Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology-Chapter 26: The Death of Shang Yang, Innate Qi Cultivation (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: The Death of Shang Yang, Innate Qi Cultivation (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Taiyin Refining World, inside a mountain cave.

Song Lin held a bottle of Feather Transformation Pills.

The bottle contained twelve pills, and with the two he had refined himself, there were fourteen in total.

He swallowed one without hesitation, as if it were a common candy, leaving onlookers speechless at the wasteful extravagance.

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Ordinary people, when consuming pills, would typically seek a secluded chamber, prepare themselves through repeated regulation of breath, and adjust to the optimal state before ingestion, fearing even the slightest loss of efficacy.

Song Lin, however, didn't bother with any of that.

The things in this realm were merely projections of the real world, and consuming them wouldn't affect the actual quantities in reality.

Song Lin had summarized the advantages of the Monster Chronicles into two points: first, it granted access to Taoist Skills unavailable in the outside world, and second, it provided unparalleled trial-and-error capability.

What couldn't be attempted in reality could be tried in the virtual world.

Spells, alchemy, Qi Cultivation, taking pills—everything could be experimented with.

Ordinary cultivators approached the Taoist path with utmost caution, fearing entry into a state of Qi deviation that could sow future calamities.

Song Lin, however, didn't need to worry about such things.

Three months passed.

Song Lin exited his seclusion.

He had completely absorbed all fourteen pills, attaining a Taoist Realm equivalent to one Jiazi.

Stepping out of the cave and gazing at the night sky, he exhaled a breath of red energy.

The red energy took the form of a dragon, slithering and twisting as it encircling his lower leg.

Swoosh!

Song Lin rose into the air, his robe fluttering as he moved, resembling a Banished Immortal.

Usually, only those in the Qi Cultivation Stage could fly, but with Guang Chengzi's Qi Cultivation Method, one could fly merely by relying on Qigong instead.

Though it wasn't extraordinarily fast, like the speed of an ordinary steed.

In the twenty-sixth year of Taiyin Refining, Song Lin arrived in Zhao Country, killed Zhao's Qi Cultivators, and obtained the Turtle Breath Method.

The Turtle Breath Method allowed one to conceal their entire Qi, rendering it virtually imperceptible, preventing enemy detection, and even enabling winter-like hibernation.

Winter of the twenty-sixth year of Taiyin Refining.

Song Lin journeyed to Dabie Mountain, where the Ganoderma Grass Tribe sought refuge.

"How interesting!"

Song Lin looked at the Ganoderma people, no taller than three inches, riding grass horses, and chuckled.

The world still held such extraordinary entities.

The Ganoderma General trembled in fear, kneeling on the ground.

"Immortal, have mercy! We beseech the Immortal to take us in!"

The Ganoderma people were Lingzhi that had gained sentience; Lingzhi, as an immensely potent medicinal substance, made the Ganoderma people revered as divine beings.

Frequently, they fell victim to the predations of herb gatherers. During this era of the Warring States, many regions remained wilderness, allowing the occasional sighting of Ganoderma people.

With the development of later generations, the Ganoderma people were gradually driven to extinction, remaining only in the annals of legend.

The tribe before him consisted of fifty or sixty individuals—a significantly large tribe.

"Give me a reason to take you in," Song Lin said with a half-smile.

"We know the earth tunneling technique!"

"Not enough!"

"We can find treasure medicine and even cultivate Lingzhi."

Song Lin pondered for a moment and ultimately nodded to accept the Ganoderma people.

"Remember, if you harbor any disloyalty..."

Swoosh!

A sinister green mist spread around, eerie ghosts and gods materializing behind Song Lin, frightening the Ganoderma people into taking oaths and pledges of loyalty.

"Leave now."

Song Lin waved them away.

For the next five months, he didn't cultivate but instead immersed himself in alchemy.

Jiachen Yang Qi Pills, Feather Transformation Pills, Mica Ganoderma Pills... He refined all sorts of pills as though cost weren't a factor. After attaining the Turtle Breath Technique, Song Lin planned to enter an extended seclusion.

He intended to wait until Huan Yuan perished in more than thirty years, then travel the world seeking Taiyin Refining Corpses.

Spring turned to autumn, and time flew by.

Eighteen years had passed without notice, reaching the forty-fourth year of Taiyin Refining.

That year, Qin Xiaogong passed away.

Shangyu.

With Qin Xiaogong's death, Shangyang stealthily returned to his estate.

His residence was surrounded by thousands of armored soldiers in strict vigilance. A middle-aged man with a weathered expression knelt before a desk, drinking alone under the moonlight.

