Chapter 50

Outside the cell, the air was suffused with heat. Although it wasn't a real flame burning, it was extremely hot. Meng Qi felt his skin scorching, as if seared by fire, and sweat poured down uncontrollably, from his forehead, across his face, and over his lips, merging with the sweat on his upper body.

His head felt dizzy and swollen. Meng Qi barely managed to focus, maintaining the first level of the Golden Bell Cover's qi circulation route, feeling especially grateful that he had the Iron Shirt as a foundation. Otherwise, his skin would have been "burned," and the severe loss of water would have made it impossible for him to persist.

This was far more terrifying than a sauna!

Internal strength continued to circulate, and Meng Qi felt his muscles as if they were slowly "dissolving," constantly "reorganizing," from the inside out, in sync with the Golden Bell Cover's "transformation" of his body.

At the dantian, the process of condensation began anew.

Sweat evaporated, and Meng Qi's vision became blurry, feeling as if the scene before him was swaying—this was the part of the Golden Bell Cover's training for the eyes, of course. For the first level, he only needed to open his eyes for ten breaths in this environment.

The unprecedented torment and suffering made Meng Qi subconsciously look into the cell, seemingly begging the Fire Swan to move inward, away from him, to slightly lower the temperature.

The Fire Swan, with its full body of red feathers, seemed to sense Meng Qi's gaze, opened its eyes, and took a step toward him, making the temperature even higher!

This damned bird! Meng Qi cursed inwardly, not daring to look at the Fire Swan again, fearing it would move closer to him.

After ten breaths, Meng Qi closed his eyes, striving to forget the scorching heat, the discomfort of his skin and muscles, and everything around him, immersing himself entirely in the cultivation of the Golden Bell Cover.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of "Amitabha" reached Meng Qi's ears, coinciding with the end of one cycle of circulation.

"Master." Meng Qi opened his eyes to see Xuan Bei standing in front of him.

Xuan Bei nodded gently, "You've done well. Today's cultivation ends here. Being able to last a day is beyond my expectations."

"A day?" Meng Qi asked with a hoarse voice, feeling extremely surprised. He had actually lasted a whole day?

At the same time, he ended his meditation, slowly stood up, and felt pain all over his body, his legs weak, wishing he could immediately find a cool place to lie down and sleep.

A faint smile appeared on Xuan Bei's usually melancholic face, "I originally thought you could endure for at most two hours, but you lasted five hours. Your perseverance is commendable, not as impulsive and restless as you appear."

Sometimes I just try to find joy in the midst of hardship to ease my mood, but I understand everything... Meng Qi silently argued for himself, but as soon as he took a step, he almost fell down, because it was too hot, dizzy, and weak.

Xuan Bei waved his sleeve, and a breeze arose, steadily supporting Meng Qi, preventing him from falling, and helping him leave the Fire Swan's cell.

The coolness hit him, and Meng Qi's mind cleared, feeling as if he had come back to life!

"However, don't force yourself, as it can easily harm your body. Five hours is enough." Xuan Bei walked ahead, casually saying to Meng Qi, "This way, you should be able to complete the first level of the Golden Bell Cover in half a month, and the first three levels in no more than three months."

Three months... Meng Qi frowned, as he didn't know when the next cycle mission would come. If it was a year or half a year, there would be no worry, but if it was only a month like last time, he could only complete the second level of the Golden Bell Cover, with no substantial improvement.

At least I have the Storm of Plum Rain Needles to save my life!

Meng Qi could only think this way, as the Golden Bell Cover was a profound and slow-progressing skill. Normally, it would take at least a year to complete the first three levels. Even with his foundation of small success in qi storage, it would take six to seven months. To complete it in three months, what more could he complain about?

The journey back was silent, and Meng Qi, with his weak and powerless body, returned to the small courtyard where Xuan Bei lived, heading straight for the water tank, picking up a wooden ladle, and drinking two full ladles to relieve his dehydration.

Entering the meditation room, Meng Qi saw Zhen Hui in deep meditation, a smile on his face, fully focused, exuding a sense of Zen.

Is this guy really suited for cultivating the "Finger of the Flower"? Meng Qi was momentarily stunned, then found the Lingzhi Qi Pills and swallowed them, sitting cross-legged to meditate and regulate his body, replenishing his internal strength.

During dinner, Meng Qi displayed the strongest "combat power" in his history, eating so much that he was surprised himself.

After eating and drinking to his heart's content, Meng Qi, who had trained hard all day, felt extremely exhausted and wanted to lie down on the communal bed—Shaolin emphasized hard training, and even Xuan Bei's exclusive courtyard was no different from the service courtyard or the martial monk courtyard. If not for confidentiality and convenience, there wouldn't even be a separate courtyard.

"Senior Brother, I'm going to continue meditating." Zhen Hui said enthusiastically to Meng Qi, directly dashing back to the meditation room, showing no resistance to cultivation.

Seeing this, Meng Qi sighed, turned, and stepped into the courtyard, finding a precept knife and practicing the "Blood Knife Technique" under the cold moonlight.

Can't slack off! The cycle mission could start at any time!

The "Blood Knife Technique" places great emphasis on footwork and the angle of strikes, aiming to be unpredictable, with each strike coming from an unimaginable position. This complemented Meng Qi's "Divine Walk of a Hundred Changes," enhancing each other.

