Geniuses and Monsters

Geniuses and Monsters

Qin Mo felt Nirvana Flame surge into his Dantian again. He did not panic; he was simply utterly dejected. He had actually entertained the wild notion of reforming the Nirvana Flame that had plagued him for years and making it serve the government... He had truly lost his mind. With Nirvana Flame's temperament, how could it possibly be cut from the cloth of a law-abiding citizen? It was plainly a demon king who threw the world into chaos!

Watching the Vital Essence liquid in his Dantian shrink by a third in an instant, Qin Mo thought mournfully, "Forget it. At worst, I'll start accumulating Vital Essence liquid again. With my formidable physique, I can at least live up to my status as a Mysterious Realm expert. I'll take things one step at a time."

After devouring a third of the Vital Essence liquid, Nirvana Flame returned to the mark on his chest to digest its meal. Qin Mo silently continued circulating the Guixin Scripture, slowly stripping away and discarding impurities from the Vital Essence bit by bit. Threads of Vital Essence once again gathered toward his Dantian.

Just as Qin Mo was painstakingly accumulating Vital Essence liquid, Nirvana Flame suddenly slipped out of the Phoenix Mark again. Qin Mo found it strange. Why had it come out so quickly this time? Could it be planning to swallow his entire Dantian in one go?

Nirvana Flame slowly circled his Dantian again. After making several rounds, it seemed to yawn and spat out a strand of bright golden liquid, which swiftly merged into the Vital Essence liquid within his Dantian.

Qin Mo finally felt genuine fear. Things had completely slipped beyond his control. What exactly was this strand of bright golden liquid? It would be fine if his Vital Essence liquid ran dry—he could simply cultivate it back—but if his Dantian were destroyed, every battle technique and cultivation method founded on Vital Essence would become useless. Even the foundation of his body would collapse.

Fortunately, his Dantian did not change in the direction Qin Mo feared. Instead, it gradually took on a faint bright golden hue. The Vital Essence liquid purified by the Guixin Scripture had originally been a clear yellow; now, it was as though it had been coated in a layer of shining oil, becoming even more magnificent and imposing.

Originally, the Guixin Scripture controlled the Vital Essence liquid into a vortex, drawing in and luring the gentle Vital Essence into the Dantian while casting out the violent Vital Essence harmful to the body. But after the bright golden liquid merged with the Vital Essence liquid in his Dantian, the speed and adhesive pull with which it drew in the gentle Earth Vital Essence increased. As more and more Vital Essence was sucked in, the liquid vortex in his Dantian spun faster and faster. Its stripping of Earth Vital Essence accelerated by several times over. The Vital Essence liquid in his Dantian had simply undergone... a qualitative transformation...

Qin Mo was overjoyed. While circulating the Guixin Scripture with all his strength, he continuously praised Nirvana Flame with his thoughts. "Good, very good. Nirvana Flame is such a good boy. From now on, take good care of your little brother, the Vital Essence liquid."

As the liquid vortex in his Dantian spun at high speed, vast amounts of Earth Vital Essence were drawn toward it. Nirvana Flame also joined this feast of devouring Vital Essence. Though it did not swallow all the Earth Vital Essence, it no longer consumed only the violent Vital Essence that the Guixin Scripture could not refine. Gentle or violent, it was not picky in the slightest.

Qin Mo was rendered speechless. Nirvana Flame really was someone who never accepted a loss. It had strengthened Qin Mo's Dantian liquid vortex with a strand of bright golden Vital Essence liquid, then sat back and reaped the rewards by devouring the Vital Essence drawn into his body by the vortex. It left only a portion of the Vital Essence for his Dantian, while the rest all went into its belly.

Even so, the liquid vortex in Qin Mo's Dantian continued to expand at a rapid pace. After swallowing Vital Essence, Nirvana Flame occasionally scattered specks of black radiance, strengthening Qin Mo's bones and body. Both his realm and physique began to strengthen and advance swiftly. Meanwhile, the invisible Earth Vital Essence formed an enormous vortex centered on Qin Mo's great tent, drawing in even more Vital Essence from the surroundings.

