Chapter 9
To extract the core knowledge from a veteran user who saw through all the secret arts and fortuitous encounters of the Cultivation World, Baek-Cheong swiftly extended her Divine Sense.
She chose the most certain method to pierce the Dao Friend’s intellectual vanity and arrogance.
[Dao Friend (913.14): Then how do you break through without eating a Realm-Breaking Pill? If you don’t know, just pass. You’re acting like a know-it-all.]
It was a malicious provocation that repaid kindness with hostility.
After she posted the message and waited a moment, a red notification blinked wildly before her eyes.
Successfully baited by the provocation, Dao Friend (55.19) poured out a series of long, anger-filled replies.
[Dao Friend (55.19): I don’t know where a newborn puppy like you rolled in from, but your mouth is quite loose. If you just ram your energy normally when the wall has thickened, you’ll only suffer internal injuries and fall into Qi Deviation. If you want to tear down the wall of your Dantian, you have no choice but to twist your energy like an awl and pierce through the Barrier.]
[Dao Friend (55.19): Intentionally collide Heterogeneous Qi inside your Dantian that forms a mutual overcoming relationship. It’s a method of using the explosive repulsive force generated when the two energies clash to rotate your spiritual energy in a spiral and grind away the wall. Of course, if an ignorant Qi Condensation Stage, 1st Level like you recklessly attempts this, your meridians will be torn apart without a trace.]
Baek-Cheong’s eyes sparkled brightly.
The information Dao Friend (55.19) spat out in a fit of anger, unable to hold back their rage, was a method that transcended imagination.
Colliding mutually repelling Conflicting Energies creates a spiral.
Ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators in the Cultivation World only handled spiritual roots of a single attribute.
The act of drawing in Heterogeneous Qi from the outside and colliding it inside the Dantian was no different from suicide.
Even knowing the method, it was a Pie in the Sky that could not be attempted.
However, Baek-Cheong’s situation was completely different.
Inside her Dantian, the Five Elements Qi of water, wood, fire, Earth, and metal was already perfectly established.
She only needed to slightly twist the trajectory of the energy that had been smoothly circulating through the Five Elements Mutual Generation, causing them to collide in mutual overcoming.
“It’s a Breakthrough Method perfectly tailored for me.”
Baek-Cheong smiled in satisfaction and withdrew her Divine Sense from the Nameless Forum.
Since the answer had been obtained, there was no reason to delay.
She sat in the Lotus Position on the bed and gently closed her eyes.
Calming her excited heart, she let out a long breath.
Looking inside her Dantian, she saw a sloshing lake of spiritual energy.
The energies of the five attributes were peacefully circulating, biting each other’s tails.
Baek-Cheong intensely concentrated her mind and intervened in the loop of circulation.
Water extinguishes fire, fire melts metal, metal cuts wood, wood penetrates Earth, and Earth blocks water.
It was the principle of the Five Elements Mutual Overcoming.
Baek-Cheong selected the Water Element energy she was most accustomed to handling and the most powerful Fire Element energy.
She forcefully detached the peacefully flowing water energy and collided it head-on toward the fire energy.
“Ugh!”
The moment the two energies clashed, a massive explosion occurred inside her Dantian.
Her internal organs twisted violently, her blood vessels expanded, and a scream escaped her lips.
Fishy blood dripped down her chin from her tightly bitten lip.
Even in the extreme pain, Baek-Cheong did not lose her grip on her consciousness.
The repulsive force of water overcoming fire transcended imagination.
The compressed spiritual energy swirled with intense momentum, forming a massive spiral.
The spiritual energy spiral, transformed into a sharp-tipped awl, charged ruthlessly toward the solid wall leading to 2nd-Stage Qi Condensation.
A bizarre friction sound, like scraping metal, seemed to ring out inside her Dantian.
The rotating spiral ground away the Barrier little by little, beginning to widen a gap.
Thick drops of sweat beaded on her forehead, Baek-Cheong added even more speed to the energy’s rotation.
Fine cracks began to appear on the wall.
It looked as though it would completely crumble if she pushed just a little more.
However, the rotational force of the spiritual energy spiral, which had been maintained intensely, gradually began to drop.
With the shallow true qi of Qi Condensation Stage, 1st Level, it was too much to maintain the collision of mutual overcoming for a long time.
Without hesitation, Baek-Cheong reached out and opened the jade box placed on the table.
She took out two Top-grade Spirit Gathering Pills at once and tossed them into her mouth.
As the pills melted, explosive spiritual energy surged into her depleting Dantian.
“Pierce through!”
Baek-Cheong poured the newly supplied spiritual energy into the spiral, delivering the final blow.
Finally, the solidly enduring Barrier of 2nd-Stage Qi Condensation shattered into pieces and collapsed.
