Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 21: Chapter 19 Innate

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The night was deep, and the bright moon hung high.

The Prince Qing Mansion was shrouded in darkness and fell into slumber.

Suddenly, a long howl pierced the sky, waking everyone in the mansion, and they quickly donned clothes, looking around in astonishment.

The howling continued to rise, becoming louder and louder.

Some opened their windows, others ran out into the courtyard, creating a lively commotion.

”It’s a breakthrough to the Innate Realm!”

”It must be the Princely Heir advancing to the Innate Realm!”

The Prince Mansion Guards immediately realized, overjoyed beyond measure.

The news rapidly spread around.

Listening to the Waves Courtyard

On the bed, Chu Zhiyuan closed his mouth, stopping the long howl.

He practiced the Jade Lock Gold Barrier Skill a little without intending to break through, yet it naturally led to a breakthrough.

Three barriers collapsed before the Jade Lock Gold Barrier Skill as if they were not there, crumbling upon touch.

With the breaking of the three barriers, the Heaven and Earth Bridge in the governor and conception vessels, originally like a trickling stream, transformed into a rushing flood.

The qi surged through the throat, naturally causing him to open his mouth and howl, unable to suppress it.

The howl filled the entire room, then spread across the entire Prince Qing Mansion.

Finally stepping into the Innate Realm.

He wore a broad smile.

He delicately felt the difference of qi circulating in his meridians: smooth and round, as if orchestrating limbs.

At this point, it was no longer called Inner Qi but True Qi—genuine Essence Qi.

It has fundamentally changed.

Where the mind goes, qi follows, circulating with ease.

Henceforth, True Qi would circulate continuously in the governor and conception vessels, constantly turning Essence Qi into True Qi.

From now on, True Qi would flow as incessantly as a spring.

More importantly, it could break free from bodily constraints, either venting through pores or through acupoints.

In the Postnatal Realm, Inner Qi could only circulate within one’s body, stimulating muscles to enhance strength and speed. In the Innate Realm, True Qi could be emitted into the opponent’s body, attacking the opponent’s meridians and vital organs.

When Inner Qi meets True Qi, it’s like snow encountering boiling water; similarly, when True Qi encounters a Grandmaster’s Gang Qi, it is equally powerless.

This is the crushing power of realms.

His figure suddenly vanished, appearing under a plum tree in the courtyard the next moment, then vanished again, filling the entire courtyard with shadows, like Body Outer Forms.

Dozens of shadows suddenly vanished, and he sat back on the bed, his smile broadening.

As expected, driven by True Qi, martial arts power is doubled, making the speed of Near and Far Steps faster and the distance farther.

He placed his hand on the sword sheath, drew the sword, then his figure swiftly disappeared.

In the next moment, he appeared in the center of the courtyard, horizontally holding the sword before his eyes, the sword like an autumn stream.

He scrutinized it closely.

True Qi entered the sword, and Super Sense followed, finally revealing the inside of the sword.

Inside the longsword were two strange patterns, seemingly two roses at first glance.

The patterns spread out, forming a bead-like mesh covering the sword’s interior, suddenly giving him the illusion of viewing a person’s meridians.

At the sword’s guard were two small characters he couldn’t recognize.

He looked up at the bright moon, pondering silently, figuring out what those characters were, hoping to uncover the sword’s true origin.

A dark cloud drifted over quickly, passing by the bright moon.

He closed his eyes to continue sensing delicately.

True Qi entered the longsword, undergoing a mysterious transformation through the patterns, becoming a new form of True Qi.

This True Qi made the sword light as nothing.

With the sword light, its speed naturally increased.

The core of the Great Snow Avalanche Sword Technique is speed, enhanced by True Qi, augmented by this sword’s peculiarity, accelerating speed significantly.

Besides transforming Inner Qi into True Qi, he also discovered that the range of his Super Sense increased by ten zhang, from twenty zhang to thirty zhang.

However, he paid it little mind.

To him, there was no difference between twenty zhang and thirty zhang; Super Sense was merely an aid and not the root of strength.

The root still lies in cultivation and realm.

The Innate Twelve Layers are far more challenging than the Postnatal nine layers to practice.

The Ren Meridian, located at the throat, had a faint pavilion of white qi, hollow like a courtyard, with True Qi penetrating through.

Altogether, twelve levels.

These twelve levels are the key to True Qi, each level broken enhances the strength and purity of True Qi.

Drawing True Qi from the Dantian, reversing the flow in the Ren Meridian, incessantly saturating and impacting, ultimately breaking through the Twelve Layers, leading to Innate Perfection.

It requires the perseverance of rainwater drizzling on stone.

This resembles the three-barrier-breaking method, where the Jade Lock Gold Barrier Skill can be exceptionally useful.

He simply began practicing the Jade Lock Gold Barrier Skill directly, attempting to break through the First Layer, unexpectedly easier than anticipated.

A quarter of an hour later, the First Layer shattered, and True Qi thickened by a third and solidified by a third.

