"What?" Ling Han echoed in disbelief, eyes wide with shock.
"Young master, did I mishear you? You want me to destroy your dantian?" He asked again for confirmation.
"Yes, Uncle Ling. That is my request," Long Tian confirmed, a tranquil smile on his face.
"No, young master, I won't do that. Do you understand the consequences of destroying your own dantian?" Ling Han questioned, his tone laced with deep concern.
"Of course, I know Uncle Ling, but that's okay, just do it," Long Tian insisted.
"No, I won't do it. You're aware that if I destroy your dantian, you won't be able to cultivate, right? Why do you want this?" Ling Han asked, furrowing his brows.
"Come on, Uncle Ling, just do what I say. Trust me, I will be fine," Long Tian implored.
"Unless you give me a reason, I won't do it," Ling Han said firmly.
Long Tian sighed, "Alright, I will tell you," he said.
Then he stood up and showed the book to Ling Han. "It's because of this training method, Uncle Ling. The Thousand Stars training method. This method requires the user to have a broken dantian," he explained.
"And you place your trust in this?" Ling Han's eyebrows furrowed further, struggling to comprehend Long Tian's decision.
"I do. Why else would I venture to the Great Tianhai library and negotiate with Shi Huang? It's all for this book," Long Tian responded, holding the book.
Ling Han remained skeptical, yet he couldn't ignore the earnestness in Long Tian's words and demeanor. He had never seen him like this before.
But Long Tian's request seemed bizarre to him. Destroying the dantian... that meant he would lose his cultivation base and become an ordinary person.
"Are you certain, young master?" His voice was heavy with worry.
"I am certain, Uncle Ling," Long Tian affirmed, his expression resolute.
After a moment of heavy silence, Ling Han relented. "Very well. For you, I shall do this."
Long Tian nodded and settled into a cross-legged position, baring his upper body.
Ling Han's fist shimmered with a brilliant blue aura, but his face mirrored his internal conflict.
"Do not hesitate, Uncle Ling. I am prepared," Long Tian reassured him.
Drawing a deep breath, Ling Han warned, "Do not resist. This will be a harsh blow."
"Okay," Long Tian nodded.
With that, he punched Long Tian's chest with all his might.
Bang!
The ground trembled, and Long Tian's body was wracked with violent coughs as blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.
He writhed on the ground, enduring the unbearable pain. Inside his body, something like a thread connected to all the tissues in his body was severed, causing the energy contained within him to forcibly erupt from his body, causing him intense pain.
"Aaaaaaaargh!" he screamed loudly, veins on his forehead bulging due to the intense pain.
Ling Han watched with a heavy heart as Long Tian grappled with the excruciating pain. Although he had never experienced a shattered dantian himself, he had a thorough understanding of its ramifications.
The dantian functioned much like the human heart, not by circulating blood, but by directing the flow of Reiki energy throughout the body.
If damaged, this critical reservoir of energy would fail, causing the stored Reiki energy to lose its course, inflicting harm upon the body's other systems. Moreover, the vital cultivation base would vanish without trace.
In the long history of cultivation, no medicine or method has been found to heal a damaged dantian.
He was still very worried about this. If Long Tian was wrong about that book, then it would all be over.
**********
An hour had passed in the blink of an eye, and Long Tian now sat in a pool of moonlight, weakened and panting heavily. The sharp stabs of pain had dulled to a lingering ache, but the physical exhaustion weighed heavily upon him.
"So, how does it feel to be an ordinary man?" Ling Han asked quietly.
Long Tian replied between labored breaths, "I feel... frail, as if death lurks around the corner."
"And now, what is your plan?" Ling Han queried.
Long Tian didn't answer but instead picked up the Thousand Stars training method and opened it.
The first page contained the history of the book, but the second was blank. He kept flipping until page 29, all of which were blank.
Ling Han's expression broke into a cold sweat, "Young Master, all these pages are blank... Are you certain the training method truly exists?" He asked earnestly.
"Relax, Uncle Ling," Long Tian responded calmly.
He continued to flip through the pages until he reached page 54.
And when he turned the page again, a dim light emerged from the book.
Long Tian scrutinized it more carefully. It was a painting of billions of stars in the cosmos, so vivid it felt like the stars were genuinely embedded in the pages of the book.
Ling Han observed the proceedings attentively while Long Tian sat cross-legged, focusing on the painting.
He gradually immersed himself in the painting as if he were in the boundless cosmos, surrounded by a panorama of billions of stars.
Seconds later, he suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed onto the ground.
************
Time passed without knowledge of how long, or what happened in the outside world.
In the profound darkness, Long Tian opened his eyes to find himself floating amidst a star-filled cosmos.
He looked around to see a golden nebula that seemed to form a path.
He immediately began to float along the nebula.
The scenery was breathtaking. Yet, despite being in outer space, he felt no discomfort from the lack of oxygen; instead, he felt immensely comfortable.
After floating for a while, Long Tian halted in front of a colossal golden star.
He stood in awe, gazing at the star. Yet, all of a sudden, a mysterious force propelled him towards the star involuntarily.
As soon as he touched the star's surface, he was met with a burst of scalding star plasma.
"Aaaaaaaargh!" Long Tian screamed in agony.
It felt as if he was being incinerated alive, from his skin down to his internal organs. Yet, despite the intense heat, he didn't feel his skin or organs melting.
Inside his body, the dantian thread connecting all his organs began to reform. Still, it was no longer a thread but a more significant thread-shaped nebula filled with stars.
These nebulas connected with his organs, forming a new network.
The nebulas coalesced, forming a new dantian center—a galaxy!
While Long Tian's body was forming the new dantian, the stars outside began to move towards him, getting closer to the point of imminent collision.
Until a few seconds later, they collided!
Boom!
A massive explosion ensued, creating a hypernova. The beautiful scene transformed into utter chaos.
But soon after, the chaos was suddenly absorbed by Long Tian's body.
In a blink, the chaos vanished, and the place became a void without light.
***********
Meanwhile, Ling Han still watched over Long Tian. He had been unconscious for more than three hours.
All he could do was hope that the Thousand Stars training method would work. If not, Long Zhan would undoubtedly scold him.
"Gah!" Long Tian suddenly awoke.
Ling Han was startled but quickly approached Long Tian, "Young Master, are you alright?" He asked earnestly.
Long Tian didn't answer, instead panting heavily, looking to the left and right. He felt as though he had just woken up after a thousand-year slumber.
He then looked at Ling Han, "Uncle Ling, is that you?" He asked.
"It's me, young master, what's wrong?" Ling Han asked earnestly.
A grin spread across Long Tian's face, "I did it, Uncle Ling, I restored my dantian! It's even better than before," he exclaimed.
"What?" Ling Han was shocked.
Then he touched Long Tian's chest, and his expression became even more shocked. He could sense the presence of a dantian within Long Tian's body.
"Young Master, h-how did you repair your dantian?" He asked in disbelief.
"I don't know either. What I went through felt like a dream. The most important thing is I finally have the ability to absorb star energy!" Long Tian responded with a smirk.
***********
Meanwhile, in a car, Qin Chen and Ning Yuan were heading home after a long training session.
They were having a friendly chat.
But suddenly...
Rumble!
Bang!
Black lightning struck Qin Chen!