WebNovels

Chapter 30 - Cultivation Techniques

The morning light once again found Cairen already awake, his peace stolen by the presence he felt even before opening his eyes.

Ling was there again, motionless beside his bed, her silver eyes examining him with a disconcerting intensity.

He opened his eyes and stifled a sigh of exasperation. Trying to calm his irritation, suppressing it. Arguing was useless.

"What is it this time?" Cairen's voice came out more tired than irritated.

A quick smile appeared on her face. She extended her arm, placing a small pile of five leather-bound books on the bed beside him.

"Cultivation techniques. Basic, but solid. I doubt you have anything better from that sect. Choose one that suits you best."

She said this without waiting for an answer or thanks, then turned and left, the door closing silently behind her, leaving him with the books and his privacy once again violated.

Cairen picked up the first book, sitting on the bed.

"Serene Path of the River."

"Song of the Rain Needles."

"Breath of the Inner Tide."

"Pillar of Eternal Ice."

"Embrace of the Deep Ocean."

All the techniques belonged to the water path, each with a different nuance. The offer was generous and practical.

And yet, a crucial doubt arose in his mind, hovering over the pages of the books.

"System." He called, his voice low, a whisper in the silent room.

"My dantian… has Fallen Affinity. Fallen energy is not present or dispersed in the air like Qi. How am I supposed to accumulate it?

"Will I have to keep consuming beasts? Only instead of tempering the body, I focus on channeling the energy directly into the dantian?"

The answer came with the same mechanical coldness as always.

[The host's dantian is adapted. Absorbing ambient Qi will slowly transform Qi into Fallen energy within the host's dantian.]

Cairen felt relief, immediately followed by a new weight.

[Because of this, the amount the host requires to break through each new stage and realm will be exponentially greater.]

Cairen frowned. So that was it. His path was not only different but would be more arduous.

While other cultivators filled buckets, he would have to fill a lake. Knowing that most of the water would transform into something denser and heavier, making it harder to fill.

The efficiency of his method of advancing through false fallen now made even more sense. It was a necessary shortcut on a road meant to be long.

With his shackles, his speed would not falter as long as there were beings to turn into false fallen.

He then turned his attention back to the books.

If he had to draw great amounts of Qi from the environment, he needed an efficient technique to do so. One that focused on absorption.

Among the options, Embrace of the Deep Ocean seemed the most promising.

For the technique did not focus on appearances, forces, or delicate control. But on sheer volume and constant absorption. Like the vast ocean currents.

Decided, he sat on the floor in meditation posture.

The luxury of the carpet was a strange contrast to the nature of his cultivation. He closed his eyes and pushed away the bad feelings, be it of Ling, the ghost of Mei Ran, the king's pressure, or the thoughts of his former life.

All was set aside as he focused only on Qi.

And in the royal castle, Qi was thick. Rich.

He concentrated, following the basic instructions of the technique. His perception, now sharpened, swept the environment, separating the currents of energy.

And there it was. The cold serenity of water Qi. Present in the moisture of the air, in distant channels, in the very life of the garden's plants.

He then pulled it.

It was slow at first, a thread of energy entering his meridians. But then, like a door being opened.

The Embrace of the Deep Ocean technique revealed its nature. The flow increased, becoming a steady and powerful current.

The water Qi flowed into him, fresh and vital, coursing through the pathways. And then he could feel it reach his dantian, the center of his body.

And then, the transformation began.

It was a subtle process, yet undeniable. As the pure bluish water Qi settled in his dantian, it darkened at that very moment.

The serene nature was corroded, transformed into something denser and heavier. The water Qi was no longer water but a dark gray sludge, the very essence of Fallen energy.

It was less than what had entered, but many times more potent for him.

Three hours passed quickly. When Cairen opened his eyes, the mental exhaustion was deep.

Guiding such a flow and visualizing that inner transformation was draining.

But on his lips was a rare smile. A genuine smile of accomplishment.

He felt that a third of his dantian was filled. Not with Qi, but with that dark and familiar energy, a source of power. The efficiency might be low, but the progress was real and tangible.

He would not need to rely solely on beasts. The path of normal accumulation was also open to him, even if it was longer.

Now, it was a matter of time and patience. He stood up, tired, but more determined than ever.

The promise of a new 2 grade bloodline flickered in his mind like a beacon.

He would get there soon.

More Chapters