Chapter 9: Reforging the Dantian.
In no time, Mu Chen had deeply etched the Cultivation Technique into his mind. Following the Profound Old Ghost's instructions, Mu Chen gently tore the Scroll. A strange scene unfolded: as the Scroll ripped in two, it began to melt away like a snowflake until it vanished completely.
"What a miraculous item," Mu Chen marveled.
He glanced out the window. It was only afternoon. After some thought, Mu Chen decided to wait until night to begin reforging his Dantian. Although reforging his Dantian with the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique only required him to recite the Cultivation Technique Mantra, he was still afraid of being disturbed. Before cultivating this technique, he had no way of knowing the consequences of being interrupted while forging his Dantian. As he mulled this over, a heavy drowsiness washed over him, and Mu Chen gradually fell asleep.
When he woke again, it was already evening. It was Mu Bingling who had woken him, as it was time for dinner. After waking, Mu Chen used the excuse of feeling unwell and having no appetite to ask Mu Bingling to tell his parents he wouldn't be eating.
However, Mu Bingling insisted he drink two bowls of Blood Ginseng Soup before she would leave. Unable to refuse her, Mu Chen could only drink it down with a wry smile. Only after she was satisfied did Mu Bingling finally leave his room.
'It's time,' Mu Chen thought once Mu Bingling was far enough away, his face filled with anticipation.
The mantra of the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique repeated over and over in Mu Chen's mind. As his recitation quickened, streams of air began to gather around him, moving from slow to fast. A moment later, a gray vortex formed with Mu Chen at its center. This vortex was only three meters in diameter, and with the sky already dark, it was extremely difficult to spot without looking closely.
As for Mu Chen, he was even less likely to notice the anomaly around him, because the instant the vortex formed, his consciousness entered a wondrous space.
"This is..." Mu Chen stared at the surrounding scenery in astonishment, momentarily speechless.
It was a vast, white space. Looking from afar, a massive black vortex spun slowly in the very center. If you looked closely, you would find that this black vortex was composed of huge chunks of black matter. These chunks weren't very close to one another, but from a distance, they appeared to be a single, cohesive whole.
At the center of the vortex was a pitch-black whirlpool. A single glance felt as if a Wilderness Giant Beast was lunging forward to devour him, its gaping maw wide open. Horrified, Mu Chen tore his gaze away, his face pale as a drop of cold sweat trickled down his temple.
"Is this my Dantian?" Mu Chen muttered to himself.
After understanding the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique, Mu Chen knew that reciting the mantra would allow him to enter his own Dantian, and only then could he begin to reforge it. But... where was he supposed to start?
"My good disciple, do you know the steps to reforge your Dantian?" a demonic, charming voice interjected at just the right moment.
It was the Profound Old Ghost's voice. Whenever he suppressed his Barbaric Aura, his voice would become exceptionally demonic and charming. Mu Chen shook his head. "I have no clue."
The Profound Old Ghost chuckled. "Of course not. It took me several thousand years of deducing this Cultivation Technique to arrive at the complete steps for reforging. You've only looked at it for a day. How could you possibly understand?"
Mu Chen pouted but said nothing. The Profound Old Ghost was immensely pleased, thinking to himself, 'I've lived for hundreds of thousands of years. You think I can't handle a little brat like you?'
"See that giant whirlpool?"
The words had barely faded when a fair, slender finger appeared before Mu Chen, pointing toward the central whirlpool. Startled, Mu Chen instinctively dodged two steps to the side and turned to look in surprise at who was beside him.
It was a man in snow-white robes with long, ice-blue hair, standing over 1.9 meters tall. The man's face was exquisitely beautiful—yes, 'beautiful' was the only word to describe his appearance. His fair skin was flawless, his narrow eyes were closed, and a black outline traced a demonic, charming eyeliner. Most bizarre of all, his body was not solid; one could clearly see the scenery behind him right through it.
This figure was none other than the Profound Old Ghost. He stood with one hand behind his back, the other pointing forward, looking with a puzzled expression at the dumbfounded Mu Chen.
"Are you a man or a ghost?" Mu Chen finally managed to say, after holding it in for a long time.
The corner of the Profound Old Ghost's mouth twitched violently. His figure vanished from the spot, and in the next instant, he reappeared right in front of Mu Chen.
THWACK! Mu Chen received a sharp flick on the forehead.
Mu Chen yelped in pain, grimacing. "What'd you hit me for?"
The Profound Old Ghost replied irritably, "You insulted your Master. Of course you must be punished."
