No Qi Gathering Powder, One-Star Dou Zhe

Seven days had passed since the coming-of-age ceremony ended.

Xiao Yan's peerless talent had become the focus of discussion for many people in Wu Tan City after meals and over tea.

Everyone already knew that the Xiao Clan was destined to rise in the future.

This also caused business at the Xiao Clan's marketplace to gradually improve.

Meanwhile, the other two clans in Wu Tan City had fallen somewhat silent, but would they simply resign themselves to their fate?

As the cause of all this, Xiao Yan had returned to his quiet cultivation.

In a hidden cave in the back mountains of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan awoke from cultivation.

His Dou Qi had long since reached the full ninth stage.

He could condense a Dou Qi Vortex and become a Dou Zhe at any time.

However, there was a chance of failure when condensing a Dou Qi Vortex. If he failed, he would fall back to the eighth stage of Dou Qi.

This forced Xiao Yan to treat the matter with caution.

Xiao Yan touched the black ring on his hand. A wisp of white smoke rose, and Yao Lao appeared within the cave.

"Teacher, what materials are needed to refine Qi Gathering Powder?"

To condense a Dou Qi Vortex with a hundred percent certainty, Xiao Yan thought of Qi Gathering Powder.

"Four fifty-year-old Ink Leaf Lotuses, two ripe Snake Saliva Fruits, one Spirit Gathering Grass around twenty years old, and one second-tier water-attributed magic core."

Stroking his beard, Yao Lao slowly listed the materials required to refine Qi Gathering Powder.

Xiao Yan calculated the gold coins these materials would cost.

They would require more than fifty thousand gold coins.

By cursing himself every day, he had managed to fleece nearly twenty thousand gold coins from the system so far.

In other words, he still had a shortfall of thirty thousand gold coins.

Xiao Yan frowned slightly. This feeling of being controlled by money displeased him.

He only wanted to cultivate.

If he asked Xun'er to lend him money, the girl would certainly do so without hesitation.

However, Xiao Yan was somewhat averse to borrowing money.

"Teacher, if I don't use Qi Gathering Powder, what are my chances of successfully condensing a Dou Qi Vortex now?"

Yao Lao glanced at the black-haired youth and said coldly:

"To condense a Dou Qi Vortex, you need the support of enormous energy. Without Qi Gathering Powder, the success rate will not exceed thirty percent."

Xiao Yan was no stranger to condensing a Dou Qi Vortex. Four years ago, he had succeeded once already.

That time, he had succeeded with the help of Qi Gathering Powder.

Almost everyone relied on Qi Gathering Powder to condense a Dou Qi Vortex and become a Dou Zhe.

That was also why alchemists were so esteemed.

After pondering for a long while, Xiao Yan decided not to take Qi Gathering Powder and instead condense the Dou Qi Vortex on his own.

When Xiao Yan told Yao Lao of his decision, the latter was quite puzzled.

Yao Lao asked doubtfully:

"If you made this choice because you don't have enough gold coins, then there's no need."

"I can refine some Foundation-Building Spirit Liquid and auction it off. You can have as many gold coins as you want."

"I can refine Qi Gathering Powder for you to eat like beans."

By the end, Yao Lao revealed the pride of an alchemist.

Xiao Yan shook his head and said:

"After a year of arduous cultivation, I've gained some insight into the Dou Qi stage. I want to rely on my own foundation to condense the Dou Qi Vortex. I believe it will bring many benefits to my future path of cultivation."

"Although Dou Qi is merely basic energy and lacks the compression and solidity of true Dou Qi, that is precisely why it is perfect for laying a foundation."

"Now that I've reached the full ninth stage, it seems I've reached my limit, but I feel there is still room for improvement."

"I want to challenge myself."

Hearing his disciple's insights into cultivation, Yao Lao was greatly shocked. Still, he shook his head and said:

"If you want to improve your physical strength, true Dou Qi can accomplish the same after you condense a Dou Qi Vortex."

"There is no need to waste more time at the Dou Qi stage."

Yet Xiao Yan stubbornly said, "No matter what, I have to try."

Yao Lao rubbed his forehead and said with some frustration, "Then I'll only give you half a year. If you still cannot condense a Dou Qi Vortex within half a year, you'll listen to me and take Qi Gathering Powder."

"Alright!"

Xiao Yan agreed readily.

It was not as though he had no confidence in condensing a Dou Qi Vortex without Qi Gathering Powder. His greatest reliance was still the Xiao Yan Must Die system.

Over the following days, in an even more secluded grove in the back mountains of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan endured Yao Lao's Dou Qi Whipping every day.

Two hundred lashes, three hundred lashes, three hundred and fifty lashes...

Each Dou Qi Whipping left a deep green mark on Xiao Yan's body.

Whenever this happened, the Dou Qi within his body would become extraordinarily active, flowing toward the injured areas to mend the wounds and clear away the congealed blood inside him.

