Qi Consumption

Time was short. Zhou Wuji sat cross-legged in meditation, silently guiding that tiny speck of golden light into the depths of his brow with his mind.

At the same time, he activated the Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture, his most important Qi-refining method.

Its foundation lay in visualizing the Heavenly Pivot Star, the first star of the Northern Dipper, establishing a connection with it through the Unseen, and thereby drawing down its stellar power for his own use.

Daoist cultivation methods were very different from martial arts.

Martial arts emphasized keeping one's feet firmly on the ground, working from the outside inward. Even ordinary people with poor aptitude could achieve something after a few years of practice.

Daoist cultivation methods, however, began with visualization. Their methods were complicated and abstruse, with an extremely high threshold for entry and an enormous emphasis on aptitude.

Zhou Wuji's aptitude was mediocre. Even after more than ten years of cultivation, he had failed to develop a sense for Qi.

Only now had the Origin Spiritual Qi soaked through his entire body, inside and out, greatly strengthening his mind as well.

As his master Li Yiyuan put it, this was strengthening the spirit within and empowering all methods without.

In a haze, Zhou Wuji saw the seven stars of the Northern Dipper in the deep, dark heavens.

The Heavenly Pivot Star at their head suddenly cast down a brilliant ray of starlight, which fell directly into the depths of Zhou Wuji's brow.

His mind shuddered. He felt as though a peculiar eye had formed deep within his brow, allowing him to see countless streams of light flowing through the surrounding void, like a boundless ocean of light.

Zhou Wuji knew this was the Qi that existed between heaven and earth, spreading in every direction, present everywhere.

But only those who had developed a sense for Qi could perceive the Qi between heaven and earth and refine it for their own use.

It was precisely because he had established a wondrous connection with the Heavenly Pivot Star that he could open the Divine Aperture in his brow and gather the Heavenly Pivot Star's power from that boundless ocean of Qi.

The Divine Aperture seemed both real and illusory. Under his direction, it contracted and expanded rhythmically, like a peculiar heart.

As the Divine Aperture contracted and expanded, it naturally breathed in and out, guiding the spiritual Qi of the Heavenly Pivot Star's power throughout his body.

That strand of spiritual Qi was like water. Zhou Wuji felt as though his sinews, bones, and internal organs had all been washed clean. He felt comfortable and light inside and out, every one of his countless pores utterly unobstructed.

In this state, Zhou Wuji saw an invisible Qi vortex beneath the secret chamber, its depths unfathomable.

He suddenly understood why his master had built Hidden Dragon Temple here. There was a Qi spring here, where the spiritual Qi was clearly of a much higher grade than elsewhere. Something also seemed to be hidden within that Qi spring...

Zhou Wuji opened his eyes, his face filled with irrepressible joy.

He had truly entered the level of "Qi Consumption," the eighth rank of Daoist cultivation.

"Qi Consumption" was short for consuming Qi and drinking rosy clouds.

From now on, he could continuously draw upon the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth to temper his mind and body.

With the enhancement of Qi and the power of the supernatural, the Law Techniques he practiced now possessed true might.

Law Techniques at this level were almost useless against martial artists. But now that he had Qi, the power of his martial arts and sword techniques had instantly increased more than tenfold.

He looked at the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment again. Sure enough, the ninth-rank designation after his name had changed to eighth rank, and his lifespan had increased by five years.

The increase in lifespan also meant a comprehensive strengthening of his body and mind!

Zhou Wuji drew the Seven Star Sword, thrust five times in succession, then sheathed it.

From drawing the sword to sheathing it, the entire sequence was swift and nimble. This was precisely the Falling Goose Sword of the Xiaoxiang Sword. Zhou Wuji was also very excited. Only with Qi's enhancement could his swordplay be so swift and steady.

His physical coordination, explosive strength, and stability had all improved noticeably as well.

His five senses in particular had sharpened. The dim oil lamp now seemed very bright, and the patches of rust on the chamber's iron door were clearly visible.

Zhou Wuji could even sense the air flowing beyond the iron door and the wisps and threads of cool, damp air seeping through its cracks.

His mind had also become stronger and keener. His mental reactions were much faster, allowing him to handle all kinds of trivial information with ease.

Calculating the time, he had only been in meditation for about a quarter of an hour, roughly fifteen minutes.

The enhancement from the Origin Spiritual Qi converted by the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment had been very swift.

Most of the time had been spent after he stepped into the Eighth-Rank Qi Ingestion realm, becoming immersed in it and continuously circulating his True Qi.

The rise in his True Qi realm had also brought his Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture to the proficient level.

His body had undergone earth-shaking changes, inside and out.

Even after breaking through to the eighth rank, a normal cultivator would have needed time to settle and recuperate, gradually adapting to the tremendous changes in body and mind.

He had skipped that process and could already control his body with ease, inside and out.

Without needing to test anything, he knew how strong he was, how fast he could move, how high he could jump, and so on...

This was clearly a wondrous effect of the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, sparing him the process of settling in and feeling his way forward.

In fact, using the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment involved many requirements. At the very least, one had to set up a ritual altar, pray devoutly to the North Pole Heavenly Emperor, and complete an entire prescribed liturgy-the rules governing sacrificial rites.

Yet he had bypassed the entire liturgy and used the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment directly, already violating its strict commandments.

Had it not been for his special status as an Extraterrestrial Otherworldly Spirit, the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment would already have annihilated him!

Especially at a time like this, he had no ability to complete the liturgy at all.

Skipping the liturgy had, in fact, saved him untold time and effort.

