Wu Tong Gathers Qi

Because the Yang family had never been rich in Spirit Crystals, the tools Chen Yang used to draw talismans were only relatively outstanding Mortal Grade items.

Yet this scholar's Spiritual Brush, Spiritual Ink, and Inkstone were all Qi Gathering level spiritual objects.

That brush in particular was a high-quality Spiritual Treasure of the mid Qi Gathering stage.

"It truly fits the saying: someone sends a pillow just when you feel sleepy."

Chen Yang mused silently.

Just as his talisman arts had achieved some minor success, someone had kindly delivered an entire set of tools.

With this equipment, his chances of successfully drawing talismans in the future would increase by a large margin.

After he transmitted his thought to Yang Lingqing, this set of items was given to Chen Yang.

Lingqing thoughtfully placed a Storage Bag beside him as well, making it convenient to access and store the items without them taking up space.

Aside from this set of spiritual objects, the most abundant items on the scholar were various human skin masks.

After a careful count, there were exactly thirty-six masks. They included both male and female faces, all bearing the incredibly youthful appearances of twenty-year-olds.

Seeing these things, both Lingqing and Lingrui felt a chill of disgust.

Thirty-six human skin masks meant this person had butchered at least thirty-six people. Perhaps those victims had not died at the time, but their subsequent lives would certainly be a fate worse than death.

"Having committed so many evil deeds, this person truly deserved to die," Yang Lingqing said coldly.

Next, they turned out over a hundred Spirit Crystals from the scholar's second Storage Bag.

This was a normal amount of reserves for a late Qi Gathering cultivator to carry. It was only a pity they did not know where this person's cave dwelling was located; there should be even more Spirit Crystals hoarded there.

The rest were the Storage Bags of the three masked individuals.

Compared to the scholar, they were much poorer.

After purchasing information about Yang Lingrui from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, they had very few Spirit Crystals left. The three bags combined contained fewer than a hundred.

The remainder mostly consisted of fine-quality healing Pills for the early Qi Gathering stage, along with that unused inferior Divine Movement Talisman.

The siblings thought there would be no further gains, but unexpectedly, inside the Storage Bag of the female cultivator from Yellow Flower Valley, they found a cultivation method and a technique manual.

The cultivation method was titled the Blossoming Fragrance-Seeking Art, rated at the Qi Gathering Perfection level.

The technique manual was titled the Yellow Sand Scripture, rated at the late Qi Gathering level.

"These two should be the cultivation arts of the Desert Sea's Yellow Flower Valley. It is quite a good unexpected harvest. We can use them to enrich our family's library pavilion," Yang Lingrui said.

Yang Lingqing browsed through the method. The difficulty of cultivating this art was not high, and the threshold to begin was very low, but it had specific requirements for the cultivation environment.

It was just like the Rogue Cultivator from the bamboo grove cave dwelling who had previously signed a contract with the Yang family, needing to borrow the clear qi of the bamboo grove to cultivate.

Cultivating the Blossoming Fragrance-Seeking Art also required a location suffused with the scent of a hundred flowers.

They lacked the conditions right now, but if the Yang family could cultivate such a piece of land in the future, it would provide more choices and opportunities for the younger generation of cultivators.

"Sister Qing, this is for you."

Having finished tallying the spoils of battle, Yang Lingrui took the Earth-Element Formation Disk from his pocket and handed it to Yang Lingqing.

Aside from Chen Yang, this was Yang Lingqing's first time using a Spiritual Treasure. She gripped the Dharma Disc in her hand, and with a slight shift of her will, three pillars of earth rose from the ground.

Following her control, the earthen pillars continuously shifted into various shapes.

"What a fine treasure! It provides a significant boost in casting speed, control, and power!" Yang Lingqing said with delight.

"As long as it serves Sister Qing well. I also have an arm guard prepared for Brother Hu, so I will go deliver it to him now."

"Do not rush just yet. There is still an urgent matter at home right now."

"What matter?"

"Wu Tong has opened all twelve of her Qi Nodes. Today, she will condense her Qi Mansion."

Ever since she was brought up the mountain, Wu Tong had been cultivating in the branch courtyard of the Yang family's Restricted Grounds for over three years.

