Absolute Gate

Chapter 70 Refining Essence into Qi
Wu finally accepted two missions: one was a diving salvage operation, and the other was to find Yak.

The first client, codenamed Gray Ring Grass, was only Black Iron, but the reward for this mission was a whopping nine million.

After the mission was completed, all participants received this much reward, which is arguably the highest reward among bronze missions. No wonder Edelweiss recommended this mission to him.

This was a multi-person cooperative task, with a maximum of six people. When Wu Zhong saw that there were only five people who had signed up, including himself, he hurriedly asked Yang Chunsha to take it as well, so that they could get an extra person's share of the reward.

The assembly point is in Mexico, and the deadline for assembly is October 15th. Those who fail to arrive will be considered to have abandoned the mission.

The objective is to salvage valuable items sunk in an underwater cave. Applicants must be physically capable of withstanding high water pressure and preferably possess other deep-sea diving abilities. Details will be discussed in person.

To be honest, although Wu Zhong could swim, he had never been underwater, let alone cave diving.

However, with his physique being 21 times stronger than the average person, he could completely ignore the water pressure and going deeper than a professional diver should not be a problem.

Wu Zhong turned to Yang Chunsha and said, "This mission will start in twelve days. We can go find Yak first."

Yang Chunsha nodded, and the two set off that very day.

First, they went to a cattle farm near San Martin, bought two cows, and then rented the rancher's car to transport them.

Wu Zhongqian gave a generous sum of money, so it wasn't a problem.

The two drove to a secluded woodland.

Wu Zhong led an ox down, gripped a sharp blade, and with a whoosh of cold light, slaughtered it on the spot.

He had never slaughtered a cow before, but he had consulted Jordan. The key to the sacrifice was simply to cut the offering in half, spread it out in a '卯' shape, and then remove the internal organs.

Wu did as instructed, casually turning the tortoise shell in his hand.

"Where is the amateur I'm looking for, Ark?"

He muttered to himself, and suddenly felt a surge of inspiration: "I've got it, over there!"

"Don't move, hold on..." Yang Chunsha took the map and immediately made detailed directional marks according to the direction he pointed out.

"Let's drive the car a little further away and measure it again in a different place. Based on the angle, we can calculate the approximate distance."

Wu finished his work and left the cow in the wild, entrusting it to nature.

The two drove another 100 kilometers away and did the same thing again, this time with a divination.

Seeing the direction he was pointing, Yang Chunsha compared it carefully, did some calculations, and finally drew a rough circle on the map.

"That's so far, more than 3,800 kilometers away, in... the upper reaches of the Nile River."

Wu Zhong glanced at the map: "Are they Egyptians? Or tourists?"

"If they are tourists, we need to get there as soon as possible, otherwise it will be troublesome for us to keep following them if they change locations."

"Once we find him, our mission will be complete."

Yang Chunsha immediately said, "Then I'll go book the plane tickets."

Wu finished speaking, and the two returned to the hotel. He gave Yang Chunsha the passport of the current skin-changing suit, while he used his rest time to study the Longevity Formula.

For the past two weeks since he left India, plus the last week, he has been studying the Longevity Manual every day.

Martial arts—if there was any dream left in my ordinary life, it was the dream of becoming a martial arts hero.

He took it very seriously and had written down the entire notebook, so much so that he could recite it from memory.

All the patterns and arrow markings are memorized; I can see them even with my eyes closed.

He even went so far as to study the human meridian diagram and brush up on his basic knowledge.

Although he had captured some of the true energy of the Longevity Technique, he still could not control it on his own.

It can only be used when exerting force, so there's no way to mention the many miraculous effects of the Longevity Technique.

"I've tried several times before but failed to activate my inner energy. Now that I'm about to leave the stronghold, I need to determine whether I can actually practice the Longevity Technique..."

"If I can't make any progress by tonight, I might as well go to the store and buy another internal skill book."

Wu finally sat cross-legged on the yoga mat and, following the example of the seven human figures, began to imitate their poses in a very professional manner.

I already know the diagrams and arrows by heart, so now I just need to focus on the postures and guide my internal energy.

Half an hour later, Yang Chunsha returned.

