If this continued, death was all but certain!
On the brink of life and death, Jiang Jichen remained calm and composed. He had faced countless perilous situations in his past life. What's more, he had now been reborn from death, having truly experienced a full cycle of reincarnation. Very few things in this world could shake his resolve.
The Source Character Qi Condensation Technique continued to circulate, still absorbing nature's spiritual energy at a terrifying rate and devouring his Life Energy.
An ashen color spread across Jiang Jichen's face. Clearly, his Life Energy was about to run out.
At this moment, he grabbed a handful of First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills and tossed them into his mouth.
Each handful contained about ten pills. Jiang Jichen only paused after grabbing twenty handfuls in a row.
During this process, the Qi Sea never stopped absorbing nature's spiritual energy, but at least it was no longer consuming Jiang Jichen's Life Energy.
Otherwise, he would have been turned into a human husk!
But more than twenty handfuls of Spirit Pills—over two hundred in total—could only buy him a moment, merely stopping the Qi Sea from absorbing his Life Energy. To halt the process completely and restore his vitality, he would likely need to consume a massive quantity of Spirit Pills.
This turn of events was far beyond Jiang Jichen's expectations.
For an ordinary person, refining ten First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills was more than enough to open their Qi Sea, and even that took a long time to accumulate. For instance, being able to refine one First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pill in a month was already a sign of impressive cultivation aptitude.
But Jiang Jichen had completely shattered convention, going beyond even his own vast experience. Even in his past life, he had never heard of opening a Qi Sea requiring such a colossal amount of Spiritual Qi.
In the mortal realm, a legendary, supreme being was said to have refined one hundred fifty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills when opening their Qi Sea. Their success became an unsurpassed record, a feat no one could ever hope to surpass.
In later generations, anyone who could refine a hundred Condensing Spirit Pills while opening their Qi Sea was considered to have reached the absolute limit, placing them among the greatest geniuses of the age.
If those people knew that Jiang Jichen had refined over two hundred First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills in an instant, had nearly sucked the Five-star Bronze Cultivation Field dry of Spiritual Qi, and had almost turned himself into a shriveled husk in the process, one could only wonder what they would think.
Despite all this, Jiang Jichen's Qi Sea remained utterly empty. The massive influx of Spiritual Qi simply vanished through the cracks.
It was as though beyond Jiang Jichen's originally shattered Qi Sea lay another, far more expansive world.
The Source Character Qi Condensation Technique was incomparably domineering, with an aura that could swallow the Ten Thousand Spirits!
But if this continued, it would surely begin to devour his life essence again. By that point, it would be too late to stop the Cultivation Technique from circulating.
Jiang Jichen gritted his teeth and began stuffing the remaining two hundred First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills into his mouth, handful by handful!
Finally, after Jiang Jichen had refined a total of four hundred fifty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills, the rate at which his Qi Sea devoured Spiritual Qi at last began to slow. It no longer needed to absorb his Life Energy; continuing to absorb nature's spiritual energy was now sufficient.
Jiang Jichen let out a breath of relief. He felt he had only now succeeded in passing the halfway mark, which had undoubtedly been the most dangerous phase.
For the next three days, Jiang Jichen continued to circulate the Source Character Qi Condensation Technique without rest, absorbing the Spiritual Qi in the Cultivation Arena.
By this time, the rate at which his Qi Sea absorbed Spiritual Qi had finally normalized. It was no longer devouring it, but the speed was still more than ten times faster than before!
After absorbing Spiritual Qi for three days in the Five-star Bronze Cultivation Field at ten times his previous rate, color finally began to return to Jiang Jichen's face. His flesh stirred, slowly regaining its elasticity and radiating vitality.
This change gave Jiang Jichen hope. It was a sign that everything was moving in the right direction.
On the fourth day, Jiang Jichen was startled to discover a trace of Spiritual Qi had appeared within his shattered Qi Sea. As more Spiritual Qi surged in, it gradually filled the fractured sea, and this time, it did not leak out.
Moreover, with the leak plugged, the Spiritual Qi had nowhere to go. The Source Character Qi Condensation Technique was unstoppable, still circulating and absorbing Spiritual Qi at ten times his previous rate. The entire fractured Qi Sea began to swell, threatening to explode at any moment.
Yet at this moment, Jiang Jichen was perfectly calm, free of worry or fear. His mental state seemed to have sublimated to another realm.
To face life and death with detachment, to harbor an unyielding will.
CRACK!
The fractured Qi Sea burst apart. His former Qi Sea dissolved into the Void, ceasing to exist.
Jiang Jichen's body trembled, and he spat out a mouthful of essential blood, suffering heavy internal injuries. But the next moment, an astonishing surge of Life Energy poured into his body. In just an instant, he was completely healed, and his Divine Sense witnessed an incredibly shocking scene.
The Primordial Spirit was a boundless, vast ocean. It was like a realm sea of its own. Compared to his previous small Qi Sea, how many times larger was it?
Perhaps, what he had just opened up in his Dantian was a true Qi Sea!
On the sea of Primordial Spirit, Spiritual Mist drifted and all sorts of Anomalies appeared, making it look like a mystical Immortal Sea.
'So that's how it is. Only by shattering the barriers of the old world can one see a vaster new one. It's truly as they say: out with the old, in with the new. Only by destroying the old sea can the new one be revealed!'
In that moment, Jiang Jichen came to a sudden realization, gaining a deeper understanding of the Source Character Qi Condensation Technique.
