Yu Chen sat in the cave in the wilderness, having run most of the day to get here. It was a long journey down the side of the ice-slicked mountain and through the snow-covered forest, but he thought it was worth the trip. He’d given Wu Feng three days just so he’d have enough time to make it here and back.

The place hadn’t changed since he’d been gone, remaining exactly as he’d left it. The dried grasses he’d piled up to sleep on lay on one side of the pool, while on the other side the remaining skins he hadn’t been able to carry lay huddled in a corner.

The pool of frigid water was much the same as before, although its luster had somewhat diminished after he’d absorbed so much of the energy within it. He hoped that he hadn’t caused any lasting damage, and that over the years it would return to its original glow. Cultivation to him was a path that harmonized with heaven and earth, and he wouldn’t ransack either needlessly for his personal gain.

The energy that filled the cave was still dense and potent, and he could feel his pores opening up as he sat. Which was good, as he’d returned here with a purpose in mind. He’d touched the boundaries of the Qi Refinement level long ago and finally felt himself ready to make the next step. He’d received a second set of qi gathering pills from Elder Gu, and he planned to combine their effect with the thick energy of the cave, ensuring his successful passage to the next level.

After all, when it came to cultivating, an energy well was a gift from heaven and earth. The sect contained many such caves, and each was considered an important resource. Most were kept by the Elders for their own gain, and a few were provided to the most promising Inner Sect disciples. Still, there were a couple available for others to rent.

Those sealed cultivation rooms were expensive however, dreadfully so. Most disciples would never be able to afford to enter one, and even for those that could, the prohibitive costs meant that they’d only ever be used for important events such as breakthroughs between levels and realms.

Yu Chen might have been able to afford one on the stipend Elder Gu had gifted him with, but thankfully he didn’t have to waste his contribution points on one. Not when he had a perfectly good cave all to himself less than a day’s travel from the sect.

He breathed out, aligning his thoughts with the world as he brought his mentality to the peak.

The energy of the world was thick and dense, revolving around him in slow, powerful currents as his dantian opened up, pulling the energy into his body. He looked at his hand in which lay a number of soft white pills, compressed amalgamations of various spiritual herbs created through an intricate process Yu Chen didn’t understand.

Eyes flashing, he tossed one into his mouth.

He was prepared this time, as a strange reaction caused the pill to burst into energy as it began to dissolve in his stomach. It greedily snatched at the energy in the air, sucking it in to fuel its reaction and causing the spiritual energy in the cave to revolve faster and faster as it created a vortex around him.

The density of energy within the cave was far beyond what was present the last time he’d used one of these pills, and for a brief moment he worried he’d made a mistake, as spiritual energy ceaselessly poured into him, filling him faster than he could react.

He steeled his resolve, ruthlessly seizing the incoming energy and circulating it through his dantian before sending it crashing against his clogged meridians. Again and again, he repeated this process, each revolution of his qi eating away at the blockages and burning away some of the energy within him. However, more energy continued to pour in, keeping him near his limits.

His entire body felt taut, radiating heat as he continued his bombardment. Without hesitation he popped the second pill, upsetting the precarious balance. His shoulders hunched over as the reaction in his gut intensified, drawing even more energy towards him, at an even faster rate.

All of his extraneous thoughts fled, as he turned the entirety of his concentration towards controlling the rapid influx of energy, transforming it into qi to continue his endless assault against the detritus that had clogged his meridians, impeding his growth.

He refused to be cowed, to be shackled by his own limitations, and ruthlessly purged his body, revolving his qi faster and faster until his meridians shook, stretched to their limits by the qi streaming through them.

He felt a momentary flash of satisfaction as first one, and then a second meridian were scoured clean by the tyrannical energy that rampaged through his body. Even the two half-cleared meridians in his legs that had resisted him before were swept clean, unable to stand up to the intensity of his revolving qi.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He paused, catching his breath and slowing his circulation, letting his meridians stabilize as he opened his palm to reveal his final card. Two pills lay within, the one Elder Gu had gifted him with, and another that he had used his remaining contribution to acquire.

A faint smile touched his lips.

Xiao Huang had told him before, his meridians were larger and thicker, more flexible than those of the others around him. Not only could they accommodate more energy, they demanded it. He would be unable to properly cleanse them if he didn’t push his body further than others would.

