A Fragrant Night

Chapter 23: **Nightfall

Chu Xiaotian felt as though a space had appeared before him. He had no idea how large it was, for all around him was pitch-black. In the center, a fist-sized mass of purple spiritual energy roiled, while on the right, a purple channel as thick as his little finger connected to the space, pouring in a continuous stream of spiritual energy.

A delighted smile touched Chu Xiaotian's face. Everything before him made it clear that he had successfully opened the dantian, the most important acupoint on the path of cultivation. What he was seeing was the inside of his dantian as viewed through inner vision.

With his dantian opened, everything that followed would be much easier. As he absorbed yin-cold energy from the world around him, Chu Xiaotian guided the purple Corpse Poison in his body to extend in three directions. Now that his dantian was open, it was time to start from there and break through the other three meridians. Breaking through from the outside in was difficult; going in the opposite direction was far simpler. Backed by an endless supply of spiritual energy, the energy in Chu Xiaotian's dantian split into three streams and began striking the three remaining meridians in his limbs at once. Once again, it surged forward like a force sweeping all before it, and all three meridians were opened in about seven minutes.

The breakthrough had been somewhat painful, but once it was complete, spiritual energy far more abundant than before streamed from the meridians in his limbs into his dantian, then spread throughout his body. Chu Xiaotian felt a wave of comfort wash over him.

Before his meridians were opened, he could absorb spiritual energy from the world only through his pores and breath. Though there were many points where it could enter, the process was extremely inefficient. The energy that entered his body was steadily depleted as it passed through his flesh, and by the time he could actually use it, perhaps less than one-tenth remained. Now that he had opened the four Shaoyin Meridians in his limbs, he could absorb spiritual energy directly through the meridians' starting points. There were only four entry points, but the energy gathered together and traveled straight through the meridians to his dantian, avoiding needless losses along the way. This method was dozens of times more efficient than his old one.

With both his meridians and dantian open, Chu Xiaotian's cultivation level seemed unchanged, but his strength was at least several times greater than before. There could be no doubt about that. The power of spiritual energy scattered throughout the body was entirely different from the power of energy gathered in the dantian. This was clear from the inner energy of Chu Xiaotian's old world, as well as from how the Tongmai and Sea-Opening Realms in this world stood above the Body Refining Realm.

At present, Chu Xiaotian's body might not be as strong as that of a fifth-stage Body Refining cultivator. But with his meridians and dantian open, and his spiritual energy gathered together, the strength he could unleash far surpassed that of anyone in the Body Refining Realm. It was as if he were cultivating three realms at once. How could his strength be measured so simply?

He didn't waste time celebrating. Once all four meridians in his limbs were open, Chu Xiaotian began cultivating according to the method in the Heavenly Corpse Art. As the technique circulated through his body, four streams of spiritual energy, each as thick as a matchstick, poured through the newly opened acupoints in his limbs and into his meridians. After fusing with the Corpse Poison in his dantian, they spread throughout his body, constantly strengthening his flesh. Under the rush of such vast spiritual energy, his body grew stronger with every breath, at a speed he could scarcely imagine.

Though this was his first time truly cultivating, he was certain that no technique could absorb spiritual energy as quickly as he did now. The speed was simply too astonishing. This was no longer absorption—it was plunder. Most importantly, the Heavenly Corpse Art clearly stated how quickly it should absorb spiritual energy, and that rate was nowhere near this terrifying pace.

"What's going on? Could the spiritual energy in this world be even denser than it was on Earth in ancient times?" Chu Xiaotian muttered, full of doubt. But he soon dismissed the idea. Though spiritual energy was abundant in this world, it was nowhere near that dense. Otherwise, the Mad Battle Blade Art Ba Dao had given him wouldn't be limited to absorbing a wisp of energy as thin as a strand of hair.

His confusion didn't last long. He noticed three silver disks hanging above his head in a triangular formation, casting down a rippling, watery glow.

"Three moons? How is that possible?" Chu Xiaotian cried out, his face full of disbelief. But he quickly calmed down. From what he had learned in his old world, he knew the moon was simply a planet's satellite. Earth had only one, but that didn't mean this world could only have one. If it had three satellites, then naturally it had three moons.

