Chapter 135: The Void Heaven, Realm of Worldly Rule

The matters in Min City were wrapped up quickly. After all, Chen Xiyi was an existence beyond ordinary measures.

However, Chen Xiyi was unusually quiet and reserved throughout the journey.

The events of the day had struck him deeply, so much so that he didn’t even think about currying favor anymore. He resolved everything swiftly, without delay.

Afterward, he didn’t follow Li Zhao back, instead making up an excuse to leave on his own.

Li Zhao seemed to sense that Chen Xiyi had something on his mind, so he didn’t try to stop him.

But before Chen Xiyi left, he gave some advice that left Li Zhao puzzled. He told him to simply guard the four cities and not expand any further.

Li Zhao thought about asking for clarification but ultimately didn’t. If Chen Xiyi meant to explain, he wouldn’t have spoken so vaguely.

Li Zhao could only reply that he would take note of it.

In truth, Chen Xiyi was being a bit idealistic. Given the current situation, it would take Li Zhao at least half a year to truly gain control over Min City and the other two cities.

Even after establishing control, he would need time for recovery and consolidation. Gui City, in particular, might never regain its former prosperity after what had happened.

Besides, with Li Zhao’s sudden rise in power, it was like a child walking through a marketplace carrying gold. He would have to deal with other warlords; expansion wouldn’t be easy at all.

Any warlord who recklessly expanded without adequate strength would have already met their end due to overtaxing their resources.

Chen Xiyi used the Home Protector to teleport back to the Shu King Palace.

He then “homesteaded” the Void Heaven spell using a bug exploit and found that there were no issues. After that, he began to practice it.

Inside the Shelter, he wasn’t afraid. No matter how strong a Qi Refiner was, as long as they couldn’t break through the Home Protector, Chen Xiyi could escape instantly.

After all, he had dug many Underground Shelters, and the Home Protector not only had an Air Wall with 1,000 strength but also allowed teleportation.

It was highly likely that these Qi Refiners couldn’t detect his Homestead. Otherwise, they would have shown up long ago.

The Home Game was a semi-finished product with quite a few bugs, but it was not to be underestimated. When he observed Sima Mei, the latter remained completely unaware and didn’t even notice the Fairy on him.

From this, one could tell that the Home Game was far more formidable than these Qi Refiners.

The Void Heaven spell was relatively simple: It allowed one’s Primordial Spirit to connect to a network called Void Heaven.

This gave him an early taste of what the Spirit Wandering Realm felt like.

The difficulty of practicing it wasn’t high. For a Qi Refiner who already possessed a Primordial Spirit, it was quite straightforward.

Chen Xiyi grasped the spell after reading it through just once. However, for the sake of his own safety, he didn’t use it right away.

He waited until he returned to the Underground Shelter to activate it. This wasn’t like ordinary spells that could be cast casually. It involved connecting his Primordial Spirit to the existence known as Void Heaven, so he had to be cautious.

As his Primordial Spirit circulated, Chen Xiyi felt his consciousness being squeezed out and entering a different space.

‘I was too hasty. I thought it would be like the internet, but I never imagined it would be a virtual mental world.’ Chen Xiyi had assumed it would be something like a forum or chat group at most, but he never expected his imagination about these Qi Refiners to be so limited.

“Fellow Daoist, your talent is remarkable. You actually forged a Ritual Implement to protect your Primordial Spirit. That is truly exceptional,” a deep, thunderous voice said.

Chen Xiyi turned toward the voice and saw a god-like being with three heads and six arms, clad in armor, lowering its three heads to speak.

[Qi Refiner Sima Mei, Health Points: 100%, Status: Curious]

Looking at the terrifying giant that was at least tens of thousands of feet tall, Chen Xiyi was completely stunned. Damn, that form is way too exaggerated.

He glanced at himself. He was a formless, intangible Primordial Spirit, but he had brought all his alloy gear with him, encasing himself in the shape of a metallic monstrosity. However, compared to the giant, his own size wasn’t even fit for polishing its feet.

It was precisely this gear he brought in that Sima Mei identified as Ritual Implements.

“It’s just a petty skill, nothing compared to your Primordial Spirit, Fellow Daoist, which is truly majestic,” Chen Xiyi said, unable to hide his envy. A small Primordial Spirit didn’t necessarily mean weakness, but one as colossal as this undoubtedly indicated immense power.

No wonder he had been able to immobilize the entire city so easily back then.

Evidently, this wasn’t even the limit of his power. At first glance, he appeared to have three heads and six arms, but upon closer inspection, there were many intricate details in his Primordial Spirit—such as the dragon-headed armor that seemed to swallow clouds, the golden lotus-patterned shoes on his feet, or the faintly discernible wings lurking behind him.

These might look like mere decorations, but on a Primordial Spirit, they represented strength or Divine Abilities, among other things.

“Hahaha, you flatter me, Fellow Daoist. Though Ritual Implements are considered lesser arts, your achievements in less than a century since Attaining the Dao far surpass my own talent.”

“This isn’t a good place to chat. I noticed you had entered and came to welcome you. Why not join me in the hall to converse with other Fellow Daoists?”

Before Chen Xiyi could respond, the scenery around him shifted, and the next moment, he found himself seated on a chair.

All around him were Primordial Spirits with bizarre appearances.

Some had human faces and tiger bodies, covered in golden scales, entwined with thousands of dragons, and radiating an aura of wind and thunder.

Others wore imperial robes, surrounded by the phenomena of countless citizens, with Purple Qi rising around them.

There were also those with bird heads and human bodies, holding serpent staffs, exuding the weight of mountains and rivers.

Above each person’s head was the prefix “Qi Refiner.”

