Chapter 183: Primordial Soul Martial Dao

After the capture of the eleven Temporal Immortals, everything became calm for Chen Xiyi.

Outside, however, chaos erupted long ago, but those matters had little to do with him. The Five Immortals Sect and Miaojiang were massive in scale, and being far from both the Jianghu and the Imperial Court, the ongoing conflicts did not affect Chen Xiyi at the moment.

Nevertheless, there were major movements within the Five Immortals Sect, such as purging the traitors.

When the Imperial Court’s hundred-thousand-strong army arrived, many saw the situation turning bad and fled. Those who simply left were let go, but those who shamelessly returned were all dealt with.

Such two-faced individuals were never welcome anywhere, especially those who switched sides and then wanted to come back.

“Did Wandering Light give up, or is he out of options?”

The lack of any further trouble these days felt strange to Chen Xiyi. He couldn’t possibly be waiting for death, could he?

Or had the future Lin Feng already overwritten Wandering Light, which was why there was no action at all?

That possibility couldn’t be ruled out, but Chen Xiyi thought it was unlikely. The other party wasn’t so easy to disappear; thirty thousand years of experience had surely turned him into a cunning old fox, not a brainless fool.

“Or is he brewing some grand scheme?”

Chen Xiyi found this guess more plausible. The other party was likely gathering strength and searching for their weaknesses. Once he found the right moment, he would strike with a fatal blow.

Sending people continuously would be pointless.

“Forget it, I’ll ignore him for now. I need to complete my Primordial Soul Martial Dao first.”

Chen Xiyi contemplated the final step.

Although Gu Martial Arts and Divine Martial Arts seemed completely unrelated on the surface, they were actually deeply connected.

Because he was a Player, he lacked the corresponding organs and flesh required for martial training, so he fundamentally couldn’t practice it.

Moreover, the Qi Refiner’s Primordial Spirit didn’t focus much on the physical body. If he truly followed the orthodox way of martial training, it wouldn’t be entirely unfeasible, but it would yield minimal results—like a chicken rib, of little use.

Gu Martial Arts, however, involved symbiotic Gu Insects within the body, creating an alternative substitution. Chen Xiyi used this to observe how various organs, flesh, and bones were affected by Internal Energy, and so on.

It was as if Chen Xiyi treated the entire human body as a precise circuit board, with Gu Insects simulating organs as nodes, allowing him to gather data on each part.

With enough data, Chen Xiyi could replicate it with his Primordial Spirit, using a uniquely synthesized Qi Mechanism to simulate Internal Energy. This way, when his Primordial Spirit grew stronger, it would naturally drive his body to strengthen simultaneously.

If the Immortality module hadn’t been a character MOD this time, and instead a proper wuxia module, he wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble—he wouldn’t have needed to research it himself.

Still, it wasn’t without its benefits. By integrating the Internal Energy system into the Qi Refiner system, he significantly improved his previous weaknesses.

“After my Primordial Spirit fused with my Soul, my current Primordial Spirit looks like me, but essentially, it’s still just forcibly filled by the Soul. It doesn’t count as shaping a form. Once I complete the Primordial Soul Martial Dao, which is the advanced version of the Innate Gang Qi talent, I can begin shaping it. Only then will I be a true Spirit Wandering Realm Qi Refiner.”

What? What comes after the Spirit Wandering Realm?

Chen Xiyi estimated it would take decades before he could even think about that.

The Qi Refiner path only had two realms; the road beyond had to be forged by oneself, with no predecessors to pave the way.

But having no path didn’t mean one couldn’t walk. He could still stack his Primordial Spirit. Once his Primordial Spirit reached its peak, he could become a massive Qi Refiner in terms of sheer power, overwhelming others with raw strength. However, these two approaches weren’t mutually exclusive. After all, he was idling away, not cultivating himself.

He didn’t want to be as stubborn as those other Qi Refiners, doggedly sticking to one path until the end.