Perhaps three pills would have been enough. That’s what he’d used before, with far less environmental energy to draw on. Besides, when other disciples broke through, they would only use one, or perhaps two pills, but Yu Chen wasn’t like the others.

He threw both pills into his mouth, swallowing resolutely.

They exploded into energy simultaneously, sharply increasing the reaction occurring in his gut. He felt it burning, causing him physical pain from within. His stomach clenched, cramping violently, and with a grunt he thrust a hand forward, steadying himself on the hard cavern floor as the pain threatened to force him over.

He gritted his teeth, digging his fingers into the unyielding stone as his body trembled, until blood ran from his fingertips, staining the cavern floor as he hung on, refusing to succumb to the rampaging storm that threatened to tear apart his stomach.

Spiritual energy from all around poured into him ceaselessly, until he began to feel less like a man and more like a vessel of raw energy. His body convulsed with pain and his mouth opened in a soundless scream as he fought to take control of the overwhelming power flooding every cell of his body.

Slowly, inch by agonizing inch he dragged the wild energy into his dantian, refining it, before sending it surging through his body, attacking his meridians. It was a brutal process, and time lost its meaning as pain became his only reality. Each pulse of qi scoured his meridians, reforming them for the future.

He scraped them clean, one by one, circulating his qi in relentless cycles. It was no longer a conscious act, his mind having washed away in agony - but his will remained and it stubbornly refused to succumb, a towering pillar standing firm within the ocean of pain that had submerged him.

The energy in his gut slowly fizzled, flickering with a dying light, and Yu Chen felt his awareness return as the influx of energy receded. He became conscious of his qi revolving at an incredible speed, spinning through his body in a pattern he’d begun and unconsciously continued, tracing an unbroken path through flawless meridians that appeared born anew.

The unimpeded flow of qi was astonishing. Every trace of the dross and debris accumulated over a lifetime had been swept away, removing the barriers that had been hampering his ability to channel and increasing his abilities manyfold. It was a pivotal step, and few managed to complete it so thoroughly.

He wasn’t finished, however. With a look of deep concentration, he gradually brought his qi to a halt, before flooding it into his dantian until it stretched painfully. He shuddered at the sensation, but he didn’t stop. As it threatened to rupture, he began to compress it, forcing his qi to condense into a denser form. It was stubborn, unwilling to move, but Yu Chen pushed until something shifted and the energy within him thickened, taking up less space in his dantian but resonating with a deeper power.

It wasn’t enough.

Breathing hard, he used the dim embers of the pill-energy within his core to pull as much of the surrounding spiritual energy as he could into his dantian, filling it to bursting once more. Yu Chen let loose a roar that shook the cavern as he mentally seized the energy, squeezing it down again.

It resisted, moving like a living force as it mightily fought against him, but he would not be denied, pressing and pressing until the energy reluctantly condensed once more. He gasped, slowly raising a trembling hand to wipe the sweat-soaked hair that was stuck to his face. His fingers shook, a testament of his effort.

He stood, and as he clenched his fist, he could feel the power that lay coiled beneath his skin, lurking just beneath the surface. It took the slightest effort to circulate his qi, and he summoned it with a thought, watching in fascination as it slid through his meridians with ease. It reached his fist far faster than before, filling it with a dense qi.

That was when the smell hit him.

With a grimace he circulated his qi and launched out of the cave, watching the landscape blur as he ran past, before eventually coming to a stop in front of the frozen pond that had fed him for so many months. He cracked the ice that lay atop it with a single blow, before plunging into its frozen depths, circulating his qi to keep himself warm from the inside.

He picked up a handful of soft sand from the bottom, using it to scrub his flesh clean. Impurities that had once clogged his meridians had oozed from his skin, covering him in a dark, oily ichor that clung to his body, but he scrubbed and scrubbed until they were swept away by the chilling water. Once clean he shot back to the surface and ran back to the cave, his long steady steps propelling him far further than before.

This step, more than the others, made him truly feel as though he was a cultivator for the first time. Qi Gathering had taught him to accumulate qi, and Qi Stability had taught him to control it. However, it was here in Qi Refinement that his growth truly began, transforming his body into a vessel that could properly cultivate the energy of heaven and earth.

He arrived back at the cave, slipping on the fresh set of embroidered robes he’d prepared before tightly lashing them at the waist. He bundled up the remaining skins to take back with him before gathering up Lue She, who’d been waiting patiently for him to finish.

Prepared, he began to return to the sect. It was time to finish things.