Of course, there was also the restorative energy rewarded by the system.

The restorative energy rewarded by the system was a kind of primordial energy between heaven and earth, the most fundamental energy in existence.

This restorative energy not only repaired the wounds on his body, but also strengthened his physique.

Any excess energy did not dissipate either. Instead, it was stored within his body. Whenever his Dou Qi circulated, it absorbed that energy and fused with it.

A month later, Xiao Yan's physique had become twice as strong. The meridians within him were tough and robust, while his bones were as hard as steel.

With physical strength alone, he could split mountains and shatter rocks.

Of course, that was not the key point.

The key was that the Dou Qi within him had become even more abundant.

Dou Qi filled every meridian, bone, and muscle throughout his body.

But that was still far from enough.

Three months later, inside the cave.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged, his hands forming strange seals. An endless stream of Dou Qi from the air was drawn into his body and transformed into Dou Qi.

His upper body was bare, muscles bulging across his frame, his shoulders and back broad and powerful. Abundant Dou Qi flowed beneath his flesh. His former bronze skin had vanished, replaced by milky-white skin like white jade that gave off a faint glow, making him resemble a white statue.

This was because his Dou Qi had become too abundant.

After four months of Dou Qi Whipping, describing Xiao Yan's physical strength as impervious to blades and swords no longer did it justice.

Now, even when Yao Lao used the strength of a Dou Wang to unleash Dou Qi Whipping, he could only leave a white mark on Xiao Yan's body.

The abundance of Dou Qi had reached its peak. Every part of his body was filled with Dou Qi.

Even every drop of his blood contained Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan suddenly opened his closed eyes. Two intense beams of white light shot from his dark pupils, lasting a full two and a half minutes before finally fading.

Yao Lao floated in the air, staring at Xiao Yan, who was almost a humanoid mass of Dou Qi, his face filled with shock.

Over the past four months, Xiao Yan's physical talent had astonished him.

It seemed that his disciple's talent for the body was even more exceptional than his talent for Dou Qi and Dou Techniques.

For one person to possess such outstanding talent in physical cultivation, Dou Qi, and Dou Techniques was simply unheard of.

Terrifying indeed!

Yao Lao believed that Xiao Yan's future achievements would definitely surpass his own. He would become a Dou Sheng and might even break the deadlock of there having been no Dou Di on the Dou Qi Continent for thousands of years.

"Teacher, I'm going to begin condensing the Dou Qi Vortex."

Xiao Yan's eyes were full of confidence.

Following the method for condensing a Dou Qi Vortex from his memories, Xiao Yan formed a strange hand seal with his fingers.

As the seal formed, the pale Dou Qi throughout his body began shrinking toward his lower abdomen as though by prior agreement.

An endless stream of Dou Qi gathered at his lower abdomen, then was compressed.

Compressed again!

Under Xiao Yan's powerful late Mortal Realm soul force, the resistance of the compressed Dou Qi was exceedingly weak.

It was like a burly man pinning down a young girl and doing as he pleased.

Xiao Yan had complete control over the Dou Qi, kneading it round or flattening it square.

The enormous amount of Dou Qi was all gathered in the dantian at his lower abdomen, compressed and compressed without end.

In the end, nine palm-sized masses of Dou Qi, compressed to their absolute limit by Xiao Yan, floated in the space of his dantian.

It was as though nine white suns hung in the sky.

The white light was exceedingly blinding.

Nine into one!

Xiao Yan controlled the nine white masses of Qi and slammed them together.

At that instant, Xiao Yan released his control over the nine white masses of Qi.

Freed from their restraints, the nine white masses of Qi rapidly expanded.

However, Xiao Yan erected a wall of soul force around them, blocking the Dou Qi expanding outward.

All the expanding Dou Qi could only spread inward. The nine forces of expansion collided with one another, then rebounded against the wall of soul force.

[Ding! The host has launched an attack on Xiao Yan's soul. Judged to have weakened Xiao Yan by 2 stars.]

[Reward: Soul Strength +10.]

[Ding! The host has launched an attack on Xiao Yan's soul. Judged to have weakened Xiao Yan by 3 stars.]

[Reward: Soul Strength +10.]

[Ding! The host has launched an attack on Xiao Yan's soul. Judged to have weakened Xiao Yan by 3 stars.]

[Reward: Soul Strength +10.]

...

The system's notifications rang out continuously.

Xiao Yan had originally been about to lose his grip, but the system's rewards continuously strengthened his soul.

Late Mortal Realm, Mortal Realm Great Perfection, and finally, the early Spirit State.

Meanwhile, within his dantian, the nine white masses of Qi finally fused together. Their resisting force gradually weakened until it vanished.

The Dou Qi Vortex had successfully condensed!

Xiao Yan had become a one-star Dou Zhe.