From Mortal at Dawn to Immortal by Dusk! First Layer of Qi-Feeding! (Two-in-One Chapter)

Lu He looked toward the remaining six arenas.

The instant their eyes met his, everyone except Zheng Jingren shifted their gaze away, clearly having abandoned any thought of challenging Arena Three.

Seeing this.

Lu He was not surprised. He simply sat down on the ground and quietly watched the fights on the other arenas.

At this moment.

Whether on the platforms or below them, everyone's attention was focused on Lu He and the other two.

Although the ranks from fourth to ninth were still being contested.

They all knew that this tea gathering had effectively ended.

"His first time attending the tea gathering, and he directly squeezed into the top three?"

Someone stared intently at Lu He's young face and clicked his tongue in amazement.

On the high platform.

"This record will likely remain unbroken for quite some time."

A steward exhaled the stale air pent up in his chest and let out a faint sigh.

At the same time, he looked complicatedly toward Steward Lu in the distance.

Only to meet the other man's somewhat stunned gaze.

Clearly, Steward Lu had not expected the seed he had chosen to perform so astonishingly.

"His mother's—what damn dogshit luck!"

A sour feeling welled up in his heart, and he could not help cursing inwardly before uncontrollably looking at Lu He again.

"Is it truly talent? Or does he possess some kind of fortuitous opportunity?"

There was a hint of heat in his eyes.

This world had never lacked fortuitous opportunities, especially the strange treasures nurtured by spiritual veins. They might be magical artifacts or spiritual treasures, precious medicinal herbs, or perhaps even the leftover bones of Gods and Devils...

Some had even discovered an inherited divine ability within a newly formed spiritual vein and directly become a giant of their region.

But the next moment.

He seemed to suddenly realize something. Casting a wary glance at Steward Lu, he hurriedly suppressed the waves of greed rising in his heart.

"What a pity. The person from the Inner Garden is coming to collect him tomorrow. Otherwise, I could have forced him to talk."

That night.

Utility Hall.

"Six True Talismans in the Intent Metamorphosis stage. Your performance today truly exceeded my expectations."

Steward Lu sat upright on a meditation cushion and praised him warmly.

The youth before him had originally only been a casual move made out of boredom. Though Steward Lu had told him to do a small favor after entering the Inner Garden, he had not held much hope.

There was no other reason—his "small favor"... was genuinely quite difficult.

Previously, he had also asked several Inner Garden disciples, but every one of them had vanished without further word.

Yet flowers planted with care would not bloom, while willow branches stuck in the ground without thought grew into shade.

"Heaven never seals off every road!"

Steward Lu looked at Lu He before him, and a trace of excitement showed through his somewhat youthful face.

As for whether Lu He had reached this point through a fortuitous opportunity or talent, that was clearly not something he cared to consider.

The only thing Steward Lu cared about was Lu He's cultivation, merely half a step away from flawless Foundation Establishment. That meant there was a possibility.

Across from him.

"I must also thank you for your care, sir."

Lu He replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"You brat, there is no need for such distant pleasantries between us."

Steward Lu chuckled. Then, with a swipe of one hand across his waist, a palm-sized purple jade slip suddenly appeared in his palm.

"This is the supplementary volume of the Scarlet Horned-Dragon True-Origin Visualization Diagram that Deng Yuantong promised you. It bears the imprint of the true Red Horned Dragon diagram. It is not something those nine visualization diagrams in Enlightenment Pavilion, torn apart into a complete mess, can compare with."

"It also contains a detailed introduction to the Qi-Feeding Realm, along with two matching spells. If I remember correctly, they should be Summon Mist as Weapons and Little Crimson Burning Art."

"When using it, press the jade slip to your brow and try communicating with it through your consciousness."

He handed the purple jade slip to Lu He.

As he explained, he clicked his tongue in wonder.

"This supplementary volume came from Enlightenment Academy in the Inner Garden and is worth a great deal. If they had not feared that you would perform too poorly at White-Scale Lake, those old fellows would never have spent such a fortune!"

