Next few days were relatively peaceful. Aside from intense training and cultivation,
Qingxuan had barely left his room, and even when he did, it was to visit the Martial Arts Pavilion.
He had developed a penchant for reading and studying the history of the land he was on, reading maps, reading on demonic beasts, unique treasures and plant based life forms, studying ancient races and hidden locations within the Empire. Somehow, he seemed to have gained the favor of the old man within the pavilion who would always recommend something for him to check out. At first, he found it strange, but later on, he just accepted it and went with the flow.
With trays of food set aside before him in his own small balcony, he sat down cross legged, bathed in sweat after an intense practice session.
His eyes were unwrapped but closed and his fists met together in front of his chest in a meditative pose. After several tries, he now understood the allure of meditation as the way of cultivating the Dao.
The alignment between one's spirit and Heaven allowed one to maintain inner peace and calm, one of the prerequisite in cultivation. Qingxuan found himself meditating every now and then, as a way of not just analysing and understanding the Yuan power of Heaven and Earth, through his right eye, but as a way of filtering the endless information within his brain, allowing it to cool down, to prevent damage.
He had been stuck in this pose for more than two hours. The low grade Yuan stones that were placed in a circular orbit around his figure had already been absorbed and turned to ash.
After a little while..
KA-CHA!
He felt a shattering sound within his core and then he breathed out slowly, expelling mist and impurities. He had just broken through.
The fifth level of Body Refinement didn't just add additional increase in strength. Also known as the Bone Refinement stage, it strengthened one's bones greatly, granting immense explosiveness and speed to the user.
Qingxuan clenched his fist. He felt strength that bordered close to 1700jin of force that he could exert. A normal body tempering cultivator could only exert up to 1500 Jin. His internal force was far purer than what he had seen the others use. He really wondered how Mu Jiangbo had lost to him, but shrugged nonchalantly.
His eyes then slowly opened. His left eye, as pitch black as the night, with faint silver crescent structure shone. He called it the Eye of Heavenly Perception due to its ability to see through the world itself.
His right eye on the other hand shone with a faint brilliance. Golden like the sun, with the faint outline of the sun itself within. He had called it, the Eye of Heavenly Essence due to its ability that allowed him to discern the essence of Heaven and Earth, the mysterious Yuan power that made up creation itself.
He wrapped the upper part of his face with fine white cloth, allowing bangs to fall on either sides of his face. He had made Aunt Lin sew blindfolds for him. He didn't appreciate having to tear off parts of his robes to make blindfolds all the time.
He finished his food quickly and took a quick bath.
After putting on a pair of dark blue pants, he stood in front of a shattered mirror examining his physique. He was still lean, but at least he didn't look frail anymore. Faint lines of well defined muscle seemed to grow on his abdomen, chest and arms.
"I look quite handsome, no?" Qingxuan chuckled and scratched his head. His jawline was sharp, his lips were dry yet pink his nose tall. He would've been hailed a supermodel by K-pop idol standards had he been born with these looks in his previous life.
He looked at the ponytail he had tied his hair into and took out a small knife. "Should I cut it off?" He imagined whether he would be rather convenienced by cutting it off and sighed and then cut it off, allowing the hair to spread and reach down only to his neck.
Also there was other thing he took note of. He really didn't like wearing those long robes the others wore. They felt stuffy, and restrictive.
He used the blade and quickly made some alterations, cutting all of them short and adding some changes. He alterated some into short fitting short sleeves and the rest in fitting tank tops that he could wear and remove easily.
The boots weren't really comfortable for fighting, so he opted for a black sandals that resembled ones he used to seen in an anime in his previous life.
He stood there, examined himself to the last time and nodded. But right when he was about to leave, he remembered. With a will, he took out the black cloak had gotten from Bai Wu, sat on his bed and examined it.
The straight high collar had a zip to it that could extend all the way to the base, just the way he wanted.
He held it between his palms, feeling the rough fabric against his flesh and all of a sudden, as if by coincidence, tattered inscriptions on the cloak lit up with faint light.
He felt a disturbance from his left Eye of Heavenly Perception and then information flowed to his consciousness.
Yin Shadow Cloak. Its origins were unknown, but the cloak was a Dao Item, a very powerful one at that, but it was damaged. Dao items were armaments or weapons that could bind to the user for life.
The cloak on this case, seem to have been refined and belonged to a rather powerful expert but badly damaged.
From the information, it would only slowly begin to recover by binding to a new master and being nourished with Yuan Power.
