Chapter 63: The Second Spirit Beast and the Disordered Five Elements Spiritual Qi

The intelligence from the Sea of Ten Thousand Stars brought Shen Lian much relief. Aside from occasional family disputes, the islands of the Sea of Ten Thousand Stars remained as peaceful as ever. The place he was heading to, Black Whale Island, was under the control of the Golden Core power, Sea Spirit Sect. Black Whale Island was the Sea Spirit Sect’s treasure trove; to protect it, the sect always stationed Golden Core cultivators there. Any forces or cultivators causing trouble on Black Whale Island would be dealt with severely. Whoever dared to smash the Sea Spirit Sect’s treasure bowl, the sect would dig up their ancestral graves in retaliation. With Sea Spirit Sect’s oversight, Black Whale Island had enjoyed prolonged peace; although minor scuffles occurred from time to time, the city itself remained tranquil.

This gave Shen Lian some anticipation for his journey; when he arrived, he could open a small shop in the city, quietly accumulate strength, and wait for the Foundation Establishment opportunity. In contrast, the intelligence from the Wilderness Domain made him grateful for his quick escape. The Wilderness Domain had erupted into sect wars—Bishui Sect and Dark Bamboo Valley joined forces to attack Tianyang Sect, nearly breaching its mountain gate. As the sect was on the verge of collapse, the neighboring Yue Nation’s Elegant Maiden Sect suddenly intervened. The battle between Chu Nation’s three major sects had now escalated into a conflict between two great cultivation nations. As to why the ancestor of Cloud Sect hadn’t intervened, and more detailed information, the Mountain and Sea Pavilion had yet to gather it all. Shen Lian no longer cared much about the subsequent details. As long as the seas around Black Whale Island remained calm, he couldn’t care less if the nations of the Wilderness Domain fought or even dug up each other’s ancestral tombs—he’d simply prepare some peanuts and spirit wine to watch the spectacle.

“Bishui Spirit Fish.” Putting the intelligence aside, Shen Lian thought of the spirit fish. Among the beast-taming techniques he inherited, there happened to be a secret method to awaken dragon blood. The dragon clan possessed a high-level bloodline, exerting a suppressive effect on other lower-tier beast spirits—which made the spirit fish ideal as a fish king. With this in mind, Shen Lian took out his pill furnace.

...

Half a month later.

At the entrance of Mountain and Sea Pavilion, Shen Lian walked out slowly, heading towards a spirit ship docked atop a distant mountain. Traveling from Ten Thousand Mountains Island to Black Whale Island could be done by sea treasure ship, but that method was too slow—it would take at least three years, and there was a risk of being robbed along the way. Taking the spirit ship was a different matter; it required less than half a year, and aside from being expensive, had no other drawbacks.

The spirit ship was three hundred yards long, glowing with dazzling blue light. Many people queued to board, including more than a dozen with Foundation Establishment auras.

Shen Lian pressed down his bamboo hat, scanning his surroundings out of the corner of his eye. Foundation Establishment cultivators were accompanied by several young boys and girls. Cloud Sect had opened its mountain range for disciple recruitment, but the number of Ascension Tokens distributed was limited; many who wanted to join Cloud Sect needed to pass a trial. To facilitate this, Cloud Sect had set up several recruitment sites throughout the Sea of Ten Thousand Stars, Black Whale Island being one of them.

Aside from Foundation Establishment cultivators, some middle-aged or elderly cultivators at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining were also waiting to board with their young juniors. The young cultivators were full of curiosity, constantly observing their surroundings, occasionally scolded by their elders.

Following the flow of people, Shen Lian boarded the spirit ship. With spirit stones in hand, he purchased a private room; next door, another Foundation Establishment cultivator had settled in with three young disciples. After checking his room, Shen Lian sat cross-legged.

