Chapter 57 - 54: The Terrifying Black Water Forest

He focused on feeling the presence of those luminous bodies and their chaotic states of mind. Soon he discovered one or two pieces of Qi energy were flying toward the core of his Dantian where his mind resided. His heart trembled slightly, but he managed to suppress his excitement, keeping his mind firmly in place. Sure enough, after a while, more than a dozen groups of Qi energy flew over, merging with the previous pieces, emitting even brighter light. A faint warmth began to gather in Su Chen’s Dantian. Suddenly, he understood that his mind was the key to attracting these energies. Although he couldn’t control the Qi energy directly, he could use his mind to attract it. With this newfound understanding, he more freely controlled his mind to attract more luminous Qi energy. Soon, in his Dantian, he gathered a large white liquid mass. As he carefully inspected it with his mind, he couldn’t help but rejoice. This was it, the Beast’s Qi Sea was finally taking shape! After half an hour, Su Chen, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly shuddered as a blinding white light erupted from his lower abdomen, overshadowing the glow of the beast oil lamp within the room! "Phew!" He exhaled heavily and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His mood had never felt so refreshing! "The Beast’s Qi Sea, I can finally form it. Now, as long as I follow the cultivation path of the Proud Celestial Profound Scripture and operate the micro-cosmic orbit in meditation, I can master the trick of controlling Qi energy at will!" Thinking of mastering the trick to instantly channel Qi energy throughout his body and transform it into the power for attribute skills, Su Chen trembled with excitement! "Father, I can do it. I will not disappoint you!" He crawled back onto the bed, excitedly studying the special Qi energy circulation paths illustrated in the Proud Celestial Profound Scripture. The obscure and difficult acupuncture points and meridians, the winding Qi energy routes, were gradually being memorized in his mind as time passed... In the depth of the night, everyone in the Su Family Mansion was asleep, except for Su Hutian and his son, who were still awake and busy. Su Hutian turned around, glancing at his bandage-covered back, a trace of pain on his lips, yet there seemed to be an inexplicable comfort. Just thinking of Su Chen being able to practice the rare third-level Cultivation Technique made him feel all his suffering was worth it. Indeed, he had taken great risks to obtain that Proud Celestial Profound Scripture by slaying a level-five Spirit Beast in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range. But a level-five Spirit Beast was an incredibly frightening entity; even with the Dragon-slaying Battle Saber, he was severely injured. Returning to the Su Mansion, he changed clothes and washed off all the bloodstains before giving the scripture to Su Chen, though when he left, the wound on his back still threatened to reopen. "That boy must be trying to form the Beast’s Qi Sea now, haha. Back then, it took me a whole month to succeed..." Su Hutian bore the pain, a gentle smile appearing on his lips. Late in the night, moonlight spread across the yard outside the window, shimmering like silver-white waves. Tree shadows swayed gently in the night breeze, creating an almost dreamlike scene. Inside the small room, Su Chen sat cross-legged on the bed, an air of tranquility on his still youthful face. He was attempting to circulate the Beast’s Qi energy through the micro-cosmic orbit, but due to limited comprehension and having never trained in this manner before, he had yet to succeed. The liquid ocean of Beast’s Qi energy was finally controlled by his mind, with a small part being separated and directed to the specific routes described in the Proud Celestial Profound Scripture, only to encounter difficulties midway. Due to his young age, his bones and meridians were far smaller than those of children his age, making the Qi energy circulation very strenuous. After half an hour, he had only completed less than one-tenth of the micro-cosmic orbit. He mused that if he continued at this pace, completing one cycle wouldn’t happen until dawn. By then, his body’s various functions would probably decline, leading to an outcome of failure. As these thoughts crossed his mind, his focus wavered, diminishing his control over the Qi energy. The Qi energy, which was initially flowing through each path at a constant speed, suddenly slowed down considerably! However, as the Qi energy’s speed decreased, Su Chen suddenly felt that the pressure on his internal meridians also lessened significantly. Most surprisingly, he seemed to be able to control the distribution of Qi energy into different sizes and circulate them at different speeds! His heart trembled, only to be followed by an intense joy. Since the body’s meridian structure varies, attributes such as thickness, size, and thinness all affect the flow of Qi energy. Generally, larger meridians allow more Qi energy to pass through at the same speed, whereas narrower meridians block some of it, making the micro-cosmic orbit’s operation less smooth. Now that he could control the Qi energy’s size and speed, he could selectively match the Qi flow with the meridian pathways, achieving the shortest possible micro-cosmic orbit operation time. With joy in his heart, Su Chen’s mind quickly calmed. He sat steadily, relying on the complex meridian operation diagrams memorized in his mind, firmly controlling the Qi energy, segregating it into different sizes, and passing them at various speeds through each meridian. Instantly, an extremely comfortable sensation emerged. It was as if his entire body was filled with streams of warmth, and as these warm currents passed through his meridians and acupoints, the oppression and discomfort disappeared. Su Chen felt like he was immersed in a tub of warm water, from his feet to his head, completely enveloped in cozy heat. Where the Qi energy flowed, all the turbid and waste gases were repelled and dispersed, bringing a refreshing clarity to his mind! After another two hours, Su Chen, who had been meditating, shrugged his shoulders and let out a long breath! The breath turned into a faint black mist, quickly dissipating into the air. "Ah, how comfortable!" Su Chen opened his eyes, reached up to wipe the sweat, but found not a single drop on his forehead. He hesitated momentarily before a gleam appeared in his eyes, "So the micro-cosmic orbit also has the effect of reducing sweat, haha!" He glanced outside the window, estimating it to be around two or three in the morning. He noticed the micro-cosmic orbit’s speed had increased by at least twice compared to before. This was a very significant improvement; incredible. He decided to spend a few hours every day running the micro-cosmic orbit to enhance his control over Qi energy, and dedicate a few more hours to physical training, strengthening his body, expanding his meridian routes, and accelerating the micro-cosmic orbit’s speed. As if he had just woken from a restful sleep, Su Chen felt no drowsiness at all, with his body functions reaching a saturation level he had never experienced before, full of vitality. He energetically performed a set of Xingyi boxing techniques his father taught him, noticing a greater sense of ferocity than before. Then, under the faint morning light, he leaned on the desk to draft a simple training schedule. Time flowed swiftly. Unbeknownst to him, dawn broke, a rooster crowed outside the window. Su Chen opened the door, gazing at the faint morning light on the horizon, feeling a new sense of brightness and vastness before his eyes. "From today onwards, I, Su Chen, will be different. I will forge ahead towards my goal!" He clenched his fist, his young face brimming with confidence and hope.... Time flew by, and three years passed quickly. Our protagonist, Little Su Chen, was now walking on the path to the Black Water Forest, his back carrying a simple bundle. Inside were some ready-to-eat provisions and a leather water pouch. He wore a light gray training suit, and his muscles were much more developed than those of his peers, drawing the astonished gazes of others.