Chapter 52: Restructuring the Path of Cultivation

On the river beach, Qin Anyu and the other three lay in various postures, with no one speaking for a long time.

Having just survived an intense battle, they were already exhausted. Immediately following that, the "Nine Transformations Body" technique had left their entire bodies aching profoundly. Every single pore, every muscle, every joint, and every meridian radiated pain. Opening their mouths was a struggle, and they just wanted to lie there motionless.

In truth, only Qin Wushuang lay there completely still, while Qin Anyu, Qin Lingxue, and Qin Youqin were already circulating the "Opening Heaven Primordial Art" to cultivate.

Not long after, they heard the sounds of fighting coming from beyond the mountain, growing increasingly fierce.

Qin Anyu sat up with great difficulty. "We must leave this place."

With that, he took out a red ginseng, bit off a piece, and tossed thirty spirit stones to each of the other three.

Qin Lingxue and Qin Youqin also managed to sit up, stored their spirit stones in their storage rings, and then pulled out red ginseng to take a bite.

Qin Wushuang, however, was unable to do the same. Though he managed to put away his spirit stones, his muffled words came out as: "Can't move a inch."

Qin Anyu slammed both hands against the ground and sprang to his feet. "We must leave here quickly."

Despite his limbs being weak and sore, he managed to stand shakily, feeling as though he were stepping on cotton. In his heart, he felt a twinge of regret: "I was too hasty. Such cultivation techniques should not be practiced in a place like this, nor should one attempt so many movements all at once."

Qin Youqin quickly stood up as well, managing a bitter smile. "Young Master, I feel as though I'm floating in water right now."

Qin Lingxue stood up, swaying unsteadily, looking as if a gust of wind could easily blow her over.

After standing for a few minutes, Qin Anyu felt that his core was able to properly command his body again. He walked over, grabbed Qin Wushuang’s left arm, and pulled him up. "Let's walk along the base of the mountain."

The four of them walked in silence along the mountain's base, heading toward the back of the mountain and directly toward the battlefield.

When they reached a sharp bend in the river—which coincided with a sharp turn at the foot of the mountain—Qin Youqin had largely recovered. She said, "Young Master, there are some stone caves up there. Shall we go up and rest to recover?"

Qin Anyu looked at the two of them, then glanced up at the stone caves embedded in the sheer cliff face, and agreed. "Will the two of you be able to climb that high?"

Qin Lingxue and Qin Wushuang had not fully recovered yet. If they encountered any hostile situations, they would only become a burden and put the others in mortal danger.

Qin Lingxue nodded and said, "My body doesn't hurt as much anymore, though I haven't recovered even half of my strength, climbing up should be no problem."

Qin Wushuang also chimed in, "I can basically control my body now. I should be able to make the climb."

That being the case, Qin Anyu instructed Qin Youqin to lead them up while he went to fetch water from the river.

When he finished fetching the water and arrived beneath the sheer cliff, Qin Lingxue had already climbed into one of the stone caves, and Qin Youqin was guarding Qin Wushuang as he climbed upward.

Qin Anyu did not climb up immediately. Instead, he searched the base of the cliff for dead trees and dry branches, collecting enough to fill five storage rings before making his ascent. By the time he reached the top, all of them had already entered the cave.

Upon entering, Qin Lingxue said excitedly, "Eldest Brother, this stone cave is huge! It even has separate rooms inside. If we weren't in such a rush to reach the Dali Kingdom, I'd really love to live here for a while. Facing the great river every day to cultivate would be so refreshing; cultivation would surely progress much faster."

Qin Anyu looked around the cave, realizing it was indeed extraordinary.

The outer section served as a spacious hall of about fifty square meters. Connected to it were three side rooms, each roughly twenty square meters in size.

While the main hall appeared to have been naturally eroded by the elements, the three side rooms had clearly been carved out by human hands. Unless cultivators at the Qi Condensation realm or higher had performed the work, carving out these spaces would have taken a considerable amount of time.