The blocked meridians opened up completely, and a massive tsunami of spiritual energy poured into the new Territory.
The size of her Dantian expanded to more than double its previous size.
She had finally achieved 2nd-Stage Qi Condensation.
Without even a moment to savor the joy of success, a bizarre change began in her body.
As her realm rose, the murky impurities accumulated in her bones and muscles were expelled outward through her pores.
Black, sticky, mud-like waste covered her skin, giving off the stench of a sewer.
It was the natural transformation of her appearance that occurred when transitioning from a mortal to an immortal.
It was a phenomenon that usually only occurred at minor or major realm breakthroughs, but perhaps because the wall of her Dantian was so thick, it manifested early.
“Ugh, the smell!”
Baek-Cheong grabbed her nose and stood up from her Seat.
The feeling of her body becoming as light as a feather and her vision Clearing was nice, but the stench was hard to endure.
Fortunately, a bathtub prepared by the maidservants sat in one corner of the Abode.
Because she had confined herself to her room, the prepared bathwater had a Fire Jade placed inside to maintain a warm temperature.
Baek-Cheong hastily threw off her clothes and jumped into the warm water.
As she washed away the black grime, dazzlingly milky-white skin revealed itself.
The face reflected in the mirror had its previous hollow and haggard complexion washed away completely.
Instead, it overflowed with vitality, and her eyes were full of brightness, as if containing starlight.
It was the result of the spiritual energy purifying her body and elevating her innate beauty even further.
After finishing her bath and changing into clean silk clothes, Baek-Cheong sat on the edge of the bed.
The part she anticipated the most was the growth of her Divine Sense.
Closing her eyes and focusing on her glabella, she extended her Divine Sense outward.
Her Divine Sense, which had hovered around 3 zhang during her time at the 1st Level, extended without hesitation.
4 zhang, 5 zhang, 6 zhang.
Her Divine Sense reached a distance of a whopping 7 zhang.
Beyond the room, she could grasp the minute trembling of the flower petals blooming in the garden in front of her Abode three-dimensionally, and even the movements of a bug crawling on a leaf.
It was a Divine Sense that far transcended the level of 2nd-Stage Qi Condensation.
“With this much, I’ll be perfectly fine browsing to my heart’s content in the Nameless Forum.”
Baek-Cheong clenched her fists with a satisfied smile.
Now that her Divine Sense had increased, she would be able to delve into the deep abyss of the Information Board and search thoroughly for traces of Dao Friend (718.44).
It was the moment she, swelling with anticipation, was about to connect to the Nameless Forum.
The door to her Abode shook violently as if it would break, and an urgent voice rang out.
“Cheong-A! Are you safe?”
Before Baek-Cheong even had a chance to answer, the door burst open and Baek Mu-Jin rushed in.
His face was pale white, and his eyes were filled with extreme fear and worry.
While attending to the Clan’s affairs, he had sensed an unusual spiritual energy fluctuation from his Youngest daughter’s Abode and had come running in a panic.
Baek-Cheong stood up from her Seat and bowed politely.
“Father? What brings you here so urgently…?”
At the sight of his calm and peaceful daughter, Baek Mu-Jin wore a blank expression.
A faint smell of sweat lingered in the room along with the scent of blood, but Baek-Cheong’s condition looked perfectly fine.
Rather, the power of the spiritual energy radiating from her body had become incomparably sharper and more solid than before.
As if unable to believe it, Baek Mu-Jin approached and grabbed Baek-Cheong’s wrist.
He channeled his true essence to meticulously examine his daughter’s meridians and Dantian.
“Th-This is…!”
Baek Mu-Jin’s eyes widened as if they would pop out, and his lips trembled.
The shallow energy of Qi Condensation Stage, 1st Level had vanished without a trace, and inside the Dantian that had grown twice as large, five types of energy were vigorously churning.
It was the undeniable realm of 2nd-Stage Qi Condensation.
“2nd-Stage Qi Condensation… Are you saying you tore down the wall of the 2nd stage in just half a month!”
Baek Mu-Jin’s voice boomed through the Abode of the Abode.
Grasping Spiritual Perception and reaching the 1st Level in just ten days with the Talent of a Five Spirit Root was already a surprising Feat.
And yet, in half a month, she had smashed the solid wall of the 2nd stage with her own power.
'Oops.'
Baek-Cheong clicked her tongue inwardly and quickly made up an excuse.
If she revealed the fact that she had used the collision of mutual overcoming, her father might faint.
“It’s thanks to cultivating while eating the Top-grade Spirit Gathering Pills grandfather gave me. I felt a fullness in my Dantian and naturally followed where the path led. I just broke through the realm.”
At Baek-Cheong’s answer, which downplayed it as a mere coincidence, Baek Mu-Jin let out a Hollow Laugh.
