Chapter 44 – Excavating a Spirit Spring

Carefully sensing, Ye Qingyu finally found the yuan qi kindling buried underneath the yellow dunes.

This translucent jade-like crystal glowing with a radiant light had already buried itself deep into the hard ground beneath the sands by a full ten feet. The crystal constantly emitted a yuan qi vortex, constantly transforming the hard rocky surface around it. It was as if it was a drill, unceasingly burying itself deeper and deeper, finding the most suitable position to excavate the eye of the Spring and produce Spirit water.

Ye Qingyu concentrated his entire attention and energy, sensing the constant convergence of yuan qi from the outside. Using the nameless breathing technique, he gathered the yuan qi into his body, and then directed these yuan qi towards the direction of the kindling.

This was the cultivation process of the yuan qi martial away.

Using the purest and most powerful energy of Heaven and Earth, yuan qi, to nourish the kindling, turning it into his own use.

Cultivation was a slow and difficult process.

Time passed by quickly.

Within the state of inner vision, Ye Qingyu could clearly ‘see’ the yuan qi of Heaven and Earth entering the world in his dantian. In the endless desert of the dantian, this caused the whipping up of hurricanes with the air currents all gathering around the [Yuan Qi Kindling]. The originally deathly silent desert was, all of a sudden, filled with gusts of winds and sand being stirred up all over the sky.

At the same time, the [Yuan Qi Kindling] radiated an even brighter glow, wildly absorbing the yuan qi of Heaven and Earth.

“This is actually a yuan qi hurricane. It’s not the same as what the books described when you gather yuan qi within your body for the first time, it’s slightly more violent…” Ye Qingyu was flabbergasted.

Within the public library, he had carefully studied all the theoretical aspects of gathering yuan qi and read the notes of those who had previously experienced this process.

Normally, after the martial artist had successfully undergone the process of [Forming Yuan], the apparition that they were able to cause during their first time drawing yuan qi into the body was just a slight breeze. To be able to cause the air currents to be gusts of wind, was already an extremely rare speed, and the martial artists who were able to do this must be a rare kind of genius…

And Ye Qingyu could see the world within his dantian, where the air flows were like winds from a hurricane sweeping the world.

Hahaha, could your brother I be a genius in the path of the yuan qi cultivation too?

Previously he had only felt that his strength was greater than ordinary people, and that training in body refinement was easier than normal. He did not think that his talent in training in the yuan qi martial way, was also so monstrous?

Ye Qingyu’s mood turned good in an instant.

Majestic yuan qi endlessly converged around the [Yuan Qi Kindling], the concentration of yuan qi becoming higher. In the end, the yuan qi completely surrounded and wrapped the [Yuan Qi Kindling], showing signs that it was about to liquefy…

[Yuan Qi Kindling] turning into liquid!

This was the most important step in excavating the Spirit spring. If this was successful, then the kindling would transform into the eye of the spring, spurting out Spirit water and nourishing the world within his dantian.

Water was the origin of all things.

This was one of the foundations of the world within his dantian.

From spring into stream, from stream into river, from river into lake, from lake into the sea. At the last step of this process, the entire desert would turn into a yuan qi ocean submerging everything, and this ocean was known as the Bitter Sea. And the martial artist that was able to reach this stage, would leave the Spirit spring stage and enter into the Bitter Sea stage.

This was a long and determined process.

Ye Qingyu had only taken his first step on the yuan qi martial path.

Time quickly passed.

Unceasingly, high concentrations of yuan qi entered into Ye Qingyu’s body, transforming into raging hurricanes that fanned the flames of the [Yuan Qi Kindling].

…… ……

“En? This energy…”

[Grievance Hall].

In the courtyard separated by the wall.

A person with sky blue hair, Blue Sky, opened his eyes and awoke from cultivation.

In his eyes were confusion and a slight shock. He said to himself, “It looks like this is from someone drawing yuan qi into their body for the first time. But the commotion is slightly too big, the yuan qi wind pillar is not dispersing and is over tens of meters in height… who is it?”

He looked towards the wall.

