Jade Womb Mother Pool

"...What do you mean, fellow Daoist?"

Rong Tuo forced down the prickling sensation across his scalp and asked.

"Simple enough. I have only three conditions. First, if Tong Gaolu dies, I won't take a single coin of his worldly wealth, but his Heaven and Earth Bag and all his other cultivation resources should belong to me."

Chen Heng raised one finger. "However, if there are any Dao Art manuals, I can allow you to make copies. What do you say?"

Rong Tuo and Rong Xuantao exchanged glances. After a brief hesitation, they gave almost imperceptible nods.

"As for the second condition, I'll also need two thousand Talisman Coins to make up for the embryonic breathing I expend. The Rong Clan has ruled its kingdom for over three hundred years. Surely such a trifling sum hardly merits your attention?"

At these words,

Rong Tuo and Rong Xuantao both shook their heads, waving their hands repeatedly.

Talisman Coins were painstakingly forged from the spiritual qi of the void, specifically "origin," the most all-embracing of the 129,600 varieties of spiritual qi. They could replenish both embryonic breathing and true qi, and also served as currency in everyday transactions.

As for Golden Core and Primordial Spirit True Persons, what they used was called "Dharma Coins," which stood a tier above Talisman Coins.

Two thousand Talisman Coins-

For cultivators practicing ordinary Qi Cultivation Arts, this sum was enough to let their Qi Refining cultivation break through to the next level.

Chen Heng's payment for risking his life in the Earth Abyss was only eight hundred Talisman Coins and two bottles of Small White Sun Pills, and even that came from the Mysterious Truth Sect master's private coffers... For an ordinary Rogue Cultivator Lineage, two thousand Talisman Coins truly was an enormous sum.

"You think far too highly of our Rong Clan, fellow Daoist! The Southern Territory is impoverished land to begin with, deficient in spiritual energies, and the Rong Kingdom is merely a tiny state. How could we afford to bleed so much?"

Rong Tuo gave an awkward chuckle. "Could you reduce it a little?"

"Bargaining is a matter of give and take. If you wish to lower the price, fellow Daoist, feel free to name your figure." Chen Heng smiled.

Rong Tuo hesitated for a long while before tentatively proposing a sum. He did want to preserve more of the Rong Clan's reserves, but he feared that if he haggled too outrageously, Chen Heng might fly into a rage and beat him to death on the spot.

The two sides went back and forth several more times. In the end, Rong Tuo was the first to give up, cupping his hands with a bitter chuckle.

"Let us set the second condition aside for now and discuss it in detail later. Please, fellow Daoist, tell us your third condition first."

"The third..."

A faint gleam stirred in Chen Heng's eyes, like a lake rippling beneath the warm sun, leaving others unable to tell whether it was still or moving. He said,

"The spiritual energies of the mortal world are turbid and scattered, difficult to gather. Might I borrow your Jade Womb Mother Pool?"

His voice was calm, yet it struck like a terrifying thunderclap. Rong Tuo and Rong Xuantao instantly paled and retreated several steps.

"Absolutely not!"

Rong Tuo answered without hesitation, his voice firm enough to cleave nails and sever iron. "That Jade Womb Mother Pool is the very foundation of our Rong Clan's survival. Please choose something else, fellow Daoist!"

Chen Heng was not surprised by this reaction. He merely chuckled.

There were 129,600 varieties of spiritual qi between heaven and earth, together comprising the full count of one origin cycle. Their abundance varied, and Spirit Grottos stood as the finest places in the world for gathering them.

Gulping down the void like whales and encompassing the five colors, they were supreme treasure basins where spiritual energies converged, pure and subtle sanctuaries where immortals practiced Qi Refining and ascended amid rosy clouds.

Below Spirit Grottos came Spirit Veins.

Spirit Veins were divided into ten grades: jia, yi, bing, ding, wu, ji, geng, xin, ren, and gui, corresponding to the ten heavenly stems.

Below Spirit Veins came the Jade Womb Mother Pools.

Although they too gathered spiritual energies, they were not naturally formed, but artificially made.

Jade essence, agate, dark crystal, purple crystal, cloud floss, and mineral milk formed the foundation. The furnace was sealed and its fire nurtured for three years. Once yin had been stored, yang was generated anew; all distracting thoughts were banished to nurture the fire, fresh qi was drawn in above, and old qi discharged below. Only when a white filament shone three zhang outward, and a Refinement Master was invited to consecrate and empower it, was a Jade Womb Mother Pool complete.

Places that gathered spiritual energies-Spirit Grottos, the ten grades of Spirit Veins, and Jade Womb Mother Pools.

Although Jade Womb Mother Pools ranked last and were products of human labor rather than gifts bestowed by heaven, they still possessed some capacity to absorb spiritual qi.

