Chapter 4: The Elder's Astonishment

Tu Yongsheng paid little heed to the excitement lighting up Qingxi’s face. Now that the Qi Condensing Pills had been distributed, nearly every outer disciple present struggled to contain their elation, some wearing expressions even more exaggerated than Qingxi’s.

It never crossed Tu Yongsheng’s mind that the “Qi Condensing Technique: Foundation Volume” in his grasp had already been indelibly etched into the memory of the young man before him.

“Listen closely. I’ll only say this once!” he announced, his voice stern.

“To condense qi, you must first draw spiritual energy into your body. But how is that done? First, you must create a special force field within, one that attracts spiritual energy. To produce this field, certain meridians must be opened. As your vital energy and blood circulate through these meridians, a force field is generated, drawing in spiritual energy.”

“At this point, I must mention spirit roots. The grade of your spirit root determines how quickly you can absorb spiritual energy. A higher-grade root means faster progress in cultivation and a greater future ahead.”

“Once spiritual energy enters the body and is refined through a full cycle, it transforms into true essence suited to you and is gathered in your dantian.”

“But what comes next is of utmost importance!” Tu Yongsheng’s gaze turned sharp. “Only by rotating this nascent essence into a perpetual vortex can you prevent it from dissipating. Once you successfully form this vortex, you will have truly entered the first stage of Foundation Qi Refinement.”

Without checking if anyone understood, Tu Yongsheng pressed on: “Now, I will open your first meridian.”

He approached a young disciple, took his pulse, and swiftly tapped several points on the youth’s body. The disciple felt as if a shackle had been shattered within him; his entire body felt unburdened and powerful, and he could not help but cry out in delight.

“It’s done. The lock on your first meridian has been opened. You may now begin cultivating.” Tu Yongsheng moved on, unlocking the meridian shackles of the other disciples one by one.

When he reached Qingxi and instinctively took his pulse, Tu Yongsheng’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“All twelve principal meridians are open—how can this be?” he exclaimed.

The twelve principal meridians, linked to the body’s organs, are conduits for vital energy and blood. At the start of cultivation, almost everyone is born with only the first meridian partially open; the other eleven remain blocked. To embark on the path of cultivation, the first meridian must be opened artificially. In the Foundation Qi Refinement realm, every three levels allow for the opening of another principal meridian—this is the key bottleneck.

In Tu Yongsheng’s understanding, there were only two possibilities for all twelve meridians to be open. The first was reaching the thirty-third level of Foundation Qi Refinement—the so-called “Perfection of Qi Refinement.”

The second was genius.

Clearly, Qingxi could not have reached Perfection of Qi Refinement.

“Do you truly have only a waste-grade spirit root?” Tu Yongsheng asked, his face a study in astonishment. He could scarcely believe such a miraculous sign would manifest in a youth with only a waste-grade root.

Qingxi was at a loss and replied, “I do indeed have only a waste-grade spirit root.”

“How strange!” Tu Yongsheng was even more puzzled than Qingxi.

“Elder, what does it mean that all twelve meridians are open?” Qingxi voiced his suspicion; Tu Yongsheng’s loss of composure suggested this was no trivial matter.

“With all twelve meridians open, there are no bottlenecks within the Qi Refinement realm. If you have ample resources, your progress will be swift—faster even than someone with a profound-grade spirit root,” Tu Yongsheng explained, still incredulous but patient.

Qingxi understood a little, but his confusion lingered. He quickly asked his system assistant, “Why are my twelve meridians open? Is it because you completed my Five Elements attributes?”

The assistant replied, “In the world you previously inhabited, everyone was born with all twelve meridians open. This has nothing to do with completing your Five Elements.”

“Is that so?”

The system’s answer so startled Qingxi that he nearly bit his tongue in shock. Did that mean anyone from Huaxia, as long as they possessed a spirit root, could quickly reach Perfection of Qi Refinement in this world?

“Truly, the sons and daughters of Huaxia are all remarkable!” Qingxi thought to himself.

The assistant could only sigh in silence.

Tu Yongsheng, a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Qi Refinement, soon regained his composure and shook his head with a sigh. “What a pity. If not for the limitation of your spirit root, you would be the greatest genius in our Lingyuan Sect, second only to the senior inner sect sister.”

“Elder Tu, is it really so wondrous to have all twelve meridians open?” a bold youth could not contain his curiosity.

Tu Yongsheng, uncharacteristically patient, explained, “Of course. In the Qi Refinement realm, every three levels, you hit a bottleneck that can only be broken by opening the next meridian through your own effort. Being born with all twelve open means there are no such barriers; with enough pills, your cultivation speed would even surpass that of a profound-grade root.”

“Wow!”

An excited commotion erupted around them. The gazes directed at Qingxi were transformed.

But Tu Yongsheng sighed, “Alas, he possesses only a waste-grade root. Once he enters the Innate realm, the advantage of open meridians disappears. At that point, even a common-grade root will outshine him.”

“So,” he continued, “even with all twelve meridians open, you will only reach the Innate realm at best in this life. As for the higher Spirit Gang realm, abandon all hope. In fact, after entering the Innate realm, your cultivation may stall entirely, leaving you to grow old and die at that level.”

His tone shifted as he fixed a burning gaze on Qingxi. “Still, for a master of the Innate realm, you could at least live out your days as an inner sect elder in our Lingyuan Sect. If you wish, I can even recommend you to an inner sect elder’s tutelage.”

Qingxi assumed he was merely being polite and replied, “To train under Elder Tu is more than enough for me.”

Tu Yongsheng laughed heartily. “You’re quite the smooth talker. From now on, I’ll look after you in the outer sect!”

“Thank you, Elder!” Qingxi grinned.

To have an outer sect elder as a patron was a fortunate turn.

That day, Tu Yongsheng, in high spirits, continued to explain the key points of cultivation to the gathered disciples until dusk, when he finally concluded his instruction.

As the sun set in the west, Qingxi returned to his quarters, clutching his Qi Condensing Pill.

Soon, he sat cross-legged, his palms turned upward. The pill rested on his tongue.

During the lesson, he had repeatedly questioned Tu Yongsheng about various points of cultivation; with the system assistant’s explanations as well, he felt fully confident in forming his own essence vortex.

“With my mind, I guide my vital energy and blood to circulate through all twelve meridians, creating a force field to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.”

“Then, refine the spiritual energy into true essence and draw it into my dantian.”

“Finally, coalesce the essence into a vortex, stepping into the first level of Qi Refinement!”

Following the prescribed method and the route laid out in the “Qi Condensing Technique,” Qingxi began to mobilize his energy and blood.

The process was far easier than he had imagined.

After a single attempt, he found his energy circulating smoothly and steadily.

Had Tu Yongsheng witnessed this, his jaw would surely have dropped. With his own common-grade spirit root, he had needed dozens of tries to set his energy in motion. For someone like Qingxi to succeed on the first attempt was rare indeed—within the entire Lingyuan Sect, only one person had ever managed it before: the inner sect’s senior sister, blessed with a profound-grade root.

Now, as Qingxi’s energy flowed, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged toward him, streaming in through every pore, ready to be refined.