Chapter 180
Chapter 180
“What’s happening?!”
My heart jolted in shock.
Panic rose within me.
Never had I imagined that when I tried to draw turbid qi into my body by itself, the earth-vein qi deep underground would connect to me and try to drag me into the depths!
By now, the pure and turbid qi had completely separated and vanished.
The pure qi had risen into the heavens.
The turbid qi had sunk into the earth.
I no longer needed to remain immersed in my mind and intent. I hurriedly opened my eyes and struggled against the powerful force pulling me underground.
My feet had already sunk into the soil, which now covered the tops of my shoes.
I resisted with everything I had and barely stopped my body from sinking farther.
My soul, however, couldn’t withstand it!
The force from the earth was nearly tearing my soul straight out of my body and dragging it deep underground…
At that point, I no longer dared try to endure alone.
I wasn’t someone who stubbornly insisted on doing everything myself anyway. I cried out anxiously,
“Master, save–”
Only three words had left my mouth when a pair of soft yet powerful pale hands gently settled on my shoulders.
In an instant, I felt a gentle but formidable force spread from my shoulders throughout my body.
It traveled to my feet and forcibly severed the connection between me and the earth.
The sensation of being sucked downward vanished, replaced by the familiar solidity of standing on the ground.
Thump!
My legs went weak, and I collapsed onto my rear, panting heavily.
When I looked up, Master’s exquisitely beautiful face held traces of surprise, approval, and furious annoyance.
Honestly, this was the first time I had seen such a complex mix of expressions on her face.
Most of the time, Master’s expression was calm and detached.
Occasionally, she smiled.
Occasionally, she showed displeasure.
But never had she appeared this conflicted.
I had no idea whether I had caused some kind of trouble. I immediately plastered on a smile and scrambled upright with the obedient expression of a perfect child.
Rubbing my hands together, I said timidly,
“Heh heh, Master, um… Thank you for saving me. My master truly possesses unfathomable magical power and incomparable divine might.”
Smack!
She hit me on the head again.
I immediately pretended to be weak.
“Ow, all my strength is gone. I think I’m going to faint…”
“Wu Zhong! Behave yourself.”
Her elegant brows shot upward, and murderous intent seemed to glimmer in her eyes.
The moment I saw Master was about to lose her temper, I behaved.
I stood ramrod straight and didn’t dare tease her with any more glib nonsense.
“Tell me what happened. Why did the earth-vein qi nearly pull you underground? You’re a living person, not a mountain or an enormous boulder. Why would the earth-vein qi form a connection with you?”
Both *The Classic of Dwellings* and *The Book of Burial* explained earth-vein qi in considerable detail.
Put simply, it was a material manifestation of the power contained within the earth beneath our feet.
The larger a mountain or rock was, the more earth-vein qi it contained and the more tightly it connected to the ground below.
Generally speaking, living creatures never connected with earth-vein qi unless they actively used certain secret arts!
I didn’t dare conceal a thing. I immediately told Master exactly what had happened, from beginning to end, without omitting a single detail–including every thought that had passed through my mind.
After listening, Master gently pressed her palm to the location of my Jiangyuan Palace acupoint, seemingly sensing something carefully.
Then she frowned and sank into contemplation.
I didn’t dare speak.
Only after a long while did she sigh and roll her eyes at me.
“You little troublemaker. You truly know how to create problems for me. Even I have never encountered a situation like yours. For now, however, the benefits should still outweigh the drawbacks.”
Huh?
I stared in surprise.
“What do you mean, ‘huh’?”
Master glared at me crossly and spoke in a rather fierce tone.
“I told you to open the three great acupoints–the Niwan Palace, Jiangyuan Palace, and dantian–at the same time because the secret art of my inherited tradition requires absorbing pure and turbid qi simultaneously. This not only tempers the strength of the body but also reinforces the foundation of one’s cultivation.”
“But its tremendous benefits come with tremendous difficulty! Even most people qualified to learn the Three-Palace Qi-Gathering Method cannot succeed on their first attempt.”
As she spoke, she moved closer and fixed her beautiful eyes on me.
“Even I, your master, only succeeded on my second attempt. I never expected you to absorb pure and turbid qi successfully on your first try.”
“I only wanted you to gain the faintest sense that pure and turbid qi existed. That alone would have been good. If you could form a resonance and attraction with the Niwan and Jiangyuan Palaces, that would have been even better.”
“Pure and turbid qi divide heaven and earth, as well as yin and yang. Only when they enter the body together will they blend, allowing yin and yang to complement each other. But you drew only turbid qi into your body…”
What?!
I became even more astonished.
Even Master had failed the first time she circulated the Three-Palace Qi-Gathering Method!
I pulled a miserable face and complained aggrievedly,
“Master… Why didn’t you say so earlier? Why didn’t you say so? If you didn’t tell me, how was I supposed to know the Three-Palace Qi-Gathering Method was this difficult?”
To be honest, I was utterly speechless.
I had pushed myself so desperately and even altered the method on my own at the final moment because I feared Master would think I was stupid and lacked talent!
I had thought that if I couldn’t absorb both pure and turbid qi, absorbing one would still count for something.
If I couldn’t score a hundred on the exam, I at least needed to pass.
Never had I imagined that, judging by Master’s words, absorbing only one type could cause trouble!
“All right, Ah-Zhong, don’t worry. As I just said, no one has ever encountered your particular situation. But based on my personal speculation, the benefits should still outweigh the drawbacks.”
She comforted me for a few moments, then explained several theories about my current condition…
Indeed, no one else who cultivated the Three-Palace Qi-Gathering Method had ever been as recklessly stubborn as me!
Perhaps someone had tried, but they certainly hadn’t succeeded.
Someone as stubborn as me who actually succeeded was probably unprecedented!
Turbid qi represented the earth’s weight and stability.
After entering my body, it would probably strengthen my physique tremendously.
In other words, my physical abilities–including strength, speed, endurance, agility, and more–would improve.
Naturally, they wouldn’t skyrocket instantly. The change would be slow and continuous.
The most obvious difference might be that my martial arts training would produce far better results than before. At the very least, I would achieve twice the results with half the effort…
Furthermore, turbid qi was one of the fundamental energies between heaven and earth.
In places with powerful earth-vein qi, mixing the turbid qi from my Jiangyuan Palace into my qi when casting magical arts might increase their power enormously!
The drawback was that if I went too far, the same thing that had just happened might occur again. The earth-vein qi would form an erroneous connection with me and drag me underground.
Therefore, unless I faced the most desperate danger or an enemy far stronger than me, I should avoid doing this whenever possible.
“Overall, the benefits still outweigh the drawbacks. Next New Year’s Eve, if you can successfully absorb the pure qi of heaven and earth into your Niwan Palace, you will compensate for the drawbacks of possessing turbid qi alone. Pure and turbid qi will harmonize, yin and yang will complement each other, and your cultivation will rise to a higher level.”
Master offered that final summary.
Only then did I relax slightly…