Zayn continued to travel towards the cultivation side. Occasionally he would check and compare his position with Ryu's Map. As he was a newbie to reading maps and all of that, he wasted more time than necessary on these tasks, but at the same time, he became more and more proficient in these tasks.
Since Vown's departure, only a few hours passed. In these hours Zayn was coming closer and closer to his destination and simultaneously improved his fighting with Martial Skills and Movement Arts drastically.
And then finally he arrived at his destination. From the beginning, Zayn noticed that the Qi got purer, the deeper he went into the Python Beast Forest. And the Qi seemed to be collected by the natural cultivation side.
Zayn also sensed that the cultivation side wasn't the source of the Qi, it was just one gathering place.
When he saw the cultivation side, he was stunned by it. It was similar to a big pool on earth, with its foundation solely being out of rocks.
Furthermore, the temperature in the cultivation side was increased. The hot air, engulfing the side, made it feel far more like a vacation side than a cultivation side.
"Kid, this is it. This seems to be the cultivation side... What a disappointment... Well, what did I expect?"
"...? What? This is a fucking Onsen, why the would that be a disappointment?!? I already expected the cultivation side to be a living nightmare, but this... This is a resort!"
"Onsen? You sometimes spout the weirdest nonsense. Listen up, if you compare this cultivation side to those at the highest worlds, it wouldn't be even able to-"
As Infinite Star, once again, compared the situation to the higher worlds, Zayn just ignored him. He quickly undressed him and entered the cultivation side. Everything was put inside his inventory, except the Spatial Ring.
Infinite Star was infuriated by this action but quickly regained his calm.
The feeling of the cultivation side overwhelmed Zayn. It was a really enjoyable, calm and relaxing feeling.
He sat down, laying his back on a rock, which was also enjoyably hot. And started to relax. The cultivation side relieved his body from all the stress during the fights. And with the calming of his body, his mind also calmed down.
He took a well-earned break after countless battles against beasts. Right there and then he didn't think of anything. He just let himself go.
"Kid, what are you doing?!?" Infinite Star's screaming waked Zayn up again. Only a few breaths passed when Zayn started to relax.
"What the hell Infinite Star?!? Just let me relax a bit."
"Relax? Kid, you're here for training not for entertainment, don't forget that!"
"I know! But, why the rush? I could relax for a few minutes and then start to cultivate."
"Relax a few minutes? With that kind of work ethic, you'll never achieve greatness! Don't forget about out-"
"Ok, ok! Calm down! I'll cultivate." Zayn, obviously annoyed, wanted to start to cultivate when he remembered something.
"Ah, right!" Zayn pulled out a bag out of his inventory. "The Qi Pills from Teacher Leaf!"
He saw the 50 Qi Pills and wanted to use them as an aid in his cultivation. Adding the cultivation side, his cultivation speed should be monstrous.
"Hey, Infinite Star, can I just swallow all the Qi Pills at once? Or do I have to wait after every consumption?"
"No, don't worry, you can even consume them in one go. There isn't any restriction for you in that matter."
After hearing that, Zayn started to consume the 50 Qi Pills. Obviously, he wasn't able to swallow all of them at once. He always took a handful and swallowed them. In under a minute he consumed all 50 Qi Pills.
The Qi Pills started to dissipate and turned to Qi inside his body. At first, it was a comfortable feeling, but the more pills dissipated the more the feeling turned into a burning pain inside his body.
"What the hell?!? You told me that I wouldn't need to worry about consumption. Don't tell me you're mad because I ignored it before?!?"
"Calm down, kid! It's not like I'm trying to kill you. Don't forget, we're sharing this body. If you die, I die! The pain is only normal. A normal cultivator wouldn't be able to refine this Qi, or even endure the pain. With the Infinite Star Qi and your Zero Heart State, you can easily abuse the situation to your favor. Just start cultivating and enter the Zero Heart Realm!"
"All... right! Wake up me if anything comes up!"
Infinite Star's explanation calmed Zayn down and he swiftly entered the Zero Heart Realm. In this state, he was able to direct the Qi inside of him to refine it and at the same time absorb the Qi from the cultivation side.
This process went on and on.
.
.
.
On top of a tree, Vown was spectating all the spectacle.
He patiently watched, when out of the blue Zayn started to stuff himself with all the Qi Pills. As a reaction, Vown nearly shrieked out.
He was aware of the consequences of doing that. The body would start to burn up and burn the inside of the body completely, heck there were even many who exploded after consuming many Qi Pills.
Vown began to worry about the situation. Should he interfere? Jump in and forcefully absorb all the Qi?
But right then, when all his thoughts began to go crazy, he was able to calm himself down.
'It's Zayn we're talking about! He always does the impossible with ease. If he was confident in swallowing all of the Qi Pills, then I should also trust in his judgment. He knows what he's doing."
He regained his cool and continued to spectate.
After a few breaths, he noticed that Zayn was in pain. Vown could see him struggling there.
'What the hell?!? What was I even talking about? He always does the impossible?!? Nonsense! He doesn't know shit about the world and cultivation in general! What kind of teacher am I, to not interfere in this kind of situation?'
His thoughts began to go crazy. He was ready to jump in and take action, at the same time to discipline Zayn for doing something that reckless.
As he started to move a muscle, he noticed Zayn entering the Zero Heart Realm. Noticing that, he stopped all of his movements.
'Right! The Zero Heart Realm! In this state, he should be able to refine all this Qi, right? No, no, no. I need to trust in my student!'
He continued to spectate and was finally completely calmed down.
'WAIT! What if a beast emerges? Zayn isn't able to sense anything in that state. This reckless kid!'
Vown got serious after that. He put on his guard and tracked every little movement happening here. If any beast would emerge he was prepared.
.
.
.
With that, days passed. Zayn was still cultivating. No one and nothing interrupted him in the meantime. He just cultivated.
.
At some point, all the hot air in the surroundings disappeared and the hot spring turned into a normal lake. All the heat dissipated.
The Qi around Zayn began to concentrate around him.
He didn't absorb any Qi anymore. It just concentrated around him.
The Qi created a thick layer around Zayn. Zayn just calmly breathed in and calmly breathed out.
After a few breaths, the Qi began to go crazy. In a matter of seconds, the Qi was completely absorbed by Zayn.
His body began to glow up and heat up.
*Boom*
In the next instant, the glow and heat disappeared and a dull Qi explosion occurred.
A whole wave of Qi was released in that instant and Zayn slowly regained his consciousness again.
He strongly clenched his fist and tensed his whole body up. He clearly felt his strength growth. He reached the next Star in his cultivation.
'4-Star Body Refinement Realm! It feels great!'
"Kid, did you feel that?!?" Infinite Star excitingly yelled.
"What?"
"The Qi, did you feel it?"
"Qi? Do you mean my Qi or what?"
"NO! The Star Qi! Right at the moment of your breakthrough, I was able to use my spirit sense for a millisecond, and I sensed the Qi which you emitted! It's genuine Star Qi! A true Star is inside the forest, kid! We've hit a goldmine here!"
Infinite Star was incredibly excited about the discovery.