Chapter 638- Qi is overflowing through the Body
The inner sect training ground was a paradise carved from the mountain.
Where the female disciples stood on bare stone in the outer sect, the male disciples trained on a platform of polished jade, surrounded by spirit-wood trees that filtered the mountain air through their golden leaves.
The spirit pond sat at the center — a crystalline pool of condensed qi so dense that the surface shimmered like liquid gold.
Formation arrays etched into the jade platform circulated spiritual energy in visible ribbons, wrapping around the meditating disciples in coils of light.
Chen Wei sat cross-legged at the pond’s edge, his hands resting on his knees, his eyes closed. His broad shoulders rose and fell with each breath. The condensed qi from the pond seeped through his skin, filling his meridians, cycling through his dantian in a steady, golden stream. He was at late Qi Refining — the highest cultivation base among the male disciples — and the spirit pond’s energy was pushing him toward peak Qi Refining.
Beside him, Luo Han meditated with the smug expression of a man who believed he had already arrived. His sharp cheekbones caught the golden light, his pointed chin tilted upward, his lips curved in a half-smile. His cultivation base was mid-Qi Refining, but the spirit pond’s energy was dense enough to accelerate his progress by months.
Tang Yu — the quiet one — sat apart from the others, his back against a spirit-wood tree, his eyes closed, his breathing so slow and deep that he appeared to be sleeping. His cultivation base was the lowest among the core group — early Qi Refining — but his meridians were unusually wide, and the spirit pond’s energy flowed through him with less resistance than the others.
Twenty-three male disciples in total. All of them meditating. All of them cycling qi. All of them blissfully, ignorantly certain that the ancestor had chosen them for greatness.
"We’re going to become the strongest generation in the sect’s history," Luo Han said, his eyes still closed, his voice carrying the lazy confidence of a man who had never been truly tested. "The ancestor’s personal disciples. Can you imagine? When we reach Core Formation, the orthodox sects won’t dare look at us."
"The Plum Blossom Sect will be the most powerful sect in the region," Chen Wei added, his broad chest swelling. "And we’ll be at the center of it. The ancestor’s chosen warriors."
"I’m going to marry a woman from the inner court," Luo Han continued, his smug grin widening. "Someone refined. Elegant. A cultivator’s wife. Not some rough village girl — a woman who knows how to carry herself. Maybe one of the elder’s daughters, if I distinguish myself enough."
"Elder’s daughter?" Tang Yu opened one eye. "Which elder has a daughter?"
"Figuratively," Luo Han said, waving his hand. "I mean a woman of that caliber. Refined. Beautiful. I’ll build a cultivation chamber for the two of us, and we’ll advance together. Twin cultivation partners, rising through the realms as a pair."
"Twin cultivation is a myth," Chen Wei said. "The elders teach that spiritual energy must be cultivated alone. Partnerships dilute the qi."
"The ancestor might know otherwise," Luo Han said. "He’s a divine being. He must have methods we’ve never heard of. When he chooses me as his personal disciple, I’ll ask him."
Chen Wei nodded slowly. The logic was sound. The ancestor was beyond their understanding — a god walking among mortals. Whatever methods he possessed, whatever cultivation techniques he knew, they would be far beyond the orthodox teachings of the Plum Blossom Sect.
"I want to bring my mother here," Chen Wei said, his voice softer. "She’s in the village below the mountain. Alone. My father died three years ago — a qi deviation during cultivation. She’s been struggling since. If the ancestor elevates me, I’ll bring her to the sect. Give her a proper home."
"That’s a good thought," Tang Yu said quietly. "I want to bring my sister. She’s married to a man who treats her poorly. A mortal merchant who thinks cultivation is a waste of time. She has talent — I’ve seen her qi sense — but she never had the opportunity to develop it."
"My grandmother," another disciple — a young man named Wei Jun — said from across the pond. His round face was troubled. "She’s old. Her meridians are failing. If the ancestor could — could heal her, or give her a pill, or —"
"We should ask the ancestor," Luo Han said. "When he returns. He flew toward us — he should be here soon. We’ll ask him then."
"Ask him what?" Chen Wei said.
"Everything. Our problems. Our families. Our futures. The ancestor is a god — he can solve anything. And he favors us. He gave us the spirit pond. The training ground. He’ll help us."
The disciples murmured in agreement. They resumed their meditation, their minds filled with visions of golden cores, beautiful wives, honored mothers, and the ancestor’s favor.
The sky cracked open.
Tianlong descended through the clouds like a falling star, his dark silk robe materializing around his body, his golden qi blazing in a corona that lit the sky. He landed on the jade platform with a sound like a thunderclap. The impact sent a shockwave of divine qi rippling outward, hitting every male disciple like an invisible hand pressing down on their shoulders.
Chen Wei’s meditation shattered. His eyes flew open. His body — which had been sitting upright, composed, serene — was driven forward, his forehead nearly hitting the jade. His hands splayed on the platform, his arms shaking, his breath coming in short, panicked gasps.
The weight of the ancestor’s spiritual pressure was enormous — not hostile, not aggressive, but ’present’. A god’s casual arrival, carrying enough ambient qi to flatten a mountain.
Luo Han’s smug grin evaporated. He was on his hands and knees, his sharp cheekbones pale, his pointed chin trembling. His mid-Qi Refining cultivation base flickered, destabilized by the sheer density of the ancestor’s aura. His meridians burned. His dantian spun. His spiritual sea churned like a storm-driven ocean.
Tang Yu — quiet, observant Tang Yu — was the only one who remained somewhat upright. His back was still against the spirit-wood tree, but his body was pressed into the bark, his wide eyes staring upward at the towering figure that had descended from the sky.
All twenty-three disciples were pressed down. Trembling. Their cultivation bases stuttering. Their bodies heavy with spiritual pressure.
Tianlong stood among them. His gold-crimson eyes swept the training ground, taking in the jade platform, the spirit pond, the spirit-wood trees, the twenty-three male disciples on their hands and knees.
He let the pressure hold for three breaths. Then he released it.
The weight vanished. The disciples gasped, their bodies rising, their cultivation bases stabilizing. Several of them remained on their knees, too shaken to stand.
Tianlong looked at them.
"How is your training going?" he asked. His voice was calm. Conversational. As though he had not just descended from the sky with enough spiritual pressure to crack the jade beneath their feet.
Chen Wei swallowed. He straightened his spine, forcing his trembling body into something resembling composure. "Ancestor — the training is going well. The spirit pond’s energy is dense. My cultivation base has advanced from mid-Qi Refining to late Qi Refining in three days. The formation arrays are effective. The meridian circulation is smooth."