novelraw Chapter 182 - 180: Celestial Heart Divine Treasure [2]
Chapter 182 - 180: Celestial Heart Divine Treasure [2]
Under the influence of this power,
the cells in his body were activated, greedily absorbing the energy brought by this stream of qi.
A tingling, numbing sensation emerged.
His originally hard bones and membranes grew even firmer and denser.
The same was true for the meridians, flesh, and internal organs within his body.
From the tips of his hair to the soles of his feet, no part was left untouched.
Hu Qi’s physical structure was transforming toward a higher Life Level.
At the same time, the True Essence within him began to boil ceaselessly.
Simultaneously, Hu Qi’s internal organs seemed to spring to life, his bodily functions operating at peak performance.
Under these circumstances, Hu Qi felt exceptionally clear-headed.
It was like soaking in a warm bath after a long, tiring day; every cell in his body seemed to be cheering with joy.
The Qi Dao Grandmaster realm is divided into three stages: Qi Gathering Liquid, Condensing Liquid into Pill, and Unity of Essence and Qi.
And Hu Qi had just entered the final stage: Unity of Essence and Qi.
This step, Unity of Essence and Qi, was about nourishing the internal organs to strengthen one’s Soul Power.
Only when one’s Soul Power was sufficiently strong could they perceive the location of the third Divine Treasure corresponding to a Refining God Venerable—the Celestial Heart Divine Treasure.
This would grant them the possibility of breaking through to the Refining God Realm.
At this moment, as Hu Qi used his modifications to advance, a wealth of information about this realm flooded his mind.
Simultaneously, he felt his Soul Power rapidly strengthening.
Hu Qi closed his eyes, his mind gradually calming.
Within his mind, in his consciousness, a strange scene appeared before him.
It was as if a layer of mist before his eyes was slowly dissipating, revealing a colossal black gate that towered into the clouds.
The gate was majestic and spectacular, like a miracle standing between heaven and earth.
It stood there, exuding a mysterious and solemn aura.
The gate’s surface was covered in ancient and complex carved patterns.
When Hu Qi’s gaze fell upon them, these patterns seemed to come alive, transforming into slithering, jet-black serpents.
But upon closer inspection, he found that the runic lines were still on the door, unmoving. It was as if he had just been imagining things.
’The gate that seals the Celestial Heart Divine Treasure?’
The thought arose in Hu Qi’s mind.
According to the information he had previously obtained about the Refining God Realm,
behind this gate lay the Celestial Heart Divine Treasure.
The moment he saw it, an intense impulse surged within Hu Qi.
"Push it open, push it open..."
Ethereal voices seemed to echo in his ears.
This was life’s craving for evolution, which could also be called something akin to a heart demon.
Hu Qi looked at the gate.
After a Secret Martial Artist reaches the Perfection stage of a Qi Dao Grandmaster and achieves the Unity of Essence and Qi realm,
their Soul Power, nourished by their physical body, grows stronger. Once it reaches a certain threshold,
they will gradually sense the gate that exists between their mind and soul.
As long as they push it open, they can step into the Refining God Realm.
With this in mind, he reached out his hand.
As his palm touched the gate, a solid, cold sensation, incredibly real, traveled up his arm.
However, when Hu Qi applied a bit of force, the colossal gate didn’t budge an inch.
Realizing this, his eyes narrowed. He did not try to force it open and instead lowered his hands.
"Push it open. Push this gate open, and you will achieve the Refining God Realm. From then on, the sky will be the limit, and you will no longer be so constrained..."
The slightly seductive voice sounded again.
"Shut up!"
Hu Qi said coldly.
The next moment, the voice bizarrely vanished.
His expression was calm. If this had been before he consumed the Spirit Tea,
perhaps his unstable temperament would have been swayed by this desire born from evolutionary instinct.
He might have attempted to force a breakthrough.
But things were different now. Since he couldn’t push it open, there could only be one reason: the conditions were not yet met.
Understanding this, he naturally wouldn’t try to force it anymore.
’I, Hu Qi, value stability above all else. I won’t risk my life.’
On the path of cultivation, the further one goes, the more one must be cautious and tread as if on thin ice.
If a Martial Arts Family or a Qi Dao Grandmaster failed a breakthrough, the worst that could happen was severe injury or near-death.
There was still a chance to be saved. But with a breakthrough to the Refining God Realm, there was absolutely no room for failure.
Refining God is to refine the "god," or spirit. It requires Punching Brain Transformation, condensing one’s Martial Arts Will, and using that condensed will to smash open the gate sealing the Celestial Heart Divine Treasure.
The "god" is a person’s foundation.
It contains a person’s memories and essence—it is, in a sense, their everything.
During this process, the slightest mistake would cause the Secret Martial Artist to die on the spot, their soul dissipating.
Just as Hu Qi gave up, a white mist surged forward. The black gate, which had been right before him, receded into the distance and faded away.
「In the outside world.」
Hu Qi opened his eyes, a brilliant silver light flashing through them before vanishing. This was a sign that his Soul Power had reached a certain level of intensity.
He calmed his mind and turned his gaze inward. His vast Qi Sea Divine Treasure was like an endless world.
A colossal, Crimson True Pill hung in the void like a great sun, radiating a brilliant light.
The figure of the Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent coiled upon it had almost solidified. The color of its scales had deepened to a crimson so dark it was nearly black.
Suddenly, as if sensing Hu Qi’s gaze, the slumbering Blood Snake raised its head and looked directly at him.
As their eyes met, Hu Qi’s perspective shifted, as if his consciousness had split in two.
Now, he was looking at himself.
