Chapter 35: Prison Suppressing Divine Body (Part 1)
Blood Surge, the final and third level of the Palace Knocking Realm. As its name implies, Blood Surge involved the surging of Blood Qi, like a torrential river. When the Blood Qi was refined into the first drop of Longevity Blood, this level was considered complete.
Among Cultivators, there was a saying: A strong body invigorates the blood; blood nourishes longevity; longevity contains fate; fate forges the body. Fate governs longevity; longevity gives rise to blood; blood strengthens the body; the body protects fate.
The body's constitution, the Life Wheel, and the Life Palace were complementary and interdependent; none of the three could be without the others.
A powerful constitution could strengthen one's Blood Qi. Abundant Blood Qi could extend one's Lifespan. The longer the Lifespan, the stronger one's fate. And a strong fate allowed one to forge an even more powerful constitution.
At the same time, the Life Palace was the sovereign of the Life Wheel, while the Life Wheel gave rise to Longevity Blood. Longevity Blood strengthened the body's constitution, and a powerful constitution could, in turn, protect the Life Palace!
Regardless of whether it was the Life Palace, the Life Wheel, or the body's constitution, the link between the three was Blood Qi. However, as one's Dao Practice deepened, ordinary Blood Qi became insufficient to support a powerful constitution, Life Wheel, and Life Palace. Therefore, one had to refine Blood Qi into Longevity Blood.
For any Cultivator, Longevity Blood was incomparably precious. Every drop was formed through repeated tempering. It was not just the essence of Blood Qi, but also Blood Qi that contained the endless Mysteries of the Great Dao!
There was another saying among Cultivators: "Ten thousand blood for one longevity; one blood for ten thousand longevities." Everyone had their own interpretation of this phrase.
However, the most common understanding was this: one drop of Longevity Blood was condensed from ten thousand drops of Blood Qi. And one drop of an Immortal Emperor's Longevity Blood could allow a Mortal to live for ten thousand years!
Although no one had ever tested whether a single drop of an Immortal Emperor's Longevity Blood could truly let a Mortal live for ten thousand years, it was enough to illustrate just how precious it was.
For many Cultivators, cultivating the Blood Surge level was not difficult. An ordinary Cultivator could likely accomplish it in three to five months.
At the Blood Surge level, one tempered the blood with a Longevity Technique, and Li Qiye was no different.
A halo appeared behind Li Qiye's head as his radiant Life Wheels spun ceaselessly. Following the circulation of his Blood Qi, a vortex unexpectedly formed within his Life Wheels. The moment it formed, his Blood Qi became powerful and forceful, like a geyser erupting in fury.
Li Qiye's constitution and Life Wheels were both of the Mortal Level, so his Blood Qi was not particularly strong. And yet, at this moment, the force of his Blood Qi was likely no less than that of someone with an Innate Body and Innate Life Wheels.
His Blood Qi rushed like a river. Its first full Circulation of Heaven was completed in the blink of an eye. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, the Blood Qi surged endlessly within its cycle, spinning faster and faster, flowing with increasing urgency until it formed a massive vortex throughout Li Qiye's entire body! At this moment, it was as if a Blood Moon were rising and falling within him.
This was the miraculous aspect of the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique, and also what made it so terrifying. It could compress Blood Qi into an incomparably powerful current.
Of course, the wonders of the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique went far beyond this. As the technique drove the surging Blood Qi, the True Destiny within his Life Palace suddenly reacted.
In that instant, Li Qiye's True Destiny seemed to fully awaken. Driven by the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique, it began to inhale the swirling Blood Qi like a whale gulping down water.
The True Destiny absorbed and expelled the Blood Qi at an incredible speed, just like a Giant Whale. In the blink of an eye, the True Destiny became dazzlingly radiant, and at that moment, the runic Dao Foundation of the Kunpeng Six Transformations sprang to life.
The True Destiny would swallow the Blood Qi, then spray it back out like a Giant Whale. During this process, the Dao Foundation of the Kunpeng Six Transformations acted like a giant grindstone, milling the expelled Blood Qi, refining it, seeming to grind it ever finer and smoother!
After being refined by the Dao Foundation, the Blood Qi became finer, denser, and more crystalline before flowing back into the Life Wheels.
As the True Destiny absorbed and expelled the Blood Qi, it grew stronger. The Dao Foundation of the Kunpeng Six Transformations also flourished. Its individual runes became like solid entities, transforming into tiny Kunpengs that soared around the True Destiny, as if they were living creatures of flesh and blood!
The entire process was so natural, so seamless. Everything operated in perfect, spontaneous harmony.
The Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique—it was a terrifying Longevity Technique, and also an incredibly magical Cultivation Technique. It turned Blood Qi into a powerful engine that fueled the Foundation Establishment of the Dao Foundation within the Life Palace.
For millions of years, countless members of the Xiyan Ancient Sect had tried to master the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique. Unfortunately, it had always been flawed and imperfect.
