A brush was dipped in black in ink, just the tip before it was pulled out. Allowing the brush excess ink to drip off, the hand moved the brush onto the parchment and left a mark on it. An image of a dragon was formed. Tianyi was imitating the one-stroke dragon painting technique that he had seen a web video of in his past life, but with a twist.
When the painting was completed, the words “Reverse Soaring Dragon” could be seen written in white. It was a black and white painting. However, where it should be black, it was white, and where it should white, it was black. Rather than black ink on white parchment, it looked like white ink on black parchment. It gave off an incredible feeling of harmony yet disharmony as well, like the laws of the world had been reversed.
Tianyi nodded with a smile as he finished the painting. Since that day when Tianyi heard his junior sister play the guqin, it suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t have a hobby, and aside from cultivating, he did nothing else! If this continued any longer, Tianyi might even consider himself a cultivation freak!
And so Tianyi chose painting and calligraphy. As for why he didn’t choose anything else? He hated physical exercise the most back when he was on Earth, and two, there was no such thing as electronics in the Huang Realm, so he decided to pick up a hobby that he hadn’t done in a long time. Reading novels didn't count as a hobby but as a pastime.
Since he chose painting, he decided to add calligraphy. Look how elegant he was!
Tianyi left the painting on the table to dry as he left his study room. It had already been a few months since Jiang Daoyi became his junior sister and many things changed while many things stayed the same.
Currently, she was already in the third stage of the Qi Gathering Realm and made friends with many of the elders on Jade Peak who were interested in music and would often visit one another to play music together.
Xi Ri had also adjusted to life in the Buzhou Immortal Sect and was no longer suppressed or bullied after the incident with Chun Dan. Being rather popular with the other outer sect disciples, Xi Ri became something of an unspoken leader or representative.
He had also broken through to the next stage of his cultivation, cementing his status even more. With his potential, Tianyi concluded that Xi Ri needed less than five years to become an inner sect disciple with the resources currently available to him.
Within Tianyi’s dantian, his Spiritual Crucible had already fully formed, and at any moment, he could start forming his Spiritual Core. But the most crucial component wasn’t ready yet, and so Tianyi could only wait until the final component was ready. For this Core Formation Heavenly Tribulation, Tianyi, or rather Mengfei, amassed many materials for Tianyi, even using Immortal level resources.
“Hmmm, I should see how Junior Sister is doing,” Tianyi said to himself as he once again made his way to Daoyi’s estate.
When he arrived, he saw an unexpected guest.
“In the Qi Gathering Realm, one must absorb the spiritual qi from the air and open the twelve meridians, and thus there are officially twelve stages in the Qi Gathering Realm. As spiritual qi is most easily absorbed when we breathe in the air, the first meridian we open is the Major Yin Lung Meridian located in the lung. Following that, we open the Minor Yin Heart Meridian, which is located in the heart. As for how dangerous it is, Junior Sister has already experienced it and broke through, so there is no need for me to explain.”
It was Xia Yushan, surprisingly. He was standing in the courtyard with Jiang Daoyi in front of him and listening to him speak on how to cultivate in the Qi Gathering Realm.
“Junior Sister Jiang is already at the fourth stage, so your next step is to accumulate qi to open up the Major Yang Small Intestine Meridian. The best time to open the meridian is between 1 to 3 pm.”
“Senior Brother has especially come to give Junior Sister pointers?” Tianyi asked as he walked up. "As expected of the most respected Eldest Senior Brother of the sect.
Xia Yushan wasn’t surprised by Tianyi’s appearance as he had long sensed him. Daoyi, however, was surprised. “Hello, Senior Brother.” Her smile, although slight, was especially bright and carefree; not a hint of her introverted self from when she was still a concubine-born daughter could be seen.
“Junior Sister.” Tianyi greeted before looking back at Xia Yushan.
Xia Yushan just laughed. “I heard that Grand Elder Xi has been at Elder Jin’s Pill Palace for the past month, so I came to check on Junior Sister Jiang to see if she needs any help.”
Tianyi lightly coughed. The reason that Mengfei was at Elder Jin’s, also known as the Divine Pill Alchemist by the world at large, was for him. Although a month wasn’t long for his mother, for Daoyi, who had just started cultivating not long ago. It could be said to be delaying her cultivation.
“So Senior Brother Xia is recounting your experience during your cultivation?” Tianyi asked, directing the conversation elsewhere. “En, to receive pointers from a genius who has reached the Nascent Soul Realm is indeed a fortune for Junior Sister.”
Daoyi’s eyes widened in surprise. She remembered a few months ago that Xia Yushan was still at the peak of the Core Formation Realm, but now he was already in the Nascent Soul Realm. She heard tales of how hard and arduous it was to cultivate, but it was only now that she personally experienced herself that she knew how hard it was.
