176: The innate Qi is divided into threads

It was the same Coral Reef where he caught the mantis shrimp.

He summoned Dudu, made it glow as bait, and then Yang Dian casually performed a set of Hun Yuan Strength Moves before getting back to Cultivating.

As his energy slowly decreased and his vital Qi gradually increased, Yang Dian’s thoughts began to wander.

‘The second trait of the Heaven and Man Unity Skill is the Innate Body, so what will the third trait be?’

‘After Cultivating the third trait, the energy required to Cultivate the fourth trait of the Heaven and Man Unity Skill will be a six-digit number.’

‘If Dudu hadn't elevated my Physique, the energy consumption would have reached a seven-digit number.’

‘If measured by heaven and earth treasures, it would be thousands or even tens of thousands of heaven and earth treasures.’

‘Since the Qi Revival, has the entire Earth produced that many heaven and earth treasures?’

‘If I Cultivate the fourth trait of the Heaven and Man Unity Skill, can the Heaven and Man Unity Skill still be considered Martial Arts?’

‘Cultivating Immortals is probably nothing more than this, right?’

‘No, a Martial Arts Grandmaster with City-Level combat power doesn't seem much weaker than an ordinary Immortal Cultivator.’

‘In some low-ranked Immortal Cultivation worlds, those in the Qi Refinement Stage can't even fly...’

His thoughts revolved a few times before settling into silence.

Yang Dian sat cross-legged by the Coral Reef at the bottom of the dark, sunless sea, circulating the Heaven and Man Unity Skill over and over again.

Then, in the rhythm of the Unity of Heaven and Man, he summoned the energy located in the abode of his Soul, allowing the energy to dissipate into smoke, be absorbed by his Physical Body, and become the nourishment for his Physical Body’s improvement... The sun rose and the moon set, the moon rose and the sun set.

Yang Dian didn't know how long he had been Cultivating underwater.

When he opened his eyes, he only knew that he had Cultivated for a very long time; even Dudu had gotten tired of playing many times and had slept several times on his head.

He stood up and spread his right hand. Amidst Dudu's unconscious 'Dudu' murmurs, a misty glow appeared in Yang Dian's hand.

Looking closely at the glow, it resembled a ball, a mist, and even more so, an infinite, source-less thread.

This was the Heaven and Man Unity Skill's third trait: Innate Qi.

“Amplification?”

The ability of Innate Qi was very simple: amplification.

Amplification of all amplifications.

When integrated into the Physical Body and absorbed by it, it could increase Physique strength.

When integrated into vital Qi and absorbed by it, it could increase the total amount of vital Qi.

When exploded in a Qi burst state, filling the flesh and blood, it could temporarily increase vital Qi strength and Physical Body explosive power.

In addition, it even had effects such as detoxification and wound healing.

“What if I integrate it into my Soul?”

With a thought, the Innate Qi transformed into a stream of Qi, drilled into Yang Dian’s Physical Body, and finally, guided by Yang Dian’s consciousness, sank into the mysterious abode of the Soul, merging with his Soul.

The moment the Innate Qi merged with his Soul, an indescribable sensation of comfort spread throughout Yang Dian’s entire Physical Body, centered on his Soul.

“Perfection~”

Dudu, who was perched on Yang Dian’s head, also seemed to sense something. After wiggling its tentacles, it latched onto Yang Dian’s head and let out joyful ‘Dudu~ Dudu~’ cries.

After a long while, Yang Dian recovered from the pleasure of his Soul and Physical Body ascending together.

After a moment of daze, he reached out and took Dudu, who was on his head, and began to rub it.

“It seems I Cultivated an extraordinary trait.”

The Soul had always been Yang Dian’s weakness.

There was no need to mention his Physical Body and vital Qi.

He could pick any Martial Arts Secret Manual, and as long as he was willing to invest energy, his Martial Arts Realm would rapidly improve, and he could even Cultivate traits to gain additional enhancements.

His spirit was the same.

After Cultivating the Star Gazing Art, his total spiritual power had increased by an immeasurable amount compared to before.

