Chương 110: Chapter 107 – Sunny Days Ahead

The small orb of pale black flames spun around the far larger Fire of Life like a dark moon orbiting the sun. The sense of weight it gave off was infinitesimal in comparison, and it appeared like a dark spot in the backdrop of the bright flames, but its presence couldn't be ignored. Ren couldn't marvel at it for long as the cracking walls of his dantian demanded his attention. He split his focus to reinforce the walls and buy himself some time.

This was one of those times he regretted how much the Stairs of Ascension had concentrated his spiritual sea as the pressure continued to mount. The higher-order qi in the spiritual sea was simply too condensed for his dantian to easily contain. But something was going wrong once again. The flames on the lesser sun were sputtering and fading! Fortunately, Ren could guess why. Unlike the larger sun with the tens of reinforced karmic strands, the smaller orb had nothing to support it.

It was being overwhelmed by the chaotic events in his dantian and would soon crumble if he didn't act. As urgent as the situation was, Ren forced himself to calm down and time it correctly. Just as the wobbling orb orbited past one of the karmic strands shining darkly, Ren took the plunge and tugged. His mind ached with strain as the karmic strand construct stretched and finally detached from the central Fire of Life. Like a snake with its head cut off, it writhed and flailed.

Then it happened just as he hoped it would. The severed end of the karmic strand struck the tiny orb and tethered itself! The dark shine pulsed, and the pale black flames rose a little higher. The primary sun also showed signs of stabilizing.

'That's it! I just need to connect all the strands that give negative karma to the second sun! With half his focus on holding his dantian together, Ren forced himself to detach the dark threads from the primary Fire of Life and send them to the second, dark sun one by one. As he did so, the pressure on the walls of his dantian didn't subside but didn't grow either. Assured that he was on the right path, no matter how much pain he was in, Ren persevered.

He slowly connected all 8 black threads to the smaller sun, leaving the 24 solid strands of gold connected to the primary sun. The moment he was done, the balance shifted, and both suns began flashing simultaneously. By splitting the load, both suns were able to resume their work of refining. Ren nearly cried tears of joy, but he wasn't entirely out of danger just yet.

'Will the new construct be able to sustain the burden of refining so many strands so soon after it was formed? It lacks the sense of weight of the older construct. The fewer negative strands should make it easier, but more importantly, I think I've come a long way since that first construct. Both my understanding and qi manipulation while forming it should be enough to ensure longevity.' Ren could only trust in his abilities as the suns kept growing in density.

The strands poured the accumulated embers of merit and sin into the respective fires of Life constructs. Both constructs expanded, but as they began to flash even faster, they began to shrink and grow denser. The sense of weight they both emitted was adding up into something truly impressive. The spiritual sea responded by turning even more gold until the blue of regular qi was less than 1 part of 10. The golden higher-order qi was definitely a good thing, as it meant his qi reserves were growing.

It also meant he would have more room to absorb even more qi while still in the foundation establishment realm. The Stairs of Ascension had directly addressed his one weakness of lacking qi by condensing his spiritual sea, and Ren would continue to see its benefits until he reached the peak of the foundation realm and beyond. Unfortunately, the increased concentration of the spiritual sea also meant that his dantian was once again failing to hold together.

'If I fix one problem, another arises! Argh!' Ren was frustrated, but he knew the breakthrough was almost complete. He just needed to hold on a little longer! He threw everything into keeping his dantian in one piece. The rapidly pulsating suns were almost done, and Ren watched 10 more karmic strands spontaneously form. Without his prompting, the 3 dark strands connected to the black sun, proving that the new system was working.

It did make Ren extremely uncomfortable that the number of strands absorbing karmic sin was so high. 11 negative connections for 31 positive connections was a very dangerous proportion. It would have to be addressed as soon as possible precisely because of what was happening next. The two Fire of Life constructs had finished refining the absorbed sin and merit. The refined sin was stored in the black sun to cause him unknown adversity in the immediate future while the golden sun began to push out the refined merit.

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'Something is different…. What's that sensation?' Ren thought exhaustedly when he detected an unfamiliar signature of qi. He was giving his all to hold the walls of his dantian and was almost spent, but he roused himself once more. The answer soon became apparent.

'Can… Can it be? But how?! Isn't it too soon?' Ren gained a second wind at the discovery that for the very first time, he had gained some measure of influence over the refined merit that was even now flowing out of the reinforced threads to his connections. He tentatively tugged at that qi, and the flow slowed down negligibly! Before he could do anything else, the refined merit had already left his dantian. The breakthrough was over. The final result was remarkable.

