Exiting the bedroom, I opened the door next to it. Inside was a well-lit room, but aside from a cushion in the middle and inscriptions that ran through the white floors and walls, nothing else was there, not even windows. The Divine Grade rooms of the Xu Inn had a cultivation room, each equipped with a lesser version of the five-element array to help provide an optimal atmosphere for the guest.

With the white jade token placed on the cushion, it took a few minutes to set the array to gather wood, water, and earth Qi using the spirit stones. As the Qi formed a low-hanging fog on the floor, I took my seat and closed my eyes. Knowing how hungry my spiritual root was for Qi, I cut the absorption rate down to 25%, it was the lowest my method allowed, before this I had always used it to increase the absorption rate.

Nevertheless, my breath calmed soon after I followed the familiar pattern, two long breaths in, holding them for five seconds before releasing it all in three quick bursts before repeating. I was like a fish in water, the Qi came in through my nose entering my Lung meridian, having practiced this method for centuries made it easier to guide the Qi through the meridians, everything was working fine until the stream of Qi entered the Dantian where I had to condense it.

A dantian was a metaphysical storage for Qi, not visible to the naked eye but it did exist. The spiritual root and mind realm, these two were a part of the person’s soul, similar to them Dantian only became active when a cultivator started their journey becoming the shield for the mind realm and the spiritual root. The moment Qi entered my Dantian it reached the Black Lotus, in reaction the ominous-looking flower stretched its roots looking for more. The absorption rate shot up about ten times in an instant.

“Quckh!” The taste of iron reached my tongue.

My ears rang, sending a piercing pain through my head as if someone had hammered in long rusted nails inside while hitting me straight up once in a few seconds, the lungs were half filled with blood making it harder to breathe, but the flow of Qi wasn’t interrupted, if anything it was increasing as my pores opened up. Violent coughs erupted soon after. Something hot dripped down my chin, cracking open my burning eyes, the red in my vision confirmed it.

“Kaack—!!” Blood, my blood stained my clothes and the white floor.

My entire body was burning up like a furnace. It hadn't even been ten seconds, but my meridians and Qi Pathways felt like they were twisting in place, it was like someone had poured molten iron inside them. The spiritual root dictated the absorption of Qi, but no Spiritual root participated in the process. However, my root wasn’t simply participating, it was trying to kill me.

I have to break the cycle, if I don’t this won’t end with simple damage. My body could inflate and end up exploding if I didn’t stop this soon, the best case scenario was ending up with destroyed meridians, in other words, a cripple.

Staying conscious took its toll, the only way to end the cycle was for someone to stop me or my body moving subconsciously. The latter was my only hope, being with Wang Yang for years had trained my sense of danger to an unusual degree. The moment my mind registered the danger, my body moved on instinct to counter it.

My hands clamped down on my nose and mouth, cutting off the major flow of Qi as I stopped the array using my mind. However, the problem was far from over, the meridians and Pathways were still overflowing with Qi.

Many people say that the worst pain is one that affects the soul, and I agree. It wasn’t half as painful as this when I was trying to find the cure for Yin Dandelion, the first time I felt pain like this was facing the Disaster God before dying, but compared to that, this was bearable.

“The world may try… but the only one who can stop you, is yourself.” Forcing the numb tongue to move, I chanted this over and over. “Do not lose focus in the face of pain, do not fret while… facing adversity, to gain enlightenment in life should be your sole purpose.”

Tranquil Pond Technique. A secret Buddhist technique to strengthen the soul and clear the mind even in the face of great pain, imprinting it in my mind beforehand was the right choice as this technique had helped me always.

The soothing warmth washed over me, drowning the pain a little, it wasn’t much but now it felt more bearable as my focus shifted. Clear energy left my dantian. The stream connected to the closest Meridian and started to draw in the Qi towards the Dantian, emptying the pathway along the way. Leaving the meridians like this would continue to make the situation worse, so, the Qi under my control reached the next meridian and started to drain it too.

Such complex and small-scale manipulation inside the body was the reason Azure Sky Cultivation Method Variation One was important to me, the other cultivation methods would’ve guided me to expel the volatile Qi from the meridians, but doing that would make me suffer a backlash for the broken concentration on top of the accumulated damage. The result would be some twisted meridians which would require a few months of rest and expensive Heaven-Grade Soul strengthening pills, the damage to the body was easy to deal with. However, with this cultivation method, I could take the boon equal to the suffering, which was only fair.

