From Cold Palace Princess to Heavenly Empress Chapter 7

[Congratulations, Host. You have triggered a ten-thousandfold critical-hit compensation and obtained the Heaven-tier Top-grade Cultivation Method Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture!]

Hearing the system's voice, a flicker of delight passed through Xiao Minghuang's eyes.

She had not held much hope for this multiplier, yet it had unexpectedly produced a ten-thousandfold critical hit!

With a thought from Xiao Minghuang, a jade slip appeared in her palm.

The golden tome was wholly gold in color, yet faint purple light flowed across it, giving off an indescribably noble aura.

"A Heaven-tier Top-grade Cultivation Method truly is extraordinary!"

Xiao Minghuang took a deep breath.

Cultivation methods, martial arts, pills, spiritual roots, and the like were all divided into four tiers: Yellow, Profound, Earth, and Heaven. Each tier was further divided into four grades: low, mid, high, and top.

Within the Eastern Extreme Southern Territory, even Profound-tier Cultivation Methods could be considered rare.

Earth-tier Cultivation Methods appeared only once in a century. Once one emerged, even the major sects would covet it.

As for Heaven-tier Cultivation Methods, they were unheard of.

The power of cultivation methods from those three tiers could not be mentioned in the same breath.

Within the same major realm, a martial artist cultivating a Profound-tier Cultivation Method was almost incapable of defeating one who cultivated an Earth-tier Cultivation Method.

As for what power a Heaven-tier Cultivation Method possessed, no one had ever seen a cultivator of one fight, so there had never been any word of it.

"Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture... this name sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."

Xiao Minghuang's delicate brows furrowed slightly. After thinking for a moment, she recalled a legend she had heard as a child.

In an ancient era so distant that none knew how far back it was, Great Xia had still been a powerful Immortal Dynasty.

During that age, one exceptionally gifted Great Xia ancestor had created a cultivation method. Relying on it, they roamed the Eastern Extreme with few rivals.

The cultivation method created by that ancestor was the Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture!

It was said that Great Xia's current nation-protecting classic, the Dragon Origin Scripture, had been created by imitating the Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture.

But that was merely a legend and might not be true.

Based on her previous experiences with the system returning items, Xiao Minghuang could roughly determine that the items compensated by the system had some kind of connection to the items she gave away.

Just as when she gave away an Essence Replenishing Pill, she had been compensated with a Creation Mending Heaven Pill that had similar effects but was of a higher grade.

Having confirmed this point, [%@

"Right now, I still need to seize every moment to improve my strength. The reason Emperor Xia could tolerate me crippling the Seventh Prince was because I displayed exceptional talent. If my cultivation progress is frustrated, Emperor Xia may not necessarily refrain from abandoning me and supporting the Second Prince or Sixth Prince instead."

Xiao Minghuang steadied herself, opened the Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture, and began reading it carefully.

The Great Dao is Simple; the Greatest Sound is Silent.

This Heaven-tier Cultivation Method was not thick at all, containing only a dozen or so pages, yet it recorded every path of cultivation from the Body Tempering Realm all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm.

As for the higher Life and Death Realm, even the ancestor who created this classic had not reached it.

Within the Eastern Extreme Southern Territory, the highest-known cultivator was the Spirit Sword Sect's sect master, whose cultivation was merely at the Primal Embryo Realm.

If Xiao Minghuang could cultivate this Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture to its utmost limit, then at least within the Southern Border, no one would be her match.

Thinking of this, she no longer hesitated. She pressed the golden tome to her forehead, and the contents of the scripture poured into her mind.

Perhaps it was because the creator of this cultivation method had been an ancestor connected to her by blood, or perhaps it was because her comprehension had greatly improved after taking the Creation Mending Heaven Pill. As she cultivated, she encountered no bottlenecks at all. No matter how ancient and profound the words were, she understood them at a glance.

In just a quarter of an hour, Xiao Minghuang had completely mastered all the contents of the Body Tempering section of the Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture.

Besides learning the specific method of Drawing Qi into the Body, she also discovered a little-known ancient secret!

The Body Tempering Realm was the first realm on the path of cultivation, as well as the foundation of that path.

This realm required one to mobilize the qi and blood throughout the body, draw upon the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, temper the bones and meridians, and nourish the fleshly body.

Simply put, creatures of flesh and blood seized the creation of heaven and earth and added it to themselves, thereby achieving the purpose of cultivation.

If one cultivated to the Body Tempering Realm Ninth Level Peak, one's ultimate strength could reach one hundred thousand jin.

