Chapter 6: First Foundation
Dawn crept through the windows of Lan’s chambers like a thief would, and it covered the room in pale gold.
He hadn’t slept. Truthfully, he didn’t need to sleep. Especially since every breath now carried more power than a week’s rest ever could.
The floor around him had turned slick with sweat and melted frost—evidence of the night’s work. His body hissed with something new, something alive, as though his veins had been filled with liquid lightning.
But it wasn’t enough.
Not remotely.
Lan shifted into the lotus position, his spine straight as a blade. Time for the next step.
Qi Absorption
The palace was a terrible place to cultivate.
No spirit stones. No ley lines. Just the stink of politics and perfume clinging to everything. But Xie Wuchen had once meditated in a pit of rotting corpses during the Third Demon War—this was nothing.
Lan closed his eyes and began the Spirit Breath.
Inhale—four heartbeats.
Hold—two.