During this time, she had not taken a single step out of the Restricted Grounds. She woke up to cultivate before dawn every day, only returning to her room to rest when the moon hung above the branches. For over a thousand days and nights, she had never once paused.

It was only hard on her father, Wu Laosan, down the mountain, who had not seen his daughter for three years.

After learning that Zhao Qi had successfully cultivated immortal arts, he climbed onto his roof every single night, peering up toward the misty mountain and constantly muttering, "My girl... my girl..."

"Wu Tong pays respects to the two Immortal Masters!"

Having not yet achieved Qi Gathering, she had not been accepted as a disciple by Elder Yu, so she still addressed Yang Lingqing and Yang Lingrui as Immortal Masters.

"Wu Tong, you have been diligent and untiring for three years. Now, your bitter hardships are finally about to bear sweet fruit as you achieve the Qi Gathering realm."

Yang Lingqing said, "The two of us will act as your Dharma Protectors. Today, follow the method described in your art and focus your mind on condensing your Qi Mansion."

"Thank you, Immortal Masters!"

After thanking the siblings, Wu Tong spoke no more nonsense. She slightly steadied her mind, slowly settled into her stance, and circulated the Heavenly Cycle, drawing the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth toward her Dantian.

At first, everything went smoothly. The Spiritual Qi was drawn in, entering her body through her twelve Qi Nodes, and then flowed slowly along her Qi Channels toward her lower abdomen.

But the moment the Spiritual Qi entered her Dantian, Wu Tong's complexion began to change.

An intense, tearing pain radiated from that spot, causing her teeth to chatter and her body to tremble involuntarily.

Seeing this, Yang Lingqing and Yang Lingrui both frowned, their expressions turning grave. They had never seen such a situation before, and they slowly began to mobilize their spiritual energy to prevent any accident from befalling Wu Tong.

In truth, this situation was not occurring because Wu Tong was circulating the art incorrectly.

On the contrary, the more intense the pain, the more it proved she was doing it right.

As mentioned before, when it came to cultivation aptitude, Wu Tong was absolutely of the lowest grade.

This terrible aptitude was reflected not only in her Qi Channels but also within her Dantian.

Her Dantian was simply too small.

It was so small that it could not even hold enough Spiritual Qi to condense a Qi Mansion.

To successfully gather Qi, there was only one method: forcing the Spiritual Qi into the Dantian to slowly stretch it wide open, bit by bit.

This process naturally brought with it a torment that ordinary people could hardly endure.

"Sister Qing, is this really going to be alright?"

Yang Lingrui asked with a trace of worry as he watched Wu Tong's agonized expression.

Yang Lingqing lacked experience with this as well. Neither the three Yang family cultivators nor Zhao Qi had experienced such a situation when condensing their Qi Mansions. For a moment, she was unsure of what to do.

The two watched as Wu Tong's face gradually turned pale, the color draining from her lips. Sensing that the situation was turning dire, they circulated their arts and prepared to intervene.

But a transmitted thought caused them to halt their actions.

"It is the Immortal Venerable!"

"The Immortal Venerable commands us not to interfere."

The two immediately withdrew their spiritual energy.

They trusted Chen Yang's judgment, but seeing Wu Tong's pained face at this moment, they still felt a deep ache in their hearts.

Chen Yang watched Wu Tong without much emotion in his heart.

The matter of condensing a Qi Mansion could not be aided by others; she could only rely on herself.

He had observed this young girl for three years and knew her temperament was unyielding. She should be able to cross this hurdle.

"Since she has chosen this path, there is no turning back. Now is the very moment to forge her Dao Heart."

Chen Yang mused silently.

Time ticked away, minute by minute. Wu Tong's lips went from a faint pink to blue, and finally turned a bruised purple. Trails of blood were already weeping from three of her seven orifices.

This miserable state made Yang Lingqing and Yang Lingrui unable to bear watching, but the girl herself did not give up!

Chen Yang looked at the vortex of qi that had already begun to take shape within her Dantian, silently offering his approval.

"Cough... urg..."

Wu Tong coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood. Her body swayed, her physical strength failing.