They had no other opportunities, but Chen Xiyi did. The Qi Refiner system could serve as a core element, but it couldn’t be the only module he developed.

The Qi Refiner system was vast, but compared to the unscientific Fairy system, it still fell short.

Especially with bonded Fairies. Unless the Qi Refiner could find supplementary modules, it essentially consisted of just a Primordial Spirit and one skill, with all other potential relying entirely on Chen Xiyi’s own exploration.

“The first part of the Primordial Soul Martial Dao is to construct an energy organ—the Dantian. This is step one.”

“Because my body lacks any organs, transplantation isn’t an option. So, the Primordial Soul Martial Dao is limited to being an Innate Divine Ability, not a full system.”

Chen Xiyi modified the Innate Gang Qi Innate Divine Ability on his Primordial Spirit. As a skill he created himself, modifying it was easy.

“If theirs is the Dantian, then mine will be the Qi Sea.”

After saying this, Chen Xiyi felt the changes within his body. The first node was born.

With the first node in place, his Primordial Spirit blossomed everywhere. The five viscera, six bowels, bones, flesh, skin, and more—all illusory existences—were continuously incorporated into it.

In just an instant, Chen Xiyi sensed the Qi Refiner and Martial Way systems merging and finally becoming one.

“Success. All those experiments were worth it.”

Chen Xiyi felt the feedback from his Primordial Spirit. His previously stagnant physical strength began to gradually increase, and the Qi Mechanism started to flow and circulate within him.

If the Fairies helped him ingest and emit Qi Mechanism to strengthen his Primordial Spirit, then the Qi Mechanism cycling through his meridians, acupoints, internal organs, and bones was helping his body grow stronger.

“This barely counts as dual cultivation of nature and life. If this Martial Way system could be obtained by other Qi Refiners, it might truly evolve into those earth-shaking, sea-moving fantasy martial arts.”

The martial arts in this world were indeed rather weak, but they couldn’t withstand the terrifying enhancement of the Qi Refiners’ Primordial Spirits in learning and research.

If Chen Xiyi could succeed in such a short time—even spending extra time due to his lack of internal organs—then other Qi Refiners would certainly find it even easier.

After changing the Innate Gang Qi in his Home Game panel to Primordial Soul Martial Dao, Chen Xiyi began to consolidate all his Qi Mechanisms.

He possessed a complete set of Qi Mechanisms, which he had obtained from Ji Shan, the Immortal Being. He had all of them, whether naturally occurring Qi Mechanisms or those artificially synthesized by later Qi Refiners.

With the Primordial Soul Martial Dao, plus his System, and aided by the unique Qi Mechanism called Spiritual Energy, crafting his own exclusive Qi Mechanism was quite straightforward.

During his research on the Primordial Soul Martial Dao, he had already drafted the initial plan. As long as the Primordial Soul Martial Dao operated without issues, the subsequent synthesis of Qi Mechanism would proceed very smoothly.

One by one, Chen Xiyi guided the Qi Mechanisms into his Primordial Spirit, where they were consolidated and fused, eventually forming an intangible, formless Qi Mechanism.

“Colorless, formless, intangible, without substance.”

Chen Xiyi felt this Qi Mechanism circulating within his Primordial Spirit and flowing through his body.

“I’ll call it Magical Power.”

“Based on the current efficiency of Magical Power strengthening my body, in about ten days, my physical fitness should reach the level of a Longevity Martial Artist. Beyond that, any further improvement would depend on my Primordial Spirit’s growth.”

The martial artist standard he used was, of course, the optimized Longevity Martial Artist. For now, that seemed to be the highest achievable level.

Unless he went to find Wandering Light, but he felt he couldn’t defeat him.

Fortunately, he was in the historical timeline. If he had to confront Wandering Light—a being capable of interfering with history—head-on, Chen Xiyi would definitely hide inside his Homestead and not come out.

