Hengsheng sat on the cultivation mat, closing his eyes as he focused on controlling his spirit body. But what exactly is a spirit body? Normally, humans have five senses: taste, hearing, sight, smell, and touch. To cultivate, however, humans need an additional sense—the ability to perceive spiritual Qi. This is achieved by creating a new sense through resonance between a powerful mortal body and the spirit core.
Using body cultivation techniques and sheer willpower, the spirit core within a person gradually expands its spiritual aspect throughout the body. During this process, one begins to feel a new sense—a spirit body—that allows them to perceive and control their inner Qi. When this spiritual aspect fully encompasses the body, the spirit body is complete. At this stage, the spirit body is not confined within but can also extend outward, enabling the cultivator to sense and manipulate the Qi in their environment.
The strength of the spirit body is determined by two factors: the distance it can extend from the body and the willpower it carries. For the average cultivator, the spirit body can extend about one meter. However, ancient clans and sects with superior techniques can extend it up to five meters.
Hengsheng, of course, was not following these standards. His Super Spirit Body System had given him a far superior advantage. Not only could his spirit body extend up to 10 meters with incredible willpower, but it also had an additional feature: the ability to divide and multitask. While this might seem minor at higher cultivation levels, it was an overwhelming advantage at lower stages. Most cultivators could cast only one spell or technique at a time, but Hengsheng could manage two—or even more.
Currently, Hengsheng is testing his spirit body’s multitasking abilities. He divided it into two, using one part to read one book and the other to read another simultaneously. After a short while, he felt a headache creeping in from the mental overload. Deciding not to push too far, he recalled his spirit body, which instantly disappeared and returned to his core.
Hengsheng opened his eyes and exhaled deeply. A day had passed since he completed forming his spirit body. He was thoroughly satisfied with the system’s results. Now, it was time to think about the next step: breaking through to the Qi Gathering realm.
To achieve this, he needed to harmonize his mortal body with his spirit body, stabilizing his new sense and becoming fully accustomed to it. This harmony was akin to gaining a new limb—mastering its use and control. Only then could he draw in the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth into his core, refining it into his own spiritual Qi.
Closing his eyes again, Hengsheng entered his mind space. Both his mortal and spirit bodies are completely his own, so there would be no close to doing this. The next moment, he made a wish to achieve harmony with his spirit body. The result was instantaneous.
When Hengsheng opened his eyes, he felt his surroundings in a way he never had before. Even without releasing his spirit body, he could sense and control Qi from both outside and inside his body. This was harmony—a seamless connection between his mortal body and spirit body.
A satisfied smile spread across his face. The hardest part was now complete. All that remained was to absorb the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth and officially step into the Qi Gathering realm.
Hengsheng did not rush. Rising from his seat, he stepped out of his chamber, where Lan Ju quickly bowed in greeting. He nodded and said, “Escort me to the library.”
Without hesitation, Lan Ju followed his order, walking a few paces behind him. As Hengsheng walked, he looked around at the serene landscape of the Lan Clan’s territory. The peacefulness was almost unsettling. In the ten years he had spent here, he had expected the clan to either be attacked or launch an attack on their rivals—it was, after all, the nature of the cultivation world. Yet, the clan remained oddly silent.
Before long, they arrived at the library. At the front door, a group of young disciples was chatting animatedly, but the moment they noticed Hengsheng approaching, their faces turned pale. They quickly stopped their conversation and tried to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible, stepping aside to clear his path.
Hengsheng smirked. His plan to solidify his position as the feared "big brother" of the clan’s younger generation was working splendidly. Without sparing them another glance, he instructed Lan Ju to wait at the entrance before stepping inside.
Hengsheng headed straight for the stairs leading to the second floor. At the base of the staircase, he pulled out the Lan Clan Core Disciple Seal from his space pouch and held it forward. Instantly, a faint yellow barrier became visible. The seal allowed him to pass through the barrier without resistance.
As a core disciple, Hengsheng was granted unrestricted access to the second floor, provided he had reached the Qi Gathering realm. When he advanced to the Spiritual Foundation realm, he would gain the same privilege for the third floor.
Step by step, Hengsheng ascended the stairs. When he reached the final step and stepped onto the second floor, he paused, a frown crossing his face.
“This floor... it’s bigger than the first floor?” he muttered to himself.
It didn’t make sense at first. The library was a physical structure. How could the second floor be so much larger than the first? Then, he recalled something he had read long ago—space expansion arrays. Realizing this was the answer, he felt a spark of excitement.
The second floor was enormous. Scanning his surroundings, Hengsheng estimated that it was at least ten times the size of the first floor. While the first floor had a radius of about 20 meters, this one spanned a jaw-dropping 200 meters.
“The power of arrays,” Hengsheng murmured, shaking his head in disbelief.
When he was mortal, he had never had the opportunity to learn about the intricacies of cultivation tools and techniques like other young generations. Many things, like arrays, were just abstract concepts he had read about in books. Now, standing within one, he finally understood the awe they inspired.
His curiosity was piqued. While his purpose today was to study Qi Gathering realm techniques, he made a mental note to explore arrays further in the future.
Hengsheng walked toward the cultivation method section. Along the way, he noticed other disciples flipping through books in front of the bookshelves, their faces serious and focused. None of them seemed to realize he was nearby. They were young like him, but slightly older, around the same age as Lan Xiaorong.
At first, Hengsheng considered intimidating these oblivious disciples—reminding them of his presence as the infamous "big brother." However, he quickly dismissed the idea. This was a library, not a training ground, and his antics wouldn’t go unnoticed by the elders monitoring the area.
Soon, he arrived at the advanced Qi Gathering realm cultivation method section. He picked the first book on the shelf, flipping through its pages to compare it with the basic methods he had studied on the first floor.
After skimming through it, Hengsheng closed the book and returned it to the shelf. Reflecting on what he had read, he noticed a stark difference. The basic methods found on the first floor were little more than guides to help cultivators advance, but they were far from optimized. A cultivator who relied on these methods would only achieve a twofold increase in strength upon reaching the peak stage of the Qi Gathering realm—a pitiful result compared to the advanced techniques.
The advanced methods included key practices like Qi Purification, which refined the quality of spiritual qi, and the Meridian Opening Method, which expanded the number of open meridians to 128 compared to the 64 offered by the basic techniques.
Hengsheng nodded to himself, realizing the importance of being cautious. If he rushed to launch a system based on basic cultivation methods, its effectiveness would be mediocre at best—comparable only to the advanced techniques available here. That wasn’t enough for Hengsheng. He wasn’t interested in being "good"—he wanted to be the strongest and achieve immortality!
With renewed determination, he set his goal: to finish studying every book in this section, including martial techniques and Qi techniques. It would take time, but Hengsheng believed the effort would be worth it. If he were going to build a system, it wouldn’t just be effective—it would be unparalleled.
Hengsheng looked around the second floor one more time, he was thinking about how many books he had to go through.
"Well, it will take some time for this"