Chapter 66: Qi Condensation into Threads

Mu Yuan completely absorbed the potency of the Purple Crystal Pill and leapt to his feet. He felt his entire body was full and robust, and there seemed to be something stirring in his Dantian. Although he was a bit surprised by the changes in the three types of Zhenqi, at this moment, his spirit was complete, and his energy was abundant. The Zhenqi flowing through his meridians was thicker and more condensed, so the benefits were obvious, so he let it be!

Hua Xin was greatly astonished by Mu Yuan’s speed in absorbing the Purple Crystal Pill. He exclaimed in surprise, “Brother Mu, you are truly amazing. Usually, it takes me half a day to absorb one Purple Crystal Pill, but you did it in just a short moment. It’s truly admirable!”

Mu Yuan said with a wry smile, “You don’t eat these pills as food every day, do you?”

Hua Xin laughed, “How is that possible? Although spirit pills are very good, one must find the right time to use them, or they can cause harm instead of benefit.”

The two chatted and laughed, and Hua Xin took Mu Yuan to see various places in Medicine God Valley. The vast Medicine God Valley had beautiful mountains and clear waters, with many medicinal herbs. Although it might not be as majestic and grand as Longevity Palace, it was very neat and tidy. All kinds of herbs were sorted into different categories and extremely orderly!

Because of the planted herbs, Medicine God Valley was filled with the scent of flowers and medicine, making one feel intoxicated. After a day, Mu Yuan had seen and learned a lot.

After saying goodbye to Hua Xin, Mu Yuan returned to Phoenix Soaring Residence. After dinner, he began to carefully think about the changes in his Zhenqi during the day. When his Spiritual Sense entered his Dantian, he saw that the Longevity Seed in his Dantian had actually grown a bit. All the water droplets condensed from the Tide True Qi fell into the furnace, nurturing the seed. The three types of Zhenqi blended perfectly, intertwined together. With just a slight thought from Mu Yuan, three-colored light enveloped his entire body, merging and separating as he willed, all feeling very natural and smooth!

“Back when I practiced the Tidal Flow, although it matched well with the Longevity Art, it wasn’t as effortless and unhindered as this. This change is really great!” Mu Yuan felt the circulation of his Zhenqi. A stream of Qi radiance surged from his arm, and colorful light rolled forth. Yellow, green, and black lights shone together, like coiling dragons and snakes. Whether it was Greenwood Divine Radiance or Canglang Water Sword, he could use them effortlessly, as easily as moving his own fingers!

“This is truly excellent. Originally, Greenwood Divine Radiance could only be executed flexibly using Longevity True Qi, and Canglang Water Sword also required Tide True Qi to use. Switching between the two was quite troublesome. But now, I can change sword techniques at will, fully unleashing the heavy solidity of Greenwood Divine Radiance and the versatile flexibility of Canglang Water Sword. My swordsmanship has reached another level!”

Mu Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed. Qi weapons surged on his right arm, with three-colored lights intertwining and stimulating each other, moving subtly in a small area, gradually emitting a loud roar. Later on, it vaguely resembled the sound of crumbling mountains and falling rocks, raging winds shaking trees, and tidal waves surging. The entire pavilion started shaking.

Qi Wei was not far from where Mu Yuan lived. Since she obtained the Tidal Flow, she had also practiced diligently day and night without stopping. Using water to generate wood, her own cultivated Longevity True Qi had also risen accordingly, becoming twice as thick as before. Just after finishing her Qi Refinement, she went upstairs to enjoy the view and gaze into the distance to relax. Suddenly, she saw colorful light emanating from Mu Yuan’s pavilion, shining through all the windows, with loud echoes. She didn’t know what spell he was practicing. She thought to herself, “Master usually speaks very highly of Mu Yuan, saying that although he is somewhat carefree by nature, his talent is extremely high, especially in swordsmanship, where he has great aptitude. That day when I saw him fighting against Hua Zhenzi, although he hadn’t yet condensed Fiend and refined Yang, nor cultivated the dual spirits, he could rely on his comprehension of swordsmanship to resist his Divine Ability. He has even reached the realm of Sword Qi Division! Sword Qi Division—normally, one needs to cultivate the dual spirits and have vast Spiritual Sense to achieve that ability!”

