novelraw Chapter 31 – Heaven's Life and Death Cycle
Chapter 31 – Heaven's Life and Death Cycle
"Boom!"
In Lu Mengyao's room, a burst of flame rose, and the two figures sitting cross-legged opposite each other had their clothes entirely burned to ashes, facing each other bare.
This had happened once every seven days, and by now, she had lost count of how many times it had occurred. Yet, the sight of facing each other bare still made Lu Mengyao's pretty face blush with embarrassment. She quickly turned around, her back facing Luo Xiu.
Her smooth, fair skin made Luo Xiu's heart race a bit, but the surging, scorching power of the flame within him forced him to reluctantly close his eyes and begin to circulate the Pure Yang Technique to refine and absorb it.
His inner Qi cultivation had long reached a saturated state, and the excess inner Qi gathered at his dantian. When breaking through to the Qi Sea Realm, this inner Qi would erupt like a volcano, aiding him significantly.
Moments later, Lu Mengyao put on new clothes, clearly feeling that her Severed Fire Yang Meridian had mostly healed, and she no longer needed to rely on water attribute pills and inner Qi for suppression.
Looking at Luo Xiu, who was meditating cross-legged and completely unclothed, a strange feeling suddenly arose in Lu Mengyao's heart.
She had never imagined that her body would be seen countless times by a fourteen-year-old boy.
From the initial shame and anger to now, when he looked at her, her heart would race, and she would feel a sense of shyness.
"Once my Severed Fire Yang Meridian is healed, should I return?" Lu Mengyao suddenly muttered to herself.
In the entire Qingyun City, only the Master of the Martial Hall and the five elders knew her identity and background.
She had seen many geniuses and was a genius herself. If not for the shackles of the Severed Fire Yang Meridian, she would have long become an Innate Martial Master.
However, Luo Xiu still managed to shock her. In just half a year, he had broken through from the second layer of Body Refining to the ninth layer. This alone wasn't too extraordinary, as some geniuses in the Free Spirit Sect could achieve the same.
But what Luo Xiu accomplished went beyond that; he also mastered the Pure Yang Technique!
The Pure Yang Technique, an Innate Technique, was said to originate from a secret manual called the Innate Pure Yang Technique, which was rated as an eighth-grade martial art!
This cultivation method was notoriously difficult to master. Even among the many geniuses of the various forces in the Tianwu Kingdom, only a few had succeeded. However, once mastered, the depth of cultivation was unmatched among peers!
This martial art was divided into two levels: Pure Yang and Innate. The Pure Yang Technique was the foundation, allowing cultivation up to the ninth layer of the Qi Sea. Only by practicing the Innate Technique could one step into the Innate realm.
If one could unify Innate and Pure Yang, it would be a complete eighth-grade martial art.
Although that level was still far away for Luo Xiu, at the very least, he had the potential.
Moreover, Luo Xiu's talent in martial techniques and movement techniques was also quite good. When he entered the Free Spirit Sect in the future, he might secure a place for himself.
"Hoo..."
Luo Xiu exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly opened his eyes, just in time to see Lu Mengyao staring at him, their eyes meeting.
Lu Mengyao snapped back to reality, quickly averting her gaze, seemingly a bit afraid to meet Luo Xiu's eyes.
During these days of interaction, facing each other bare time and again, to be honest, Luo Xiu couldn't help but develop some feelings for her.
However, Luo Xiu was not someone who was good at expressing himself, nor could he discern what Lu Mengyao felt about him, so he could only bury those feelings deep in his heart.
After the incident with Liu Yuxin, Luo Xiu sometimes deliberately avoided matters of the heart.
"Mengyao, once I reach the Qi Sea Realm, it should only take two or three more times to completely heal your Severed Fire Yang Meridian," Luo Xiu suddenly said.
Their relationship had clearly changed from the beginning, with him now calling her Mengyao instead of Teacher Lu or Sister Lu, a name that carried a sense of intimacy.
"You're about to break through to the Qi Sea Realm?"
For some reason, hearing that it would only take two or three more times to heal the Severed Fire Yang Meridian, Lu Mengyao felt not joy, but rather... reluctance?
"What's wrong with me? The Severed Fire Yang Meridian has tormented me for years. Now that it can be healed, I should be happy."
