64: Chapter 65 Re-entering the Spring Plain

Jiang Xingchuan ascended Fenchun Terrace once again, his emotions too complex to put into words.

Qingsang Main Peak remained the same as it had always been.

Stone steps spiraled up from the mountainside. The Spring Well stood at the center of the terrace, its rim built of bluestone, with the Spring Qi within it flowing endlessly.

Zhou Family Cultivators stood at the side of the terrace, while the Cold Households lined up in order, everyone keeping their heads lowered and holding their breath, not daring to spare even a glance at the main family's Cultivators.

The last time he stood here, he was a disciple of the Jiang Family's Cold Households.

At that time, he only thought about absorbing Qi to enter the Dao, thinking that if he could obtain a mouthful of Awakening of Insects Qi, he would no longer need to be a commoner subject to the whims of others.

Later, the Jiang Family fled Qingsang, the Zhou Family collapsed into chaos, and the Baili Mountain clan was established. He had thought he was already very far from this mountain.

Yet now, after twists and turns, he had actually been sent back.

And as a disciple of the unfamiliar Zhang family, no less.

In his mind, Yan Zhaopo let out a low laugh.

"Kid, judging by your reaction, you have quite a deep connection with this Zhou Family."

Jiang Xingchuan ignored him.

Yan Zhaopo seemed to have long been accustomed to this and continued on his own: "However, you need not be afraid. The Purple Mansion Golden Core Way has long since vanished among the noble families. As for the method of Embryonic Breath Nourishing Wheels, most of them have only heard the name but do not know the reality of it."

"In their eyes, you are merely an excellent cultivation seed with pure blood and Qi, and with your spiritual apertures already opened."

Jiang Xingchuan gazed at the wisp of floating green Qi in the Spring Well; his heart did not feel much more at ease because of this.

Now, with his understanding of this world, he gradually understood that the Zhou Family's strength was among the top tier even among the noble families.

Even though it had been severely weakened after the great war between the Zhou and Zhao families, it was still the main family of Qingsang Mountain, still had Foundation Establishment Cultivators stationed there, and still controlled vast resources and wealth.

The Jiang Family being able to escape once back then required a combination of favorable timing and location, the miraculous nature of their family genealogy, and the oversight of the Zhou Family; if he were recognized now and wanted to escape a second time, even if he made a Foundation Establishment Breakthrough on the spot, he might not be able to retreat unscathed.

The Zhou Family Cultivator at the Late Stage of Qi Refining in front of the terrace raised his hand.

His expression was cold. A green jade hook flew from his sleeve and fell into the Spring Well. With a gentle hook, a wisp of Spring Qi rose from the well.

That Spring Qi was as thin as a silk thread. After entering the cup, it surged slightly, like a new leaf unfurling, carrying a scent of Qingsang that was familiar to the point of being heart-stopping.

"Zhang Family, Zhang Daniu."

Jiang Xingchuan looked up.

The name he was currently using was exactly the one the Zhang family had temporarily given him.

The Zhang couple and their two children beside him were all looking at him nervously.

The woman's fingers were clutching her sleeves tightly, her face showing both anticipation and undisguised unease.

Jiang Xingchuan took the cup of Spring Qi.

The green Qi in the cup drifted leisurely, like a tiny swimming fish, moving gently against the wall of the cup.

He hesitated for a moment, then tilted his head back and swallowed it in one gulp.

As the Spring Qi entered his throat, a familiar warmth quickly spread along his chest and abdomen, flowing into his Meridians.

But this time, it was completely different from when he had accepted that mouthful of wild Awakening of Insects Qi back then.

Back then, when the Spring Qi entered his body, it was like a hibernating insect struck by thunder, awakening his Meridians all the way, and finally forcefully twisting into a mouthful of his own Awakening of Insects Qi.

But now, after this wisp of Spring Qi dispersed into his Meridians, it did not gather, nor did it take shape. As soon as it unfolded, it dissolved on its own, turning into wisps of pure Spiritual Qi that dispersed into his limbs and bones.

Jiang Xingchuan was shocked.

"What is going on?"

Yan Zhaopo laughed loudly in his mind, laughing unbridledly.

"Kid, are you really a blockhead? I told you so many times before, you have already embarked on the Purple Mansion Golden Core Way; you are no longer one of those Cold Household minor Cultivators who use simplified solar term methods."

"You already have a breath within your body; that breath is called Ritual Counterpart Shadow."

"Winter Solstice merges with taiyin to shape the Ritual Counterpart Shadow; how high is the status of this Qi?"

Yan Zhaopo laughed triumphantly, as if looking at a masterpiece he had crafted with his own hands: "The wisp of Spring Qi you just accepted is merely low-grade Spring Qi distributed by the Zhou Family to the Cold Households; how could it dare to compete for status with the Ritual Counterpart Shadow within your body? Naturally, it can only disperse on its own, turning into Spiritual Qi to replenish the final line of your Qi entry."

Jiang Xingchuan did not respond.

He only felt that deep within his body, the several mysterious barriers that Yan Zhaopo called Embryonic Breath Nourishing Wheels were being lit up bit by bit by the Spiritual Qi.

