The Opportunity to Break Through to the Qi Circulation Third Floor

"Dragon-Transformation Powder can actually increase the replenishment progress of the Thorough Awakening Divine Ability?"

He withdrew from the Divine Chamber. When he looked again at the packet of Dragon-Drawing Powder in his hand, his gaze had completely changed.

"No wonder Wang Kong said this packet of [Dragon-Drawing Powder] was extraordinarily precious, far different from the previous ones."

"Unfortunately, Dragon-Drawing Powder is not a tonic."

A thought stirred in Chen Lingxi's mind, and a wild idea suddenly sprang forth.

He placed the Dragon-Drawing Powder on the table, sat cross-legged, and calmed his mind. The strand of spirit qi in his dantian slowly flowed out, advancing along the meridians of his right arm before pouring into the Dragon-Drawing Powder.

The instant it touched the powder, Chen Lingxi's mind boomed.

Within this patch of dark brown powder, his spirit qi senses detected an astonishingly dense spiritual energy.

"This Dragon-Drawing Powder actually contains so much spiritual energy. If properly used, it could probably sustain my cultivation all the way to the Third Spirit-Qi Level."

Chen Lingxi fell silent for a moment, then leaned closer to the Dragon-Drawing Powder and took a deep breath.

This time, he sniffed with utmost care. Once that pungent medicinal scent entered his nose, the blood and qi within his body actually grew faintly hot, as though something were slowly dissolving inside his veins.

The copper-molten qi and blood cultivated through the Seven Forms of Ceasing War showed the slightest sign of "melting" upon encountering that medicinal scent.

The feeling was incredibly subtle. Had he not been wholly focused, it would have been nearly impossible to detect. But Chen Lingxi knew it was no illusion.

"This Dragon-Drawing Powder truly is poison."

Chen Lingxi let out a sigh.

It could dissolve and scatter one's qi and blood, all while one had to withstand its inherent toxicity.

Those who could endure the poison of this medicinal powder became qualified medicinal catalysts, like Liu Changle and himself.

Those who could not, like Zhou Hu and Zhu Luanwen, died upon the broken beds in the Inverted Room. Their corpses were taken away, whether discarded or used for some other purpose, no one knew.

At that thought, Chen Lingxi's gaze darkened.

He set down the Dragon-Drawing Powder, but a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

"The Concealed Edge Method can form an invisible membrane around the body, cutting off the qi connection between spirit qi and blood. If I use the Concealed Edge Method inside my meridians, turning spirit qi into a membrane to wrap around my qi and blood, could it block the poison of the Dragon-Drawing Powder?"

Once the thought emerged, he could no longer suppress it.

He sat cross-legged and slowly activated the Concealed Edge Method.

The stream of azure qi in his dantian circulated through his meridians, forming a faint, almost intangible barrier between his dantian and the meridians throughout his body.

The Concealed Edge Method thus wrapped up his circulating qi and blood, isolating them from the inner walls of his meridians.

He carefully extended that membrane deep into his nasal cavity, making it cover every minute junction where his airways and qi and blood intersected...

Then he picked up the Dragon-Drawing Powder, brought it to his nose, and drew in a deep breath.

The pungent medicinal vapor entered his nostrils and seeped into his body through his airways. When it reached the spirit qi barrier created by the Concealed Edge Method, it paused slightly—then was firmly blocked outside.

His qi and blood continued circulating as usual, without the slightest sign of melting.

Chen Lingxi opened his eyes, delight rising in his heart.

"The Concealed Edge Method truly can isolate the poison Dragon-Drawing Powder exerts upon qi and blood, without blocking the spiritual energy itself."

After pondering for a while, he poured the Dragon-Drawing Powder onto the table and, with extreme care, separated a tiny pinch with his fingertips—roughly one-twentieth of the entire packet.

"Even if the Concealed Edge Method's barrier cannot endure this amount, the poison should not immediately dissolve my qi and blood. I will still have room to breathe."

He put that small pinch of powder into his mouth and swallowed it with warm water.

The instant the powder entered his stomach, a torrent of overwhelming spiritual energy exploded within him.

The amount of spiritual energy was too vast—so vast that Chen Lingxi even regretted it for an instant.

