Chapter 280: A Luxurious Starting Line
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Big Brother Yun, where are the Golden Dragons dancing around you? Can you make them appear again?”
The thing that made the deepest impression on Tang Meng was the nine dancing Golden Dragons. It was too majestic and domineering. Everything else paled in comparison.
Ling Yun could only laugh bitterly in reply. No trace of Immortal Spiritual Energy was left in Ling Yun without the support of the Emperor Brush. He had reverted to his original form.
Ling Yun did not have the slightest tinge of regret. He had already benefited tremendously from this anyway!
Not only did Ling Yun manage to destroy the strong enemy from Niu Fenjiao, he had also ma.s.sacred the Heaven-ranked killers from the a.s.sa.s.sins Organization!
Ling Yun used the omnipotent powers of Heaven to do a thorough internal cleansing of his comrades, providing them with the best condition to cultivate henceforth.
He managed to find the Yinyang Gra.s.s and Longxian Gra.s.s. He had also used the divine sense to explore the Crater so that he could make preparations.
However, these were all secondary. The most critical discovery was that Qin Qiuyue, who was already at the Xiantian Realm, was his secret protector! He had given her a ma.s.sive amount of Immortal Spiritual Energy and had done an internal cleansing for her as well.
Ling Yun could easily discern Qin Qiuyue’s true power with the divine sense. While he could not distinguish between Houtian and Xiantian realms, he was an expert at distinguis.h.i.+ng Physique Tempering Stage and Qi Cultivation.
Qin Qiuyue was probably at in the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation Level Three from Ling Yun’s observation. Qin Qiuyue could have easily killed the a.s.sa.s.sins Organization with a single stroke had the Emperor Brush not decided to lend a helping hand last night.
Ling Yun now understood the difference between Houtian Realm and Xiantian Realm.
No matter which world he was in, it all boiled down to four key stages in cultivation — Cultivating Essence into Qi, Cultivating Qi into Spirit, Cultivating Spirit into Emptiness and Cultivating Emptiness into the Harmonic Way.
Everyone had to go through these four stages no matter which school of martial arts they belonged to. The only difference was in the categorization.
Ling Yun’s current Physique Tempering Stage was equivalent to Cultivating Essence into Qi stage. The different stages — Physique Tempering Stage One, Two, Three — were purely categorizations of the body’s physical hardness. Ling Yun would be able to cultivate his Spiritual Energy or Life Energy once he reached Physique Tempering Stage Four.
At this stage, the cultivation would be focused mainly on the energy center found under the navel amongst other meridians. The pract.i.tioner’s body would transform from one that was innately reliant on absorbing spiritual energy to one that could generate spiritual energy on its own. This essentially meant that one could fight without fear of depletion of spiritual energy.
After the Qi Cultivation stage, the amount of spiritual energy that the body could generate would increase with time. The pract.i.tioner could then proceed to use the spiritual energy to aid in his advancement of stages. He need only open up the governor and conception vessels to enter the Realm of the Unity of Universe and Mankind.
That would be equivalent to Huaxia’s ancient ranking of Xiantian Realm.
Pract.i.tioners of the Xiantian Realm would be able to meditate and return back to the most pristine state of being. Pract.i.tioners of this realm would appear as ordinary common men if they deliberately chose to hide their skills.
That was exactly why Ling Yun could not discern Qin Qiuyue’s strength as a Xiantian master.
Qi Cultivation Stage was actually the second stage: Cultivating Qi into Spirit.
Pract.i.tioners who attained this stage would have their own divine sense which differed from sect to sect.
Take Qin Qiuyue for example. She was at Xiantian Realm Level Two; her maximum range of her divine sense was about two hundred meters.
Ling Yun was temporarily granted the power of a Qi Cultivation Stage Nine while wielding the Emperor Brush last night. His divine senses had covered over nine kilometers, which encompa.s.sed the entire mountain range of Dragon Mountain and Nancui Peak!
That was how Ling Yun discovered Qin Qiuyue’s presence at the Zhuang Family’s woods.
The divine sense could not be fooled by a mere piece of cloth; Ling Yun instantly knew that was his mother protecting him in the dark. She would have came to his aid had the Emperor Brush failed him.