"You're my Master?" Forgetting the pain, Mu Chen looked this master, who was more beautiful than any woman, up and down with a face full of astonishment. This was the first time he had seen the Profound Old Ghost's appearance. Before this, Mu Chen had always imagined his Master would be an old man with white hair and a youthful face.
Seeing Mu Chen's expression, the Profound Old Ghost knew exactly what he was thinking and scolded, "Enough nonsense. The steps are very simple. I will only explain them once."
Mu Chen immediately perked up his ears and looked at the giant whirlpool with a serious expression.
The Profound Old Ghost said lightly, "I'm sure you've noticed that the black matter forms this whirlpool. Those are actually the fragments of your Dantian. The damage is more severe than I imagined."
The Profound Old Ghost's brows furrowed as he saw the densely packed Dantian fragments of varying sizes. 'Who could have been so ruthless? The force that destroyed his Dantian was incredibly savage, holding nothing back. It's a miracle this little guy even survived.'
Looking at Mu Chen with a complicated expression, the Profound Old Ghost continued, "Your Dantian fragments are very dense, so reforging them will be rather slow. There are actually many methods to reforge a Dantian, but the others are all too slow. Based on my findings, even the fastest method would take four months. However, your case is more severe. It will require at least half a year."
Mu Chen didn't care about any of that. 'Half a year is half a year,' he thought. 'As long as I can cultivate again.' Seeing the determination on Mu Chen's face, the Profound Old Ghost nodded and said, "Try to use your will to control the rotational speed of the whirlpool."
Mu Chen was taken aback. "How do I use my will to control the speed?"
The Profound Old Ghost: "..."
"Idiot! Just focus your attention and imagine the whirlpool spinning faster and faster," the Profound Old Ghost thundered.
Mu Chen's heart trembled with fear. He immediately did as the Profound Old Ghost said. Sure enough, he soon felt his will become like the center of the whirlpool, controlling its spin. The whirlpool's rotation accelerated. When its speed reached ten times the original, Mu Chen found he could no longer make it go even a fraction faster.
"Does it feel like you've reached the limit?" the Profound Old Ghost asked.
Mu Chen nodded. He then watched the rapidly spinning whirlpool. The larger Dantian fragments, due to their weight, moved much faster than the smaller ones. Before long, they broke from their original orbits and collided with some of the smaller fragments.
However, as soon as this collision occurred, a violent explosion erupted from where the two Dantian fragments met. This was followed by the appearance of a shockwave. As the shockwave spread, it caused countless other fragments to collide with one another. Thus, a new wave of collisions formed. Collision, explosion, shockwave, another collision, another explosion—an infinite cycle. It was like tossing a pebble into a calm lake, sending ripples across the entire surface.
"Master, why is this happening?" Mu Chen asked nervously, staring at the chain of explosions within his Dantian.
Elder Xuan chuckled. "Don't be nervous. This is normal. For Chaos to form a world, there must first be destruction. Only after destruction can there be new life. Watch closely."
The Profound Old Ghost's words were like a calming pill for Mu Chen. He focused his attention on the changes in his Dantian. The explosions didn't last long, stopping after about an hour. When the collisions ceased, Mu Chen discovered that the Dantian's rotational speed had returned to its initial state.
"What did you notice?" the Profound Old Ghost asked, turning his head.
Mu Chen focused his gaze and exclaimed, "The number of Dantian fragments has decreased!"
The Profound Old Ghost chuckled. "Correct. They've merged. In the violent collisions, they fused together, forming new Dantian fragments. These new fragments will be much tougher."
Mu Chen was shocked. If it was truly as the Profound Old Ghost said, then in the future, the resilience of his Dantian would be far greater than anyone else's.
"Alright, it's time to start a new round of acceleration. Get ready. This time, accelerate in the opposite direction," the Profound Old Ghost said faintly.
Mu Chen was just about to accelerate when he heard "opposite direction." He couldn't help but be taken aback, asking, "Why do we have to spin it in the opposite direction now?"
The Profound Old Ghost scoffed, "Nonsense. Do you want one side of your Dantian to be as tough as iron and the other as fragile as paper?"
Mu Chen: "..."
Soon, a new round of rotation began. The sound of explosions continued, rumbling without end. It had to be said that this scene of destruction and rebirth was truly breathtaking, but watching it for too long also became tedious. The night passed quietly. Mu Chen's consciousness slowly returned, only to find himself utterly exhausted. An entire night of reforging had nearly depleted his energy. A deep sense of weariness pulled Mu Chen back into a heavy sleep...