Wang Shen knew what sort of hell was in store for the people of Earth. Every single nation, every single citizen, would be impacted in sinister ways by the apocalypse.

The change would be rapid, impacting around fifty percent of the population in the first few days. Some people would turn rabid within hours on contact; others would be more gradual.

It varied from person to person, but within a week, half the population would be zombified.

Wang Shen had his phone light out, sweeping around with it as he moved swiftly from place to place. He navigated swiftly through the rocky outcrop, climbing to the place where he knew the herb would spawn.

The fast-acting changing atmosphere of the Earth would impact plants the fastest. The plants would take in the effects of the apocalypse and evolve first. Wang Shen intended to be there on first contact.

He reached the Heavenly Cures after a few more minutes of searching. The pretty flowers were sitting near a few bushes, looking just as he remembered. Blood red, colorful, and full of life, perfectly representing the flower that would save humanity from zombification.

Wang Shen reached for it, plucking a few for himself first. The apocalypse had just begun, and with it, boundless qi spread across the Earth.

I better decide what to cultivate now, Wang Shen thought to himself. It was the perfect occasion to cultivate, being alone in the mountains amongst nature. What technique should I prioritize?

He thought back to his earlier years in the apocalypse. Wang Shen had ended up cultivating multiple techniques, which had hurt his chances of perfecting one. He’d eaten monster core after monster core in the beginning, frantic in his search to improve his techniques.

It had cost him too much in the end, as he was only able to reach the Nascent Soul level. His soul had been too fragmented to take the next step towards immortality, creating his Saint Soul. Wang Shen hadn’t been able to achieve the final step in his last life and severely regretted his decisions.

Wang Shen knew what he had to do. He would cultivate the Mind to Qi to Body technique, to solidify his baseline and improve his future chances. The path to immortality was long and tedious, but getting the correct head start would matter the most in the long run.

Wang Shen sat down underneath a rocky outcrop where he would be safe from prying eyes. Taking the flowers out of his backpack, he laid them before him and started to channel his qi.

Extracting the energy from the Heavenly Cures required the utmost concentration, for one single misstep could result in internal injuries to his meridians. The unique flowers contained qi so pure and compact that a single liquid drop formed could heal any external wound, save for severed limbs.

Wang Shen steadied his breathing and focused on directing his qi to all the body meridians. The first time he had done this, he had almost died from having to use the reserves of his life energy. However, this time he had the Heavenly Cures to supplement his cultivation.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Expelling the impurities from his body would take him around three hours. It was a tedious process, filling his body with pure energy and redirecting it. But by doing so, he was slowly cleansing the evil fumes and impure energies from his body. His back was stained with sweat as it took every fiber of his being to concentrate.

Black threads of ethereal qi seeped out of his body, condensing into a spherical shape in front of him. All the toxins were leaving his body. At the same time, Wang Shen felt a burning sensation as if he submerged under boiling water. His skin started glowing a bright molten red as his body temperatures rose abnormally fast.

He was now undergoing the annealing phase of the cultivation process. His muscles, now stripped of impurities, were reknitting themselves to form stronger bonds. His physical strength had substantially surpassed that of an average human. Wang Shen’s remained closed as he focused on his qi foundation, maintaining his intense concentration.

It was time.

A surge of energy gathered around Wang Shen. His body was beginning to undergo the transformation phase as enough qi had been circulated throughout his body. He could feel himself flowing with energy as his cleansed meridians aligned. The amount of qi filling his vessel was enormous. He thought he was about to burst.

A flush of hot steam exploded from his body as all the impurities finally left. The black sphere of impure qi hardened and fell to the rocky ground with a thud, leaving a fist-sized impression in the dirt. Meanwhile, Wang Shen was gasping from the strenuous amount of effort that he had just gone through.

A feeling of exuberation flowed into his body. He had broken through to the early Qi Condensation stage, the most basic level of cultivation. This time, he had done it without ending up on the edge of death’s door.

But something was different this time. There was still an abundance of pure qi left in the Heavenly Cures. This was something he had not expected. It made sense though, the first time he had cultivated, he had been done it without the help of strong medicinal qi from the blood-red plants.

Could it be possible that he could breakthrough again? Wang Shen was torn. One half of him wanted him to continue; the other half deemed it too dangerous. He was stuck. If he succeeded in breaking through again, he would be miles ahead of any cultivator. But if he failed, he risked being set back for two months as it would take time for his meridians to heal.

It didn’t take him long to decide. The reward was worth the risk.

Assuming a meditative state once more, he closed his eyes. He focused on internalizing the pure medicinal qi from the Heavenly Cures. Wang Shen reopened his meridians and allowed the energy to flow into his veins. The same burning sensation was here again, though this time, it was more significant in intensity.

He gritted his teeth. The most crucial part was finally at hand. Wang Shen knew that he needed to direct the qi to break through from the rest of his body. The foreign energy that originated from the outside world condensed in his mind and traveled throughout his body, but the final step of integration needed to be taken. Wang Shen prepared himself to let go of the tension within his body, to make his body accept the excess medicinal qi from the Heavenly Cures.

Then, he let go.

All of the pent of energy integrated into perfect harmonious existence within his body all at once. Wang Shen felt the burning sensation of his body fall off as his mind, body, and qi became whole.

He had successfully risen from early to mid stage Qi Condensation.

Wang Shen couldn’t help but grin in triumph. The hardest part of the technique had been successfully achieved. He’d begun cultivating the Mind to Qi to Body technique, entirely altering his relationship to qi permanently.

Wang Shen took off his clothes and got out some water to rinse out his body. Then, he took his gym clothes from his backpack and put them on. He felt refreshed and had almost started laughing when he heard a guttural growl sound directly in front of him.

Wang Shen instantly shifted into combat mode.

He could feel killing intent.