27: Chapter 27 Condensing Origin into Qi

Night was deep and quiet.

Ling Hao sat cross-legged in his meditation room. No lamps were lit; only the sparse starlight from outside the window shone in, casting blurred patches of light on the bluestone floor.

Three days had passed since the establishment of the Youth Battalion.

During these three days, he had spent most of his time in a weakened state. Condensing an Origin Seed for ten people at once and guiding them to complete the process of drawing the Origin into their bodies had consumed far more than he had estimated. Even with the assistance of the Origin Resonance Array, the feeling of being almost completely drained remained etched in his memory.

However, he had not been without gains in these three days.

This weakened state forced him to calm down and truly examine the scarlet-gold Origin of War within his body—or rather, to examine what lay deeper, hidden beneath the Origin of War.

The Origin Seed.

When bestowing Origin Seeds upon Ling You, the Ling Shadow Guards, and the children of the Youth Battalion, Ling Hao had actually always had a question: Where was his own Origin Seed?

When the System activated, it only said he had "no Spiritual Root, not possessed, and in a pure state," and that he could "mold a spirit body," but it never explicitly stated what form his Origin took.

Until this moment.

In his extreme weakness, when the Origin of War dimmed due to overconsumption, Ling Hao finally "saw" it.

Not with his eyes, not with his Divine Sense—he had not yet opened his Sea of Consciousness. Instead, it was with a more essential perception, just like the feeling he had when he first used the Disintegration Dao Pattern and "saw" the structure of matter.

Deep within his Dantian, beneath the burning scarlet-gold flames of the Origin of War, there was a mass of... Chaos.

It was not nothingness, nor was it darkness. It was a "state" that could not be described by color, constantly changing. At times it was transparent like water, at times thick like earth, at times scorching like fire, at times sharp like metal, and at times full of vitality like wood.

Five attributes, the rotation of the Five Elements.

But it was more than just the Five Elements.

Deep within that Chaos, there were even more subtle, almost imperceptible fluctuations—the flow of wind, the violence of thunder, the coldness of ice, the purity of light, the depth of darkness...

"This is..." Ling Hao's consciousness sank into that Chaos, his heart shocked.

[System Prompt]

[Detected host's first internal observation of the Origin core]

[Analyzing...]

[Analysis complete]

[Host Origin form: Chaos Origin (Unawakened)]

[Description: Chaos Origin is the source of the ten thousand Daos, capable of evolving all attributes and restraining all attributes. Current status: Dormant (Must condense the first strand of 'Chaos Origin' to initially activate)]

Chaos Origin.

The source of the ten thousand Daos.

Ling Hao took a deep breath—although he was in a state of internal consciousness, this action had become a habit.

"How do I condense the Chaos Origin?" he asked silently in his heart.

[Method 1: Follow the established procedure, using the 'Origin Foundation Establishment Method' as a basis, spend three months with slow, grinding effort to condense Qi into threads, then turn threads into strands.]

[Method 2: Break and then stand; use the current weakened state, take the Origin of War as a guide, and forcefully impact the Chaos barrier to condense the 'Chaos Origin'. Success probability: 37%. Failure consequence: Origin damage, unable to attempt again within three years.]

[Recommendation: Select Method 2.]

"Reason?"

[Host's current situation: Nangong Family assassination failed, the Wang family may retaliate at any time, Valley of Buried Weapons exploration mission time limit is thirty days. Cultivating step-by-step will not provide enough time.]

Ling Hao fell silent.

The System was right.

He did not have three months to take it slowly. Although the Nangong Family assassin was dead, the mastermind behind them had not been found. Although the Wang family had temporarily ceased hostilities, once that Old Ancestor who was in seclusion attempting to reach the Golden Core stage emerged, they would definitely come for revenge.

Not to mention, he had to complete the exploration of the ancient battlefield remnants in the Valley of Buried Weapons within a month. That was a mission issued by the System, and the rewards were a chance to advance his Battle Spirit Body and an advanced chapter of the Disintegration Dao Pattern—these two things were crucial for his current improvement in strength.