Mu Yuan practiced with his Qi weapons. Later on, he also released the six Sword Pills. A cold aura flickered, and the three types of Zhenqi surged into them. Instantly, he felt the Sword Pills themselves became heavier than a thousand pounds, but the Sword Qi they emitted was elusive and unpredictable. However, this did not reduce the power of the Sword Qi; instead, the Sword Qi rose high, with Qi radiances crisscrossing, extremely sharp and fierce!

“This is a good thing. Even without using Sword Qi, just throwing the Sword Pills themselves to hit people would be enough for the opponent to endure!”

Mu Yuan mocked himself. Among plants, thousand-year Yin Wood had extremely high density and was much heavier than other tree species. North Dark Cold Water, because it was mixed with cold air, was also like that. Now, after being refined into Sword Pills by True Lord Tiemu and infused with the extremely heavy Refining Furnace True Qi, they truly became like high-density iron pellets. If it were solely Refining Furnace True Qi, each pill would probably weigh a thousand jun!

With just a slight thought, each strand of Sword Qi emitted by the Six Harmonies Coldwood Sword Pills split into three, crisscrossing all over the room. Even Mu Yuan himself felt his eyebrows and eyelashes turn cold!

After all, Mu Yuan hadn’t cultivated the dual spirits. After manipulating so many Sword Qi for a while, he felt mentally tired. With a casual flick, he saw some Sword Qi disperse, while a few strands entangled with each other, twisting like a hemp rope from start to end, spinning rapidly into a Sword Thread. Then, with a “swish” sound, the condensed Sword Thread directly pierced through a door panel in front of him as if it were tofu. It was countless times sharper than Sword Qi!

“This is the realm of Qi Condensation into Threads. It’s a pity my current Spiritual Sense isn’t strong enough. Otherwise, if I could divide out endless Sword Lights and condense them all into Sword Threads, I could use swordsmanship to drive formations and set up Sword Formations. Then, with the power of one person, I could match dozens. Although it still can’t compare to Sword Formations set up with real swords, it would be much more convenient!”

Mu Yuan put away the Sword Pills, feeling quite satisfied and proud. He circulated his energy throughout his body, gradually gathering it back into his Dantian. He jumped up, refreshed and clear-headed, pushed the door open, and went out. He saw the moon had moved to the middle of the sky, bright and pure. Turning his gaze, he saw Qi Wei standing by the window in the opposite pavilion, looking towards him.

The bright moon shone on the pavilion, and she leaned against the window. This scene and this sight made Mu Yuan’s heart stir. He stared blankly, standing there in a daze, forgetting everything else!

Originally, Qi Wei was watching the scene from Mu Yuan’s upper floor. Now that Mu Yuan had come out and was also looking over, their gazes met, and both were startled. Mu Yuan came to his senses and quickly calmed his mind, thinking to himself how he suddenly developed feelings for this eccentric senior sister. The scene was truly misleading!

A blush also flashed across Qi Wei’s cold and aloof face. With a wave of her sleeves, the window shut with a “bang.” The shadow on the window gradually moved away. Mu Yuan lowered his head with a bitter smile, shook his head, turned around, went back into the room, and rested!

The next day, as soon as Mu Yuan got up, Hua Xin came to invite him. “Today, two people from Mount Shu also came. Like you, they want to ask for Mind-Stabilizing Pills. Master has already arranged it, so we can make them for you together!”

“Oh?” Mu Yuan said in surprise, “Do they need to be refined now?”

Hua Xin laughed, “Naturally. Not many people usually need Mind-Stabilizing Pills, so we don’t keep them in stock. Master will guide me in refining them.”

