Half a month passed, neither quickly nor slowly.
Spring had fully settled over Fenlai City. The old locust tree in the courtyard sprouted tender green leaves, and a few scattered flowers bloomed on the wild rosebush in the corner. Loa had barely gone out during the past half month. Once he had rested enough, his days consisted of cultivating, taking medicine, and cultivating again.
The benefits of opening the sacrococcygeal domain gradually became apparent. The most obvious was his physical recovery speed-before, sore muscles from excessive cultivation had required at least half a day of rest. Now he could recover in two to four hours. His energy absorption efficiency had also improved: when he took earth vein spinal marrow fluid, nearly thirty percent less medicinal potency went to waste.
"Almost there."
That morning, Loa opened his eyes.
He sat cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, his palms, soles, and crown facing upward. Several bottles and jars stood on the bluestone slab before him: ten drops of earth vein spinal marrow fluid remained in the jade bottle, while the jug of Century-Old Stone Milk was already empty.
Over half a month of accumulation had brought him to the threshold.
His mid-sixth-rank battle-qi surged through his meridians like a swollen river. The medicinal potency of the Century-Old Stone Milk and earth vein spinal marrow fluid had settled throughout his limbs and bones. Now, drawn by his cultivation method, it immediately seethed.
"Begin."
Loa closed his eyes and sank his awareness into his body.
In his dantian, the wind-element battle-qi mass rotated slowly, its azure mist so dense it almost dripped. Beside it was the lightning-element battle-qi mass, flickering with violet light and occasionally releasing tiny sparks. Between them was the colorless weapon combat battle-qi.
The three masses of battle-qi remained clearly