Cultivation Begins with Skill Points-Chapter 161 True Qi

As the Pure Essence Pill entered his belly, the powerful medicinal force erupted instantly.

The inner breath, which was quietly nestled in the dantian, suddenly exploded.

Boom!

The breath within Zhong Lin’s body began to circulate, and the speed of circulation was getting faster and faster, like a great river flooding, roaring and rushing forth.

Such a scene reminded Zhong Lin of a phrase.

"Brine setting tofu."

The Pure Essence Pill was equivalent to brine, and the inner breath in the dantian was like uncongealed soybean milk. When the two came together, a brand new substance was born.

Zhong Lin was now using the medicinal power of the Pure Essence Pill to elevate the inner breath into a higher quality True Qi.

Once the inner breath transformed into True Qi, the solidity and resilience of the power would ascend by another tier.

If Zhong Lin previously used ten percent of his inner breath, he could smash the bluestone beneath him with a single palm. With the condensation of True Qi, it would only take one percent of the power to accomplish this, or perhaps even less.

This is True Qi; this is a First Grade Pure Essence Realm Martial Artist.

As time went by, the speed of the inner breath’s circulation increased, and an extremely dense power gradually birthed in Zhong Lin’s dantian.

With the emergence of this power, the surging inner breath found its home, rushing toward it like a fledgling swallow returning to its nest.

This power, faced with the oncoming torrent of inner breath, accepted it all without exception, like a pi xiu, instantly devouring or, rather, merging with it.

This process only lasted a mere quarter of an hour before a sense of fullness naturally arose.

Zhong Lin hurriedly circulated the cultivation technique to calm the inner breath.

Newly born True Qi cannot be rushed into a fat state; it needs to be nurtured bit by bit.

Zhong Lin carefully felt it.

"True Qi has been generated, but it is still very weak. What needs to be done next is to transform all of my inner breath into True Qi, take it slowly, no need to rush. The seed is already there, so why worry it won’t sprout?"

Cultivation is never accomplished overnight; the same goes for True Qi, it takes time, but it’s only a matter of time.

In the time to come, True Qi will transform like a greedy snake, gradually devouring and converting all of the inner breath. Once the transformation is complete, it will truly step into the Pure Essence Realm.

Zhong Lin slowly opened his eyes, and with a thought, a stream of True Qi surged from the palm of his hand.

This True Qi was no longer formless force, but carried a faint inky color, resembling smoke or cloud, visible and elusive.

Zhong Lin touched his chin, somewhat speechless, "I didn’t expect that fusing all sorts of attributes of True Qi would turn it black."

Not exactly black; to be precise, it’s an inky color, a nearly transparent ink color.

Bam!

Zhong Lin condensed the True Qi and slapped the bluestone beneath him with his palm.

Instantly, a palm print three feet deep appeared on the stone beneath his feet.

"Such sturdy power, the effect of this mouthful of True Qi is at least ten times stronger than the previous inner breath!" Zhong Lin did not hide his inner joy.

Soon, the meal was ready, and Miss Lin Shihua personally brought it to Zhong Lin. After dinner, as the sun set, night fell.

Zhong Lin didn’t rush back to his tent to resume cultivation, after all, cultivation required a balance of work and rest. Besides, he’d been on the road for days, dusty and grimy, and his clothes were nearly stiff with sweat and dust.

He waved to a guard not far away, and the guard hurried over without delay.

"Do you know where there’s a pool around here? I’d like to take a bath."

The guard thought for a moment and quickly said, "Sir, I know there’s a small waterfall nearby. The pool below the waterfall has clear and cold river water, which should meet your requirements."

"Oh!"

Zhong Lin was immediately intrigued, he didn’t expect there to be one.

"Lead the way."

The guard immediately gestured with his hand to invite, leading the way ahead.

Zhong Lin followed.

After a moment, the two passed through a grove of trees, the sound of roaring slowly reaching their ears.

Zhong Lin looked up, under the star-filled night sky, a white strip descended from above, a waterfall about fifty meters high.

A refreshing water qi lingered in the air.

"Sir, it’s right there."

With these words, he stopped and did not proceed any further.

Zhong Lin walked to the waterfall alone, observing the crystal-clear river rushing under the moonlight.

"This place is quite scenic, you may go back now!"

"Yes."

Zhong Lin showed a satisfied look, removed his clothes, and jumped into the water.

The water was not cold, it even carried slight warmth, obviously due to the sun’s heat during the day. This temperature made it most comfortable to bathe; if he wanted cooler water, he needed only to walk a few steps toward the middle of the pool, where due to its depth, the water was quite cold.

After about half an hour, Zhong Lin, who was happily swimming in the water, noticed a dark figure walking out of the woods on the shore. Initially thinking it was the guard, he realized the stride and posture were unlike his.

"Who?"

"Zhong... Mr. Zhong."

An enticing voice came from the bank, a figure half-concealed, between modesty and boldness.

Squinting, it was none other than Madam Zhang.

At this point, Zhong Lin had swum to the shallow area, stepping out as he moved.

His figure gradually revealed from the water, though only his upper body was exposed, the masculinity exuded made Madam Zhang instantly blush, reflexively taking a few steps back.

"Madam Zhang?"

Zhong Lin looked puzzled, curious why Madam Zhang had come here suddenly.

"I greet Mr. Zhong."

Madam Zhang shyly made a curtsey, then began to remove her own clothes, soon left in only a white camisole and underwear, stepping toward the water.

"Please show mercy, sir."

Zhong Lin raised an eyebrow, paused slightly, then swam over to Madam Zhang’s side.

Under the roaring waterfall, two fish swam happily.

...

Early the next morning, as the day was just breaking.

Zhong Lin exited the tent at Lin Shihua’s call. He hadn’t cultivated yesterday, rather had a good night’s sleep, feeling refreshed, with the fatigue from many days on the road all but gone.

"Mr. Zhong, breakfast is ready," Lin Shihua said shyly.

Lin Shihua was there to invite Zhong Lin to breakfast. On a small nearby table, the food was already laid out, and young Lin An had been waiting for a while.

Zhong Lin followed her, stepping over, and young Lin An quickly stood to greet him.

"Where’s Madam Zhang?" Zhong Lin asked casually.

"Mother said she wasn’t feeling well today, so she won’t be eating. She was fine yesterday, but today her voice is a bit hoarse when speaking to me, maybe she’s caught a cold."

Lin Shihua’s tone held a hint of doubt, she couldn’t understand how overnight her mother could fall ill when she’d been fine.

Yet Zhong Lin’s lips curled slightly, of course she’s unwell. Last night, your mother engaged in a fierce verbal battle, gesticulating, sharing breaths, and repaid kindness with gratitude for an entire hour.

A mere woman challenging a First Grade Martial Artist, of course, Zhong Lin needed to thoroughly investigate, to see if there was any hidden scheme involved.