At this moment, Lu Mengyao's mind was in turmoil. "Could it be because once it's healed, I won't be able to interact with him like this anymore?"
Luo Xiu didn't know what she was thinking, but he noticed her frowning.
"What's wrong, Mengyao? Are you feeling unwell?" Luo Xiu got up and walked over to her, carefully observing her vital meridians but found nothing wrong.
The vital meridians could reveal some ailments and injuries but couldn't see through the human heart.
"No, I'm not unwell. I guess I'm just tired." Lu Mengyao forced a smile.
"Then rest well. I'll be in seclusion for the next few days to break through to the Qi Sea Realm," Luo Xiu said.
...
After leaving Lu Mengyao's residence, Luo Xiu arrived at a courtyard in Qingyun City.
Since the incident with the Zhang Clan, Luo Xiu had purchased this courtyard to settle his parents and sister here. After all, he now had enough ability to provide a good life for his family.
Luo Xiu's parents and sister had no talent for martial arts and would remain ordinary people for their entire lives. For them, living a life free from want and enjoying their later years was all they could wish for.
Luo Xiu's room was located deep within the courtyard, serving as his place of cultivation.
Martial arts in the world were divided into nine grades. Grades one to three were considered lower-grade martial arts, while fourth-grade martial arts were already in the middle-grade category.
On the third floor of the Martial Hall's Library Pavilion in Qingyun City, there were only six fourth-grade martial arts, with two each in internal cultivation, martial techniques, and movement techniques, making them the highest-level martial arts in Qingyun City.
Due to winning the martial arts competition, Luo Xiu could choose any fourth-grade martial art to practice. For him, if he was going to practice martial arts, he naturally wanted to practice the best. So he chose the Thunderclap Nine Swords and the Mysterious Evasion Technique.
The Thunderclap Nine Swords was an upgraded version of the Thunderstorm Sword Art.
And the Mysterious Evasion Technique was the most precious martial art among all fourth-grade martial arts, comparable in value to the Pure Yang Technique!
Defined as a fourth-grade movement technique, it was because the "Mysterious Evasion" was incomplete and had some missing parts.
But even as an incomplete movement technique, it still ranked as a fourth-grade, indicating its extraordinary nature.
With the foundation of the Major Achievement Thunderstorm Sword Art, Luo Xiu found practicing the Thunderclap Nine Swords very smooth, reaching the Minor Mastery level in just seven days.
However, the meridian operation diagram of the Mysterious Evasion Technique was extremely complex and intricate. Using the Vital Meridians Diagram for deduction, it took Luo Xiu more than half a month to merely reach the entry level.
Yet, Luo Xiu discovered that the entry-level Mysterious Evasion Technique, combined with the subtle techniques, surpassed the Perfection Realm of Inch Step in both speed and finesse.
This movement technique contained some kind of mystery, allowing for explosive speed and short-distance teleportation.
Regarding the breakthrough to the Qi Sea Realm, Luo Xiu was not in a hurry, as he had a Qi Condensation Pill and could break through at any time.
During this period, the Master of the Martial Hall had personally guided his cultivation, advising him to solidify his foundation as much as possible before breaking through to the Qi Sea Realm. A solid foundation would affect his future achievements in the Martial Dao.
Unknowingly, a month passed in the blink of an eye. Luo Xiu had been reclusive, dedicating almost all his time to practicing the Thunderclap Nine Swords and the Mysterious Evasion Technique.
In this state of selfless cultivation, Luo Xiu achieved excellent results. Coupled with the effects of the second-tier Spirit Gathering Formation, even without taking the Qi Condensation Pill, his cultivation was already infinitely close to the Qi Sea Realm.
Thunderclap Nine Swords reached Major Achievement, and the Mysterious Evasion Technique reached Minor Achievement!
Moreover, Luo Xiu used the Vital Meridians Diagram to deduce and supplement the missing parts of the Mysterious Evasion Technique.
"It's time to break through to the Qi Sea Realm."
One day, Luo Xiu came to a forest outside Qingyun City. This place was close to the city, so there were no beasts or demonic beasts, and he didn't have to worry about being disturbed during his cultivation.
