Chapter 94 - 83: Wood Qi Accomplished, Hunting Mission
Another month passed by in silent, unnoticed stillness.
Spirit Pavilion, Life and Death Blessed Land.
Time here seemed to have been cleaved in two by an invisible blade.
To the left was eternal, vibrant life, with vines like dragons and ancient trees reaching for the heavens. To the right was endless, deathly silence, where bleached bones lay exposed and yellow sand filled the sky.
Only the figure of the young man, seated cross-legged on the line between life and death, remained as unmoving as a Stabilizing Needle.
But this stillness was merely superficial.
If an outsider were to approach at this moment, they would be horrified to discover the bizarre changes occurring on Chu Bai’s body.
The left side of his face was as ruddy as jade, his skin so delicate it seemed it would break at a touch. The right side, however, was visibly withering and turning gray, as if he had aged decades in an instant.
Wither and flourish, life and death interchanged.
This was the tribulation one must endure when absorbing the Life and Death Qi. Every wisp of Spiritual Qi that entered the body was both a destruction and a reconstruction of the physical form.
A common Qi Cultivation Cultivator would have long since suffered a mental collapse from such inhuman torment and fallen into Qi deviation.
But Chu Bai had not.
At this moment, the Guiyuan Technique at the Perfection Realm revealed its incomparably domineering side.
As the final stream of cyan-gray qi flowed into his nostrils, a strange fluctuation suddenly erupted from Chu Bai.
With Introspection, one could witness a breathtaking sight:
Within his Dantian Qi Sea, beside the once clearly distinct Metal and Water qi, there now existed a new, incredibly resilient power.
The left side pulsed with a faint, vibrant green light, while the right was wreathed in a deathly gray aura. The two forces converged and intertwined within his body, finally forming a vortex of cyan-gray Magical Power, as resilient as silk and imbued with Endless Life.
Metal generates Water, and Water generates Wood.
The three-colored radiance slowly circulated in his Qi Sea, forming a stable, albeit incomplete, triangle that had just begun to take shape.
Each time his Spiritual Power completed a cycle, the triangle would tremble slightly, releasing even purer Magical Power to nourish his recently damaged meridians.
’The Life and Death Qi... I’ve mastered it.’
Metal generates Water, and Water generates Wood.
As he exhaled a final puff of turbid qi, the withered half of Chu Bai’s face quickly returned to normal.
He slowly opened his eyes. Deep within his once-pitch-black pupils, the inner gleam was more restrained than before, yet also more profound. It was as if a single glance could reveal the withering and flourishing of ages, as if life and death were but a passing thought in his eyes.
"The Life and Death Qi... I’ve done it."
Chu Bai clenched his fist, and his knuckles let out a crisp crackle like popping beans.
Of the Five Element Spiritual Energy, he had now obtained three: the unyielding, evil-shattering nature of Metal; the purifying, all-encompassing nature of Water; and the resilient, life-giving nature of Wood.
Meanwhile, thanks to the almost freakish absorption efficiency of the Perfection Level Guiyuan Technique, his Cultivation had also advanced by leaps and bounds this past month.
He summoned his panel, and lines of data appeared:
[Realm: Qi Cultivation Second Layer (58/100)]
The progress bar was already past the halfway mark!
If word of this speed got out, even the senior students who had been grinding away for two or three years just to break through a single-layer bottleneck would probably die of shame.
This was the terrifying result of combining top-tier resources with top-tier "talent."
But the joy on Chu Bai’s face did not last long.
He stood up and habitually checked his personal savings.
In the next instant, his expression froze.
His Divine Sense probed his identity token. The once-decent balance of Daoist Merit now showed only a few dozen points remaining.
’Only a few dozen points left...’
The corner of Chu Bai’s mouth twitched.
Over the past month, in order to grind his Golden Eye Shattering Illusion to the [skilled] level, he had not only consumed a massive amount of time and energy but had also been eating precious recovery Pills and High-Tier Spiritual Cuisine as if they were everyday meals.
Even with the two Daoist Merit points of "welfare" he earned by diligently clocking in to patrol the Law Net for the Dean every day, it was a drop in the ocean compared to his massive expenses.
’That’s not even the worst part.’
As Chu Bai walked out of the Spirit Pavilion, he thought it was time to find a mission to earn some Daoist Merit.
’As my Cultivation increases, the effects of ordinary Spiritual Cuisine are weakening. I’ll have to switch to more expensive ones... This isn’t Cultivation; this is just burning money.’
A powerful sense of crisis washed over him.
’I can’t just keep working in isolation. With only expenses and no income, forget the graduation exam in a few months—I’ll starve to death next month.’
Chu Bai sighed and turned to leave the hall. "I need to find a chance to take on some high-reward missions. Even being a human punching bag is better than just spending without earning anything."
「...」
Back in the dormitory area, his roommates were nowhere to be found.
During this time, Zhou Tong had found a mission to gather Companion Spirit Grass, and the others had all gone to participate. Since Chu Bai was busy cultivating in the Spirit Pavilion, he hadn’t joined them. Now that they were all familiar with each other, it was common for them to team up for missions to make a living.
Just as he was wondering where he could make some quick cash, a familiar and resonant voice called out from nearby.
"Junior Brother Chu!"
Chu Bai looked up and saw Zhang Shan walking briskly toward him.
It had only been a month, but the aura of his former sparring partner, this senior brother, had undergone a qualitative change.
He wore a brand-new cyan Daoist Robe, and the Spiritual Power fluctuations around him were dense and solid, no longer carrying that trace of hollowness from before. His eyes were particularly bright and spirited, and his every move carried the unique confidence and composure of a Third-Layer Qi Cultivator.
"Congratulations on breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Third Layer, Senior Brother! The Great Dao awaits you!" Chu Bai saw the change at a glance and offered his congratulations with a smile and a clasped-fist bow.
"Haha, just a fluke, just a fluke."
Zhang Shan waved his hand dismissively. Though his words were humble, he couldn’t hide the joy in his eyes. "I was stuck at that bottleneck for over a year, but I finally broke through. Now I just need to polish my Cultivation to Perfection, and then I can start preparing for the final graduation exam."