"Oh, right!"

He suddenly recalled something and hurriedly looked at Lu He.

"You still have sixty jin of spirit gold.

"After entering the Qi-Feeding Realm, cultivators of the Red Horned Dragon lineage usually focus on one of the fire, earth, and water paths. Fire is violent, earth is heavy, and water is ever-changing. What attribute of spirit gold do you want? I will go to the inner treasury and fetch it for you now."

"Spirit gold?"

Lu He froze for a moment. Shifting his gaze away from the purple jade slip, he cupped his hands in salute and replied without hesitation.

"Please trouble yourself to take twelve jin of each of the five elements for me."

"Twelve jin of each?"

Steward Lu raised his brows, somewhat puzzled. "Have you thought this through? You do not have much spirit gold to begin with. If you do this, I fear you will not be able to refine any magical artifact at all. It will be wasted for nothing."

"I have thought it through."

Lu He stood and saluted once more, his expression calm.

"So be it. Wait here."

Seeing Lu He's firm attitude, Steward Lu said no more.

Creak— The door was gently pushed open, and Steward Lu's white-robed back soon vanished at the end of the corridor.

Where he stood.

Lu He took out the purple jade slip once more, curiosity flashing through his eyes.

This item had most likely been prepared by the stewards for the man he had defeated on Arena Three during the day. The spirit gold was probably meant for him as well.

Unfortunately, it had been intercepted by Lu He.

"The true Red Horned Dragon diagram..."

Inside the cultivation chamber of the cave dwelling courtyard.

Lu He sat cross-legged, his eyes tightly shut.

A purple jade slip was pressed firmly against his brow.

The jade slip had already been activated. Dao patterns flowed across its surface, suffused with wisps of misty light.

Within the depths of his consciousness.

Roar—

Accompanied by an unyielding howl.

A horned dragon covered in crimson scales emerged from nothingness and rapidly solidified. In an instant, a terrifying aura unique to a higher lifeform spread out.

Two long horns curved backward from the horned dragon's forehead like a pair of twisted immortal blades, wreathed in strands of incomparably sharp, brilliant immortal light. They carried a terrifying intent as though they would pierce the heavens.

Beside it.

The six Scarlet Horned-Dragon True-Intent Runes, originally still and quiet, seemed to sense something. They all gave excited tremors and quickly gathered around the Red Horned Dragon, weaving together as one.

The next moment.

With a hum.

Perhaps provoked, the White Ape Dao Diagram refused to be outdone. It forcibly squeezed aside the nearly corporeal phantom of the horned dragon's true intent and firmly occupied the center.

Within the diagram, the white ape child faintly raised his head. As his eyes opened and closed, profound Dao mechanisms rose.

Lu He was fully activating his innate Dao Diagram.

In but an instant, the horned dragon let out a pained cry. The true intent entwined around its body began to be stripped away bit by bit, then slowly wove itself into a new Red Qiu True Talisman.

The seventh True Talisman!

The entire process was less comprehension than robbery—less absorption than swallowing it alive and tearing it apart raw!

No one knew how much time had passed.

A sense of completion filled Lu He's heart.

In the depths of his consciousness, the horned dragon's figure quietly vanished. In its place were seven blood-red True-Intent Runes, trembling and ringing madly.

Gradually.

The Red Horned Dragon Dao patterns interwoven through Lu He's flesh and blood also began to transform into tiny crimson horned dragons, flowing through his limbs and bones faster and faster.

In the end, they slowly gathered toward his dantian.

Sensing something, Lu He opened his eyes. A hint of crimson had unknowingly stained his pupils, while a primitive wildness leaped like flames within them!

"My accumulation has reached its limit. Is it beginning to condense mana on its own?"

Through an indescribable sense of awareness.

He naturally discovered the changes within his body.

But—

Lu He thought of Qin Lie, as well as the man on Arena Two who had also condensed seven True Talismans.

