"Ninth-stage dou qi!"
Xiao Qian let out a long breath and slowly emerged from his cultivation state.
By now, the crowd that had gathered around him had long since dispersed, leaving the spacious grounds empty and silent.
Only in the banquet hall did Nalan Jie and Nalan Su remain, seated across from each other. The tea before them had long since gone cold, its curling fragrance all but faded.
They appeared to be drinking tea, but their tightly knitted brows betrayed their inner unrest. Clearly, both were lost in deep thought.
"At last, all my dantians have reached ninth-stage dou qi." Feeling the surging power within him, Xiao Qian gradually settled his mind.
His heart held the joy of achieving his goal, mingled with complicated feelings he could not put into words.
Only he knew what he had gained along the way, and what he had lost.
Hum, hum...
Just as he prepared to finish cultivating and withdraw from his inward gaze, he suddenly sensed his nine dantians beginning to vibrate in unison at a peculiar frequency.
Then, as though they had developed minds of their own, they began shifting positions within his body. Their paths were profoundly mysterious, as if they contained some fundamental truth of heaven and earth.
"What's going on?" Alarmed, Xiao Qian hurriedly focused his mind, trying to investigate this sudden change.
Before he could understand its cause, however, the nine dantians settled into their respective positions.
At that moment, a thin golden halo emerged from each of the nine dantians. The halos swiftly merged and expanded, until they securely encircled all nine.
The golden halo resembled an indestructible protective membrane, radiating a mysterious aura.
"What is this?" Thoroughly puzzled, Xiao Qian knitted his brows, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
Instinctively, he circulated the dou qi