Destiny in Cinders

The spirit roots within An Jing began to resonate with spirit qi and lethal qi, greedily absorbing the purified metal qi and transforming it for his own use. Strengthened by mystical qi, An Jing completed a full heavenly cycle through his spirit roots and found that his control over sword lethal qi and metal lethal qi grew far more precise and fluid.

As soon as the gray lethal qi reached his dantian, An Jing followed Yvelbane's instructions, condensing lethal qi with the spirit qi from the souljades to form a seal seed. Minuscule threads of spirit and lethal qi were drawn out and woven into a tiny, highly intricate structure inside his dantian, which served as the core for all future seals.

It functioned like a toolkit, rather than a system. When needed, An Jing could extract specific parts to form seals, producing formation-like structures in his body.

At the heart of An Jing's dantian sat an intricate, silver-gray octahedral seal seed. It began to extend its reach through the flow of his blood, the rhythm of his breathing, and the currents of his mind.

"It's amazing!" An Jing exclaimed. He sensed that his meridians had grown stronger inside and out, resulting in a smoother flow of aura and increased endurance. If a single seal seed had such an impressive effect, he could only imagine the kind of transformation his body would undergo if he continued to cultivate using this technique.

This marked the beginning of spirit-root qi cultivation. "Spirit Awakening," "Embarking On the Path," and "Nourishing the Meridians" were different names for the same thing.

"By combining appropriate cultivation methods, movement, and mental focus with pure spirit qi to stimulate one's innate qi, one can transform stagnant energy into refined qi essence," the sword soul said softly.

"On the martial path, it's known as the Aura Realm, the first step on the path of cultivation. You're already an Aura martialist, but entering the Spirit Awakening Realm should manifest in other ways."

"Yes." An Jing slowly opened his eyes and gazed at his hands, sensing that his control over his aura had reached a newfound level of precision.

But that wasn't all. He arched an eyebrow as a flicker of surprise crossed his face. "My aura has expanded once more.... It feels like I've tapped into more of my innate qi."

The treatment An Jing received at Direlife Manor was superb, rivaling that of core disciples in the martial schools or even those of the prestigious Grand Chen Martial Academy. With a steady diet of fey flesh and extra nourishment, his innate qi had become exceptionally robust.

His breakthrough into the Aura Realm carried him straight into the River Aura Stage, demonstrating his profound foundation. But that wasn't enough to exhaust An Jing's vast reserves. Much of it remained untapped, waiting to be developed.

Upon entering the Spirit Awakening Realm, An Jing was able to unlock more of his potential and convert his innate qi into aura, which evolved from a meager stream to a vast river. As his soul grew more stable, his sea of consciousness expanded. There were now shimmering motes of light dancing around the broken sword.

It wasn't merely the effect of the echo. By breaking through to the Aura Realm, he had unlocked a second opportunity for growth. The martial path was no match for the immortal path of qi cultivation when it came to tempering the soul.

"Sure enough." Yvelbane had clearly anticipated this. "The martial path began as an offshoot of qi cultivation. However much the path has diverged, their origin remains one and the same. Qi essence and aura are one. Their cultivation methods are complementary, and each compensates for the limitations of the other.

"Between your lifearc and spirit roots, you'll assimilate resources and convert potential into true strength with twice the efficiency of an ordinary cultivator. During the age of immortal qi cultivation, some cultivators sporadically also awakened lifearcs, which often resulted in meteoric progress. It appears this was the reason."

At this point, the sword spirit did not mince words. "So if that's true, then why don't people in Void Embrace practice both? I suspect there's more to it than meets the eye. That's why I've chosen to only impart Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal, a technique that bypasses the need for external aids and true qi cultivation. Should there be any hidden dangers, you can simply cease practicing it."

"This is exactly what I need right now to get stronger." An Jing nodded. Upon further examination, he noted that the qi essence derived from his spirit roots was indistinguishable from the aura cultivated via the methods of motion and stillness.

