Of Course I Choose to Forgive It

In the secret chamber beneath the Hundred Flowers Garden, Xue Mu sat cross-legged in meditation, with Xue Qingqiu seated behind him, her palm pressed against his back.

He did not delay for even a moment, immediately beginning to practice the poison technique under Xue Qingqiu's guidance.

Xue Qingqiu's voice echoed in his ears: "For ordinary people, cultivation is divided into four major stages: Body Tempering, Qi Refining, Soul Entwining, and Dao Seeking. These are further subdivided into countless minor realms. For instance, the Soul Entwining stage consists of Heart Reflection, Soul Nourishing, Spirit Return, and Hua Yun; Xiao Chan has already reached the Hua Yun realm by good fortune. The Dao Seeking stage consists of Dao Entry and Void Penetration, with the supreme realm being Dao Integration, which no one has achieved for over five hundred years. Today, there are over a dozen in the Void Penetration realm and fewer than a hundred in the Dao Entry realm; all are regional hegemons and the pride of their sects. As you know, Xiahou Di has been stuck at the peak of the Hua Yun realm for two years. She is too distracted, and I fear she will never reach Dao Seeking in this lifetime. That girl Yin Ye has a peculiar cultivation method that cannot be judged by conventional standards; I will tell you about her later."

"Normally, one begins with Body Tempering to build a foundation before moving to Qi Refining. Since you are cultivating poison, your Body Tempering is different from others. Your body cannot be refined into jade; it must instead evolve toward a Myriad Poison Body. For you, Body Tempering and Qi Refining are one and the same, so you can start directly with Qi Refining. In a way, this is a shortcut."

"You know nothing of meridians and acupoints, and learning the basics systematically would be too slow. I will channel my true qi into your body to guide the flow and help you open your acupoints. Focus your mind, calm your spirit, and memorize this path; it is the circulation route for the Hundred Herbs Poison Technique. Once you are familiar with it, try to circulate it on your own to form a spiritual qi vortex."

"Once the vortex is formed, you can absorb spiritual qi from the outside to nourish and strengthen your true qi, and absorb toxins from within to blend with it. However, you likely cannot sense the spiritual qi of heaven and earth yet, so just focus on absorbing the toxins for now."

A stream of incredibly pure true qi poured into his dantian, then poked its head out and scurried cautiously into a meridian, moving like a little mouse.

This was the true qi of a powerhouse at the Void Penetration level, containing a trace of the "Dao," which was far more than mere nourishment. As soon as it began to circulate, Xue Mu felt his mind tremble, as if his body had suddenly transformed into a vast universe. His sea of consciousness was like the night sky, encompassing all things; his dantian was like a bright moon, quietly illuminating the world; and his acupoints were like stars, flickering in and out of existence.

This was the Star Moon Sect's method of aligning the body with the universe. For him, it was an auxiliary tool of cheat-level proportions, allowing him to see every change in his body with absolute clarity, every step of that trail of true qi laid bare before his eyes.

He watched clearly as his "blocked" meridians were pierced through by that trail of true qi like a hot knife through butter. It was as if a gray map of lines was being dyed sky-blue. At the same time, countless black, green, and brown mixed energies were absorbed by the blue, spiraling and fusing together into an indescribably ugly, murky color.

These were the toxins hidden within his skin, meridians, acupoints, blood, and bones. Ordinary people would use true qi to expel them from the body, but those who cultivated poison absorbed and fused them. For someone like Xue Mu, who was "terminally ill," the toxins were so deeply intertwined with his own being that they were inseparable. To expel them entirely would likely cause irreparable damage to his foundation, so Xue Qingqiu could only have him choose to fuse them, hence he could only cultivate poison.

Slowly, after absorbing more and more toxins, the indescribable murky color gradually clarified into a dark green.

The dark green true qi traveled along, encountering resistance at certain nodes—these were the acupoints.

The dark green energy "thumped" against the nodes a few times, met little resistance, and then burst through with a crackle, quickly filling the nodes with its dark green hue.

Xue Qingqiu's control and the power level of her true qi were truly bug-level for him. While others might suffer immense pain when opening acupoints, he didn't even feel a tickle; instead, it was incredibly comfortable, like receiving a massage.

Then, he felt a dark green map of lines emerge across his body, resembling the stars in the sky.

The true qi continued to circulate for a few cycles before returning to his dantian.

Xue Qingqiu's voice came: "I have gifted this trail of true qi to you. Try to manipulate it and follow the path."