Evidently, whoever had lived here in the past had long since been swept away by the winds and rains of time, leaving not a single trace of their existence behind in the empty, desolate chambers.

"Then we will cultivate here for a day."

Qin Youqin spoke up anxiously, "Young Master, what if they discover us? We won't have time to cultivate."

Qin Anyu shook his head. "This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as we guard the entrance, no one can force their way in. Lass, take out the clay pots; we're going to brew a batch of medicinal soup first."

Since he had already decided to cultivate the formidable "Nine Transformations Body," he had to put it into action.

To ordinary cultivators, the Qi Condensation realm was merely the stage where one sensed the vital energy of heaven and earth, channeled it into the body, and transformed inner qi into true qi—just another stepping stone of a realm. But in the eyes of accomplished cultivators, it was the foundational stage, the bedrock upon which high-rise buildings would be built, and the fundamental requirement for traveling far along the martial path.

If a house had already been built to three or four stories and one suddenly discovered that the first floor was flawed, attempting to renovate it at that point—no matter how perfectly executed—would never allow the structure to become a unified whole. Flaws would always remain, and the moment a crisis struck, those flaws would erupt with devastating consequences.

As the former Immortal Emperor Wuwo, he was painfully aware of this. To go far, every single realm had to be perfected to its absolute limit.

For someone with his flawed physique, this was doubly true.

Back in the Qi Gathering realm, when the acupoints remained unopened, every cultivator practiced in the same manner—strengthening the body and tempering the physique. The only difference lay in the speed of progress, which was dictated by one's natural affinity for vital energy. A flawed physique possessed zero affinity whatsoever.

Once one advanced to the Qi Condensation realm, the disparity would rapidly manifest. Under identical conditions, those with a higher affinity for vital energy progressed much faster. Because a flawed physique meant that "acupoints are sealed tight and cannot be opened, the five palaces are firmly locked with no roots to sprout, and the spiritual qi of heaven and earth cannot enter the body," it was extraordinarily difficult to enter this realm unless one walked the path of physical tempering.

Qin Anyu's foundation in the Qi Gathering realm was exceptionally solid. The original owner had already cultivated with fierce determination, and after Immortal Emperor Wuwo took over the vessel, he had completely re-polished the physique and pushed it to the ultimate extreme. Such a feat was exceedingly rare in the lower realms, and equally uncommon even in the Immortal Realm, because few factions knew of this realm unless one encountered a fortuitous stroke of destiny during cultivation.

The preface of the "Nine Transformations Body" stated that this body-tempering technique was best practiced after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. However, since he could already execute the fourth movement to perfection, and the others could manage two or three, it proved they possessed the basic conditions for cultivation, lacking only medicinal assistance.

Qin Youqin took out all the pots, bowls, and ladles, along with the storage rings they had looted from the disciples of the Putian Sect they had killed earlier.

Qin Anyu refused her storage ring, telling her only to sort out the medicinal herbs and ores. He then took out herbs, ores, and firewood from his own storage ring, Qin Lingxue's, and the loot they had acquired.

Qin Anyu categorized the massive pile of medicinal herbs and divided them into two separate piles to be boiled in two different pots.

Qin Lingxue asked, "Big Brother, why are these two batches of herbs different? Do we both need to use both types?"

He shook his head. "This pot is for me, and that pot is for the three of you."

Qin Wushuang spoke up, a rare occurrence: "Brother, why are there so many ores added to your pot?"

Qin Anyu chuckled. "My constitution is different from yours. My medicinal broth might be useful for you too; you can scoop a bit to try later."

Before they could voice any other thoughts, he explained the solution.

In truth, this was a pot of Marrow-Cleansing Ointment, designed to clear the meridians and open the pathways. It would have an effect on normal cultivators as well, though the pain endured would be far more agonizing than forcibly expanding them by other means.

After brewing the Heaven-Connecting Broth, he resumed practicing the "Nine Transformations Body." This time, however, he was not as reckless as he had been by the riverbank. He pushed straight to the fifth movement, performing every single posture with extreme slowness and absolute precision.