Why had neither of them, upon condensing their seventh True Talisman, begun naturally condensing mana as he had?

With that thought.

He unconsciously lowered his head. In his sight was a jade slip that had lost all its wondrous properties and become ordinary purple jade.

Clearly, the credit lay with it.

Thinking back on what he had just experienced.

"This supplementary volume of the Scarlet Horned-Dragon True-Origin Visualization Diagram is practically equivalent to sealing the complete Scarlet Horned Dragon True Intent inside it. A cultivator only needs to slowly digest it and condense it into their own Red Qiu True Talismans."

Lu He's gaze narrowed slightly.

He had never imagined that cultivating a Foundation Establishment visualization method could have such a shortcut.

Compared to painstakingly comprehending the Vermilion Horn Stele in Enlightenment Pavilion, this method condensed True Talismans more than ten or a hundred times faster.

Moreover, the True Talismans condensed through this method were even more complete than those gained from comprehending the Vermilion Horn Stele.

"With a supplementary visualization diagram and treasured pills, if one's comprehension is sufficient, forging a flawless foundation in two or three days—or even one day—is not impossible."

Lu He murmured.

In an instant, he understood how the monstrous geniuses Steward Lu had mentioned, those who completed Foundation Establishment in mere days within the Inner Garden, had done it.

"The three stages of Foundation Establishment—Body Metamorphosis, Intent Metamorphosis, and Mana Metamorphosis... truly are nothing more than a threshold. Those monsters do not even consider them worth spending time on."

Ripples stirred through Lu He's mind.

If that was the case, then what were the cultivators in the Medicine Garden, struggling bitterly and viewing Foundation Establishment as a mountain to be climbed?

"At the end of the day, it is still resources. In this world's immortal cultivation, the importance of resources may be far greater than I imagined."

Lu He pressed his lips together. He already had a direction for his second innate Dao Diagram.

Returning to reality.

He saw that the seven Red Qiu True Talismans, which had originally floated in the depths of his consciousness, had somehow appeared in his dantian. Interwoven with thousands upon thousands of Red Horned Dragon Dao patterns, they formed a mass of endlessly churning chaotic aura.

"What a pity. The White Ape Dao Diagram's grade is too low. It still cannot comprehend true intent and condense True Talismans. Otherwise..."

Lu He thought regretfully. Then he focused all his attention and silently watched the changes in his dantian.

Time passed bit by bit.

Thump, thump—

Thump, thump—

Lu He's heart beat slower and slower. The life force within his body seemed to be drawn away by something, rapidly weakening until... it vanished completely.

He did not move. His body had become like a piece of decayed wood, utterly devoid of life.

Rustle~

The soft sounds of insects crawling through the earth came from below. At first there were only two or three, as though they were testing him. Then the sounds grew lively.

Lu He's eyes remained tightly closed.

At a certain moment.

With a crisp crack, the mass of chaotic aura in his dantian—formed from interwoven True Talismans and Dao patterns, endlessly surging—began to contract and solidify bit by bit.

In the end.

A strand of crimson mana shaped like a flood dragon suddenly appeared deep within his dantian!

The instant it appeared, it went directly to the center of his dantian, connecting head to tail and circling endlessly, like a spring well flowing with divine radiance.

The spring well cast streams of spiritual light outward.

It illuminated the dantian, once pitch-black, until it was bright as day.

In that instant.

The spiritual energy filling the cave dwelling seemed to receive a powerful summons. It began rushing madly toward the cultivation chamber, lingering around Lu He and turning into mist visible to the naked eye.

Whoosh, whoosh—

Lu He unconsciously opened his mouth and directly swallowed the wisps of mist.

Before long, strands of spiritual-energy mist passed through his limbs and bones, merging into his endlessly circulating blood and qi.

Gurgle! Gurgle!

Within the spring well, an extremely fine strand of crimson mana flowed forth, swimming merrily through the vast dantian.

