Chapter 85: No, One More Time
I felt suffocated. This feeling of being unable to do anything—I hated it. After shaking away the chains of helplessness that coiled around my mind like a venomous serpent, unknowingly, my hands clenched into fists.
Inside my hazy consciousness, Ding—
[Host, if you had accepted my offer, you would not have suffered trying to utilize a mere Qi Reinforcement.]
My thoughts were in disarray when I heard the system's mocking tone. It was a strange feeling, as I was aware I was inside a dream. But usually, when you realize you are dreaming, your sleep breaks, and you wake up from the dream world.
"My protector did it to protect me," I spoke in the realm of dreams. Inside this space, only the system window and I were present, with thick, fluffy clouds blocking my vision beyond the system screen.
I was unable to control my body movements in the dream, but I could think. The color of the system screen was red and purple, giving it an ominous glow.
The system screen started circling and snickering at me.
[Hahaha... Host, do you really think everyone is as stupid as you? It is clear—your Ancestor has become suspicious of you, and this protector is only there to spy on you and report your daily activities to the Ancestor.]
I bit my lips in the dream, and even the pain felt real.
However, I knew this was only my mind playing tricks on me. These were all the negative thoughts I had stuffed deep within my heart, forcing myself to think of everyone's actions in a positive light.
"N-No, you are wrong. Unless I see it for myself, I will not entertain any negative thoughts about my sect."
In the dream, I spoke to the system, but the hesitation at the beginning of my statement already showed that I was starting to waver.
[Host, wake up before it's too late. Accept my offer, and you will be able to rule over this world as the sovereign, with no genius or innate talent as your opponent. Together, we will suppress the whole era and etch our names deep in history before ascending to a higher realm.]
I saw that there was no use in fighting back and forth when it was clear that the system, fueled by my negative emotions, was able to overpower anything I said in my defense. So... why fight? In the end, whether they were negative or positive emotions, weren't they mine to begin with?
"You are right."
[Yes... You will again say I am wrong... Wait—did you just agree with what I said?] The red screen of the system flickered as if expressing its disbelief at my acceptance.
Thankfully, I was finally able to control my mouth and agree. Or was it destined that I would agree in the end, and my dream and consciousness just synced, making me feel like I was in power?
The thick white clouds started getting closer to me. The system's red screen was soon devoured by the dense clouds, and now they were encroaching upon me. I did not run—because I could not. After getting submerged in the white clouds, strangely, what greeted me was a pitch-black abyss.
Not darkness—but abyss. Because I stared at the abyss not out of choice, but because everything around me was just abyss and nothing else. The abyss did not stare back at me. But soon, my eyes, unable to handle the severe amount of darkness, made my head throb. Even the "I" in the dream closed its eyes, but it forgot that shutting my eyelids would not help me escape this darkness.
I instinctively knew that I could not escape from this place unless someone in the outside world tried to wake me up or my body received a shock.
I waited, my body and mind anchored somewhere deep within myself.
Slowly, cracks appeared in the abyss, and light filtered through them. The fissures became larger, and now the light rained down in the form of rays. The black abyss, unable to handle the continuous light from the outside, had to disintegrate—and finally, I felt alive again. Though I did not wake up, I could feel my limbs and knew that waking up or not was in my control.
"How much time has passed?"
I asked while keeping my eyes closed, but I knew Shadow Sentinel was still present inside the house, if not in the same room.
"It has been two and a half hours since you lost consciousness," the same hollow voice of Shadow Sentinel sounded. But not from far—it was like he was standing beside me.
While my eyes were still closed, I lifted one of my arms high in the air, feeling my spiritual energy flowing once again as it used to. A smile appeared on my face.
"What was the technique you used to block my Qi?" I couldn't help but ask. Such a skill was both a blessing and a curse—a blessing for mortals, who could immobilize any cultivator as long as the cultivator let their guard down, and similarly, a curse for cultivators.
"It is a simple acupuncture technique used to block key meridians in cultivators that play a crucial role in channeling Qi—from the Dantian, to the heart, and then to other veins throughout one's body," Shadow Sentinel said in an indifferent tone. But I became more and more interested after hearing the intricate details of such a skill. Truly, the world was vast, and anything was possible.
Shadow Sentinel saw that I had opened my eyes, looking at him with a pleading gaze that clearly conveyed my desire to learn it. "Master, think—if such a skill could be used without limitation, wouldn't the cultivator community safeguard it and prevent it from leaking?"
Noticing my confused expression, Shadow Sentinel continued, "This skill can only be learned and applied to those whose Qi circulation method you understand in detail. For example, as a member of the Hidden Dragon Sect, I am aware that everyone in the sect cultivates the Drifting Dragon Breathing Method. Because I cultivate the same technique, I have knowledge of which meridians to press and how much force to apply—to avoid damaging or crippling the person. You, too, could do it if you studied meridians and Qi flow channels in great detail."
After hearing Shadow Sentinel's explanation, I spoke. This technique sounded incredible at first glance, but hearing its intricacies, I realized there might be even more limitations. It was too good to be true—like a scheme.
Shadow Sentinel nodded, affirming my thoughts. "Yes, whatever you're thinking is correct. All of these rules and steps would only work on someone with the standard twelve meridians. But if we wished to block someone like the..." Shadow Sentinel lowered his hollow voice further, and I had to tilt my head toward him to hear his next words. "Saintess... this skill would lose its advantage. Those with extra meridians may use different Qi channels, deviating from the norm. This makes it harder to predict which of the twelve meridians are the main Qi channels—or if none of them are the main, but rather sub-channels."
I nodded in understanding. Now, my heart could finally accept the existence of such an overpowered technique—and why it had not been widely safeguarded.
Using my arms for support, I pushed myself up with great difficulty.
"Rest." Shadow Sentinel placed his rough, black-gloved hand on my forehead, forcing me to lie down again. "And do not attempt the Qi Reinforcement technique until you reach at least the middle level of the sixth stage of Qi Condensation. Your Qi is stronger than that of the average cultivator in the same realm. You must learn restraint if you wish to live a long and healthy life."
I thought to myself, Look how much everyone around me cares about my well-being. And yet, somewhere deep in my heart, I had harbored reservations against such kind people. A pang of self-reproach filled me.
Ancestor, I have done what you asked of me. Shadow Sentinel glanced at Xu Mo, who had a foolish look on his face. I highly doubt someone like this could be a spy. But the Ancestor is the Ancestor, after all—he has seen the world far more than I have.