But just then, the unexpected happened. The nine Dantians, which had been floating quietly around the Dantian Vortex, suddenly began to spin like a hurricane. The rotation was so fast that it created an immense suction force. Before the Profound Old Ghost and Mu Chen could even react, they were dragged into the Dantian Vortex's range and instantly torn to shreds by the rapidly spinning Dantians.
"Ah!"
Pain. A pain that bored deep into his bones. His Spiritual Power was instantly crushed, and Mu Chen's consciousness snapped back to reality. Before he even had a moment to adjust, an immense suction force erupted from his Dantian. In that instant, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi converged on him at a terrifying speed.
The Profound Old Ghost's figure reappeared inside the Extreme Spirit Pearl. Watching the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi from the Outer Realm pour in frantically, his eyes flew open, his purple pupils constricting sharply. "What the hell is going on?"
He couldn't stay calm. The reason Martial Disciples couldn't commune with Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was that their bodies were too fragile. The same Primordial Qi that was gentle to a Martial Artist would undoubtedly be fatal to a Martial Disciple. For Mu Chen, who was even weaker than someone considered completely useless, survival in this situation was even more impossible.
Mu Chen desperately tried to suppress a scream, but the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi poured into his body as if it were tangible. The Primordial Qi, normally like a gentle current of air, now felt like countless sharp blades drilling into him through his pores. The pain, like ten thousand swords piercing his heart, instantly contorted his pale face.
As more and more Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi flooded in, fine cracks began to appear on Mu Chen's exposed skin, like a parched riverbed. Soon, drops of dark red blood began to seep from the cracks, turning him into a figure of blood in mere moments. At the same time, inside his body, all the absorbed Primordial Qi converged from every direction, rushing toward the spinning Dantian.
Soon, countless fine cracks appeared on the surfaces of the nine black Dantians, making them look as if they were about to shatter at any moment.
'Could the reconstruction steps I deduced have been wrong?' The Profound Old Ghost's face was etched with despair. His Spiritual Power had been shredded by the Dantian. His expression was listless and his hair a mess, with not a trace of his former magnificent bearing remaining. He might have a high opinion of himself, but he was, at the end of the day, merely a fragile soul. Even with over a hundred thousand years of experience, he had no idea how to save Mu Chen now.
"ROAR!"
Mu Chen let out a low roar as his body began to convulse violently. Blood soaked his clothes, making him a terrifying sight.
"CRACK!"
A crisp cracking sound echoed from within Mu Chen's body. The nine pitch-black Dantians shattered simultaneously. Mu Chen spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out cold.
Seeing Mu Chen in the Outer Realm, his life hanging by a thread, the Profound Old Ghost trembled uncontrollably. "This is impossible! Damn it! This is absolutely impossible! How could this happen?"
"HISS…"
Just then, however, Mu Chen's Dantian suddenly began to vibrate violently. A series of crisp chimes echoed from within. The Profound Old Ghost froze. In a flash, his form vanished from the Extreme Spirit Pearl. The next moment, he reappeared inside Mu Chen's Dantian. The sight before him left even the vastly experienced Profound Old Ghost utterly dumbfounded.
He watched as the massive amount of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi that had just surged in now gushed forth from the Dantian Vortex. Guided by the vortex, the white Primordial Qi split into nine streams, rapidly condensing in nine separate directions. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, nine perfectly round, single-colored spheres appeared around the Dantian. In order, they were gold, green, blue, red, yellow, cyan, ice-blue, purple, and a dual-colored black-and-white. They completely replaced the original black Dantians and began to revolve continuously around the Dantian Vortex.
"HUMMM…"
With a low hum, the nine colored Dantians suddenly began to rotate along an exceptionally profound trajectory. Nine wisps of pure Primordial Qi drifted out from them, flowing slowly into Mu Chen's ruined meridians. Then, a miraculous scene unfolded: his meridians, which had been ravaged by the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.
But that wasn't all. After the nine wisps of pure Primordial Qi finished repairing every meridian in Mu Chen's body, they moved into his very bones. As for what they did there, the Profound Old Ghost couldn't tell. Although he could enter the Dantian in his soul form, he couldn't see what was happening inside the bones themselves.
Meanwhile, on the outside, Mu Chen's body was also undergoing a tremendous change. The countless cracks and dried bloodstains had vanished without a trace. In their place, a thick layer of a black, viscous substance coated his entire body, exuding a powerful stench.
Seeing this, the Profound Old Ghost was overjoyed. "Well, I'll be damned. You scared the hell out of me! I never expected that after a successful Dantian reconstruction, it would absorb pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to temper the body and expel impurities. Hehe, not bad at all."
The Profound Old Ghost chuckled. He had been worried it would take a long time to completely purge the impurities from Mu Chen's body. Now, it seemed his future plans could be moved forward.
