Chapter 13: The Three Dantians
'Previously, my cultivation of the Nameless Technique was completely stagnant, as if it lacked a catalyst. But now it's suddenly stirring... Could this Beardless Grass help me improve my bloodline?'
'If that's true, I've hit the jackpot!'
'The more Bloodline Factors I have, the faster my cultivation speed. As long as I can continuously improve my bloodline, surpassing my past self will be just around the corner!'
At this realization, Nie Yun could hardly contain his excitement.
"Brother Nie, by helping me awaken my Bloodline Factor, you've given me a new life. This is a unique Communication Token from my family. If you ever need anything, just channel your power into it, and I'll know immediately!"
Unaware that Nie Yun was lost in his thoughts, Feng Xiao handed him a small token.
The token was covered in runes and inscribed with dense lettering in the script of the Demon Race. It was clear at a glance that it had been crafted using their methods.
Many of the Demon Race's methods were extraordinary. While humans fought against the Demon Race, they also adopted many of their secret arts. This Communication Token was one such example. As long as one person sent a message into their token, the holder of the other would receive it, making it incredibly convenient.
"Since Brother Feng insists, it would be rude of me to refuse." Pushing his thoughts aside, Nie Yun accepted the Token.
"You're too kind, Brother Nie! Now that my Bloodline Factor is awakened and my strength has reached the Fifth Layer, it's time I reclaim what is rightfully mine. Farewell!" Seeing the young man accept the Token, Feng Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his fist.
Feng Xiao was the sole heir of the Feng Family, and his status was extremely high. However, because he had been unable to awaken his Bloodline Factor for the past few years, his position had been questioned. Many had taken the opportunity to sow chaos and strip him of his authority. Now that his Bloodline Factor was awakened and his five Dantians were spinning, it was time to clean out the clan's trash.
"Go on," Nie Yun said. 'Judging by Feng Xiao's attitude, he's a man of loyalty and honor. Once he gains more power, he'll surely be a powerful ally.' For that reason, Nie Yun didn't try to stop him.
WHOOSH!
Feng Xiao vaulted out of the courtyard and soon vanished into the night.
'Time to figure out what's going on with this Beardless Grass!'
Once Feng Xiao was gone, Nie Yun quickly carried the Beardless Grass into his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to examine it carefully.
'Hm? It seems the thing causing the Nameless Technique to stir isn't the Beardless Grass, but this flowerpot underneath it!'
After studying it for a moment, Nie Yun finally realized something was amiss.
A Thousand-Year Beardless Grass is even more spiritual than a thousand-year-old Pengxin Snow Lotus. Normally, it would be impossible to plant such a spiritual herb in a flowerpot—it would surely escape. Yet here it was, not only contained but thriving. How could that not be strange?
'Could this flowerpot be some kind of treasure?'
His curiosity piqued, Nie Yun plucked the Beardless Grass, placed it in a special jade box for safekeeping, and emptied the soil out of the flowerpot to study it.
Several large characters were inscribed on the bottom of the flowerpot. It was neither a language he recognized nor the script of the Demon Race. Each character was perfectly balanced and upright, radiating a profound sense of majesty.
As his palm drew near the characters, the Nameless Technique within him stirred once more, its rotation accelerating significantly.
'It seems the sudden activity of the Nameless Technique is related to these characters...'
Now understanding, Nie Yun gently pressed his palm against the characters, using the special power contained within them to slowly circulate the Nameless Technique.
WHOOSH!
As the Nameless Technique began to rotate, the unique sensation he had felt before returned. A flash of Golden Light flickered within his Qi Sea. POP! POP! Two bean-sized Bloodline Factors abruptly appeared and began to slowly grow.
'Two of them?'
Nie Yun was shocked to see two new Bloodline Factors suddenly appear within him.
'I had thought that even if the Nameless Technique could generate Bloodline Factors, they would only appear one at a time. I never expected to gain two at once!'
'With two additional Bloodline Factors, I'll be just like my past self, possessing three Dantians! It's like a car having three engines. How could my cultivation speed not be astonishingly fast?'
KRRK! KRRK!
As the two new Bloodline Factors fully formed, the Nameless Technique ceased its rotation once more.
Opening his eyes, Nie Yun looked at the flowerpot in his hands and his expression immediately turned strange.
The profound characters from before had vanished without a trace. The entire pot no longer held its majestic aura, as if it had turned into an ordinary, useless object in the blink of an eye.
'The Thousand-Year Beardless Grass could likely only be grown here because of these strange characters!' Nie Yun thought after studying it for another moment.
'The reason the Thousand-Year Beardless Grass could be grown in such a small flowerpot had to be related to those bizarre characters. Otherwise, the Heaven and Earth Spirit Grass would have surely escaped long ago.'
'The Nameless Technique can actually absorb these characters to help me awaken Bloodline Factors... If I want to generate more in the future, where could I possibly find more characters like these?'
After pondering for a while without any answers, Nie Yun pushed the matter from his mind.
Now that he had generated the Bloodline Factors, the most urgent task was to establish them as Dantians.
He had previously wanted to establish a Dantian dedicated to nurturing Pill Fire. Now he had three, and one of them even possessed a Fire Attribute perfect for the task. The time was right to put his plan into action.
An unknown amount of time passed before Nie Yun let out a long breath and opened his eyes.
'Success! I never thought I'd restore my past life's talent so quickly—a Noble Top-Grade Bloodline! The Dantian for nurturing Pill Fire has also been successfully established. Combining this with my past life's experience, I can use this Dantian to temper Spiritual Qi in my spare time, then form Pill Fire whenever I want to perform alchemy. My cultivation and alchemy won't interfere with each other! I already have plans for the other two Dantians as well... Just what level of Cultivation Technique is this Nameless Technique? How can it be so powerful!'