The first to move was a point of mysterious light in the Mud Pill Palace.

That was the Xuanjing Wheel.

Back then, when Yan Zhaopo used spiritual essence to forcefully open his spiritual apertures, he first gathered eighty-one wisps of Spiritual Qi, leaped over the Twelve-Story Tower, converged into the Mud Pill, condensed into liquid that flowed down, and then formed a pool in the Qi Sea, with wheels born within the pool.

Jiang Xingchuan was half-conscious at the time, feeling as if someone was carving into his soul with a knife, the pain so severe he nearly died.

Now, perceiving it again, he introspected and discovered it was vastly different from before.

The Spiritual Qi slowly circulated along a Qi path within his body that he had never traversed before.

That Qi path was different from his original Awakening of Insects Meridians; it bypassed the shallow paths of the Meridians and directly built bridges between the spiritual apertures.

Wheels of spiritual light lit up like moons. Jiang Xingchuan felt a coolness between his brows, and his Divine Sense suddenly became much clearer in an instant.

The sound of the wind on the terrace and the rising and falling of the green Qi in the Spring Well were all several degrees clearer than before.

Yan Zhaopo's voice also lost its amusement, carrying a trace of indescribable jealousy.

"Embryonic Breath has six wheels, namely Xuanjing, Chengming, Zhouxing, Qingyuan, and Yujing."

"The Yujing Wheel is the key to Embryonic Breath; when the wheel is formed, Divine Sense can manifest. You are now able to introspect your spiritual apertures because of it."

"Finally, there is the Lingchu Wheel."

The Spiritual Qi transformed from the Spring Qi that had dispersed into his Meridians seemed to have finally found its home, slowly sinking into the Mansion of Rising Yang.

A moment later, a very faint sound of a water drop suddenly echoed from the deepest part of Jiang Xingchuan's body.

The Lingchu Wheel lit up.

The six wheels reached Perfection, and the Ritual Counterpart Shadow Qi revived from its dormancy. It was cold, deep, and carried an air of quiet solitude.

Jiang Xingchuan's chest trembled slightly.

The Ritual Counterpart Shadow Qi finally emerged from the Embryonic Breath Nourishing Wheels, slowly flowing along the Qi path connected by the six wheels.

He had entered Qi Refining.

The Zhou Family Cultivator on the terrace only saw that he was slightly slow in absorbing the Qi and frowned slightly, but did not notice anything unusual.

In the eyes of that Zhou Family Cultivator, Jiang Xingchuan had just taken a bit more time to stabilize his Qi path after swallowing the Spring Qi.

In the world, the speed at which Cold Households absorbed Qi varied; for some, it was done the moment a cup entered the body, while others had to sit for half an hour to barely gather Qi; this was nothing strange.

"Passable."

The Zhou Family Cultivator nodded and lifted his brush to record it in the register.

"Zhang Family, Zhang Daniu, absorbed Qi to enter the Dao."

Jiang Xingchuan stood up and silently retreated to the side.

He had just stood still when he heard the Zhou Family Cultivator read out: "Zhang Family, Zhang Xiuniang."

The surname Chen Xiaoyan was currently using was also the Zhang family's, as the woman had referred to them as siblings at the time.

When she went up to the terrace, Jiang Xingchuan couldn't help but glance at her.

Chen Xiaoyan's appearance was now vastly different from before.

After the taiyin spiritual essence reshaped her dharma body, her features were much colder, and her skin was whiter than in the past. Standing before the Spring Well, she no longer looked like an ordinary farm wife, but rather like a piece of jade for cultivation, descended from the direct lineage of some Sect.

The Zhou Family Cultivator similarly hooked a wisp of Spring Qi from the Spring Well and filled a cup with it.

After Chen Xiaoyan took it, she did not hesitate and tilted her head back to drink it.

Her Qi absorption process was quieter than Jiang Xingchuan's.

After the Spring Qi dispersed into her Meridians, it also did not twist into the Spring Method Qi that the Zhou Family wanted to see, but instead slowly sank into the layer of taiyin dharma body within her.

A moment later, the aura on her body stirred slightly, and she steadily fell into the first level of Qi Refining.

The surrounding Cold Households immediately cast strange looks.

Two people in one family both being able to absorb Qi was extremely rare among the Cold Households.

Especially since this couple did not look like they had any ancestral immortal affinity, yet one after another they had entered the Dao, which inevitably made people envious, jealous, and also uneasy.

The Zhou Family manager's expression did not change much; he just recorded it as usual: "Zhang Family, Zhang Xiuniang, absorbed Qi to enter the Dao."

Then he said: "Next."

Both members of the Zhang family had achieved Qi Refining, but in the eyes of the Zhou Family, it was just two more entries on the Cold Household register.

This year, the Zhou Family had brought in over ten households, but in the end, only three households had members who succeeded in absorbing Qi and were able to be included as part of the Qingsang Cold Households.

As for those failed families, the Zhou Family did not say much, only telling them to return to where they came from, as if sweeping useless seeds back into the dust.