Chapter 37: Becoming A First-Dimensional Being II
Luan didn't just agree with Ji Lan out of the blue, rather, he had a realization after watching the young man break through.
Was there much difference between his current state and the ultimate stage?
Yes, but not much. His previous notion that he needed to condense his qi some more was correct, but it was wrong in another aspect. He didn't need to condense his qi as much as he thought he would have needed to.
Without a Dao heart, he wouldn't have achieved the evolution he chased after.
Initially, Luan also thought that he would have to cultivate his body to help his transformation, and while he was heading the right way, he wasn't completely correct.
If he had solely pursued his way, he would have eventually reached the peak and still gotten stuck. His blood qi would have become abundant, and his qi might have condensed some more, but evolution would have been a great step away.
Luan sat down and crossed his legs. He then opened the jade bottle containing the Bone Forging pills.
Ji Lan believes that Cultivation Arts do not matter at this stage… if I'm going to raise my blood qi and strengthen my body in the process I don't have to follow a cultivation art.
To an extent, it was the same for his qi. His qi in this stage condensed automatically on its own, he didn't have to direct it anywhere.
Luan poured all seven pills onto his palm and threw them into his mouth. Ji Lan had taken five at once, why would he be scared of taking seven at once?
Though he was thinking about his cultivation art, apart from its uniqueness of being a fusion of inner strength and qi, there was nothing else special about it.
He didn't have to direct his qi through certain meridians or chant any spell while cultivating. So Luan wasn't worried about his qi reaching the point of evolution now.
What worried him was his blood qi.
I don't want to use the Sword Body Scripture as a foundation… I don't even know how to…
This dilemma only stumped him for a few seconds before the words appeared in his heart once again.
Let it be.
Did anyone teach humans how to breathe? Were they taught what the appropriate reaction to pain was?
They just did. They let their emotions and body be. If so, why can't the body know its path to evolution?
Unknown to Luan, what he just decided to do would make him one of the most powerful cultivators in this world.
With resolve, he threw all the Bone Forging pills into his mouth and chewed on them. A rush of a different energy gushed through his throat, almost choking him. It was still qi, but a different type.
This guy is just as crazy! If he weren't so annoying I wouldn't mind making him my underling. Ji Lan smiled proudly.
Luan pushed through this choking sensation and forced every bit of this energy down his throat.
Suddenly, his skin cracked.
Not like Ji Lan's own. This one was even more agonizing and brutal.
Blood gushed out of these cracks and splashed around the room.
Ji Lan's eyes almost bulged out. "What are you doing!?" Doesn't this guy know how to stimulate his blood qi to grow his body!? "Use your blood qi to stimulate your body, quickly!"
Luan heard him, but he didn't listen.
He was in immense pain, and it was showing on his face too. However, since he had decided to just let it be, to let his body pick its path, Luan felt that stimulating his body with his blood qi would impede that decision.
Even though his skin had cracked and he was losing blood fast, he wasn't truly afraid. Rather, he observed as the energy from the Bone Forging pill naturally flowed to his heart.
The pill's energy stimulated his heart to produce more blood qi, more than what his body could contain.
Luan's heart pounded fiercely and loudly, to the point where it could be heard from any part of the room. Just like Ji Lan's blood had flowed through his veins like a tsunami, Luan's own did the same.
Even more fiercely than Ji Lan's.
"I take it back, this guy is crazier than me. Hey! Don't die, I don't have a way out of this palace."
This guy! Luan thought, but only for a second, the pain that was assaulting his mind continued to increase.
It took less than a minute for a puddle of blood to pool up under Luan. And then another 10 for his blood to reach every part of the room.
His heart continued to create blood qi rapidly, until it felt as though it was going to explode. Even Luan started getting scared, he didn't think he could make it.
And then was when it happened.
His heart suddenly stopped beating.
A second passed.
And then another.
This stillness lasted for seven seconds before a more powerful pulse appeared.
Dum!
His heart pulsed as though a giant stamped the ground. Even his body jerked from the force of his heartbeat, as if a current of electricity was passing through his veins.
And then it happened again.
The blood qi that Luan's heart produced now was even greater and purer than Ji Lan's blood qi.
At the same time, this new blood qi quickly forced the cracks on his skin to heal rapidly. As his skin healed, his flesh, muscles, and bones were continuously getting stronger.
Even his qi was able to condense further.
What did this guy just do? His blood qi hasn't achieved evolution yet and it's already better than mine?
As time went on, Luan's body and qi continued to get stronger. Two hours went by and he broke through the ultimate stage. Another two hours went by and Luan had begun reaching for his evolution.
…
Outside Aethelgard, just when the cultivators around Celestial Peak thought that it was safe to return to their previous positions, the Dimensional Tribulation clouds appeared once again.
This time, it was more terrifying and active than the previous one.
Everyone scattered towards safety once again, wondering what was happening for this to occur a second time.
The first Dimensional Tribulation had caught the attention of some Second-Dimensional beings in the Human Realm and it annoyed some of them.
A few of them even set their avatars out to inspect closely what was happening.
And now a second one had appeared.
Two dimensional tribulations in one day, within the span of hours! All pointing towards Aethelgard.
Who amongst them wouldn't be tempted and filled with excitement?
All this meant that even beings like themselves could be contained by the laws of the secret grotto, however, only when it allowed them to enter.
Bolts of lightning coursed through the dark clouds, syncing with the claps of thunder.
And then suddenly, thunder struck at the entrance of the grotto.
This direct attack was easily dispersed by a tornado made of spatial energy.
Seeing the tribulation clouds being dispersed so easily by a law from the secret grotto washed the excitement off the hearts of these Second-Dimensional beings.
That was not a power that they could contend with at the moment.
…
Luan's energy had condensed to its utmost limit by now.
Just like Ji Lan, he too had sensed when his tribulation had formed, it's just that it never came.
When he first sensed it, he wanted to stop out of the fear it filled his heart with. Luan thought he would be erased from existence.
That was the feeling the Dimensional Tribulation filled one with.
But he could also sense that if he backed away now, he would lose his cultivation and would never be able to cultivate qi again.
This was the burden of evolution. One of the major reasons why most who know of the existence of the First-Dimensional choose to avoid it.
The risks were too high.
Even Luan's Dao heart shook.
With a firm resolve, he pushed on until the feeling of the tribulation vanished. From then on, Luan felt the rest of the journey would be smooth sailing.
And just like that, his core began to transform, shedding its outer shell. Alongside it, his qi was also in the process of evolution.
Additionally, his blood qi and body were also in the process of evolution. Deep within Luan, that immaterial universe floating in between his core and the crystal pearl also seemed to be evolving too.
Ji Lan looked at Luan with envy; why did I help this guy again? Now he might be stronger than me. I just couldn't shut my mouth.
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