“So that’s how it is,” Mu Yuan nodded. “I wonder why those two from Mount Shu want the Mind-Stabilizing Pills?”

As they walked, Hua Xin said, “They did mention this. These two somehow obtained two divine artifacts and are considering refining Innate Sword Artifacts, which is why they came to ask for Mind-Stabilizing Pills!”

“Innate Sword Artifacts!” Mu Yuan was shocked. Refining Innate Sword Artifacts was a technique of the Second Primordial Spirit. Moreover, the magical treasure used as the vessel for the Second Primordial Spirit also needed to be refined to resonate with the spirit. Since Hua Xin said they were divine artifacts, they must be extraordinary divine swords and treasures. Once the Innate Sword Artifact was successfully refined, the combat power of the Second Primordial Spirit would far surpass that of the original body, which Mu Yuan found astonishing!

However, cultivating an External Incarnation was extremely difficult and very risky. Otherwise, Mu Yuan wouldn’t have been forced to think about finding a magical treasure to take the path of Five Elements Elixir Formation. Since these two were disciples of Mount Shu, their knowledge was naturally extensive. They couldn’t be unaware of the hardships and dangers involved, yet they still proceeded. This showed that these two treasures were definitely not ordinary!

Following Hua Xin all the way, they arrived at where Old Daoist Danhuo lived. Sure enough, they saw two young Cultivators dressed in extraordinary attire. They didn’t look much older than Mu Yuan, but their entire bodies exuded a sharp sword intent. They themselves were like peerless divine swords, with edges exposed, not to be underestimated!

However, the two were humble and polite. When they saw Hua Xin coming, they performed a standard bow with folded hands. Hua Xin returned the courtesy. Then, he took out a pill furnace, sat on the ground, and began refining the Mind-Stabilizing Pills!

Old Daoist Danhuo watched with a smile not far away. Although Hua Xin was usually a bit restless, when it came to refining pills, he was meticulous and followed the steps. The Mind-Stabilizing Pill itself wasn’t a difficult pill to refine, but the ingredients were very particular. One of them, the Calming Spirit Grass, was extremely hard to find. Fortunately, Medicine God Valley grew it, so with Hua Xin’s skill, refining it wasn’t difficult!

Compared to the Nameless Old Daoist refining the Purple Crystal Pill that Mu Yuan had seen before, it was much simpler—adding ingredients, lighting the fire, controlling the heat. It was finished in just the time it takes for one incense stick to burn.

The Mind-Stabilizing Pill was black with a hint of purple, similarly smooth and pleasant to touch, like jade. Inside, several streams of Qi seemed to flow and change, emitting a strange smell, somewhat like the incense scent in temples and Taoist Temples.

“They all say incense calms the spirit. It seems the Mind-Stabilizing Pill works on the same principle. If that’s the case, then if one could gather incense faith like Monk Yuan Neng, it might also be a method. No wonder the Buddhist Sect rarely uses medicine; they probably get compensation in other ways, replacing the power of pills.”

This batch produced twenty Mind-Stabilizing Pills. The two from Mount Shu each took one pill, while Mu Yuan asked for five pills. He placed them in a jade vial and put them into the Black Water Gourd, separated from other spaces, sealed with layers of Talismanic Seals!

With the Mind-Stabilizing Pills in hand, Mu Yuan didn’t plan to stay in Medicine God Valley any longer. He thought about condensing Fiend and refining Yang earlier to improve his cultivation, which was the real business. Once he succeeded, he could get rid of that unpleasant senior sister Qi Wei. So he immediately took his leave!

Hua Xin was somewhat reluctant. Throughout their time together, he had come to admire Mu Yuan’s cultivation level, and his knowledge was quite remarkable, with interesting conversation. Now that he was leaving, he really didn’t know when they would meet again!

Mu Yuan thanked Old Daoist Danhuo and Hua Xin, returned to Dragon Soaring Residence, called out to Qi Wei, and immediately set off on the journey to Round Pot Island!