Feng Aotian And I Are A Match Made In Heaven - Chapter 5

Countless streams of qi shimmered through the pitch-black night like a dazzling nebula. Though they originally followed no fixed paths, they now began forming one on their own, separating out a water-blue strand that flowed toward a specific destination.

At that destination, Xiao Yun was also glowing blue. She held a qi crystal in each hand, and the qi extracted from them traveled along her hands, spread over her entire body, then sank inside. It flowed smoothly through her meridians before converging at her dantian.

Yet while the stream-like qi behaved obediently within her meridians, the moment it entered her dantian, it became restless and chaotic, scattering uncontrollably as though fleeing for its life.

Xiao Yun pressed her lips tightly together, unconsciously gripping the qi crystals in her hands even harder. Then, as though finally steeling herself, she released every restraint and desperately began absorbing Water qi.

The meridians of cultivators who had only just begun cultivating were still extremely fragile. Qi had to be absorbed in moderation. Otherwise, excessive qi would not strengthen the meridians and reinforce the channels; instead, it could easily force them apart and cause irreversible damage.

But Xiao Yun had long since realized that slowly absorbing qi like this simply did not work. She had always wondered whether the problem was that there was not enough qi, or that it was not pure enough. That was why, this time, she had spent her entire fortune on high-quality mid-grade Water qi crystals.

These were the highest-grade qi crystals she could afford even after doing everything she could. Of course, she could have continued saving money, but today was her eleventh birthday. If she failed to reach Jia Realm Level Six by this day next year, she would no longer be able to remain in the Xiao family.

And that also meant she would no longer be able to visit the cemetery to pay respects to her mother and father.

Xiao Yun had begun planning today’s cultivation attempt long ago. This might be her final attempt. If even the amount of qi contained in three crystals could not leave the slightest trace inside her dantian, then it would mean she might simply have been born unsuited for cultivation and could only become an ordinary person at the very bottom of society.

But she was unwilling to accept that. Truly unwilling.

The blue qi crystals visibly dimmed at a speed that could be seen with the naked eye. The qi bursting from within them joined the qi in the air, transforming into surging torrents that rushed through one meridian after another, battering the thin channels before all of it flooded toward her dantian.

It was as though her entire body was about to be stretched until it exploded. Chen Anqing watched Xiao Yun’s face gradually turn pale and contorted with pain. Within only a few seconds, blood began seeping from her eyes, nostrils, and ears, running down her face until she looked terrifying, like an Asura.

Clearly, her meridians simply could not withstand this much qi. They were already beginning to show faint signs of tearing. If she continued forcing herself like this, the only possible outcome was death by her body exploding.

Yet despite the situation, Xiao Yun not only refused to stop but instead absorbed Water qi even more frantically, cultivating with complete disregard for the consequences.

Unfortunately, even such violently surging qi, rushing into her parched dantian like a mighty river, remained there for only a few seconds longer before scattering and fleeing in every direction.

The situation truly was rather strange. Chen Anqing opened all her senses and brushed a finger through a strand of qi struggling forward through the air. Her vision followed that strand into Xiao Yun’s body, where, several seconds later, it was swept along by the crowded current toward the dantian.

The place was extremely vast, immersed in endless darkness. Unlike an ordinary person’s warm and accommodating dantian, Xiao Yun’s dantian strangely radiated a terrifying aura, giving the impression that anything remaining there for even a few seconds longer would be completely devoured.

Even Chen Anqing could feel it, let alone the qi currently inside. Almost none of it could endure remaining there.

Now somewhat interested, Chen Anqing continued controlling that particular strand of qi. While all the other qi scattered and fled, hers kept advancing deeper into the dantian. She was determined not to stop until she uncovered its secret.

Xiao Yun quickly noticed this unusual strand of qi, and her mind instantly trembled. After so many years, this was the first strand of qi that had been unwilling to leave her dantian.

Somehow, she seemed to sense a familiar aura from that strand of qi. But she had no time to think about where that familiarity came from. She could only watch as the qi separated from the larger flow and disappeared completely into the depths of her dantian.

