A practitioner of this method would possess all five attributes of Dou Qi.....and five times the Dou Qi capacity of their peers at the same level.
Moreover, as long as energy was sufficient, there would be no minor bottlenecks in cultivation. Each advancement would occur naturally once the five Qi Mansions were filled.
However, breaking through to higher realms....the true bottlenecks....required refining the five organs again through secret methods, pushing their limits.
Because of this, Xiao Jian had never truly considered himself a waste. He had once been stung by mockery, but eventually he grew indifferent.
Summer insects cannot comprehend ice; cicadas know nothing of spring and autumn.
Let them laugh.
Their so-called resources were useless to him anyway. Better to leave them to Xiao Yan's old spirit in the ring.....let the geezer leech more energy.
One day, Xiao Jian would make him spit out mountains of gold coins!
Speaking of which… wasn't Nalan Yanran coming tomorrow? That would be the time the old man finally appeared, right?
Knock, knock, knock!
Xiao Jian's thoughts were interrupted by knocking at the door.
"Come in," he said evenly.
The door creaked open.
A gray-robed elder entered, cloudy eyes softened with a hint of a smile.
"Third Young Master."
"Housekeeper Mo? What brings you here? Did Father send you?" Xiao Jian asked in surprise.
"The Patriarch requests that you finish your market affairs early and return home to rest. A noble guest will arrive tomorrow.
He wishes for you to be in your best state to receive them."
Though Mo's voice was calm and respectful, Xiao Jian found it baffling. What does this have to do with me?
Still, it was his father's order. And besides, Xiao Jian knew his own face.....handsome enough that even in the clan's uniform, he drew admiring gazes from countless young girls.
"Alright. I'll head back early tonight. Anything else, Housekeeper?"
"No, Young Master. Then I shall not disturb you further. This old servant takes his leave."
Mo bowed respectfully, then quietly closed the door behind him.
Watching him leave, Xiao Jian murmured, "Hopefully everything goes smoothly tonight."
Suppressing his excitement, he focused again on his marketplace duties.
That night, Xiao Jian returned to his room carrying a package.
Inside were ores, herbs, stones, jade bottles, and wrapped bundles.
He nodded in satisfaction.
"Tsk, working with my own people is reassuring. I'll have to give Pein extra gold tomorrow.....or perhaps the day after."
He slid under his bed and pulled out a hidden jade box. Crawling back up, his eyes burned with anticipation as he opened it.
Inside lay five one-star magic cores, each of a different attribute.
He had started collecting them three years ago when he took over marketplace duties.
Only last month had he finally secured the fire attribute core. The other materials had been gathered through Pein's efforts.....completed at last today.
"Wood, fire, earth, metal, water....five cores. Along with the purest Xuan Iron Stone from autumn, a young Green Vine from spring, snow melted before touching the ground in winter, a firestone scorched under the Tagor Desert sun for three months, and hearth soil gathered from each of the four seasons.
Money and time.....how much of both this has cost me!"
He sighed, though his eyes gleamed with expectation.
"If both Xiao Yan and I regain our talents together, Father will be overjoyed."
Taking a deep breath, he steadied his heart, then carefully drew a complex array on the floor with hearth soil.
At each corner he placed the corresponding materials and magic cores. Sitting cross-legged at the center, he held the earth-attribute core in his hands.
"Let's begin."
With determination flashing in his eyes, Xiao Jian bit his tongue, spitting blood over the Green Vine and wood core.
The array came alive, glowing as green energy streamed into his body through his breath.
"Ugh—!"
Pain stabbed his right side like fire, nearly wrenching a scream from his throat. Sweat beaded his brow and poured down his back.
Damn, this hurts!
Gritting his teeth, he forced his mind to focus, guiding the transformed energy into his organ, opening the first Qi Mansion as described in the secret method.
For two and a half hours, different energies surged into his body every half-hour, each carving a new Qi Mansion within his organs.
At last, when the black water energy of the kidney was consumed, Xiao Jian opened his eyes.
He formed a long-forgotten seal and drew in Dou Qi.
A moment later, the first wisp of Dou Qi appeared in his Green Wood Mansion.
Xiao Jian's eyes blazed with ecstasy.
It worked!
It finally worked!
Glancing at the dimmed but faintly glowing cores, a bold idea rose in his heart.
Perhaps…
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