But even then, the cloak had several wondrous abilities that left him gobsmacked. Others had not been able to awaken the cloak, to even glimpse at the wondrous abilities it possessed that's why even a greedy man like Bai Wu deemed it useless.
Its first ability was the most basic one. A passive ability, Shadow Concealment that would suppress and mask his aura, presence and even killing intent or mask fluctuations in his Yuan Power, allowing him to move undetected, only to be felt by those at a higher realm than him.
The second ability was to be activated with his will. The Yin Camouflage would allow him to fully hide his physical presence and allow him to blend with the environment, darkness, forests etc. and even allow him to move silently by reducing sound, wind resistance and friction, dampening vibration from footfalls and even enhancing mid air balance and rotation control.
Qingxuan was flabbergasted for a while, holding the cloak. If these were the abilities the cloak had while half destroyed, he could imagine the abilities he would gain when he fixed it completely.
He whipped it onto his lean figure. He felt a cool sensation as it slipped onto his figure, reaching his ankles. The high rigid collar framed his neck and even a little part of his jaw, giving him a cold, enigmatic look. He zipped down from the collar, all the way to his abdomen region, leaving the lower part of his body for movement.
"Great. I look like a mix of Itachi and Gojo Satoru.." Qingxuan laughed to himself and then walked out of his room. Aunt Lin was out in the fields, so he didn't have to go wave goodbye.
He made his way towards through fields towards the Martial Arts pavilion. Those youth clansmen who practiced within the fields barely felt him when he walked by, as quiet as a shadow, and those who saw him had to adjust their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing a shadow but a human.
Qingxuan smiled. He had become sort of a celebrity these days. Some of them even hailed him as the best young prodigy within the branch.
He didn't oppose the praise and all, but he'd rather stay away from all that and focus on himself. He liked the peace and tranquility in loneliness. Classic Qingxuan.
He walked into the martial pavilion, walked past the reception and headed to his small desk where he had been spending some time doing his reading.
But, he had a yawn and a nonchalant old voice that made him pause.
"Oi, brat. Make sure you pack those scrolls back onto the shelf when you're done." The old man yawned. Qingxuan frowned. The old man could sense him. Of course he knew the old man was ancient, of course he would be strong, but his eyes were closed when he passed by.
"Weird old man.." His voice was low, but the old man heard it and gave a chuckle before going back to sleep.
Qingxuan sat down and began to browse through a scroll he had postponed reading the last time, about cultivation itself.
In the journey of self-cultivation, 'Steal Yin and Yang', 'Seize, Create and Transform', 'Turn Nirvana', 'Grasp Life and Death', and "Master the Samsara". The various stages in mastering the Dao is contained within these words.
"Stealing Yin and Yang refers to the Yin Yang Energy absorbed during the Earthly Yuan and Heavenly Yuan Stages. Synergizing Yin and Yang, condensing it into a Dan and the levels after the Yuan Dan Stage refers to the so-called three stages: 'Seize, Create and Transform'."
"The three stages of 'Seize, Create and Transform."
"'Form Creation Stage', 'Qi Creation Stage', 'Creation and Transformation Stage' are collectively known as the three stages of 'Seize, Create and Transform'."
"If one is able to advance to the three stages of 'Seize, Create and Transform', one would be able to call oneself a top tier expert in an Empire."
Qingxuan stared at the roof in imagination. Per his understanding, after the body tempering realm, one would seize Yin and Yang and advance into the Earthly and Heavenly Yuan Realm stages, the form a Yuan Dan and advance to the Yuan Dan stage. Then seize, create and transform corresponded to the Form Creation, Qi Creation and the Manifestation stage and then one would achieve Nirvana.
There were other advanced levels and stages, which he would make a point to get to know. Knowledge was invaluable. He smiled to himself. Reading and seeing experts move mountains was one thing, but living to experience it by one self was also another thing.
He sighed, and continued reading, when a figure stumbled onto a chair opposite him.
Qingxuan froze. Bald round head, with what looked like an air bending tattoo on his cranium.
Buddhist like robes, well built, a crafty smile, and a goblet hanging at his waist.
"You must be Mu Qingxuan eh? The one who beat some sense into that Jiangbo brat. Whew! You've earned a spot in my heart my brother.. I love you for life.." The bald monk spoke with a large smile and a loud voice, causing everyone within the pavilion to turn to them.
Qingxuan froze again, and erupted in a fierce cough. Who was this bald idiot and what the hell was his problem?