"A 37% success rate..." Ling Hao muttered, "Too low."

[If combined with the 'Battle Spirit Body enhancement opportunity', the success rate can be increased to 68%.]

Battle Spirit Body enhancement opportunity.

That was a reward obtained when completing the hidden mission of "Establishing the Youth Battalion," which he hadn't used yet.

"68%..." A trace of determination flashed in Ling Hao's eyes, "That's enough."

He no longer hesitated.

Withdrawing his consciousness from the internal state, Ling Hao opened his eyes and took a jade bottle from his bosom. Inside the bottle was a scarlet-gold Medicinal Pill the size of a dragon's eye; it was a "War Source Pill" he had refined using the Origin of War, originally prepared to recover from injuries at a critical moment.

But now, he needed to use it for something else.

"System, begin strengthening the Battle Spirit Body."

[Confirming execution of Battle Spirit Body enhancement]

[Estimated time required: six hours]

[The process will be accompanied by intense pain; do you wish to continue?]

"Continue."

It was not a gentle nourishment, but a crude, lava-like scorching energy that flooded into his limbs and bones! Ling Hao's whole body trembled violently, and dense scarlet-gold battle patterns appeared on the surface of his skin. Those patterns moved like living things, and wherever they passed, his flesh, bones, and Meridians trembled violently!

Pain!

Heart-rending, lung-splitting pain!

It was as if someone were using red-hot iron tongs to crush his bones inch by inch, and pouring boiling magma into every one of his Meridians!

Ling Hao gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging, and cold sweat instantly soaked his green robe. But he did not let out a single groan, only holding on desperately, circulating the "Body Refining Chapter" recorded in the "Origin Foundation Establishment Method," guiding that violent energy to strengthen every part of his Physical Body.

The Bottleneck of the first level of Body Refining was instantly broken.

Second level of Body Refining.

Third level of Body Refining...

The strengthening of the Battle Spirit Body was not a simple improvement in cultivation, but a transformation of the level of life. Just like a caterpillar breaking its cocoon to become a butterfly, this process required experiencing extreme pain to exchange for rebirth.

Time passed bit by bit.

Outside the window, the stars gradually faded, and the east began to turn white with the dawn.

When the first ray of morning light shone into the meditation room, the scarlet-gold battle patterns on Ling Hao's body finally slowly receded.

A touch of deep scarlet-gold flashed and disappeared, then returned to calm. But his entire temperament was completely different from before—if he had previously been like a sharp sword hidden in its scabbard, then now he was like a sword that had been unsheathed by a third, its edge not yet fully revealed, but already enough to make one's heart palpitate.

[Battle Spirit Body enhancement complete (Middle Stage)]

[Effect: Physical Body strength permanently increased by five times, combat intuition significantly enhanced, 'Battle Will: Ebullition' state duration extended to thirty breaths, cooldown time reduced to six hours]

[Physical Body strength: Comparable to a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Body Cultivator]

Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Body Cultivator!

Ling Hao clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within his body. Compared to before, it was at least three times stronger! And he could feel that after the Battle Spirit Body reached Minor Achievement, his control over the Origin of War was more precise, and the consumption was even lower.

But this was still not enough.

No matter how strong the Origin of War was, it was still an "external force." What he truly needed was the "True Qi" that belonged to him, originating from the Chaos Origin.

"System, start condensing the Chaos Origin."

[Confirming execution of Chaos True Qi Condensation]

[Will use the Origin of War as a guide to impact the Chaos barrier]

[Warning: This process is irreversible and cannot be interrupted]

[Origin points consumed: 1000]

[Start]

The moment the last word fell, the scarlet-gold Origin of War within Ling Hao's body suddenly began to spin crazily!

It no longer burned gently, but transformed into a scarlet-gold flame tornado, fiercely crashing toward the Chaos deep in his Dantian!

"Boom—!!!"