He had an expression of complete surrender to his daughter’s prodigious Talent, passing the arduous hurdle of a Realm Breakthrough easily as if eating a meal.
Overwhelmed with emotion, he tightly hugged Baek-Cheong’s small shoulders.
“Hahaha! Admirable, truly admirable! A true dragon has been born in our Baek Clan!”
Baek Mu-Jin stroked Baek-Cheong’s head for a long time, sparing no praise.
Suddenly calming his excitement, he looked at his daughter with serious eyes and opened his mouth.
“Even your father didn’t expect you to break through realms this quickly. Now that you’ve reached 2nd-Stage Qi Condensation, you’ll need a means to protect your body. Follow me right now. I will open the Clan’s Treasure Vault and personally pick out a Dharma Treasure and a Technique/Spell book that suit you.”
Baek-Cheong’s eyes sparkled with joy.
It was an opportunity to obtain important Dharma Treasures and Techniques/Spells that a cultivator should possess.
“Thank you, father!”
Baek-Cheong followed behind Baek Mu-Jin, leaving the Abode with quick steps.
Her steps heading toward the Treasure Vault, located in the most secret and deepest part of the Clan, were incredibly light.
The interior of the Treasure Vault was filled with items emitting brilliant spiritual light.
Swords forged from thousand-year-old cold iron, armor made from demonic beast leather, and talismans radiating mysterious energy filled the display cases.
From deep within a Display Case, Baek Mu-Jin took out a small, exquisite silver bracelet and handed it to Baek-Cheong.
“This is the Profound Silver Bracelet. It is an excellent Dharma Treasure capable of deflecting up to three full-power attacks from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. It will suit your slender wrist well.”
Baek-Cheong received the bracelet and put it on her wrist.
Along with the cold touch of the metal, she felt a faint protective energy wrap around her body.
Next, Baek Mu-Jin moved to the Hundred Scriptures Pavilion.
Going up to the 2nd floor with Baek-Cheong, he examined the bookshelves and pulled out a jade slip.
“Since you handle all Five Elements Qi, I had a lot to consider. This book is a jade slip containing a Technique/Spell called the Five Elements Shield. It’s a skill that mixes the five energies to deploy a defense suited to the situation. Since your realm is still low, focus on protecting your body rather than attacking.”
Baek-Cheong carefully hugged the jade slip to her chest.
Having secured a Dharma Treasure and a Technique/Spell, Baek-Cheong beamed, her smile never ceasing.
“Cheong-A, you don’t have to cultivate so unreasonably out of the shock of having a Five Spirit Root. The Old Ancestor was also very worried that the Five Elements Mutual Generation was a dangerous path. For the time being, rather than raising your realm, take a rest, or if you’re truly bored, at least learn the Technique/Spell.”
However, seeing her father’s serious expression, she stopped smiling.
It was all just for the sake of forum browsing, after all.
Unable to speak of her inner circumstances, Baek-Cheong could only nod her head.
* * *
Returning to her Abode, Baek-Cheong firmly closed the door.
She stroked her newly acquired Profound Silver Bracelet and placed the Five Elements Shield jade slip on the table.
However, examining the Dharma Treasure and Technique/Spell was put on the back burner.
Baek-Cheong’s gaze was directed at the empty air.
It was time to test her increased Divine Sense.
More than anything, the desire to boast of her success to Dao Friend (55.19) and provoke the Dao Friends of the Nameless Forum rose to the tip of her throat.
Baek-Cheong extended her massive Divine Sense, which had expanded to 7 zhang, and connected to the Nameless Forum.
She brought up the Chat Board and opened the Writing Window without hesitation.
Without lifting a single finger, she composed sentences splendidly just by her thoughts.
“Dao Friend (913.14): Broke through the Qi Condensation Great Realm 2nd stage.”
[Twisted Conflicting Qi into an awl and collided them. It broke through right away. Realm Breakthrough is really nothing special. Thanks to the Dao Friend who gave advice.]
She deliberately hid her struggles and registered a post lightly mocking the Cultivation World’s arduous cultivation process.
Not long after, the board flipped upside down as countless notifications began to pour in.
[Dao Friend (11.23): Keep your bluffing to a limit. If a mere Qi Condensation cultivator collides Conflicting Energies, their Dantian will burst.]
[Dao Friend (88.4): A mere 2nd-Stage Qi Condensation isn’t even a realm. And what is it if there’s no proof?]
[Dao Friend (55.19): …Crazy. You actually tried that? It’s a miracle you’re alive.]
“Pfft, hehe.”
Checking Dao Friend (55.19)'s reply tinged with astonishment, Baek-Cheong let out a laugh.
The joy of watching the cultivators' reactions in the Nameless Forum was so addictive that it was hard to resist.
To the point where she momentarily forgot the reason she had wanted to reach 2nd-Stage Qi Condensation.