Over the high black wall, he could see a silver wind pillar twisting in the air, as if it was a wild dragon.

“Haha, it looks like… I have a very interesting neighbour. Who could it be? The aura of this yuan qi is unfamiliar, I have never previously seen it before…” On the face of Blue Sky, his signature nefarious smile appeared.

His figure moved.

The next instant, he was right next to the wall. With a fierce jump, he was able to rise to the height of thirty feet, the perfect height for observing the person in the courtyard beside him. But very quickly, the imprisonment formation in the courtyard began to be activated. Shackles made from black characters, without any sign or warning, stretched out from the grounds and the wall. As if they were whips, they snapped up, catching Blue Sky’s body…

“Oh… Again!”

Blue Sky let out a painful scream, a blue light being emitted from the whip, falling back down to the ground.

“His uncle! The rune formation designed by that old monster is slightly formidable… Wait till your father I is fully healed, I will definitely dismantle this mess of a [Grievance Hall]!!” He returned to the ground, hard. Bloodstains began appearing in his shoulder, dyeing it entirely in red. The injury that had not healed yet had broken open again.

But he did not care in the slightest.

As if the blood that was flowing was from a body that did not belong to him.

“Who would have thought that this little fellow would be confined next to me,” Blue Sky said excitedly. “Haha, this little kid is like a tiger. Previously, he even dared to kill Liu Yuancheng’s son; this time who knows what kind outrageous thing he did to be confined here…” ……

Time passed day by day.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Qingyu had already spent a month in the [Grievance Hall].

In this month, he basically spent everyday training and cultivating.

Every day during meal time, the disciplinary teacher would deliver food to him. But the food was just simple pearl barley rice, bland and tasteless, barely enough for nourishment. And the quantity of this meal was extremely small – for a glutton like Ye Qingyu, it was barely enough to fill in the gaps of his teeth.

The sun rose and the moon set.

The yuan qi cultivation Ye Qingwu was undergoing went by at a flying pace.

Deep within the desert in the dantian, the deeply burrowed [Yuan Qi Kindling] had already turned ninety percent into liquid. There was only one last step left before it would become the eye of a Spirit spring.

From [Forming Yuan] to creating an eye of a Spirit spring, even for genius students would take at least half the year. But for Ye Qingyu, he only needed one month. This type of speed, if it was made known, would definitely shock the world.

Today.

The wind was gentle and the sun was bright.

Ye Qingyu sat in a meditative stance in the middle of the black courtyard.

A ten-meter-high yuan qi pillar with him in the center continued to be formed. The thickness of the yuan qi in the air was even greater than the first day he attempted to undergo the process of [Forming Yuan]. His body floated half a meter off the ground, yuan qi that was visible to the human eye rapidly converging into his body.

“Liquefy, there’s only the last step left…”

Ye Qingyu bit his teeth.

The convergence of the yuan qi made him feel as if his body was being torn apart, piece by piece. Within the desert in his dantian, slowly, sand began drifting away into all directions. A pillar of light rose into the sky, illuminating the vast lands all around. Within the center of the light pillar, an indistinct sound of water flowing could be heard.

This was the most important step, to turn [Yuan Qi Kindling] into liquid.

Ye Qingyu did not hesitate in the slightest.

Ye Qingyu allowed the yuan qi within this courtyard to rush into his body, not moving in the slightest. Maintaining his consciousness, he did not allow the pain to make him faint. Using the mantra, he directed the yuan qi that had entered into his body to converge upon the light pillar in the desert.

Time went so slow it was as if time had stopped entirely.

He did not know how much time had passed, before this pillar of light began to pale.

Within the black courtyard, the wind pillar that was crazily howling and twisting, also began to be dispersed.

When Ye Qingyu entered into the state of inner vision again, he discovered that the yellow sands that had been dispersed were now once again covering everything. It was as if nothing had happened. He could no longer sense the [Yuan Qi Kindling] that was hidden deep beneath the rocky grounds.

“This is… What happened? Could I have failed the process of turning it to liquid?”

Ye Qingyu was afraid.

