Drawing Yang Energy Into the Body?
When Liu Meng heard those five words, her heart skipped a beat uncontrollably.
She knew all too well—just moments ago, in order to save her true body, she had transferred all of the pure, nearly uncontrollable yang energy—forced out by the Guiding Yang Pill—into this clone body of hers.
She had no need to absorb external yang energy. The vast reservoir she already possessed was more than enough for refinement!This trial… it was practically tailor-made for her!
"Don't think that just because you serve Miss Su as handmaidens, your only duty is to pour tea and fetch water," the masked senior sister said coldly. Her figure flickered like a ghost, and in the blink of an eye she stood before the two girls. Raising her pale fingers, she tapped lightly upon each of their foreheads.
Buzz—!
An immense, obscure torrent of information surged into their minds.
One of the girls clutched her head in pain, as if it were splitting open. Countless mysterious phrases and complex routes of qi circulation rampaged through her thoughts, incomprehensible and overwhelming.
"The Gate of the Mysterious Female… is the root of heaven and earth… ever-present, inexhaustible if used…" The very opening lines made her dizzy, and everything after that seemed like scripture in a foreign tongue. She could only struggle to memorize it, her face contorted with pain and confusion.
Yet for Liu Meng, the very same technique produced an utterly different reaction.
What the senior sister imparted… was none other than the "Mystic Female Sutra"!
Back in the prison cell, her true body had studied the fragmented version of this technique countless times. Though incomplete, its core principles of circulation had already been grasped.
Now, with the complete scripture flooding her mind, all the missing pieces fell perfectly into place. The mysteries of the art opened before her eyes, and in an instant, she fully comprehended it.
The senior sister withdrew her hand and spoke slowly:
"The true secret of the Mystic Female Sutra lies in resonance.
"It teaches you to use your yin energy to draw in external yang energy. When these opposing forces clash within your dantian, they will produce a faint resonance with the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.
"That resonance acts like a bridge between you and the qi of the world, prying open your mortal shell for just a moment, allowing you to draw spiritual energy into your body.
"And in that moment, your task is to seize as much of it as you can—and refine it into a thread of spiritual power that is truly your own!"
"Only then can you be considered a cultivator!"
The other girl trembled, her voice filled with awe:"Senior Sister… just like that… we can become immortals?"
"Immortals?" The masked woman let out a sharp laugh and shook her head."You're still far from it. When you have condensed ten threads of spiritual power, you can merge them, shatter the shackles of mortality, and step into the first level of Qi Refinement. Only then can you truly be said to have begun the path of cultivation."
Her eyes hardened, and her tone turned sharp:"Enough nonsense. The rules are simple. Whoever absorbs more yang energy and condenses more spiritual power—wins."
At her command, two masked attendants dragged out a pair of corpses and threw them heavily to the ground.
One of them was all too familiar to Liu Meng—it was the body of her previous clone, Liu Er.
"This one's been dead longer, so the residual yang energy is weak," the senior sister pointed at the dried-up corpse. Then at Liu Er: "This one just died, its yang energy still fresh. Who chooses first?"
"Me! I choose this one!"
Before the words had even fully fallen, the other girl scrambled desperately to Liu Er's body like a drowning person clutching at driftwood.
Liu Meng's heart remained calm. The choice spared her from facing her fallen clone directly—one less burden.
By now, her plan was already clear.
Mere survival was not enough. In this place that devoured lives, mediocrity was a slow death. Only by displaying talent far beyond the rest—becoming a genius worth investing in—could she gain resources, protect her true body, and one day escape.
"Begin."
The moment the order was given, the girl who had claimed Liu Er wasted no time. Hands trembling, she pressed them against the corpse's dantian, struggling to recall the complex formula.
Thin wisps of pale white mist slowly drifted out of Liu Er's body, inching toward her palms.
Meanwhile, Liu Meng placed her hand on the shriveled corpse before her, pretending to concentrate. But in truth, her mind was turned fully inward.
She stirred the vast, pure yang energy gifted from her true body.
Boom!
The clash of her yin with that overwhelming yang erupted into a powerful resonance within her dantian.
And suddenly—her world changed.
It was as if she had gained a brand-new sense. All around her, she could see—tiny, glowing motes of light, the spiritual qi scattered throughout the air.
Drawn by the resonance within her, they swirled toward her like moths to a flame.
"Come."
At her silent call, the motes of light rushed into her body, where she swiftly refined them with the Mystic Female Sutra.
Within just a few breaths, a strand of warm, solid energy formed in her dantian.
The first thread of spiritual power—complete!
It was far easier than she had imagined. With a perfected technique and pure yang as the catalyst, the results were beyond astonishing.
She didn't pause. At once, she began again.
A second thread. A third…
Just then—
"Hahaha! I did it! I condensed spiritual power!"
The other girl screamed with joy, springing to her feet in triumph. Her face twisted with excitement, she stared wildly at Liu Meng.
But instead of continuing to refine a second thread, she straightened up, her eyes flashing with cruelty.
"Senior Sister only said whoever condenses more wins…" Her laughter grew sharp and manic. "But she never said we couldn't… stop each other."
"As long as you fail to condense more than me, I'll be the only one to survive!"
With that, she lunged toward Liu Meng, her hand raised like a claw, strengthened by her new spiritual power.
The other attendants looked on with amusement, arms crossed, watching the spectacle with interest.
Yes—this was the way of the Mystic Female Sect. Talent mattered, but cruelty, cunning, and the will to crush one's rivals were just as essential.
The girl loomed over Liu Meng, sneering."You've already lost. Only I deserve to live!"
Her clawed hand slashed downward—
And in that instant, Liu Meng finally opened her eyes.
Her gaze was calm, without a trace of fear.
In their depths shone only icy clarity—and the faintest hint of mockery.