Feeling the three Dantians suspended within him like three radiant planets, Nie Yun was so excited he almost threw his head back and let out a triumphant roar.
If he weren't an old monster who had lived for hundreds of years, his temperament long since settled and calm, he probably would have leaped to his feet.
'Three Dantians means triple the output! I'll break through to the Fourth Layer of True Qi Realm right now!'
With his Dantians established, Nie Yun wasted no time and immediately began his breakthrough to the Qi Sea's Fourth Layer, the True Qi Realm.
RUMBLE!
With the cultivation experience of two lifetimes and the immense output of his three Dantians, it didn't take long for all the Spiritual Qi in his body to be successfully refined and converted into True Qi.
'I'm at the early stage of the Fourth Layer, the True Qi Realm. Combined with the combat experience of my past life, no one at my level should be my match. I could even hold my own against a disciple at the Peak of the True Qi Realm! With this level of strength, I'll finally have some standing among the Inner Sect disciples of the Nie Mansion!'
Having successfully broken through his shackles and advanced to the Fourth Layer of the True Qi Realm, Nie Yun knew that he now had what it took to make his mark among the family's younger generation.
Disciples from the family's outer branches were typically within the first three layers of the Qi Sea; reaching the third layer before the age of twenty was already considered quite talented. Inner Branch Descendants would, at most, reach the Peak of the Fourth Layer. Those who could reach the Fifth Layer of True Qi Emission were already considered to be at the level of a Steward in the family.
As for the family Elders, they were mostly at the Sixth Layer, the Gang Formation level. At this level, one could emit True Qi to form an indestructible Gang Qi—a qualitative leap from the previous five layers. Only with such strength could one truly be considered among the ranks of the powerful.
For a great family like the Nie Family—one of the Four Great Families of Luoshui City, with a legacy stretching back countless years—there were probably only twenty or thirty powerhouses at the Sixth Layer of the Gang Formation Realm in total. This just went to show how incredibly difficult it was to reach such a level.
Of course, this also served as a stark reminder of just how monstrously talented his father had been.
To have reached the Seventh Layer, the Armor Realm of the Qi Sea's Nine Heavens, before the age of twenty-five... that cultivation speed was a feat that earned him a place in the recorded history of Luoshui City.
The higher one stands, the harder one falls. And it was precisely for this reason that his father had been unable to recover from his fall.
'The True Qi Realm is considered quite high among the disciples, but it's nothing against a powerhouse of the Fifth Layer, the Body Emergence Realm. Besides, cultivation in this realm is all about accumulation. Even with all three Dantians firing at once, I can't hope to reach the Peak in less than half a year. This is the perfect opportunity to cultivate the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique!'
The Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique was a method from the Demon Race that focused on tempering the physical body, completely different from Qi Sea cultivation. In his past life, the reason he had been able to reach the Peak of the Dantian Acupoint Realm and survive countless battles was arguably more thanks to this Technique than even the Nine-Turn Nirvana Skill!
His Dantians were now accumulating True Qi on their own at all times, so he didn't need to actively focus on that cultivation. This was the perfect opportunity to practice this other technique.
'The Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique was created based on the legendary Spirit Rhinoceros Divine Beast of the Demon Race. Among all living things, the Divine Elephant is supreme in strength, the Dapeng is supreme in speed, and the Spirit Fox is supreme in wisdom. But when it comes to defense, no creature can compare to the Spirit Rhinoceros. The goal of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique is to temper the body until it has no weaknesses, until it fears no attack!'
After recalling the core principles of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique, Nie Yun centered himself.
An unknown amount of time passed, and Nie Yun gave a wry smile.
'Even though I cultivated the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique in my past life, a high-level technique like this can't be mastered overnight, regardless of experience. Even the simplest first layer would take at least a year to complete!'
'Of course, once I master the first layer of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique, I won't have to fear even a Peak Powerhouse of the Body Emergence Realm. My defense will be so strong that even if someone of that caliber attacked me with their full power, they wouldn't be able to harm me in the slightest!'
'Invincible defense—that is the greatest advantage of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique!'
'But a year is simply too long.'
'I beat Nie Chao to within an inch of his life, sent Nie Chaoxing fleeing in disgrace, and killed Madam Shen Gui and several members of the Nie Zhang Branch... While the immediate fallout was handled well and things are quiet for now, the truth can't stay hidden for long. To protect my branch and my family, I must increase my strength as quickly as possible!'
'Besides, if I remember correctly, in one year's time, a great upheaval will rock the Four Great Families of Luoshui City, leading to countless deaths. I have an undeniable responsibility to be ready for it.'
'All things considered, taking a full year to master the first layer of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique is just too slow.'
'I should see if I can buy some medicinal materials to concoct a solution for Body Refinement.'
An idea came to him. Nie Yun recalled a method for rapidly cultivating the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique. He slowly stood up and walked out of the room.
While medicinal solutions were generally less effective than elixirs, their effects were even greater when it came to tempering the body. If he had something like that to aid his cultivation, he could probably master the first layer of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique in less than a month.
The sunlight outside his room was blinding. He hadn't realized his cultivation session had lasted all the way until noon the next day.
Although he hadn't slept all night, Nie Yun was brimming with power and felt no discomfort. On the contrary, he felt completely refreshed and vigorous.
"Young Master, Young Master Yangg Yan is here to see you. I have shown him to the guest hall."
Just as he stepped out of his room, he saw the steward, Nie Chong, walking toward him.
PS: Our boy Nie Yun has three Dantians and is starting to get seriously OP! Shouldn't our recommendation votes and library adds get a little more OP too? Leaving the stats half-dead like this really doesn't do justice to a super-powerhouse with three whole Dantians, does it...