Six-in-One

Ten days had passed since the broken engagement incident.

During those ten days, Ye Chen took the first Clear Wind Jade Dew Pill. Just as rumors claimed, after swallowing it, distracting thoughts vanished and his mind became clear and refreshed. In one stroke, it helped Ye Chen open the heart meridian, allowing his Internal Energy to become as obedient as his fingers under the tempering of heart fire. When the heart stirred, the qi moved—this was the realm of the fourth revolution of the Pure Origin Skill.

Besides that, Ye Chen had begun cultivating the Golden Goose Steps. This Lightness Skill placed extremely high demands on Internal Energy; it had to be pure and free of impurities, otherwise it would be difficult to cultivate it to great mastery and cross more than a hundred meters through the air.

Fortunately, the Internal Energy of the Pure Origin Skill was unimaginably pure. Its impurities had already been removed during the second revolution, and by the fourth revolution, after being tempered by heart fire, the Internal Energy had gained an extra trace of spirituality. Cultivating the Golden Goose Steps thus yielded twice the result with half the effort.

"These past few days, my Internal Energy has been restless. It should be a sign that I'm about to break through to the Qi Cultivation Realm Seventh Layer. The cultivation speed of the fourth revolution of the Pure Origin Skill truly is extraordinary, but reaching the True Condensation Realm is easier said than done! What can I do? Strictly speaking, I've only been in this world for half a year. How can I compare to others who have cultivated for four or five years, or even seven or eight?"

Ever since learning that Ye Xuan had entered the True Condensation Realm Early Stage, Ye Chen knew he had to work even harder. Otherwise, at the Ye Family's year-end Clan Gathering, he might not be her match. And aside from Ye Xuan, his eldest uncle's second son, Ye Tang, was no easy opponent either. After all, he and Ye Xuan were publicly acknowledged as the Ye Family's two great geniuses.

He drew a jade bottle from his robes, pulled out the wooden stopper, and a blue pill rolled out and landed in Ye Chen's palm.

A Qi-Increasing Pill—the most commonly used breakthrough pill for Qi Cultivation Realm martial artists—was worth more than three thousand Taels of Silver.

Ye Chen was now only one step away from the Qi Cultivation Realm Seventh Layer. Perhaps he could break through in a week, but he could not wait that long. He planned to directly use the Qi-Increasing Pill to raise his cultivation and break through to the seventh layer. That way, he could save himself seven days of hard work.

Seven days of hard work might mean little to ordinary people, but to Ye Chen, they were of great significance. With his comprehension, seven days were enough for him to grasp a Human-grade High-tier Martial Skill. Even the Human-grade Top-tier Martial Skill, Thirteen Peaks Sword Style, had taken him only two or three months. That was because the Thirteen Peaks Sword Style was incomplete and required him to fill in its artistic conception and methods of circulating qi. Otherwise, one month would have been enough.

Therefore, these seven days had to be saved. They could not be wasted.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Ye Chen flicked his finger. The blue Qi-Increasing Pill traced an arc through the air and fell into his mouth, sliding down his throat into his body.

Gulp!

The Qi-Increasing Pill dissolved upon contact with moisture, transforming into an incomparably pure stream of Origin Energy.

In an instant, the Internal Energy of the Pure Origin Skill seemed like a vicious wolf that had caught the scent of blood. It surged fiercely out of his Dantian and, within a few breaths, wrapped around the pure Origin Energy transformed from the Qi-Increasing Pill, refining it mercilessly.

"What powerful refining ability. If it were the Internal Energy of the Cloud Qi Art, its efficiency would be more than twice as low." The higher the quality of one's Internal Energy, the faster one refined Origin Energy. This was common knowledge throughout the True Spirit Continent. Of course, if the total amount of Internal Energy was greater, it would also greatly aid in refining Origin Energy. After all, under normal circumstances, quantity defeating quality was nothing unusual.

An hour passed.

A soft pop came from within Ye Chen's body.

His Dantian, which had already expanded considerably, swelled once more like an inflated ball. At its center, the pure, transparent qi vortex abruptly accelerated, resembling a spiritual nebula as it continuously expanded and contracted, changing without end while absorbing the newly arrived Internal Energy.

After a long while, Ye Chen opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. Joy filled his face. He had finally entered the Qi Cultivation Realm Seventh Layer.

There was not much difference between the peak of the Qi Cultivation Realm Sixth Layer and the Qi Cultivation Realm Seventh Layer, but that was only for ordinary people. For Ye Chen, even the slightest improvement could greatly increase his combat strength and allow him to unleash more of his martial skills' power.

