Chen Ying

Inside his cave abode, Chen Heng slowly opened his eyes.

Two uncontainable beams of brilliant light burst from his eyes first, shooting more than three feet outward. Their dazzling radiance even dimmed the flames of several oil candles along the cave walls.

Only after dozens of breaths had passed,

did the brilliance in his eyes gradually fade, leaving their depths as dark and undisturbed as ever.

"With embryonic breathing attained, the root of my nature has revealed itself. Next, I should find a qi cultivation art and begin refining essence into qi."

He stretched his shoulders and arms, and the bones throughout his body immediately rang out in a clattering series of cracks, like bamboo joints shooting upward.

At his mental command, his blood and vital energy, furnace-hot and elephant-mighty, surged once, pulverizing and sweeping away every speck of dust within thirty feet. It was as though a great wilderness beast had flexed its claws and fangs, poised to pounce.

Chen Heng had never felt as good as he did now.

His blood, vital energy, and spirit were all vigorous and blazing, like sparks in the night.

Every movement, every punch and finger thrust carried terrifying, immense strength. Piercing wood and stone or bending metal was no more than a trifling feat.

This was divine strength that three horses could not overcome with a single swing of his arm.

Unfortunately, this cave abode contained no bells, cauldrons, or other thousand-jin weights with which Chen Heng could properly measure his strength. To do so, he would have to visit the great pool below Yangqi Peak.

Hundreds of stone spheres weighing five thousand jin lay submerged at the bottom of that pool. Gu Jun had personally carved each one from stone, specifically for the many qi-cultivating Daoists to use.

The mysteries of the Qi Cultivation realm, meanwhile, differed greatly from those of Embryonic Breathing.

In the Embryonic Breathing realm, that trace of innate qi awareness constantly residing within the body could keep one's flesh healthy and greatly increase one's strength. Yet it would gradually decline with the passing years, until it had drained away entirely.

This was why martial grandmasters who had attained embryonic breathing still gradually grew old and sick, ultimately returning to a handful of yellow earth despite their hundred-and-fifty-year lifespans.

Cultivators of the immortal Dao, however, were different.

Through qi cultivation arts, they could open a bridge between the body's lesser world and the greater world around them, thus reaching the Qi Cultivation realm.

Once they reached that realm, they could refine the limitless spiritual qi of the outside world to replenish their own finite embryonic breath.

With the world's spiritual qi replenishing it, that trace of innate embryonic qi within them would not decline. Instead, as their qi cultivation arts grew more refined, it would flourish with each passing day.

Eventually, it could even make the leap of a fish becoming a dragon, elevating their innate embryonic qi into true qi.

It was precisely this replenishment from the limitless spiritual qi outside them that made qi cultivators all the more extraordinary.

Not only could they freely draw in and release their embryonic breath, command magical artifacts, fly above the ground, breathe flames, and wield light...

Even lifting the five-thousand-jin boulders from the great pool at Yangqi Peak into the air was no difficult task for Daoists with profound attainments in Qi Cultivation.

"Qi refining arts, qi cultivation arts."

Chen Heng raised a finger, drawing over the longsword that had accompanied him for many days within the One True Dharma Realm:

"If embryonic breathing can more or less be considered independent of outside aid, then qi cultivation means borrowing the power of heaven and earth?

"Borrowing natural spiritual qi, borrowing pills, borrowing external medicines, borrowing everything that can strengthen innate embryonic breathing, further strengthening the body, then producing different forms of true qi according to the quality of one's qi cultivation method-is that what they call establishing the foundation of the Dao?"

He studied the longsword for a moment, then slashed himself again. This time, however, no blood flowed; only a faint white mark remained on his palm.

Within just two breaths,

even that white mark had vanished.

"Once embryonic breathing is attained, the mortal body is left behind, and the flesh becomes like metal. So it really is true."

Curious, Chen Heng swung the sword several more times, each strike stronger than the last. Only when he wrapped the blade in embryonic breath did a wound deep enough to expose bone appear on his palm.

And with this swing,

he could vaguely sense that a trace of the embryonic breath within him had diminished, simply vanishing.

