Chapter 264 - 33: Practicing the Star River Qi Refining Technique
After the meal, Chen Ye felt he hadn’t been this relaxed in a very long time.
Ever since arriving in this world, he spent his days either killing or on his way to kill. His nerves were always stretched taut.
But the simple and sincere atmosphere tonight allowed his ever-vigilant heart a rare moment of peace.
After eating and drinking his fill, Chen Ye returned to his room.
He sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the chirping insects and occasional barks outside the window. His heart was at peace.
After sitting for about the time it takes to eat a meal, Chen Ye took the Jade Scroll containing the Star River Qi Refining Technique from his Storage Pouch.
Then Chen Ye placed the Jade Scroll on his forehead, his Divine Sense sinking into it.
In an instant, a vast stream of information flooded his mind.
The Star River Qi Refining Technique draws the Power of the Stars into the body to temper one’s True Essence, transforming qi into a sea.
This Dharma Gate had extremely high requirements for one’s Divine Spirit; the stronger the Divine Spirit, the more Power of the Stars it could draw, and the faster the Cultivation speed.
Due to its high entry barrier, it wasn’t suitable for the average person’s Cultivation, but for Chen Ye, it was a perfect fit.
Chen Ye settled into a cross-legged position and began circulating his energy according to the Dharma Gate recorded in the Jade Scroll.
First, he emptied his Heart Spirit, extending his Spiritual Power out toward the endless night sky.
At first, Chen Ye couldn’t feel anything—only darkness and emptiness surrounded him. But he wasn’t discouraged. ’I knew the first attempt wouldn’t be easy.’ So he patiently sent out his Power of the Divine Soul again and again, casting it like an invisible net over the starry sky above.
After an unknown amount of time, just as Chen Ye felt his Spiritual Power was about to be depleted, he finally sensed something different.
In the distant, endless depths of darkness, faint points of light twinkled. Those points of light were the stars in the sky.
’Found them!’
Chen Ye’s heart leaped with joy. He quickly focused his mind and cautiously reached out toward those points of light.
When his Divine Spirit touched one of the stars, a cool and pure power flowed down along his Divine Spirit, passed through the roof, through his body, and finally converged in his Dantian.
There are hundreds of millions of stars in the night sky, each one emitting this same power. Though individually weak, their combined force was as vast as a great ocean.
Chen Ye guided this Power of the Stars, circulating it through his meridians according to the Cultivation Technique’s pathways.
Wherever the Power of the Stars passed, his meridians felt as if they were being cleansed by a clear spring, an incredibly refreshing sensation.
And the True Essence that had just recently condensed in his Dantian Qi Sea began to grow more solid and pure under the Tempering of this power.
This feeling was much more comfortable than when he cultivated the Golden Toad Qi Swallowing Technique by absorbing the Sun and Moon Essence. The efficiency was also on a completely different level.
The Sun and Moon Essence used by the Golden Toad Qi Swallowing Technique was incredibly domineering. Cultivating with it was like cooking over a raging fire, requiring meticulous guidance.
But the Power of the Stars drawn in by the Star River Qi Refining Technique was as gentle as water, its intoxicating sensation pulling him under.
Chen Ye was completely immersed in this wondrous state of Cultivation.
He could feel that the dense myriad of stars in the sky seemed to have established a faint, almost imperceptible connection with him.
Countless streams of faint yet pure Power of the Stars descended like silver threads, enveloping him completely.
Especially here in the mountains, far from the hustle and bustle, the air was pure, without the obstruction of so much Red Dust Qi, making Chen Ye’s connection to the Power of the Stars even clearer.
「The night passed without incident.」
When the first ray of sunlight shone through the window the next morning, Chen Ye slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
Although he hadn’t slept all night, Chen Ye felt completely refreshed and in excellent condition.
Then, with a thought, Chen Ye opened his Professional Panel.
[Name: Chen Ye]
[Cultivation Realm: Sea Condensation]
[Profession: Slaying Blade Asura lv2]
[Talent: Asura’s Eye—Bloody Vision upgraded. Grants the ability to see the trajectories and weak points of Energy flow.]
[Dharma Gate: Star River Qi Refining Technique lv1, Golden Toad Qi Swallowing Technique Lv3]
[Martial Arts: Thorn Blade Technique lv4]
’Just as I thought. The Star River Qi Refining Technique has appeared under Dharma Gate.’
After quickly washing up, Chen Ye bid farewell to the enthusiastic villagers. Carrying the half-empty shoulder pole with his goods, he followed the villagers’ directions and continued deeper into the mountains.
Just as Chen Ye’s figure vanished on the rugged mountain path, the atmosphere two hundred li away in Qingzhou Prefecture City was suffocatingly oppressive.
Inside Celestial Sword Manor’s temporary residence in the west of the city, Jian Wuchen’s face was dark enough to drip water as he listened to Zhao Qian’s report.
"So, you’re telling me that after two whole days, you’ve sent out all those men, practically turned the several-hundred-li area around Qingzhou Prefecture City upside down, and you still haven’t found a single trace of that Chen Ye?"
Jian Wuchen’s voice was calm, but anyone who knew him understood that beneath this calm lay a rage hot enough to incinerate the heavens.
Zhao Qian stood below, his head bowed low, not daring to even breathe too loudly. He braced himself and explained,
"Y-Young Manor Master, that brat is just too cunning. It’s like he’s vanished into thin air."
"Useless!"
Jian Wuchen stood up and paced back and forth, his handsome face twisted with malevolence. "Celestial Sword Manor hasn’t issued a kill-on-sight order in a hundred years. Now we’ve used one on a mere Little Swordsman at the Sea Condensation Realm, and for what? Two days have passed, and you haven’t even found his shadow! If word of this gets out, what will be left of Celestial Sword Manor’s prestige? What will be left of my prestige—of Jian Wuchen’s prestige?"