Gao Wu: If this BOSS isn't nerfed, is it even playable?

Chapter 157 The Vortex Forms, the Sea of ​​Qi Opens!

The pain was like a surging tide, one wave after another.

As the purple venomous blood continued to penetrate deep into his meridians, Lin Ye's face turned pale, and his lips lost all color.

This process was really agonizing.

But as soon as he opened his eyes and saw Dongfang Zhen, who was also soaking in the pool not far away with a calm expression, the wavering in his heart would be immediately suppressed.

Dongfang Zhen has already reached the Condensation Realm.

He stayed here solely to further refine and strengthen his meridians.

If even he could endure this kind of pain, what right do I have to complain in order to break through to a higher realm?

Lin Ye closed his eyes, focusing all his attention on his body, forcing himself to adapt to, and even utilize, this intense pain.

Time passes minute by minute.

The mist in the pool grew thicker.

Dongfang Zhen, who had been looking quite relaxed, suddenly sensed something was amiss.

He felt a faint current of water slowly flowing from his direction toward Lin Ye.

He opened his eyes and saw that in the huge bath, which covered more than 20 square meters, the three distinct colors of the medicinal liquid were indeed converging towards Lin Ye.

At first, Dongfang Zhen thought it was his imagination.

But gradually, the current became faster and more obvious, eventually forming a visible whirlpool in the center of the pool.

Lin Ye sat cross-legged at the very center of the vortex.

"Brother Lin?"

Just as Dongfang Zhen was about to speak up and remind him that absorbing large amounts of these three potent medicinal substances into the body might exceed the limits that the meridians could withstand, and could damage the foundation of one's health.

But he swallowed the words back down his throat.

He looked at Lin Ye's face, which was slightly distorted by pain but also revealed a resolute determination, and suddenly fell silent.

He respected Lin Ye's choice.

Because he knew better than anyone how terrifyingly strong willpower it would take to actively accelerate the absorption of these three medicinal baths.

The torment of alternating hot and cold temperatures within the body is secondary; the feeling of having one's meridians repeatedly pierced by millions of steel needles is something that ordinary people simply cannot endure.

He had experienced it himself.

He made the same choice back then in order to reach the Condensation Realm as soon as possible.

Both of them were just madmen who would do anything to pursue a higher level of martial arts.

Thinking of this, a relieved smile appeared on Dongfang Zhen's face.

Brother Lin, I've decided to be your friend.

……

After another ten minutes or so, Lin Ye suddenly opened his eyes.

The excruciating pain that had almost overwhelmed his senses receded rapidly like a receding tide.

He looked down and realized that the pool of three-colored medicinal liquid, which was originally full, had been almost entirely absorbed by him, leaving only a shallow layer.

Lin Ye immediately looked inward at himself.

Because the total amount of qi and blood in his body is more than four times that of an ordinary martial artist, this process of "refining and eliminating the dross" is merely a drop in the ocean for him.

The progress is less than two percent.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door, and Dongfang Zhen, wrapped in a bath towel, walked back in.

"Brother Lin, I've called someone for you. Please wait a moment, they will refill the medicine."

As soon as he finished speaking, several staff members dressed in Xisuitang's special uniforms walked in.

The leader looked troubled when he saw the almost empty bath, then said, "This Three Talents Herbal Bath is normally enough for four to five people to use at the same time."

"Now that you two have used up your supplies, according to the training camp's rules, no more supplies will be allocated or added today."

Dongfang Zhen frowned.

"What rules? Go tell Chief Instructor Yin that it was me, Dongfang Zhen, and Lin Ye who were here, and he used up the entire pool of medicinal liquid by himself. See if she'll make you refill it."

The staff member wanted to say something, but dared not disobey, and hurriedly left.

Before long, the man ran back, followed by several colleagues pushing various bottles and jars.

"The bishop agrees to add an unlimited number of times, but... it will consume credits."

The displeasure on Dongfang Zhen's face vanished, and a smile returned: "It's alright, there are plenty of credits."

He seemed to remember something and instructed the staff member, "Also, have your people go to the resources department and fetch three qian of Dragon's Molt Incense and two vials of Resurrection Grass extract."

