Of Course I'll Choose to Forgive It

Inside the underground chamber beneath the Hundred Flowers Garden, Xue Mu sat cross-legged in meditation while Xue Qingqiu sat behind him, one palm pressed against his back.

He hadn't wasted a moment. With Xue Qingqiu's help, he'd immediately begun cultivating the poison technique.

Xue Qingqiu's voice still echoed in his ears. "For ordinary people, cultivation has four major stages. First comes body tempering, then qi training, then soul cultivation, and finally the Dao-seeking stage. Each is further divided into countless minor realms. The soul-cultivation stage, for example, has four realms: Heart Illumination, Soul Nurturing, Spirit Return, and Hua Yun. Xiao Chan has been fortunate enough to reach Hua Yun. The Dao-seeking stage has two realms: first, Dao Entry, then Void-Piercing. Above those is the Realm of Dao Union, which no one has attained in more than five hundred years. There are just over ten Void-Piercing cultivators today, and fewer than a hundred at Dao Entry. Each is a mighty figure in their region and a leading light of their sect. As for someone you know, Xiahou Di has been stuck at the peak of Hua Yun for two years. She's spread herself too thin, so I'm afraid she'll never reach the Dao-seeking stage in this lifetime. That girl Yin Ye cultivates in an unusual way, so the usual distinctions don't apply to her. I'll tell you more about that later."

"Ordinary people begin by tempering their bodies, laying a solid foundation before training their qi. But since you cultivate poison, your body tempering has to be different. Your body can't be refined like jade; you can only strive to become a body of myriad poisons. For you, body tempering and qi training are one and the same, so you can begin directly with qi training. In a way, that makes this a shortcut."

"You know nothing about meridians or acupoints, and studying all the basics systematically would take too long. I'll send my true qi into you and guide it through your body, helping you open your acupoints. Focus your mind and remember the route it takes. That is the circulation path of the Hundred Herbs Poison Technique. Once you've memorized it, try circulating it on your own and forming a spiritual-qi vortex."

"Once the vortex forms, it can absorb spiritual qi from outside to nourish and strengthen your true qi, and absorb toxins from within to merge with it. But at your current level, you shouldn't be able to sense the spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth. Just absorb the toxins for now."

A stream of exceptionally pure true qi poured into his dantian, then cautiously poked its head out and scurried up one of his meridians, like a little mouse.

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This was the true qi of a Void-Piercing expert, imbued with a trace of the "Dao." It was far more than ordinary nourishment. The moment it began to circulate, Xue Mu felt his mind thunder. It was as if his body had suddenly become a world of its own: his sea of consciousness was a night sky encompassing all things, his dantian a bright moon shining quietly over the world, and his acupoints stars, glimmering in and out of sight.

This was the Star Moon Sect's Dao of merging with the universe. For him, it was an aid on the level of a cheat, letting him see every change in his body with perfect clarity, every inch of that thread of true qi's journey, down to the finest detail.

He watched clearly as the thread of true qi swept through his "blocked" meridians, unstoppable. It was like a gray circuit diagram being dyed sky blue, line by line. At the same time, countless mixed breaths of black, green, and brown were absorbed by the sky-blue qi, spiraling together into some indescribably ugly color.

These were the toxins hidden in his skin, meridians, acupoints, blood, bones, and everywhere else... Ordinary people used true qi to expel them from the body, while poison cultivators absorbed and fused with them. But Xue Mu's condition was the "terminally ill" sort; the toxins were so deeply entwined with him that they were practically one with his body. Trying to expel them all might seriously damage his foundation, so Xue Qingqiu had no choice but to have him absorb and fuse with them. That was why he could only cultivate poison.

Gradually, as he absorbed more and more toxins, that indescribable color became clearer, turning dark green.

The dark-green true qi traveled onward, meeting resistance at certain points. Those were his acupoints.

The dark-green qi went "thump, thump, thump" against each point a few times. There was hardly any resistance; it burst inside with a crackle, and the acupoint quickly filled with dark green.

Xue Qingqiu's control over her true qi and the power behind it were practically a bug from his perspective. Other people must have suffered terribly when opening their acupoints, but he didn't feel so much as an itch. It was actually so comfortable it felt like a massage.

Then he felt a dark-green circuit diagram appear throughout his body, like the stars revolving through the heavens.

The true qi continued circulating for several cycles before returning to his dantian.

