Ye Xian walked into his room, gently shut the door, and sat down on the bed, feeling at ease. He closed his eyes and focused, slipping into his inner world.
In front of him stood a misty figure with glowing golden eyes watching him.
"Alright, Sylphia," he said, "I wanted to ask you something."
"Go ahead," she replied.
Ye Xian asked.
"When I do dual cultivation, I absorb yin energy from my partner to help raise my cultivation using the Reverse Taiji treasure. But I was wondering, does this treasure also have the ability to absorb profound ki from ki stones or from the air?"
Ye Xian thought this because the Reverse Taiji treasure absorbed yin essence and sent it straight to his dantian as ki. If it could do the same with ki stones, wouldn't that make cultivation a lot easier and faster?
Rather than relying on the usual method of cultivation, which took much more time, he was sure that with the treasure's help, the process could be sped up significantly.
Sylphia replied.
"Yes, you can absorb ki not just from ki stones, but from the atmosphere too. With the Taiji Reverse Formation, the process becomes automatic.It draws profound ki from the stones, or from the air if needed, and channels it straight into your dantian."
Ye Xian was surprised and happy to hear that.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"You didn't ask," Sylphia replied.
He couldn't deny this discovery would help his cultivation a lot. While he could boost it through Dual Cultivation, having only one partner meant he couldn't always count on that.
So finding another way to grow stronger quickly was smarter—and he could also look for more partners for Dual Cultivation.
She warned, "The ambient ki in the air is thin. If you absorb it directly, nearby cultivators might notice and come investigate. If powerful cultivators suspect you're using a secret technique or tool to absorb ki, they might try to steal it or even kill you for it."
Ye Xian nodded as he wasn't an idiot. "So, it's safer to stick with ki stones unless I'm in a remote place."
"Exactly," Sylphia confirmed.
Ye Xian asked, "Is there anything else I should know? Anything useful?"
She said, "When Adler's soul fragment merged with yours, your soul grew stronger, and your spiritual senses improved a lot. Some of his experiences and techniques also became part of you."
Ye Xian's eyes lit up with excitement. Spiritual perception was like having a third eye. With it, he could sense everything around him even with his eyes closed, seeing in all directions.
He knew that the stronger his spiritual perception got, the farther his senses could reach.
And though only a few of Adler's techniques remained in his memory, not everything had been passed on, since Adler's soul was just a fragment, not whole.
Whatever was left had become nourishment for Ye Xian's soul. Even so, those few techniques were already a huge advantage.
He wanted to grab Sylphia and spin her around like a rom-com hero in a meadow full of spirit butterflies. But all he could see was mist... and those glowing golden eyes.
He thanked Sylphia, then asked for more details about using the Reverse Taiji Treasure to absorb profound ki from ki stones. Feeling more hopeful than ever, he left his inner world and returned to his room in the real world.
Ye Xian sat down and took a deep, steady breath. Staying calm, he summoned the Reverse Taiji Treasure, just as Sylphia had instructed him.
A glowing image appeared beneath him, two fish, one black like obsidian and one white like moonlight, floating quietly.
The projection spread out to cover a one-meter area. With a thought, the two fish gently flicked their tails and began to move slowly and smoothly around the edge of the formation.
Moments later, thin threads of glowing ki began to flow out from the spatial ring on his finger, the one Meng Pan had given him, filled with 20,000 ki stones.
Then, in the next instant, thousands of strands of ki burst out, swirling around him like stars orbiting a celestial body, before rushing into his body like a thick stream of energy being sucked through a straw.
The profound ki surged into his dantian, filling him completely and making his meridians vibrate with a low, steady hum.
Within minutes, the ki stones started turning to ash, their energy fully absorbed.
Ye Xian could feel his cultivation rising fast. From the peak of the third stage of the Ki Refining Realm, he broke straight into the fourth. So quickly it made no sense. No cultivation manual ever described something like this.
A rush of excitement filled him.
The power of the Reverse Taiji (Yin-Yang) Treasure was beyond anything he had imagined.
Most cultivators had to slowly absorb and refine ki before they could advance. But his method let him merge the ki directly into his cultivation.
Normally, using unrefined ki would make it scatter and disappear, turning all that gathered ki into a waste of time and effort. That's why cultivators had to refine ki first before using it.
But Ye Xian clearly didn't have to follow those rules anymore.
The speed and efficiency of ki absorption mostly depended on a cultivator's natural talent, which was ranked in four tiers:
D-Tier: Poor cultivation potential. Struggling to advance was the norm. If they made it to adulthood without harming themselves through failed attempts, it was considered lucky. Most never got past the Ki Refining Realm
C-Tier: With enough pills and family backing, they could reach the Ki Warrior Realm, and maybe push into the Element Disciple Realm. If they have the heaven's luck.
B-Tier: Had the potential to reach the Element Master Realm. With enough resources and support, they might even step into the Sentail Realm, far above the average cultivator.
A-Tier: Top-tier talent. These cultivators had what it took to reach the legendary Sage Realm.
However, a massive barrier stood between the Sage Realm and all the realms below it.
After that point, every small breakthrough became insanely difficult.
Talent alone wasn't enough anymore. It took decades of training, rare resources, unshakable will, miraculous treasures and a lot of luck.
That's why powerful clans poured their time and wealth into children with high-tier talent.
Low-tier cultivators were usually overlooked, unless they had strong backing or influence.
Ye Xian had started out as a C-Tier nobody—the kind of guy elders would smile at, pat on the head, and quietly forget about.
Under normal circumstances, breaking through even one stage would've taken him months, maybe longer.
Even an A-Tier genius would need days or week, even months just to refine enough energy for a single breakthrough.
But this was the heaven-defying power of the Reverse Yin-Yang Treasure.
Ye Xian no longer had to deal with the limits normal cultivators faced. No talent walls. No slow refining. His strength kept rising—faster than anyone could dream of.
More and more ki threads flowed from his spatial ring, swirling around him before sinking into his body and settling in his dantian.
Fourth stage of Ki Refining!
Fifth stage!
Sixth stage!
Thanks to Meng Pan, he had 20,000 ki stones, a completely insane amount. He felt amazing, smashing through stages with every breath.
Breakthroughs had never been this easy. If other cultivators saw how fast he was progressing, they'd probably cry, flip tables, demand a refund from the heavens, and question the meaning of life.
The room glowed with threads of ki as his cultivation soared. Ki stones crumbled into ash one after another as his power kept climbing.
Seventh stage!
Eighth stage!
Ninth stage !
Then—everything stopped.
At the peak of the ninth stage, Ye Xian opened his eyes, puzzled. Something felt off. He looked into his spatial ring
and froze.
Every single ki stone was gone.