Refining the Mountain Clear Qi

Sensing the sudden shift in aura from the room, Zhou Minghu and Zhou Xuanya's expressions changed drastically as they rushed toward the house.

Though Chen Nianqiu did not know the cause, seeing her two sons in such a panic, she quickly realized something was amiss and hurried after them with Zhou Bai in her arms.

"Father!"

Despite his anxiety, Zhou Minghu knew that interrupting a cultivator was a grave taboo. Not daring to push the door open recklessly, he called out in a low voice. Meanwhile, Zhou Xuanya stepped to the window and gently pushed it open to peer inside, terrified of making even the slightest sound.

Though both men were cultivators, they could not stop trembling, terrified of discovering bad news within.

"Come in, all of you. I am fine," Zhou Ping's weak voice drifted from inside.

Through the window, Zhou Xuanya saw his father lying weakly upon the bed. Seeing the steady rise and fall of his chest, the son finally let out a breath of relief.

The three gathered by the bedside, gazing at Zhou Ping with deep concern.

"Father, are you injured?" Zhou Minghu knelt on one knee beside the bed, his voice tight with worry.

Zhou Xuanya stood silently to the side, leaning on his spear, though the worry in his eyes was just as clear. Chen Nianqiu was in her thirties; though she lived comfortably and maintained her beauty, the faint traces of time at the corners of her eyes only deepened her mature charm.

"Husband, did you suffer a setback in your cultivation?" she asked, leaning over with a fretful gaze. "I will go to the storehouse for herbs and have the servants brew a blood-nourishing tonic."

Only little Zhou Bai in her arms remained blissfully ignorant, babbling and smiling innocently at his father.

Having recovered a sliver of strength, Zhou Ping sat up and gathered Zhou Bai into his arms. "There is no need. I am completely fine."

The two brothers froze before wild joy surged into their eyes.

Though they had yet to attempt a breakthrough themselves, they knew from Zhou Ping's writings that the process was fraught with peril. Failure meant grievous injury or death. Yet their father was whole and safe, merely exhausted. Could it be that he had succeeded?!

Zhou Ping looked toward his eldest son. "Minghu, go and summon your cousin."

"Yes." Zhou Minghu respectfully withdrew.

"Nianqiu, I have an appetite for lotus seed soup. Go to the kitchen and have them prepare a bowl."

Chen Nianqiu nodded and hurried out of the courtyard.

This left only Zhou Ping and Zhou Xuanya in the room. The second son immediately grew tense and restrained. As for Zhou Bai in Zhou Ping's embrace, the infant continued to coo and wave his little fists, looking utterly adorable.

Zhou Ping looked calmly at his son. "Xuanya."

"I am here." Zhou Xuanya quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet his father's gaze.

"Over the years, I have forbidden you from revealing your cultivation. Do you hold any grievances?"

"Never," Zhou Xuanya replied. "I know everything Father does is for the clan's safety. Our family already boasts two cultivators, drawing the envy of many. If a third were to appear, others would inevitably suspect we harbor some heavy treasure, inviting their greed."

Zhou Ping nodded slightly, his eyes softening with paternal ache. "You have suffered for it."

"Once the grand cultivators from the prefecture arrive to lay down the warding array, shielding these few miles of land from prying eyes, you will no longer need to hide."

"I understand."

Before long, Zhou Changhe arrived at the courtyard at a brisk trot, led by Zhou Minghu. He could not contain his joy.

"Uncle, you are well!"

"Changhe, tomorrow you and Minghu will seek out the County Magistrate. Tell him that I have broken through to Qi Condensation. Our Zhou family petitions to enter the immortal registry and volunteers to guard this region." Zhou Ping looked at his stalwart nephew with profound satisfaction.

"While you are at it, pass word to the Li estate."

Half a year ago, as the searing heat intensified and the Mountain Clear Qi thinned, the Zhou family had stopped selling their grain. Naturally, their commerce with the Li Clan Trading Company had come to a halt.

But times had changed. Once the warding array was established, they could cultivate spiritual rice and spiritual fruits of their own. Those trading companies and clans would undoubtedly follow the scent of profit.

Furthermore, securing the array would leave the Zhou family deeply indebted to the Imperial Court. They needed external silver to plug the hole. Zhou Ping had heard whispers of the growing friction between the Li family and the other enshrined elders within their company. The aging, failing Li Mu was desperate to forge a connection with the Pingyun Huang Clan to ensure his descendants' survival.

Now that the Zhou family was rising, Zhou Ping refused to believe Li Mu would sit idle upon hearing the news.

The mighty and populous Pingyun Huang Clan lacked for nothing; the newly risen Zhou family still possessed a shallow foundation.

As long as Li Mu had half a brain, he would never choose the former.

After all, an outsider submitting to a dominant clan would, at best, be tossed an idle retirement post. But attaching oneself to an ascendant, developing clan-one starved for capable hands-meant becoming an indispensable minister. In the future, Li Mu's family would reap rich rewards.