A spiritual sea almost entirely consisting of higher-order qi, two Fire of Life constructs, and 42 reinforced karmic strand constructs. There were also the implications to consider of being able to influence refined merit. Would he also be able to influence the refined sin? Why was he able to do so now? Is it because of his improved understanding of constructs, the separation of merit or sin, or simply because the number of reinforced connections he currently possess has reached a threshold?

'There is also the consideration of who the new spontaneous connections are. And 11 negative connections? Which ones had committed the sinful actions that I am forced to bear some of their karmic burden for? So many questions and no one around to provide easy answers! What would Elder Yun Peng have to say about all this? I wonder how he's doing?' Ren's fatigued mind was starting to ramble, so he forced himself to account for the damage. The walls of his dantian were covered with cracks.

Normally that might have been a good thing because as they recovered over time, the walls would grow stronger, but Ren's present circumstances in the new sect weren't exactly ideal or even safe. But as if that wasn't enough, there was one enormous crack that wound diagonally across his dantian.

'That's not going to heal easily by itself, and I'll be weakened until I fix it. Aiyaa! Why now?!' Ren bemoaned to himself. Perhaps heaven's admonition had begun already because Ren also saw that the demonic finger was slightly less shriveled and the number of crimson threads around it had drastically multiplied. One more thing he would need to address urgently. Ren withdrew his senses from his dantian and heaved a sigh so desolate, those around him might mistake it for him failing to breakthrough.

After meditating briefly on the experience, Ren collected himself and opened his eyes while swallowing a few healing pills. The disciples all around him were mostly done with their breakthroughs except for a few. Just then, a sharp sensation drew his attention to one of them, and his breath hitched. Bao Hua was sitting cross-legged in the midst of his breakthrough, and the qi he was emanating was so sharp he resembled a drawn blade.

The sensation only grew stronger until it felt like that blade was placed at his throat! Others near Hua were backing away. Then just as suddenly as it began, it vanished. The blade had been sheathed. Hua opened his eyes, and his piercing gaze was focused on the titanic Celestial's Sword that towered over them all. Ren retrieved his basic privacy array and waited with the others. Hua joined him, and they silently nodded to each other. They needed no words. They could talk more later.

Once all the disciples were done, Elder Jiao Yue undid her array, and the group followed behind the three elders. Everyone was subdued, thinking about their individual experiences as they descended from the platform at the peak. The mountains must have been serving as a barrier to keep the qi inside because Ren noticed that the qi was even thicker on this side of the mountain. His meridians were burning as the qi forced itself into his body, but it hurt far less than his injured dantian did at the moment.

As they walked, Ren couldn't help but feel a certain familiarity with Jian Feng. He checked and sure enough, the other young master was now included among Ren's reinforced connections. The uncovered plot with the traitor, Jiao Yue, and his handling of it must have been enough to spontaneously form a connection.

'It's not the worst thing that could have happened. And seeing that he is one of the new connections sending merit, this young master can't be all bad. It might even be useful in the future! I'll keep an eye on it nonetheless.' Ren nodded to himself. The stairs they descended weren't nearly as long as they soon arrived in a massive compound built into the walls of the mountain, similar to the Golden Light Monastery.

Unlike the monastery, the buildings were opulently decorated, featuring unknown arrays and even sentinel puppets and spirit beast patrols. The new disciples were taken away by a middle-aged woman who had been waiting for them. The ex-disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect were greeted by a supercilious man with a dignified appearance and an even more dignified beard. The vice sect leader, elder Ding, and Jiao Yue all bowed in greeting.

Ren couldn't help but stare as the man stroked his beard lovingly like a pet and spoke, "So you have finally arrived. I hear there's one final ship full of refugees left? Hmph. So much paperwork. Very well. You may go rest. I'll handle the young ones." Just like that, their guardians were dismissed. Once they left, the man turned to address them.

"I am the outer sect manager of the southern quadrant, Zhen Nan. I will be evaluating whether you directly deserve to join the inner sect or if you will remain in the outer sect until you prove yourself worthy once more. You may have passed for the most talented seedlings before, but you will soon realize how high the heavens are. Then you fish will thank me for not making you swim with dragons. Now come." The outer sect manager turned and headed towards a large building.

Some followed meekly while others did so while looking enraged that their prowess had been challenged. Ren, however, was feeling excited and anxious. Like water on a duck's back, the insulting tone of the senior simply had no effect. He just wanted to find his friends and begin making a new life for himself once again. As a majestic flock of cranes flew overhead, Ren thought to himself, "Judging by these surroundings, life in the Azure Mountains Sect promises to be interesting if nothing else."