Activating the second-tier Spirit Gathering Formation device, the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi from all directions began to rapidly gather. Luo Xiu took out a Qi Condensation Pill and placed it in his mouth, and the powerful, pure medicinal power suddenly erupted within him.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!..."
Bright light flashed on his body as more and more inner Qi condensed, continuously gathering at the dantian in his lower abdomen.
In his consciousness, the once-empty dantian began to tremble slightly. As waves of inner Qi continuously impacted it, the trembling sensation at the dantian became increasingly evident and intense.
"Pure Yang Qi, all meridians open, break for me!"
Luo Xiu's tongue burst with thunder, and he exhaled with a shout, pushing the Pure Yang Technique to its limit. The inner Qi contained in his skin, muscles, bones, organs, and vital blood surged like a river, continuously impacting the dantian.
"Boom!"
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The invisible barrier at the dantian seemed to be suddenly breached, and a vast amount of inner Qi poured into the dantian like a flood.
An incredibly fulfilling sensation emanated from his lower abdomen, invigorating Luo Xiu's spirit.
"Breaking through the dantian is equivalent to completing the first step of the breakthrough!"
All the inner Qi within his body gathered in the dantian, forming a lake or sea. The inner Qi emitted light, illuminating the darkness within the dantian, and this was the Qi Sea!
With the dantian as the foundation, the inner Qi could circulate through the meridians and acupoints throughout the body. In terms of utilization efficiency and depth of purity, it far surpassed the past.
The circulation of inner Qi for a Body Refining Martial Apprentice was called the Lesser Circulation.
Only by opening the Qi Sea would the circulation of Qi form the Greater Circulation!
However, breaking through to the Qi Sea Realm required more than just opening the dantian; it also required condensing and compressing the inner Qi to form True Qi!
"What is this?"
Luo Xiu suddenly sensed a strong throbbing from the dantian. Under his perception, the Life and Death Extremes Qi in the center of his dantian spun continuously, appearing in black and white, resembling a Taiji diagram or a rotating millstone.
In this spinning process, the Life and Death Extremes Qi was continuously condensed and compressed at an incredibly fast speed.
Typically, the process of condensing True Qi was not something that could be accomplished in a short time. Luo Xiu estimated that it would take at least one or two days for the inner Qi to be fully condensed and compressed into more powerful True Qi within the dantian.
However, in this state of frenzied spinning, the Life and Death Extremes Qi took less than a few breaths to be compressed and condensed to the extreme!
In the center of the dantian, a rotating disk with the left side white and the right side black spun, with wisps of misty vapor spreading from the disk, filling the dantian and forming the Qi Sea.
These mist-like gases were True Qi!
The cultivation of the Qi Sea Realm was the process of condensing True Qi. From the first to the third layer, True Qi was in a mist state. From the fourth to the sixth layer, True Qi became liquid, more condensed, and more powerful. From the seventh to the ninth layer, it solidified into a tangible form, capable of forming weapons and being indestructible!
"Did I break through to the Qi Sea Realm so easily?"
Luo Xiu was astonished. He extended a finger into the air, and an invisible force burst from his fingertip, blasting open the door several meters away.
Immediately, his figure suddenly moved, disappearing from the spot and appearing outside the room in the next moment.
"Using True Qi to perform movement techniques, this speed is truly ghostly. No wonder it's a fourth-grade movement technique even in its incomplete form!"
At this moment, Luo Xiu could clearly feel that he was several times stronger than before.
At the same time, a sense of enlightenment seemed to emanate from the Life and Death Pearl, informing him that the black and white disk formed in his dantian's Qi Sea was called the Heaven's Life and Death Cycle!
This was neither a martial technique nor a cultivation method but an imprint derived from the Law of the Path of Life and Death.
In the dantian, as the Heaven's Life and Death Cycle rotated, the mysteries of the Law of the Path of Life and Death flowed through his mind. Through the Heaven's Life and Death Cycle, Luo Xiu found that some aspects of the martial arts he practiced, which he previously didn't understand, suddenly became clear, as if he could easily grasp their secrets.
Because the Path of Life and Death was one of the highest laws in the universe, even if Luo Xiu could only comprehend an insignificant fraction of it, its inherent level was extremely high. In contrast, the martial arts he practiced were of a much lower level, so viewing them from a higher-level perspective naturally made them clearer and more understandable.