It was as if he had swallowed not a pinch of medicinal powder, but a raging, roaring river.

The violent spiritual energy rampaged through his meridians. Wherever it passed, his meridians swelled with a dull pain, as though they were about to be torn apart.

At the same time, that dark, murky toxicity erupted as well, winding around the spiritual energy as it lunged toward the qi and blood throughout his body.

The spirit qi barrier created by the Concealed Edge Method was assaulted from within and without. It shuddered violently, emitting a faint hum.

Chen Lingxi clenched his teeth and pushed the Concealed Edge Method to its utmost limit. The azure qi in his dantian surged forth as though it cost him nothing, continuously reinforcing that teetering barrier.

Fine cracks kept appearing across the barrier, only to be filled by fresh spirit qi. The tug-of-war continued for who knew how long. Though the barrier was stretched nearly transparent, it ultimately did not break.

The poison was held firmly beyond the barrier. After roaming through his meridians and finding no qi and blood to corrode, it gradually lost its edge. Forced out of his body by his spirit qi, it turned into a thin layer of pale brown sweat that seeped from his pores and clung stickily to his skin.

As for that immense spiritual energy, Chen Lingxi gradually gathered it with the Breath-Absorption Method, refining it thread by thread and drawing it into his dantian.

Two hours slipped quietly away, and he had already refined more than half of the spiritual energy.

When Chen Lingxi opened his eyes again, the sun outside the window had already tilted westward.

He let out a long breath of turbid air, and joy immediately appeared on his face.

The strand of azure qi in his dantian had thickened by an entire measure. It had gone from the thickness of a small snake to that of two fingers pressed together.

The minute damage caused by the strain on his meridians had been completely repaired under the nourishment of spirit qi. They had even become somewhat broader than before.

He rose to his feet and moved his limbs, his bones crackling throughout his body.

Beneath his skin, that warm jade-like sheen had become increasingly apparent. Copper-molten qi and blood rushed through his meridians, blazing and condensed. He seemed separated from the completion of Copper Scarlet by only a thin sheet of window paper.

"Dragon-Drawing Powder truly carries great danger, but it is also a great opportunity." He lowered his head to look at the packet on the table and muttered to himself.

Cultivating through the Breath-Absorption Method alone was far too slow in the Qi Circulation Realm.

By his rough estimate, with the current sparse spiritual energy of heaven and earth, reaching the Qi Circulation Third Floor would take at least three to five years.

But with this Dragon-Drawing Powder, as long as he took only minute portions each time and used the Concealed Edge Method to protect his qi and blood, he could minimize the danger of the poison while maximizing the gains from its spiritual energy.

What would take three years might perhaps be achieved in only a few months.

He wrapped up the Dragon-Drawing Powder again and tucked it close against the inner fold of his clothes, then put away the three crimson pills as well.

After drawing a bucket of water and washing up, it was still early outside.

He was just about to go into the courtyard and practice a set of Mountain-Winding Stance, to see exactly how much his qi and blood had advanced.

Just then, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

The knocking was neither hurried nor slow, three knocks at a time, quite proper.

Chen Lingxi cleaned away the traces on the table, walked to the courtyard gate, and drew back the bolt.

Outside stood a young servant in blue, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with fair skin and a meek, downcast manner.

The servant raised his head to glance at him and said, "Chen Lingxi, Steward Zhao summons you for questioning."

His voice was quiet and his tone calm, yet the three words "Steward Zhao" alone were enough to make ordinary servants' legs tremble.

Chen Lingxi's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Zhao Yong?

He had returned from reporting to the Duguan Office only a few hours ago, and Zhao Yong had already sent someone to summon him. This was no coincidence.

He was about to answer when another set of light footsteps sounded beyond the courtyard gate.

Another maid hurried over. Chen Lingxi recognized her—she was Lin Longyue's senior maid, named Liuzhu.

Whenever he had previously delivered flower arrangements to the East Hall of the West Courtyard, Liuzhu had usually been the one to receive the vases.

Liuzhu came to the gate, glanced at the servant in blue, then turned to Chen Lingxi. "Chen Lingxi, Miss summons you."

Her voice was not loud, but it was steady and assured, carrying the customary confidence of the West Courtyard's senior maid.

The two summonses, one after another, had collided in the same place.

