Inside the silent courtyard room, the still air suddenly rippled violently.
Strands of pale white energy seeped out from the atmosphere, continuously boring into Yan Qingshan’s body to strengthen his Dou Zhi Qi.
Yan Qingshan gritted his teeth, enduring the collision of energy inside and outside his body.
The Qi Gathering Liquid he had consumed was already taking effect; the massive energy began to push his Dou Zhi Qi toward compression and sublimation.
While this process was relatively safe, it was definitely painful, especially for his internal meridians.
He silently endured the waves of twitching pain coming from his channels.
Fortunately, his many days of hard cultivation were not in vain.
After long periods of medicinal baths, his constitution had been greatly enhanced.
While the pain was hard to bear, for the moment, it had not placed too much of a burden on his body.
Within his Dantian’s Qi Sea, waves of pure energy originating from the medicinal liquid were being frantically refined by his Dou Zhi Qi, assimilating and strengthening his aura while constantly condensing and compressing it.
This was a mandatory process for advancing to Dou Zhe.
One had to accumulate enough energy to charge into the realm; even at the peak of 9th Stage Dou Zhi Qi, one would usually need over a month of preparation before launching an attempt.
Once a breakthrough to Dou Zhe fails, a stroke of bad luck could cause one to drop back to 8th Stage Dou Zhi Qi, wasting months of hard work.
Therefore, it was common for many people to attempt it over a dozen or even dozens of times before successfully advancing.
The 4th Tier pill, Qi Gathering Powder, contained energy significant even to a Da Dou Shi, yet its medicinal properties were gentle enough for even the Dou Zhi Qi stage to use—though a Dou Zhi Qi practitioner would waste the vast majority of the medicinal power.
The energy contained within a Qi Gathering Powder was immense, enough for a Dou Zhi Qi practitioner to attempt a breakthrough over a hundred times, making failure almost impossible.
The medicine Yan Qingshan had prepared might not be as effective as a true Qi Gathering Powder, but the energy within was absolutely more than enough for a breakthrough.
Thus, the probability of success for this attempt was very high.
Inside Yan Qingshan’s body, the Dou Zhi Qi continued to strengthen until it reached a peak.
Once the internal energy expanded to a critical point where no more could be added, a change finally occurred within his Dantian’s Qi Sea.
Along with the movements of his hand seals, the surging Dou Zhi Qi suddenly contracted rapidly toward the center of the Qi Sea.
It was as if a vortex had appeared in his Dantian.
Countless strands of Dou Zhi Qi were compressed infinitely into a single point.
The moment that point began to slowly rotate, it felt as though his entire being had sublimated into a different state.
Suddenly, the world felt different.
‘So this is…
Dou Zhe!!!’
Yan Qingshan lay back in the chilly bathtub.
The cold liquid helped him regain a bit of clarity.
Ignoring his joy, he regained his composure and slightly closed his eyes to perceive the situation inside his body.
Internal visualization—this was an ability that a warrior could only master upon reaching the Dou Zhe level.
The higher one’s strength, the more thoroughly they could master the situation within their body.
Currently, at the center of his Dantian, a palm-sized milky-white Qi Cyclone was slowly rotating.
Surrounding the cyclone was a layer of milky-white energy gas resembling a nebula.
There was a fundamental difference between Dou Zhe and 9th Stage Dou Zhi Qi.
What a Dou Zhi Qi practiced was called Dou Zhi Qi, but what one cultivated after becoming a Dou Zhe was true Dou Qi.
Although there was only a one-word difference, the substance was worlds apart.
“Dawn, display my specific data!”
With a thought, a stream of information quickly appeared in his mind.
[Host: Yan Qingshan
Cultivation: 1-Star Dou Zhe
Strength: 1.3
Status: Fatigued
Soul Strength: 13
(Data Collection Target: Average of a 1-Star Dou Zhe in Qingshan Town.
Median data for a 1-Star Dou Zhe is 1.0 for all indicators.)]
‘Time is running out, I must prepare quickly!’
After sensing the power within him for a moment, his tightly closed eyes snapped open.
He opened his mouth slightly, exhaling a breath of murky, dim air, and his face regained a hint of color.
Yan Qingshan rose quickly, cleaning and organizing everything with the utmost speed.
After leaving a letter on the table in the room, he took his long-prepared pack.
As white light began to appear on the horizon, he used the remaining cover of night to leave the Thousand Medicinal House, heading north into the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
Leaving the Thousand Medicinal House without saying goodbye was something he had prepared for long ago.
He had even planned it several months prior, preparing his pack and letter before today.
Once he successfully broke through to Dou Zhe, he would leave, minimizing contact with others as much as possible.
Being cautious, he had arranged his plan before the breakthrough entirely to avoid causing a stir or attracting trouble.
Qingshan Town was a small town, almost the lowest tier of human settlement on the Dou Qi Continent, second only to the poorer mountain villages.
Yet even in such a town, there were many Dou Zhe and even some Dou Shi.
In Qingshan Town, most Dou Zhe broke through after the age of twenty.
Even among the so-called geniuses of past generations, the youngest were eighteen or nineteen.
Someone like Yan Qingshan, who was barely fifteen, had never been seen before.
Once news of his breakthrough spread, he would inevitably be at the center of a storm, attracting countless greedy eyes.