She could not describe the feeling. It was like someone who had been abandoned for far too long finally receiving the attention of someone who cared. Just a fleeting glance gave her limitless courage and hope.

The next second, Xiao Yun released every restraint completely, entrusting her entire body and mind to that strand of qi while guiding even more qi to follow it.

In truth, the farther Chen Anqing advanced, the more unease she began to feel. That unease originated from the strand of Water qi itself and was reflected back into her own body as well. She could barely perceive the condition of the qi she was controlling anymore. All she knew was that the sensation of being devoured was becoming increasingly intense, suppressing her and making control more difficult with every moment.

The qi was on the verge of collapsing beneath the pressure from both sides, but having already come this far, Chen Anqing inexplicably developed a competitive streak and refused to give up. She stubbornly forced it onward.

Thus, from Xiao Yun’s perspective, the vast torrent of qi was shrinking at an accelerating rate, becoming an extremely thin water-blue line that pierced through the darkness, guided forward by the tiny blue point of light at its very front.

That was clearly only qi advancing through her dantian, yet at one particular instant, Xiao Yun somehow felt that the tiny light had also broken through some barrier and entered her heart.

But the thought lasted only an extraordinarily brief instant, like an illusion. Before Xiao Yun could even understand what she had been thinking, the entire blue line suddenly collapsed. The Water qi at the very front vanished completely, while the strands that had struggled to follow it seemed to sense something and hurriedly retreated.

The vast Water qi instantly surged backward, crashing back like endless ocean waves and triggering a chain reaction. Every strand of qi it passed lost control. The qi inside Xiao Yun’s meridians also descended into chaos, while the qi within her dantian suddenly became violently agitated.

When Chen Anqing abruptly opened her eyes, she saw Xiao Yun collapsed on the floor, twisting and struggling, occasionally vomiting up a mouthful of blood. Her body was like a leaking balloon. The blue qi was no longer merely dispersing from her body but spraying out like high-pressure jets, carrying bursts of bloody mist with it.

Yet Chen Anqing was still recalling what she had just seen. Xiao Yun’s dantian had never actually been opened at all. The darkness Chen Anqing had witnessed was merely the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface of that tiny exposed corner was a seal waiting to be unlocked, like a letter sealed tightly shut. The condition for opening it was qi of different attributes—not Water qi, but every kind of qi.

Xiao Yun was not a cultivator with a pure Water affinity. She possessed every affinity. She had the Chaos Physique.

Ordinary cultivators could only break free of the restrictions of elemental attributes after reaching the Gui Realm and begin comprehending the mysteries of laws. Yet Xiao Yun already possessed those conditions while still in the Jia Realm.

Although cultivating every affinity meant her cultivation speed would be ten times slower than everyone else’s, she would not be restricted by realm advancement. She only needed to accumulate power, absorb enormous quantities of qi, then compress and purify it, and she would naturally progress all the way to the pinnacle.

And this physique had only one weakness: the conditions required to begin cultivating were absurdly peculiar. Not harsh—peculiar!

All currently known cultivation knowledge taught cultivators that the attribute represented by the first qi they sensed was their fundamental affinity. After that, they simply needed to guide qi of the same attribute into their body and store it in the dantian to officially begin cultivating.

But someone with the Chaos Physique had to sense qi nine separate times, establish a connection with qi of every attribute, then simultaneously guide equal amounts of all nine types into the dantian before they could successfully enter Jia Realm Level Two.

A physique like this might not appear even once in ten thousand years. Even the Fu Pavilion, one of the continent’s top powers, had only fragmentary records about it, much less a local clan like the Xiao family.

In other words, Xiao Yun simply had no idea. Strictly speaking, she had not even reached Jia Realm Level One. She was Level Zero. She had only sensed Water qi and had never attempted to sense qi of any other attribute.

But that was not really her fault. If Chen Anqing had not already reached the Gui Realm, freed herself from the restrictions of attributes, and become proficient in every affinity, even she would not have understood what that seal meant.

