Chapter 21: The Five-Day Countdown

Ran Qingmo could not truly be considered a good teacher.

Her method of teaching Xu Yuan was as cool and restrained as her quiet, unassuming nature.

Yet fortunately, her formidable strength allowed her to guide the novice Xu Yuan with clarity and depth, making even the most fundamental concepts accessible.

From recognizing acupoints and meridians at the very base, to, under Ran Qingmo’s guidance, sensing the hidden Qi that permeated this world, everything unfolded naturally and seamlessly.

And precisely through this process of sensing the primordial Qi, Xu Yuan came to understand the role of his spirit soul.

The more refined and powerful one’s spirit soul became, the greater the amount of primordial Qi they could perceive in the world around them.

Thanks to the presence of the spiritual pool and the spirit-sealing array, Ran Qingmo sensed that the primordial Qi within this cave had nearly solidified into a liquid state. Yet in Xu Yuan’s perception, he could only detect scattered, faint "Qi clusters."

The disparity in spirit soul strength was suffocating.

Of course, this gap also stemmed from Ran Qingmo’s vastly superior cultivation level.

Indeed, a spirit soul could grow and strengthen with each increase in cultivation.

The meridians determine the speed at which a person absorbs and transforms the primordial qi of heaven and earth into their own use, while the intent soul determines the quantity of that primordial qi one can perceive.

Together, these two elements complement and strengthen each other in cultivation.

If a person possesses a naturally formed body with fully open meridians, yet their intent soul is scattered and vague, then no matter how swiftly their body converts the primordial qi, they can only absorb the mere handful of "qi clusters" they happen to sense.

Conversely, if one has only a naturally gifted soul-body, the same limitation applies.

As Ran Qingmo gradually imparted the cultivation knowledge of this world to Xu Yuan, he began to fully grasp the terrifying power of the scroll he held—the *Blood Origin Heart's Fall Technique*.

A cultivation method capable of artificially creating a primordial Dao-body...

Were this technique known in the outside world, it would undoubtedly spark a war.

...

...

It was impossible to tell how many times he had opened his eyes upon that jade bed, yet the vision greeting Xu Yuan remained unchanged: the dim, stone ceiling of the cavern.

Rising, he turned his gaze toward the stone wall beside his pillow.

There,

A row of neatly carved tallies met his eyes.

Deprived of the sky and unable to distinguish day from night, Xu Yuan could only gauge the passage of time by recording the number of times he slept.

By this awakening, the stone wall at the head of the bed bore exactly six completed tally marks.

He had been isolated in this cavern with the black-clad maiden for roughly a month.

Through tireless study over these past weeks, his mastery over the foundational knowledge of this world's cultivation had finally drawn to a close.

Now, Xu Yuan had fully learned to use his soul-intent to perceive the primordial Qi drifting between heaven and earth.

Furthermore, two weeks prior, Ran Qingmo had imparted to him an inner-sect technique of the Sword Sect known as the Lotus Sword Incantation, allowing Xu Yuan a brief, rudimentary taste of drawing Qi into his body to cultivate.

Now, two weeks later, Xu Yuan had long since reached the point where he could train entirely on his own, without needing Rang Qingmo's guidance.

Thinking this, Xu Yuan instinctively glanced sideways at the figure seated in the corner.

He stared at her for two seconds, then smiled gently and turned his gaze away.

Even though he had grown accustomed to her face uncovered, free of the black veil, that pure, untouched beauty still occasionally struck him as breathtaking.

Yet alas—despite having weathered such long and shared trials within this secluded sanctuary, Rang Qingmo’s attitude toward him had not changed in the slightest.

Hah~

The stories in fairy tales truly are all lies...

Discarding all these tangled thoughts, Xu Yuan settled his mind, and once again opened the scroll titled *Blood Yuan Heart's Fall*.

The bewildering terms that once had left him baffled were now clear as day, fully comprehensible.

The entire text of the cultivation manual had long been memorized by him over the past month, yet every day he still read it—repeatedly, endlessly turning its pages.

This touched his very life.

Such a technique—no matter how slight the difference in a single character—could prove fatal during the circulation of the primordial qi.

Don’t ask. Just ask, and you’ll find out by firsthand experience.

The internal energy pathway of the Xueyuan Yinxin Technique was far more intricate than Ran Qingmo’s Lotus Sword Technique, by no less than a dozenfold. To avoid being overwhelmed and disoriented when he actually began practicing, Xu Yuan had started, a week prior, attempting to guide the faint primordial qi within his body along the meridians as described in the Xueyuan Yinxin Technique.