"Today isn't suitable for continuing my comprehension of the Pure Origin Skill. I should stabilize my cultivation first." Ye Chen understood the importance of foundations. Only when the foundation was solid could one continue building upward. Without a solid foundation, everything would be like a pavilion in the air, liable to collapse at any moment. One might even suffer qi deviation during future breakthroughs and become crippled.

A day and a night passed. Ye Chen thoroughly stabilized his cultivation and even made a little progress. This Qi-Increasing Pill could save him a month of hard work; subtracting the seven days spent on breaking through, he still had twenty-one days left over—just enough to help him take another step forward.

In the days that followed, Ye Chen took the second Clear Wind Jade Dew Pill and, in one burst of effort, charged toward the fifth revolution of the Pure Origin Skill: Six-in-One.

Of course, life was not a stagnant pool.

After his previous encounter with Wu Zongming, the First Disciple of the outer sect, the two had become friends. In their spare time, they would chat together and exchange moves in martial skills.

Wu Zongming had originally thought highly of himself. He believed that while Ye Chen's accomplishments in martial skills were impressive, there should still be some distance between them. Yet after restricting their cultivation to the Qi Cultivation Realm Seventh Layer and truly exchanging blows, Wu Zongming actually found himself at a disadvantage. His Human-grade High-tier Martial Skill, Blazing Fire Fist, seemed unable to gain any advantage against Ye Chen's Vajra Fist. This left him utterly incredulous.

How could he know that Ye Chen's Vajra Fist had already reached its highest realm, where hardness and softness became one? With Wu Zongming restricting his cultivation, it would have been strange if his Blazing Fire Fist could gain the upper hand.

No sense of days or months existed in the mountains, and another half month passed.

That night, Ye Chen applied Body Tempering Paste over his body, preparing to formally charge toward the fifth revolution of the Pure Origin Skill and unite essence, qi, spirit, hands, eyes, and body into one.

Applying the Body Tempering Paste was not wasted effort. The Six-in-One of the human body included the body itself; only when the body was strong and brimming with vitality could it increase the chances of success.

Pushing the Internal Energy of the Pure Origin Skill to its limit, Ye Chen pressed his tongue against his upper palate, watched his nose with his eyes, watched his heart with his nose, and swiftly entered a state that was neither thought nor not thought.

Rustle, rustle. The outside world was soundless, yet within Ye Chen's body, winds and clouds churned. The sound of Internal Energy flowing through his Meridians was like a small river, unceasing and continuous.

For martial artists, the inner three harmonies of the Six-in-One had nearly merged into one. For instance, essence and qi—cultivation's first step was in fact refining essence into qi, so essence and qi had long ceased to be distinct and could transform into each other at any time. When essence and spirit merged, they became mental power; as long as one was highly focused, the two could also unite. The difficulty lay in merging qi and spirit—that is, the so-called union of qi and spirit.

After many days of comprehension, Ye Chen had already found a clue.

With a thought, his Internal Energy flowed through his Meridians to the space between his brows, where the human soul resided—and the soul was spirit.

After thirty-six cycles of the Great Circulation, the Internal Energy stained with the soul's power retreated into his Dantian. Ye Chen knew that he had succeeded. He had successfully united essence, qi, and spirit.

Next came the outer three harmonies.

The outer three harmonies appeared simple. For example, the eyes had to arrive where the hands arrived, with the body coordinating alongside them. But that was merely superficial; even ordinary people could achieve it through arduous training. The outer three harmonies described by the Pure Origin Skill drew out three types of Origin Energy from the limbs, the eyes, and the central nervous system. These three types of Origin Energy were closely connected to the three, resonating with one another. That was the true outer three harmonies.

He first drew out the Origin Energy hidden within the central nervous system. Ye Chen did not dare slack off and proceeded with extreme caution. The central nervous system was one of the most important parts of the human body. A single mistake could leave a person paralyzed and difficult to heal, so there was no room for carelessness.

His Internal Energy slowly seeped into the central nervous system, then drew out a thread of extremely obscure Origin Energy and gradually fused it with his Internal Energy.

Once the two had completely merged, Ye Chen returned that thread of Origin Energy fused with Internal Energy to the central nervous system.

Repeating the process, by the time Ye Chen had fused the outer three harmonies with his Internal Energy as well, large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, and his body was completely drenched.

But it was all worth it. His Internal Energy now contained the Origin Energy of his limbs, eyes, and central nervous system, as well as mental power. His reaction speed, instinctive speed, striking speed, and visual acuity had undergone a qualitative transformation.

Furthermore, after the Pure Origin Skill entered its fifth revolution, its speed of absorbing and refining Origin Energy reached an astonishing level. One day of hard cultivation was basically equal to three or four days in the past.