Chapter 4

Being able to perceive the mysteries and open the body's secret points, this is the first realm of cultivation, known as the Mystic Realm, officially stepping into the ranks of extraordinary cultivators.

Through inner observation, the meridians are connected, and the five organs nurture true qi, which flows continuously, circulating throughout the body. This is the second realm of cultivation, known as the Qi Refinement Realm.

At this second realm, one can use true qi externally to combat enemies and internally to purify the bones and marrow, already gaining benefits that ordinary people cannot imagine.

For any cultivator who has surpassed the second realm, unless it is a matter of deep hatred or life and death, all other matters are entirely less important than cultivation.

Ordinary joy cannot be compared to the pleasure of solving cultivation problems and feeling the growth and transformation of the body.

When one can draw the elemental energy of heaven and earth into the body, merging it into true essence, this is the third realm of cultivation, known as the True Essence Realm.

There are no two cultivators in the world with exactly the same aptitude, even twins born at the same time will form countless tiny differences from birth. Even with the guidance of a wise teacher, the teacher's eyes cannot fully discern the subtle details within the disciple's body. Therefore, the path of cultivation mostly requires personal insight, like a poor swimmer feeling their way across a river in the dark, always fraught with danger, each realm more difficult than the last.

To speak of true essence means one has at least reached the third realm. Ding Ning naturally knew what level of cultivation she had truly reached and was very clear about the danger and urgency contained in her cold, calm words. However, everything he did was still without a trace of panic, proceeding in an orderly manner.

After quickly washing his body and changing into clean clothes, he meticulously cut a block of tofu, sprinkled it with chopped scallions, and drizzled it with fragrant oil.

After eating two bowls of lukewarm leftover rice with the scallion and tofu, he walked into the bedroom in the backyard.

In fact, for his current body, he could completely ignore this meal, but he was very clear that even a small oversight like buying fragrant oil could possibly lead to the officials of the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau discovering some hidden facts.

He was also very clear that according to the habits of the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau, after confirming twice that there were no issues, the investigation files related to him would be destroyed, and for a long time in the future, the attention of the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau would not be on him.

This was also one of the true reasons why he deliberately appeared in the sight of Mo Qinggong and others today.

...

The simple bedroom had two beds, separated by a gray curtain. For a common family without extra rooms, living in the same room with one's aunt was a very normal arrangement.

However, after closing the bedroom door, Ding Ning did not walk to his own bed but instead went to Changsun Qianxue's bed, quickly and skillfully removing his outer clothes and tidying the bedding.

As in many previous nights, when he quietly lay down on the inner side against the wall, Changsun Qianxue's figure moved through the darkness to the bed and lay down beside him, still fully clothed.

"Begin."

Apart from coldness, there was no other emotion in Changsun Qianxue's eyes. She did not even look at Ding Ning as she lay down beside him.

As she coldly uttered these three words, a real chill began to emanate from her body.

In the darkness, Ding Ning remained focused on her.

Looking at her cold, frosty facial features, a myriad of complex emotions welled up in his eyes, and a bitter smile slowly appeared on his lips. But in the next instant, all the emotions in his eyes vanished, becoming crystal clear, and his expression became extremely solemn and serious.

A unique aura, faint but perceptible, began to emanate from his body, even the tiniest dust particles in the air were blown away. The space around him and Changsun Qianxue, several meters wide, seemed to have been washed by countless clear waters.

This aura was very similar to that of the five major attendants holding black umbrellas in the narrow alley and the cultivators who arrived later, but it was somewhat weaker.

But even if it was weak, it was enough to prove that he was a cultivator.

Changsun Qianxue seemed to quickly fall into a deep sleep, her breathing becoming slow and long.

However, her body became increasingly cold, and frost began to form on the bed.

Even her exhaled breath contained tiny, deep blue ice particles.

Each tiny deep blue ice particle that landed on the cold, hard bed made a strange, light "puff" sound, transforming into a deep blue elemental energy that was even colder than ordinary ice and snow.

The deep blue elemental energy rising upward came into contact with the humid air and instantly formed white ice.

So, around her body, it was as if countless ice flowers with blue interiors and white exteriors were growing on the bedding.

As she began to exhale these deep blue ice particles, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her brow furrowed. It seemed that even in her unconscious cultivation, her body instinctively felt pain.

Ding Ning closed his eyes with some concern.

A layer of frost formed on the surface of his body, but his face became increasingly red, and his body became increasingly hot. The veins hidden under his skin became more prominent and bulged, and the blood could be seen flowing rapidly through them.

In the quiet bedroom, a sound like the hot wind from a stove began to rise.

No aura flowed out of his body, but his body seemed to have become a container with a unique attraction.

A faint, crisp sound continuously echoed on the bed, and the ice flowers on the bedding began to shatter. The visible deep blue elemental energy began to slowly seep into his body.

White frost danced around Changsun Qianxue and Ding Ning, forming a snowstorm in this narrow space.

Ding Ning's chest and abdomen became increasingly bright, and his five organs emitted a faint red light, radiating heat. However, to the surrounding snowstorm, it was like a weak candle flame that could be extinguished at any moment.

Cultivation is a very wondrous process.

In Ding Ning's mind, he stood in an open space.

This space seemed enclosed but was also very vast, with colorful elemental energy falling.

This is the Sea of Qi of a cultivator.

At his feet was a pale blue sea, and deep within the clean, clear water, there seemed to be a crystalline space, like a jade palace.

This is the Jade Palace of a cultivator.

Above his head, in the middle of the colorful elemental energy, there was a particularly bright space, which is the Heavenly Aperture.

The Sea of Qi, Jade Palace, and Heavenly Aperture, these three major secret points, when perceived and connected, allow the qi within the body to flow continuously, transforming into true qi.

However, at this moment, there was no true qi condensed at the center of his Sea of Qi. The strands of colorful elemental energy flowing to the center merged into an extremely hot flame.

The clean, transparent flame, with its terrifying high temperature, scorched the Heavenly Aperture above, with a momentum that seemed to want to burn through the entire Sea of Qi.

However, countless deep blue ice particles were also continuously falling into the center of the Sea of Qi. Each one that fell extinguished a flame, and then a transparent, heavy true qi was generated, falling into the Jade Palace below the Sea of Qi.

Time passed slowly.

The colorful elemental energy in the Sea of Qi became increasingly pale, the flames were about to extinguish, but the deep blue ice particles did not stop, continuing to fall.

This was, of course, a true surprise for Ding Ning.

In just one breath, he awoke at a speed that ordinary cultivators could not imagine, opening his eyes.

Several ice chips fell from his eyelashes.

He did not look at his own body. In the darkness, he saw the snowstorm still falling around him, and Changsun Qianxue's body had already formed a layer of hard ice.

Her body had almost no heat, as if her blood had been frozen, but a stream of qi still flowed within her, continuously blowing out deep blue ice particles.

Ding Ning's eyes instantly filled with shock. He realized what had happened and, without any hesitation, covered Changsun Qianxue's body with himself like a blanket.

The moment their bodies touched, the intense cold made his face turn pale, but in the next instant, his mind completely immersed itself in his Sea of Qi.

He tightly embraced Changsun Qianxue, who had turned to ice, hugging her tighter and tighter without conscious thought.

His skin began to heat up and turn red.

With a crack, the hard ice shell on Changsun Qianxue's body broke.

The countless ice pieces did not fall directly onto the bedding but were shattered into countless fine powders, finer than flour, and scattered.

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