355: Chapter 355 Gathering Qi and Filling the Origin, Powerful Inner Qi

[However, the subsequent third stage of Mortal Shedding, Qi Gathering and Essence Replenishment, presented you with a slight obstacle.]

[You closed your eyes and concentrated, sinking your mind into the places where your internal Meridians flowed, attempting to use your self-created technique to guide the free-floating Clear Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.]

[However, it was as if an invisible mesh covered the world; no matter how you operated your technique, you remained unable to draw the Clear Spiritual Qi into your body.]

[Upon investigation, you discovered the problem did not lie with the technique itself. Your method indeed allowed you to keenly capture the existence of the Clear Spiritual Qi, and even distinguish the subtle differences between its purity and turbidity.]

[But there seemed to be some ancient restriction or barrier between heaven and earth, causing ordinary techniques to only touch the surface, unable to reach the core.]

[Let alone moving the Clear Spiritual Qi to cleanse the Physical Body and using it as a catalyst to break through to the third stage of Mortal Shedding.]

[Without that internal and external cleansing, the Physical Body could not completely shed the sluggishness of its Mortal shell, and the Realm would always be separated by a hazy layer of window paper.]

["As expected, I still have to use my cheats."]

[While it was feasible to continue spending time deducing a more exquisite technique, it was not the most efficient choice.]

[With a slight thought, the talent within your body originating from the Immeasurable Killing Dao quietly awakened.]

[Under the influence of that power, the invisible Bottleneck standing between the second and third stages of Mortal Shedding began to dissolve slowly, like melting snow.]

[There was no world-shaking commotion, only a natural progression where water flows and a channel is formed.]

[The moment the last trace of obstruction completely vanished, your entire body shuddered.]

[Without needing to deliberately operate any technique, your body seemed to instantly connect to a source, and the Clear Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth was like birds returning to their nest.]

[It spontaneously converged toward you, cheerfully flooding into your body through your pores and acupoints.]

[This was an instinctive absorption, as natural as breathing. When the Realm is reached and the shackles are gone, heaven and earth generously open their embrace.]

[The Clear Spiritual Qi flooding into your body began to intertwine with the Jin force you had long ago tempered to the Transcendent level.]

[The two were not simply stacked; instead, they began a wondrous fusion and transformation.]

[The Jin force in your body was originally as solid as mercury and surged like a river, but now, under the saturation and catalysis of the Clear Spiritual Qi, its nature underwent a fundamental change.]

[They became more agile and 'active,' as if injected with a Soul, gradually transforming into a more condensed and spiritually resonant energy—inner qi!]

[As this inner qi circulated through your body, it brought a warm yet majestic sense of power.]

[It shared similarities with the concepts of Internal Energy and True Qi from Wuxia, both being Transcendent energies that surpassed the ordinary flesh and blood body.]

[However, its purity and potential might were even a notch higher.]

[If one were to make an analogy, it would be roughly equivalent to the True Essence formed from the liquefaction of True Qi in certain novels.]

[With a slight thought, the newly born inner qi radiated from your body.]

[Without needing to be deliberately forced out, it could easily extend over thirty meters, making every detail within its sensing range crystal clear.]

[Within three feet of your body, the inner qi naturally condensed, forming an invisible but tangible protective wall of Qi.]

[You made a brief assessment; the defensive power of this Qi wall was sufficient to calmly withstand the impact of armor-piercing rounds from a large-caliber anti-materiel sniper rifle.]

[Even a direct hit from a small rocket launcher would have its power greatly weakened, ensuring your body remained unharmed.]

[However, according to your previous deduction of the Mortal Shedding cultivation system...]

[Under normal circumstances, the main function of the inner qi condensed in the third stage, Qi Gathering and Essence Replenishment, should focus on nourishing the Physical Body, prolonging life, and gradually improving the essence of life.]

[While defensive capabilities would certainly improve, they should never be this exaggerated, let alone forming such a stable and powerful external Qi wall.]

[After a moment's thought, you understood the crux of the matter. The root of the issue likely lay in the fact that, as the creator, you already possessed a Peak Transcendent martial arts cultivation.]

[The Jin force of a Transcendent Martial Artist is already tempered a thousand times over, reaching a level unimaginable to a Mortal.]

[When combined with the natural energy of heaven and earth's Clear Spiritual Qi, the resulting chemical reaction was far beyond what a Cultivator starting from scratch could compare to.]

[Your inner qi was essentially a product of the combination of this world's martial arts and the path of cultivation you deduced; naturally, it was extraordinary.]

[Of course, these points were actually meaningless. As the creator of this cultivation path, at this moment, you were perhaps the only third-stage Mortal Shedding Cultivator in the world.]

[Your state and the characteristics of your inner qi were, in a sense, the most standard form of this new system, because you set the standard.]

[You decided that if you intended to make this cultivation system public and teach others in the future...]

[Then the Breakthrough method for the third stage of Mortal Shedding would have to be adjusted accordingly.]

[At the very least, the inner qi condensed by successors—even if it couldn't match the inner qi you possessed now—]

[Would still need to ensure its quality firmly surpassed the Transcendent level, truly reflecting the advanced significance of Mortal Shedding and laying a solid and universal Foundation for subsequent Realms.]

[After stepping into the third stage of Mortal Shedding, the changes were not limited to the transformation of power forms.]

[The continuous influx of Clear Spiritual Qi from heaven and earth provided an unprecedented supplement and nourishment to your life Origin.]

[You could clearly feel that the Origin power representing your life Foundation was like a parched riverbed receiving sweet rain, beginning to grow and burgeon violently.]

[Under the irrigation of this abundant vitality, your Essence, Qi, and Spirit grew stronger by the day at a perceptible rate.]

[Three months later.]

[Your Essence, Qi, and Spirit had already climbed to the Peak that your current Realm could accommodate.]

[Your blood and Qi were like a Dragon, surging and roaring within your body, yet they were perfectly harmonious and natural, without a single leak.]

[Your mental intent was as condensed as crystal, clear and transparent, reflecting every minute detail of your body.]

[Your inner qi was full and surging, circulating through your body's cycles without a hint of stagnation.]

[Having reached this step, conventional methods of breathing, Qi refinement, and concentration no longer provided any significant benefit to you.]

[This marked that you had officially stood at the Peak of the third stage of Mortal Shedding.]

[After some testing, you reached a conclusion.]

[With your Physical Body alone, you now possessed three hundred thousand catties of strength. Your physical defense could ignore small rocket launchers and defend against large-caliber artillery.]

[Your speed surpassed the speed of sound, and with the assistance of inner qi, you could even glide through the air for short periods.]

[If this world were only as it appeared on the surface, then with your current strength, unless you were to face a nuclear bomb head-on, you could already be said to be unrivaled.]

[Unfortunately, there was a high probability that this world was not simple.]