Seeing him practicing his skills again, striking various poses on the ground with a serious expression, Yang Chunsha covered her mouth and chuckled.

"The tickets are booked, and we can leave first thing tomorrow morning."

After she finished speaking, she realized that Wu Zhong was ignoring her, so she said, "You can practice slowly, I'm going to sleep."

Yang Chunsha took a bath and went to bed, unaware that Wu Zhong had already felt the internal energy within his body pulsating.

No longer just moving with the force exerted, but being subtly guided by his will.

"It moved! It finally reacted! Even with my own internal energy, it took me a whole month to feel it... I'm really..."

Wu Zhong both cried and laughed. As an Earthling, he had absolutely no foundation. Having laws attached to him didn't mean he was qualified to practice.

Especially this longevity formula, which is said to be extremely difficult to obtain, with only one in millions of people achieving it.

Fortunately, I felt the energy, and the most difficult hurdle was over. Now I muster all my energy and persevere.

However, he really couldn't control his internal energy, and his qi circulation quickly went astray, completely contradicting the markings on the book.

In an instant, Wu Zhong felt his energy become disordered and began to move erratically, his internal energy becoming uncontrollable.

It could even impact one's vital points.

"Well……"

Wu was in great pain; the feeling of being on the verge of death had returned.

It was a very familiar feeling; Fei Peng had once made him experience that kind of pain, as if his life was being tightly gripped.

"This is not under my control."

"My internal energy got out of control, so I can't really say I broke down the door myself, can I?"

Wu Zhong was very nervous. Although he thought he would be fine even if he went into a state of demonic possession, he was still very panicked when he actually did.

The feeling of being near death is no joke; the pain is real and undeniable.

The heart races, the face flushes, veins bulge, eyes become bloodshot, and various physiological reactions occur as the vital point is impacted.

But that's all.

Ultimately, they couldn't take it any further. Wu Zhong's Achilles' heel was like an ark in a raging storm.

It was battered and ravaged in every way, but it just wouldn't die.

As the fire gradually subsided, Wu Zhong was still panting heavily and couldn't catch his breath.

"The qi deviation is finally over. Am I just not talented enough? I lost control as soon as I got started. This technique is too difficult..."

"How about we switch to a better one? I have over 600,000 now, should I buy a simple one?"

Wu Zhong had a fleeting thought of giving up; it was just too painful, pure torture.

But Jordan's words came to mind, and he gritted his teeth and decided to continue.

Why should it really be impossible just because someone says it can't be done? He really wanted to accomplish something.

He put in a month of effort for this, and then gave up just as things were starting to look promising?
Theoretically speaking, once he has a sense of Qi, he should definitely be able to master it; after all, he won't die if he fails. "...But it hurts so much, damn it, let's try again."

Wu calmed himself down and tried again. This time he did a little better and completed two more red line markings.

But in the end, he still made a mistake, and his demonic possession struck again.

"Holy crap..." His face was red, his neck was thick, his eyes were wide open, his veins were bulging, and he was drooling. He was twitching in a strange position, looking like a zombie about to mutate.

"Holy crap... This is outrageous! Could this martial art be wrong?"

"Impossible, impossible. Jordan is already a member of my clan. Even if he harmed me before, he would definitely remind me now."

"The technique is fine, let's try again!"

His mind was racing, but he steadied himself and tried again.

Before long, the image of a chicken claw disease patient reappeared.

He went mad with desire, forcing himself to endure it... time and time again, failing repeatedly.

If someone else fails even once, at best they will be crippled or disabled, and at worst they will die.

But Wu Zhong, if he can just take a break, he can come back again.

This process repeated itself, and time passed second by second.

Yang Chunsha was fast asleep, and no one paid attention to Wu Zhong's 'zombie-like madness' beside her.

Yang Chunsha slept until dawn, when she woke up.

"I'll go ask Erwin to bring breakfast. What do you want to eat? Hey? What's this...?"

Yang Chunsha finally saw Wu Zhong, who was in a strange posture, his face flushed, covered in sweat, with bulging veins, eyes wide open, and steam rising from his body.

"You've mastered it?"

"Wait, you've gone astray in your practice, haven't you?"

Yang Chunsha hurriedly came to Wu Zhongsheng's side, but dared not touch him.

