Geniuses and Monsters

Geniuses and Monsters

Qin Mo felt Nirvana Flame surge into his dantian again. He did not fly into a panic; he was simply dejected beyond measure. His wild notion of making Nirvana Flame, which had plagued him for years, turn over a new leaf and serve the government was simply muddleheaded. With Nirvana Flame's temperament, how could it possibly be the makings of a law-abiding citizen? It was plainly a devil king who sowed chaos in the world!

Watching the essence fluid within his dantian shrink by a third in an instant, Qin Mo thought mournfully, "Fine. At worst, I'll start accumulating essence fluid all over again. With my formidable body, I can at least live up to my status as a Mysterious Realm expert. I'll take it one step at a time."

After devouring a third of the essence fluid, 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 the impurities from the vital energy bit by bit. Strands of vital energy once more gathered toward his dantian.

Just as Qin Mo was painstakingly accumulating essence fluid, 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, then spat out a thread of bright yellow liquid from its mouth, which swiftly merged into the essence fluid in his dantian.

Qin Mo finally felt genuine terror. Things had completely slipped beyond his control. What exactly was this strand of bright yellow liquid? If his essence fluid dried up, it would be no great matter; at worst, he could cultivate it back. But if his dantian was destroyed, every battle technique and method founded upon vital energy would become useless, and even the foundation of his body might collapse.

Fortunately, his dantian did not change in the direction Qin Mo feared. Instead, it gradually took on a faint bright yellow hue. The essence fluid Qin Mo had purified with the Guixin Scripture had originally been golden yellow; now, it was as though a layer of shining oil had been applied to it, making it even more magnificent and imposing.

Originally, the Guixin Scripture controlled the essence fluid into a vortex, drawing in and luring the gentle vital energy into the dantian, then casting out the violent vital energy harmful to the body. Now that the bright yellow liquid had fused with the essence fluid in his dantian, the speed and adhesive pull with which it drew in the gentle energy of heaven and earth had increased. As more and more vital energy was absorbed, the liquid vortex in his dantian spun faster and faster, stripping the energy of heaven and earth several times more quickly than before. The essence fluid in his dantian had simply undergone... a qualitative transformation...

Qin Mo was overjoyed. While circulating the Guixin Scripture at full force, he continuously praised Nirvana Flame with his consciousness. "Good, very good. Nirvana Flame, you're so well-behaved. From now on, take good care of your little essence-fluid brother."

As the liquid vortex in his dantian spun at high speed, massive amounts of heaven-and-earth vital energy were drawn over. Nirvana Flame also joined the feast of devouring vital energy. Though it did not swallow all the heaven-and-earth vital energy, it was no longer like before, when it consumed only the violent vital energy the Guixin Scripture could not refine. Gentle or violent, it was not picky in the slightest.

Qin Mo was completely speechless. Nirvana Flame truly was one that never took a loss. It used a thread of bright yellow essence fluid to strengthen Qin Mo's dantian vortex, then sat back and reaped the benefits, devouring the vital energy drawn into his body by the vortex. It left only a portion of the vital energy for the dantian, while all the rest went into its belly.

Yet even so, Qin Mo's dantian vortex continued expanding at a tremendous pace. After devouring vital energy, Nirvana Flame would occasionally scatter specks of black radiance, strengthening Qin Mo's bones. Both Qin Mo's cultivation realm and physical body began to strengthen and rise rapidly. Meanwhile, the invisible heaven-and-earth vital energy formed an enormous vortex centered on Qin Mo's main tent, drawing in even more energy from the surroundings.

Kaihime repeated monotonous movements inside her tent. Ever since she had sensed the energy of heaven and earth, she had been striving to complete the final step of a cultivator's initiation—guiding energy into her body. Yet without the help of a "vital energy potion," and with no ready-made vital energy within her body to drive the cultivation method, no matter how anxious she was, the vital energy in the void simply would not enter her body.

Tonight, Kaihime felt that the vital energy around her was especially dense. She knew this was certainly related to Qin Mo in the neighboring main tent. She was already many times luckier than other women; she ought to regard even a monotonous cultivation life as sweet as honey.

Suddenly, a mischievous strand of heaven-and-earth vital energy touched Kaihime's skin. As though it had caught the scent of her fragrance, it lingered for a moment, only to be caught in the pull gathered by the simple and brutal beginner's chant of the Breaker Manual. Yet that pull was so weak that the mischievous vital energy felt it could break free with only a little effort... After struggling for a long while... it was finally dragged into Kaihime's body.

Kaihime's face was covered in tense sweat. She did her utmost to steady her heartbeat and breathing, slowly circulating the Breaker Manual and guiding that strand of vital energy toward a spot three inches below her navel. That was where she intended to open her "dantian."

With the first strand came the second. Tonight, there was an especially great number of mischievous strands of heaven-and-earth vital energy. Kaihime continuously guided vital energy into her body, constantly warning herself to remain calm and focused, but her increasingly heavy breaths still left her so nervous she was nearly driven mad.

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

She only hoped that Qin Mo's cultivation tonight would last a little longer, so she could borrow the momentum to obtain more heaven-and-earth vital energy and open her "dantian" in one burst of effort. If she gave up halfway, who knew whether she would be able to obtain so much vital energy for her own use again tomorrow.

Fortunately, fortunately, His Highness the Heir continued cultivating throughout the night. After enduring tremendous pain, Kaihime finally felt that her abdomen no longer hurt. Instead, it became warm. It was as though a brand-new world had opened within her body; even when her blood flowed past the spot three inches below her navel, it became more vibrant with life. After toiling through the entire night, she actually felt increasingly alert and stronger.

She knew that she had finally crossed the divide between mortals and cultivators. From this day onward, she would no longer fade into the masses. She had already seized her own fate in her hands.

At full dawn, Kaihime felt the heaven-and-earth vital energy in the void gradually disperse. She knew Qin Mo had stopped cultivating. She hurriedly stopped as well. After changing clothes and gathering her washing supplies, she went to attend Qin Mo as he rose and washed. Yet just as she reached the tent entrance, 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 excellent spirits today. After cultivating for an entire night, he could clearly feel the changes in both his body and cultivation realm. This was simply the speed of having cheats enabled. Thinking that he too would one day become a great figure, he could not help chuckling aloud.

"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 and allowed Kaihime to dress and wash him.

Qin Mo had never been fond of this lifestyle unique to nobles. Yet ever since Kaihime moved near his main tent, she had insisted on attending him. In her view, Qin Mo, as one of the most exalted nobles in Great Xia, living without the slightest refinement 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 Qin Mo closely, helping him change clothes, then wiping his face and combing his hair. Qin Mo had grown accustomed to such treatment as well, narrowing his eyes as he enjoyed this rare bit of ease.

"Eh!" Qin Mo sensed a slight change within Kaihime's body behind him. He calmed his mind and gathered his energy again, feeling carefully. At last, he confirmed it—Kaihime now possessed "vital energy" within her body.