The staff member's expression turned even more surprised upon hearing those two names.

"The resource center can indeed exchange for these two resources, but one coin of Dragon Molting Incense requires 50 credits, and one vial of Resurrection Grass Extract costs 25 credits, plus this newly prepared medicinal bath..."

“If he doesn’t have enough credits, they’ll deduct them from my account.”

Dongfang Zhen interrupted him directly.

Lin Ye was about to say no, he didn't want to owe such a big favor.

Dongfang Zhen laughed heartily.

"Brother Lin, the Nirvana Tower will open to us after noon. Don't you believe I can earn more credits inside?"

"On the contrary, I believe you even more. You will definitely be able to make up for the credits you owe me!"

Lin Ye was silent.

He was indeed going to challenge the Nirvana Tower, as it was related to his third-stage unlocking quest.

Judging from Dongfang Zhen's words, killing alien races inside the tower would obviously earn academic credits.

Since that's the case, we can earn back what we owe later.

Thinking of this, Lin Ye took a deep breath and nodded solemnly to Dongfang Zhen.

"Thank you."

Before long, the two items that Dongfang Zhen wanted were delivered by a special person.

Dongfang Zhen placed an exquisite incense burner by the pool, lit the dark purple incense inside, and a wisp of peculiar purple smoke rose up and spread in the mist.

"This is Dragon Molt Fragrance, which comes from the Fifth World. It is a special substance extracted from the remains left behind when a dragon sheds its skin."

"The purple smoke produced after burning can help you form a tough film on the walls of your meridians."

"Most martial artists find it difficult to retain the critical blood and qi they refine when breaking through to the Condensation Realm because their dantian and qi sea have not yet been opened and the qi vortex has not yet formed."

"We can only try to retain it by force with willpower and mental strength, but even so, at least 40% of the critical vital energy will eventually dissipate and be wasted."

"With the help of Dragon Shedding Incense throughout the process, there wouldn't even be a 10% loss."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

For these top families who possess vast resources and information, cultivating geniuses is almost an inevitable outcome.

His teacher, Chen Meng, must have followed the same path when he broke through to the Condensing Qi Realm, relying entirely on his willpower and wasting countless amounts of primordial Qi that he had painstakingly cultivated.

Dongfang Zhen picked up the two vials of medicine again and placed them on the pool wall next to Lin Ye.

"The extract of the Resurrection Grass can neutralize the remaining venomous blood of the viper in your body after you finish your cultivation, thus preventing future problems."

After speaking, Dongfang Zhen checked the time.

"It's almost noon now. I've already asked Chief Instructor Yin for leave from the afternoon martial arts class. I've also made plans with Brother Daoxuan to try out the Nirvana Tower together."

"I'll go scout ahead for you first. I'll tell you what information I find when I come out."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dongfang Zhen got up and walked out of the bathhouse.

Lin Ye watched his retreating figure, then glanced at the staff who were still busy preparing the medicine, and suddenly spoke.

"Excuse me, I have a request to make to Chief Instructor Yin."

He estimated.

A pool of Three Talents Elixir can provide him with approximately 2% progress.

With the system at his disposal, he didn't need the resurrection herb extract to neutralize the toxins.

The powerful healing ability of [Disengagement Healing] is enough to erase all the negative effects of the venomous blood.

As for the upper limit of drug absorption, it doesn't exist for him at all.

The system will directly purify and filter the drug for him, so he doesn't need to worry about drug resistance at all.

So theoretically, as long as there are enough medicinal herbs, he can stay here 24 hours a day, and his breakthrough progress will be faster than anyone imagined.

"My request is to replenish my potion an unlimited number of times until I leave."

"Including the Three Treasures Medicine and Dragon's Tumor Incense."

"All credits will be deducted from my account. If that's not enough, can I apply for credit on credit?"

When he said this, Lin Ye was actually a little uneasy.

The Chief Instructor Yin's style of doing things was really strange, and he wasn't sure if the other party would agree to such an unreasonable request.

However, only two minutes had passed.

