Chapter 16

When he returned to the door of his room, the fragrance on Zibi's body had not yet dissipated, which further strengthened Gu Xuyao's resolve to practice diligently.

As soon as he entered the room, Gu Xuyao couldn't wait to open the medicine packet, and a foul smell immediately hit his nose. Once again, Gu Xuyao suspected that the old man had tricked him.

"Take this pill and drink three large bowls of water, then lie on the bed and practice the technique written below. Repeat this process, and it will allow your primordial energy to permeate your entire body..." Gu Xuyao opened the paper and read it aloud.

Seeing that the method seemed to have no issues, it was just the smell of the pill that made Gu Xuyao somewhat reluctant. He wasn't sure if it was because the old man's hands had a strong smell, but now, no matter how he smelled the pill, it was always that smell.

"Whatever, if I die, I die!" Gu Xuyao frowned, turned around, and brought a large jar of water, placing it on the table. Although cultivators didn't need much water or food, to take care of the prospective cultivators who had yet to embark on the path of cultivation, Taiheng Sect prepared plenty of water and food in each room. Especially the bags of dry rations next to the water jars, though colorless and tasteless, eating one in the afternoon would keep you full for three days.

Pinching his nose, Gu Xuyao swallowed the foul-smelling pill in one go, then lifted the water jar and drank greedily until he felt no more strange taste in his mouth before lying down on the bed.

"This medicine works too fast..." Not long after, Gu Xuyao felt his whole body heat up, and his eyelids felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

Gu Xuyao knew this must be the effect of the pill, so he didn't resist and naturally let himself fall asleep.

The sun was high in the sky, and it was already noon.

Gu Xuyao opened his eyes and found himself still in the room of Taiheng Sect, but there were countless floating light points in the air, something he had never seen before.

"Could these be... primordial energy?" Excited, Gu Xuyao finally began to touch upon cultivation. The floating primordial energy seemed to be humming a song, very cheerful.

Unfortunately, Gu Xuyao could only watch, and his body couldn't move. After several attempts, he finally remembered the technique.

"One to the heart, two to the lungs, three through the spleen, four along the intestines..." The technique was like a nursery rhyme or a tongue twister, and Gu Xuyao didn't have to think much to memorize it. Now, reciting it while facing the sky full of primordial energy, his body gradually changed.

Those primordial energy points, which originally looked like insignificant small light spots to Gu Xuyao, now, under the influence of the technique, gradually turned into small, round light balls, like children, bare-bottomed and smiling.

The changes didn't stop there. Gu Xuyao clearly felt his body could start to move, and he was secretly delighted, reciting the technique faster. As expected, it was effective, and Gu Xuyao felt his left hand was completely free to move!

Just then, a primordial energy point floated past Gu Xuyao. Quick as a flash, he caught it with his hand!

"Huh?" Only after catching the primordial energy did Gu Xuyao realize that it wasn't his hand but a white light arm, clearly outlined but not a physical one.

Not looking was better. Once Gu Xuyao saw it, he was distracted, and the recitation of the technique stopped. The white light arm instantly dissipated, and the primordial energy he had caught quickly slipped away.

"So, this technique allows me to condense this white arm, which seems to be made of primordial energy. The pill must provide the energy for this arm." Everything made sense, and a smile appeared on Gu Xuyao's face. "If so, nothing can stop me!" He said, then silently recited the technique in his mind, and the arm quickly condensed, reaching out to the innocent primordial energy in the sky.

The frenzied capturing continued until midnight. Gu Xuyao sat up from the bed, drenched in cold sweat.

As long as the white arm caught the primordial energy and he kept reciting the technique in his mind, making the primordial energy stay in his palm for about five breaths, it would be absorbed by Gu Xuyao, each time accompanied by a bit of pain. At first, he didn't feel it, but over time, Gu Xuyao felt pain all over his body.

"Is this a side effect?" Even after leaving the state where he could see the primordial energy, the pain in his body didn't ease but rather intensified, as if someone had inserted a blade into Gu Xuyao's bones and was stirring it every second.

Perhaps due to the pain, Gu Xuyao had no sleep at all. He thought that maybe sleeping would make him feel better, but he couldn't even do that.

"No, I can't be stopped by this pain. The cultivation method must be correct, so this must be a side effect..." He kept comforting himself, knowing from books that if the cultivation method was wrong, the consequences could range from paralysis and memory loss to death from internal bleeding.

Struggling to get up, Gu Xuyao walked to the table. "Since this pain is due to cultivation, I just need to finish it quickly to end this suffering."

Without hesitation, he took another pill, drank a large amount of water, and lay back on the bed.

The pill didn't make Gu Xuyao feel any better; instead, it made his body even hotter.

"Come on..." With a determined belief, Gu Xuyao fell asleep again.