“Primordial Soul Martial Dao completed, Qi Mechanisms consolidated into Magical Power. Next, I’ll research the Ascension Ritual.”

As for shaping his Primordial Spirit to fully stabilize the Spirit Wandering Realm, that would have to wait a bit longer. His Primordial Spirit wasn’t strong enough yet.

Because this world lacked Qi Mechanisms, relying on himself for this step would require a substantial amount of Magical Power, which he couldn’t handle at the moment.

Besides, he hadn’t decided what form he wanted to shape it into. That required some consideration.

So, he could only focus on researching the Ascension Ritual for now.

Since he had time to spare, he figured he might as well study the Ascension Ritual thoroughly. Once he obtained the The Immortal template, he could take his time with the rest.

…

“Did… you start practicing martial arts?” Lin Feng asked upon entering, noticing that Chen Xiyi seemed somewhat different.

If before he appeared like a sloppy scholar, now his physique had taken on the semblance of a martial artist.

“No, I’m too lazy to practice martial arts. I rely on my righteous integrity,” Chen Xiyi said leisurely. “You never visit without a reason. What brings you here this time?”

Lin Feng had been studying his Sword Art every day lately and wouldn’t come to see Chen Xiyi without a specific purpose. His pressure was considerable, after all.

With his future self looming menacingly, the present Lin Feng had no choice but to work hard to avoid being manipulated into becoming the foolhardy Wandering Light.

“I’ve completed my Sword Art,” Lin Feng stated immediately.

“So quickly? Just a few days ago, you said you still had one-third left and hit a bottleneck.” Chen Xiyi was puzzled. Was practicing sword arts this unscientific?

He had just started researching the Ascension Ritual, and Lin Feng was already finished?

Chen Xiyi had actually prepared for Lin Feng to take eight to ten years, but he finished in no time. It was like undoing your belt and immediately entering a state of clarity afterward.

“I’m not sure, but whenever I worked on improving the Sword Art, it felt like divine assistance. Countless ideas kept popping into my head.”

“It was as if someone was remotely injecting these thoughts into my mind.”

Lin Feng spoke hesitantly, feeling this was a significant issue.

If he hadn’t known about Wandering Light and his future self, he might have thought it was his extraordinary talent. But knowing the truth, he now suspected it was his future foolish self, Wandering Light, guiding him.

“Are you suspecting this is an overt scheme?”

Chen Xiyi’s expression turned serious. He seemed to understand now—Wandering Light hadn’t given up on action; he had shifted his focus to Lin Feng.

Once Lin Feng fell into the trap, no matter what Chen Xiyi did, it would be futile.

Although it seemed like a conflict between the past and the future, at its core, it was all about choices.

Choose correctly, and Wandering Light disappears. Choose wrongly, and Lin Feng treads the old path to become Wandering Light.

Moreover, Chen Xiyi suspected that while Wandering Light might have once been Lin Feng, he certainly wasn’t in the future.

In other words, there must be some major issue here.

Otherwise, no matter how one changes, one should still remain oneself, not become someone else.

There was no need to scheme against oneself, right?

“Exactly. The Sword Art itself is probably fine, but I’m worried that after performing this Sword Art ritual, something might go wrong,” Lin Feng said gravely.

Chen Xiyi didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pondered something: from the very beginning, could this all have been Wandering Light’s deliberate plan?

The other party’s advantages were too great—like having cheats enabled.

As the future Lin Feng, Wandering Light probably knew their every move. It was as if he knew everything about them, while they knew nothing about him.

They were completely at a disadvantage.

He even suspected that Wandering Light’s emergence might be unstoppable, unless he killed Lin Feng—but that would defeat the purpose.

“Perhaps you should wait for a while. There’s no hurry. Let me reverse-engineer the Ascension Ritual first.”

Chen Xiyi had no other choice but to employ the stalling tactic.