When Li Lang retired to his room for the night, he didn’t waste any time and dove straight into the manual he received as a reward. He received it alongside a map. It was simply titled Fire Taming Art.

It was only a page, with nothing more than a mantra to chant.

There wasn’t anything special about it, so Li Lang went over the map in more detail instead. He wasn’t sure if it was to scale, but he estimated the Primordial Star Fire was only half an hour away. This was based on Tang Yulian’s experience, but with her higher cultivation, it was hardly accurate for others.

As he went over the map, Li Lang began to plan. He wasn’t a stranger to venturing out into Qi beast-infested forests. Nevertheless, he needed to come up with contingencies ahead of time.

He still had a small stash of warding talisman he brought with him, so he wasn’t too worried about the Qi beasts. However, it made him motivated to investigate how to produce his own warding talisman that gave off the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The ones he bought weren’t classified as Earth-grade talismans. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to afford it. He had heard from Yi Lin that usually, a Foundation Establishment Brushweaver would just store some of their Qi in the talisman.

If it is still classified as a mortal-grade talisman, it means I should still be able to create one while in the Energy Gathering realm…

What Li Lang didn’t know was that the reason was simply because the talisman’s functions were only to store and emit Qi. The content of the Qi was irrelevant to the grading. He was unaware that it just so happens that mortal-grade talisman could barely still contain a sliver of Foundation Establishment level Qi.

Nevertheless, Li Lang began experimenting with a basic Qi storing talisman inside Ruby’s artifact space.

“Ruby, according to you, what is the main difference between Qi from someone in the Energy Gathering realm and the Foundation Establishment realm?”

“Hmm…Maybe the heaviness of it?”

“Would you say…it’s denser?”

“Probably? I’m not sure if my senses are the same are yours, master.”

“No worries. It’s still valuable insight.”

So far, from what I observed, the intensity of Qi could sometimes change the length of its wavelength. Such as the aptitude test orbs, showcasing colors. It is in line with the Planck-Einstein Relation; as the wavelength decreases, energy increases.

That may or may not affect the quality of Qi. Even a non-cultivator like Zi Xi got to the blue spectrum, so it’s hard to say. However, if Ruby says it feels denser, it might have to do with something similar to the states of the matter. In that case, there might be a breaking point for the density of Qi somewhere that will qualitatively change it to the Foundation Establishment level. Like from gas to liquid.

With that in mind, Li Lang began trying to increase the density of Qi within a talisman. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Just like cultivating, the more full the container was, the harder it was to stuff more in. One would normally become stronger during the process, allowing you to exert more force to jam even more in, but doing so without the required strength was a challenge.

I don’t have any tools that could interact with Qi. How can I gain more leverage, then…?

Wait!

I do have tools that can interact with Qi.

Li Lang immediately glanced over at his Brushweaving workshop. His Moon Brushes, ink stones, and the injection rod were all there. His eyes lit up when it made contact with the rod. The reward from the trials was exactly a tool that addressed his needs.

“Ruby, can you duplicate several more of these rods for me?”

“Of course, master.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Almost immediately, a dozen identical rods materialized on the table. Li Lang wasted no time trying out using several rods at once, feeding Qi into his Moon Brush several times compared to the usual. Unfortunately, he quickly ran out of energy.

He wasn’t winded, however, because the artifact space was just a simulation. His real self hadn’t expended the same amount of Qi. Still, it disallowed him from continuing to feed more energy.

“I need a Qi battery of some sort… I guess I’ll have to settle with using the warding talismans I bought until then.”

None of the materials he had come across could act as a battery. He had no choice but to add another topic to his to-do list.

The next day, Li Lang decided to venture out of the building he had teleported into since his arrival. After some inquiring with his companions, he learned where the exit was. Passing by various disciples going about their day, Li Lang made his way to the hallway leading to the combat trials.

He went down the wide corridor until he encountered several doors on both sides. Many cultivators would go in and out of these rooms. As he passed by, he stole a glance at what was in the rooms. He spotted a lone sword at the center and nothing else.

Li Lang decided to forgo the combat trials for the moment. He wanted to focus on attaining the unique heavenly fire. The grading of the combat trial was likely timed, so he would rather worry about it another time.

Coming toward the end of the hallways, he found two sturdy metal doors. It was already open as various people could be seen venturing outside. Blending into the crowd, Li Lang soon took his first step outside the building he had lived in ever since he entered the pocket realm.

He narrowed his eyes at the violet skies and yellow clouds towering above. Turning around, he found himself walking out of the base of a colossal mountain.

How come no one told me were living inside a mountain and not some building…?

Li Lang took a moment to orient himself with the map he held. Then he was off.

There was a large forest he had to traverse, then through a sandy plain.

Li Lang used his warding talisman just before he entered the treeline. He could hear the bushes rustling from the distant cultivators. Due to that, his journey went unhindered, as he avoided others. He only had to endure the dense foliage.

After a whole twenty minutes, he had made good progress, with nothing awry.

That all changed when he abruptly heard the crisp snapping of trees. It was followed by the groaning of a young man. A moment later, hurried footsteps drew closer.

Li Lang cautiously moved around the commotion. As he tried to remain undetected, his speed was much slower than the approaching figures. That was why he settled to hide behind a thick tree, waiting for the trouble to pass.

However, the sound of running soon stopped nearby. From his vantage point, Li Lang took a peek and found a young man hiding behind a tree, just like he was. The only difference was that the newcomer was dirty with all the dirt staining on his clothes and was breathing raggedly.

The newcomer was below him, looking fearfully toward where he had come from.

He looks familiar…

As the man turned left and right to assess his surroundings, Li Lang got a better look on his face. He soon recognized the other party to be Shen Haoran. He was the man who had targeted him during The Orchid Covenant’s competition that earned him a spot in the pocket realm.

Before he could digest his new findings, the sound of the foliage violently being destroyed drew both cultivators’ attention. A huge gorilla bulldozed his way through the treeline, giving off a powerful aura of a late-stage Energy Gathering Qi beast.

It sniffed at the air while occasionally snapping in a different direction, searching for its prey.

It was obvious to Li Lang that Shen Haoran had managed to somehow piss off the Qi beast. Fortunately for him, the gorilla soon discovered the aura of something much more powerful than itself. It let out a surprised yelp as it cautiously backed away from Li Lang’s direction.

Hmm…It seems to have come to its senses since it got so close to me. Good to know that Qi beasts can still approach me if they’re in a frenzy, even with the warding talisman. But should I really just let Shen Haoran off the hook that easily after his shenanigans?

Making a split-second decision, Li Lang fished out his warding talisman. He decisively crushed it to cancel its effects before throwing out another talisman at Shen Haoran. The new talisman sailed through the air and landed perfectly by its target’s feet. It then exploded spectacularly, and Shen Haoran was thrown onto the ground.

The explosive talisman was something Li Lang had inscribed. As a result, it wasn’t that powerful, only with the strength of a middle-stage Energy Gatherer. However, the surprise attack had caught Shen Haoran off guard. He was immediately disoriented by the blow, but most importantly, the gorilla now had a clear sight of its prey.

Without the intimidation of the warding talisman, the Qi beast mindlessly committed to its chase once more.

Meanwhile, Li Lang had sprinted away the moment he threw the explosive talisman. He only ran for a few seconds before he took out and activated a second warding talisman.

That was quite expensive, but revenge is sweet. I should be able to make my own warding talisman if my research with a Qi battery turns out as I think it will.

Anyway, good luck Shen Haoran! If you survive this, I’ll call it even.

With a smirk on his face, Li Lang resumed his journey. Behind him, he could hear the cries of a young man.