Chapter Eleven: I Am Simply Too Powerful

Qi Refinement is, in essence, the process by which the physical body draws upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, opening one acupoint after another within the meridians. Ultimately, this forms a route for the circulation of inner energy, known as the Small Heavenly Cycle. In this way, the spiritual energy of the world is transformed into one's own, stored in the dantian, and the dantian itself is nurtured. When enough spiritual energy has been accumulated, one is considered to have perfected the Qi Refinement stage.

Xu Zhe’s bloodline had devoured dragon blood, and his body had been nurtured for ten thousand years. His meridians and acupoints were not only long since opened, but had been tempered to be thick and resilient. The spiritual energy coursed smoothly through his Small Heavenly Cycle—no surprise, really. Even in the Celestial Domain, there were some prodigies with innate Dao Embryos or spiritual constitutions whose meridians were naturally unobstructed.

However, Xu Zhe knew well that, in his previous life in the Celestial Domain, he was already considered a renowned genius. Even though he drew in a considerable amount of spiritual energy when he first cultivated, it was nothing compared to now. If the amount of energy he had drawn in his past life could be likened to a small stream, what he was absorbing now was an ocean.

The difference was staggering.

With this realization, Xu Zhe turned his spiritual sense inward to inspect his body. There were no issues with his meridians, and apart from being unusually vast, his dantian also seemed normal…

Wait a moment.

This isn’t right.

To be considered perfected in Qi Refinement, at least ninety percent of the dantian should be filled with spiritual energy. Yet here, it wasn’t even ten percent.

Well, it's just that mine is too immense—by that, he meant his dantian.

So, in terms of level, he hadn’t truly perfected Qi Refinement, but the amount of spiritual energy he had was already comparable to an ordinary practitioner at full completion.

But why was his spiritual energy still quietly diminishing?

What on earth!

Could someone be stealing his energy? The ancients really weren’t wrong—did he truly have some hidden sage or “golden finger” riding along with him?

Let’s see if he could catch the culprit…

Xu Zhe followed the direction in which the energy was leaking with his spiritual sense, investigating carefully. He found the spiritual energy coursing through some tiny meridians and then merging into his flesh and blood.

Clearly, it was his own body “stealing” the energy.

To be precise, his body was absorbing it.

This seemed to be the effect of cultivating the True Qi Demon-Sealing Sutra, which constantly tempered the flesh.

Fair enough—he nearly forgot that this sutra refined both body and energy together.

As Xu Zhe pondered, his spiritual sense continued to roam throughout his body.

Suddenly, several orbs, each emitting a faint radiance, caught his attention.

“Spiritual roots? Wood, fire, earth, metal, water… Five spiritual roots?”

Xu Zhe was slightly surprised.

No wonder people had said his spiritual roots were chaotic. Five spiritual roots—who could handle that?

Normally, cultivators possessed a single spiritual root, with dual roots being rare. As long as the quality was high, even dual roots marked one as a once-in-a-century genius. But with three or more, regardless of quality, it was no longer a good thing.

For example, with the same cultivation method, a dual-root cultivator would need twice as much time and consume more elixirs compared to a single-root cultivator. Still, this was within acceptable limits for most, as dual roots meant greater potential and at least double the energy reserves.

But having three, four, or even five spiritual roots was just absurd.

After all, that meant three, four, or five times more time and resources required compared to someone with a single spiritual root!

At the lower stages, this difference might not seem too egregious.

But as one advanced, the gap would only become more pronounced. A single-root cultivator might reach the Nascent Soul stage in five hundred years, while someone with five roots would need two thousand five hundred years. Who, below the Nascent Soul stage, could possibly live that long?

Yet, for Xu Zhe, things were not so simple.

“I understand now. The Small Heavenly Cycle of the True Qi Demon-Sealing Sutra can mobilize all five roots at once, absorbing five times the spiritual energy—not just five times, really. There seems to be a principle of the Five Elements generating one another, making the energy intake even more immense.”

Sudden enlightenment dawned on Xu Zhe.

The human body is only so big; the amount of energy one can absorb at a time is limited—like drinking through a straw, everyone gets about the same amount. But the True Qi Demon-Sealing Sutra broke this restriction. It wasn’t just one straw; it was like thousands, or even like a dragon drawing water from the sea.

Utterly extraordinary!

He couldn’t help but love it!

“No wonder the cultivation of this technique requires an older bone age—the average person couldn’t withstand such an influx of energy. If not for my body being nurtured by dragon blood and the essence of heaven and earth for ten thousand years, I probably would have either exploded or died from the shock just now.”

