Ning Qi flew through the sky. After gradually getting used to flying, he started to enjoy this way of moving. Standing with hands behind his back, his feet tapped lightly in the void, and he would already appear far away. In terms of comfort and style, it far surpassed his previous movement techniques.
But there were also flaws.
"One, it's not fast enough—still slower compared to using a movement technique to dash. Two, the consumption is a bit high."
That was to be expected.
After all, Ning Qi had only just reached the White Mist Realm. The reason he could fly at all was entirely due to the immense amount of True Qi within him.
However, for Ning Qi, this wasn't a problem.
He slowly closed his eyes and landed on the tip of a peak. Then he opened his arms and felt the wind passing by.
Not fast enough? Then make it faster.
Too much consumption? Then reduce it.
Inside his body, the mist-like True Qi churned, occasionally manifesting all sorts of True Intents.
What was the Myriad Phenomena True Qi?
It encompassed all phenomena, gave rise to all phenomena. To cultivate such a supreme technique required extremely deep understanding of all things under heaven. An ordinary person might spend their entire life understanding just one phenomenon—let alone the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth. Only Ning Qi could achieve this.
By his side—
True Qi surged out, accompanied by various visions.
Sometimes it turned into a True Dragon, circling around Ning Qi as if it were about to carry him into the sky. Sometimes, the cry of a divine eagle rang out, and the True Qi formed into wings, stirring the air. All of this was a way of applying True Qi. Ning Qi was experimenting to see how he could fly faster and with less energy.
He kept testing and combining.
Ideas flowed like a spring in Ning Qi's mind, constantly surging forth.
After advancing to the White Mist Realm, his comprehension became even sharper. Creating such martial arts techniques wasn't difficult for him.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Ning Qi slowly opened his eyes, a faint smile on his face.
Standing with hands behind his back, he lightly lifted a foot.
It was as if there were invisible steps in the air. He strolled leisurely, each step covering a great distance. In the air, one could faintly hear a True Dragon's roar and a divine eagle's cry. This speed was far faster than his previous brute-force flying, and his energy consumption had dropped by seventy to eighty percent. ṞÅNΟᛒĚꞩ
"Using the form of a True Dragon and Divine Eagle, combined with the aspect of wind—far superior to before. I'll call it the Sky-Stepping Step."
A small test of his skills—joy crept up at the corners of his mouth.
"As expected, using different True Intents in different scenarios brings completely different effects. One great advantage of the Myriad Phenomena True Qi is that it can evolve various forms of True Qi based on different opponents, and they can even fuse—its applications are endless."
But for Ning Qi, whether it was the Origin of All Phenomena Stance, Myriad Phenomena Force, or Myriad Phenomena True Qi—the biggest benefit was still laying his foundation.
Now that he was touching the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth, if he one day reached the Great Dao, perhaps he could command all Dao.
Ning Qi stood in the void, looked back at the peak he had just been on, and pointed lightly with a finger.
In the next moment—
A blade of Sword Qi formed, carrying unmatched sharp Sword Intent, and in an instant, it spanned a hundred zhang and sliced across the peak.
The cut was smooth to the extreme. The tip of the peak slowly slid off and tumbled into the valley below, producing a resounding crash.
Severing a mountain with one sword—just like that.
But this was still far from Ning Qi's limit.
He looked up at the sky and decided to leave.
"Looks like I need to create some combat techniques, otherwise I won't be able to fully unleash my True Qi."
That wasn't difficult for Ning Qi.
The Way-Seeking arts were the hardest, because they involved the elevation of life essence.
But Guardian techniques were simpler—just the application of True Qi. As long as he had inspiration, Ning Qi could create them quickly.
...
Time passed.
After stepping into the Qi Origin Realm, Ning Qi did not slack off. He continued cultivating methodically. He tried refining pills to accelerate True Qi tempering but found that the effects weren't great.
It wasn't because the Condensed Qi Pill formula he created was flawed—the problem lay in Ning Qi himself.
His True Qi was simply too vast. Even if he used pills to speed things up, he'd probably drain all of Zhenwu Sect's resources and still not gain much—at best, he'd only speed up by a few months.
After all, by Ning Qi's own estimation, he wouldn't be stuck in the three stages of Qi Origin Realm for more than a few years. Since that was the case, he decided to focus on techniques to improve his cultivation speed.
He wasn't greedy. The sect had already helped him enough—he wouldn't drain the sect dry for his own progress.
He handed the Condensed Qi Pills over to Luo Wentian and the others. At the very least, it could save them more than ten years.
No one knew that Ning Qi had already become the fourth True Disciple to reach the Qi Origin Realm.
And his combat strength was absurd.
Even if Jiang Baishan and the other two teamed up, it would only take a single sword strike.
By now, Zhenwu Mountain was already lightly covered in snow.
Ning Qi had also turned eight years old.
Just as everyone was wondering whether Daoist Longshan would remain in seclusion until next year—
A shocking fluctuation came from Mingwu Pavilion.
Daoist Longshan's laughter echoed throughout the Zhenwu Sect.
Everyone's eyes lit up with joy.
They all knew—Daoist Longshan had come out of seclusion!
...
"Disciple congratulates Master on successfully emerging from seclusion!"
The True Disciples gathered at Mingwu Pavilion at the first moment.
Just hearing Daoist Longshan's hearty laughter, they could tell this seclusion had been fruitful.
Daoist Longshan bathed and changed his clothes, then met with his disciples.
His eyes immediately showed surprise.
He had only been in seclusion for half a year, yet his disciples' demeanor had undergone a dramatic change.
Except for Little Disciple Ning Qi, who remained as inscrutable as ever, the other disciples had all made notable progress in cultivation—especially Luo Wentian and Xiong Shi, whose Qi Origin Realm auras were completely unmistakable.
Perhaps seeing the surprise in Daoist Longshan's eyes, Luo Wentian smiled and proactively reported:
"Master, it's all thanks to Little Junior Brother."
He slowly explained, telling Daoist Longshan about the Condensed Qi Pills and the Dreamsleep Art.
Daoist Longshan was stunned.
Ning Qi had actually reverse-engineered the formula from just one Condensed Qi Pill?
And this Dreamsleep Art was so miraculous, it allowed for Internal Energy cultivation during sleep?
He subconsciously looked at Ning Qi—who was smiling calmly.
Daoist Longshan smiled too, filled with emotion.
"Little Nine, well done."
Just a few words, but everyone smiled knowingly.
They could hear the joy in Daoist Longshan's heart.
Since obtaining the Zhenwu Inheritance, Daoist Longshan's greatest dream was to restore the Zhenwu Sect's former glory. Now that he had entered the Heaven-Man Realm, the next step was to raise his disciples into independent powerhouses. Ning Qi's contributions had undoubtedly accelerated that process—naturally, he was pleased.
Daoist Longshan stroked his goatee and laughed heartily:
"Two months from now, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, we'll hold the Heaven-Man Ceremony!"
"Wentian, you'll handle the planning."
The disciples were all thrilled.
They had been preparing for this moment—they were only waiting for Daoist Longshan to emerge. Now that he had given the order, their spirits soared, and they couldn't wait to get started.
"Yes, Master!"
Two months—long or short depending on how you looked at it.
After all, Qingzhou alone was huge. Once invitations were sent out, people would still need time to prepare.