If this strand of mana were magnified, one would surely discover that it was formed entirely from countless Dao patterns interwoven with nine tiny True Talismans resembling suns.

With every movement, it radiated an extremely dangerous fluctuation of mana.

Lu He slowly woke.

In an instant, as if a volcano had awakened, an indescribably terrifying and violent aura erupted from within his body.

But the aura lasted only a moment before Lu He drew it all back in, not allowing a single trace to leak out.

Clearly, Dharma power had been condensed from Lu He's vital essence, spirit, and will. Even without experience, he could wield it as easily as an arm or finger, controlling it with perfect freedom.

"Morning, a mortal; evening, transformed into an immortal. From this day on, I am a lifeform of the immortal path!"

Lu He rose to his feet, an irrepressible gleam of excitement rising in his eyes.

All the bits and pieces since his transmigration flashed rapidly through his mind without his realizing it.

The endless complaints during his day-and-night labor, the calluses worn into his hands by work, the straw sandals he had worn through, the stench of the hut that had kept him from sleeping... and so on.

All of it condensed into a trace of wistful sighing on his face.

Tenant farmer Lu He was a thing of the past.

In his place stood—Immortal Master Lu He!

"Right, I still haven't felt what mysteries the Qi-Feeding Realm holds..."

Lu He shook his head, forcing himself to calm down before carefully sensing the changes brought by entering the Qi-Feeding Realm.

Half a quarter-hour later.

As though he had discovered something, he suddenly opened his eyes, his face filled with shock.

Lu He could actually sense his remaining lifespan—and there was not the slightest blur to it. It was clear beyond clear!

"A first-layer Qi-Feeding cultivator, free from illness and disaster, can live to one hundred and twenty?"

Lu He pondered.

The introduction to the immortal path's Qi-Feeding Realm from that purple jade slip immediately surfaced in his mind.

"The twelve layers of Qi-Feeding, from low to high, successively cultivate the four secret realms of the human body: the Vermilion Essence Spring, Crimson Palace Sea, Divine-Communion Bridge, and Violet-Gold Gate. For every secret realm cultivated, one's lifespan increases by thirty years."

"By that calculation, wouldn't cultivators above the tenth layer of Qi-Feeding be able to live to two hundred and ten?"

After doing the simple math.

Lu He could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.

Such a lifespan, if placed in his previous life, would nearly be enough to witness the rise and fall of an entire dynasty.

The key was that the Qi-Feeding Realm was merely the first realm of cultivation in this world's immortal path.

Hoo—

The future was full of promise!

He exhaled a breath of turbid air, his eyes incomparably bright.

After resting briefly.

Lu He impatiently got up and fetched a bronze box, half a foot square, from the outer hall.

After opening it.

Five irregular, pitch-black iron chunks the size of thumbs immediately came into view.

"Sixty jin of spirit gold, and there's only this much?"

Lu He froze where he stood.

Looking at the spirit gold Steward Lu had brought over in this box, if not for the weight in his hand proving there was no problem, he would have thought someone had skimmed off the goods.

"That's not right. Casting the first layer of the Myriad-Dharma Marvelous-Insight Treasure Wheel wouldn't even use all sixty jin... just how tiny will my treasure wheel be?"

Lu He's brows knotted tightly together.

He could not help imagining his future battles with others at White-Scale Lake, shouting, "Behold my treasure!" only to pull out a treasure wheel the size of a fingertip.

If his enemy stood a little farther away, or had slightly worse eyesight, they might not even be able to see it—

Eh, it would be better if they could not see it!

Lu He suddenly came to his senses, and his eyes lit up.

He poured the five iron chunks from the bronze box into his palm.

The instant his skin touched them, Lu He noticed how they differed from Bai Hao's spirit-iron longsword.

This spirit gold was actually drawing in the surrounding spiritual workings of heaven and earth on its own.

"As expected of a material used to forge Dharma artifacts."

Lu He licked his lips and immediately connected with the [White Ape Child Cave-Evolution Diagram] deep within his consciousness.