The staff member who had been there earlier ran back again, with a strange expression on his face.

"Student Lin, Chief Instructor Yin... has approved your request."

"She asked us to temporarily record all the credits you consumed during your breakthrough."

"However, she requires you to repay the credits with double the points later." The staff member paused here, seemingly finding it difficult to say.

"And you have two weeks. If you still can't pay this debt by the final assessment in the third week..."

"She'll tell you... uh, get out of her training camp."

"These are her exact words."

Lin Ye listened without giving it a second thought.

He nodded in agreement immediately.

……

three days later.

Lin Ye walked out of the Marrow Cleansing Hall.

His skin was wrinkled from being soaked for so long, and his face was pale, making him look like he had been seriously ill.

But his eyes were surprisingly bright.

For three days and three nights, he spent all his time soaking in the Three Talents Medicinal Pool, except for occasionally getting up to stretch his muscles.

Lin Ye skipped both the cultivation method class and the visualization class.

Although Yin Liulan tacitly agreed, it also meant a significant reduction in the number of academic credits available.

The credits were consumed like flowing water. The endless refills of medicinal baths and the incessant burning of dragon molt incense alone had already incurred an astronomical debt for Yin Liulan.

The rewards, however, are equally unimaginable.

Lin Ye focused his mind on his body and could clearly see that in his lower abdomen, at the dantian, a ball of extremely pure energy, completely different from his previous qi and blood, was spontaneously forming a small, slowly rotating vortex.

The vortex is still small in size and its suction force is still weak.

But its emergence itself represents a milestone.

The first step to breaking through to the Condensation Realm has been achieved!

Lin Ye himself was also clear about why he was able to condense the vortex ahead of schedule when the process of eliminating the dross and retaining the essence had barely progressed by 20%.

The reason is simply that it has a solid foundation.

With a total amount of Qi and blood comparable to more than four times that of an ordinary martial artist, even if less than one-fifth of the innate Qi is extracted and transformed, its total amount already exceeds the total amount that other martial artists at the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm can transform by exhausting all their resources.

The formation of a vortex is a natural consequence.

With the suction force of this vortex, his efficiency in refining innate Qi will only increase, and even the need for the Dragon Shedding Incense will be greatly reduced.

But once the first step is completed, what should be the next step?
Lin Hanshan and Dongfang Zhen probably didn't expect things to happen so quickly, so they didn't inform them in advance.

Night had fallen, and the Nirvana Tower stood silently in the darkness in the distance.

In the past three days, he had not seen Dongfang Zhen and Zhang Daoxuan even once. He guessed that the two of them were also training frantically in the tower in order to win the chief position.

Lin Ye could only suppress his questions and return to his dormitory first.

the next day.

Before dawn, Lin Ye arrived at the empty martial arts hall half an hour early and waited quietly.

Before long, Lin Hanshan appeared on time.

"What's the matter?"

Lin Hanshan looked at the student who had arrived even earlier than him and asked him a question.

"Teacher Lin, I have already condensed the vortex."

Lin Ye got straight to the point.

Lin Hanshan's half-closed eyes suddenly widened!
He suddenly stepped forward, giving Lin Ye no time to react, and placed one hand on Lin Ye's right wrist.

A few seconds later, Lin Hanshan abruptly withdrew his hand, as if he had been burned.

His face was filled with shock that words could not describe.

He actually sensed a vortex that, though faint, was slowly rotating and capable of absorbing primordial energy!

It's only been three days!

For an ordinary genius, it would take at least half a month to go from the initial stage of opening the meridians to the condensation of the vortex!

What kind of monster is this kid?

"you……"

Lin Hanshan opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words.

Finally, he took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and regained his calm and composed demeanor.

"You're here to ask me what to do next, right?"

Lin Ye nodded.

Lin Hanshan pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Since you have completed the first step, I will explain the second step to you."

"You've mastered the art of eliminating the dross and keeping the essence, and simplifying the complex. What you need to do next is to refine the source and achieve a qualitative transformation."

Lin Hanshan's voice echoed in the empty military hall, carrying a profound and mysterious quality that went straight to the source.

