qi," it crumbled like snow beneath the blazing sun, instantly transforming into an extremely pure mass of unclaimed spiritual energy.

"So that's how it is... The qi produced by the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art possesses the property of 'returning things to their source'!"

Cultivation arts varied in countless ways, but aside from the exceedingly rare techniques that attacked the spiritual sense, most offensive methods—flying swords, spells, talismans, and the like—relied on magical power to support and construct them.

That meant the Innate Qi within Xia Dong was naturally the bane of every cultivator's spells.

As long as he coated his body or weapon with "qi," he could unravel and melt an opponent's supernatural abilities by dismantling them at the most fundamental level of their spiritual-energy structure.

"Still, destroying magical power must consume an equal amount of the 'qi' in my body." Xia Dong analyzed the matter calmly. "If I run into a great cultivator whose cultivation far surpasses mine and whose magical power is as vast as the sea, I'll still be doomed once my 'qi' runs out."

Even with that limitation, this property of "qi" was still astonishingly powerful.

Now that he had cultivated magical power, he was finally qualified to practice the Qi-Refining methods in the Profound Yin Scripture. Though the scripture leaned toward sinister, ghostly cultivation and even required one to absorb and replenish oneself with yin spirits, setting aside these unorthodox shortcuts, it was indeed a proper cultivation art that pointed directly toward the Great Dao.

Before, because he could not condense magical power, Xia Dong had been limited to practicing the scripture's "secret art of refining the spirit" to strengthen his soul.

But now...

Xia Dong sat cross-legged and drew the spiritual energy in the chamber into his body. Although he could convert a pitiful tenth of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, his spiritual sense far exceeded what his current cultivation level should allow. Under its guidance, the energy flowed through his body as easily as his own arm, and practicing the Qi-Refining method of the Profound Yin Scripture presented no difficulty or bottleneck.

As he circulated the Profound Yin Scripture through his meridians, strands of magical power with a yin-cold quality gradually took shape in his dantian.

As if they had found an outlet, these newly formed strands surged along his meridians straight toward the sea of consciousness between his brows.

Boom!

Xia Dong's enormous spiritual sense greedily absorbed and swallowed the magical power, like parched land receiving rain.

Nourished and replenished by proper magical power, Xia Dong clearly felt the dreadful strain his spiritual sense had placed on his body's vital energy—as if it had been pumping him dry—vanish almost entirely.

Xia Dong let out a long breath. It was as if a burden weighing a thousand pounds had fallen from his shoulders, leaving him lighter and clearer than ever before.

Three years of bitter, hidden cultivation had finally borne fruit in full.

Magical power could be applied to all things; qi returned all arts to their source.

Now that he had magical power, he could continue to raise the level of his spiritual sense. Though the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art had reduced the burden his spiritual sense placed on his body, qi's more important function was to transform his constitution.

Besides, the Eagle-Wolf Guard had been cracking down on demonic cultivators and evil paths throughout Pingyang County. Xia Dong couldn't risk going out to devour ghosts, lest he run into Yang Ting and the others and expose his secret.

On the bright side, over the past three years,

Xia Dong had used his position as a physician with the Eagle-Wolf Guard to discreetly learn from the members of its various squads which places in Pingyang County were dangerous and which were relatively safe.

Besides, with the foundations he had built up by now, he could try searching Pingyang County for caves, Secret Realms, and other places left behind by cultivators.

After all, he had helped compile the county annals of Pingyang County. He had organized most of the strange tales and accounts of wonders recorded in its history.

That had let him uncover some secrets unknown to others.