The uses of a Divine Ability

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Chapter 23: The uses of a Divine Ability

Leaving Iron Egg to study the Blazing Flame Pull spell on his own, Chen Beiwu sat cross-legged on a cushion in the cultivation room. He formed the opening hand seal of the Nine-Breath Qi Ingestion Divine Ability and began his daily accumulation of fortune.

First breath: perceive heaven's fortune.

As Chen Beiwu stirred the magical power in his dantian and breathed in and out, glimmers like fireflies suddenly appeared within his spiritual perception.

That was the power of fortune, something even a Golden Core True Person could not perceive. Yet through the Divine Ability's hand seals, he could clearly sense the fortune permeating the Heavenly Abyss Star.

Second breath: bind oneself.

Chen Beiwu changed his hand seal, and with each inhalation and exhalation, his spiritual consciousness immediately became crystal clear.

The fortune contained within the Heavenly Abyss Star was harmless only because no one could see it.

Conversely, if a powerful cultivator tried to pry into heaven's secrets and fortune, they would suffer the backlash of heaven and earth the instant they glimpsed them.

By using the Self-Binding Seal to draw upon the power of nine-breath chaos, Chen Beiwu could remain unharmed as fortune washed over him.

The third, fourth, and fifth breaths all drew in fortune.

Chen Beiwu eyed the surrounding second-tier blue fortune and scattered orange fortune-presumably third-tier-with keen longing.

Unfortunately, his strength was still meager. He could only draw white and green fortune slowly toward himself.

Sixth breath: steal heaven's fortune.

As Chen Beiwu completed his sixth inhalation and exhalation, the nine-breath chaos residing near his heart remained motionless, seemingly indifferent to the white and green fortune gathering around him.

This treasure is good, all right. Its only flaw is that it's a picky eater I can't order around. If only it would devour fortune on its own like it did on the day of the Great Sun Mutation! Chen Beiwu felt rather helpless.

Seventh breath: feed heaven's fortune.

With an inhalation and exhalation, Chen Beiwu stuffed all the gathered fortune into the nine-breath chaos.

Soon, as strands of fortune continued pouring into the nine-breath chaos, a thread of pale blue fortune was born within that land of chaos.

Eighth breath: elevate heaven's fortune.

Chen Beiwu preferred to call it fleecing the nine-breath chaos.

As currents of energy surged within the chaotic realm, that drifting thread of blue fortune suddenly swelled, then split on its own into two threads of slightly deeper blue fortune.

Ten threads made a wisp, and ten wisps made a stream.

At his current rate, Chen Beiwu could accumulate one stream of blue fortune in fifty days.

Clearly, after breaking through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining, he had become considerably more efficient at accumulating fortune.

Ninth breath: transform it into a fortuitous encounter.

Chen Beiwu needed to draw on the power of nine-breath chaos to condense a Fortune Golden Bell, then use the bell to turn his accumulated fortune into Spirit Fish. Releasing those Spirit Fish into the river of fortune would grant him fortuitous encounters over the ensuing period.

Since the encounters two threads of blue fortune could trigger were limited, Chen Beiwu did not perform the Divine Ability's ninth breath. Instead, he let them roam freely through the land of chaos, strengthening his own fortune.

"Whew."

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Chen Beiwu slowly opened his eyes.

"Woof!"

Iron Egg let out a low bark, scarcely daring to look Chen Beiwu in the eye.

During the eight breaths in which Chen Beiwu had used his Divine Ability, Iron Egg had felt as though he were witnessing a heavenly god descend into the world.

Never mind studying Blazing Flame Pull-he had not even dared to move.

"What's wrong? Don't recognize me anymore?"

Only when Chen Beiwu smiled did Iron Egg relax a little.

"Time to eat." He rose, pushed open the cultivation room door, and went downstairs. An enticing aroma of food immediately greeted him.

After only a few steps, Chen Beiwu noticed that the Spirit Beast meat which had previously vanished from the ventilated spot was back, though it had shrunk considerably.