Normally, the suffering would far outweigh the boon, but not this time. Regressed to a lower realm now, the countless insights gathered throughout years of rigorous cultivation lay within my memory, so unlike a normal cultivator who had to gather these insights while absorbing Qi, I only need sufficient Qi and the insights will fall in place, however, this type of cultivation was equally dangerous as this was part of the reason for the jump in the absorption speed.

The stream of Qi that entered my Dantian started to stick together, and soon a thick fog formed resembling clouds, the color of these clouds darkened as they condensed further till they could no longer hold their shape, and the collapse resulted in the rain of a million droplets of Qi, that rained down like a storm, but this was only the first step.

Cultivation resulted in two things, the nourishment of the soul and the strengthening of the body. The presence of Qi alone nourished the soul, but strengthening the body depended on the effort and skill of the cultivator, especially in the Golden Core realm where the most important parts of the human body, organs, were strengthened.

I have never done this without meditating, but still, the process remains simple.

The liquid Qi left my dantian in a stream, circulating between the twelve meridians in a constant cycle. The organs connected to these points were the core of the body, their strength was the most vital part as it was the last stage of body strengthening for the Qi Cultivators. Strong organs make a strong person, it was true even for cultivators.

The Heart’s pumping strength, the Liver’s filtration of poisonous substances, the digestion ability of the stomach, and the kidney’s effect on blood, all these properties helped a cultivator live better and absorb the strong pills while increasing their natural immunity. The liquid Qi used the meridians to enter the organs and start repairing any damage sustained till now before strengthening them.

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Beads of sweat rolled down my face as the pain started to come back again, there wasn't any room for accidents so I strengthened the Tranquil Pond Technique and continued the process. After two hours the Qi was reeled back into the Dantian where it started to compress, in the Golden Core realm one had to turn the liquid Qi into a solid form and fill the dantian 90% with a hollow center to reach the Peak of the realm.

Clumps started to form within the liquid and sunk low to land on already solidified Qi, soon the liquid Qi turned into a golden sludge. Using the Qi pressure to vibrate the entire layer, the clumps started to close in, and the water in between started to escape upwards. Now a thin layer of liquid Qi sat above the solidified Golden Qi waiting for the next round of absorption.

Being hasty wouldn’t help, even if I want to continue right now. I hadn’t even cultivated properly and my dantian had 75% solidified Qi in it, making me jump from the 6th refinement of the Golden Core to the halfway point of the 7th refinement layer.

I had never seen such speed in my life, but the danger was equally great. The absorption rate of the spiritual root had far exceeded my expectations even after suppressing it, part of it was the root’s ability and the other was my insights into the realm. However, my body was far too weak to support this speed, it had cultivated using an earth-grade spiritual root thus my meridians and pathways only matched that grade, and they aren’t strong enough to support the changed root right now.

Although the chances of things going this were high, not trying would’ve been much more damaging as the only way to find more about this spiritual root was to enter a secret realm, and to enter that I would need to be at least at the 5th lamp of Soul Formation Realm.

If I simply continue this, it wouldn’t be long before the growth halts or I become a cripple, both weren’t good endings. The only way to circumvent this was to either get new meridians or strengthen the current ones, with my identity the first option couldn’t be followed, so, my chips rested on the second one.

I apologize in advance Iron Body Deity, it looks like I’ll have to dig your grave much sooner than I expected. Desecrating a respected figure’s resting place wasn’t something enjoyable to me, but it was necessary if I wanted to execute even half of the plans in my head.

“I’ll be sure to put it to good use…” I paused for a moment hearing the low but strong tone. “My voice changed back.”

The pressure on the acupoint must’ve been undone because of the violent muscle spasms and constriction due to pain. If it affected the vocal cords then other areas should be the same, in the full body the situation became clearer. The slanted shoulders, one protruding outwards more than the other, the left arm looked longer than the right by a few inches, but the worst part was the face.

