Destiny in Cinders

"We can discuss this later," said Yvelbane. "For now, concentrate on your cultivation. The Seven Ruin Arc gives you a certain tolerance for fiend qi and tribulation qi, so you won't face any issues in the Qi Refinement Realm. Once we shake off the Heavenly Demon Cult and the heavenly fiends and find a safe place to settle down, we'll find a way to resolve this fiend qi."

It made sense. Even with the spirit veins tainted, An Jing couldn't stop cultivating altogether. Like toxins and carcinogens, it was all a matter of dosage. An Jing focused his mind and continued drawing spirit qi from the spirit vein as well as lethal qi from the jadeslice steel.

Food and drink were delivered by the black market staff. Just like the canned food he received in the recycling house, these were mainly liquid meal replacements and hydrolyzed nutrient solutions similar to vegetable juice. They kept him alive, but the taste was horrible. It was a far cry from the mutton soup in Pilljungle Town.

However, An Jing had just emerged from the caves and the famine-stricken northern frontier. He had once devoured tree bark as if it were a feast, seasoned with the spice called hunger. As long as he had food, he was content; it wouldn't hinder his cultivation.

An Jing also obtained books on Skysource's history and current news from a staff member, which he could study in between daily cultivation sessions. With his preparations complete, he circulated Sword of Tranquility to purge his mind of all distractions. When he reached a state of perfect inner calm, An Jing grasped the jadeslice steel in his hand and began absorbing spirit qi.

The safety and serenity of his environment, paired with his innate talent, allowed An Jing to surrender to his visualization and the circulation of his spirit qi. The process of condensing a seal with the seal seed was strangely gratifying. He dissolved into a state of total self-oblivion, resurfacing only when his body could no longer sustain the effort.

According to Yvelbane, An Jing's aptitude for qi cultivation was average, yet he was uniquely gifted when it came to mental cultivation. With proper guidance from a skilled master, he had the potential to become the core successor of a sect.

"Aren't you a good teacher?"

An Jing was rather puzzled, but Yvelbane signaled its objection. "Too much of my memory is blank. Never mind specific cultivation methods; I've even forgotten the names of my old friends and sects. If I can't impart the fundamental truths and knowledge of heaven and earth, how could I possibly be a good teacher to you? I'll guide you, and you collect my shards for me. We'll help each other out and make our way together."

Perhaps Yvelbane truly was an immortal of a great sect. It was neither arrogant nor restless, never assumed an air of superiority, and always spoke in a polite and approachable manner.

Under this influence, An Jing's heart found stillness. He steadily accumulated Evenstar lethal qi, allowing it to permeate his meridians which became thicker and more robust as they adapted to its flow.

Before he knew it, a full day had passed. He was now halfway through his second day in Skysource, with just over a day and a half left. An Jing maintained his serene focus, channeling the spirit qi within his body to condense the seal.

This step was extremely difficult. Activating the seal required a smooth, uninterrupted flow of qi through the heavenly cycle while also passing through all key nodes without stalling. This significantly increased the complexity and lengthened the energy cycle, testing the limits of a cultivator's endurance and qi essence.

Yet at noon that day, the black market's spirit vein experienced a sudden, inexplicable surge. An Jing immediately locked onto this opportunity. Instantly, the spirit qi within his meridians began to circulate at an accelerated pace, coursing throughout his entire body. Once the heavenly cycle was complete, spirit qi returned to the seal seed in his dantian, and this process repeated in an endless loop.

With each surge of spirit qi, qi essence fused within. After a full circulation centering on the seal seed, threads of arcane seal script symbols emerged and melded into the body. After 360 heavenly cycles, the wisp of purified spirit qi and qi essence rushed back into the seal seed, mirroring the harmony of heaven and earth.

A sudden emptiness washed over An Jing. His body was a vessel stripped of every drop, yet simultaneously it brimmed with infinite clarity. He felt crystal clear, inside and out. In his dantian, universal innate qi merged with his own essence, transforming within the seal seed.

The passage of time felt both infinite and instantaneous. As An Jing's eyes slowly fluttered open, a brilliant light flashed. Streams of Evenstar lethal qi followed his every intent, seeping from the seal seed and condensing into various metallic script symbols. They merged seamlessly with his qi essence before imprinting themselves upon the fundamental structures and the most minute particles of his body.

An Jing felt a burst of light in the center of his forehead. His body and awareness seemed to soar toward the heavens, yet his core remained anchored to the ground, like an unmovable metallic boulder.

Saliva filled his mouth and trickled down his throat. Instantly, a refreshing lightness swept over him and his thoughts turned piercingly clear. When his teeth gnashed together, they produced the unmistakable clangor of clashing metal.

As the spirit qi completed the heavenly cycle, stark, ivory spirit patterns appeared all over his body. An Jing rose slowly to his feet. His muscles and bones shifted with a clear, melodious ring, like the clashing of swords.

He had formed his first seal!

Being a legendary technique of an ancient sect, Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal was no doubt unique. There were eighteen seals in the Spirit Awakening and Qi Refinement Realms combined, all of which were indistinguishable. With the first seal came the power of the Qi Refinement Realm, while completion of all eighteen marked the culmination of the realm.

Nevertheless, the distinction between realms was still significant. For every nine seals condensed, they must be integrated into the major heavenly cycle. Failure resulted in a total stagnation of one's cultivation, whereas success yielded a new ability.

Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal consisted of 108 seals of Heavenly Rectifiers and Earthly Lethalizers, which allowed a cultivator to condense twelve fragmented abilities of the twelve palaces. When the twelve fragmented abilities merged, they coalesced into a single, fully realized ability.

Should one lack a sufficient supply of refined mystic metals or comparable ores to yield the required lethal qi, they must instead locate an uninterrupted metal vein spanning a thousand li. Only at the turning of the sun and moon, during the fleeting hours of dawn and dusk, could the vein's energy be harvested. Each day yielded a meager two strands of qi. Sixty strands constituted a single heavenly cycle, and it took 108 of these cycles for partial completion.

"Partial completion doesn't imply mastery of the technique, but manifestation of a single fragmented ability. Without your particular constitution or sufficient resources, even a talented cultivator would toil for nearly a decade in a spirit domain just to achieve this. But it's entirely different with resources at your disposal.

"Take jadeslice steel, for instance. It was forged through the natural transmutation and refinement of various metals within a spirit-vein node. Absorbing the metal lethal qi from just half a piece was akin to over a year of metal-vein qi extraction to form one seal."

An Jing listened to Yvelbane's explanation while the spirit patterns on his body flickered and vanished within moments. They would only reappear when he fully circulated his spirit power. Though the spirit patterns were gone, An Jing was different. He now carried a piercing lucidity that wasn't there before.