"No wonder the Embryonic Breathing realm grants a hundred and fifty years of life, yet martial grandmasters who serve in armies rarely live beyond sixty... Without attaining Qi Cultivation, there's no way to strengthen one's embryonic breath. Every measure of this embryonic qi spent is a measure lost."

Chen Heng casually bandaged the wound on his hand, then pushed open the door and left his cave abode.

At that moment,

the mountain wind surged like a tide.

Damp, clear, chilly mist coiled around half of Little Sweet Mountain like an enormous serpent. A faint whiteness suffused the air, and even the sunlight shifted unpredictably within the mist. Its pale gold was exquisitely beautiful; with a mere ripple of cloud and fog, it became fiery gold pouring down like a waterfall.

The rivers and mountains were a painting, rippling like the sea.

Recalling the misery of his previous life and all the struggles and bewilderment he had faced upon first arriving in this world, Chen Heng felt an immense exhilaration fill his chest. He wished he could seize all hundred thousand miles of sky in his palm in a single breath.

Once today is over, I'll make a trip to the Rong Kingdom and return the body of my former self's older clan cousin. I can avoid Yan Feichen's eyes and ears while I'm at it, Chen Heng thought.

Although the world was peaceful now, mountain bandits and river pirates could never be completely eradicated, whatever the times.

Fortunately, having attained embryonic breathing, he now possessed some ability to protect himself.

In the mortal world, unless a great army was dispatched to surround and kill him, the circumstances that could threaten him could be counted on his fingers.

When I leave the mountain this time, I'll wander in search of a qi cultivation art while honing my killing techniques and magical combat in the Dharma Realm, quietly awaiting the opening of the Earth Abyss next year.

Now that Yan Zhen is dead, surely no one in the Mysterious Truth Sect will cling to me like a lunatic anymore?

Chen Heng pondered.

Suddenly,

two masses of flowing fire plunged from the sky toward his cave abode. Before he could dodge, the flames transformed into two handsome young men, their feet resting on true qi as they stood in midair.

"May I ask which two senior brothers I have the honor of meeting?" Seeing this, Chen Heng stepped forward and greeted them first.

Of those two men,

one wore a purple gauze robe patterned with clouds and rainbows, with a lotus crown carved from precious jade upon his head. He looked like a young nobleman, and his expression was every bit as arrogant as his clothing was splendid.

"Senior brothers? Who's a senior brother to someone from a petty household like yours?"

At Chen Heng's question, he instinctively sneered. Only after recalling something did he stiffly change the subject:

"You? Chen Heng? Hmph, you do have some good looks! Come along. I'll take you to see my mistress."

"Your mistress?" Chen Heng frowned slightly, recalling the unpleasant memories of how Yan Zhen had once tried to forcibly claim his former self. "May I ask what your mistress wants with me, senior? Could you explain more clearly?"

"Explain clearly? Why so much nonsense! Do you think your pretty face gives you the right to grow arrogant on favor? Just obey!"

Impatient, the richly dressed youth unfurled true qi from his hand, transforming it into a rope that lashed toward Chen Heng to bind him.

But before the rope could reach him,

the other youth beside him raised his palm and struck, scattering the richly dressed youth's true qi.

"Our mistress is a noble lady of the Shangyu Ai clan. On this visit to the Southern Region, while calling upon your sect master, she happened to hear tales of your grace and bearing. Intrigued, she rather abruptly sent the two of us to invite you for a conversation."

The other youth lightly cupped his hands and smiled at Chen Heng, his voice mellow and warm:

"Yuan Xing is rude and often rash. Allow me to apologize to you on his behalf."

"Hmph! You certainly know how to play the good man."

Seeing his true qi scattered with such effortless ease, the richly dressed youth called Yuan Xing flushed red, then went pale, and shouted angrily.

"May I ask your honored name, senior?"

An odd feeling suddenly arose in Chen Heng's heart.

His emotions stirred for no apparent reason, as though he shared some natural sense of closeness with the youth who had just rescued him from his predicament.

"I wouldn't dare accept the title of senior. As for my humble name, it scarcely deserves your attention."

The youth smiled:

"My surname is Chen as well. My given name is Ying."