PS: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Three additional chapters tonight, seeking recommendations, favorites, monthly tickets, and support...
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Hou Niao made new discoveries in his cultivation.
He found that between his Middle Dantian and Lower Dantian, a mysterious vortex had appeared!
Practicing Energy Induction from both "Reference Sameness" and the Dragon and Tiger Meeting simultaneously advanced his middle and lower dantians at the same pace. This was his own little cultivation secret. Time waited for no one, and since he had yet to see any adverse effects, he naturally continued. The speed of Energy Induction was forty to fifty percent faster than normal, with changes visible to the naked eye. This was the motivation for him to persist.
He had practiced like this for nearly ten days in Jiangyou Town without any abnormalities; nearly ten days after arriving at the outer residence of the Jin City Sword Mansion, everything still went smoothly. This reassured him to fully dedicate himself and speed up his Energy Induction by sixty to seventy percent when compared to cultivating a single dantian.
This was the third day since he started giving his all and the first day after moving to a new residence following the disaster from within. Then, he discovered this strange change within his body.
A vortex appeared between the Middle Dantian and Lower Dantian, which is the position of the Purple Mansion and Huangting according to Daoist teachings.
"Huangting" symbolizes the void phenomenon in the Daoist internal cultivation practice. Yellow is the color of the center, and the court is the middle of the four directions; it's the cornerstone of Daoist inner secrets, becoming more important with higher realms and fundamental to how far a cultivator can go.
Of course, for cultivators below the Tongxuan Realm, they are still at the stage of focusing on meridians and dantians and have not yet come into contact with these inner secrets. The problem is, he had never read in any Daoist scripture about a vortex appearing at the location of the Huangting and Purple Mansion during the Energy Induction phase?
Hou Niao immediately realized that the backlash he had been worried about had arrived. After mysteriously acquiring the qualifications for cultivation and smoothly operating both dantians simultaneously, the price had finally come.
Moreover, he found that the forty to fifty percent of Spiritual Power that had gone missing was being sucked into this vortex and continued to be devoured. As long as he operated his cultivation technique, the vortex turned into a gaping maw that could never be filled...
His first reaction was to stop his dangerous method of cultivating both dantians. Between speed and his life, he chose life without hesitation.
Tragically, when he operated the cultivation technique with a single dantian, the vortex still appeared. Even more lethal was the fact that because of the single dantian operation, the vortex slowly deviated, causing him heart-wrenching pain in his internal organs; even without understanding the principle behind it, he knew that if he allowed it to deviate like this, the vortex could cause untold damage to his Purple Mansion.
This made it difficult for him to choose. Unless he stopped practicing, he had to operate both dantians simultaneously to ensure the vortex's alignment.
Is this the only path ahead, the solitary journey up Mount Hua?
On the surface, he had trained himself into a freak; in reality, all of this was unstoppable after making wishes at Anhe, and it was bound to happen sooner or later.
He was not one to blame others or fate. Upon understanding all this, at least he could comfort himself that realizing it sooner was much better than later. What if it had progressed too far...
Since it had already happened, he could only face it calmly. He could no longer return to the ordinary life of a mortal; his only choice was to keep moving forward, with no turning back.
He wanted to see what this vortex could bring him.
Without madness, there is no survival!
Demon Sect disciple Hou Niao had inadvertently begun to embrace the most fundamental philosophy of the Demon Sect: seeking wealth and honor amidst danger and pursuing longevity through killing!
Before killing others, one must first slay oneself!
Discarding all worries of gain and loss, he devotedly operated both his middle and lower dantians, while closely monitoring the vortex that seemed like a mysterious vertical eye, luring him with its endless temptations.
Dimly, he felt his Divine Soul being pulled inward by the vertical eye. He was well aware that if he stopped operating his cultivation technique, he could escape such temptation, but if he escaped this time, what about the next? He had to face it eventually; there was no escape!
So he let it be, determined to completely unravel the secrets of the vertical eye. That way, he wouldn't have to be frightened every time he cultivated and could enjoy the process to the fullest.
Under such pandering, it felt as if he had returned once again to that scene atop the Divine City's majestic altar, his divine soul floating and drifting, yearning for immortality...
"I've heard of habitual miscarriages, but habitual out-of-body experiences?"
The next moment, he felt as though he had arrived at a mysterious place, a narrow passageway; walls made of unknown material made him feel as if he were inside the veins of an animal? His vision was filled with nothing but red.
He had transformed into a soul body again, seamlessly blending with the environment, each complementing the other.
Hou Niao tried to discern his own form, his body so thin and nearly transparent that it seemed it could be blown away by a mere gust of wind; bereft of flesh and bone, it was entirely a wisp of energy.
The only new addition was the sword in his hand, that heavy longsword; only now, the sword too was purely an energy form, unstable, bending and breaking from time to time.
To say it was a sword was to perhaps mistake the object in his hand for a wisp of smoke.
Who am I? Where am I? Can I even return?
Having become a soul body, even his voice turned into a shrill screech, grating like the bottom of a pan.
He had no other option but to drift forward, hoping for an exit or to come across an elder Immortal who would be willing to serve him tea and water, take the helm, and hold the chamber pot... just as long as he could be let out.
Hou Niao had never thought there was anything to be proud of in being a human, but now he felt it; he was willing to pay any price, however great, just to return to an ordinary life.
In this state of anxiety and desire, he floated forward hesitantly until he suddenly felt a hint of danger?
It was a sensing between soul spirits.
He stopped drifting, intently watching ahead. Through the dimness, a soul spirit as ethereal as himself appeared in his sight, also brandishing a longsword that seemed barely there!
Moreover, he could feel very certainly the undisguised malice coming from this newly appeared soul spirit!
'Eat you, eat you, eat you...' That was what the soul spirit seemed to be conveying.
Hou Niao began to retreat, simultaneously begging for mercy, "When kindred spirits fallen from grace meet, why must they resort to mutual slaughter..."
However, he was still unfamiliar with this soul body and couldn't run as fast as the other, who quickly caught up. In the midst of the spectral howling, a sword of uncertain form and substance lunged at him.
At the same time, Hou Niao turned and countered with a swift slash of his broken sword...
This was a evenly matched struggle of two bumbling fighters. Hou Niao's swordsmanship was newly learned, but he had the foundation of sword skill and experience in killing. Yet he lost due to the instability of his soul body; many times his sword would pierce the other but fail to inflict serious damage due to lack of energy.
The vicious soul's sword technique was mediocre, but it had the advantage of a more solid soul body, able to withstand more attacks. Thus, the battle dragged on tediously, sticky and irksome...
The fight was by no means about skill; it was a struggle of will and energy. At last, before Hou Niao's energy was completely depleted, the soul spirit dissipated into smoke under his assault. Instinctively opening his mouth wide, he took a breath,
Huh, it felt like a full recovery?
Indeed,
The Great Dao harbors no illusions; ordinary feelings always spawn demons. Through the love of mountains, skylights are opened; through the insects, grass grows abundant. Trust in your cultivation, and in the Purple Mansion, whirlpools form.