The sun and moon: one represented the daytime and yang, the other the night and yin-cold energy. The two were among the main sources of yin and yang in this entire world. Chu Xiaotian cultivated the Heavenly Corpse Art by absorbing yin-cold energy from the world. Now, with three moons providing him with an endless supply, there was no way he could slow down even if he wanted to.

Chu Xiaotian was so excited he could barely contain himself. With three moons supplying him with yin-cold energy, he could practically see his cultivation soaring by leaps and bounds. The Heavenly Corpse Art circulated through the meridians in his limbs, again and again. As the vast spiritual energy coursed through him, his body's strength skyrocketed like a rocket. After only half an hour of cultivation, he had firmly entered the initial stage of the Purple Corpse realm. His strength had risen from four hundred pounds per arm to over six hundred. By the standards of the Moon-Refining Continent, he had advanced from the fourth stage of Body Refining to the sixth in half an hour. Such a terrifying rate was unheard of.

If he faced those three Greenwood Three Tigers again, he was confident he could beat them until they were crawling on the ground. His strength was no longer low, and Corpse Poison could no longer threaten him. With no immediate worries, Chu Xiaotian decided to take a break. He wouldn't cultivate again tonight. Instead, he would return to the valley early and enjoy a long, restful sleep. He had been in this world for so many days and still hadn't had a proper night's sleep.

As he walked, Chu Xiaotian hummed a tune, his face bright with cheer. He even hunted a small beast resembling a goat in the dense forest and carried it toward the valley where Xia Xue was staying.

Afraid of waking Xia Xue, who was asleep, Chu Xiaotian tiptoed deeper into the valley toward the little pool. After all that exertion, he felt sticky and uncomfortable. If he wanted to sleep, he first needed to wash himself thoroughly.

Xia Xue should be sound asleep by now, and Chu Xiaotian wasn't afraid she would see him. He stripped off all his clothes in a few quick motions, then raced toward the pool and plunged in with a splash.

The instant he hit the water, he seemed to glimpse a white shape below him, clearly no fish, floating at the surface. Instinctively, he tried to dodge, but it was too close. It was already too late.

He collided with the white shape.

"Ah..." A shriek that nearly burst Chu Xiaotian's eardrums rang out the instant he collided with it. The sudden scream gave him a fright, and his hands instinctively wrapped around the white shape in front of him. It felt smooth and soft to the touch, with a hint of warmth.

By the faint moonlight overhead, Chu Xiaotian saw what the white shape in his arms was.

"Ah, Xia Xue, why is it you? What are you doing here? I, I, I..." The white shape was none other than Xia Xue. Like Chu Xiaotian, she was completely naked. Her eyes glinted as if she wanted to devour him, and she glared at him without blinking. Holding such a beautiful woman felt so good he nearly groaned aloud, but the moment he met Xia Xue's gaze, he felt there was no way he could explain himself.

Heaven above knew he truly hadn't expected Xia Xue to be in the pool. Otherwise, he would never have rushed in so carelessly. After all, a beauty bathing was an incredibly enticing sight, one every man would want to see—but if Xia Xue caught him looking, their relationship would be over. And Chu Xiaotian had never meant to take even the slightest advantage of her.

"I never thought you were this kind of person. I really misjudged you. Men truly are all scoundrels. Take your claws off me! What else are you trying to do?" Xia Xue was in Chu Xiaotian's arms, yet she didn't struggle at all. She stared at him coldly, her voice thick with undisguised disappointment and carrying the faintest trace of a sob. Chu Xiaotian hadn't spent any of the past several nights in the valley, so she had bathed in the pool around midnight each night.

But she had never expected him to return tonight, let alone charge into the pool and molest her. Whether it was an accidental collision or an attempt to take liberties, that was how Xia Xue saw it. She had thought Chu Xiaotian was different from other men, but she hadn't expected him to treat her this way. Her impression of him plummeted to rock bottom. In her eyes, he was now even worse than Pi Yanxing from the Hundred Herb Pavilion.

"No, that's not it, Xia Xue! Listen to me. It really was an accident!" Looking at Xia Xue, Chu Xiaotian felt as if the whole sky had gone dark. No matter how many mouths he had, he doubted he could explain what had happened. But even if he couldn't make her understand, he still had to try. So he didn't let go. Instead, he held Xia Xue even tighter, afraid she would run off before hearing him out.