He frowned in contemplation.

Is the difference in one layer so significant?

Searching through the Martial Arts Notes in his mind, he quickly found out that the size of the difference in one layer depends on personal aptitude.

The higher the aptitude, the greater the difference in one layer.

As he pondered and practiced, Zou Fang stood outside Listening to the Waves Courtyard, blocking those who came to visit, including Bai Ningshuang and Chu Yi.

——

In the morning, he noticed something unusual upon waking up.

Mo Yi and her four maids smiled brightly like flowers.

Even the usually unflappable Zou Fang showed a hint of joy.

Leaving the front gate of the Prince Mansion, turning to look at the brightly red new gate and brand-new lanterns, he felt the entire mansion’s aura changed.

Although the Household Affairs Office was crafty, they indeed completed the work neatly and beautifully, transforming the entire mansion in just a day.

Not only the appearance, but the guards of the mansion were also full of spirit, no longer the former laziness.

He took the lead in the small competition and astounded all with the winter hunt; stepping into the Innate Realm completely reversed the mansion’s decline.

The spirit of the entire mansion changed immediately, morale significantly boosted.

While almost all princely heires and princes could step into the Innate Realm, doing so sooner made a world of difference.

The sooner one steps into the Innate Realm, the higher the innate talent and the brighter the prospects.

Among the younger princely heires than Chu Zhiyuan, the Fifth Prince died on Little Chixia Mountain, the Sixth Prince a prodigy, already in the military, the Seventh and Eighth Princes remained obscure in Mingwu Hall, even inferior to the Ninth and Tenth Princes, with the Eleventh to Sixteenth Princes all still far from the Innate Realm in Mingwu Hall.

Among those older than Chu Zhiyuan, the Eldest Prince died young alongside the Eldest Prince of the Emperor, the Second Prince was disabled, and the Third Prince was also in the military.

Counting carefully, among the princely heir generation’s Innate Masters, Chu Zhiyuan was the third.

The Da Jing Imperial Family values martial cultivation the most, as the higher the realm, the stronger the cultivation, the brighter the prospects, and more favored by the Emperor.

In the Da Jing Dynasty, where power is concentrated in imperial authority, being favored by the Emperor means possessing power.

After stepping into the Innate Realm, accepting assignments could earn merits and gain cultivation resources to accelerate cultivation, thus rapidly enhancing the mansion’s strength.

Henceforth, the Prince Qing Mansion would grow stronger, wiping away past shadows, filled with hope.

——

Mingwu Hall Martial Arts Training Ground.

In the dawn light, three people were practicing the Purple Sun Stance.

Chu Mingxuan glanced smugly at Chu Zhitian and Chu Zhichuan: ”Old Ninth, Old Tenth, how’s your progress? Last night I struck while the iron was hot and broke through the first pass.”

Last night, feeling fiercely spirited, he lay tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, so he simply sat up to practice martial arts, unexpectedly breaking through the first pass on the coccyx in one go.

He felt it was due to both the medicinal wine’s magic and his sufficient accumulation, truly feeling wonderful.

Among the three barriers, the coccyx was difficult, the spine even harder, with the most challenging being the Jade Pillow, which must be handled cautiously, otherwise, one risks Qi deviation.

The first two barriers were manageable, but the third, the Jade Pillow, was easiest to cause Qi deviation.

Chu Qingfeng’s most crucial role in Mingwu Hall was as a protector.

When breaking barriers, having this Great Grandmaster alongside as a protector allowed breaking through confidently without fear of Qi deviation.

”Eighteenth Uncle, I also broke the first pass, that medicinal wine sure is good,” Chu Zhitian smiled at Chu Zhichuan.

Chu Zhichuan said blandly, ”I also broke the first pass.”

Chu Zhitian’s smile froze: ”You also broke it?”

”If you can break it, why can’t I?” Chu Zhichuan sneered.

Chu Zhitian pursed his lips, looking at Chu Mingxuan: ”Eighteenth Uncle, that medicinal wine sure is nice, another jar would be even better.”

Chu Mingxuan scratched his head, pondered, and finally shook his head helplessly: ”I’m afraid I can’t get more, I got this while Fifth Brother was in a good mood.”

Chu Zhitian repeatedly lamented the pity.

Chu Zhichuan asked: ”I wonder if Fourth Brother broke through.”

”...He probably also broke through one pass,” Chu Mingxuan speculated, judging that Chu Zhiyuan’s cultivation wasn’t inferior to their own and had better aptitude.

So he likely also broke through one pass.

”I estimate that another month, and I can enter the Innate Realm,” Chu Mingxuan grinned widely, unable to contain the excitement.

The thought of being titled a king, utterly thrilling.

”Hmm, around a month sounds about right,” Chu Zhichuan nodded.

Chu Zhitian sighed: ”Then it’ll be different then...”

He too was full of hopeful dreams, suddenly waving: ”Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother!”

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