Chapter 11: The Dantian is Forged, a Phenomenon Occurs.
After leaving the dining hall, Mu Chen, anxious to resume reforging his Dantian, once again used the excuse that he needed to rest. The news Mufeng had shared about the family competition in six months only fueled his determination to grow stronger. Mu Bingling, who had been contemplating her own cultivation, offered to walk him back after he mentioned needing rest, but he flatly refused. Unable to change his mind, she could only agree. She watched him until he was out of sight before heading back to her own quarters.
Hah.
Taking a deep breath, Mu Chen lay back down on his bed, recited the mantra for the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique, and entered his Dantian.
Tonight, the Profound Old Ghost did not appear. In his master's own words, 'If I have to be here every time, you'll never grow.' Mu Chen shook his head, and the familiar scene materialized before him. Dantian fragments still revolved slowly around the Dantian Vortex, but they all maintained a steady, regular speed, never colliding.
"Get moving!" Mu Chen commanded with a low shout. He instantly channeled his Spiritual Power, and the Dantian Vortex's rotation surged to ten times its previous speed. The scene from last night played out once again.
…
Ever since word got out that the Xuanling Imperial Academy would be recruiting in Luofeng City, the Mu Family's training grounds were constantly filled with disciples drenched in sweat. Every one of them trained with a newfound intensity. They appeared on the grounds more and more frequently, until eventually, they spent nearly all their waking hours there, breaking only for meals and sleep.
However, during this critical time, one person was the complete opposite. He was seen less and less, sometimes disappearing for a week or two at a time. This person was none other than Mu Chen.
Once Mu Chen discovered he could pause the reforging process at will, he began to dedicate every spare moment to it. Whenever his Spiritual Power was depleted, he would withdraw from his Dantian and immediately begin to meditate cross-legged. This was a method the Profound Old Ghost had taught him; Meditation could not only absorb Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi but also rapidly restore one's Spiritual Power. Even though Mu Chen was currently unable to connect with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, this technique still allowed him to reforge his Dantian at a much faster rate. He no longer had to worry about pushing himself to exhaustion and losing time to excessive sleep.
Time flew by, and three months passed in a flash. Mu Chen's Dantian had undergone a massive transformation. More than half of the once-dense Dantian fragments had vanished, the result of countless collisions and fusions. Strangely, although the number of fragments had decreased dramatically, the fused pieces hadn't grown larger. On the contrary, they had become significantly smaller.
Furthermore, these fused Dantian fragments seemed to have developed minds of their own. They had spontaneously arranged themselves into nine distinct regions orbiting the central Dantian Vortex. Mu Chen was only briefly surprised when he first saw this. But when he channeled his Spiritual Power to accelerate the vortex's spin, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
It was as if invisible walls separated the nine regions. Whenever a Dantian fragment tried to cross a boundary, it was instantly repelled. This meant the fragments could only collide and fuse with others within their own designated region.
Mu Chen was ecstatic when he saw this. This was none other than a sign that his Dantian reforging was entering the Late Stage, a process the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique called "differentiation." The entire Elixir Field Space was being divided into nine regions. Eventually, a separate Dantian would form within each one. As for their Attributes, that would be determined when he began absorbing Primordial Qi; the Qi itself would choose.
Seeing such clear progress, Mu Chen channeled his Spiritual Power with even greater vigor. It was worth noting that his Dantian wasn't the only thing that had progressed over the past three months; his Spiritual Power had also grown several times stronger. After just one month, his once-feeble Spiritual Power had already recovered to the level of an ordinary person. Now, with two more months having passed, it was more than double that. Consequently, a healthy, rosy color had returned to his face, replacing his former frail appearance.
Spurred on by his success, Mu Chen left his room so rarely the occasions could be counted on one hand. Eventually, he holed himself up completely, even having a Maid bring his meals to him. Bi Wan and Mufeng had been concerned, but seeing his complexion and physical health improve day by day, their worries subsided. They were already accustomed to him shutting himself away for long periods, so aside from occasional visits to check in, they mostly left him undisturbed.
Another two months passed, bringing the total time Mu Chen had been cultivating the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique to over five months. Inside his Dantian, the vortex continued its slow, steady rotation. Arranged perfectly around it were eighteen Dantian fragments, each of which had now become as smooth and round as a perfect sphere. However, Mu Chen was currently frowning, staring blankly at the Dantian Vortex with a look of confusion.
"Mmm, that was a good nap." At that moment, a lazy, masculine voice spoke up. "Say, Xiao Chenzi, you've been staring at those eighteen spheres for hours. Aren't you tired?"