Looks like our family has weathered the crisis. Relief washed over him.

;psme&;psme&

Seeing Chen Beiwu appear, Huang Xiaoling brought a dish out of the kitchen. "I made your favorite stir-fried tomatoes and eggs today."

"Then it's sure to be delicious!" Chen Beiwu's eyes lit up.

After lunch, Chen Beiwu called his mother over, took a jade bottle from his pocket, and placed it on the table.

"What's this?" Huang Xiaoling paused.

"Frostfall Pills."

Contrary to Chen Beiwu's expectations, his mother showed none of the delight he had anticipated. Instead, her brow furrowed even more tightly.

"Did you fish these Frostfall Pills out of the Pearl River too?" she asked gravely.

"Of course not. How could there be Frostfall Pills in the Pearl River?" Feigning nonchalance, Chen Beiwu said, "A classmate gave them to me."

Confusion flickered in Huang Xiaoling's eyes, and her brain nearly froze. "A classmate... gave them to you?"

As far as she knew, one Frostfall Pill had to be taken each day for three consecutive days to completely eliminate the cold poison in the user's body.

On the Immortal Alliance's official website, a single Frostfall Pill sold for eight hundred low-grade spirit stones, while three Frostfall Pills cost two thousand four hundred low-grade

Spirit stones.

What classmate could be so lavish as to give away a gift worth more than two thousand spirit stones?

Her son might as well have said he had fished them out of the Pearl River. That would have been more believable!

Huang Xiaoling took a deep breath. "Was this classmate a boy or a girl?"

"A girl." Chen Beiwu had no intention of hiding it, nor could he.

At those words, Huang Xiaoling could not help looking toward the Frostfall Pills, her thoughts branching out.

What this girl had sent was not merely a bottle of pills, but a debt of spirit stones and favors the Chen Household could not repay.

One pill, two bites of the fruit-this girl who had sent the pills really knew what she was doing!

"Which girl?" Huang Xiaoling pressed.

Chen Beiwu hesitated, then answered honestly, "Xu Lingling."

No wonder! Huang Xiaoling relaxed inwardly.

She had met Xu Lingling once, and the girl had left a deep impression.

Judging by her appearance, she was a pure, shy young girl with an easygoing manner.

As for her background, she came from one of the Fallen Dragon Xu Household's three major branches. Her father, Xu Tianguang, was both the magistrate of Far Sky County and the head of a Xu Household branch.

The Fallen Dragon Xu Household had established itself through the Dao of Alchemy. It was a renowned Golden Core Aristocratic Clan in Fallen Dragon Prefecture, controlling nearly thirty percent of the pill market across the prefecture's six counties.

More than two thousand spirit stones was an enormous sum that ordinary cultivators could not earn even through decades of work. But to someone of noble clan birth like Xu Lingling, it might be beneath mention-not even enough to cover a meal.

Looking at Chen Beiwu's exceptionally handsome face, Huang Xiaoling said calmly, "Return the pills. We're a humble family. We can't afford to get involved with a Golden Core Aristocratic Clan."

"I tried, but she wouldn't take them back," Chen Beiwu said helplessly.

A single pill from an Aristocratic Clan cost a poor cultivator an entire life.

He knew his mother did not want him to owe a favor he could not repay, lest he eventually have to settle the debt with his life.

"Listen to me. Return them." Huang Xiaoling glanced at him, her tone firm.

"If you need the pills, take them. It's only a thousand spirit stones. Your son can repay that," Chen Beiwu said solemnly.

Huang Xiaoling's voice grew stern. "Only? What will you repay it with?"

"I'm confident I can reach the eighth layer of Qi Refining during my second year of high school. Is that enough?" Chen Beiwu opened his palm, and a lifelike miniature duplicate quietly appeared.

"No." His mother's expression did not change.

"I'm confident I can reach the ninth layer of Qi Refining before the college entrance examination and gain admission to the Thirteen Immortal Sects. Is that enough?" Chen Beiwu asked in a low voice.

(End of chapter)