However, the next instant, a clear spring soundlessly emerged from beneath the yellow grounds. Drop by drop, it continued to nourish the surrounding yellow sands…

“Yuan qi spring!”

Ye Qingyu could not help but be taken aback, not suppressing his shout of joy.

This was the yuan qi spring!

He had managed to turn [Yuan Qi Kindling] into liquid!

Not only had he planted an eye of a spring under the rocky ground, but the water from the spring had already began to spread. This result was so much better than what he had originally predicted, completing the entire process in one step. Very little people were able to accomplish this directly after turning [Yuan Qi Kindling] into liquid, to also cause the yuan qi spring to nourish the desert.

The Spirit spring spilling out, was a true sign that you had reached the Spirit spring stage.

From this moment on, Ye Qingyu had completely stepped into the Spirit spring stage.

He was only at the early stages of one Spirit spring, but as long as he continued to cultivate and the waters continued to spill, to reach the middle stages or high stages was not a problem.

Exiting from the state of inner vision. Ye Qingyu began jumping up and down in triumph.

He had finally reached this day.

Previously, reaching the peak of the body refinement stage signified that he was already firmly on the path of martial cultivation. And right now, finally entering into the Spirit spring stage represented that he had attained the next level, opening the door and becoming a true ‘martial artist’.

As he recovered from his emotional stage, Ye Qingyu turned to look at the [Inexorable spear] beside him. With a gesture of his hands and a surge of yuan qi the [Inexorable spear] was grabbed firmly in his hands.

With a will of his heart, the long spear automatically flew into his hands.

He was right now learning how to control yuan qi to interact with objects.

In the battle, Qin Wushuang could, using the yuan qi in his body, control the [Great Zhou sword] to perfection, as if it were a part of his arm, the power extremely great. Right now, Ye Qingyu had also reached the one Spirit spring stage so in theory he could also use yuan qi to control weapons.

Ye Qingyu tested it right now, trying to discover the secrets behind using yuan qi to control objects.

He very quickly discovered that doing so exhausted yuan qi at a rapid rate.

After a martial artist entered the Spirit spring stage, every time he used yuan qi, the yuan qi was spent from inside the spring in his dantian. The more yuan qi used, the less yuan qi that would be within the Spirit spring. If the yuan qi was completely exhausted, then a long process was needed to recover the yuan qi. According to the scrolls, spending all the yuan qi within the body was quite harmful for a martial artist.

Extremely strong yuan qi battle techniques were extremely effective to kill or injure but needed a high amount of yuan qi. After using such a technique, it was very possible that it could exhaust all the yuan qi in your body, causing you not to be able to continue using such a technique. For example, after continuously using the [Ten Thousand Kill], Qin Wushuang was not able to use it for a third time.

After practicing for a while, Ye Qingyu placed his attention on solidifying the air.

According to theory, after entering the one Spirit spring stage, one was able to solidify the air. During the battle, Qin Wushuang floated in midair and avoided Ye Qingyu’s strikes. From a high position, he constantly struck killing blows, forcing Ye Qingyu into a troublesome position.

After trying for several times, the legs of Ye Qingyu finally left the ground shakily, beginning to float.

“Haha, interesting. Does this mean that I can fly in the later stages?”

Ye Qingyu started crying in excitement.

The sensation was really too fantastic.

He activated the yuan qi within his body, continuing to rise. Although his figure was shaky, he did not fall down.

Half a meter……

One meter……

Two meter……

Four meters……

The figure of Ye Qingyu began to float, higher and higher.

Within the world in the dantian, the waters of Spirit spring began bubbling as if it was boiling. Surging and gushing, the clear Spring waters turned into a white mist, entering into the four limbs and every part of the body, bringing an endless energy to the body.

This white mist was known as the inner yuan.

Inner yuan was namely the true energy source of yuan qi martial artists.

Very quickly, Ye Qingyu’s figure was eight meters off the ground.

Considering the fact that he was getting closer and closer to the top of the wall, a strange thought appeared in his mind.

If he could float so high, then did this not mean he could just jump out of the courtyard he was imprisoned in?

He could not help but try it.

At this time—

“I advise you not to do that…” a voice said from the other side of the wall.