Every commandment he had violated was clearly recorded in the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment. Each record was followed by the notation "blanket exemption."

Having a cheat really does make things fast! The Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment is fucking awesome! Zhou Wuji exclaimed inwardly!

He suddenly began to understand why his master had given him the Daoist name Wuji.

His master had been tormented by the strict commandments of the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, and had wanted to be without laws or discipline, free of commandments and all other restraints...

That dream of his master's had actually come true in him!

Zhou Wuji was filled with emotion, but his thoughts immediately turned to his wretched flight earlier, and his heart filled with anger.

His master had met with disaster, yet those two brats wanted to seize the opportunity to kill him and forcibly take his master's Daoist lineage. They absolutely could not be spared.

Eighth-rank martial artists were formidable fighters, but compared with eighth-rank Daoist practitioners of Qi Consumption, they lacked flexibility and variety.

After all, only upon reaching the sixth rank could martial artists condense Qi into a sea and open the Qi sea in their lower Dantian.

Only at that stage could martial artists truly transcend the limits of the human body.

Of course, martial artists' Qi refinement was very different from Daoist Qi Consumption, and the two could not be compared directly.

Even so, Zhou Wuji felt he held considerable advantages over Zhang Wuding in every respect.

Barehanded, he might still be no match for Zhang Wuding, whose sinews and bones were as tough as steel. But he had the Seven Star Sword!

The Seven Star Sword was forged from high-grade jade steel. Its blade was three feet three inches long, its hilt nine inches long. Seven golden stars were inlaid in the hilt, representing the seven stars of the Northern Dipper. The whole sword weighed three jin and three liang.

Not only was this sword a seventh-rank Law Artifact, it was also an exceptionally sharp treasured blade. A single stroke could pierce ordinary armor.

No matter how tough Zhang Wuding's Iron Tiger Fist was, it could not withstand a stroke of his sword.

However, Zhang Wuding commanded considerable respect among the disciples. These disciples were all scions of the county's great clans and were usually very close.

If he failed to finish him in one strike and everyone swarmed him, things would become very complicated.

The best course was, of course, to take a step back. With the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, he could grow stronger very quickly.

Dealing with those fellows then would be as easy as turning over his hand.

Zhou Wuji was reserved by nature, but he held grudges above all else. There was no way he could swallow this insult.

Most importantly, he could not leave his master's body unattended.

Zhou Wuji's mind was especially clear now. His gaze fell on another wooden chest, and he immediately remembered the three Yin Thunder Pearls his master had refined and stored here.

He opened the wooden chest. Sure enough, inside were three black pearls the size of hen's eggs.

Making Yin Thunder Pearls required a specially made Law Artifact and consumed a great deal of Law Power. The process was both complicated and dangerous.

Li Yiyuan had only refined three, hiding them here for emergencies.

Yin Thunder Pearls required True Qi to activate, so he had been unable to use them before. Now they would be of great use.

The wooden chest also held books, notes, account ledgers, medicine gourds, and other items.

The books were various cultivation texts, the notes contained Li Yiyuan's cultivation insights, and the ledgers held Hidden Dragon Temple's various financial records.

The most important item among them was Li Yiyuan's Tianshu Demon-Warding Token, a round bronze plaque with a square hole in the center, like an enormous copper coin.

The bronze plaque was about two inches in diameter. One side was engraved with Yiyuan's name, beneath which were the sect's Heavenly Pivot Demon-Subduing Incantation and its seven-star emblem.

The other side bore the words "All methods return to the Dao," with the three ancient seal-script characters for Heavenly Master's Manor engraved below.

Zhou Wuji put away the Tianshu Demon-Warding Token. It served as identification for an ordained Seventh-Rank Register Reception Daoist priest, as well as a Daoist ordination certificate, an important proof of identity recognized by the authorities.

Only with the Tianshu Demon-Warding Token in hand could one truly be considered to hold Hidden Dragon Temple's Daoist lineage.

After taking the three Yin Thunder Pearls and securing them, Zhou Wuji returned to the entrance with his sword. He pressed close to the iron panel and listened for a while, but heard no unusual activity.

If Zhang Wuding and the others had discovered the secret passage, they would certainly have begun smashing and digging with all their might. They would never wait outside for him to show his face.

This had nothing to do with intelligence. Zhang Wuding simply could not have guessed that he would still have the nerve to return.

Zhou Wuji drew back the bolt, pushed open the sliding door, and emerged from the passage.

The bedroom was dark. Fortunately, Zhou Wuji's five senses had improved, and he knew the surroundings well. At a glance, he saw that although the bedroom was somewhat disordered, no outsiders were there.

Zhou Wuji quietly approached the window and took a look. The rear courtyard was pitch-black, without a sound.

Instead, the faint clamor of voices came from the main hall ahead.

Sword in hand, Zhou Wuji slipped through the rear door and quietly circled to one side of the North Pole Heavenly Emperor's statue.

All the oil lamps in the main hall had been lit, making it quite bright. His master's body lay before the incense altar.

The hall was packed with people, a dark mass of twenty or thirty.

Half were his junior brothers and sisters, the scions of the county's various great clans. The other half were temple servants.

Facing the crowd, Zhang Wuding was proclaiming loudly, "Zhou Wuji betrayed his master and defied his ancestors, ambushing our master! Such a traitor must be put to death by heaven and man alike..."

Zhou Wuji paid no attention to what Zhang Wuding was saying. His gaze fell on Zhang Wuding's waist. He wore no sword. Zhou Wuji's heart immediately settled. This brat didn't even bring a sword. He really is destined to die!