Inside her own tent, Kaihime repeated the same tedious motions. Ever since she had sensed Earth Vital Essence, she had been striving to complete the final step of a cultivator's initiation—guiding Vital Essence into the body. But without the help of Vital Essence potions, there was no ready-made Vital Essence within her body to drive the cultivation method. No matter how anxious she was, as though fire burned in her heart, the Vital Essence in the void simply refused to enter her body.

Tonight, Kaihime felt that the Vital Essence around her was exceptionally dense. She knew it must have something to do with Qin Mo in the neighboring great tent. She was already many times luckier than other women, so she ought to find even a tedious life of cultivation sweet as honey.

Suddenly, a mischievous strand of Earth Vital Essence touched Kaihime's skin. As though it had caught the scent of her body fragrance, it lingered for a moment, only to fall into the pull condensed by the simple and crude introductory incantation of the Breaker Manual. Yet that pull was so weak that the mischievous Vital Essence felt it could break free with barely any effort... After struggling for a long while... it was finally dragged into Kaihime's body.

Kaihime's face was beaded with sweat from tension. She did her utmost to calm her heartbeat and breathing, slowly circulating the Breaker Manual as she guided that strand of Vital Essence to three inches below her navel. That was where she was preparing to open up her Dantian.

With one strand came a second. Tonight, there was an unusual abundance of mischievous Earth Vital Essence. Kaihime continuously guided Vital Essence into her body, constantly reminding herself to remain calm and focused. But her increasingly heavy breathing still made her so nervous she nearly went mad.

At last, three inches below her navel began to ache fiercely. This was the Vital Essence opening up territory for itself, planning to make this place its new home. Kaihime silently circulated her cultivation method, enduring the pain as she repaired and transformed the area three inches below her navel.

She only hoped that Qin Mo's cultivation would last longer tonight, so she could ride the tide and obtain more Earth Vital Essence. Then she could strike while the iron was hot and complete the opening of her Dantian in one push. If she gave up halfway, who knew whether she would ever obtain so much Vital Essence to use again.

Fortunately, fortunately, His Highness the Heir had continued cultivating throughout the night. After enduring tremendous pain, Kaihime finally felt that her lower abdomen no longer hurt. Instead, it grew warm. It was as though a brand-new world had opened within her body. Even her blood seemed to grow more vigorous after flowing past the place three inches below her navel. After working all night, she actually felt increasingly alert and stronger.

She knew that she had finally crossed the threshold between mortal and cultivator. From this day onward, she would no longer disappear among the masses. She had already taken her fate into her own hands.

When the sky brightened, Kaihime felt the Earth Vital Essence in the void gradually disperse. She knew Qin Mo had stopped cultivating. She hurriedly stopped as well, changed clothes, gathered her washing supplies, and went to attend to Qin Mo as he rose and washed. Just as she reached the tent entrance, however, she turned back, carefully dressed herself before the bronze mirror, then picked up the water basin again and left the tent.

Qin Mo was also in an excellent mood today. After cultivating for an entire night, he could clearly feel the changes in both his body and realm. This was practically the speed of having cheats enabled. Thinking that he would one day become a great figure himself, he could not help letting out a smug chuckle.

"Your Highness, it is time to wash and change." Kaihime's slightly hoarse voice rang out, interrupting Qin Mo's wild imaginings. He casually spread his arms, allowing Kaihime to dress and wash him.

Qin Mo had never been particularly fond of this aristocratic way of life. But ever since Kaihime moved near his great tent, she had insisted on attending to him. In her view, Qin Mo was among the most exalted nobles of the Great Xia Imperial Clan; for him to be so careless about his daily life was simply an insult and disrespect to the Great Xia Imperial Clan. Little did she know that, because his body held secrets, Qin Mo had never lived according to the Great Xia Imperial Clan's customs since childhood.

Kaihime moved around close to Qin Mo, helping him change clothes, then wiping his face and combing his hair. Qin Mo had grown accustomed to such treatment. He narrowed his eyes and enjoyed this rare moment of ease.

"Eh!" Qin Mo sensed a tiny change within Kaihime's body behind him. He calmed his mind and gathered his breath, carefully feeling again. At last, he confirmed that Vital Essence now existed within Kaihime's body.