Drip.
Drip.
...
Drop by drop, the Jade Liquid Qi condensed and fell into the boundless space of the dantian.
In the blink of an eye, it formed a "small pond."
But above the "small pond," there was still vast and immense white mist, and even more white mist continuously surged out from Ning Qi's physical body.
It was foreseeable.
This transformation wouldn't be finished in a short time.
Snow as large as goose feathers gradually covered the peach blossom trees outside the courtyard. Ning Qi stood silently, but the snowflakes seemed to possess spirit, curving around him and forming a tiny vacuum.
When the White Ape returned from playing and saw this scene, it instinctively took on the role of guarding Ning Qi.
In truth, Ning Qi didn't need it.
Breaking through to the Jade Liquid Realm was a natural process.
He could start at any time and stop at any time.
This transformation lasted three days.
The heavy snow had long since stopped, and the changes within Ning Qi's body had also reached the final moment.
As the last cluster of white mist condensed into Jade Liquid and dropped into the sea of Jade Liquid below, Ning Qi's entire body trembled, and a series of miraculous changes began. The previously calm Jade Liquid sea within him began to churn, and every splash carried immense power.
Ning Qi felt his physical body strengthening, his vitality growing more vigorous.
He could feel that his lifespan had subtly increased again—unbelievable, really. After all, for an ordinary martial artist, whether it was the White Mist Realm, Jade Liquid, or Core Formation, all under the umbrella of the Qi Origin Realm, the lifespan was fixed at four hundred years.
But he had already far surpassed that threshold.
With a turn of thought, flashes of inspiration surged into his mind—this was the most direct manifestation. Every time his life essence improved, the ceiling of his comprehension rose again.
Ning Qi opened his eyes and smiled, nodding at the White Ape.
Then he focused on his own changes.
"Much stronger than before!"
He casually clenched his fist, and the power of the Jade Liquid Sea surged inside him—it felt like it could shake the void.
This transformation had once again excavated massive potential from his physical body. Ning Qi's Qi didn't just evolve in quality—it also exceeded expectations in volume. If others' Jade Liquid was a small pond, then Ning Qi's was an entire ocean. The gap was unfathomable. RἁΝΟ𝐛ƐⱾ
"With just the power of my Qi now, I can probably stand toe-to-toe with the Heaven-Man Ranking experts, right?"
Ning Qi compared himself to several experts he had encountered before from the Heaven-Man Ranking.
General Shenyu, the Green Ox Bladesman, Old Demon Lin, that nameless elder, and the North-Stabilizing King.
At least the first four—he felt he could go against them even without entering the Unity of Heaven and Man state, perhaps even defeat them.
"As for the North-Stabilizing King... hard to judge. He didn't go all out that day. If I use all my methods now, I wonder if I could match him?"
Ning Qi's eyes flickered.
He estimated his current combat power ranked somewhere between the top ten and top twenty of the Heaven-Man Ranking. Hard to measure precisely—he didn't have enough comparisons, and Ning Qi's arsenal of techniques made it hard to evaluate.
But without a doubt.
This kind of power.
Already stood at the peak of the Great Yan. In the absence of a Martial Saint, very few could pose a threat to Ning Qi's life.
The sense of looming danger Ning Qi always carried was instantly reduced.
Though the Demonic Sect was quiet for now, Ning Qi didn't dare let his guard down. If they made a comeback, the False Core alone wouldn't suffice—but now, things were different. Even if there were a few top-tier Demonic Sect experts, they would be rare.
Besides, he would continue to grow stronger.
"If I reach the Core Formation Realm, maybe I can be unmatched even among the Heaven-Man Realm." Ning Qi was a bit excited.
His next cultivation stage—
Was Jade Liquid to Core Formation.
Ning Qi sensed the boundless sea of Jade Liquid within him and gave a helpless smile. Everything had pros and cons. With a Jade Liquid sea of this magnitude, forming a Core wouldn't be easy.
Of course, it wouldn't be too difficult either.
At most, it would take more time and slow refinement.
Without dwelling on it, Ning Qi began carefully perceiving the changes in his Qi. After reaching the Jade Liquid Realm, he clearly felt his Qi had become more nimble, gaining a kind of spiritual quality it previously lacked.
He pointed a finger—Qi surged and condensed—instantly, a divine and fierce Bi'an appeared in the courtyard.
The Bi'an's eyes were ferocious, lifelike.
The White Ape, who had just calmed down to cultivate, instinctively bristled all over. When he opened his eyes and saw the Bi'an, he was utterly shocked.
But then—
The Bi'an vanished.
Next appeared Qiu Niu, Zhaofeng, Sky Eagle, True Dragon, and many other divine beasts, each exuding incredible presence. Combined with Ning Qi's mastery of various True Intents, they really looked like exotic beasts. Of course, they were still made of Qi—not comparable to actual flesh and blood.
The White Ape was dumbfounded—what he saw was like a miracle. Deep inside, he felt even more reverence. Having spent so long around Ning Qi, and with Ning Qi not hiding many of his techniques from him, the White Ape was probably the person who understood Ning Qi best aside from Daoist Longshan.
In his heart, Ning Qi had always been the target he aimed to catch up with.