The prolonged torment of pain had left her mind completely unable to process any further thought.

"It hurts so much..."

"I cannot hold on anymore..."

"Father... Mother..."

In her final moments of lucidity, the faces of her parents surfaced in Wu Tong's mind.

Down below, Wu San was handling miscellaneous chores in the Yang family's outer courtyard when he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. His feet stumbled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

"Steward Wu, are you alright?"

"Ah, I am fine, I am fine."

Even as the words left his mouth, a sudden, inexplicable panic surged in Wu San's heart-a feeling he had never experienced before.

Utterly bewildered, he lifted his gaze toward the mist-shrouded mountain above.

In a split second, the look in his eyes changed drastically.

Although he could not see exactly what was happening up on the mountain, he was struck by a profound intuition: it absolutely had to do with Wu Tong!

He immediately abandoned the work in his hands, sprinting madly back to his quarters and scrambling up onto the roof on all fours.

"I beg the Immortal Venerable for protection! I beg the Immortal Venerable for protection! I beg the Immortal Venerable for protection..."

Wu San fell to his knees on the roof tiles, desperately kowtowing toward the peak as he chanted his unceasing prayer, "I beg the Immortal Venerable for protection."

Wu Tong seemed to have fallen into a dream, a dream of her parents.

In the dream, her mother had gathered fresh flowers, and her father had woven them into a floral crown.

Her mother was not the agonizing figure she usually saw in her nightmares. Instead, she was the mother from Wu Tong's childhood memories, wearing a warm, gentle smile.

"Little Tong'er, this flower crown is just as beautiful as you. Quickly, take it."

Her mother picked up the flower crown and held it out to Wu Tong.

Wu Tong wanted to reach for it, but she felt as though her body weighed a mountain; she could not move an inch.

"Mother, I am so tired. It hurts so much. I cannot move..."

"Tong'er can do it. Tong'er is the bravest! Mother believes in you. Try just a little harder!"

Encouraged by her mother's voice, Wu Tong gathered her spirit once more. Using every last ounce of her strength, she forced her hand up, inching it forward until her fingers finally brushed against the flower crown.

"Mother!"

In that singular moment, Wu Tong felt her heavy body become light. All the agonizing torment of before vanished like scattered smoke.

And vanishing along with it was her mother's warm, comforting smile.

Yang Lingqing darted forward, catching Wu Tong just as she lost consciousness and was about to collapse.

Sweeping her Divine Sense over the girl's body, Yang Lingqing sensed that the Qi Mansion had successfully formed. She let out a long breath of relief.

Chen Yang no longer paid attention to the courtyard. Instead, he cast his consciousness outward, gazing toward the burial grounds on the western side of Pine Mountain.

Buried there were the commoners who had perished in the Beast Tide, and Wu Tong's mother was among them.

Just moments ago, at the critical juncture of Wu Tong condensing her Qi Mansion, right as she was about to fail, Chen Yang had sensed the emergence of two distinct forces.

One was the Power of Prayer, surging up from the foot of the mountain. It had first circled around Chen Yang, and upon receiving his silent permission, flew straight into Wu Tong.

The other was a faint, nearly intangible wisp of something unknown. It drifted from the western gravesite to the skies above the branch courtyard, alighting softly upon Wu Tong's form.

And now, with Wu Tong's successful Qi Gathering, that indescribable wisp transformed into an incredibly concentrated strand of the Power of Prayer, merging into his own body.

"So there truly are such miraculous phenomena in this world."

Contemplating this dense Power of Prayer, Chen Yang murmured to himself, "To sacrifice your life while living, and to sacrifice your Dao after death-protecting your daughter twice over. You were a great mother."

In this world of supernatural might and chaotic spirits, the lives of mortals were like thin sheets of paper, fragile to the extreme.

The slightest disaster or upheaval could snap the thread between life and death in a single breath.

The vast majority of cultivators stood high above, never placing the slightest value on mortal lives. They viewed them only as expendable resources, or livestock raised in pens.

But today, Chen Yang had witnessed it with his own eyes. Even within such weak, frail mortals, there existed something profound-something powerful enough to transcend both flesh and death.

88.181.249.5

ns88.181.249.5da2