The servant in blue froze, looking from Liuzhu to Chen Lingxi. A trace of difficulty flashed over his face. "This... Steward Zhao's side..."

Without waiting for him to finish, Liuzhu said flatly, "Miss's affairs take priority. If Steward Zhao has something to ask, tell him to come to the East Hall of the West Courtyard."

She did not even look at the servant as she spoke. Turning, she left at once. After taking two steps, she looked back at Chen Lingxi, signaling him to follow.

Without changing expression, Chen Lingxi cupped his hands toward the servant in blue, then stepped after Liuzhu.

Behind him, the servant in blue remained where he stood, his expression shifting uncertainly. In the end, he did not dare stop him again.

Chen Lingxi followed behind Liuzhu through the covered corridors, his pace neither hurried nor slow.

The spring breeze blew in from beyond the corridor, carrying the faint fragrance of early blossoms from the garden.

His gaze remained straight ahead, yet his thoughts churned without end.

Zhao Yong had summoned him. Wang Kong had vanished. He had returned from the Duguan Office less than half a day ago. These two matters were surely connected.

Wang Kong was Zhao Yong's adopted son, and Zhao Yong was a man of profound calculation. He would not act without cause.

Having sent someone to summon him today, Zhao Yong had likely already grown suspicious.

Though Chen Lingxi now possessed early Copper Scarlet cultivation and the Azure Edge Method to rely upon, if Zhao Yong truly meant to seize him within the Marquis's estate, he would be a bird in a cage, unable to fly even with wings.

For now, the only person he could rely on was Lin Longyue.

Chen Lingxi raised his eyes to look at Liuzhu's back ahead of him, his thoughts becoming increasingly clear.

Lin Longyue was cold and detached to the point of near indifference, yet she cared greatly about appearances.

She had allowed him to arrange flowers, allowed him to train in martial arts, and even allotted him ten taels of silver each month. This was not a sudden fit of kindness, but because she considered him useful.

Zhao Yong was the steward of the Marquis's estate and wielded no small authority, but however great it was, it could not surpass that of the estate's young lady.

"I need to make her feel that I am even more useful."

Chen Lingxi lowered his eyes, his steps steady.

He was not afraid of Lin Longyue using him. He feared only that he did not have enough time.

Given time, with the Divine Chamber and the Six-Qi True Method, he would have a chance to change his fate.

East Hall of the West Courtyard.

Before Chen Lingxi even stepped inside, he heard laughter and conversation from the hall.

The laughter was clear and bright, belonging to the Yunhe Commandery Princess. It carried a lazy ease. "...A female official from the Palace Protocol Bureau at Noble Consort's side personally came to deliver the message. She said the locust branch arrangement had been placed on the rosewood treasure shelf in the eastern warm pavilion of Mirror Palace. Noble Consort admired it every day, and the more she looked, the more she liked it.

"Noble Consort even specifically asked which famous master had made the arrangement. I had never even heard of them."

Lin Longyue's voice was far softer than usual, carrying unconcealed delight. "I spared that servant only on a whim. I never expected it to catch Her Ladyship's eye."

"On a whim?" The Yunhe Commandery Princess laughed. "That casual act of mercy of yours has turned out better than those famous masters brought from the capital at great expense. The Court Garden Bureau said the charm of that locust branch arrangement lies in one word—'wild.' Uncarved and unadorned, naturally delightful. It is precisely the style Noble Consort has favored lately."

"I heard Noble Consort rewarded you with a Wind-Riding Elixir?"

Lin Longyue nodded and signaled to the maid beside her.

The maid came forward carrying a red lacquer tray. On it rested a small white jade bottle, its mouth sealed with red silk. The bottle was warm and lustrous as fat, and within it, an amber glow could faintly be seen flowing.

"This is the Wind-Riding Elixir bestowed by Noble Consort." Lin Longyue pointed at the white jade bottle, her tone solemn. "This pill is exceedingly precious, specially refined for martial artists to temper their bodies and break through their realms.

"After taking it, one may use its medicinal power to scour the meridians, temper the bones, and help break through one's shackles.

"This pill alone is enough to ensure that I enter the completion of Silver Bones."

"With this pill, I have hope of catching up to Chu Linzi."