After practicing several rounds of the knife technique, the exhausted Meng Qi stopped, panting heavily, planning to rest for a moment.

At this moment, he noticed Xuan Bei standing at the door of the meditation room, seemingly for a long time.

"Master." Meng Qi quickly clasped his hands together.

Xuan Bei nodded, rarely showing a satisfied expression, "Very good."

After saying this, he turned and entered his own meditation room.

Meng Qi secretly felt proud, meditated for a moment, and continued practicing the knife technique.

...

Day after day, Meng Qi repeated his life between the Fire Swan's cell and Xuan Bei's courtyard, feeling the Golden Bell Cover's circulation becoming smoother, and his body subtly changing. On the thirteenth day, he successfully completed the first level.

That day, Meng Qi sat cross-legged in front of the Fire Swan's cell, with few sweat beads on his skin, reflecting a slight golden hue.

Although the heat was still intense, Meng Qi's discomfort had significantly decreased. His head no longer felt dizzy, his skin no longer felt burned, and his body was more at peace.

Suddenly, a layer of gold appeared in Meng Qi's dantian, followed by a faint sound.

After the sound, the gold faded, and Meng Qi opened his eyes, moving his neck contentedly.

On the twenty-ninth day, the second level of the Golden Bell Cover was completed! The dantian was recondensed!

Xuan Bei seemed to have been standing there all along, nodding slightly, "Well done. Start the third level's cultivation tomorrow."

"Master, will the third level still be here?" Meng Qi stood up, asking with concern.

By now, the exhaustion after each cultivation session had improved significantly, at least not to the point where he couldn't walk without falling.

"Outside the next cell." Xuan Bei indicated with his eyes.

Meng Qi followed his gaze and saw the cell he had noticed before, where a cold aura permeated, and a layer of ice crystals covered the ground.

Previously it was "heat," now it's "cold"?

Xuan Bei slowly spoke, "Inside is the 'Cold Turtle.' You will use its cold aura to cultivate the third level."

"Yes, Master." Meng Qi looked at the cell, seeing a giant turtle with a light blue shell, snowflakes falling, and ice crystals everywhere, forming a stark contrast with the Fire Swan's cell.

Back in the courtyard, Xuan Bei gave Meng Qi a token, "You should be familiar with the route. From now on, go to cultivate on your own. Inform me when you complete the third level."

Meng Qi nodded, as in the past month, his master had always been by his side during cultivation, wasting a lot of time. Now that he had completed the second level of the Golden Bell Cover and was familiar with the environment, it was time to be self-reliant.

...

The next day, Meng Qi, holding the token, smoothly entered the relic tower, reaching the first floor where the "Cold Turtle" was kept.

As soon as he stepped in, Meng Qi felt a bone-chilling cold, colder than any winter he had experienced, as if his bone marrow was about to freeze.

He sat cross-legged, bare-chested, shivering, and began to circulate the third level of the Golden Bell Cover to resist the cold.

This time, Meng Qi didn't look at the "Cold Turtle," "pleading" it to move back, to avoid the opposite effect.

However, as he cultivated, Meng Qi felt increasingly cold, as if his third level cultivation was in vain.

Opening his eyes, he saw that the Cold Turtle had quietly moved to the iron bars.

This damned monster! Meng Qi gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly.

"Ha ha, foolish human, don't you know this dead turtle has the strongest grudge? It flooded a city and was imprisoned here for decades. How could it possibly look favorably upon humans?" A noisy voice came from the opposite side.

Meng Qi, who was in the process of cultivating his eyes, saw through the cold air a small bird perched on the cage.

It was very ugly, with a round body like a ball, short wings covered in black feathers, and a fish-like mouth instead of a beak.

"What are you looking at? I am Chui Yi Zi, a descendant of the Kunpeng clan!" The bird hopped around, "You must be wondering why I didn't talk to you before. Do you think a proud Kunpeng like me would talk to humans just like that?"

Meng Qi ignored it, closed his eyes, and focused on cultivation.

"Tsk, little monk, what's the point of cultivating with the dead turtle's cold aura? You should find a Cold Dragon instead, ha ha, then you'll freeze into ice, dead as can be..." The bird Chui Yi Zi continued to chatter, oblivious to Meng Qi's cultivation.

"You look so ugly in that pose. Humans have no taste at all..." It criticized Meng Qi from head to toe, talking for a full hour.

"Little monk, what's the point of cultivating the Golden Bell Cover, a turtle shell skill? If you let me out, I'll give you some benefits..."

Meng Qi felt the noise making him restless, wanting to jump up and find something to stuff in the bird's mouth. It was too loud and talkative! Doesn't it know that cultivation requires tranquility?

"Speaking of benefits, the Kunpeng clan has passed down for countless years. My great-great-grandfather once..." The bird, in high spirits, started telling stories about its great-great-grandfather, a story that could last for three months!

After completing one cycle, Meng Qi suddenly stood up, intending to stuff Chui Yi Zi's mouth, but the bird, being very alert, flew back to the depths of the cell the moment Meng Qi stood up, smugly saying, "Do you think I can't tell when you finish a cycle?"

"Ha ha, just listen to me!"

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