Of course, that was merely a theoretical value. In reality, one could continue cultivating and break through to the Qi Refining Realm without reaching that level; it would only mean that one's foundation was not as deep as another's.

Yet in truth, almost no one could temper their strength to such a degree. Generally, once one reached forty or fifty thousand jin, one could prepare to break through to the Qi Refining Realm.

Moreover, even when cultivated to the utmost limit, one could only reach ninety-seven thousand two hundred jin of strength.

That was because, since ancient times, the cultivation methods for the final three minor realms of the Body Tempering Realm had been lost.

The complete Body Tempering Realm had a full twelve levels!

Each minor realm could increase one's strength by at most ten thousand eight hundred jin. At the Great Perfection of the Body Tempering Twelfth Level, one's strength could reach a full one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred jin!

None of the cultivation methods of the present day contained such records.

Xiao Minghuang's Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture came from an ancient text of antiquity, so it recorded the complete cultivation method.

"I took the Creation Mending Heaven Pill, so my foundation is incomparably deep. I already possess ninety-seven thousand two hundred jin of strength. If I cultivate the Body Tempering Realm to the twelfth level and attain the Body Tempering Extreme Realm, won't I always stand three minor realms above my opponents?"

Xiao Minghuang muttered to herself. Those extra three minor realms would be enough to lay an even deeper foundation for her and support her in challenging opponents above her level.

Even if she encountered prodigies born into great powers, there would be nothing to fear!

Body Tempering Extreme Realm, Advancing to Qi Refining

Xiao Minghuang had originally planned to Draw Qi into the Body and break through to the Qi Refining Realm once she obtained a cultivation method, but after learning that the Body Tempering Realm had three additional levels, she changed her mind.

"I will reach the Great Perfection of the Body Tempering Realm before making my breakthrough."

Having made up her mind, Xiao Minghuang activated the Spirit Gathering Formation.

The Body Tempering Realm was originally about drawing in the spiritual qi of heaven and earth from the outside world and using it to scour the fleshly body, thereby tempering one's flesh, blood, tendons, and bones.

"With one hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones and the Spirit Gathering Formation, I should be able to break through to the Body Tempering Twelfth Level!"

Xiao Minghuang took out one hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones and placed them all around herself.

The instant that great pile of spirit stones appeared, even the air in the training chamber seemed to freeze for a moment.

The dense spiritual qi formed a white mist that seemed almost ready to drip with water.

Xiao Minghuang activated the Spirit Gathering Formation. Feeling the spiritual qi around her gradually grow denser, she immediately sat cross-legged and silently recited the scripture of the Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture.

"Ziwei is the Northern Star; it remains in its place while the myriad stars circle around it..."

The Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture controlled the Power of Stars. When cultivated to its extreme, the stars filling the sky would heed one's command, making it immensely powerful.

In the blink of an eye, strand after strand of dense spiritual qi was drawn around her body, constantly scouring her fleshly body.

Xiao Minghuang's skin became ever more radiant. Golden light flowed, starlight shimmered, and she seemed as though she had been forged from divine gold beyond the heavens. Every inch of her skin glimmered like sparkling stars, dazzling and resplendent. Her entire being became increasingly imposing, like a Heavenly Empress.

This meant that her fleshly body had grown ever stronger. The flesh and blood within her became crystalline, her bones bright and translucent, all of it cleansed once over.

The spiritual qi contained within the large number of spirit stones at her side suddenly plummeted. Many of them directly lost their spirituality, turning into powder after being completely drained.

Suddenly, Xiao Minghuang's cultivation surged. The power of her qi and blood roiled like a slumbering primordial ferocious beast within her petite figure.

Body Tempering Tenth Level!

Body Tempering Eleventh Level!

Having risen two levels in succession, Xiao Minghuang showed neither joy nor sorrow. Instead, she grew increasingly composed, her entire bearing solemn and dignified, noble and transcendent.

"It isn't over yet!"

Xiao Minghuang shouted softly.

The next moment, her aura rose once more!

Body Tempering Twelfth Level!

Body Tempering Extreme Realm!

The instant her aura surged, all the power of her qi and blood withdrew, and a buzzing sound rang out.

A faint gleam flashed between Xiao Minghuang's brows. A speck of golden light emerged from her body and circled around her.

"The Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture, once cultivated to Minor Accomplishment, can command starlight to protect the body!"

Joy appeared on Xiao Minghuang's face.

A cultivator's depth of comprehension of a cultivation method was divided into five levels: entry, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, perfection, and extreme.