Chen Xiyi observed them and found that, for the most part, the first two abilities of all Qi Refiners were the Art of I Ching Divination and Qi Manipulation and Spirit Wandering. However, their third and fourth abilities were completely different.

This struck Chen Xiyi as somewhat odd. He suspected that the third ability might relate to the path beyond the Spirit Wandering Realm.

“I am Chen Xiyi, a new cultivator. Greetings to all Fellow Daoists,” Chen Xiyi said as he stood and bowed. Although his Primordial Spirit was as small as an ant compared to the others, every Qi Refiner present possessed extraordinary abilities, so his actions did not go unnoticed.

Friendly and curious gazes turned toward him, and then streams of information flowed into Chen Xiyi’s mind—some introducing themselves, others offering advice for newcomers, and some sharing foundational knowledge about Qi Refiners.

Evidently, this was the Qi Refiners’ way of greeting him.

Chen Xiyi noticed that Qi Refiners seemed to hold an exceptionally high level of goodwill toward their peers.

Even though they regarded ordinary people—their former selves—as mere ants, once someone became a Qi Refiner, their status immediately rose from being mere Nourishment Resources to equals.

That’s right, equals. Chen Xiyi believed that in the eyes of Qi Refiners, only other Qi Refiners were considered their own kind, while ordinary people were not.

In their view, ordinary people were nothing more than lines of text in a book.

Only Qi Refiners were living, breathing people in their eyes.

‘It’s like a community of only about a hundred individuals,’ he thought.

That made sense. Judging by the size of their Primordial Spirits alone, it was clear that any Qi Refiner pulled at random had lived for tens of thousands of years as a unit of Time.

“Hello, Fellow Daoist Chen. Thank you for the dish you provided last time. I really enjoyed the flavor. Sorry, I haven’t shaped my form in a while, so it might look a bit strange,” a constantly shifting, humanoid figure that looked as if it had been mutated by radiation coalesced from the ground and spoke to Chen Xiyi.

[Dao-Integrating Eternal]

Chen Xiyi was startled upon seeing the name above the figure’s head. It was indeed him.

“You’re too kind. I’m glad you liked it. Unfortunately, I can’t recreate it—it was more of a chance occurrence last time,” Chen Xiyi replied, knowing that the other was referring to the events in Dongtai City.

“No worries. I’ve already figured out how to replicate it. It’s due to some minor flaws in the Qi Reversal Soul-Returning Array. I amplified those flaws, so now it can produce that kind of mixed Qi Mechanism every time. The taste is quite unique. Pity you can’t taste it,” the Immortal Being said, a hint of regret in his tone.

“Consider this a reward for the recipe. You have a generation’s Time to reach Qi Manipulation and Spirit Wandering. Otherwise, you might miss out again in the next generation. Sima Mei says your aptitude is excellent, so you might achieve it in less than half a generation.”

The Immortal Being pointed a beam of white light into Chen Xiyi’s body. It contained various pieces of knowledge related to the Primordial Spirit.

“If you have time, you can visit the Library Repository in Void Heaven. It contains all sorts of works and collections we’ve accumulated over the years. Of course, there’s a condition: after reading, you must submit one of your own works or a collection each year. But for a Qi Refiner, that’s a trivial matter, isn’t it?”

The condition was quite lenient, with no strict enforcement. If you gained a right, you also gained an obligation.

“Also, Void Heaven provides solutions to difficult problems. Generally, if the question is very challenging, you’ll need to pay a corresponding price. But for a new cultivator like you, the questions are usually simple, so you likely won’t have to pay much. Even if you do, it will be insignificant items.”

The Immortal Being chattered on, and Chen Xiyi understood that he was explaining the rules and facilities of Void Heaven.

Moreover, the Immortal Being granted him permissions. Otherwise, he would only have been able to enter.

The Void Heaven spell only granted entry access, not any other privileges.

After having the various permissions activated, a multitude of options appeared before Chen Xiyi’s eyes. With just a thought, he could utilize these permissions.

Chen Xiyi didn’t know how many functions Void Heaven had. His Primordial Spirit was far too small compared to this vast existence. He couldn’t even see the entire hall where the Qi Refiners conversed—let alone the whole of Void Heaven.

Apart from the Dao-Integrating Eternal chatting with Chen Xiyi, the other Qi Refiners were mostly engaged in discussing their own issues.

During their conversation, the Immortal Being also introduced each of the Qi Refiners and their areas of expertise.

He even introduced himself. Though he was called the Dao-Integrating Eternal in the Homestead, he actually had his own name—Ji Shan. From his words, one could clearly sense his profound knowledge.

As they talked, his previously bizarre form gradually shifted into that of an ordinary person—a middle-aged man with a scholarly air.

This wasn’t his true form. For Qi Refiners, the Primordial Spirit was their real self, not their physical body.

So, the form of Sima Mei that Chen Xiyi had seen earlier was more like an outfit that could be changed at will. Only the three-headed, six-armed deity form was the real Sima Mei.

Similarly, the current form of the Dao-Integrating Eternal, Ji Shan, was also an illusion. His true self was the Void Heaven that spanned half the world.

That’s right—the place called Void Heaven was a projection created by Ji Shan.

This wasn’t some secret or means of coercion. For Qi Refiners, they rose and fell together.

Because becoming stronger as a Qi Refiner wasn’t just about enhancing the Primordial Spirit; it also required continuous learning and exchange, much like science.

It wasn’t about finding a place to meditate and constantly absorbing Qi Mechanisms to grow. Qi Refiners like that were basically useless and would be weeded out. Qi Refiners needed peers, not parasites who only amassed Primordial Spirits.

It was precisely for this reason that Chen Xiyi received kindness and welcome from the others.

A balloon can inflate to great size but remains hollow inside, while a lead pellet, no matter how small, is solid throughout.