"Qi essence and aura..."

"As far as it concerns you, they are one and the same," Yvelbane said, "The initial stages of cultivation are universal. Whether it's qi essence or aura, you must progress through three distinct stages—Silk, River, and Tide.

"Innate qi is the seed for all cultivation. Subsequent progress is only possible after expanding and refining innate qi into inner qi essence, that is, the Silk Essence Stage. Consequently, this initial stage offers no inherent advantage in combat, serving exclusively to strengthen the physique.

"Only when you enter the River Essence Stage can your qi essence fuel an eruption of force. As you are now, you can strike with the force of a thousand jins and even project your aura into sword qi that's capable of slicing through the veil.

"True refinement begins once you enter the Tide Essence Stage and your qi essence saturates your entire being. Drawing upon your qi essence, you can finally refine all manner of qi from the universe and embark on the path of true qi cultivation."

Surprised by its words, An Jing said, "True refinement only begins after one enters the Tide Essence Stage? But Yvelbane, didn't I just refine pure sword lethal qi?"

The realization struck him a moment later. "Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal requires pure metal essence. Deriving lethal qi from mystic metals... Is this the same as bypassing the expansion of qi essence and jumping straight into refining qi?"

"Yes," Yvelbane said with a hint of laughter. "This technique facilitates the fusion of qi essence and universal innate qi through external materials, circumventing both the River and Tide Essence Stages to bridge the gap to the Qi Refinement Realm.

"Because it was practiced by ancient sword immortals of a certain level of attainment to temper their physique, its complexity makes it difficult to grasp. However, the technique places little weight on your foundation, making it ideal for someone with the Spark like you, thereby granting you combat power. When you forge your first strand of Evenstar lethal qi, your strength will rival that of a Fortification martialist.

"Nonetheless, cultivating qi essence is vital. It's the foundation for all cultivation techniques. You should only begin refining qi when you've entered the Tide Essence Stage, even with Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal. However, our need for combat power is dire, so we're forced to throw caution to the wind and take a shortcut."

"I see." Closing his eyes, An Jing reached inward and centered on the Evenstar seal seed once more.

As the core of his cultivation, the seal seed was anchored to his spirit roots, releasing traces of qi essence to construct a mesh-like structure. However, progress was slow. It would take about ten to fifteen days for these strands to shape a single mesh segment, and it would be months of bitter cultivation before he could condense even a sliver of Evenstar lethal qi. But with external metal qi, that timeline could be shortened!

"This is Evenstar Metal-Devourer... It truly is a metal-gorging beast!"[1]

An Jing couldn't suppress a smile as the weight of Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal snapped into focus. Cultivating one's qi essence was a painstaking journey. Gifted as he was, he still had to patiently refine his foundation, enhance his innate qi, and slowly transform it into inner essence qi. He would need at least another year of tempering and steady accumulation for a flawless breakthrough into the Tide Essence Stage.

However, merging both paths would effectively double his pace, shortening his journey to the Tide Essence Stage down to a mere six months. Better yet, Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal would grant him a taste of the Fortification Realm's combat prowess ahead of time! The only catch was the need to search for more mystic metals.

"It's an advanced cultivation technique indeed." An Jing's mind drifted to the Imperial Sky Art and the Imperial Earth part that he had yet to acquire. "Direlife Manor's techniques don't even come close, while my own family's martial legacy feels rather basic. They may be enough for the moment, but I'm afraid they'll eventually fall short of Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal. I need to get my hands on some high-level martial techniques...

"Just how formidable is the cult's Heaven's Child Art, I wonder? This particular martial manual feels smooth, almost natural. I don't expect it to match Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal, but it should ideally be an advanced technique."

Lost in his thoughts, An Jing temporarily pushed his worries about the future to the back of his mind. But satisfied as he was, he had to stop cultivating because he was starving.

1. Evenstar Metal-Devourer is the alternative name for Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal ☜