Only his Soul had never grown, as Yang Dian had been unable to find a stable way to enhance it.

Except for the world’s feedback and the golden plum blossom from the old Plum Tree, his Soul had never increased.

Fortunately, he had now Cultivated [Innate Qi].

His Soul finally had perfect growth nourishment.

“If the initial Soul strength was 1, and the amount of energy absorbed daily was also 1.”

“After two enhancements, the Soul strength increased to 3.6, and the energy absorbed daily also increased to 3.6.”

“And now...”

Yang Dian carefully sensed the state of his Soul and finally came to a conclusion.

“Now, after absorbing a wisp of Innate Qi, the Soul’s strength has increased by 1% of its initial strength.”

“That is, it has increased to 3.61.”

Calculating to this point, Yang Dian blinked again.

“It seems a bit slow.”

Innate Qi was not generated out of thin air; it was the condensed essence of the Innate Body.

With Yang Dian’s current strength, he could only condense one wisp per month.

Want more?

Yes.

Improve his strength.

After Cultivating the third trait, for every 10% increase in the progress bar of the “Heaven and Man Unity Skill,” an additional wisp of Innate Qi would condense each month.

After Cultivating the fourth trait, the Innate Qi condensed each month would reach 11 wisps.

After Cultivating the fourth trait, for every 1% increase in the progress bar, an additional wisp would be generated each month, and so on.

“In other words, as long as I Cultivate the fifth trait of the “Heaven and Man Unity Skill” and my strength greatly increases, every month, the energy I can save daily can be 1.11 points more than the previous month…”

“A year later, the energy that can be increased daily can reach 73.26 points!”

Thinking of that beautiful future, Yang Dian started calculating in his mind again.

“After Dudu once again elevated my Physique, Cultivating the fourth trait of the Heaven and Man Unity Skill requires 200,000 energy, and the fifth trait requires 2,000,000 energy…”

“So, I’m still short on energy…”

Rubbing his brow with some distress, Yang Dian decided not to dwell on upsetting matters.

His main task now was to advance to Martial Arts Grandmaster!

After slowly exhaling, Yang Dian once again performed the Hun Yuan Strength Moves.

Staying in the sea and fighting against the undercurrents, the proficiency of Hun Yuan Strength could already slowly increase.

Now, mobilizing all his strength to perform the Hun Yuan Strength stance and focusing wholeheartedly on improving Hun Yuan Strength, its proficiency increased even faster.

About five hours later, Yang Dian, having caught an inspiration, stepped into a horse stance, brought his hands around his body, and gave a slight shake.

The surrounding undercurrents stilled for a moment, and tiny, countless vortices appeared around his exposed muscle lines, rotating for a few seconds before disappearing.

The third trait of Hun Yuan Strength: Thread Splitting.

In short, it meant that after throwing a punch, the force could be divided into multiple streams, either merging or dispersing, to inflict multiple layers of damage on the enemy.

After understanding the trait, Yang Dian tilted his head again and punched the Coral Reef next to him.

Watching the Coral Reef crack from within, Yang Dian shook his head.

“For a Martial Artist who relies on skill to make a living, the Thread Splitting technique is quite good.”

“But for a Martial Artist who relies on absolute strength to fight, Thread Splitting isn't very effective.”

“After all, such Martial Artists rely on overwhelming strength.”

“If you can win, you can win; if you can't, you can't.”

Thinking this, he stretched his Physical Body again.

“Fortunately, I rely on skill to make a living.”

Thinking of Yue Shan, Li Gui, and Liu Han’s group’s fist-to-flesh combat style, Yang Dian nodded again.

“I am truly very skilled.”

He looked up at the sky, his gaze seemingly piercing through the seawater, seeing the boundless stars hanging high in the sky, yet constantly swaying with the sea surface.

“After all, without some skill, how can one become a Martial Arts Grandmaster?”

In a murmur, Yang Dian had already stepped on the seawater and returned to the surface.

Then, he leaned back, floated on the sea, faced the myriad stars, and visualized the stars in the abode of his Soul...