「The next morning, as the sky began to lighten.」
Lying unconscious on his bed, Mu Chen frowned and slowly woke up. He looked around; his surroundings were unchanged. He pressed a hand to his temple, which throbbed with a dull ache.
But now, with his senses fully awake, a foul stench wafted into his nostrils. Mu Chen froze, frowning to himself. 'What is that smell?'
The moment the words left his mouth, Mu Chen felt something was wrong. An extremely uncomfortable sensation was coming from his body. He looked down and saw that his hands were completely black. He rubbed at the substance with a finger and instantly realized this dried, black solid was the source of the stench. Mu Chen was horrified. "What the hell is this stuff!?"
Feeling unbearably grimy, Mu Chen leaped out of bed, grabbed a change of clothes, and bolted out the door. It was still early, so besides a few guards on night watch, no one else was awake. Mu Chen jogged all the way to the back mountain where there was a narrow stream. He immediately stripped off his blackened clothes and jumped into the water.
The stream wasn't deep, only reaching his chest. By the faint morning light, he caught his reflection in the water and broke out in a cold sweat. 'Am I even human?' His entire body was pitch-black. If he hadn't woken up in his own room, he would have thought he'd fallen into a mud pit.
After scrubbing himself vigorously four or five times, Mu Chen was finally certain the stench was gone and climbed onto the bank. A patch of green, grass-like plants was growing there. Their leaves were long and slender, each marked with a single white vein. It was a very common type of fragrant herb on the Extreme Martial Continent, typically used as the main ingredient for low-grade perfumes.
Mu Chen casually plucked a handful and began to knead them with his left hand. Soon, the herbs started to release a light, fresh scent. He couldn't help but frown; he was a boy, yet to be safe, he was resorting to something women used. Shaking his head, Mu Chen quickly smeared the grassy paste all over his body, rinsed off in the stream one last time, then put on his clothes and left the back mountain.
"Phew…" Mu Chen let out a soft breath and suddenly noticed it felt much easier to breathe. He paused, then swung his arms. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he felt that his strength, speed, and even his physical constitution had changed. It was then that he recalled the harrowing scene from the previous night.
'Master! Master!'
Mu Chen called out twice in his mind. A lazy voice soon replied, "You damn brat, what's all the racket so early in the morning? Don't you know you put your master through hell yesterday?"
Mu Chen rubbed his nose. Of course he remembered. The tearing force emanating from the Dantian had crushed both him and the Profound Old Ghost to pieces. The mere memory of that instant sent a sharp pain through his brain.
"Er… Master, my Dantian…" Mu Chen trailed off. Without the Profound Old Ghost's help, it was impossible for him to perform Introspection, as his Cultivation wasn't even at the Martial Disciple level.
The Profound Old Ghost chuckled. "Congratulations, you brat. You succeeded. Not only that, but your Nine Attributes Dantian did you a huge favor."
"Really?" Hearing that the Dantian reconstruction was successful, Mu Chen was ecstatic. He gave a couple of silly laughs before asking, "A huge favor? What kind of favor?"
The Profound Old Ghost asked quizzically, "You mean you didn't notice anything different about yourself when you woke up this morning?"
Mu Chen paused, then said, "I did. For some reason, there was a thick layer of black stuff hardened all over my body, and it smelled awful. After I washed it all off, I found that my strength and speed are much greater than before, and I don't get tired as easily. What the hell was that stuff?"
The Profound Old Ghost roared with laughter. "What hellish stuff? Those were the impurities from inside your body! Tsk, tsk, the amount that's built up over so many years… it's enough to surprise even me. It's a miracle you're even still alive with all that junk accumulated inside you! Tsk, tsk, truly bizarre!"
Mu Chen rolled his eyes at him in his mind, but the Profound Old Ghost, completely oblivious, continued, "So, your body is now much stronger than even an ordinary person's. This will save you a lot of trouble when you start your Cultivation."
At these words, Mu Chen fell silent. Scenes from his past flashed before his eyes, followed by the image of Mu Bingling's stunningly beautiful face. Then, he recalled what the Profound Old Ghost had said: 'The stronger you are, the safer she will be.' Mu Chen abruptly clenched his left fist, his grip tightening as he said with conviction, "I must become a powerhouse. I will never let anyone trample on my dignity again. Master, when do I begin my Cultivation?"
The Profound Old Ghost nodded to himself and said gravely, "To become a powerhouse, you don't need overwhelming talent. What you must have is unshakeable conviction and willpower that surpasses the ordinary. Most importantly, you must possess the heart of a powerhouse. A goal, diligence, and motivation—once you have these three, you will have taken the first step. As for your Cultivation… make some preparations, and then leave this place."
Mu Chen was taken aback. "Leave here? Why?"
The Profound Old Ghost laughed. "A flower raised in a greenhouse can never become a true powerhouse. You humans… you're still far too gentle with yourselves."