Chapter 81: Qi - Reinforcement Stage Reached (1)
Hmm.. Hmm..
I was cultivating the Drifting Dragon Breathing Method to its maximum output. But because of the nature of my Qi, no disturbance was created in the surroundings. The only disturbance was the curtain over the window frame swaying, even when no wind was blowing.
This was the biggest advantage I believed I had. I was born to be an assassin—the silent absorption of Qi. Unlike the state of flow, I had complete control over this because it depended on me whether I wanted to use the loneliness in my heart to create a net over my dantian. What this net or filter did was create a separate space—as far as I could understand for now. But who knew? It might also have other abilities that I was unaware of.
As the name of my Dao implied, the net of loneliness that covered my dantian absorbed all the sounds in the surroundings, including the sound of the raw Qi in the air colliding with my pure Qi inside my dantian, creating short friction. Though the friction was still there, the loneliness absorbed any sound that leaked from the aftermath of their collision.
It made others think that I was only sitting in meditation, but in reality, I was absorbing a huge, massive amount of spiritual energy from the air. I closed my eyes, visualizing my inner dantian. Inside it sat five buckets filled to the brim with Qi. If before my buckets were made of wood with holes and cracks, after the nourishment from the medicinal baths, the buckets had upgraded and were no longer wooden. Instead, the five buckets were now made of metal.
If others saw that I was visualizing my Qi Condensation levels with mortal buckets, they would surely banish me back to the mortal world.
A very slight smirk appeared on my lips.
But what could I do? As a mortal plus a commoner, the only tools I used almost every day were:
Water Bucket – A sturdy wooden or metal container used to carry water from wells, rivers, or storage jars. Essential for daily chores like cooking, cleaning, and watering plants.
Hoe – A farming tool with a flat, broad blade used for loosening soil, weeding, and cultivating crops. Often wielded by farmers and laborers.
Sickle – A curved blade tool designed for harvesting crops or cutting grass. Requires precision and strength to use effectively.
Grinding Stone – A heavy, circular stone used for grinding grains into flour or crushing herbs. A vital tool in many households for food preparation.
Wooden Bucket – A general-purpose container for carrying items such as grains, tools, or even waste. Often crafted from sturdy planks bound by iron or rope.
Broom – A simple tool made from bundled twigs or straw attached to a wooden handle, used for sweeping dust and debris from floors or courtyards.
Spade – A metal-bladed tool with a wooden handle, primarily used for digging, turning soil, or even minor construction work.
Millstone – A large, rotating stone used in pairs to grind grains into fine flour. Found in homes or mills where flour production is a daily necessity.
Chisel and Mallet – A set of simple woodworking tools used for carving and shaping wood, often by craftsmen or common laborers.
Rope Basket – A woven container made of flexible fibers, used for carrying goods, harvested crops, or even storing household essentials.
Since I was too young to handle other tools, my parents had only asked me to take the job of watering the fields. The bucket was the only tool I was most familiar with.
I also chose it because Elder Long had told me to visualize something I was most familiar with. He cautioned me against choosing any random weapon I had only heard stories about but never seen or used in reality—except in my imagination.
So, I went with my daily companion—a water bucket.
Meanwhile, from the records in the technique hall, I had read about people visualizing complete continents or domains. Some went as far as to visualize heaven, while others visualized the Dao. Some chose secret and ancient battlefields. Others chose ancient cultivators, even trying to visualize their ancestors.
Nonetheless, everyone who did this regretted their choice dearly.
In the early stages, this problem was not so visible. But as one progressed in their cultivation, the faults in their visualization started to show.
Hoo..
I started absorbing the Qi, and I faintly saw a fading silhouette of the sixth bucket. The spiritual energy came crashing toward me like a flood, but instead of pushing me away with its flow, my body acted like a sponge, absorbing the spiritual energy.
A breath of turbid Qi escaped my lips.
Slowly, I fluttered my eyes open. The world felt fresh in my eyes; everything had a faint luster to it. As my eyes adjusted to the light in the room, everything slowly returned to normal.
I felt my control over the Qi inside my dantian had become more refined.
I let the Qi stored in my dantian escape, letting it leak for a while longer—just enough for it to cover the inside of my body. My body felt more agile. It might be because Qi itself had no weight—it was like air, right?
As I continued to absorb Qi, a strange sensation settled over me—one I couldn't quite put into words. It was subtle at first, like an imperceptible shift in how my body existed within the world. My movements became lighter, more fluid, as if something was gradually loosening the invisible chains that bound me to the earth.
Was it just an illusion? A trick of the mind? Or was I truly becoming… less?
I had heard stories before—whispers of how cultivators, as they advanced, shed their mortality bit by bit, becoming something beyond human. But what did that even mean? The old texts spoke of refining the body, purging impurities, and attuning oneself to the flow of the world's essence. Yet, none of them could explain why I suddenly felt like a single gust of wind might carry me away.
Was it because I was absorbing the same energy that made up the world itself? Was I dissolving into it, becoming part of something vast and unknowable? If so… at what point would I stop being me?
I clenched my fists, grounding myself. No, that was absurd. Cultivators didn't just vanish into thin air. And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that the more I walked this path, the further I drifted from the person I used to be. From the person I was supposed to be.
If spiritual energy could change my body, could it also change something deeper?
I thought about the ancient cultivators—the ones who reached heights so unfathomable that their very presence distorted the world around them. Legends claimed that some could shed their physical forms entirely, existing as pure thought, as will incarnate. But if they no longer had a body… were they still themselves? Or had they simply become another part of the world, no different from the wind, the sea, the stars?
A chill crept down my spine.
Was that the fate of all cultivators?
To rise beyond human limits… and in doing so, become something no longer human at all?
I had no answers. Only questions. And the deeper I went, the more I feared that some answers might not be meant to be found.