Her eyes showed shock and admiration when she looked at Xia Yushan again. He had deliberately hidden his aura so he wouldn't exert unneeded pressure on Daoyi. She was a small Qi Gathering Pupil, and he was a Nascent Soul Grandmaster. Just a powerful glance from him could cause her breathing to become erratic.
“As expected, I couldn’t hide it from Junior Brother Xi after all.” Xia Yushan said, but he didn’t show any despondence at having his realm seen through.
“Congratulations, Senior Brother.” Daoyi sincerely said. Xia Yushan’s pointer indeed did give her a huge direction in which to break through to the next stage.
“Haha, thank you, Junior Sister.” Xia Yushan said.”Still, Junior Brother, you are amazing as well. You’ve already completed the Organ Fortification stage of the Body Transformation Realm, shedding your mortal shell and perfecting the foundation of your martial form, forming a martial body, and entering the Acupoint Opening Realm. And at such a young age too.”
Xia Yushan didn't find it much of a surprise for Tianyi to enter the Acupoint Opening Realm, the Core Formation equivalent of martial cultivation. But Xia Yushan wasn't surprised. For martial cultivation, the most important thing was the amount of resources available. The more resources you used, the quicker you could cultivate. But at the Acupoint Opening Realm, the cultivator's talent became more important, and many people who relied on resources slowed down their speed of cultivation.
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“Junior Brother Tianyi, you may just be one of the youngest cultivators to reach the Core Formation Realm.” There was a hint of envy in Xia Yushan's voice. With Grand Elder Xi's resources, the martial body Tianyi formed was no doubt peerless. Even the Five Element Martial Body he planned to form couldn't compare.
Tianyi smiled. He wasn’t surprised that Xia Yushan was able to tell. He didn’t deliberately hide it, and with Xia Yushan’s new perceptiveness from entering the Nascent Soul Realm, it was child’s play. “I had a fortuitous encounter within a year, allowing me to speed up my martial cultivation. If it hadn’t been for that, I would have probably needed a year or two before I completely perfect my martial body.”
Tianyi’s smile stiffened slightly as he recalled the catalyst that allowed him to reach Acupoint Opening Realm so quickly. As he had expected, the hairpin he bought before contained some slight blood essence of the Dragon Emperor, although it wasn't as strong as the blood essence in the first fragment he found. After another Blood Absorption Ritual, his martial cultivation increased even further.
Just thinking about the pain he experienced made Tianyi inwardly shiver.
However, unknown to Tianyi, Xia Yushan felt his self-confidence take a blow. Just a year or two? Even if Tianyi did have a fortuitous encounter, this meant that he only needed around a year to cultivate all the way to the Acupoint Opening Realm from scratch!
That was heaven-defying even with the resources available to Tianyi. Tianyi wasn't the only one who had the resources available to cultivate all the way to the Acupoint Opening. After all, it wasn't like the Acupoint Opening Realm was that high of a threshold even for a third-rate sect. There were numerous other people who could form a martial body, but none as young as Tianyi. The closest one was fifteen-years-old, and the martial body he formed couldn't even compare to Tianyi's.
Naturally, Xia Yushan wasn't in on the know concerning Tianyi's relation to the Dragon Emperor that allowed him great ease in cultivating the Dragon Emperor Fist.
“Junior Brother is modest. No matter where you go, such speed cannot be overlooked.” Xia Yushan said as he calmed himself and then spoke once more. “Junior Brother, do you have any pointers to give to Junior Sister Jiang? You must have some experience you can give to Junior Sister.”
Tianyi held his chin as he thought. “I don’t think my experiences will be useful.” He said after a moment of deliberation.
“Nonsense, every experience is useful. Tell us, Junior Brother.” Xia Yushan said.
Daoyi also looked on, interested at how this senior brother of hers cultivated. Despite being three years younger than her, he was already at the peak of the Spiritual Foundation Establishment Realm and entered the Acupoint Opening Realm. It was only after entering the Buzhou Immortal Sect that Daoyi understood how monstrous this speed was.
“I don’t really recall much about opening my twelve meridians. I think I reached the twelfth stage within a year.” Tianyi said as he tried to recall his experiences. “I didn’t particularly wait for a period of time to break through. When I accumulated enough qi, I just broke through.”
“...” Daoyi.
“...” Xia Yushan.
“Junior Brother, you broke through when you wanted to? Didn’t it take you any time to discover your meridians?” When a Qi Gathering Realm pupil broke through, not only did they need to accumulate enough qi, but they also needed to discover the exact location of their meridians. As each person was unique, there were slight differences where each person’s meridians were, and it wasn't like a human’s meridians could be easily detected. When accumulating qi, they would also disperse it within their body to feel it out and detect the next meridian.