"The primordial Qi within your body, though already pure, has not yet undergone a qualitative change or breakthrough."

"What you need to do next is to continuously absorb the energy of heaven and earth from the outside world, and to compress and purify these innate primordial energies a second time until they give birth to the true original primordial energy, completing the transformation from blood and qi to a higher level of energy."

"During this period, most martial artists will selectively absorb the source energy of a certain attribute based on their affinity for that attribute."

"For example, Dongfang Zhen has an extremely high affinity for the lightning attribute. He absorbs the lightning source energy between heaven and earth, and what he ultimately condenses is the original aura of the lightning attribute."

At this point, Lin Hanshan changed his tone, and his gaze sharpened.

"Although the 'True Explanation of the Two Elements of the Great Void' that you cultivate emphasizes the balance of Yin and Yang, once you enter the Condensing Qi Realm, you must make a choice, selecting either Yin or Yang as the primary one and the other as the secondary one."

"This concerns the foundation of your future transformation of Qi into liquid and even your breakthrough to the Divine Intent Realm. One wrong step will lead to another."

“But I’ve never seen your case before.”

There was also a hint of uncertainty in Lin Hanshan's voice.

"Your affinity for both Yin and Yang energy is 100%. Forcing a choice would be a waste of your talent."

"If both are given equal importance... I don't know what form your original aura will ultimately take."

Lin Hanshan paused here, giving Lin Ye time to process what he had said.

Do you want to select an attribute?

Lin Ye asked himself in his heart, which attribute should he choose?
He himself did not feel any "inclination" or "preference" for any type of source energy.

"Let's set aside the matter of attributes for now."

"Once you have created the first wisp of primordial energy through compression, the final step is to guide it into the center of the vortex. With this first wisp of pure and refined energy, you can completely open up your dantian and form a true sea of ​​qi."

"Only from this point on can you be considered to have truly entered the realm of Qi Condensation."

"The Condensing Qi Realm is also divided into three minor realms: early, middle, and late."

"The first realm is called the Mist Realm. As the name suggests, the martial artists in this realm have their internal energy mist stored in their sea of ​​qi. Although they can release it to injure enemies and condense energy armor, its quality and quantity are relatively limited."

"The second realm is called the Flowing Qi Realm."

"The core of the entire Condensing Qi Realm is the ultimate compression of one's own energy. When you can compress and purify the misty Qi energy overflowing your Qi Sea and give birth to the first drop of liquid Qi energy, you will have entered this realm."

"When your Qi Sea and all the meridians in your body are completely filled with liquid Qi, you will reach the late stage of the Qi Condensation Realm."

Lin Ye was deeply moved and finally understood the path ahead.

Just then, Lin Hanshan turned around and walked onto the podium, taking out a yellowed thread-bound ancient book from his drawer.

Lin Ye could see clearly that the cover bore the six ancient characters "The True Explanation of the Two Elements of the Great Void".

"Take this complete manual."

Lin Hanshan handed the book to Lin Ye: "Don't let the other students know about this. I see that you are progressing very quickly. Instead of wasting time following the group, you should try to understand it on your own."

"From today onwards, you no longer need to come to my practice classes."

"If you have any questions later, just come to my place."

Lin Ye was startled and solemnly accepted the ancient book, bowing deeply to Lin Hanshan in gratitude.

"Thank you teacher!"

After carefully storing the entire manual close to his body, Lin Ye didn't waste a moment and turned to head back towards the Marrow Cleansing Hall.

Once he knew how to break through the barrier, all his doubts disappeared.

He didn't want to waste a single second.

……

Inside the Marrow Cleansing Hall.

When Lin Ye immersed himself in the medicinal liquid again, the sensation of being torn between ice and fire, and the feeling of being pierced by thousands of needles, returned.

But this time, Lin Ye felt that the pain that had once made him grimace was... not so unbearable anymore.

He closed his eyes, his desire to break through to a higher realm completely overshadowing all the physical torment.

He even began to actively guide the venomous blood of the vipers to accelerate the stripping and dissolving of those acquired impurities.

There was only one thought in my mind.

faster!
Faster!
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(End of this chapter)