In other words, throughout the entire Great Wilderness Continent, the only people currently capable of helping Xiao Yun discover the cause of her condition were cultivators at the Gui Realm or above.

In that case, Chen Anqing might as well make a bold guess: sometime in the future, some major figure with cultivation roughly equal to Chen Anqing’s would help Xiao Yun unravel the secret of the Chaos Physique, opening the path that would lead her to the pinnacle of the world—and, somewhere along the way, conveniently slaughter Chen Anqing.

Guess complete, Chen Anqing closed both eyes, almost unable to face reality.

Only after spending quite a while mentally preparing herself did she open them again. Looking down, she saw that Xiao Yun was barely breathing, taking in more air than she let out. Her life force was fading rapidly, and no one knew which second might be her last.

Chen Anqing made no other move. She simply watched Xiao Yun, who was already drenched in blood, while two voices waged war inside her heart. One side told her to take advantage of Xiao Yun’s weakness and end her life now, securing ten thousand years of freedom and ease for herself. The other reminded her that Xiao Yun was only an eleven-year-old child. Was she really going to kill a child for a future that had not even been completely confirmed?

The two sides argued fiercely, yet neither could prevail.

And so Chen Anqing remained motionless, counting the seconds one by one. She would gamble on it and see whether this person would actually stop breathing tonight.

Unfortunately—and entirely as expected—Xiao Yun held on for nearly an hour. Not only did she fail to die, but her breathing even began showing signs of gradually stabilizing.

In the end, reality defeated Chen Anqing. After confirming that Xiao Yun had completely lost consciousness, she dispelled her concealment technique, casually rolled her wrist, then flipped her hand over. A glowing green medicinal pill appeared in her palm.

The moment the pill appeared, an exceptionally fresh medicinal fragrance spread through the air. A luminous emerald glow surrounded it, and intricate patterns could faintly be seen covering its surface. If one looked closely, one could even see those patterns moving.

Looking at Xiao Yun’s blood-smeared face, Chen Anqing felt somewhat disgusted, but it was still barely tolerable. Applying a little force, she pried Xiao Yun’s mouth open and stuffed the pill directly inside. She held her mouth closed for a while, only releasing her after Xiao Yun unconsciously swallowed it.

Her hand was covered in blood. There was nothing she could do about that. Chen Anqing disappeared from the spot in a flash and arrived at the most luxurious lodging in the city, where she booked a top-tier room with an exceptionally soft bed.

Over the past few days, she had been following Xiao Yun around. Although she could use Water qi to clean her body, nothing compared to the comfort and refreshment of soaking in hot water.

Besides, now that she knew the secret of Xiao Yun’s physique, Chen Anqing truly did not want to stay near her anymore. Xiao Yun’s injuries were severe. Even with Chen Anqing’s medicine, she would need quite a long time to recover and most likely would not have the energy to stir up any trouble.

That gave Chen Anqing just enough time to relax, take a little vacation, and find some entertainment.

But almost the instant Chen Anqing left, Xiao Yun hazily opened her eyes. She only had time to glimpse a blurry figure with very long hair and a familiar scent—one she had smelled more than once before.

Xiao Yun wanted to reach out and grab that figure, but it vanished in an instant. She did not have the strength to raise her hand anyway. Every part of her body was wracked with intense pain. Just when it became almost unbearable, warmth suddenly bloomed inside her stomach. It traveled throughout her entire body, slowly suppressing the pain while bringing with it an irresistible drowsiness.

Her mind felt like paste. By the time she was about to fall asleep, her final scraps of consciousness were already completely adrift, as though heaven and earth had overturned and exchanged places. She could no longer remember what had happened. The only thing that remained in her memory was that scent.

This time, she had smelled it much more clearly than before. Xiao Yun thought that a person could not possibly keep experiencing the same hallucination over and over.

Was that a person?

Or was it some deity who could no longer bear to watch her suffer and had taken pity on her?