Chương 35: Crimson Palace

As Lin Yi gazed upon his Innate Qi, he felt emotions he had never felt before, or at least, never remembered. He thought that the only experience that could compare was the nurturing in a mother's womb. At that time, one had no worries, no stress, no pressure, no taint, only the pureness of a new life coming into existence. And the Innate Qi represented exactly this.

Lin Yi's knowledge was yet not great, and his cultivation still low, but in this moment he could say with near-complete guarantee that his Innate Qi might have been one of the first, if not the first, part of himself that came into existence. Before his body, mind, or even soul. The Innate Qi was the true origin of himself, the union of two lives creating one new. Only his Spirit Root might compare. He saw his Qi slowly entering the Crimson Palace one stream after another.

They neared the Innate Qi in the center; however, before the Qi could touch it, it froze. The Qi couldn't reach even one millimeter further; it was as if an invisible barrier was between them, or a force that had complete control over them ordered them to stop. Back in the Outer Court, Lin Yi often read and studied texts on cultivation and the immortal dao.

Naturally, they included the breakthrough mechanisms of the Qi Condensation Realm, though only the lower stages; thus, he knew what currently happened and what he needed to do. His spirituality and perception flowed towards and entered the Innate Qi. Lin Yi and his Innate Qi had a natural connection that could not be broken by any force he knew, and the moment he touched the origin of all his energy, this connection strengthened to an infinite degree. For a moment he was the Innate Qi and the Innate Qi was him.

That feeling lasted only a mere instant; nevertheless, it left a mark upon the deepest and most foundational structure of the Innate Qi. A part of his spirituality and perception was forever imprinted in it. This transformation was not the same as what happened with his Qi Flame. The Qi Flame was a derivative form of his being.

He could not control it passively; yes, it could work and refine Qi on its own, but if Lin Yi wanted to control it precisely, he would need to use his spirituality and enter the Golden Cauldron. But for Innate Qi, that wasn't the case. It was his origin, his primordial force; he had formed a seamless connection, and now it worked like a second consciousness.

Not in the true sense, that it could think and solve problems independently, but more like a super control and mastery unit for Qi that worked even subconsciously. This brought no few benefits. Lin Yi's senses and control expanded dramatically, not strengthened, not yet. But his mastery and sensory perception of Qi itself were boosted to an unimaginable degree. In his Crimson Palace, he had near-complete control over his Qi; even outside, in his own body, while not as strong, his control had increased greatly.

Now, he could be considered to be already half a step into the fourth level of the Qi Condensation Realm. To fully step into Initial Beginning of the Crimson Palace Stage, he would furthermore only need to refine magical power. This he intended to do. Magical power was a semi-natural energy derived from a cultivator's Qi. There were multiple ways to produce this energy, and as always, Lin Yi wanted to use the best possible way.

However, this time there was no "best" possible method, only those that were the most suitable. Lin Yi had chosen one some time ago. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. His Qi flowed into his Crimson Palace steadily. With his newly gained mastery, he took control of it as easily as moving his own body. The transformative ability of Qi is quite miraculous and profound. Over the years, Lin Yi had come to understand many of its characteristics.

With a simple thought, the gathered Qi dispersed through the entire spiritual space. One drop of Qi could fill an entire ocean. Of course, the density of the Qi afterward would be abysmal small, but that alone showed its wondrous traits. And exactly that Lin Yi did. It took some time- a few days to nearly a week- but powered by a high-grade tier one pill, one day the process was finished.

The space of the Crimson Palace was theoretically endless, but in the end it was a spiritual space and deeply connected to Lin Yi himself and his Innate Qi. With the special characteristics of Qi transformation, it was not impossible to fill it completely, at least on a superficial level. But instead of liquid Qi, the space was permeated only by a shallow, mist-like Qi.

High above, Qi from outside continuously flowed into the space, increasing its density, but who knew how many years or decades it would take to return the Qi to a liquid state. However, this was not a problem; it was part of Lin Yi's chosen method of forming magical power. Innate Qi was the purest and most primordial energy of a living being; normal Qi was derived from it and was considered life energy. Magical power was furthermore derived from it and transformed by the Crimson Palace.

However, the Crimson Palace did not form magical power independently, like the Qi Flame refined Qi once awakened. Magical power needed to be refined actively at first; then the subconscious Innate Qi could process it continuously. Magical power differed from Qi in that it was easier to produce, had a less intimate connection to the self, and, by its nature, could influence the world to a greater degree. A spell used by magical power was more efficient and powerful than a spell used by Qi.

Furthermore, Qi was an important resource for the body and wasn't ideal to use up. Magical power didn't have this problem. The foundation also influenced the magical power. Lin Yi cultivated a perfect Golden Cauldron Foundation; his Qi fundamentally possessed all characteristics of the 12 Standard Meridians and 8 Extraordinary Meridians, which greatly strengthened his magical power compared to a cultivator with a normal foundation.

The Crimson Palace, or middle dantian, was the pathway from the most original energy to the outside world. Because of this, it could convert magical power. Lin Yi's Qi already enveloped the entire spiritual space with mist-like Qi and had no reason to wait anymore. He took control of the Innate Qi and, using its connection to the Crimson Palace, activated the refining process. He felt it the moment it activated. The entire space began to turn and revolve, as if a grand mechanism had started.

However, that was only an illusion; the Crimson Palace stood perfectly still as always. But unseen by Lin Yi, it worked on the ocean of Qi and drew magical power from it. A few minutes passed when, throughout the entire dimension, small wisp-like energy rose. It had the same transparent form as Qi, but it was also different. It had no formless features, but felt more real, more solid. Unprocessed Qi would flow through most materials, but magical power would normally directly interact with physical matter.

As it was a derived form of energy from Qi, Lin Yi's control over it was not much different than that of Qi. Slowly, one after another, more and more magical power was created in the Crimson Palace. Lin Yi took control of a part of it and gathered it into one place, fusing it. A small ball of concentrated magical power appeared. Hahhh! He breathed out spiritually. I finally entered the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

Producing, or refining, magical power was the threshold of the mid stage, but Lin Yi didn't stop there. His realm wasn't stable enough; he needed to refine more magical power first. The concentrated magical power flowed out of the Crimson Palace and into his body proper. Magical power and Qi were very similar; thus, they could circulate in parallel and even support each other. This was exactly what he did. He divided and circulated his magical power through his Qi circulation network and in each flow of Qi.

Magical power could more easily interact with the outside world; thus, while weakened by the small amount, it directly strengthened the degree to which Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, and the energy from the Content Qi Condensation Pill, were absorbed and refined. Magical power could even help nourish the body and its Essence. This support ability alone, of absorbing a great amount of Spiritual Qi, allowed Lin Yi from now on to practice inedia, the trait of not needing food or water to survive.