Chapter 88: Purple Mansion Realm

A/N: I did several minor revisions from chapters 85 to 87. I felt like they were a bit too complex. I made them way simpler without changing the plotline much. There are also some unreasonable parts.

The following are the changes:

1. Better background/explanation of the mental cultivation poisoned by IX’s will.

2. One hundred eighty days is changed to a hundred days. It feels more reasonable with all the upgrades he received (3rd realm sword cultivation and Blade Mantra)

Feel free to read them again. Sorry for the inconvenience.

PS: The term for [Sword Moves Like Thunder] is changed to [Thunder-Like Sword].

*****

A body surrounded by a thick blue mist. Droplets of clear liquid gathered on the ground, forming a small lake. Different colored lights flashed within the mist. Each one of them contained the trace of Dao—the so-called Dao Rhymes.

A body is surrounded by it like a cocoon. The majority of the spiritual qi is concentrated on him.

Like a heart, the cocoon went through ups and downs. A part of the spiritual qi is absorbed with every turn.

Contrasting the blue mist are the flickers of purple light. It did not mix with spiritual qi. It existed as an entirely different energy. The honkai energy is as such. Its current state made it to be unconvertible to spiritual qi.

It steadily poured onto the body. It caused waves of destruction, attempting to deprive the body of its functions. 

The fluctuations of the spiritual qi cocoon responded. It began to pour into the body to repair what was broken. This resulted in the tempering of the body, leading to the increase of the spiritual qi it could hold.

The destructive and restorative forces continued to do their duties.

“A different energy… Ingenious.”

The continuous usage of the Second Divine Key wore down even the most special psyche-type MANTIS. Su continued to observe parallel universes and bubble worlds. It brought his body down the road of collapse.

His saving grace is the increasing capabilities of his mind. It eventually leads him to meeting the existence in the higher dimension.

Despite not having any background in immortal cultivation, he managed to gather a ball of spiritual qi on his palm. The middle grade spiritual qi did not resist his control. 

“Spiritual qi. Had we gone down this path…”

He shook his head.

Su can see the complexities of spiritual qi. It is an entirely different system from the honkai. Developing it will take thousands, if not millions of years. By then, humanity is long gone.

His gaze shifted to the body surrounded by it.

It is none other than Shi Tian.

Unknown to him, his body cultivation reached the middle stage of Purple Mansion Realm. A thin film of five-colored light gave off an ethereal glow. His body far surpassed his previous self.

Part of the credit belongs to Su. 

The moment he brought Shi Tian out of the imaginary space, he was surprised to see the surrounding energies turn into spiritual qi. This continued until Su brought him inside a bubble world.

The [Two Phase Art] did not touch the energy required to sustain the bubble world. Although, it was different on the floating energy outside.

It continued to attract the energy made from the Sea of Quanta. It pierced through the barriers of this bubble world before being turned into spiritual qi.

Shockingly, the existence of spiritual qi enhanced the ether anchor of the bubble world. It turned more solid, allowing it to further withstand the erosion of the Sea of Quanta. It strengthened the “rules” of this world, allowing it to exist longer within the Sea of Quanta.

Since then, this entire bubble world has turned into a paradise on earth. Spiritual veins of first to third grade appeared all over its continental surface area. The closer it is to Shi Tian, the greater the concentration of spiritual qi.

The place where he is situated already has a peak fourth grade spiritual vein. Even now, it is increasing.

It is foreseeable that it would reach the fifth grade in a year at most. It is the practice dojo of Nascent Soul cultivators.

Back then, Shi Tian did not use this attraction function. He is afraid of being seen on Earth. Kiana’s mobile spirit vein is enough. The current crisis he faced forced him to use it.

Su did not speak. He recalled the technique passed onto him verbally by Shi Tian.

A few minutes later, a soft blue glow appeared on him. He began to take in minimal amounts of spiritual qi.

Then, he saw his dantians appear one by one.

“...A compelling power.” He muttered. “Had I not seen it, or it only existed now?”

Su focused next on its practical effects.

Although very minimal, he could feel his body being repaired. It was recently damaged by his exertion of the Second Divine Key. He bore the burden of the missing key. It sped up his demise.

Su can only live for a month or two at most. The presence of Jing extended it by a few days. As long as there are spiritual qi, it will attempt to recover his injuries.

“A new future.”

The final convincing factor struck him.

Now he understood the future brought by Shi Tian.

*****

The next day came.

My sword cultivation and [Blade Mantra] did not break through another level. They continued to become stronger.

The continued strengthening of [Blade Mantra] fed back to my [Sword Moves Like Thunder]. It then fueled the increase of my qi and mental cultivation.

Relying on the improvements of my sword cultivation, my mental cultivation neared the middle stage of Purple Mansion Realm.

The biggest breakthrough came from my qi cultivation.

From the middle to late stage of Foundation Establishment, it takes a year or two of my previous configuration.

Things changed with [Thunder-Like Sword] and [True Form]. Their improvements passively increased my qi cultivation. 

Despite not doing anything, I went through the late and peak stage of Foundation Establishment.

Naturally, the Purple Mansion Realm came next. A tribulation is coming.

Worse, I severed my mind from my body. I don’t know how I will resolve this.

“Hm…”

I waited until the green leaf appeared in front of me.

“Is this your so-called tribulation?”

Su’s voice resounded from it.

“Yeah. It will continue to exist until it runs out of power… or it is directly destroyed.”

“I see. Can I interfere with it?”

“Yes…”

I awaited his response.

I don’t know the situation of the outside world at this point.

Only now did I realize the dead end I am into. I will be pushed into another corner with the upcoming tribulation.

I don’t want to think about the future.

I readied myself. 

One minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

“Is this… how it works?”

“What happened?” I asked.

“It’s gone. I dealt with it.”

As he spoke, I vaguely felt a slight resonance. Qi cultivation is the cultivation of the soul. It has a strong connection with the mind, unlike the body.

The world in my eyes began to change…