Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

Chu Zheng now doesn't even know what obsession he has, he cuts off distracting thoughts and only focuses on moving forward.

Suddenly, his vision went black, his body weakened, and he fell to the ground, losing consciousness in an instant.

...

...

"Wake up."

The gentle call by his ear made Chu Zheng slowly regain consciousness, the scent of yellow earth filled his nose with a hint of a stench.

He slowly opened his eyes but was dazzled by the morning light, seeing nothing but a white blur. A dull pain came from the back of his head, causing him to frown reflexively, only subsiding after a while.

"Already dumb, now even more hopeless."

A sigh came from above his head, Chu Zheng was slightly shocked, he looked up and saw a girl a little over ten years old, crouched in front of him, holding a bowl of steaming wontons.

The girl put down the wontons in her hand, broke off a piece of the porcelain bowl with two fingers, and instructed:

"Hurry up and eat, it'll get cold. Keep the bowl for yourself, no need to give it back to me, remember to hide it well, don't let anyone snatch it away again!"

Looking at the girl's yet immature face, Chu Zheng called out blankly:

"Lingxue..."

"You're not mute? Did this beating actually knock you back to normal?!"

The girl was a little surprised but not bothered, stood up, and waved her hand:

"Since you're not dumb, just stick with me from now on. If you get bullied again, you can use my name. Remember, I'm Xue Qing, everyone around here gives me some respect."

Chu Zheng stared blankly until Xue Qing's figure disappeared around the corner of the alley, then slowly came back to his senses.

He lay in the corner of the alley, the remaining rainwater gathered in a puddle, forming a muddy mirror, reflecting his ragged, disheveled appearance.

The reflection in the water was a small beggar, about seven or eight years old, with sunken cheeks and a bony frame.

Where is this place...?

Chu Zheng furrowed his brows deeply; his memory was not affected, so he should still be in the Heart Burning Corridor. Why was he here?

Is this an Illusion Realm?

But what is its connection to the second challenge of 'Burning Desire'?

Could this Illusion Realm be seen by the Heart Burning Corridor as his obsession?

Chu Zheng shook his head slightly, as if this was similar to the previous level, digging out the memories hidden within the Dao Seed.

Yet even so, Chu Zheng still found it difficult to understand why such a scene would become Zheng Chu's obsession.

He struggled to sit up, picked up the wontons in front of him, and finished them in a few gulps. Then he sat with his five centers turning upwards and began circulating the Qi-refining Technique.

Regardless of whether this is an Illusion Realm or not, since Xue Qing exists in this era, it must be Ancient Times, so perhaps he can gather some clues here.

A moment later, Chu Zheng suddenly opened his eyes and realized something was wrong.

He could no longer sense the existence of the repair panel within him, and the operation of the Qi-refining Technique felt somewhat sluggish, lacking the prior fluency.

In the Illusion Realm, the Zheng Chu within naturally wouldn't possess a Dao Seed, and without the support of a Dao Seed, cultivation would naturally require extra effort.

After almost an hour, Chu Zheng finally found the Qi sensation and completed a Grand Circulation.

As heaven and earth's primordial Qi entered his body, the dull pain at the back of his head gradually faded, and his injuries began to heal.

Chu Zheng never imagined that he would have to walk the path of the Hundred Days Spiritual Transformation again one day.

However, with some experience of undergoing tribulations, he was quite adaptable.

Not until dusk fell did Chu Zheng complete the circulation, freeing him to move around freely.

He did not waste time, quietly leaving the alley, avoiding crowds, and weaving between brothels and taverns to gather some useful information.

It wasn't until the moon hung high in the sky that he found a corner to sit cross-legged, circulating his Qi while sorting through the thoughts in his mind.

As his cultivation level lowered, his thinking speed also seemed to slow down a bit, processing information at a much slower pace.

After a long while, the threads finally became clearer.

The place he was at now was the predecessor of the Cangyun Realm, the Near Immortal Realm.

But the layout of the Near Immortal Realm was not as dominated by the Immortal Path as Chu Zheng had expected; it was complex and intertwined.