"Unity of Essence and Qi, strengthening the mind and spirit, Punching Brain Transformation... so that’s how it is..."
Hu Qi murmured to himself.
That Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent was a product of his Essence and Qi. In a way, it also represented him.
Now that his Soul Power had greatly increased, he could naturally control it.
His thoughts returned to the present, and he looked at his panel.
——————
[Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map (Qi Veins Chapter Ninth Layer) △]
...
[Modification Points: 231 (17%)]
The △ symbol, indicating that it could be modified, was still present after the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map.
However, when Hu Qi’s gaze fell upon it, a piece of information instantly appeared in his mind.
[To break through to the Refining God Chapter, the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline must be perfected to 75%.]
Seeing this, Hu Qi wasn’t too surprised.
After all, a similar situation had occurred when he was breaking through to the Qi Dao Grandmaster realm.
The Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map, an Inheritance Secret Martial Art, was exceptionally powerful, but it also had a fatal flaw.
If anyone else were to practice it, they would most likely be permanently stuck at the Martial Arts Family level.
To break through the Qi Vein Chapter of the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map, one’s Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline already needed to have reached a certain level.
Although one could condense the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline by practicing the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Spirit Devouring Map,
it would undoubtedly take an extremely long time.
According to his estimates, it would take at least several decades, or even a century, to see any effect.
By then, one would likely die of old age before they could condense enough of the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline.
In Hu Qi’s opinion, this Inheritance Secret Martial Art was not meant for humans to cultivate at all. It was meant for a Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent hatchling.
But for others, this was an insurmountable flaw.
For Hu Qi, however, as long as he had enough Modification Points later on, completing it would not be difficult.
Looking at his remaining Modification Points, Hu Qi thought for a moment and directly added all of them to the Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline entry.
A familiar, scorching heat spread through him.
With 231 Modification Points, ten points could perfect 1% of the bloodline.
By that calculation, he could perfect a total of 23%.
This massive, leap-like improvement allowed Hu Qi to clearly sense the Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent bloodline within him growing richer.
The pupils in his eyes grew increasingly slender, eventually taking on a reptilian, slit-like shape.
A Crimson, blood-red glow surged like a tide from those narrow pupils, instantly suffusing the area.
Everything around him seemed to dim in the presence of these eyes.
And at the spot between his eyebrows,
the itching sensation was gone, replaced by a tingling, swelling feeling.
It felt as though something was about to burst through his flesh at any moment.
The Snake Bone Bracelet on his wrist, which was formed from the white snake, trembled faintly when it sensed the rich Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent aura emanating from Hu Qi, as if in extreme fear.
If it hadn’t been altered by the Twisted Light, it probably would have fled immediately.
After waiting for a moment,
all the abnormalities disappeared.
However, the expected Illusion Realm did not appear, which disappointed Hu Qi slightly.
His gaze returned to the panel.
————
[Bloodline: Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent (Incomplete 69%)]
[Talents: Spirit Devouring, Twisted Light]
...
[Modification Points: 1 (17%)]
The Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline had increased from the original 46% to 69%, still a bit short of the required 75%.
Looking down, he saw that no new Talents had appeared in the Talents section.
Hu Qi reached up and touched the spot between his eyebrows. The tingling, swelling sensation was even stronger now.
He had a premonition that it wouldn’t be long before he awakened this third Talent.
Closing the panel, Hu Qi glanced at the constantly trembling Snake Bone Bracelet on his wrist.
He retracted his aura and gently stroked the Snake Bone Bracelet.
A flash of Twisted Light, and the bracelet moved again, reverting to its original white snake form.
However, its size was incomparable to before; it was now only as thick as a thumb and about half a meter long.
Its pure white body coiled around Hu Qi’s wrist like an exquisite strip of white jade, shimmering with a faint luster as it moved.
When he pinched it, it felt soft and elastic.
Held between Hu Qi’s fingers, the white snake’s body squirmed slightly, as if expressing its unease.
It couldn’t be blamed. The aura emanating from the person before it made its entire body go limp.
It was as if this person was its ancestor. This was a suppression originating from its bloodline, completely extinguishing any thought of resistance.
Beyond that, the ability to arbitrarily change its form was simply terrifying.
At this moment, its reverence for Hu Qi had reached its peak.
"What’s your name?"
Hu Qi asked calmly.
"Ah... Reporting to Master, this one... My name is Yu Bai!"
A young woman’s voice replied.
Halfway through, as if remembering something, she quickly switched from the formal "this one" to the more common "I".
"Yu Bai? That name’s a bit ugly. Let’s change it. From now on, you’re Xiaobai."
Hu Qi frowned. He wracked his brain but couldn’t think of any pleasant-sounding dishes made from snake meat.
So, he simply decided to call it Xiaobai.
The white snake, now Xiaobai, was silent for a moment.
"Thank you for bestowing this name, Master."
"Mhm. Now, tell me how you create illusions and manipulate Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy..."
Hu Qi said calmly. This was one of the reasons he had spared its life.
"To answer Master, I accidentally came to that cave a hundred years ago. I found that tea tree and, by a stroke of luck, ate one of its leaves. Only then was my spiritual intelligence fully awakened, unlike the state of Chaos I was in before..."
As Xiaobai continued its story, the look of surprise on Hu Qi’s face deepened.
This creature’s narration was logical and its language was clear.
Its intelligence was almost no different from a normal human’s—perhaps even greater.
Looking at Xiaobai on his hand,
Hu Qi couldn’t help but think of the Camphor Tea Duck he was raising on the surface.
He had previously thought that duck was quite clever.
But now, in comparison,
the difference was obvious.