Chapter 82 - 40 Hours of Suffering

Chapter 82: 40 Hours of Suffering "Ritta..." Outside the formation, Uriel stood with a worried expression. She could barely make out the figures within the fog-like Qi swirling around them, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t hear the beast-like growls escaping Henrietta’s lips. From the sound of it, Henrietta was enduring some form of intense torture, making Uriel feel as though her heart was being squeezed in fright and worry. But still, she didn’t disobey Xu Tao’s command. She stood guard, not letting anyone approach the three formations... Not that it mattered. Even if she didn’t stand watch, no one would be able to step into the formations anyway. To break through the Nine Gazes Heaven-Blocking Formation, one would need to be at the Middle Realm, at the very least. On Earth, no one had even recognized such a level existed—let alone reached it. Thus, there was literally no one capable of disturbing them right now. That meant success or failure rested solely on Henrietta’s will. Could she hold on despite the pain? Or would she fail midway and fall short of the target strength? That was the only question. Inside the formation, the two were no longer aware of sound. Henrietta was in too much pain—just keeping hold of her consciousness was taking everything she had. She could barely feel her cultivation rising... but nothing beyond that. As for Xu Tao—he was sweating bullets. The procedure he was performing on Henrietta required so much precision and finesse that he couldn’t afford even a moment’s rest. If he failed to adjust his strength by even the smallest fraction, his disciple’s body would explode from the damage. "Expand the 72nd meridian by 0.05%, then tighten the gap between the 3rd and 6th..." "The Middle Dantian is damaged. I need to heal it... The Upper Dantian needs to expand by 3%..." "The Qi in the formation is starting to get low. Should I slow the procedure...? No, I’ll use my own to fill the gap." Countless thoughts cycled through his mind every passing second. He didn’t have the capacity to focus on anything else. His concentration was at its peak, shutting out everything unrelated to Henrietta’s advancement. Hours passed, unnoticed by either of them. Xu Tao was still slowly, forcefully raising Henrietta’s cultivation, following each step in precise sequence. A stable foundation was far more important than simply reaching a high cultivation level. For the Body Refinement (Bronze) Stage, this meant reinforcing muscles, expanding meridians, and mastering martial arts—External Cultivation Techniques that matched one’s physical attributes. The Qi Gathering (Silver) Stage marked the beginning of true Internal Cultivation: gathering Qi to fill the expanded Dantians, and using it to generate a stable "flow" throughout the body. This "flow" was critical to the next stage—Golden Core (Gold). To break through from Qi Gathering to Golden Core, one had to encapsulate that inner flow into a single core in the Dantian. From there, the core could generate new flows, which would in turn raise the cultivator’s level. Doing this for yourself was already hard enough. Xu Tao had to do all this—not for himself—but for someone else! ’Done...’ Xu Tao whispered internally, having completed the groundwork. Tightened muscles, flexible joints, expanded meridians and Dantians—Henrietta’s foundation was solid. At that moment, Henrietta officially stepped into Qi Gathering Stage 1—but it was a Stage 1 that already had the makings of a Stage 10 foundation. ’Now we just need to gather Qi and pour it into her Dantian, turning it into her own...’ The problem? Even with the Qi Gathering Array, the ambient Qi in the air was getting low. Not wanting to prolong Henrietta’s suffering, Xu Tao had no choice. He tapped into a fraction of a fraction of his own Qi. Carefully, he injected it into Henrietta’s body. But the reaction was... unexpected. "AAAAAGH!" Suddenly, Henrietta’s body burst into red flames. The reaction was stronger than he anticipated—and the reason was clear. "Her Blazing Wrath Fiend half is reacting violently to my Yang Qi...!" The flames were intense enough to burn away her robe in an instant, reducing it to ashes. If Xu Tao didn’t act fast, Henrietta would burn up like a candle—consumed by her own constitution. "Not on my watch!" Using his free left hand, Xu Tao formed a set of hand seals. A moment later, the Evil Banishing Array stirred into action! Henrietta was half Evil Spirit—so this formation could be used not just to block outside interference, but also to contain what lurked inside. Blue chains erupted from the ground, binding Henrietta’s body tightly. PSHHH! The sound of flames being extinguished echoed through the space as the fire died down. "Steam" rose from her body—residual energy from the Yang flames colliding with the Yin-element chains. Within moments, the flames had completely vanished. Even amid the chaos, Xu Tao hadn’t stopped the process. He continued injecting his Qi into her meridians. With the solid foundation now in place, her level rose rapidly—until it finally stopped at Qi Gathering Stage 10 . "Now... to create a Golden Core..." Xu Tao muttered, shifting his stance and placing both hands against Henrietta’s back. Though the worst of the pain had subsided, Henrietta didn’t move or speak. Her half-closed eyes still burned with willpower, but she teetered between consciousness and unconsciousness. Her body was still bound by the Yin Chains of the Evil Banishing Array. Since forming the Golden Core was a delicate process, Xu Tao first dismissed the chains. As soon as the Qi flow inside her stabilized, he began. Using a strand of True Qi, he guided Henrietta’s Qi flow three full circuits around her body, passing through all three Dantians. This wasn’t to further expand them—but to locate the optimal point for her Golden Core. For cultivators, this choice often dictated the path they would walk—their Dao. Forming it in the Lower Dantian (around the navel) favored Internal Techniques and hand-to-hand combat. The Middle Dantian lent itself to External techniques, especially those using bladed weapons—swords, spears, or Dao blades. The Upper Dantian was for those who pursued spellcraft, formations, and abstract techniques. For Henrietta, being half Blazing Wrath Fiend, the Lower Dantian was clearly the most compatible. Once confirmed, Xu Tao wasted no time. He gathered her Qi flow into the Lower Dantian, rapidly condensing all of it into a single orb. This part of the process wasn’t painful... unless it failed. Failure meant the gathered Qi would rampage through the body, searching for an outlet before dispersing—causing massive internal injuries. But the one doing it was Xu Tao. If it were anyone else, there’d be risks attached. But Xu Tao made impossibilities look effortless. As easily as rolling a bead in his palm, he compressed the swirling Qi into a flawless blue sphere. But it didn’t end there. He gradually shrank the orb further, compressing it again and again, until it began to radiate a faint golden glow. Only then did Xu Tao exhale, finally relaxing his shoulders. "Golden Core... formed." A soft golden light pulsed around Henrietta’s navel—her lower dantian. It was done!