The environment of heaven and earth in the Near Immortal Realm was exceptionally outstanding, housing Immortal Emperors born locally and living creatures from the Realm of Ancient Myths, which in Chu Zheng's view, were second only to the Upper Realm of the Great Immortal Realm, far outshining even the Lower Realm of the Great Immortal Realm.

In terms of affiliation, the Near Immortal Realm did belong to the Immortal Path, but nowadays, the Immortal Path belonged to the Immortal Court, which was divided into several major factions within the Immortal Court. After the death of the Immortal Ancestor Xumi Sheng, relations were even less harmonious, with clear distinctions among them, unlike the unified Immortal Alliance of later generations.

Therefore, even though the Immortal Path was also the largest force in the Near Immortal Realm, there were many other Taoist orthodoxy traditions inheriting here, along with trade ports established by various ancient clans, making the situation quite complex.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

After roughly figuring out the situation of the city beneath his feet, Chu Zheng turned back to the area near where Xue Qing resided.

The Illusion Realm remained unbroken, indicating that Zheng Chu's obsession was unresolved. He just needed to wait patiently.

For now, staying close to Xue Qing might be the only way to find a method to leave the current Illusion Realm.

The time for the Heart Burning Corridor to open is just ten years at most, and he can afford to wait.

In such a short period, even if he exhausts himself in cultivation, it's difficult to make significant progress in the short term, or even escape the Near Immortal Realm. It's better to calm his heart and go with the flow.

With dawn breaking, Chu Zheng walked on the long street, no longer in ragged beggar's clothes but wearing a clean and tidy cloth robe.

He had no fondness for always posing as a beggar. After refining Qi for a few days, his dexterity far surpassed ordinary humans, making it easy to earn his keep.

"Good!"

A round of applause came from the street side, and Chu Zheng squeezed through the crowd to see Xue Qing standing in the open ground.

The morning mist had not yet dispersed, and the young girl bathed in the first light of dawn, bare feet cracking the green bricks, with arms raised to lift a thousand-jin giant cauldron. The strands of hair behind her ears stuck together like crow feathers with sweat, quivering lightly with each breath.

"Again!"

With a long shout, the girl's back exploded like the cracking of tender bamboo shoots, the giant bronze cauldron in her hand lifted with a single arm, soaring skyward, emitting a humming tune as it flew, and several moments later, crashed down with the mountain-shaking force of a collapsing mountain!

Crack—

The green bricks within a radius of about ten feet shattered, yet the giant bronze cauldron stood still, frozen in her palm.

The girl stood holding the cauldron with one arm, her face slightly reddened, showing no signs of strain.

"Good!"

Cheers erupted again from all around.

Chu Zheng's expression flickered, involuntarily recalling the words of Sun-Eroding Cry.

Born for the Martial Path, mastering all arts, indeed it seemed so; even without cultivation, she had already displayed astonishing root bone, innate Divine Strength, utilizing it with ease.

Xue Qing gently put down the cauldron, noiseless upon landing, a testament to her effortless handling, and then turned around, cheerfully beginning to collect money with a tray in hand:

"If you brought money, please leave a token of friendship, and I'll thank you. If you didn't, feel free to cheer from the sidelines—thank you just the same!"

Soon, she was in front of Chu Zheng, her eyes dropping as she glanced at him, then directly bypassed him.

After a moment, the crowd dispersed without giving Chu Zheng a chance to react, a hand suddenly reached over, grabbing his ear with surprising force, dragging him into a nearby alley.

Xue Qing stood with her arms akimbo, her brows tightly knit, eyes wide open like an angry vajra, launching into a scolding:

"Changed your skin and act like I don't know you? I wondered why you disappeared these past few days, and you've gone from walking the straight path to mastering the craft of a thief!"

Then her tone suddenly heightened: "Tell me honestly! Where did you get these clothes?!"

"I...this..."

Chu Zheng rubbed his sore ear, momentarily at a loss for words.

But even after refining Qi for a few days, when it came to comparing power, he was far from being a match for Xue Qing, and this situation was truly beyond his expectations.

Xue Qing gave Chu Zheng an up-and-down assessment, seeing his hesitation, she frowned again:

"You're still young, don't go down the wrong path. Stick with me from now on. If you dare to sneak off or learn those crooked ways, I'll break your legs!"