There are two ways to consume the [Bright Jade True Qi Pill]. You either ingest it orally and start cultivating or apply it to your body. It does not matter where. The more qi you circulate, the more this medicine spreads to your body.
Kiana chose the more direct way—eating it.
She did not have to spend extra time applying it somewhere. She sat on the couch and kickstarted her qi cultivation.
Since I already 'taught' the circulation dozens of times on her body, she did not need to remember anything else but it.
What about Ren and Du meridians?
Cultivation is simple!
Well…
At least for people who can guide stuff like me. This feat is supposed to be done by Foundation Establishment masters.
In my case, it is the help of photographic memory. I only needed a few tries to match a technique. It pushed my spiritual qi control to be enough when it comes to helping others. It also helps during my cultivation.
That is the biggest reason why I can complete Qi Refining faster than Kiana.
Seeing her practice silently, I tried to do what she did.
I put some paste in my mouth. It is very chewy. It is something straight out of a snicker's bar, but chewier.
As for the taste…
"Guh..!"
It sucked ass.
It tastes like… matcha mixed with real grass, soil, and crushed paracetamol tablets. Heck, even bitter melons taste better than this!
I canceled my previous plan.
I looked at Kiana who was sitting with her eyes closed. I have the purest admiration for her.
She can eat this. No wonder she can eat honkai beasts!
I patiently spent an extra five minutes applying the paste on my arms, legs, and neck. I stayed in the bathroom to complete this session.
Exactly fifty minutes later, I exhaled.
Was this its effect?
I finished an entire session faster. I felt that it's better than my previous cultivation sessions.
I tried feeling my 'Qi Sea' and confirmed these changes.
"About forty percent through this early stage…"
A month has passed since my arrival to this world. After traveling a lot, I finally reached this level.
I clenched my fists. I felt way stronger than before. I haven't tried my current physical abilities yet. Schicksal did a very good job and did not let us encounter a honkai-related incident during the entire month.
We flew out of Pennsylvania and returned to North Asia. St. Petersburg, Russia, to be specific.
There aren't any honkai-related incidents as well.
We are lucky enough to come across the 'herb store' I sought for. After some googling, I found the equivalents of ordinary herbs to spiritual herbs.
It took a lot of time, but I am finally on the way to becoming a legitimate alchemist.
"My cultivation speed is gradually improving…"
It should be the [Toushen Manual]. I spammed it the most everyday. It is the easiest technique to do. I just did not expect that the benefits it would bring is this huge.
"I should really convince Kiana to take on another technique…"
Just like a high school teacher, I became preoccupied with making teaching interesting.
*****
It was a typical day.
Having grown tired of St. Petersburg and the lack of clues to Siegfried's location, Kiana wanted to go to nearby towns. It's not that hard with various tourist packages floating around.
The reason is very simple.
To find Siegfried, we need to come in contact with Honkai.
Where do most honkai-related incidents occur?
Asia.
To be exact, Siberia.
The aftermath of the Second Honkai Eruption is no joke. Even if it was contained by Cecilia's sacrifice, honkai beasts and undeads are prone in appearing here.
Schicksal is lucky that most towns in Russia lived separately. It made things more convenient for their information blockade.
Siberia itself is isolated from the rest of the world. We could not book a direct flight to it. That shows the severity of the remaining honkai energy there. I won't be surprised if we meet people who know about honkai.
As for the West?
I reckon we won't see much honkai-related stuff there. We tried to look from town to town, but it is very rare. We might be bad at finding things, or dealers of honkai weapons are very rare in America.
Anyways…
Third Eruption? Nagazora, Asia.
Fourth Eruption? Far East, Asia.
Fifth Eruption? Coral Island, near Southeast Asia.
If we still haven't encountered honkai stuff here, I will write my name upside-down.
"How did you come up with this?"
Of course, I am the one who came up with this plan.
"You said you lived here with your dad before, no?"
"Yes. Then?"
"You might have missed a lot of things. The honkai, for example. Since you lived in this region for a while, your father must have been involved with honkai. We have a higher chance of encountering the community here."
"..."
Kiana might be a bit "intellectually challenged", but not to the point of being dumb and clueless.
She must have understood what I said.
"If there really are dangerous things around that honkai, we run. We need to meet people related to it, not monsters."
"Um."
Naturally, I am aware of its repercussions. Russia is under Schicksal's influence.
I am inclined to think that Otto knew about Kiana's whereabouts earlier on—that, or he did not care.
Kiana already traveled more than half of the world. She also got involved in minor honkai eruptions several times. The schools she enrolled in before… Those cities suffered minor honkai eruptions. It was later reported as an unknown natural disaster..
In short, I should not worry about Otto making a move early on.
It will be a different thing if everything about immortal cultivation gets exposed, though.
That's why the primary solution is to keep a low profile.
If all things don't work and some unexpected things happen, I still have one final plan...
The tour bus stopped at the places they offered. It is the typical tourist attraction offered to foreigners.
"...have two hours before we head to the next stop."
Just like that, the entire group of tourists disbanded. We will meet up in this place after two hours.
"Pushkin."
The bust stopped right in front of a magnificent castle. It is the Catherine Palace in the Tsar's Town.
We did not head to the palace itself but to the town and village around it.
It isn't hard to travel to other places. There are cabs waiting nearby—just not in front of the palace.
Once we got in, I thickened up my face and started talking to the driver.
"Sir. Do you have any recommendations? Scenic spots?"
"Ah?"
He looked at me in the mirror before Kiana.
"Brothers and sisters?"
"Yeah?"
It was Kiana who responded.
The driver did not dig deeper and talked to Kiana.
"There is an Eastern town not far. Black hair." His English is quite bad. "Miss' white hair reminds me of people. Strong fighter. You will like Alexander Park."
White hair isn't uncommon in this world. It is my black hair that became rarer.
"Strong fighter?" She asked.
The driver did not mind. He laughed a bit as he started telling:
"Two years ago in bar. Pickpockets stealing. Huge fistfight. A man beat up fifteen men. White hair. Blue eyes. Like Miss'."
"..."
"..."
Isn't this too much of a coincidence?