Return to the Three One Sect

Repeated qi transformation and reconstruction had given Indra masterful control over every inch of flesh, blood, and organ in his body.

It was like repeatedly reloading a game level. After clearing it hundreds or thousands of times, he could beat it with his eyes closed the moment he picked up the controller.

Rich chakra flowed throughout his body, and every bit of flesh it touched melted away like ice and snow, turning into white qi clouds that swirled around him.

Indra's entire body seemed to lose its color, his skin and hair all turning a pure white.

He lowered his gaze to his left palm, drew his chakra short sword, and slashed down without mercy.

Whoosh!

The blade swept through it, effortlessly severing his left hand.

His severed hand did not fall to the ground. Instead, it was held aloft by the white qi clouds, floating in midair.

What flowed from the severed wound was not blood, but chakra that had been transformed into qi.

With a thought from Indra, the chakra at the wound flowed back into his body, and his left hand reattached itself to his wrist.

The qi-transformed flesh, sinew, bone, and skin intertwined like countless threads, stitching themselves together perfectly.

At the same time, Indra released his Reverse Birth state, clenched his left hand, and exerted a little force.

"It worked!"

Looking at his perfectly restored left hand, Indra grinned.

After a whole night of arduous practice, he had finally grasped the core of "qi transformation" and successfully advanced to the Second Layer of Reverse Birth!

Although reconstructing the Three Elixirs was still quite difficult, transforming his flesh, bones, and sinews into qi and then reconstructing them was no longer a problem!

Wiping away the sweat beading on his forehead, Indra let out a long breath.

His effort and sweat had not let him down after all!

However, transforming flesh into qi and reconstructing it afterward was an extremely taxing process for the mind.

If one's cultivation of the mind was insufficient and one's soul lacked strength, reconstruction would be difficult as well.

Indra's immediate success owed much to the two masses of chakra he had fused.

Each fusion not only increased his chakra, but also strengthened his physique and soul.

Without that foundation, reaching the Second Layer of Reverse Birth in a single day would not have been so easy.

By now, Zuo Ruotong, seated nearby, no longer wore his initial expression of shock. Only a relieved smile remained.

My disciple is the reincarnation of an immortal. What is strange about him comprehending the Second Layer of Reverse Birth in a day?

In contrast to Zuo Ruotong's delight, Indra wore a thoughtful expression.

Reverse Birth Triple Layer claimed to turn one's entire body into innate primal qi, but put plainly, it was a technique for gathering form and dispersing qi—one could also call it elemental transformation.

But the process by which he transformed into qi used chakra, not true qi.

"In a sense, I'm turning myself into a tailed beast."

"If this path works, then I'll have much more room to work with."

"Chakra nature transformation can be applied to it as well."

Indra raised his left hand. Beneath the qi-transformed flesh, faint arcs of electricity flickered.

Yet moments later, the flashing arcs vanished without a trace.

He had yet to master chakra nature transformation, so he could not properly incorporate the nature transformation of his Lightning or Fire attribute into his chakra.

"But perhaps I can begin practicing shape transformation in advance."

Indra remembered every stage of [Rasengan] training clearly.

He had not dared to try it before. On one hand, he did not have much chakra to begin with; on the other, the training was dangerous.

Concentrating high-density chakra at a single point could easily damage the chakra pathway system if he was careless.

But now, he lacked nothing.

Though he had the idea, Indra did not put it into practice right away.

A sleepless night of training had drained more than half his mental energy.

"Haah~~"

Indra yawned lazily, only to meet Zuo Ruotong's blazing gaze.

His heart skipped a beat, and he asked quietly, "Master, what are you planning to do?"

Seeing Indra speak, Zuo Ruotong adopted a sincere expression and said, "Luo'er, I wish to ask something of you."

Indra took the initiative to close the distance between them and said softly, "Master, you taught me Reverse Birth Triple Layer. Why use the word 'ask'? Just tell me."

Zuo Ruotong no longer beat around the bush and said frankly, "Quite a few disciples in the sect became crippled after something went wrong while cultivating Reverse Birth Triple Layer. I want to ask you to return to the Three One Sect and use your divine ability to save them."

Upon learning what Zuo Ruotong wanted, Indra immediately smiled.

"Master, even if you hadn't said anything, I would have been willing to do it.

Besides, as your disciple, there are still many things I do not understand and must ask you to teach me."

Indra's tone was gentle, and his attitude was exceedingly sincere.

"A teacher for a day, a father for life" was no idle saying in this era.

This chakra reincarnation vessel of his had neither father nor mother. He had been taken in by the Three One Sect from a young age and had been fortunate enough to become Zuo Ruotong's disciple.

Having fully inherited the chakra memories, Indra also carried deep gratitude toward the Three One Sect and his master, Zuo Ruotong.

Zuo Ruotong was taken aback at first, then smiled gently.

Ever since learning that his disciple was the "reincarnation of an immortal," he had not dared to be overly presumptuous with him.

But now, it seemed that Indra was still his beloved disciple.

His disciple was gifted and intelligent, and he also understood the importance of respecting his master. What greater fortune could a teacher ask for in his life?

Just as the warm-hearted Zuo Ruotong was about to say something else, Indra's hand had already landed on his shoulder.

"Luo'er, you've only just broken through the Second Layer of Reverse Birth and still need to rest. There's no need to rush our departure home. This is a Foundation-Nourishing Pill. Take one first and get some proper rest."

Zuo Ruotong took a jade bottle from his robes and removed a pill that gave off the fresh fragrance of medicinal herbs.

The Three One Sect had once been an orthodox school of the mystical arts. Although Reverse Birth Triple Layer was its most renowned technique, it was no weaker in other respects.

It had knowledge of object-manipulation arts, martial skills, pill refinement, and more.

The sect possessed many inherited pill formulas, used for meditation and cultivation alike.

Indra accepted the pill and swallowed it. Its medicinal power swiftly spread through his body.

Not only was his blood and vitality replenished, but even his essence, qi, and spirit improved considerably.

"This medicine is far more effective than the Uchiha Clan's prescriptions!"

In truth, taking medicine was also customary in ninja training.

A typical example was the Akimichi Clan of the Hidden Leaf Village. Their inherited secret medicines were extraordinarily potent and counted as strategic resources within the village.

The Uchiha Clan also had secret medicines, but they were mostly medicinal soups and baths meant to replenish blood and vitality.

They had barely researched this field, so even if Indra had money, he could not buy any particularly precious resources.

The pills inherited by the Three One Sect had clearly opened a new door for Indra.

The idea that taking too many pills would leave one's foundation unstable was complete nonsense. Taijutsu training and chakra refinement both required nourishment; otherwise, the more one trained, the more one depleted oneself.

And pills like these, with practically no side effects, would absolutely be heirloom secret medicines in the world of Naruto—things of immense value.

As Indra circulated the Reverse Birth cultivation method to speed up the pill's absorption, he said with a smile, "Master, we can set off immediately. It won't be too late to rest after we get back."

"Ah?"

Zuo Ruotong looked at Indra in confusion.

It had already been two years since he had descended the mountain. Master and disciple had traveled north all the way; even by "train," they could not return that quickly.

The next moment, Zuo Ruotong's feet left the ground as telekinetic force lifted him up.

The two became a blur racing across the land. The scenery around them streamed backward at tremendous speed, leaving Zuo Ruotong dazzled.

"Th-this..."

Zuo Ruotong's eyes widened as he looked around in shock and uncertainty.

Before he could figure out what was happening, the rapidly retreating scenery suddenly came to a stop. The mountain gate of the Three One Sect appeared before him, exactly as it had been before they descended the mountain.