Cultivation Method

The Silver Dragon King sat before Lie Xu with righteous confidence, making it clear that she wasn't going to leave unless he gave her a name.

"Cough, cough, cough!!!"

The sudden remark made Lie Xu choke and cough uncontrollably. He took the waterskin Chi Yuan offered and gulped down several mouthfuls before finally recovering.

He asked slowly, "Don't you have a name of your own?"

"No. Mm... does Silver Dragon King count?"

The Silver Dragon King thought it over, then answered with a thoroughly serious expression.

That was right. According to the original timeline, the Silver Dragon King didn't have a name yet. After the Dragon God's divine soul was split apart by the first Asura God's sword, the Dragon God became two beings. The Golden Dragon King inherited the Dragon God's ultimate physical strength and murderous, violent nature, and was imprisoned by the gods in the Forbidden Land of the Gods in the Divine Realm.

The Silver Dragon King, meanwhile, inherited all of the Dragon God's elemental laws, life essence, inner kindness, and wisdom. When war broke out in the Divine Realm, she led her core followers and tore through the spatial barrier to flee to the Douluo Continent below.

The Silver Dragon King's life essence had been severely damaged in that battle, so she slept in the Mustard Seed Space beneath the Lake of Life, in the Core Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest. There, she slowly restored her divine soul and body, concealing herself with the auspicious fortune of the Auspicious Beasts constantly born in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Silver Dragon King—Gu Yuena. She wouldn't receive that name until later, after taking on a human form and fully merging her personalities.

So right now, she was an innocent young girl with immense power and the Golden Dragon King's inheritance, but no experience of the world.

Thinking about it, Lie Xu felt deeply awkward. As expected, sincerity really was the ultimate weapon.

"Uh... all right."

"What kind of name do you want?" Lie Xu wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth.

"Mm... something that sounds nice, like the one you gave the Three-Eyed Golden Lion."

The Silver Dragon King's eyes lit up, full of anticipation.

"Mm..."

In his previous life, Lie Xu had been good enough to earn a recommendation to Peking University's Chinese department. Coming up with a name was easy. Though he hadn't touched a book from Blue Star in over six years since he'd crossed over, he glanced at the still waters of the Lake of Life, where the moon's cold light reflected from the night sky. He pondered briefly, then quickly thought of a poem that suited the Silver Dragon King's cool, distant bearing. He recited it to her slowly.

"Scattered spray dissolves like frost and snow; an ancient pool stirs the clear sky."

"So, how about I call you 'Qingshuang'?"

"Qingshuang?"

The Silver Dragon King murmured the verse Lie Xu had just recited.

"Scattered spray... dissolves like frost and snow; an ancient pool stirs the clear sky..."

A pleased look appeared on her face, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly. She nodded at Lie Xu and said, "Mm, I like it very much."

Afterward, she sat cross-legged on a large boulder not far from Lie Xu and closed her eyes to rest.

Lie Xu quickly polished off the animal leg in his hands, then began his watch for the night. In the earlier beast tide, everyone had sustained injuries to varying degrees. Many in the group had been badly hurt and left the Star Dou Great Forest to return to Spirit City for treatment and recovery.

The two who had suffered the least on the journey were Lie Xu and Qian Renxue. They'd been well protected the whole time.

That was the difference between noble Soul Masters and common-born Soul Masters. When it came to obtaining a Soul Ring, a noble had elders from their clan and powerful subordinates escorting them all the way. By contrast, a common-born Soul Master could lose their life just trying to obtain a Soul Ring.

There was no denying that a hundred-year Soul Ring from a hundred-year-old beast was different from one from a nine-hundred-year-old beast...

Lie Xu sat on the ground, watching the fire crackle now and then as damp wood burned. He couldn't help feeling grateful that he'd been born into such a good family...

The night deepened, and the world fell quiet. Lie Xu got up to add more wood to the fire, cleared the many distracting thoughts from his mind, then examined the two ancient books in the Dongxuan Daoist Treasury in his mind.

"Nine Qi Return to Origin Method."

Lie Xu murmured the name written on the book. With a slight movement of his consciousness, the ancient book opened to its first page by itself.

Written there were the words:

"Nine qi divide and transform into the myriad worlds; scattered, they become dust and tribulation, gathered, they become immortals.

The Compassionate Venerable of Azure Radiance bestows refinement and deliverance; all spirits gather qi and return to their true origin..."

After reading the method's general introduction, Lie Xu finally understood where it came from.

The Taiyi Savior of Suffering Heavenly Venerable was transformed from the essence of Yuanshi's nine yangs and governed the origins of the nine qi. The Heavenly Venerable's countless incarnations were the nine qi divided into forms; bearing the sacred title for all living beings and refining the souls of the dead was the nine qi returning to their origin, returning to the root and restoring their life.

The nine qi were: Yudan Huangyan Qi, Chanshan Zihu Qi, Fanjian Mingxian Qi, Doushu Mingyan Qi, Bujiao Zhongling Qi, Huaying Chongrong Qi, Qingjia Miaosheng Qi, Fanmo Ningzhen Qi, and Wuxiang Yuanhua Qi.

To cultivate this method, one needed to command the innate qi between heaven and earth, reverse-cultivate its origin, and fuse the nine qi together, returning them to the Great One...

After reading it, Lie Xu was left with a head full of question marks. What was all this supposed to mean? Apart from the Soul Power breathing and absorption method his grandfather had taught him, along with the methods for absorbing Soul Rings and Soul Bones, he'd never encountered anything so advanced. He couldn't understand it at all.

It was like having a vast treasure mountain before him, but being able only to look at it, with no way to use it.

Just as Lie Xu was growing frustrated, the book titled Nine Qi Return to Origin Method in his mind suddenly turned into countless specks of light and vanished.

"W-what's going on? Why did it disappear? Heavenly Venerable, you can't give it to me and then take it back, can you? I admit I'm a bit slow, but if you gave me a hint, maybe I'd suddenly get it and learn the method..."

Lie Xu grumbled inwardly, feeling that he'd lost an incredible opportunity.

Suddenly, the Soul Power in his body began circulating on its own. Lie Xu hurriedly tried to control the out-of-control Soul Power using the breathing method Mighty Lion Douluo had taught him.

But it was completely useless. He couldn't even slow it down in the slightest; all he could do was let it flow.

"Is this what they call qi deviation in those TV dramas from my previous life?"

Lie Xu was ready to call for help. Whatever happened, he had to stop his Soul Power from running wild. He was terrified that he'd die before his ambitions even got off the ground...

By then, the Soul Power in his body had completed one full circuit. Lie Xu also noticed something unusual.

His Soul Power was following a specific route. It was moving extremely fast, but it passed through every part of his body, from the twelve regular meridians and the other meridians to the fifteen collateral channels, the eight extraordinary meridians, and countless minute and superficial collaterals...

Lie Xu hurriedly focused his mind on his dantian and followed along, committing the route of the Soul Power's circulation to memory.

After he'd done it three times, the force guiding his Soul Power through its circuit abruptly vanished, and his Soul Power stopped running wild.

"Phew..."

Lie Xu let out a long breath and looked around. Nothing had happened. Some were asleep, while those who were regulating their breathing sat quietly with their eyes closed.

That made sense. What Soul Beast with even a shred of sense would attack them in the territory of the forest's two former overlords? Especially when a common ruler among Soul Beasts, one who'd lived for who knew how many tens of thousands of years, was right there.

After adding wood to the fire, whose flames were dying down, Lie Xu continued to absorb the Soul Power dispersed through the surrounding world, following the circulation route of the Nine Qi Return to Origin Method.

This time, he'd drawn out something special...