Divine Level Witch Doctor

Alas, the dream was beautiful, but reality was cruel.

Zhao Yuan soon discovered that the thunderous roars and flesh-gouging gales produced by his attempt to break through to the Qi Listening Realm actually grew stronger over time! In fact, they were getting stronger and more intense!

In just five seconds, the torment had doubled!

After twenty seconds, the agonizing torment Zhao Yuan endured had tripled!

He could no longer bear it and let out a piercing scream. The high-pitched, miserable cry shattered the silence of the night. It didn't just echo through the forest but traveled far and wide, clearly audible even from miles away.

The medicinal herb farm was closest to the forest and felt the effects the most. Several workers sleeping in the prefab dorms were jolted awake by the scream. They looked at each other in terror, whispering fearfully amongst themselves.

"What's that sound? It's the middle of the night, that's terrifying."

"I don't know. It sounds kind of like a wolf howling!"

"I don't think it sounds like a wolf. It sounds more like someone screaming in agony!"

"Who screams like that in the middle of the night? You don't think it's a Mountain Spirit or a monster, do you?"

Even though these workers were normally a fearless bunch, the situation had them scared out of their wits. They trembled, desperately waiting for the sun to rise.

In the forest, seeing Zhao Yuan's agonizing state, Bone Woman and Xiaoyang were incredibly tense. But they knew this was the critical moment in his breakthrough to the Qi Listening Realm. This trial, this torment, was something he had to endure alone. No one could help, nor was there any way to.

A minute passed. The torment was now eight times worse!

Zhao Yuan was still holding on, gritting his teeth, but his piercing screams had grown much weaker. It wasn't that he didn't want to scream; he no longer had the strength to.

Three minutes passed. The torment was now ten times worse!

Zhao Yuan could no longer maintain his cross-legged posture. He collapsed to the ground, his body trembling and convulsing uncontrollably, as if in the throes of a seizure. By this point, he had no strength left to scream, only to let out low moans.

Five minutes passed. Zhao Yuan had clenched his jaw so hard that he drew blood, and his consciousness was fading. But a voice in his mind kept cheering him on, urging him to hold on!

Ten minutes...

Twenty minutes...

Thirty minutes!

The torment had multiplied an untold number of times, but Zhao Yuan was still holding on. He hadn't given up. He refused to fall unconscious!

Amidst the exponentially increasing torment, his endurance and willpower were being forged, growing incredibly strong and resilient!

Heaven rewards the persistent. Zhao Yuan's perseverance had finally paid off!

After thirty minutes, the intense torment vanished in an instant, completely and utterly gone.

'It's finally over!'

Zhao Yuan let out a long breath, a triumphant smile touching his lips. Then, his vision went black, and he fainted.

Zeng Rui materialized instantly and commanded Bone Woman, "Quick, pinch his Renzhong and Neiguan Acupoints! You must wake him up as soon as possible!"

Bone Woman did as instructed, pinching the two acupoints on Zhao Yuan's body forcefully. The stimulation traveled through his meridians to his brain, rousing the unconscious Zhao Yuan and causing him to open his eyes.

Seeing Zhao Yuan struggle to stand, Zeng Rui stopped him. "Don't be in such a rush to get up. First, light a stick of Soul-Stabilizing Incense, sit down, and circulate your Creation Technique to recuperate."

Zhao Yuan followed the Medical Family elder's advice. He not only lit the Soul-Stabilizing Incense but also grabbed a handful of the unused Ginseng slices, stuffed them into his mouth, and chewed and swallowed them to replenish his depleted Primordial Qi. Only then did he sit down cross-legged and circulate his Creation Technique.

After more than ten minutes, some of Zhao Yuan's strength had returned, and he finally stopped his Cultivation.

"Congratulations on reaching the Qi Listening Realm," Zeng Rui asked with a beaming smile. "How does it feel? Doesn't the whole world seem completely different from before?"

Zhao Yuan didn't say a word. He closed his eyes and calmed his mind, experiencing the miracle of Qi Listening.

The night was no longer silent. His surroundings were filled with all sorts of new and wondrous sounds; it was lively, but not noisy.

These were the sounds of Qi, the sounds of energy!

It was as if the entire world had suddenly sprung to life. Whether it was the wind, the soil, or the stars and moon, under Zhao Yuan's perception, they all possessed life. This Qi was their breath, their pulse!

Zhao Yuan could clearly hear and sense the existence of Qi. It was no longer the vague feeling he had before; he could even touch these formless, colorless energies!

Only now did he realize that Qi came in many different forms.

The Qi contained within the moonlight was cool and refreshing, yet held a gentle warmth. The Qi surging from all directions carried a sense of weight and the fresh fragrance of the earth. And within Zhao Yuan's body, the Qi transformed from Wish Power was different still—some of it blazed like fire, while other parts were as cold as ice.

Zhao Yuan knew the fire-like Qi came from the positive Wish Power of the living. The ice-like Qi, on the other hand, was the Negative Wish Power from Demon Ghosts. The two forces coexisted within his body in a state of perfect, complementary harmony, just like the fishes in the Yin Yang symbol.

As his thoughts shifted, the Qi moved in response.

Zhao Yuan was thrilled to discover his control over Qi had reached the point where it moved as an extension of his will. Previously, he had to rely on the Creation Technique just to get the Qi in his body to stir. Now, a single thought was all it took for it to respond perfectly.

Furthermore, Zhao Yuan discovered that the pores all over his body were now automatically absorbing Qi from the outside world!

The efficiency was very low, but it was better than nothing. Moreover, this absorption was as natural as breathing, happening constantly. He was sure that, over time, a little would become a lot.

After a long while, Zhao Yuan opened his eyes and sighed in amazement. "No wonder they say you've only truly crossed the threshold of Cultivation once you reach the Qi Listening Realm. To think that the final stage of Body Refining is this miraculous!"

Suddenly, he felt a sharp, twisting pain in his gut and an explosive pressure building at his rear.

Past experience told him this was the sign that his body was about to expel impurities. He scrambled toward a nearby thicket, unfastened his pants, squatted down, and let loose with a series of explosive SPLATS.

The ordeal lasted for a full half-hour and nearly left Zhao Yuan in a state of collapse. When it was over, he glanced back and found it hard to believe that the black, incredibly foul-smelling sludge had actually come out of him.

'I thought after the Bone Marrow Cleansing, all the impurities in my body were already gone. I can't believe there was still so much left!' Zhao Yuan clicked his tongue in amazement, but on second thought, it made sense.

People ate all sorts of foods and breathed the air, so it was only natural for impurities to build up. After he had gone through Bone Marrow Cleansing, both his appetite and the power of his lungs had grown substantially, so it was no surprise that he had accumulated even more impurities!

But now that he had reached the Qi Listening Realm, he no longer needed to eat like a glutton to provide his body with what it needed. The Qi his pores absorbed every moment was enough to sustain him, allowing his appetite to return to that of a normal person.

"I can finally get rid of the 'bottomless pit' nickname." Zhao Yuan was so happy he could have cried.