Xue Qingqiu's voice came to him. "I'm giving you this thread of true qi. Try to control it and guide it along the route."

As she spoke, Xue Mu immediately felt that he had gained control over that thread of true qi. Following the route he'd just memorized, he guided it through thirty-six Greater Celestial Circuits. It returned to his dantian, where it gradually formed a tiny vortex.

Xue Qingqiu smiled. "You have decent aptitude."

From her tone, it sounded like he was merely passable. Xue Mu certainly didn't dare compare his aptitude to the most powerful person in the world. He was already quite satisfied to have formed a vortex so quickly. He was waiting for Xue Qingqiu to give him the next instruction when she suddenly let out a surprised "Hm?" At the same time, a strange change came over his body.

Some vast, unknown presence seemed to sense the vortex. Overjoyed, it rushed toward him and leaped into it, cheering and dancing. This presence was pure and immense beyond compare. Just a trace of it made the vortex spin wildly, growing larger in the blink of an eye. It doubled in size with every turn, expanding more than tenfold in a flash until it was like a raging whirlpool.

Xue Qingqiu was baffled. "Where did this spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth come from? It seems... it's been inside you all along?"

That didn't sound like a bad thing, so Xue Mu relaxed. He suddenly realized where the spiritual qi had come from.

Who else could it be but the markings? He'd heard that the spiritual qi spilling from the World-Suppressing Tripod had once turned a pool into a sacred spring. He'd absorbed a whole fragment himself; there was probably enough spiritual qi to last him a lifetime.

"No matter where it came from, with you here, it's a wonderful thing!" Xue Qingqiu sent in more true qi and spoke quickly. "Let go of everything and absorb it with all your might. I'll protect you and make sure your meridians stay safe."

Xue Mu understood. Without Xue Qingqiu there, he'd probably be dead. The boundless spiritual qi was surging in an instant. How could his pitiful meridians withstand a shock like a tsunami? There was no need to think twice: his meridians would have shattered completely.

With Xue Qingqiu protecting him, a disaster instantly became a blessing. Without another word, Xue Mu set the vortex spinning. The spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth grew even more excited, practically cheering as it rushed in and merged with the vortex.

Vast quantities of true qi surged into his meridians and acupoints. Yet a faint glow, gentle and serene, protected them. Though his meridians had been no wider than streams, they did not collapse beneath the crashing waves. Instead, they gradually widened with the force of the torrent, growing into rivers.

After an unknown length of time, Xue Mu focused inward and discovered that the vortex in his dantian had disappeared. In its place was a vast dark-green nebula drifting through his dantian, forming a sea of qi.

The spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth continued pouring into the sea of qi, but it no longer surged wildly. Instead, it merged quietly, like a gentle rain nourishing all things. As the true qi circulated, it carried the toxins in his body into the sea of qi, where they fused together into a new blend of poison and true qi. This spread once more, flowed into the rivers, and the rivers returned to the sea, forming a perfect cycle.

Xue Qingqiu finally lifted her hand from his back and said with a soft laugh, "What a strange stroke of fortune. You've leaped straight into the Sea of Qi stage, skipping two realms. After you've cultivated for a while and your sea of qi condenses into a core, your qi training will be complete. Then you can consider tempering your soul and communicating with the Bridge of Heaven and Earth. At that rate, you may cultivate faster than anyone."

Xue Mu opened his eyes and let out a quiet breath. "No... none of that was a stroke of fortune. You're my good fortune."

Xue Qingqiu chuckled. "And you still have time to flirt with me?"

"It's the truth." Xue Mu slowly rose to his feet. He'd been sitting cross-legged for who knew how long, yet he didn't feel the least bit stiff or numb. Instead, he felt clear-headed, refreshed, and perfectly comfortable. Turning to face Xue Qingqiu's breathtaking beauty, he bowed deeply, sincerely. "Thank you."

Xue Qingqiu rose with a calm expression. "There's no need to thank me. This was nothing more than a simple favor. But I can't make sense of this sudden influx of spiritual qi. Are you sure nothing feels wrong?"

"Hmm..." Xue Mu carefully examined himself, then smiled. "If there's anything wrong, there's one thing."

"What?"

"This sea of qi is green..."

Xue Qingqiu stared at him for a long moment, unable to see what was wrong with green. "So what? Poison fused with true qi is usually this color."

"So what? Of course I'll choose to forgive it... As long as the hat I wear isn't this color."