Of course, having just opened a new Qi Sea, he still needed to perform the final step: condensing the sea itself!
The Spiritual Qi that entered the Qi Sea was only preliminarily refined. Now, this sea of Primordial Spirit had to be refined even further.
Generally speaking, the higher the level of the Cultivation Technique and the greater one's talent, the purer the refined Primordial Spirit Qi, and naturally, the higher its grade.
For example, Murong Qingshu and Ouyang Xue both possessed a pale cyan Spiritual Energy Level. This was largely determined the moment they opened their Qi Seas, though it wasn't set in stone.
The former Jiang Jichen, who cultivated the Qi Condensation Technique, could condense a silver Spiritual Power Line—a sign of incredible genius. You probably couldn't find ten people in the entire Celestial Pearl Country capable of forming one.
Now, cultivating the Source Character Qi Condensation Technique and having reopened his Qi Sea, Jiang Jichen didn't know what grade of Spiritual Power Line he could condense.
He didn't dwell on it. The Source Character Qi Condensation Technique continued to circulate, and he began to refine the Primordial Spirit Qi in his Qi Sea.
The Source Character Qi Condensation Technique was truly an incomparably domineering method. Not only was its speed of absorbing Spiritual Qi world-shattering, but its refinement speed was also overwhelming, like a storm tearing through deadwood.
Soon, the entire vast Qi Sea had been refined, transforming into a kaleidoscope of seven colors. It was a dreamlike, beautiful sight, as if rainbows flowed through the sea.
'It's actually Seven-colored!'
This time, even Jiang Jichen was left stunned.
With a flick of his Divine Thought, a faint, almost imperceptible, seven-colored line appeared on his fingertip.
'A Seven-Colored Spiritual Power Line connects the paths of the Ten Thousand Realms. In the struggle for supremacy across the heavens, Seven-Color reigns supreme!'
'I don't know if the legend is true or false, but if this Seven-Colored Spiritual Power Line is revealed, I'm afraid I'll be killed on the spot, with no one to even bury my body.'
Jiang Jichen suppressed the storm of emotions in his heart, his thoughts turning unusually calm.
'Since I can't reveal it, my only choice is to seal it with a Secret Technique. When I reach a high enough Realm in the future, it won't matter if I reveal it then!'
Jiang Jichen quickly made his decision. He began to circulate a Secret Technique, placing a self-imposed seal within his Qi Sea.
This self-imposed seal was quite miraculous. No matter how formidable the power, it would be weakened tenfold after passing through the seal.
Jiang Jichen continuously layered seals within his Qi Sea. He only stopped when the Spiritual Power Line on his fingertip had changed to a pale golden color.
A pale golden Spiritual Power Line was already the mark of a supreme genius. Even across the vast Southern Continent, it would place one among the absolute top tier of prodigies.
'Four hundred fifty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills were only enough to open my Qi Sea. And even after being refined, this new Qi Sea can hold a massive amount of Spiritual Qi. It seems that to repair my first Spirit Vein and condense a tangible, pale golden Spiritual Power Line, I'm going to need a huge number of Spirit Pills.'
Only now did Jiang Jichen realize that the amount of Cultivation Resources his path required was frankly terrifying. The further he walked this path, the more unimaginable the costs would become.
The Spiritual Power Line he had just formed was merely a phantom image, not a true, substantial line.
But regardless, the Ancient Source Character Scripture was mastered, the Qi Sea was successfully repaired, and the results had exceeded his wildest expectations. This truly marked the first real step he had taken since his rebirth.
Afterwards, Jiang Jichen continued to cultivate quietly in the Five-star Bronze Cultivation Field for another three days to further consolidate his Qi Sea.
'It's time to head out. I wonder if Aunt is back from the Moonlight Forest yet? She'll be so happy when she finds out I've repaired my Qi Sea!'
Thinking of Jiang Ling'Er, a warm smile touched Jiang Jichen's lips.
He then rose and left the Five-star Bronze Cultivation Room. The earlier disturbance had naturally drawn attention, but as long as the Cultivation Arena's Spiritual Power Array was operating without issues, it wouldn't be considered a major incident. No one would come looking for trouble.
Jiang Jichen left the Cultivation Arena stealthily, alerting no one. As for Han Qing, he knew that greedy fellow must be long gone, so there was no need to seek him out. He simply left the premises.
Crossing Cyan Moon Plaza and walking through the ancient alleyways, Jiang Jichen finally returned to the main gate of the Jiang Family's Five Mansions.
However, before Jiang Jichen could even step into the Jiang Mansion, a petite and exquisitely beautiful woman blocked his path.
She wore a green dress, her eyes were like pools of water, and her fine hair danced in the breeze. She possessed a quiet, delicate beauty that inspired a feeling of protectiveness in others.
This lovely woman felt vaguely familiar to Jiang Jichen, though he couldn't place her at the moment. After all, he still hadn't fully integrated the memories of this life's Jiang Jichen; some people and events remained hazy.
"I have waited here for seven days, Young Master, just to ask you a single question."
The lovely woman's voice was soft and delicate, and very pleasant to the ear. One could listen to her speak without ever feeling a hint of impatience.
A faint sense of unease grew in Jiang Jichen's heart. A woman wouldn't wait for him for seven days for no reason, and certainly not just to ask a single question!
"What is it you wish to ask, Miss?"
Jiang Jichen suppressed his unease, forcing a calm tone.
The lovely woman's face was flushed, and she looked as if she wanted to speak but was overcome with shyness.