Another year of the Zhenwu Peach Gathering.
The eight True Disciples gathered together.
Many things had happened over the past year. Daoist Longshan held the Heaven-Man Ceremony, and the twists and turns were known only to the Zhenwu disciples. Everyone sighed with emotion.
This year.
Ye Qinghe's Peach Blossom Wine had become even more fragrant and sweet. She seemed to have truly mastered the technique.
But Ning Qi knew—just that one kind.
Ye Qinghe had secretly tried brewing other kinds of wine but all ended in failure. So she declared herself the Peach Blossom Wine Master and specialized in only one type. Everyone shared a knowing smile and simply praised her.
But this year's peach fruits surprised everyone even more.
"Why do I feel like these peaches taste better than in previous years? It's not just my imagination, right?" The Seventh Disciple Song Cheng couldn't help but devour another.
Everyone nodded:
"It's not your imagination. After eating it, the body heats up, it seems to be strengthening our foundation."
Surprise showed on everyone's faces—it was quite miraculous.
Ning Qi smiled slightly and said:
"Previously, Master obtained three Bright Fruits during the Heaven-Man Ceremony. I studied them and made some improvements to the peach tree cultivation method, but it's only just begun, the effect isn't that obvious yet."
The Fourth Disciple He Yan dramatically looked at the rows of peach trees outside the courtyard:
"Good heavens! Does that mean in the future, our Zhenwu Sect will have vast orchards of spirit trees comparable to the Bright Tree?"
"Still a long way to go."
Ning Qi only chuckled.
To reach the effects of the Bright Fruit was no small task.
But in a few years, perhaps they could enjoy Enlightenment Tea during the Zhenwu Peach Gathering.
Everyone looked forward to it. They no longer had any doubts about Ning Qi. Though they didn't know his exact realm, they assumed it was high—possibly even surpassing some of the weaker members among them. ＲἈɴ𝘖ＢЕṡ
The Dreamsleep Pill was proof of that.
In this past year.
The First Disciple Luo Wentian and Second Disciple Xiong Shi successfully broke through to the White Mist Realm thanks to the Condensed Qi Pill, and then rapidly progressed with the help of the Tempering Qi Pill. This pill was more miraculous than anything they'd encountered before, likely enough to shatter all their previous cultivation records.
The others progressed rapidly as well.
The wonder of the Dreamsleep Art and Dreamsleep Pill left them in awe.
Ye Qinghe had long reached the Ninth Fold of the Inner Origin Realm. With a bit more accumulation, she could step into the Qi Origin Realm with the aid of the Condensed Qi Pill.
Because of Ning Qi, the cultivation speed of the Zhenwu Sect's True Disciples had accelerated greatly—far faster than when they trained on their own.
If even they benefitted this much, let alone Ning Qi himself.
Though still young, his cultivation was likely astonishing.
Yet no one pressed him.
They trusted that when the time came, Ning Qi would tell them on his own.
"Little Nine, after this Peach Gathering, we'll be heading down the mountain for training. When that happens, we'll get you all kinds of cool stuff. You love reading, so we'll look for some rare ancient records for you. Anything specific you're interested in?" they asked.
As Senior Brothers and Sisters, they had all been taken care of by their Little Junior Brother, and they felt a bit embarrassed about it.
After thinking for a moment, Ning Qi said:
"If there are any records about the Martial Saint, please get me more of those. Also, I'm quite interested in all sorts of miscellaneous strange arts."
Given their strength, advanced martial arts might be hard to come by, so it was better to explore other avenues.
Ning Qi wanted to learn more about the Martial Saint Realm.
The Heaven-Man Realm no longer held secrets in his eyes. He needed to prepare early instead of waiting until things became urgent. He had a feeling the Martial Saint Realm wasn't that simple.
Lately, he had been reviewing the conflict records between the Great Yan court and the Demonic Sect. The Great Yan Martial Saint seemed to be deliberately avoiding action—not as carefree as people thought.
Also, Martial Saints from past eras left behind very few detailed accounts—just bits and pieces.
This puzzled Ning Qi.
"Even if the Martial Saints all ascended, they shouldn't have left no trace, right?"
Of course.
Asking his Senior Brothers and Sisters to look was just a hopeful try—he didn't expect much.
Everyone smiled and promised:
"We'll make sure Little Junior Brother is satisfied!"
Ning Qi thought for a moment and reminded them:
"But now the Demonic Sect and Great Yan are in constant conflict. I heard chaos is erupting everywhere. Qi Origin Realm experts are showing up frequently—you all need to be careful."
He turned and entered the house, then took out a porcelain bottle and poured out a few bright red pills.
"These are Blood Ignition Pills. If you encounter someone too strong, take one to unleash your potential. It can help you fight back or escape—but remember, it only lasts for fifteen minutes."
This was something Ning Qi had made in his spare time.
The Demonic Sect's Blood Ignition Technique had inspired him.
However, the side effects of this Blood Ignition Pill weren't severe. It would only leave the user weak for a while without harming their foundation. In return, the effect wasn't too overwhelming either.
Everyone was moved and carefully put away the pills.
They didn't speak, only silently resolved to find some useful rare records for their Little Junior Brother.
Watching their departing figures, Ning Qi sighed softly.
Others weren't like him. He had full-level comprehension. Even sitting casually in the mountains, he could grow rapidly and gain insights.