This was Weii Yang, now known as Shangyang.

The new king had ascended. As the chief proponent of the reforms, Shangyang was fated to be made a scapegoat—a fate he had long foreseen.

This return was for rebellion and uprising.

At dawn, he intended to launch an attack on Zheng County.

"You need not proceed this way, alas."

A sigh echoed from the void. Beneath the moonlight, a white-robed Taoist appeared out of thin air and slowly descended before Shangyang.

Seeing this person startled Shangyang, as if he had returned to the years from more than two decades ago.

"Disciple greets Master!" Shangyang bowed deeply.

After so many years, seeing his master again brought the vivid memory of his youthful aspirations, even as his own vigor waned.

"Rise." Song Lin looked up at the false moon in the sky and smiled, "Your spiritual cultivation hasn't stagnated in these years."

"Haha, thanks to Master's blessing. Without Taoist Skills, your disciple would have died long ago." Shangyang laughed.

Enforcing the reforms offended untold numbers of nobles.

Some even sent Qi Cultivation Death Soldiers to assassinate him.

Looking at the ageless appearance of Song Lin, Shangyang suddenly realized something and said, "Master's Taoist Realm must have surpassed that of ancient sages, hasn't it?"

In his years in a high position, Shangyang had never encountered an immortal cultivator who didn't age.

And his master had effortlessly evaded the watchful eyes of thousands of guards to arrive silently.

Over the years, Shangyang had dealt with many Qi Cultivators, who ordinarily could be surrounded and killed by one hundred soldiers armed with strong crossbows.

But against his master, even ten times that number would not suffice.

"Something like that."

The methods of Qi Cultivation in this realm remained somewhat rudimentary, lacking systematic progressions. Most Qi Cultivators possessed only one or two extraordinary talents, far inferior to the refinement seen in the Chu Territory or in reality.

Song Lin had been in seclusion for nearly twenty years, achieving an astonishing Taoist Realm of ninety-nine years.

The True Qi within him flowed like mighty rivers, nearly breaking through the Heaven-and-Earth Duo Bridges to enter the Innate Qi Cultivator stage, corresponding to the Qi Cultivation Stage.

Judging from his years of traveling through various countries, Song Lin believed himself to be the pinnacle of contemporary cultivation.

Except for the unclear strength of Huan Yuan, Song Lin was confident he could obliterate any Qi Cultivator.

"Enough of that talk. I came this time to take you back to the mountain. Your mission is complete; there's no need for further toil."

During these years of seclusion, the karma he had accumulated had risen to twenty percent, much of which was thanks to Shangyang.

Song Lin's descent was a favor to Shangyang, ensuring he wouldn't suffer the gruesome fate of being dismembered by carriages.

Shangyang pondered briefly and said, "Thank you, Master, for your kindness. This disciple is grateful, but I must see this through to the end."

"Rebellion is destined to fail," Song Lin remarked.

"I never expected it to succeed." Shangyang revealed his true intentions, "The new king favors reforms but is swayed by the nobility. I intend to sacrifice my life to solidify the new king's authority."

"But, Master, could you take with you my young son? His name is Ann Qi, and he is but eight years old."

"Very well."

Song Lin couldn't help but admire the Legalists' determination. Even in their final moments, they would use their lives as pawns in the great game, the very kind of men capable of ushering in centuries of transformation.

With that, Song Lin left carrying Shangyang's sleeping son.

"Take care, Master."

The next day, Shangyang launched his attack on Zheng County, meeting his end in defeat. Ying Si had his body dismembered by carriages and exterminated his entire clan, consolidating his authority and power.

Meanwhile, Song Lin returned to Taihang Mountain.

By then, Ann Qi had awoken, his eyes serene: "Has Father died?"

Song Lin was startled at his maturity. Choosing not to sugarcoat, he nodded affirmatively: "From now on, you may call me Grandmaster."

"Disciple's grandson pays respects to Grandmaster."

From then on, Ann Qi studied Qigong and Lao Mountain Taoist Skills under Song Lin's tutelage in the mountains.

In the forty-seventh year of Taiyin Refining.

That day, dragon roars and tiger growls echoed through the forest, rocks trembled, and elemental Qi surged across the skies.

Song Lin successfully advanced his Peace Song cultivation, surpassing Fetal Breath and breaking through the Heaven-and-Earth Duo Bridges, completing the Grand Circulation and entering the Qi Cultivation Stage.

It was the Innate Qi Cultivator stage of this realm.