It was deep in the night again, at the Sanmu River Heart.
Chu Bai skillfully steered his small boat, stopping as usual in the river cove where the Spiritual Qi was most dense.
Silence reigned, broken only by the whisper of the breeze through the reeds. Chu Bai sat cross-legged. Just as he entered Meditation and tried to draw upon the familiar Purifying Spirit Flow, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.
"Hm?"
The Purifying Spirit Flow, which had always been stable here—as docile as a lamb—was unusually restless tonight.
In Chu Bai’s perception, the faint blue specks of light were slowly moving downstream, like a migrating school of fish. No matter how he tried to guide them, he couldn’t stop them from leaving.
’It’s drifting away?’
Alarm flared in Chu Bai’s heart. He had heard in a general studies class at the Daoist School that this type of ownerless Heaven and Earth Spiritual Flow was inherently unpredictable, following the Water Veins. It had only gathered here temporarily for some reason, and now it seemed to be leaving this stretch of water.
This was his cultivation accelerator. If he lost the boost from this spiritual flow, his training speed would inevitably suffer.
’Should I follow it?’
Chu Bai gripped his paddle, a flash of unwillingness in his eyes, and was just about to row in pursuit.
Suddenly, the Seven Kills Fate chart in his mind issued an unprecedentedly strong warning! It was the hair-raising feeling of being targeted by an apex predator.
Chu Bai froze. The hair on his body stood on end as he stared intently at the deep water beneath the spiritual flow.
By the faint moonlight, he could vaguely make out a suffocatingly massive black shadow moving slowly in the depths.
The shadow was several times larger than the strange fish he had killed before. The mere undercurrent from its movements created bizarre whirlpools on the surface, causing even his small boat to sway gently.
It seemed to be guarding the mass of Spiritual Qi, or perhaps waiting for it to drift to a specific location before swallowing it whole. A faint, yet palpable pressure emanated from it, even breaking the surface of the water and making it difficult for Chu Bai to breathe.
’Is this... a true Demon Beast? Or an even stronger Mutated Beast?’
Cold sweat instantly drenched his back.
Chu Bai’s palms were slick with sweat. He gripped the paddle so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Although he coveted the mass of Spiritual Qi, he knew his situation perfectly well.
He might have over fifty strands of Spiritual Qi and had learned the Beginner-level Spirit Water Needle, but in front of a subaquatic behemoth like this, he wouldn’t even be a morsel between its teeth. The creature wouldn’t even need to attack; a simple turn of its body would be enough to capsize his small boat.
Going down there would be suicide.
Haaaah...
Chu Bai took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the greed in his heart.
’You only get one life. You can always find more opportunities.’
This kind of restraint was often harder than taking a risk. It was the product of a clear understanding of one’s own strength, and the wisdom required for survival.
He didn’t follow. Instead, he slowly rowed his boat back into the shadows of the reeds, trying his best not to make a sound.
With a complex gaze, he watched the pale blue Spiritual Light slowly recede into the distance, finally vanishing around a bend in the river. The massive underwater shadow followed it, leaving behind nothing but a deathly still river surface.
’My strength... It’s still too weak.’
Gazing at the empty river, Chu Bai felt a sense of loss, but it was quickly replaced by a surge of fighting spirit.
’If I were already a Qi Cultivation Cultivator, would I have needed to be so timid?’
’I have to break through as soon as possible! Once my Divine Skill is perfected, I’ll definitely come back and investigate the bottom of this river!’
Having lost the efficient boost from the Purifying Spirit Flow, Chu Bai’s cultivation speed did indeed drop.
It fell from "less than a day per strand" back to the normal "one strand per day."
Even so, this was a speed that left ordinary people in the dust. Compared to his classmates who struggled to produce a single strand over several days, Chu Bai was still a genius to be looked up to.
Chu Bai wasn’t discouraged. He adjusted his mindset and, relying on his Mastery-level Small Qi Gathering Technique and the Water Grinding Technique, began a long period of accumulation.
For the next two months, his life became extremely disciplined and monotonous.
Every morning, he would go to the banks of the Sanmu River without fail. Although the special spiritual flow was gone, the Water Spiritual Qi by this great river was still denser than elsewhere, and every little bit he could absorb helped.
Every weekend, he would go to the Zhao Mansion to act as a sparring partner.
Zhao Xing’s Fire Bomb Technique grew more and more skilled, its power increasing with each session. But Chu Bai’s responses also became more composed. On several occasions when Zhao Xing’s offense was too fierce and forced him into a corner, Chu Bai subconsciously applied the principles of the Spirit Water Needle. Though he didn’t use the actual move, the water vapor he guided with his fingertips was enough to cleverly dissipate the impact of the Fire Bombs, secretly astonishing the watching Wuu Shang.
’This kid’s Body Technique and his perception of Spiritual Qi... I’m afraid they’ve already surpassed Zhao Xing’s,’ Wuu Shang noted, but he didn’t voice his thoughts, his gaze on Chu Bai simply growing deeper.
He spent his evenings entirely on practicing the Spirit Water Needle.
He progressed from hitting stationary reeds to accurately striking leaves swaying in the wind, and finally to shooting down flying mosquitoes.