Since stepping into the Inner Origin Realm, the White Ape's cultivation had continued to skyrocket. His current overall strength was probably nearing the Qi Origin Realm. After all, compared to the human race, his bloodline gave him a natural edge, allowing for greater combat power.
Ning Qi was having a great time, clearly intrigued.
A flash of insight struck him—his Jade Liquid Sea churned, and a humanoid figure formed from Qi walked out beside him.
Its eyes were cold and emotionless, movements initially stiff but soon becoming incredibly fluid.
With a robe on, it could easily pass as real.
The only flaw was—it would collapse under heavy attacks.
"Maybe I can try developing this further. If I could form a Qi avatar, it might be extremely useful in certain situations."
Ning Qi thought silently to himself.
The Heavenly Sword True Person couldn't stay hidden forever. If the enemy was too strong, the real body had to intervene. Last time, if not for the North-Stabilizing King, Ning Qi would've shown up. Though he could disguise himself, a Qi avatar might be an even better substitute.
However, to create a Qi avatar strong enough to face Heaven-Man Realm or even Heaven-Man Ranking experts would take time and experimentation.
Right now, its utility was limited.
Ning Qi dispersed the Qi figure.
Then resumed his improvements on the Qingxuan Bodyguard Technique.
With the huge increase in Qi, this defensive secret art could now be enhanced again. Originally, it had reached 70% of the Qingxuan Treasure Armor's strength. Now, after refining it to the limit, surpassing the Qingxuan Treasure Armor would be easy.
...
A few days later.
Ye Qinghe successfully broke through and reached the White Mist Realm, becoming the fourth Qi Origin Realm True Disciple publicly known within the Zhenwu Sect.
Everyone in the sect rejoiced—this marked a stronger foundation for Zhenwu.
Now, aside from Fourth Disciple He Yan, Sixth Disciple Sun Chuanhai, and Seventh Disciple Song Cheng, all the True Disciples had entered the Qi Origin Realm.
Of course, none of them knew that Ning Qi had long since reached the Qi Origin Realm.
Ning Qi's breakthrough to the Jade Liquid Realm remained a secret.
He wasn't one to show off—he had always been like that.
In the days that followed, his life continued as usual.
Part of his time was spent in the Scripture Pavilion, studying Daoist classics to strengthen his foundation.
Part of it was devoted to improving and creating secret arts. After reaching the Jade Liquid Realm, several of his techniques still had room to grow.
Finally, he steadily refined his Qi every day.
Breaking through from Jade Liquid to Core Formation was fundamentally no different—it still required tempering Qi. Although Ning Qi's Jade Liquid was overwhelmingly vast, small steps added up. His daily cultivation still progressed rapidly.
Unfortunately, he was out of Golden Jade Pills. Otherwise, his training would've been even faster.
"Luminous Pearls and other spiritual herbs I still have, but Relic Pills are hard to find."
Generally speaking—
Relic Pills from the Buddhist sect were considered sacred offerings and were used to repay great kindness. Selling them was seen as desecrating the remains of an enlightened Arhat monk.
Obtaining them from the Buddhist sect was unrealistic—unless one destroyed a temple.
That didn't align with Ning Qi's path.
If someone provoked him, he could be ruthless—but killing an entire temple just for cultivation wasn't something he could do.
Another method was to trade for one from someone who had received a Relic Pill as a gift.
Such people were rare, but worth trying. Ning Qi had already told Daoist Longshan and Luo Wentian that Relic Pills were useful to him and asked for their help in searching.
Of course, Ning Qi wasn't placing all his hopes on Relic Pills. He was also looking for other alternatives.
Daoist Longshan had returned to the mountain not long ago.
With chaos in the Great Yan, constant strife between the court and Demonic Sect, and infighting among martial sects, assassin organizations like Blood Rain Pavilion remained active.
Thanks to his connections, Daoist Longshan had managed to track some of their movements, which made him even more alarmed.
The Blood Rain Pavilion wasn't simple—there were vague traces of other forces behind them.
He became more cautious, to avoid alerting the enemy.
A direct probe might only force them deeper into hiding.
After informing Ning Qi, the two made a plan: once they found a clearer lead, they would descend the mountain together and eliminate the threat in one swift strike, leaving no loose ends.
Unknowingly—
Ning Qi was now nine years old.
His frame had grown tall and lean—comparable to teenagers. Years of reading and enlightenment gave him an intangible, transcendent aura that commanded respect.
His thoughts drifted back to nine years ago.
That was when he had just crossed into this world—only to face a deadly ambush.
He had only glimpsed his mother briefly. He never even saw his father's face. Orphaned immediately, and nearly burned alive. If not for Daoist Longshan's timely arrival, Ning Qi would've died again. He remembered everything.
All these years, he had cultivated in silence.
Sometimes he used that event as motivation—he didn't want to end up like Huang Shang, mastering his skills only to find his enemies already dead.
Now, Ning Qi's strength had placed him among the top of the Great Yan.
He finally had the means to take revenge.
No need to wait any longer.
"Father, Mother... I can't repay the grace of giving me life. All I can do is offer the blood of your enemies as tribute to your spirits in heaven."
Ning Qi gazed at the falling snow in the courtyard and sighed lightly.
That year—there was also snow.