He didn’t have the strength to protect his secrets, and having just broken through to Dou Zhe, his aura would inevitably be unstable, making it hard to ensure he wouldn’t be recognized.
Therefore, he had decided before the breakthrough that once successful, he would leave a letter and disappear for a while, returning only when he was confident.
Yan Qingshan had prepared for this for a long time.
He had established a pattern of leaving Qingshan Town for a few days every month, so leaving again today would not seem abrupt or suspicious.
…
The Magic Beast Mountain Range in winter was quite desolate, especially after a snowfall, when the ground was covered in silver frost.
Only some oily evergreen vegetation added dots of green to the silver-wrapped landscape.
Between the interweaving of withered yellow and snowy white, a trail of footprints extended into the depths of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
A youth wearing a grayish-white fox-fur coat and carrying a war blade walked cautiously through the desolate forest; this person was, naturally, Yan Qingshan.
‘According to this speed, I should arrive around noon.’
Yan Qingshan cross-referenced the route map and his memory, confirming his direction was correct.
He was currently disguised as a winter herb hunter entering the mountains.
He had harvested quite a bit along the way; the pack on his back was bulging.
In just this short time, he had gathered at least a thousand gold coins worth of harvest.
Yan Qingshan walked very cautiously, his route having been planned in advance.
The journey so far had been relatively safe; several times he had sensed potential danger and avoided it ahead of time.
At noon, he reached a dense forest.
Beyond the forest was a cliff, and between the cliff and the forest was a flat, open space.
This was where he stopped.
‘I’ll set up camp first!’
Yan Qingshan stood at the edge of the cliff and looked into the distance, seeing a vast expanse of snowy white.
Being cautious, he did not rush into action.
Instead, after finding some firewood, he began setting up camp in the open space.
Although a careful check revealed no prying eyes, his caution kept him from descending the cliff immediately.
Instead, he performed the typical actions of a winter herb hunter, setting up camp after finding a suitable spot. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Though it was a bit early at noon, his behavior did not look out of place.
In the depths of winter, the sun sets quickly.
Winter herb hunters are different from mercenaries.
Mercenaries mostly target Magical Beasts, while herb hunters are there for herbs and prioritize safety; they almost always plan their camps early, unlike mercenaries who wait until they are ready to rest before finding a place to make do.
After preparing the campsite, Yan Qingshan hid behind the camp’s cover and began preparing the things he needed.
After confirming multiple times that no one was watching him, he tied one end of a rope inside his camp, came to the cliff’s edge, and slowly slid down the rock face.
Yan Qingshan carefully controlled his descent, stopping in front of a strange, steep section of the cliff.
A gnarled, unusual pine tree grew out of the rock wall here, serving as a spot where he could barely find a foothold.
Behind this strange tree was a tangled mess of withered vines and shrubs.
If one observed carefully, they would notice the sound of wind in the gaps of these shrubs.
Behind them was a significant cave entrance—a very difficult-to-find mountain cave.
Had Yan Qingshan not known his target and observed so closely, he might have missed it that day.
Just as Yan Qingshan’s hand brushed aside the vines, his pores suddenly constricted.
A warning blared in his heart.
He kicked off the rock wall with his toe and pulled the rope, shifting his body upward by three feet.
He threw a porcelain bottle with his other hand toward the lunging attacker.
With a whistling sound, a long, snake-like object the color of the rock wall lunged out to bite.
It missed Yan Qingshan, but it happened to smash the porcelain bottle he threw, releasing a cloud of faintly fragrant powder into the air.
‘A Rock Snake?’
Yan Qingshan used his momentum to brace against the rock wall.
After twisting to adjust his position, he clearly saw the attacker: a 1st Rank Magical Beast, the Rock Snake.
This was a type of snake-shaped Magical Beast that lived in rock walls.
The Rock Snake’s body was soft and flat, allowing it to not only climb easily through rock crevices but also to glide between cliffs because its body was as flat and long as wings.
Furthermore, this beast’s attribute was a variant of the Earth attribute—the Stone attribute.
Its body was as hard as stone, making it difficult for ordinary swords to wound, and extremely hard to deal with.
Missing its strike, the Rock Snake circled in mid-air and twisted its body to hiss at Yan Qingshan.
Its triangular eyes released a bloody, cold light, and its body emitted a dim yellow glow.
Hiss—
The Rock Snake hissed again, its flat, wing-like organs vibrating.
It swiveled and charged toward Yan Qingshan, the sharp, pale fangs in its massive maw glinting with a cold light that made one shudder.
Thump.
Just as the Rock Snake was less than a foot from him, Yan Qingshan kicked back against the rock and gripped the rope to swing away, using momentum to dodge.
Because the distance was so short, the Rock Snake had no time to adjust; it slammed like a flying dagger into the stone wall.
Flying stones splattered against Yan Qingshan, making his skin sting.
Yan Qingshan dared not be careless.
During his swing, another cloud of powder shot from his hand, completely enveloping the Rock Snake’s position.
The Rock Snake’s frantic struggling was suddenly heavily affected.
After twisting and writhing in the white powder for a moment, its body grew stiff and it became wedged motionless in the rock crevice.
Dared not be careless, Yan Qingshan took out his war blade and chopped down with gathered strength from a distance.
The half of the Rock Snake’s body outside the crevice was nearly severed, its spine exposed.
Yet even with such an injury, it only twitched slightly; it looked as though it was truly finished.
(End of Chapter)