But for others to improve, real training was essential.
The Demonic Sect and Great Yan were at war. The martial world was in chaos, but opportunity was hidden within danger. If they couldn't seize it, they couldn't advance bravely.
Ning Qi wasn't a saint. He couldn't protect everyone's safety, nor could he make choices for others.
All he could do was help them prepare things like the Blood Ignition Pill.
…
Many Zhenwu disciples went down the mountain.
They had been cooped up for a long time, and now that the Demonic Sect's Heaven-Man experts were silent, it was the perfect chance to go out and explore.
Zhenwu Mountain.
Had become unusually quiet.
Daoist Longshan was still recovering from injuries. During the Demonic Sect's night raid on Zhenwu Mountain, he had been forced to fight their Heaven-Man experts, worsening his newly improved wounds. Fortunately, with the Great Yan court's gift of Bloodsun Ganoderma and Millennium Sunfire Jade, he was now steadily recovering.
Ning Qi's Seeking Dao Courtyard also quieted down without the comings and goings of the other True Disciples.
He was perfectly at ease.
Reading scriptures and comprehending the Dao every day brought him endless joy.
The Daoist scriptures sent by the Zhenxuan Sect had been greatly enlightening.
The insights of predecessors into the heavens and the earth had often inspired him. His foundation was now far deeper than it had been years ago. If he could go back to the start of his martial path, he wouldn't have needed nearly as long to create the Origin of All Phenomena Stance.
This reminded him of the old Daoist Baishan, and for a moment, he felt a little tempted by the old man's idea to plunder every Daoist sect in the world.
He even thought further:
"What if one day I could use the thoughts of all living beings as nourishment, gathering their wisdom—how incredible would that be?"
Ning Qi shook his head with a laugh, feeling he was thinking too far ahead for now.
After all, he wasn't even at the Heaven-Man Realm yet. Hoping to gather the world's wisdom was too lofty a goal for the time being—and he didn't need it just yet.
He turned his focus inward.
He had just taken the second Golden Jade Pill. His Qi stirred like mist in a swamp, hiding terrifying power. He was getting ever closer to transforming into the Jade Liquid Realm.
Ning Qi didn't continue refining Qi.
Refining Qi was a gradual process—too much would backfire.
He picked up the armor he'd obtained earlier and carefully examined it.
Entering the state of Heaven-Man Unity, he let the power of heaven and earth sweep across the armor's surface, testing it with various forces and vibrations.
Ning Qi had named this armor the Qingxuan Treasure Armor.
Lately, experimenting with the Qingxuan Armor had become one of his hobbies.
"This armor is as soft as water, but instantly hardens when force is applied. It can resist impacts. Although some of the credit goes to the blacksmith, the main reason is the material itself."
"This material is extremely special. Its way of absorbing force is unique. If I can fully study it, maybe I can develop a powerful defensive secret art."
Ning Qi was tempted.
After all, armor was still an external item and could only protect the body.
If he could create a secret art, it would be his own power—able to defend flawlessly. With both secret art and armor, his safety would be greatly enhanced. Ning Qi placed great importance on such Guardian Techniques.
He switched to Qi to touch the armor.
Watching the armor's unique wave-like motion as it absorbed force, he observed the special changes within and began simulating it with his Qi.
After these days of research, he already had some insights.
His Qi transformed, becoming streaks of green-black light that drifted and spun around him in peculiar patterns.
They looked intangible, but the moment he reached out, they turned into solid barriers.
Ning Qi manipulated the power of heaven and earth, slowly applying pressure to the green light shield, increasing the force.
At first.
The green shield held firm.
But as Ning Qi kept increasing the pressure—
With a bang, it shattered into scattered light.
Ning Qi frowned slightly:
"Still not good enough. The Qingxuan Bodyguard Technique can now block attacks at the Core Formation Realm level. Standing still, even someone at Core Formation would struggle to break through. But if it reaches Heaven-Man Realm strength, it can only take two or three hits."
To be fair, the secret art was already a success.
But it didn't meet Ning Qi's expectations—it needed more work.
He wanted this defensive secret art to reach the level of the Qingxuan Armor.
"At the very least... it should be able to take a punch from the North-Stabilizing King, right?" Ning Qi thought.
The North-Stabilizing King was the strongest person he'd seen.
Ning Qi used him as a hypothetical opponent—he had to survive a strike from him first.
"Keep optimizing!"
Ning Qi didn't get discouraged.
If he could fully simulate the wonders of the Qingxuan Armor using Qi, he could definitely make it work.
This process wasn't a waste of time—it also enriched the foundation of the True Qi of All Phenomena.
To embrace the traits of all things and unify them—this was the purpose behind Ning Qi's creation of the True Qi of All Phenomena.
Time flowed by quietly.
Ning Qi cultivated steadily step by step.
The Qingxuan Bodyguard Technique was constantly strengthened through his simulations and improvements. Its defensive power became increasingly absurd.
One Golden Jade Pill after another was consumed. Ning Qi's aura grew more powerful.
While digesting the fourth Golden Jade Pill—
The Fifth Disciple Jiang Baishan returned to Zhenwu Mountain, startling Ning Qi.
Because Jiang Baishan had taken a Blood Ignition Pill—
His left arm drooped at his side, almost severed.