At first, the attempt went smoothly. The faint qi moved steadily and obediently along the prescribed path.

Unfortunately, at the point where one-third of the process had been completed, Xu Yuan’s mind momentarily wavered, and the qi he was guiding deviated by half a step from the prescribed route. Instantly, he fell into a state of "going against the fire"—a condition that was nothing short of agonizing.

The sensation of going against the fire was unbearable.

A single misstep, and all the primordial qi within him erupted uncontrollably, surging wildly through his fragile meridians.

Had it not been for the fact that Xu Yuan’s accumulated qi was so extremely weak, he might have imagined those wild qi streams tearing his meridians apart, reducing them to dust.

Fortunately, at that moment, Ran Qingmo—the master of great skill—was present, and immediately intervened, stabilizing the raging qi before any damage could be done to his meridians.

Even though it had been just a near-miss, Xu Yuan still sensed the immense difficulty of mastering this Blood-Heart Core Fragmentation Technique.

After all, when he practiced the Lotus Sword Technique—a mid-level cultivation method—he had succeeded on his first try, never once experiencing any internal imbalance or fiery chaos. Yet this Blood-Heart Core Fragmentation Technique had already begun to spiral out of control within just one-third of its execution.

Yet this setback did not trouble Xu Yuan; instead, it stirred a quiet excitement within him.

For he had discovered that, even as he spiraled into internal chaos, the large ice mass named Ran Qingmo could stabilize his condition before any injury occurred.

In other words,

He could now attempt this technique endlessly—until he had mastered every nuance of its operation!

The thought struck him, and so he acted.

Ran Qingmo had noticed that Xu Yuan was practicing a particularly difficult cultivation method, but perhaps due to her own nature, she did not press for explanations.

She simply remained silent, quietly rescuing him each time he spiraled into chaos—again and again...

........

Reading the Blood Yuan Heart-Storm Technique once more, Xu Yuan silently placed it upon the jade bed and slowly rose, walking toward the corner where she sat.

At that moment,

Ran Qingmo's clear voice reached him first from the corner.

Soft, yet unmistakably distinct.

"The outer array is breaking."

"..."

Array?

At the sudden words from Ran Qingmo, Xu Yuan's steps paused slightly.

Yet in an instant, he understood what she meant.

It seemed consistent with his initial assumption when he first entered this cave sanctuary—the place indeed possessed an array capable of shielding external perception.

But the technique is about to collapse.

This news sent a sudden weight into Xu Yuan's heart.

He hadn't quite prepared himself for beginning the cultivation of the Blood Yuan Heart's Fall Technique.

Thanks to Ran Qingmo's repeated rescues, he could now perfectly channel the Yuan Qi along the meridians prescribed by the Blood Yuan Heart's Fall Technique—though only when fully conscious.

If he were to perform it flawlessly in the brink of death, the difficulty would multiply exponentially.

Calming his mind, Xu Yuan spoke softly:

"Hmm. About how much time left?"

Ran Qingmo closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, then murmured:

"About half a ten-day cycle."

Xu Yuan took a deep breath and whispered softly:

"Can they find this cave sanctuary?"

This cave sanctuary was clearly situated deep within the mountain's body—perhaps...

"Yes," Ran Qingmo's clear voice instantly shattered Xu Yuan's hopes.

"........"

And in that instant, Xu Yuan's thoughts became wildly tangled.

The five-day countdown to death had now quietly begun.

Standing there in silence for a long while.

In the stillness,

she suddenly murmured:

"You needn't worry,"

He slowly came back to himself, looking at her.

Her clear eyes were earnestly fixed upon him:

"I'll take you out of here."

Seeing her serious gaze, Xu Yuan remained silent for two seconds, then offered her a faint, wry smile.

A touch of amusement, yet mostly resignation.

If he agreed to her suggestion now,

he would immediately foresee—

in five days' time—the scene of this black-robed, breathtaking woman, her head severed from her body.

The world is full of strength.

Ji Qingyue could be killed, Ran Qingmo could naturally be killed too...

In the end,

Xu Yuan did not answer Ran Qingmo's words. Instead, he slowly sat beside her.

After a long silence,

he suddenly whispered,

"Ran Sir, could you allow me to enter a state of near-death?"

A flicker of confusion appeared in Ran Qingmo's eyes:

"What?"

Xu Yuan softly repeated,

"Say it again—could you let me enter a state of near-death?"