The mystery surrounding Qin Qiuyue’s calm disposition when faced with Ling Yun’s sudden change was solved in that instant.
A Xiantian Master could obtain anything easily.
Qin Qiuyue led a humble life because she chose to live that way. That was why she showed no sign of surprise when Ling Yun obtained the riches and status in such a short time frame.
Ling Yun, however, was still baffled with why she made that choice. His instincts told him that it most likely related to the secluded sects and the great change in the Qin Family eighteen years ago mentioned by Cao Shanshan.
Of course, the biggest reward of tonight was the transformation of Ning Lingyu’s innate spiritual body into an immortal spiritual body.
Ning Lingyu’s speed of cultivation would even be comparable to Ling Yun’s with the amount of Immortal Spiritual Energy her body absorbed.
He had transplanted the s.h.i.+chiyou herb into his own backyard. There would be tremendous improvement to his cultivation speed with the s.h.i.+chiyou herb protected by the Spirit Gathering Formation in such close proximity.
He had engraved the Spirit Gathering Formation onto the Jade Box and had created his own Spatial Ring.
Moreover, the three key acupuncture points on Ling Yun had also absorbed plenty of Immortal Spiritual Energy. It would bring him countless benefits in the future, especially when he reached the Physique Tempering Stage Four.
It was almost impossible to be granted such a luxury even in the Cultivation World. What more could he ask for?
Ling Yun had won big on the starting line this time.
That was a tinge of regret having spent so much time transforming Ning Lingyu’s body. He would truly be the king of the world had he spent that time on drawing up thousands of high-level talisman charms.
Zhuang Meifeng and the other two beauties giggled without any regrets at Ling Yun’s frustration.
The Ling Yun entwined by nine dragons had indeed been majestic, as if he was the Emperor and their supreme master, but that felt unreal and even struck panic in their hearts.
Ling Yun had since resumed his normal leisurely appearance. It was this Ling Yun they fell in love with and felt most at ease.
Tang Meng pondered for a short while before asking again excitedly, “Big Brother Yun, does that mean you are invincible now? We can do whatever we want now, right?”
Ling Yun was speechless at Tang Meng’s naivety. He was thoroughly humbled last night. There was so much more he had to work for.
He could not even explore the Crater when his divine sense was at its peak. How could he even spare a thought for the Great Wall or even for the Emperor Qin?
This planet was too mysterious! There were so many powerful and incredible existences. Ling Yun had learned a great lesson in humility.
Ling Yun would have died last night if it was not for Qin Qiuyue and the Emperor Brush.
“Ahem! To be honest, last night was an accident…” Ling Yun trailed off, his face reddening in embarra.s.sment. That was a rare occurrence.
“As long as you are unharmed…” Zhuang Meifeng looked at Ling Yun affectionately.
Zhuang Meifeng did not care anymore after all that had happened. She would be his woman no matter whether Ling Yun was a G.o.d or a Devil.
Surprisingly, Xiao Meimei and Cao Shanshan did not have any questions for him either.
“Don’t you have any other questions for me?” Ling Yun asked, bewildered.
Ling Yun looked pointedly towards Tang Meng.
The other four of them could have their reasons, but Ling Yun did not believe that Tang Meng, the king of gossip, would actually not ask anything.
“What is there to ask? Big Brother Yun is still Big Brother Yun. I am fine as long as I know you are invincible.” Tang Meng chuckled.
“Big Brother Yun, when are you going to teach martial arts to me? I have to beef up,” Tie Xiaohu asked while rubbing his head.
“Well, I was going to teach you yesterday night, but your sister-in-law met with a situation,” Ling Yun replied delightedly and shot a glance at Zhuang Meifeng on purpose.
Zhuang Meifeng smiled shyly as she stole a peek at Cao Shanshan. “Nonsense, I am not his sister-in-law yet.”
Sure enough, Cao Shanshan gave Ling Yun an I-will-get-even-with-you-later glare.
Xiao Meimei remained on the fence, giggling and swaying her hot body.
What happened? They seem to have an understanding of sorts. The hairs behind Ling Yun’s back stood up as a chill ran down his spine.
“Ahem!” Ling Yun coughed in a bid to break the awkward silence. “The sun is rising. Let’s go practice some martial arts,” Ling Yun said to Tie Xiaohu.