They could draw the surrounding spiritual energies into a single pool, breathing qi in and out without cease to supply cultivators practicing Qi Refining.

Still, they could not compare to ren-grade Spirit Veins; even the lowest gui-grade Spirit Veins surpassed them.

Across the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, countless Rogue Cultivators unable to secure a Spirit Vein devoted all their efforts to building a Jade Womb Mother Pool, hoping to leave it as an enduring inheritance for their descendants.

The Rong Clan's Jade Womb Mother Pool had been built by the founding emperor. Passed down for over three hundred years, it had nourished untold numbers of the clan's Qi Refining cultivators.

Upon hearing that Chen Heng wanted to cultivate in his lineage's Jade Womb Mother Pool, Rong Tuo's first impulse was to refuse, regardless of whether he was a disciple of a major sect.

"I only need to cultivate for seven or eight days. No longer."

Chen Heng remained composed. "In those few short days, once you subtract the time spent gathering qi, how many hours could I actually spend cultivating?"

At this, even Rong Tuo's firm resolve began to waver, while Rong Xuantao beside him was visibly tempted.

It seemed...

He had a point?

The most tedious part of a Qi Refining cultivator's practice was selecting and filtering qi from its 129,600 varieties.

Gathering qi often consumed seventy or eighty percent of a day's cultivation, and for those less gifted, that could reach ninety percent.

After sitting in arduous stillness all day, they might only strengthen their embryonic breathing by a few wisps or strands. They might as well not cultivate at all.

"Only seven or eight days? In that case..."

Rong Tuo hesitated all the more, inwardly troubled. Before he could decide, another fierce wind howled outside the hall. A streak of traveling light descended into the hall in an instant, bathing the entire room in red like a wildfire spreading beneath the stars.

Within the red light stood a valiant youth in brocade robes and an ornate crown, a sword hanging at his waist. His bearing was exceedingly bold and magnanimous.

He first looked toward Chen Heng, a trace of suspicion appearing between his brows. Yet he was deeply calculating and concealed it admirably, even smiling as he offered Chen Heng a Daoist bow.

"Look, fellow Daoist! This is the qilin youth of our Rong Clan!"

The youth's arrival immediately relieved Rong Tuo. He hurriedly took his hand and changed the subject, introducing him to Chen Heng.

From his words, Chen Heng learned that the youth was named Rong Jin, the current crown prince of the Rong Kingdom. His cultivation had reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, and he was well versed in letters, law, and military affairs.

Rong Jin did not interrupt. Only after Rong Tuo finished his rambling introduction did he smilingly invite everyone to sit. Before long, he suddenly raised his wine cup in a toast toward Chen Heng.

"I heard that you were a disciple of a major sect, elder brother. Meeting you today, I see that your bearing is indeed grand and extraordinary."

He extended the cup into the air toward Chen Heng. "Please, have a cup of this humble wine!"

Rong Tuo chuckled guilelessly without joining in, while Rong Xuantao lowered his head and said nothing.

Watching the wine cup fly toward him, Chen Heng understood. This was a test.

Contests of arts came in two forms: civil and martial.

This wine cup belonged to the elegant variety. A strand of Rong Jin's embryonic breathing was hidden beneath it. If Chen Heng could not subdue that strand when he caught the cup, it would shatter at once, spilling the wine and thoroughly humiliating him before everyone.

Yet Chen Heng showed no fear. He leisurely reached out from his wide sleeve and caught it in his palm.

Ordinarily, the next step would be to suppress that strand of embryonic breathing with his own qi, then disperse it. This tested not only the grade of his Qi Cultivation Art, but also his finesse in maneuvering embryonic breathing.

A fraction too much force would spill the wine; a fraction too little would let the cup approach his chest. Either outcome would be inelegant.

But just as Chen Heng was about to release his embryonic breathing, a thought suddenly stirred, and an inexplicable drawing force arose within him.

Under that pull, Rong Jin's strand of embryonic breathing vanished like a clay ox entering the sea. It flowed entirely into his body and fell silent.

Wait, the nature of Primordial Beginning True Origin... It can even do this?

Chen Heng was startled too, but he sensed that the strand of embryonic breathing rested quietly within his body, just like the spiritual qi he had absorbed before, ready to be refined at any time.

The tip of his brow rose almost imperceptibly, revealing a hint of delight.

It seems I've found another way to strengthen my embryonic breathing.

Even as these thoughts turned in his mind, Chen Heng's movements never stopped.

Having caught the wine cup, he smiled faintly and rose. His robes fluttered, his bearing lofty and detached, as though he stood apart from the mundane world.

"This wine is good, but it lacks a little richness. Courtesy calls for a return gift. Allow me to offer each of you a cup as well."

Chen Heng smiled freely and swept his sleeve. Across the table, all their expressions changed in an instant.