As she spoke, Xue Mu immediately felt that he had gained control over that trail of true qi. Following his memory from moments ago, he manipulated it to circulate for thirty-six major cycles before returning it to his dantian, where it gradually formed a small vortex.

Xue Qingqiu smiled slightly: "Your aptitude is acceptable."

Judging by her tone, it seemed to be merely passable. Xue Mu naturally dared not compare his aptitude with the strongest martial artist in this world, and he was already quite satisfied to have formed the qi vortex so quickly. Just as he was waiting for Xue Qingqiu's next instruction, she suddenly let out an "Eh," and a strange change occurred within Xue Mu's body.

A vast, boundless energy from an unknown source seemed to sense the existence of the vortex; it rushed over in a frenzy and leaped into the vortex with joy. This energy was pure and immense. Even a single trace caused the vortex to spin wildly, growing rapidly in the blink of an eye. With every rotation, it doubled in size, expanding a dozen times over in seconds until it resembled a raging whirlpool in the sea.

Xue Qingqiu was startled and uncertain: "Where did this spiritual qi of heaven and earth come from? It seems... it has been in your body all along?"

Hearing this, it didn't sound like a bad thing, so Xue Mu relaxed. He suddenly knew where this spiritual qi came from.

Aside from those patterns, who else could it be? He had heard that the spiritual qi leaking from the World-Suppressing Tripod had once turned a pool of water into a holy spring, and he had absorbed a fragment of it himself. This spiritual qi would likely be enough to last him a lifetime.

"Regardless of where it came from, with me here, this is a tremendous stroke of luck!" Xue Qingqiu sent in more true qi and said urgently: "Let go of everything and absorb it with all your might. I will protect you and ensure your meridians remain unharmed."

Xue Mu understood. If Xue Qingqiu weren't here, he would likely be dead. The massive spiritual qi of heaven and earth was expanding instantly; how could his pitiful meridians possibly contain a tsunami-like impact? It would undoubtedly end in the tragic destruction of all his meridians.

Since Xue Qingqiu was guarding him, the disaster instantly turned into a blessing. Xue Mu didn't hesitate to drive the vortex, and the spiritual qi of heaven and earth seemed even more jubilant, rushing in as if cheering and merging into one.

A massive amount of true qi grew, surging violently into his meridians and acupoints. Yet, a faint, gentle light protected him, keeping his meridians—which were like small streams—from collapsing under the raging torrent. Instead, they used the momentum of the flood to slowly expand, gradually turning into rivers.

He did not know how much time had passed. Xue Mu focused his mind to look inward, only to find that the dantian vortex had vanished. In its place was a dark green nebula, drifting majestically within his dantian and forming a sea of qi.

The spiritual qi of heaven and earth was still pouring into the sea of qi, but it was no longer turbulent; it was merging silently and nourishingly. The toxins in his body flowed with the true qi into the sea of qi, fusing together to form a new toxic-true qi hybrid, which then spread back into the rivers, only for the rivers to return to the sea, creating a perfect cycle.

Xue Qingqiu's palm finally left his back, and she chuckled softly: "A strange stroke of fortune. You have actually leaped into the Sea of Qi stage, skipping two realms. As you continue to cultivate over time, the sea of qi will condense into a core, and your Qi Refining will be complete. When you then consider tempering your soul and connecting to the bridge of heaven and earth, perhaps your cultivation will be faster than anyone else's."

Xue Mu opened his eyes, let out a soft breath, and whispered: "No... none of that is the fortune. You are my fortune."

Xue Qingqiu laughed in spite of herself: "Still in the mood to tease me?"

"Just the truth." Xue Mu slowly stood up. Despite sitting cross-legged for who knows how long, he felt no soreness or numbness; instead, he felt refreshed and incredibly comfortable. He turned around, looked into Xue Qingqiu's stunning face, and bowed sincerely: "Thank you."

Xue Qingqiu stood up calmly: "No need for formalities; this was but a small effort for me. However, I am still somewhat uncertain about this sudden influx of spiritual qi. Are you sure there is nothing wrong with you?"

"Hmm..." Xue Mu pondered inwardly for a moment and smiled: "If there is anything wrong, I suppose there is one thing."

"What is it?"

"This sea of qi is green..."

Xue Qingqiu was stunned for a long time, not seeing anything wrong with it: "So what? Most fusions of potent poisons are this color."

"It's nothing, of course I choose to forgive it... as long as my hat isn't that color."