Chapter Nineteen: The Realm of Converging Spirits

The scenery flashed by in a blur as it receded behind him, and Chu Jie felt immense joy as he gazed down at the endless sprawl of tents below. This, he thought, was what it meant to be a cultivator—soaring through the sky and moving unhindered by earthly bounds.

Chu Jie narrowed his eyes slightly. Lately, so much had weighed on his mind, keeping his nerves taut. The old man at the bottom of the lake had ordered him to exterminate the Wang family descendants in the inner city and to seek out the one bearing the butterfly birthmark. He still carried the map his father had left him, and not only did he have to destroy the Yang family, but today, the Luo family as well. In this city of bloodshed and massacre, Chu Jie was truly an enemy to the world.

Yet, with the Nine Tribulations Body ignited, Chu Jie felt not the slightest fear. No matter what obstacles awaited on the road ahead, no matter how formidable the foes, he would cut them down with a single stroke of his sword!

Spotting a river below, Chu Jie felt the spiritual energy within him surge. He needed a place to cultivate. With this thought, he guided the Universe Treasure Wheel, carrying himself down into the river. To his surprise and delight, the wheel formed a barrier of spiritual light around him, keeping the water at bay.

Chu Jie had learned during his time with the Yang family that treasures in this world were ranked in only a handful of grades: Treasure Artifacts, Magic Artifacts, Spirit Artifacts, and Dao Artifacts. Gazing at the Universe Treasure Wheel beneath his feet, he was certain it was at least a mid-grade Treasure Artifact.

He surveyed his surroundings and realized he was in one of the inner rivers of the Blood Massacre City. Guiding the wheel, he slowly descended to the river’s bottom, where rays of light from the artifact blasted open a cavern just large enough for him to enter. Earth gradually covered him, and even the glow of the wheel vanished from sight.

Encased in the barrier the wheel had released, Chu Jie examined it closely. The wheel was about the size of a large bowl, its surface interwoven with runes, golden light spilling forth, flooding him with spiritual energy. Four tiny swords, each the size of a thumb, clung to its rim, gleaming with a chilling, sinister light.

As his spiritual sense gradually attuned to the wheel, Chu Jie confirmed it was a top-grade Treasure Artifact, both offensive and defensive in nature. In the Luo family, this treasure was one of their most prized possessions. As he grew more in sync with the artifact, Chu Jie grasped its various transformations.

Letting his spiritual energy flow forth, Chu Jie closed his eyes tightly. His dantian was so dense with spiritual energy it felt ready to burst. Spiritual power surged through his meridians, ceaselessly flowing back and forth. If not for the might of the "Reincarnation Scroll," he would have long since been torn apart by the torrent within him.

Chu Jie’s cultivation was now at the ninth level of the Physical Gang Realm, just a step away from the Spirit Gathering Realm. In that realm, one gathered all the spiritual energy coursing through their meridians to forge a sea of qi within the body. The Spirit Gathering Realm consisted of eight sublevels, each a transformation unto itself. Only upon reaching it could one truly be called a cultivator, and by the eighth sublevel, one could soar through the skies, unrivaled under heaven.

Chu Jie narrowed his eyes, steeling himself as he urged the spiritual power within his dantian.

Rumbling echoed in his core, the power surging wildly. Slowly, it began to gather within his dantian. Many practitioners faltered at this threshold; carving a sea of qi within one’s core was no simple feat.

Suddenly, spiritual energy howled forth, his dantian quaking violently. Agonizing pain stabbed three inches below his navel, causing him to double over like a prawn. Gritting his teeth, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he clenched his fists so hard his nails drew blood from his palms.

A second attempt!

With a muffled bang, spiritual energy rampaged through his dantian like a river breaching its banks.

Chu Jie’s body convulsed as if struck by lightning, blood spilling from his lips. Calming his mind, he continued to condense the energy within his core. Spiritual veins in his arms channeled power into his dantian, which now glimmered with faint light. Ripples of brilliance slowly coalesced, undulating around his core.

Once more, spiritual power burst from his meridians, and in an instant, a sea formed within his dantian. Chu Jie felt a surge of joy, but in the blink of an eye, the sea of qi dispersed, unable to hold its form.

He frowned, undeterred, and tried again and again to gather spiritual power.

Waves of energy crashed within his core, merging and scattering ceaselessly.