In the mirror's reflection, Bain Que's strong, masculine features confront my original face's softer on the left, more soothing appearance. Bain Que's sharp eyebrows and narrow eyes exude authority and determination, contrasting with my original face's defined jawline, cat-like eyes with double eyelids, fair skin, and a small, inviting mouth. While Bain Que's traits had more strength and character, my original face's natural beauty proved universally attractive. Although my choice leaned more towards the Bian Que look, my original face has helped me a lot in tough situations.

But it does bring me trouble because people don’t forget me even if they have only met me once, I guess the excess Yin Qi did have an effect after all. Leaving the disadvantage out, the silver needles helped me bring Bian Que’s look back together in a minute.

It was a blessing to have this technique as it changed my real body instead of veiling it with an illusion, something that can be seen through. The technique even helped in manipulating the musculature to change the body shape by a good margin to provide another layer of illusion, with this I won’t get discovered because of the Artifact’s limits again.

“No use crying over spilled milk now.” Eating a Heaven Grade healing pill, I began to circulate the medicinal Qi through the pathways to repair them while also giving some care to the meridians.

The current objective was to bring them back to their original state before leaving for the Iron Body Deity’s Grotto Heaven. I did plan to bring the disciples there as it only helped cultivators in the first three Major realms, but because of my situation, the plans need to change. The lightning rod called Wu Kexin wouldn’t be enough on her own.

I have to add more fire so the smoke catches Zhao Jun’s attention. After cleaning the mess on the floor, I changed into a fresh red robe before leaving the room.

All of the tasks on the list for today had come to fruition, only the new one remained now but that wouldn't take too long. Knocks came from the main door, when it opened Xu Ye bowed slightly, his hands in the front. Behind him were a few servants with their eyes glued to their feet.

“We are here to invite Immortal Bian for dinner.”

The sun had already sunk a while ago, in a way he came later than usual because the Lesser Four Element Formation was in use. More time than intended had passed because of the issues that came up, staying here any more would be delaying things for no reason.

“I have somewhere to be, so maybe next time.” I said in a clear and concise manner

“We’ll prepare a grand feast for Immortal Bian the next time.”

From the looks of it, he had already done that this time, but he’d put that food to good use so I could leave without worries

“Before I leave, there is a piece of information that might interest you.” I said.

Waving his hands, Xu Ye sent the servants behind him away. With the two of us being the only ones on the floor, his expression turned serious, although he had always been a cautious type, he never missed information from any source, especially when it came from someone important like Bian Que.

“The smell of rotten wine is strong in Qingyun Province these days.”

His eyes widened slightly, even his poker face wouldn’t help as looking for this information was at the top of his priority list. The rotten wine was a code word for Demonic cultivators, and this bunch made a new stronghold in Qingyun province around this time. Previously, the plan was to use them as combat experience for the disciples, now, I’ll use them as bait. Of course, someone like him wouldn’t simply take it and go.

“…Why would Senior Bian tell me this?”

“It is compensation for keeping your nose out of our business.” This was the best response and the one that made the most sense given how Xu Ye was.

Letting him snoop around my disciples and plans wasn’t ideal, he already knew of the close friendship between Li Muchen and Bian Que, which made the entire thing easier as this threat would make more sense if it came from Bian Que, someone known for his selfish and rude behavior.

“Immortal Bian and Peak Master Li have nothing to worry about, The Xu Family is forever loyal to the sect. I hope Immortal Bian can pass the message on to Peak Master Li.” He bowed, and although it looked like he was trying to let the storm pass, I knew the message had reached him.

The Xu Family was loyal to the sect, but Xu Ye’s loyalty lay elsewhere and the same became true for the Xu Family as of late. After all, Zhao Jun was the one who supported him in reaching his position and the two were from the same generation, this information would reach that guy and get him out of the sect before the fixed time.

“I’ll be sure to pass the words on through the token. Though I wanted to meet him, that guy was too enthusiastic about gathering herbs for his disciples. Then, until next time.” I said, walking past him.

“Until next time, Immortal Bian.”

He didn’t suspect a thing about Li Muchen being missing, no one would because it took years of repetition to build these alibis and recognizable habits that had now become a part of me. Looking at the silk pouch in my hand, I smiled.

It is time to force the soldier into making a move of his own.