Extraordinary phenomena

At first, the light was merely a crystalline expanse of bright yellow, but as it rose, it gradually turned crimson, illuminating the surrounding thirty feet with vivid, penetrating radiance.

"So hot! So hot!"

Tu Shan Ge hurriedly sprang back several steps. Still finding that insufficient, he retreated thirty feet away before stopping.

"What is going on? How can it be so scorching?"

Tu Shan Ge wiped the sweat from his forehead, inwardly marveling.

Enveloped in that red light, he felt as though he stood in the fierce heat of midsummer. Every breath through his mouth and nose carried scalding summer air, searing his heart with bitter discomfort.

"No, that's not right!"

Soon, Tu Shan Ge noticed something strange and started in alarm.

Despite the unbearable heat, the traces of early frost and dew hanging on the cave residence's stone door remained intact, without melting.

"Have I lost my senses?"

He hesitated for a moment, then cautiously stepped into the red light again. Before long, however, he leaped out howling, as though the tip of his tail had caught fire.

And this was only the beginning-

Soon, beneath Tu Shan Ge's dumbfounded gaze, the red light gradually changed to brilliant white. The thirty-foot space became shadowy and bitterly cold, freezing his flesh and bones until they ached.

Blue, purple, silver, black, gold, azure, green, orange... lights of every color revolved and transformed, as though those thirty feet of heaven and earth had returned to the primordial chaos, when all things first separated into clear and turbid, yin and yang.

Now cold, now hot; now blazing, now glimmering; now unfolding, now restraining; now existing, now empty.

Like stalks from different fields bearing a single ear, their dim mysteries were impossible to distinguish...

Tu Shan Ge watched in utter fascination, forgetting himself entirely. Never had he seen such extraordinary phenomena when someone broke through to Qi Refining.

Even when his former master cultivated the upper-grade eighth-rank "cave spirit origin balefulness" and attained Foundation Establishment, he had merely drawn baleful energies from all directions into his body and sheared the autumn leaves from half a mountainside.

Compared with this scene, which seemed to show the void unfolding and dissolving, that truly was a lesser sorcerer before a greater one.

"What rank of Qi Cultivation Art is Master practicing? So magnificent, so astonishing! He even said he had no family background. That background must reach all the way to heaven!"

At this thought, urgency stirred in Tu Shan Ge's heart. Master refuses to tell me the truth. I fear he still doesn't see me as one of his own foxes... It seems I must work a little harder and distinguish myself before him, so he knows my worth!

While his thoughts wandered wildly.

Those countless lights and colors all transformed into an empty "white." That "white" seemed a single color, yet encompassed every hue, conveying a sense of embracing and governing every transformation.

Before Tu Shan Ge could react to this sudden change, he heard a thunderous rumble.

Countless streams of spiritual energy in the void instantly erupted into turmoil!

Inside the cave residence's secluded chamber.

Chen Heng used his eyes to perceive his heart, pressed his hand against his upper palate, and divided his attention between two tasks. He circulated his embryonic breathing into both eyes, visualizing the sun's yellow essence and crimson qi in his left eye, and the moon's crimson essence and yellow qi in his right. Step by step, he combined the forms and substance of sun and moon, storing them within the "Purple Plain Palace."

This was the "Two True Ones Joining the Palace, Hundred Gods Heeding" recorded in the Primordial Beginning True Origin Scripture Spoken by the Divine House Pivot Splendor Dao Lord.

Following the crucial instructions of the Qi Cultivation Art, Chen Heng slowly merged the two visualizations into that nonexistent "Purple Plain Palace." Throughout the process, he dared not grow careless. Every step was painstakingly cautious, lest a single mistake leave the forms and substance of sun and moon unequal, rendering all his hard work futile.

It was a task that consumed considerable mental effort.

Chen Heng had labored over it for a long time and rehearsed it countless times within the One True Dharma Realm. Only because he knew it thoroughly by heart did he just barely avoid making a mistake.

When the "Purple Plain Palace" had been filled with sun and moon, Chen Heng felt a jolt at the back of his head, as though someone had struck him heavily with a jade mallet. His mind grew muddled, and for a time he could see nothing.

An indescribable darkness swallowed him. Gradually, a sense of immense terror and utter annihilation grew unchecked, threatening to drive him mad. Yet Chen Heng simply guarded his mind in silence, holding steadfast and meeting constancy with constancy, without panicking.

There was no telling how long this darkness lasted-perhaps a few breaths, perhaps several years. Even though Chen Heng had experienced it several times within the One True Dharma Realm, he still found it difficult to endure. Soon, however, a sudden brilliance burst before his eyes, as though someone had cleaved apart this dim, undivided primordial world with a great axe!

Immortal music lingered, wondrous fragrance filled his nostrils, and countless golden flowers rained through the void. Dimly, he saw innumerable golden-armored divine beings riding dragons and phoenixes, alongside many celestial maidens of exquisite beauty, reaching out to lead him into a heavenly palace.

At that moment, a frail qi channel also formed beneath Chen Heng's navel... flickering uncertainly, tiny and faint, like a candle in the wind that might go out at any moment.

"Divine beings and celestial visions may be splendid, but these are merely empty illusions. How could they unsettle my Dao Heart?"

Chen Heng smiled faintly.

He knew these were merely obstacles that disrupted cultivation. Once those visions caught his attention and his concentration loosened, the qi channel within him would immediately collapse, and his attempt at Qi Refining would fail.

Thus, he ignored the divine beings and celestial maidens, concentrating solely on raising that newly born qi channel and washing it through each acupoint of his body. Whenever the qi channel passed through an acupoint, it trembled, gave off a thunderous note, and slowly lit with divine radiance.

By the time Chen Heng had washed the qi channel through half his acupoints, half his body was glittering, making him resemble a great figure of multicolored light.

Once the qi channel had washed through every acupoint, his entire body shone, cloaked in divine radiance, every color blending into a harmonious whole.

That qi channel, initially frail and flickering, had also undergone a complete transformation, becoming immensely robust and long.

"The Heaven-Earth Bridge has appeared. Qi Refining is complete!"

After carefully contemplating these changes, Chen Heng sighed softly. Following the crucial instructions of the Qi Cultivation Art, he shifted his intent and instantly shattered that long qi channel within his body!

Bang!

Countless currents of qi seeped into his bones and blood. The lights on his body dimmed as well, seeming to form a great silkworm cocoon that enclosed him.

It was a feeling of utmost tranquility and peace, as though his entire body were immersed in a warm bath on a winter's day. In his daze, Chen Heng completely forgot where he was and what he meant to do, continuing to practice the subsequent method by instinct alone.

After an unknown length of time, his body released a resonant chime of gold and jade. A few breaths later, another sudden chime rang out.

After nine chimes, all the colored lights on Chen Heng's body transformed into a pure white halo. It rose only a thin layer above his skin, no longer blazing brightly.

In an instant, Chen Heng felt as though a great set of shackles had fallen away. Inside and out, every part of him felt at ease.

That feeling of lightness throughout his body immediately roused Chen Heng.

"Qi Refining is complete..."

Chen Heng slowly opened his eyes where he sat.

This time, his gaze no longer brimmed with piercing brilliance. Instead, it was unfathomably deep, like an ancient well or a profound pool.

The embryonic breathing he had expended in his battle with Tong Yi had now been fully replenished and increased considerably. It coursed noisily with his blood, displaying the surging grandeur of a mighty river within this secluded chamber in the mountain's depths.

"Come."

He gently reached out and beckoned. Countless streams of spiritual energy in the void erupted into turmoil and swarmed toward him!