"Is my spiritual energy still too thin?" Chu Jie wondered. He could not fathom why the sea of qi dissolved each time it formed.

He sat unmoving for more than three hours, fists clenched, spiritual sense plunging into his dantian. Suddenly, a spark of insight lit his eyes.

In a thunderous instant, countless streams of energy rushed into his core, filling it to the brim. His spiritual sense descended, trying to stabilize the forming sea, but it suddenly boiled over, flinging his consciousness aside and making him cough up blood.

His dantian spasmed with pain. Opening his eyes, bewilderment clouded his face. Why couldn’t he sustain the sea of qi?

His gaze drifted to the river, where a swirling eddy seemed to awaken him. A flash of inspiration shone in his eyes.

Focusing all his will on his dantian, he gathered every scrap of energy from his meridians, guiding it to spiral slowly within his core, mirroring the river’s whirlpool.

Bang! Not even halfway formed, the sea of qi collapsed again.

Yet this time, a smile crept onto Chu Jie’s lips—he knew he was on the right path. He closed his eyes, letting the energy within him spin faster and faster.

Once. Twice. Thrice...

At the fifth attempt, he managed to sustain half a sea before it broke apart.

Reinvigorated, Chu Jie balled his fists, letting the energy whirl like a vortex, collapsing and spinning anew.

The ninth time. The tenth...

At last, on the nineteenth attempt, every thread of spiritual energy rotated steadily within his dantian. Chu Jie felt the power within his body boil over.

The Sea of Qi—the foundation of every cultivator! Only with a sea of qi could one nurture the Star Core and aspire to greater heights.

Exhaling deeply, Chu Jie’s eyes sparkled with starlight and satisfaction. On this defiant path of cultivation, he had finally taken a step upward.

The qi sea within him rotated slowly, wisps of spiritual energy encircling his body. Because he had amassed so much spiritual power, upon breaking through to the Spirit Gathering Realm, he had instantly reached its second sublevel.

Rising at the river’s bottom, spiritual energy flickered around him, imbuing even his smallest gestures with an ineffable grace. The swift current washed away the grime from his body.

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze fell on the Universe Treasure Wheel. If he emerged with it floating about him, the Luo family would find him at once. Though he had reached the Spirit Gathering Realm, he was still no match for the Luo family. It was said their patriarch was a Star Core Realm master!

As if sensing his thoughts, the Universe Treasure Wheel suddenly shrank, transforming into a small disk the size of a palm. Overjoyed, Chu Jie tucked it into his sleeve.

He swam downstream for a while before finally surfacing. By now, the moon hung high overhead, and though the endless tents still stretched around him, he had left the Nine Dragons District.

He was now halfway up the mountain, and at last, he could see the outer wall of the first outer city. With his improved vision, Chu Jie could make out a wall like a sleeping dragon, stretched across the land and spanning several mountain ridges, even from fifty miles away.

This was the first layer of the outer city.

Lights shone bright within its walls. Beyond them, the second wall soared into the clouds, utterly obscuring the city within.

From the nearby tents, the sounds of slaughter, wails, and screams drifted faintly through the night. In contrast to the first outer city, this place was a true hell on earth.

Looking into the distance, he saw the Luo family’s men searching every tent—clearly hunting for him.

Nimble as a cat, Chu Jie slipped into one of the tents, quickly stealing a clean set of clothes and changing out of his tattered garments. Just as he was about to leave, a squad of Luo family guards approached. Hearing a disturbance ahead, they ran toward that direction.

Glancing around, Chu Jie ducked into a neighboring tent. Inside, a young boy stared at him wide-eyed. The boy’s face was smeared with dust, but his bright black eyes glimmered with fear as he watched Chu Jie.

Chu Jie glanced at the boy and pressed a finger to his lips, signaling for silence. Seeing the fierce look in Chu Jie’s eyes, the boy nodded anxiously.

"Come out of there!" the Luo family guards shouted at the surrounding tents.

Chu Jie quickly ruffled his clothes and poked his head out, feigning a sleepy confusion. "What’s happening?"

The guards glanced inside, saw only Chu Jie and the boy, noted the obvious flaws in his demeanor and the absence of spiritual energy, and dismissed him with a wave before moving on.

Only then did Chu Jie breathe easy and withdraw into the tent. Turning around, he saw the boy shrinking into the corner, staring at him in tense silence.