"Is this how the technique is done? You haven't gone mad from practicing it, have you?"

She was at a loss, after all, she didn't know any martial arts, and she didn't even know if she had gone mad from practicing martial arts.

"Hey, how are you? Stop practicing and give me some feedback..."

Yang Chunsha was anxious but didn't know how to help him. Her eyes were full of concern, hoping that he wouldn't die in the mission but instead die from practicing his skills.

"call……"

Wu Zhong suddenly exhaled a breath of stale air and stood up in pain: "Ahhh... This is really damn it. I can accept going into qi deviation if I fail... How the hell can I go into qi deviation even if I practice correctly?"

He was furious; he had failed time and time again, and he was in unbearable pain.

But each time he got more right, so he endured it, gritted his teeth, and relied on his fearlessness to persevere until he had completely succeeded in his practice and completed the entire route of a chapter.

As a result, at the very moment of completion, he went mad again, and his entire body was burning up.

I completely lost it at that moment.

Is it possible to go astray if you're wrong, and also go astray if you're right?

"This technique is flawed, I'm not practicing it anymore!"

Wu finally took out his notebook and slammed it to the ground.

Yang Chunsha chuckled: "Xia-ge already told you, practicing on your own is a waste of time, and Jordan also said that this thing can't be learned..."

She kept rambling on, as if I already knew.

However, they didn't notice that Wu Zhong's eyes were fixed on the book on the ground, his expression strange.

Wu bent down and picked up the notebook. He saw a dent in the ground, an imprint of the notebook, the floor dented in the shape of the floorboards. This was not something that could be done with great strength.

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is..." he murmured to himself.

Yang Chunsha was taken aback: "What's wrong?"

Wu Zhong exclaimed excitedly, "I've succeeded... I've mastered it!"

"So the Longevity Technique leads to qi deviation and demonic possession."

Yang Chunsha glared at her: "Are you crazy? Don't ruin your mind!"

Wu Zhong's behavior makes him look exactly like a madman.

But Wu ignored her and focused on sitting cross-legged, closing his eyes, quietly feeling himself, and walking the route again.

This time it went exceptionally smoothly, and he found that he could easily control his internal energy!

As easily as moving an arm or finger, the thought was enough to complete the process, and there were no mistakes or omissions.

The instant he finished practicing, he felt intensely burning inside, his face flushed, and his whole body steaming.

Wu Zhong knew that he had entered a state of demonic possession again, but this time it was different.

The failed attempt to go into qi deviation was due to a complete loss of control over one's internal energy.

The madness that follows success is milder and less painful.

Most importantly, the internal energy was completely controllable and did not go berserk.

However, the body senses the crisis and then frantically secretes substances like adrenaline.

It's as if all the organs, viscera, flesh cells, and blood cells in the body are desperately trying to save this body!

It's like saying: Brain, don't die!

"That's it. It's a controlled form of demonic possession. The body enters its limit, mobilizing all physiological functions and unleashing potential."

Wu was filled with excitement and became more and more energetic as he practiced.

How could I not be energetic? My adrenaline was pumping, and all my bodily functions were running at full power.

Countless life essences were refined and transformed into a surge of energy that flowed into his dantian and mingmen (vital energy points).

This is called refining essence into qi.

Most people who practice the Longevity Technique can eventually dominate the world, but Wu Zhong has twenty-one times the physical qualities, forty times the immune system and cellular activity, and his vitality is vigorous, with all his functions far exceeding those of humans.

In this situation, what would it be like to refine essence into qi?
However, first, he had to continuously refine and assimilate the original Fei Peng and Jordan's internal energy, purifying it into a completely new vortex.

At the same time, his own internal energy, transformed into power, was also growing stronger.

"Keep going, keep going! Don't be shy about my body!"

Wu Zhong continuously circulated his divine power, frantically squeezing out his own essence.

When a normal person practices qigong, they must exercise restraint in refining the essence of life, otherwise they will suffer from a loss of vital essence and blood, which would be a net loss.

But that's for normal people. Wu is an abnormal human being, so he doesn't need to care about strengthening his foundation.

Vitality? Just keep squeezing it dry!
He turned back and grabbed Debiao for a couple of puffs, which made up for it.

……

(End of this chapter)