Every flicker of his fingertips was another step in honing his control over Spiritual Qi.
Through monotonous repetition, the proficiency on his status panel steadily increased, and Chu Bai’s control over Spiritual Qi slowly transformed. He was like a patient hunter, sharpening his claws.
One month... two months...
Time trickled away like fine sand through his fingers. The sound of cicadas in Anping County grew sparse as the autumn air deepened.
The data on his status panel was also quietly changing.
His total Spiritual Qi slowly climbed from 52 strands to 60, 70, 85... 95.
As his body became more suffused with Spiritual Qi, Chu Bai’s aura grew more ethereal. His once slightly dark skin now had a faint, flowing luster—a result of being nourished by Spiritual Qi. The divine light in his eyes was restrained, and even when standing still, he gave off the impression of a deep, still abyss or a towering mountain.
Finally, one night two months later.
Chu Bai looked at the data on his status panel—[Qi Introduction (99/100)]—and stopped his cultivation.
From his Dantian Qi Sea came a distinct feeling of fullness, like a bottle filled to the brim, ready to overflow with a single additional drop.
It was the sign of a breakthrough.
That night, a thunderstorm raged outside, the rain pouring down in sheets.
Fat raindrops hammered against the eaves, roaring like war drums.
The gale-force winds slapped rain against the window lattice, creating sharp, cracking sounds.
For an ordinary person, a stormy night like this, with its chaotic and violent Spiritual Qi, was the worst possible time for a breakthrough. A slight misstep could lead to drawing thunder and fire into the body.
But for Chu Bai, who cultivated a Water Technique and had a foundation of Purifying Spiritual Energy, the abundant water vapor in the air was a heaven-sent boon.
Chu Bai sat cross-legged on his bed and put on the Calm Heart Jade Ring. His mind instantly became as tranquil as a deep pool, no longer disturbed in the slightest by the clamor outside.
’Tonight’s the night.’
He took a deep breath and began to operate the Small Qi Gathering Technique with all his might.
As he breathed, the incredibly active Water Spiritual Qi outside was drawn to him, surging into his body like fledgling swallows returning to their nest, providing the final, crucial 100th strand.
BOOM!
As the hundredth strand of Spiritual Qi fell into place, the change in quantity finally triggered a qualitative transformation.
The chaotic, swirling vortex of Qi in his Dantian was suddenly crushed by an invisible, immense force, causing it to collapse violently inward toward its center.
For an ordinary person, this process of compressing Spiritual Qi—condensing a hundred strands into a single thread—was extremely dangerous. The slightest miscalculation could result in a backlash of Spiritual Qi, leading to damaged meridians and the complete dissipation of one’s cultivation.
But at this moment, the Unceasing Labor Fate Chart on his status panel flashed faintly.
In Chu Bai’s perception, the rampaging Spiritual Qi in his body seemed to turn into obedient soldiers. Without him needing to expend any effort to suppress it, the Qi began to compress and transform in an orderly fashion along a predetermined path.
During this compression, the Purifying Spirit Flow, which made up the majority of his Qi, began to show its domineering nature.
It rapidly assimilated the original Pure Qi, dyeing the entire vortex a pure, azure blue.
’Condense!’
Chu Bai roared inwardly.
A silent boom seemed to echo in his mind.
The massive cloud of gaseous Spiritual Qi vanished completely. In its place was a single thread, as fine as a strand of hair but incomparably solid, glowing with a deep blue light—Magical Power!
The moment this thread of Magical Power formed, it began to circulate through his meridians on its own.
Wherever it passed, the minute impurities remaining in his meridians—such as the trace amounts of Evil Qi left from eating the mutated fish and the toxins accumulated over the years from mortal grains—were instantly washed away by the azure light!
An unprecedented feeling of lightness spread through his entire body, as if every pore was opening up to breathe.
’So this is the Qi Cultivation Stage...’
Chu Bai opened his eyes, a flicker of blue light in their depths.
He felt his five senses have been infinitely magnified; he could even clearly hear the sound of each individual raindrop hitting the leaves outside. He clenched his fist, a surging power coursing through his body. If he were to encounter that strange fish again, he was confident he could obliterate it with a single punch!
Chu Bai raised his right hand. With a single thought, he channeled this newborn strand of Magical Power to cast the Spirit Water Needle.
Before, it had taken him three breaths to gather power, and he had to control it with extreme care.
But now, it was instantaneous!
SWISH!
A speck of blue light flashed from his fingertip.
The Water Needle was as solid as a real needle, shooting out in an instant with a bone-chilling coldness.
The Water Needle instantly pierced a hardwood plank in the room and embedded itself deep within the earthen wall behind it, leaving only a tiny hole surrounded by a faint layer of white frost.
To his delight, after casting this one attack, the thread of Magical Power in his Dantian had only been depleted by a minuscule amount, and it was already recovering at an extremely fast rate by drawing on the water vapor in the air.
’I did it!’
Chu Bai looked at the blue Magical Power dancing on his fingertip, a confident smile playing on his lips.
’I’ve finally become a true Cultivator.’
’The Daoist School selection? I’m ninety percent certain I’ll pass. And this special Purifying Power might just become my biggest trump card in the assessment.’

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