"Your nephew will see to it at once."

"Good. You may all withdraw." Zhou Ping nodded, passing Zhou Bai to Zhou Minghu.

The three respectfully backed out of the room, gently closing the door behind them.

Outside the Courtyard

Zhou Changhe beamed at his two younger cousins. "Today is a momentous occasion. With Uncle and you, Minghu, our Zhou family is destined for eternal prosperity."

"Elder Brother jests. Father is the true pillar of our family," Zhou Minghu replied with a laugh.

"Hahaha, you speak the truth."

After exchanging a few more warm words, Zhou Changhe took his leave. He still had the entire estate's affairs to manage and orders to issue to the retainers.

Yet, as he stepped through the courtyard gate, he suddenly paused to look back, letting out a hollow sigh. Why was it that out of his own three brothers, not a single one possessed immortal destiny?

Outwardly, the clan enjoyed boundless glory, but he knew his branch's prestige was entirely dependent on his uncle's lineage. A deep anxiety for his descendants gnawed at him. For now, within three generations, the two branches were thick as thieves. But as the family tree branched out in the decades to come, they would inevitably drift apart. If his branch failed to produce an immortal master to back them, what would become of his descendants?

Fortunately, Sun-shi's belly had begun to show. He prayed with all his heart that this unborn child would grasp the immortal thread.

Inside the Room

Zhou Ping retrieved three small vials from a hidden compartment. Within the jade vials, wisps of ethereal vapor swirled-it was the Mountain Clear Qi.

He possessed only two common Qi Condensation manuals: Mountain Clear Stream and River Wave Torrent. Qingshui County lacked sprawling lakes or mighty rivers, making River Wave Qi impossible to harvest. Only to the west, near Darong Mountain, could one gather Mountain Clear Qi. While other types of heaven-and-earth energies existed, Zhou Ping lacked the matching cultivation methods. Naturally, he was forced to practice Mountain Clear Stream.

He adjusted his posture into a meditative seat and turned his Divine Sense inward. His Divine Sense had broadened significantly, now capable of sweeping a full three zhang around his body.

In his lower abdomen rested a spiritual acupoint the size of a bean, greedily drawing in the sparse Spiritual Qi from its surroundings and spinning it into fine threads.

Because the Spiritual Qi present during his breakthrough had been pitifully thin, his acupoint could only house just over a hundred strands of Spiritual Qi. In stark contrast, those geniuses with High Grade aptitude could command dozens of strands while still in the Spirit Awakening Realm. Upon breaking through, their spiritual acupoints would be several times the size of his.

This meant that throughout the Qi Condensation realm, in addition to standard cultivation, Zhou Ping would have to bleed away immense time and energy simply expanding and fortifying his acupoint-a brutal slog that could take decades. The heavens' favored children, on the other hand, faced no such bottlenecks. From the moment they reached Qi Condensation, they merely needed to refine the energies of heaven and earth to advance seamlessly.

From the very first step on the Dao, the quality of one's spiritual root dictated everything. One slow step condemned a cultivator to trail behind forever!

Zhou Ping refused to dwell on this bitter truth. His most pressing concern was formally commencing his Qi Condensation cultivation.

Without hesitation, he unstoppered all three vials and drew the Mountain Clear Qi into his belly.

The moment the Mountain Clear Qi entered his acupoint, it began to aggressively assimilate the Spiritual Qi within, bleaching it a pale, greenish-white. Zhou Ping's own aura grew ethereal and detached, much like a solitary mountain breeze.

What was Qi Condensation? It was the act of refining the world's breath, using the energies of heaven and earth to forge one's supreme foundation.

The minor layers within the Qi Condensation realm were strictly measured by the accumulation of Qi Essences.

For a practitioner of the Mountain Clear Stream like Zhou Ping, refining one hundred strands of Mountain Clear Qi allowed him to compress them into a single Mountain Clear Qi Essence. This marked him as a One-Essence cultivator, otherwise known as Qi Condensation First Layer.

Upon forging nine Mountain Clear Qi Essences-the very peak of the Qi Condensation realm-he could seek out earthly treasures to fuse these essences into a Mountain Clear Dao Foundation, thereby breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

Naturally, such a cultivator would be among the weakest of their peers, as their Qi Essence was far too narrow and singular.

Cultivators who possessed profound and esoteric methods could absorb multiple elemental energies, combining wind and thunder, or water and fire, and beyond. Every additional element refined doubled one's martial prowess and forged a vastly superior Dao Foundation at the summit.

After a long span of time, Zhou Ping finally exhaled a lungful of turbid air.

Within his body, more than a dozen strands of Spiritual Qi had already transmuted into Mountain Clear Qi. He needed to push his cultivation to the First Layer of Qi Condensation before the officials from the prefecture arrived.

After all, nothing served as better proof of his rank as a Qi Condensation cultivator than the presence of a true Qi Essence.

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