'The Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique could be called a miracle. Its creator was definitely one of the greatest geniuses of all time. Of course, its flaw was not so easily repaired. If not for me, Li Qiye, becoming the Yin Ya, living an undying life from the Desolate Era until now… If not for my persistent efforts to repair this technique, and later inviting invincible existences like the Mingren Immortal Emperor, the Tun Ri Immortal Emperor, and the Black Dragon King to participate in its repair, it would have been impossible to fix this technique!'
After his Blood Qi had been circulating for a full day and night, Li Qiye suddenly heard a soft DROP. It felt as if something heavy had fallen into his Life Wheels. In that instant, a refreshing energy coursed through his entire being, making him feel completely at ease. A faint radiance began to emanate from his body. The Life Wheels behind his head emerged, their bloody light shining even more brightly.
Li Qiye quickly used his Inner Vision to look. There, inside his Life Wheels, he discovered a single drop of Longevity Blood. It was crystalline and as crimson as a flame—a thing of breathtaking beauty, as if it were a masterpiece crafted by the heavens themselves.
One drop of Longevity Blood. Without a doubt, Li Qiye had broken through the Blood Surge level and stepped into the Territorial Expansion Realm.
The Cultivation Realms, from lowest to highest, were: Kou Palace, Territorial Expansion, Yunting Body, Pigong, Vigorous Longevity, True Destiny, Canopy, Nirvana Bathing, Celestial Essence, Nurturing God…
Awakening his True Destiny in three months, yet condensing his first Longevity Blood overnight—if word of this got out, no one would believe it. But this was precisely what made the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique so terrifying.
A genius might awaken their True Destiny in a single day, but even for a genius, forming the first drop of Longevity Blood would take ten days at the very least. Yet Li Qiye had done it in a single day and night. This was simply unheard-of.
It was because of the miraculous power of the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique that countless geniuses of the Xiyan Ancient Sect had cultivated it over millions of years. Unfortunately, they had all ended up destroying themselves.
The next day, the moment Nan Huairun saw Li Qiye, he was stunned. "Senior Brother," he stammered, "y-y-you're at the Territorial Expansion Realm?"
"I just entered the Territorial Expansion Realm last night," Li Qiye stated, the fact in the most nonchalant tone, not at all pleased with himself.
Anyone else would have been ecstatic. Condensing Longevity Blood in a day and a night was the feat of a Heaven-Defying genius. Of course, Li Qiye knew it was all thanks to the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique, so there was nothing to be proud of.
Hearing Li Qiye's words, Nan Huairun was left a bit dazed. He said, "Senior Brother, I-I remember your True Destiny hadn't even awakened a few days ago, right?"
"It awakened two days ago," Li Qiye replied, his voice as calm as still water.
"Y-You took three months to awaken your True Destiny, but only… only one day and one night to condense your first drop of Longevity Blood?" After learning the details, Nan Huairun was completely dumbfounded and could only stammer.
Li Qiye merely smiled at Nan Huairun's reaction. After snapping out of his shock, Nan Huairun couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "The Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique… it truly is the number one miraculous technique. No wonder countless geniuses in our Xiyan Ancient Sect threw their lives away for it, one after another."
At this, Nan Huairun added with a sigh of regret, "Unfortunately, the flaw in the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique is also a fatal one." For millions of years, countless geniuses of the Xiyan Ancient Sect had tried to repair its flaw, but none had ever succeeded.
In the end, Nan Huairun had to face the problem at hand and asked softly, "Senior Brother, at what realm are you planning to switch to a different Longevity Technique?"
Nan Huairun understood that it was impossible to cultivate the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique to the very end. After all, its flaw was irreparable.
For a Cultivator, when it came to Foundation Establishment techniques like Longevity Techniques and Life Techniques, it was always best to stick with one of each from beginning to end if one wished to walk a long path on the Great Dao.
Although one could switch Longevity Techniques or Life Techniques midway, doing so would leave a great hidden danger along one's path of the Great Dao. Should the day of longevity decay and Fate Calamity ever arrive, such a hidden danger would prove fatal.
However, for many Cultivators, this was not a matter of choice. Very few people had access to the best Cultivation Techniques from the very beginning; it was a process that required accumulation.
If a Cultivator only ever practiced one Foundation Establishment Longevity Technique and Life Technique their entire life, it would be fine if they were powerful Emperor's Ancient Secrets. But if they were low-level techniques, that Cultivator's future achievements would be limited.
Of course, there were also those who cultivated a low-level technique to its absolute limit, causing it to sublimate and eventually give birth to an ultimate Mystical Meaning. Such individuals would eventually become legends who roamed the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands!
Clearly, in Nan Huairun's eyes, since Li Qiye was cultivating the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique, he would have to switch Longevity Techniques in the future. Otherwise, he would eventually be destroyed by it.
And so, Nan Huairun reminded Li Qiye, "Senior Brother, the sooner you switch away from the Moon Vortex Sun Wheel Technique, the better. Otherwise, once you reach the later realms and become truly entangled with it, it will be nearly impossible to switch. You'll never be able to escape its control over your Blood Qi."