Chapter 93 - Beneath Still Waters (Part III) (Patreon)

The two young men hired to bring Lucian back reached their destination after nightfall. They were exhausted from the journey, having lost much daylight as they were forced to take lesser-used routes to be stealthy. Traveling beneath the stars was both easier and safer, allowing them to move much faster once darkness covered the coast.

The moment the wooden boat touched the shore, the pair turned to call for Lucian. To their surprise, they found two golden coins resting where he had been sitting moments earlier. Quickly grabbing the coins, they pushed the boat back into the sea and hurried toward another location. They had to report to Little Crab!

While they rowed away, Lucian was deep within the coast. He could hear smugglers moving through hidden tunnels and abandoned buildings, just like Little Crab usually did. This coastline served as one of the most frequently used smuggling entry points for the West Bo Merchant Chamber, after all.

Because reefs and coral formations surrounded the area, ships rarely anchored nearby, leaving the shore mostly deserted and free of regular traffic or shops. Sure, the city guards were supposed to monitor these hidden routes, but silver made men blind.

The only rule the Merchant Chamber had to follow was to ensure only its own people used the smuggling passages. Otherwise, they would lose their privileges and more gold. For that reason, as soon as Lucian approached the docks leading to the city, five men appeared before him with hostile expressions.

“Who are—”

“Tell Grandmaster Miao and Bo Qing that I will visit them later,” Lucian interrupted the thug and vanished from the men’s sight.

The smugglers froze. Sweat covered their backs as they exchanged glances. They weren't stupid! Only a cultivator could move so quickly. Without hesitation, two of them rushed toward the Merchant Chamber to relay the message. The others didn't even dare to entertain the thought of pursuing Lucian. Silently, they all agreed to let someone else hold this hot potato!

Meanwhile, Lucian slowed his pace when he entered the crowded districts. He blended naturally into the mass, avoiding the eyes of guards, beggars, and prostitutes. With silent steps, he walked to his destination as stealthily as he could.

Before awakening from slumber, he had prepared dozens of contingency plans. Originally, his next step would have been to remain hidden within another coastal city while manipulating events inside Three Feathers City from afar.

But Prince Xuan’s appearance had changed everything.

Now Lucian’s priority was to uncover how he had been tracked. For now, he suspected Little Crab might have leaked his location, intentionally or otherwise. Because of that, he needed to verify whether the smuggler remained reliable.

Lucian moved through the city streets with familiarity, as though he had lived there for decades. In a few minutes, he arrived at his destination: the Broken Maze.

Following the unwritten rules of the district, he casually tossed silver coins here and there, easily distinguishing between beggars affiliated with the Shadow Alliance who should be paid to keep quiet and those who were merely starving wretches.

Minutes later, he entered one of the countless ruined houses scattered through the slums and sat quietly upon the floor.

According to his plans, Little Crab was supposed to visit this place to meet him once the lackeys brought the news about Lucian's change of route. He was certain word of his return would reach the smuggler, given enough time. Lucian did not mind waiting, and in truth, he appreciated the opportunity to cultivate.

Ordinary cultivators require breathing techniques to gather energy and move it through their meridians, Lucian thought. But I can command Qi directly through intent. Also, my control over my body allows me to manipulate the inner flow of Qi.

Sitting cross-legged, Lucian closed his eyes and sensed the low reserves of Qi within his body. Next, he examined the Blood Essence he still had.

Commanding Qi through intent consumes Blood Essence, Lucian analyzed calmly. To compensate for the price, I can gather and manipulate Qi far faster than ordinary breathing techniques allow.

To Lucian, it was a fair trade. Having already experienced the process once, he activated the Rune of Lust again, using its ability to externalize intent while commanding the surrounding Qi. This time, however, he neither spoke aloud nor allowed crimson energy to spread into the surroundings, as he had no desire to attract attention.

Instead, only his eyes glimmered faintly with a crimson hue as Qi gathered around him and entered his body through multiple points simultaneously. It flowed through the base of his spine, his lower and upper abdomen, the center of his chest, his neck, forehead, and the crown of his head.

His kidneys, heart, lungs, and spleen completed the network of entry points. Qi gathered in these organs before traveling through the meridians connected to them and converging toward the fleshy Spiritual Root shaped like a two-rooted ginseng.

As Qi settled within the Spiritual Root, Lucian divided his focus and spread another layer of intent, separating tasks within his own mind.

Doing so felt natural to him.

The more he enhanced himself with Blood Essence and recovered his true strength, the more capable his mind became of processing complex actions simultaneously. Before undergoing this cycle of the Curse of Sloth, he had been capable of controlling three bat bodies independently and had activated runes simultaneously. Things would only improve from now on.

One part of Lucian's consciousness focused on gathering Qi and maintaining its circulation, while another directed the gathered energy toward the base of his spine. This happened with each circulation, wave after wave of Qi hitting the same place.

The unopened Root Chakra situated there refined the gaseous Qi into dense mist, gradually forming a pool of condensed energy while simultaneously strengthening both his soul and physical endurance.

As time passed, Lucian made more discoveries. He possessed an enormous reserve of Blood Essence to sustain the process, so he was astonished by how difficult it was to open a single chakra point!

By his estimation, he had already completed nearly a hundred full cycles of a normal breathing technique. This meant that the Root Chakra was slammed a hundred times, but still refused to open fully.

How long does it take ordinary cultivators to advance from one realm to another? he suddenly wondered.

Lucian remained within the ruined house throughout the entire night and the following day. Only after expending nearly half of his Blood Essence did he finally feel the hardened sensation spread through every inch of his body.

Along that sensation, Lucian felt all the Qi within his body move autonomously toward the Root Chakra, where it condensed into mist. Then, it all flowed back into his Spiritual Root and internal organs. More importantly, the Qi obeyed the flow he had established, not the so-called natural flow!

When this process was over, Lucian could feel that, given enough time, Qi would temper his skin, muscles, bones, and all organs equally. Most importantly, his perception of Qi grew drastically, making it easier to perceive the gaseous substance in his surroundings.

With that growth, he identified the second type of Qi he had vaguely felt since creating a Spiritual Root.

Wood Qi, Lucian realized, noticing how little of it he absorbed compared to Water Qi. So I naturally resonate more strongly with Water and Wood. Interesting. It should be because of the Spiritual Root I used as a framework.

Exhaling, Lucian smiled faintly and opened his eyes.

By actively channeling Qi into the Root Chakra, he could now feel a rough, stone-like texture spreading beneath his skin, increasing his durability. It was a minor improvement that couldn't hold a candle to his vampiric enhancement, but it had great importance to him.

Almost four months after reaching the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm, Lucian had officially stepped into the Qi Refining Realm.