Embers of Sword

Chapter 11: Can it start a prairie fire?

"You must be wondering, what level of cultivator am I?"

Xie Xuanyi smiled and said something that directly revealed Deng Baiyi's thoughts.

Deng Baiyi blushed slightly.

"Being able to sense the energy of heaven and earth and 'use' it is the state of Qi Refining. This is known as the most basic and simplest first state."

Xie Xuanyi said: "The Qi Refiners of the first level can make talismans and carve array patterns to fight, but they cannot store vital energy in their bodies... This is very fatal. When the real battle begins, the enemy will not give you time to draw talismans and carve array patterns. The duel between Qi Refiners is a bit like the rich competing for wealth. Whoever has more and stronger treasures will be able to take the initiative in the situation."

Deng Baiyi immediately held her breath and listened carefully.

"The state of Qi Refining is the state of feeling the flow of 'vital energy' of all things in the world."

Xie Xuanyi explained patiently: "The process of a cultivator feeling the vital energy is like a newborn baby opening its eyes. Some people are very talented, and it won't take long before they can draw the vital energy between heaven and earth into their bodies... At this time, they have entered the second realm."

"The second realm?"

"Different sects have different methods of cultivation. The Taoist sect calls this so-called second stage 'foundation building'."

Xie Xuanyi smiled and said, "Different schools of cultivation have different names for each realm. The path of the Sword Palace is different from that of the Taoist sect. The second realm in the Sword Palace is called the 'Spiritual Consciousness Realm'. The demon cultivators and the Buddhist body cultivators have another name for it. You don't need to remember those messy names. You just need to know that practitioners in this realm can store vital energy inside their bodies. The demon spirits I killed earlier were all in the second realm."

Deng Baiyi nodded vigorously to show that she remembered it.

She asked curiously, "You just said that people with good talents will be able to enter the second realm in a short time... What about those with poor talents?"

"Ten years, twenty years, or even a lifetime."

Xie Xuanyi said calmly: "Those with poor talents may still be just Qi Refiners throughout their lives."

Deng Baiyi was stunned.

"Practice is to go against fate. Any realm may be a chasm."

Xie Xuanyi said calmly: "People with good talents may only need a year, a month, or even a few days to enter the second realm. This world is so unfair, not to mention... cultivation is inherently unfair."

Deng Baiyi was speechless for a moment.

Yes.

Cultivation is not fair.

For most ordinary people, being able to become a Qi Refiner is already a great fortune.

Deng Baiyi sighed: "Those geniuses only need seven days to enter the second realm?"

"Seven days is already a long time."

Xie Xuanyi shook his head and said, "For some top geniuses, it only takes one day to feel the vital energy and absorb it..."

Deng Baiyi was shocked again and this time was completely speechless.

The carriage fell into a brief silence.

Xie Xuanyi folded his arms, closed his eyes and rested, giving Deng Baiyi enough time to digest.

After a moment, Deng Baiyi asked, "You just mentioned the second realm...what about after that?"

Xie Xuanyi opened his eyes and said slowly, "The third realm is called 'controlling qi'. Different cultivation schools cultivate different 'qi'. The 'controlling qi' of the Taoist sect controls the 'vital qi', and the 'controlling qi' of the Sword Palace controls the 'sword qi'. If one can cultivate to this realm, he can be regarded as a true master. Practitioners at the control of qi realm usually condense a life-defining artifact. Sword cultivators can control the sword to fly at this realm, but they can't persist for too long. If they want, cultivators at the control of qi realm can actually set up their own sect in remote and uninhabited mountains and wilderness. Of course, it is a low-ranking sect."

Deng Baiyi's eyes lit up: "What about the Taoist Chongwu from before?"

"Yes, he is at the Qi Controlling Stage."

Xie Xuanyi smiled sarcastically and said, "This realm basically blocks 90% of the practitioners. Above this realm... they are the backbones of the major sects and the young geniuses."

"I see... Then your realm must be very high, far above the control of Qi..."

Deng Baiyi sighed subconsciously.

As soon as these words were spoken, Xie Xuanyi's expression changed slightly.

He opened his mouth but stopped talking.

Poor Deng Baiyi, who was listening intently, didn't notice anything at all, but continued to hold her breath and concentrate, ready to listen attentively.

However, after waiting for a long time, Xie Xuanyi didn't say anything.

He seemed to have thought of something and remained silent.