“No? I already knew where they were the moment I started to cultivate.” Tianyi said. “Oh right, before I started cultivating, I was bathed in a lot of precious herbs and elixirs to cleanse my body in preparation. When the medicinal qi coursed through my body, I think I detected them.”
Xia Yushan could only sigh. He also had his body cleansed with herbs and elixirs, but he didn’t detect anything inside except the vague locations. Sure enough, a tiger father, or rather a tiger mother would not beget a dog son. “Right, Junior Brother, you said it took you only around a year to reach the twelfth stage. Why did it take you a year? With Junior Brother’s talent, you shouldn’t have taken another four years to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm.”
Tianyi sighed. “Don’t mention it. Those four years were the hardest in my life.” Tianyi clasped his hands behind his back and sighed like a middle-aged man. “It took me four years to open all Eight Extraordinary Meridians. And that was with my mother’s help, the location of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are truly esoteric and hard to decipher.”
“Junior Brother, you said you opened all the Eight Extraordinary Meridians?” Xia Yushan said, slight disbelief in his voice.
“Eight Extraordinary Meridians?” Daoyi asked in confusion. “Senior brother, what are the Eight Extraordinary Meridians? I thought there were only twelve meridians?”
Xia Yushan looked at Daoyi and calmed himself before revealing his trademark smile. “In truth, the Qi Gathering Realm doesn’t have twelve meridians but twenty. Opening these extra eight meridians is even harder than entering the Foundation Establishment Realm. I didn't want you to get distracted, so I didn't mention it.”
“Really?” Daoyi said in surprise.
“I, too, tried to open all eight, but I only opened three.” Xia Yushan said. “If I delayed it any longer, not only would I not be able to open them all, but I might even harm my future prospects. The Eight Extraordinary Meridians are extra reservoirs for qi, and they can each be considered a mini dantian. You know what this means?”
Xia Yushan didn’t wait for Daoyi to reply and instead continued to speak. “This meant that those with all twenty meridians have an innate advantage over all other cultivators of the same level. They are able to store and create more qi depending on the manual they cultivate. Furthermore, it is said that opening all Eight Extraordinary Meridians allows one to perceive the Dao easier.”
For the rest of the time, Xia Yushan seemed a bit lost in his own thoughts. But it was still enough to give pointers for Daoyi to cultivate. When he left, he even gave Tianyi a deeper look before sighing.
“Junior Sister, have you considered what you want to do on your Immortal path?” Tianyi asked.
“What I want to do?” Daoyi repeated.
Tianyi nodded. “The sect says that one cultivates in order to ascend to Immortality, but then what? What do you do when you attain Immortality?”
Daoyi stopped to think about it for a moment. “What about you, Senior Brother?”
“Me?” Tianyi chuckled. “I wanted to live forever. I originally cultivated because I don’t want to die.”
“But Senior Brother is so young, do you really need to think about death right now?” Daoyi asked, finding it weird that a twelve-year-old would ponder about death.
“Hmmmm, well, maybe because I’ve always been self-sufficient since young, I think more like an adult. In fact, other than my childlike appearance, I consider myself an adult, you know?” Tianyi spoke in a matter as if telling a great secret.
“Umm. Right now, I’m satisfied, but in order to keep this current lifestyle of mine, I have to keep cultivating to become stronger so that I can keep this lifestyle. As for what I would do after I become an immortal... I want to roam the world, try out all the delicacies, collect paintings of the sceneries I visited. Naturally, I want to learn all sorts of music and even play for a large group of people so that they can appreciate music too.”
Daoyi stopped for a moment before speaking again.
“There is also a place I want to search for. I don’t know where it is, only that after I gain strength can I search for it. But before all that, I want to complete my mother's wish."
Tianyi stayed silent. He, too, had a place he wanted to search for once he became strong enough.
When Tianyi returned to his estate, he found his mother waiting for him. “Mother?"
“Yi’er, Elder Jin has completed the Yin Dragon Pearl Elixir,” Mengfei said as she held out a jade bottle with a stopper on it. Even with the stopper, Tianyi could feel his blood calling out to it. His martial body that was created using the Dragon Emperor Fist craved what was inside the bottle.
“Yi’er, are you sure you want to cultivate the Sole Yin, Nine Trigram Yang Core Revolution Formation? Although the concept behind it is brilliant, and I helped you deduced a correct path, cultivating it is a huge risk.”
"I want to. With it, I can rise and match the other supreme geniuses. With it, my Immortal path has an even higher chance of success." Tianyi's eyes were full of expectation. His black eyes were shining like they were full of stars.