She had reached Minor Accomplishment in this Heaven-tier Cultivation Method while only in the Body Tempering Realm. Such comprehension was terrifying to the extreme!

But just as she was feeling delighted, all one hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones at her side lost their spirituality and turned into powder!

The spiritual qi within the entire training chamber was emptied in an instant!

Without spiritual power to sustain it, the Golden Starlight quickly became illusory and vanished without a trace.

"The Golden Starlight is both offense and defense, immensely powerful, but my cultivation is still too low. I cannot maintain it for long at all. I need to raise my cultivation to a higher level before I can use the starlight freely."

Xiao Minghuang let out a soft breath and looked at the pile of spirit stone fragments.

"Just breaking through the final three levels of the Body Tempering Realm consumed one hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones. How many spirit stones will I consume once I reach the Qi Refining Realm?"

Fortunately, the Spirit Gathering Formation was protected by mechanisms, so the spirit stones contained within it had not been completely absorbed.

Beneath the formation compass, one hundred and twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones were still pressed underneath.

"This closed-door cultivation consumed two hundred and forty Low-grade Spirit Stones and took two days."

With a thought, Xiao Minghuang sensed the changes within her body and once again circulated the Ziwei Imperial Dao Scripture.

The instant she circulated the cultivation method, streams of spiritual qi seeped through her flawless white skin, flowed through her meridians, and finally gathered in her Dantian.

Drawing Qi into the Body was something that naturally occurred once the fleshly body reached its utmost limit.

Ordinary martial artists only cultivated the Body Tempering Realm to the ninth level, with fleshly strength of merely forty or fifty thousand jin. Their qi and blood were insufficient, so even if they prepared a large number of spirit stones and made every preparation for breaking through to the Qi Refining Realm, they might not succeed.

But for her, it could be accomplished effortlessly with a single thought.

With a thought, Xiao Minghuang sensed the changes within her body.

"So this is the Qi Refining Realm..."

Qi refining was both a realm and a means of cultivation: absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth to enrich oneself and unleash all manner of marvelous techniques.

This was the Qi Refining Realm, the first threshold after stepping onto the path of cultivation.

The instant she entered the Qi Refining Realm, faint light flickered in Xiao Minghuang's lower abdomen. A tiny vortex gradually formed, emitting a faint glow as it continuously drew in and pulled the spiritual qi of heaven and earth from outside, gathering it within for her own use.

This vortex continuously drew in the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, which was equivalent to seizing the creation of heaven and earth to replenish herself.

"The Qi Refining Realm has Three Hundred and Sixty Heavenly Acupoints, including Ten Great Acupoints. Opening each Great Acupoint counts as advancing one level."

The ten great acupoints of the Heavenly Cycle were located respectively at the crown of the head, between the brows, the chest, the lower abdomen, the left and right palms, the left and right knees, and the soles of the left and right feet.

"When entering the Qi Refining Realm, the Qi Sea Acupoint is opened. I am now at the Qi Refining First Level."

The acupoint located in the lower abdomen was the Qi Sea Acupoint.

Xiao Minghuang murmured softly and restrained her aura. The vortex in her lower abdomen then dissipated.

Compared to the Body Tempering Realm, advancing in the Qi Refining Realm was far more difficult. Even if she continued her closed-door cultivation here and exhausted all the spirit stones in the Spirit Gathering Formation, it would be impossible for her to make further progress.

"Two days have passed. It is time to leave seclusion."

The system's compensation attempts had refreshed. She had yet to give away the pills she won from the Seventh Prince. Who knew what reward she would receive this time?

The corners of Xiao Minghuang's lips lifted slightly, a trace of a smile appearing at the corners of her eyes. Then her figure flashed, and she stepped outside.

After breaking through to the Qi Refining Realm, her spiritual awareness had greatly strengthened. She could sense every rustle of wind and movement of grass throughout the entire residence.

Under the coverage of her spiritual awareness, every blade of grass and tree in the residence was revealed before her eyes.

"Let me see whether little Ruoshui has been cultivating diligently..."

Xiao Minghuang remembered that before entering seclusion, she had given the Dragon Soul Heart Method to Ye Ruoshui and told the little girl to cultivate seriously.

But in truth, given Ye Ruoshui's aptitude, not to mention two days, even twenty days would likely not be enough for her to enter the door.

Furthermore, Ye Ruoshui was not even at the first level of the Body Tempering Realm yet and knew absolutely nothing about cultivation.

Her spiritual awareness stopped outside Ye Ruoshui's room, but she could not sense any cultivation within.