Withdrawing his spiritual sense, Xu Zhe sat back on the sofa, a wave of emotion washing over him.

He was too powerful!

Now the situation was clear: with his physical condition and five spiritual roots, choosing the True Qi Demon-Sealing Sutra was absolutely the right decision.

Moreover, his dantian was so vast that reaching full completion in the Qi Refinement stage might take much longer.

But once he did, it would be terrifying.

The sheer amount of spiritual energy in his dantian alone would be ten times that of an ordinary person. Add the power of five spiritual roots and the synergy of the Five Elements, and his baseline strength would be fifty times that of a normal Qi Refinement cultivator.

“In other words, even without considering skill, just on paper, within the same realm, I could take on fifty opponents by myself!”

A satisfied smile appeared on Xu Zhe’s face.

This was indeed far more powerful than cultivating even the techniques of an Immortal Emperor.

Such a joyous occasion called for a bottle of Immortal Cola to celebrate.

Xu Zhe stood up, only to realize night had already fallen.

The private room was shrouded in darkness, with only a sliver of moonlight streaming through the window.

All around was silent—not just the private room, but the entire Heaven’s Chosen Pavilion, even the ancient city outside, was deathly quiet.

He walked to the window and gazed outside.

The whole of Tianhe City was pitch black; not a single lamp was lit. The streets were empty, an eerie silence hanging in the air.

“Do the people of Tianhe City retire so early? How health-conscious,” Xu Zhe thought, raising an eyebrow. He extended his spiritual sense over several hundred meters, but then his expression changed.

There wasn’t even a trace of life.

Within several hundred meters, aside from himself, there was no one.

Something was amiss.

He immediately opened his door and stepped out.

Every room in the Heaven’s Chosen Pavilion stood open, but inside, they were all empty.

He descended to the manager’s office, but it, too, was wide open and immaculate—no signs of struggle, nor of anyone having lived there.

“So have I run into a ghost, or something unholy? This is like Schrödinger’s cat—the answer will only be revealed when I actually encounter a ghost, or find out what’s behind all this.”

Turning around, Xu Zhe strode straight out of the Heaven’s Chosen Pavilion.

A thin layer of fog drifted along the deserted street, swirling slightly as he passed through.

He wandered through alleys and main streets, his spiritual sense probing area after area within a range of several hundred meters.

Yet the result was always the same—everywhere was deserted.

“How interesting, has this ancient city turned into an empty city?”

Xu Zhe looked around, then shook his head slightly.

He was certain he hadn’t been caught in an illusion formation.

Tianhe City was still Tianhe City—only its people had all vanished.

What could this mean?

He’d only cultivated for a short while—from dusk until dark, just a few hours—yet the entire city had evaporated.

If someone wanted him dead, surely there were easier ways.

He pondered for a moment, then set off for the southern part of the city, having only searched the east so far.

After crossing several streets, he came upon a blacksmith’s shop. Upon its forge lay a piece of iron, still glowing red but slowly cooling, the fire itself already extinguished.

Xu Zhe reached out to feel it—the furnace was stone cold.

Further along, he passed a roadside stall.

There was no fire, but the pot still emitted steam, and several bowls of half-eaten noodles sat on the table, still warm to the touch.

“A little unsettling, but there’s no reason to think it’s haunted…”

“Logically, since I’ve cultivated the True Qi Demon-Sealing Sutra—let’s call it the ‘True Sutra’—I’m a man of righteousness. How could a righteous man encounter ghosts?”

Muttering to himself, Xu Zhe kept walking.

He came to a grand residence and suddenly halted.

Turning his head, he saw the house was clearly that of a wealthy family—spacious, with a front courtyard and two lanterns hanging on either side of the gate. Their faint red glow illuminated the plaque above, upon which the words “Qian Residence” were clearly visible.

Qian Residence—truly a household of wealth!

The entire city was cloaked in darkness, not a single light to be seen, yet only the lanterns at this house’s entrance still burned.

Xu Zhe swept the place with his spiritual sense, but there was still no hint of any presence within.

How interesting; it almost felt like an intentional invitation for him to enter and investigate.

But a righteous man does not go knocking on doors in the dead of night.

He was tired—time to return to the Heaven’s Chosen Pavilion and sleep.

Without hesitation, Xu Zhe turned and started back.

“Woooo—”

Just then, a strange wind suddenly swept through.

With a creak, the gates of the residence swung open behind him.