Deng Baiyi held it in for a long time, and finally couldn't help but break the silence: "What's next? What's after the Qi Control Realm?"

"More on..."

Xie Xuanyi came back to his senses and asked with a smile: "Does the next realm have anything to do with you?"

Deng Baiyi: “???”

With just one sentence, she was rendered speechless.

"Just concentrate on cultivating your Qi, and don't think about those trivial things... When the time comes, you will know naturally."

Xie Xuanyi waved his hand, looking disinterested.

As early as before, he taught Deng Baiyi the simplest and most basic practice method. It is not difficult to feel the vital energy in the Qi Refining Realm.

All major sects have their own breathing techniques, and ultimately, the principles are the same.

Calm down and concentrate, letting your Qi sink into your Dantian.

A practitioner who is able to feel the vital energy can feel it no matter which breathing method he uses; it is just a matter of time.

Soon, the carriage returned to silence again.

Deng Baiyi sighed, suppressed her curiosity, and stopped "disturbing" Xie Xuanyi. Instead, she closed her eyes and began to practice, trying to feel the "vital energy" that existed between heaven and earth.

On the other side, Jiang Huang turned over and changed his sleeping position.

In the carriage, only Xie Xuanyi was alone, with his eyes open.

He leaned against the window, keeping one hand on the curtain, silently looking at the scene behind him, like a wooden man, staring in a trance.

The darkness of the night was broken, the mountains were swallowed up by the fog, and the sunlight was chasing after us.

No one knows.

At this moment, there was actually a little confusion and bewilderment in Xie Xuanyi's eyes.

Back then, countless disciples in the Dashui Sword Palace wanted to listen to him preach and impart his sword skills.

There are countless practitioners in the four realms of Da Chu who want to kowtow and ask to see him and become his disciples.

When it comes to spiritual practice, no problem could ever stump him.

But this time.

Xie Xuanyi was "stumped" by himself.

After throwing himself into the North Sea and resurrecting from the dead... he lost all his cultivation.

Strictly speaking, he is now just an ordinary Qi Refiner. Although he can mobilize the vital energy of heaven and earth by relying on the memories of his "previous life", his body is empty.

He lost everything he once had.

Xie Xuanyi thought for a long time and realized that he really had nothing now.

Even the flying sword that he cared about the most was lost.

"It's true. Apart from my life, I have nothing left..."

He smiled and shook his head, muttering something with a hint of self-mockery in his words.

The mountain was covered with fallen leaves, floating overhead.

The horses' hooves trampled through the puddles and mud, crushing countless red maple leaves that fell in late autumn.

Xie Xuanyi looked at the countless reflections that were crushed in the puddle and suddenly stretched out his hand.

Countless broken silhouettes returned to calm after the horse's hooves faded away, reflecting the clear blue sky.

Xie Xuanyi slowly loosened his palm.

In his palm, there lay a complete fallen maple leaf.

Xie Xuanyi stared at the dead but not yet dead fallen leaf, his eyes more calm than ever before.

Deng Baiyi, who was sitting in meditation and practicing hard, suddenly frowned.

She adjusted her breathing according to the method Xie Xuanyi had taught her before... and then she slowly felt the real side of this world. She felt that every time she breathed in the air, there was a hint of fresh, sweet scent. After hundreds of breaths, this feeling gradually grew. She seemed to have opened another pair of eyes and "saw" that scent like smoke and fog, filling her surroundings.

This should be the so-called "vital energy of heaven and earth".

Deng Baiyi had no time to be happy.

Within the maximum range she could sense, countless strands of vital energy were agitated like boiling water, converging towards one target...

The next moment, a very light voice sounded in the car.

"laugh!"

Jiang Huang, who was sleeping soundly, pursed his nose and smelled a familiar scent.

Deng Baiyi opened her eyes in confusion, and saw a very faint flame burning in the palm of Xie Xuanyi's hand.

And there was a fallen leaf, lying in the fire, burning silently.

She looked at the young man in white blankly, somewhat confused.

Xie Xuanyi gently grasped the flame and extinguished it, then spread out his hands. Miraculously, the maple leaf was left with a complete outline, and there were faint sparks.

Xie Xuanyi asked in a very soft voice.

"you say……"

"This dead leaf is now just a little ember. Can it start a prairie fire?"

　Currently, the new book update period is 12 noon. I wonder if everyone is used to this time. Would it be better to move it to the morning or evening?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)