This spirit ship, traversing the sea, was even more powerful than those of the Sky Tower; its name was Sea Wave. Its hull was forged with tier-three spiritual materials and overseen by a pseudo-Core cultivator. The ship’s various arrays and spirit cannons combined could annihilate a true Golden Core cultivator. With so many Foundation Establishment cultivators bringing their families aboard, its safety was guaranteed.

In short, Shen Lian felt his spirit stones were well spent.

Half a day later, the spirit ship surged into the clouds, beginning its steady flight.

Inside his room, Shen Lian took out his spirit beast bracelet and first bound the Bishui Spirit Fish he’d purchased from Mountain and Sea Pavilion.

“What should I call you? Big Black… Little Bi… Little Bi… brat… Bought for three thousand spirit stones, maybe call you Little Three… or Three Thousand.”

He didn’t summon Three Thousand out; it wasn’t appropriate aboard the spirit ship. Once he reached Black Whale Island and established his pharmacy, gaining stable livelihood and identity, he could slowly cultivate Big Black and Three Thousand.

After collecting himself, Shen Lian brought out his five-element spiritual items to continue refining them.

According to the Five Qi Toward Origin technique, it was best to refine the Five Origin Qi to near-liquid state before attempting Foundation Establishment, which would maximize success. The Five Origin Qi in near-liquid form could be called the “Five Element Dao Foundation,” offering the greatest assistance for Foundation Establishment.

To achieve near-liquid state, the required number of five-element spiritual items was far more than just ten or twenty. Only the essence within them could be transformed into Five Origin Qi, and the essence within a single item was exceedingly minimal—like a cultivator’s vital blood, squeezed dry it would yield barely ten drops.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

“Condense!”

...

In cultivation, Shen Lian abruptly opened his eyes; a yellowish crystal in his hand shattered into powder. Within his five organs, colors intertwined, mingling with five-element spiritual power in his dantian—a preliminary fusion had begun.

He sensed the dazzling scene within his dantian, gazing inward to examine every corner.

A cultivator’s spiritual root was hidden deep within, serving as the bridge for absorbing the world’s spiritual power and usually difficult to detect. But now, he could vaguely sense a hazy area in his dantian, like a spring’s eye, gathering five-element spiritual power. The condensed Five Origin Qi was also attracted to this area, beginning to merge with the dantian’s five-element spiritual power.

However, this fusion lasted only a few breaths before the red fire spiritual power in his dantian erupted like a volcano, pushing the other four elements to the periphery.

“Condense!”

Immediately, Shen Lian calmed himself, running the Five Qi Toward Origin technique. Both five-element spiritual power and Five Origin Qi were drawn from his meridians and organs, converging in his dantian.

Buzz!

After gathering, the five colors of spiritual power lasted only a few breaths before the intense fire element swept through the dantian, suppressing the others once more.

The dominance of fire spiritual power was already affecting the circulation of the other four elements.

“Hoo—”

Ending his cultivation, Shen Lian exhaled deeply.

Of his five spiritual roots, earth measured 18, metal 17, water 18, and wood 29. Compared to his enhanced fire root, the others were far behind.

A higher spiritual root value meant greater efficiency in refining and utilizing spiritual materials. From a single spirit stone, the fire root absorbed over eighty percent of the power, while the other four could barely refine less than twenty percent.

He had previously planned to focus on the fire root, leaving the other four to be improved after Foundation Establishment, before forming his core. But now, it seemed things were not so simple.

His spiritual roots had become unbalanced!

Now, the fire root was overpowering, suppressing the others and distorting the five-element spiritual power, resulting in fire as the primary element, with the other four barely serving as auxiliaries.

Five Qi Toward Origin emphasized balanced advancement of all five elements; the Five Origin Qi condensed before Foundation Establishment formed the “Five Element Dao Foundation,” serving as a reserve for spiritual power during Foundation Establishment. But now, the imbalance in his main five-element spiritual power was affecting the reserve Dao Foundation as well.

“It seems I must raise the values of my other spiritual roots—at the very least, each must exceed thirty.”