For cultivators, no one ever felt they had enough time. Yang Xi, as a core disciple, lived in the upper levels of Taiheng Sect, and his cultivation level was undoubtedly high. He was heavily favored by the sect leader, but being assigned to watch over an ordinary cultivator like Gu Xuyao made him very unhappy.

"Damn, to watch over such an ordinary mortal, I have to observe him every three days. How is this possible? Isn't this cutting into my cultivation time..." Yang Xi was very unhappy. The sect leader had ordered him to observe Gu Xuyao every three days, but he hadn't followed it well. It was already the fifth day since Gu Xuyao left the teaching room.

"Just cultivating to permeate the body with energy, there's no difficulty or danger. That kid should have completed it by now. If he couldn't in five days, the sect leader's order to waste my time would be even more inexplicable." Yang Xi arrived at Gu Xuyao's room, indifferent.

"Huh? Why is there so much primordial energy in the room? What is this kid doing!" Yang Xi used his mind to sense and found something wrong, hurriedly pushing the door open, only to be stunned by what he saw.

The primordial energy, being frantically absorbed into Gu Xuyao's body, made his flesh glow. Since Gu Xuyao hadn't learned how to control the primordial energy, he could only let it stay in his body. At that moment, Gu Xuyao looked like a giant firefly, shining brightly.

"This... This is too reckless... This kid is too reckless..." Yang Xi's eyes widened, unable to believe what he saw.

At that moment, Gu Xuyao was unconscious and didn't notice anyone coming.

Yang Xi suddenly realized that Gu Xuyao's life was in danger. If he didn't save him, he would die there. Without hesitation, he picked up Gu Xuyao and disappeared from the lower levels of Taiheng Sect.

If anyone in Taiheng Sect had the highest cultivation, it was the sect leader. So Yang Xi thought the only way to save Gu Xuyao was to bring him to the sect leader, as the task of watching over Gu Xuyao was given to him by the sect leader. If anything happened to Gu Xuyao, it would be Yang Xi's fault.

"Do you know why he is like this? According to the technique taught in the training room, it's impossible to absorb primordial energy without limit, almost to the point of bursting." The old man left Gu Xuyao's side, indicating that his life was saved.

Hearing this, Yang Xi immediately knelt, knowing he had failed in his duty and not daring to be negligent.

"When the disciple brought him here, I checked his room and found that the cultivation technique Gu Xuyao received was incomplete. Someone only gave him the first part of the technique, without the specific implementation methods and precautions, so he kept absorbing primordial energy, thinking that was the way to permeate his body with energy." Yang Xi, being favored by the sect leader, was naturally meticulous. After discovering Gu Xuyao's condition, he knew the sect leader would blame him, so he quickly searched Gu Xuyao's room for all clues to answer the questions and avoid severe punishment.

"The disciple thinks that Gu Xuyao must have offended someone when asking about the cultivation technique..."

"Silence."

The old man interrupted Yang Xi, looking at Gu Xuyao and then at Yang Xi.

"Yang Xi, you say you only discovered his cultivation method was wrong today?" At this point, the excess primordial energy in Gu Xuyao's body had been channeled away by the old man, and he no longer glowed, but he was still unconscious.

Yang Xi's body trembled. He knew Gu Xuyao was safe, and now the questioning would begin.

"Yes, because the disciple was too focused on cultivation these days and forgot the time. Please forgive me, Sect Leader." Saying this, Yang Xi knelt down.

The old man's eyes were sharp, and even though Yang Xi's head was lowered, it felt like a blade piercing his body.

"Did you forget the time, or did you never intend to remember it?"

Yang Xi remained silent, knowing the sect leader's character. The more he argued, the heavier the punishment would be.

After a while, the old man's gaze softened.

"Since Gu Xuyao is fine this time, I will forgive your negligence. You say you forgot the time, so you must be a careless person. I will remember this. You no longer need to observe Gu Xuyao. I will assign someone else to do it."

The old man waved his hand, signaling Yang Xi to leave.

Yang Xi didn't dare to breathe heavily. Seeing the old man let him go, he quickly bowed and hurriedly left the room.

The old man shook his head and sighed deeply, looking exhausted, as if troubled by something.

"Grandfather, what are you worried about again?" As soon as Yang Xi left, the beautiful Yixia entered, just in time to see the old man sigh.

Seeing Yixia, the old man's face lit up with a smile. He was delighted to see his granddaughter, especially since she was an outstanding core disciple of Taiheng Sect.

"Yixia, Yang Xi is not a reliable person. Sigh, it seems that besides Yifeng who is out, the only person I can trust in Taiheng Sect is you." Saying this, he pulled Yixia to the bed where Gu Xuyao was lying.

"From now on, Gu Xuyao will be your responsibility." Reluctantly, the old man had to assign the task of observing Gu Xuyao to his granddaughter.