Drawing Qi into the Body

A moment later, Extreme Yin withdrew his gaze in disappointment.

"It has already been three days, yet not a single person has successfully sensed the existence of spiritual energy."

Seeing that no one else reacted, Song Wen did not take the initiative to reveal that he had sensed the existence of spiritual energy.

It seems my cultivation talent is not bad. At the very least, it is better than that of the hundred-odd people before me!

Song Wen thought to himself.

That night, Song Wen successfully drew the first wisp of heaven and earth spiritual energy into his body.

He sensed the glowing specks in the air pouring into his body. In an instant, a faint warm current appeared out of nowhere within his meridians, circulating through his body along the cultivation route of the Longevity Art.

Song Wen's eyes lit up. Just as he was about to press on, another troubling thought surfaced in his mind.

What if Extreme Yin can sense others' cultivation? If he learns that I have successfully drawn Qi into my body and deliberately kept it hidden, I fear it will be detrimental to me.

With that in mind, Song Wen immediately stopped cultivating.

The moment he stopped, the heaven and earth spiritual energy that had been drawn toward him from all around lost its target and began drifting aimlessly through the air once more.

As for the wisp of heaven and earth spiritual energy that had just entered his body, it had not yet been refined and had not truly become Song Wen's own spiritual power. After losing the guidance of the Longevity Art, it too slowly dispersed into the air.

That was close. It seems I will have to suspend my cultivation for the next few days. I only need to put on an act in front of others.

Having made up his mind, Song Wen lay down and went to sleep.

In the blink of an eye, another four days passed, bringing them to the seventh day of cultivation.

That morning.

The moment Song Wen stepped out of his room, he heard people talking loudly.

A dark-skinned man with a lean yet sturdy build and a somewhat dull manner was surrounded by a group of young people, their eyes filled with envy.

"Second Ox, did you really draw Qi into your body?"

"Brother Second Ox, quickly guide us! Share your experience in drawing Qi into the body!"

A flush rose to Second Ox's dark face. Born in the countryside and poor at socializing, it was his first time experiencing the feeling of being surrounded like the moon by stars. He was thrilled and proud, yet also at a loss.

His face red, he did not know how to respond for a moment.

"What are you doing?"

A harsh, stern voice suddenly cut through the crowd's discussion.

Extreme Yin strode into the area of side rooms, anger written across his face.

"So early in the morning, instead of cultivating properly, why are you making such a racket?"

Faced with Extreme Yin's furious rebuke, everyone instantly fell silent, lowering their heads in fear.

Since Second Ox stood at the very center of the crowd, Extreme Yin's gaze naturally fell upon him.

Second Ox immediately became somewhat trembling and fearful. Extreme Yin's stern gaze made him feel deeply uncomfortable, just like when he had hunted back home and found himself watched by wolves, jackals, tigers, and leopards.

Second Ox did not dare move, only daring to explain in a low voice.

"Reporting to you, sir, I successfully drew Qi into my body last night, so..."

"What? You have already drawn Qi into your body!"

The fury on Extreme Yin's face instantly transformed into delight. He stepped forward, grabbed Second Ox's wrist, and carefully sensed him for a moment before praising him repeatedly.

"Second Ox, you have done very well. From today onward, you are my chief personal disciple. After today's lesson, you will move into your master's small building, where I will personally instruct you."

Feeling Extreme Yin's regard, Second Ox's blood surged with excitement. Overjoyed, he seemed to see a bright future unfolding before him, and even his words became halting.

"Th-thank... you... Lord Extreme Yin."

"Why are you still calling me lord? You should change it to Master!" Extreme Yin said with a kindly expression.

After offering Second Ox a few words of encouragement, Extreme Yin turned to the others.

"You must work hard as well. So long as you successfully draw Qi into your bodies, you can also become my disciples and Second Ox's junior martial brothers."

"Come, Second Ox. Sit beside your master. We will begin today's explanation."

As he listened to Extreme Yin's endless explanation of cultivation methods from the front, Song Wen was analyzing everything that had just happened.

First, judging by Extreme Yin's wild delight upon learning that Second Ox had successfully drawn Qi into his body, Extreme Yin had no idea who possessed the aptitude for immortality cultivation. His method of gathering more than a hundred young people to teach them seemed more like casting a wide net and hoping to strike it lucky.

Second, Extreme Yin could not detect another person's cultivation from a distance. He had to make physical contact.

Third, Extreme Yin had just declared Second Ox his "chief disciple." Yet from Elder Yan and Gou Hang's conversation and reactions, Song Wen knew this batch of young people was definitely not the first group of disciples Extreme Yin had recruited. Could it be that not one person among those earlier groups had successfully drawn Qi into the body? If there had been, where had they gone? And where had those who failed to draw Qi into their bodies gone?

Before he figured out these questions, Song Wen could not find peace of mind. It always felt as though a sharp sword hung above his head, pressing down upon him with the threat that his life could be taken at any moment.

However, after confirming that Extreme Yin had no way to investigate another person's cultivation from afar, Song Wen could cultivate without restraint.

Another twenty days passed in the blink of an eye. Another young man named Zhang Cheng successfully drew Qi into his body.

This thrilled Extreme Yin greatly. It was as though having two people with cultivation aptitude among more than a hundred was already a blessing beyond measure, far exceeding his expectations.

During this time, Song Wen continued cultivating in silence. The warm current within his body had grown increasingly powerful. As his cultivation gradually rose, his physical condition, strength, and mental state were all greatly enhanced.

It was inconvenient for him to test his physical condition and strength, but he could clearly feel his mind growing ever more vigorous. It even seemed that his thoughts had become much quicker and sharper.

He had also been observing the changes in Second Ox. Second Ox's progress was visible to the naked eye. Simple-minded by nature, he had no intention of concealing his cultivation and would occasionally display his strength before the others.

Just yesterday, Song Wen had personally seen Second Ox lift a hundred-jin boulder with one hand, drawing repeated praise and envious looks from the crowd.

Song Wen secretly assessed that his own strength should surpass Second Ox's. In other words, the force in his hands absolutely exceeded one hundred jin.

At the same time, the thing he had always feared—that Extreme Yin would do something harmful to those capable of immortality cultivation—had not happened.

That evening, after dinner, Song Wen followed his usual routine and strolled along the courtyard walls to aid digestion. It was something he did every day, and the others had long stopped finding it strange. No one paid special attention to his somewhat unconventional behavior.

Of course, he was not truly walking to aid digestion. He wanted to carefully observe the courtyard's layout and conduct reconnaissance in preparation for a possible future escape.

The courtyard walls stood a full zhang high, making them difficult to climb directly. Quite a few guards were stationed both inside and outside the walls, so the chance of scaling the walls and escaping without being discovered was extremely slim.

Yet after nearly a month of observation, Song Wen had not gained nothing.

At a section of wall more than a hundred zhang from the side rooms, he discovered a dog hole large enough for a person to crawl through. Low shrubs grew there, along with a great deal of waist-high grass, making the dog hole extremely well hidden. Had he not inspected the area carefully over many days, he would never have discovered it.

However, guards were stationed near the dog hole. Even after crawling through it, he would still be within Heavenly Baleful Gang territory. To escape through that dog hole, he would need the right opportunity.