Primordial Villain With A Slave Harem-Chapter 800: Qi Gathering

Chapter 800: Qi Gathering

"No. I have not a single fucking clue."

She blinked at his admission and crude words for a moment, but then, she focused. "Alright. You've started a minor cycle. Now you must keep it moving. Let the fire-qi complete a full loop through your lower body. That's the last step of Qi Gathering. If you stop now, it'll backlash."

It took everything, all his focus, his will, his pain tolerance honed through wars and primordial trials.

The circuit grew. With every breath, the fire-qi spun faster, burning away weakness, carving through bone and tendon like lava through soft earth.

Quinlan bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as the last segment of the loop finally connected.

And then…

Stillness.

Not silence.

Stillness.

The beast inside him coiled, no longer thrashing, but circling. Breathing. Waiting.

The fire-qi no longer fought him.

He swayed slightly even though he was seated and supported by Feng Jiai's hold on his shoulders. Steam hissed from his skin. The scent of scorched fabric rose as his body radiated heat. His breath misted in the warm air.

And he opened his eyes.

Feng Jiai was still kneeling in front of him, drenched in sweat. Not just from exertion and panic, but fear.

"You… You actually stabilized it. That was supposed to take… years. No. It should've been completely, utterly, without a doubt—impossible!"

Quinlan didn't smile. He couldn't.

His body was still burning from the inside, his veins felt like they'd been replaced with copper wire, and he wasn't sure if his legs would hold if he stood.

But he nodded once.

"You have a lousy mouth and a grating voice, but you're not a bad teacher, pipsqueak." He paused for a few moments before asking, "What now?"

Feng Jiai exhaled like she'd been holding her breath for hours. She didn't even have the energy to lash out at his rude statements. "Now… now you must rest, Uncle. You're not even done. This was just Qi Gathering, the first stage of cultivation. We haven't even started opening your core meridians yet."

The girl took a deep breath and sighed tiredly when she saw he was entirely clueless as to what she was talking about. Being a good kid, Feng Jiai decided to help this lost uncle out once again. "You'll need to reach the Meridian Opening stage to ensure your body is capable of housing the fire essence long-term and to have the ability to use martial arts related to it. But first, you must gather your bearings. Trying to cultivate in your exhausted state is suicide. We should see a proper healer for your wound as well…"

Quinlan closed his eyes again, sensing that the fire was still pulsing inside him like a heartbeat. She was right. Despite it not actively fighting against him right now, the fire essence hasn't been properly restrained. It could lash out again.

"Qi Gathering Stage, huh…" he muttered, glancing at his two palms in search of any difference. He didn't spot anything.

Then, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

He reached for the fire within him again, to steady it, to test its borders.

And for a moment, only a moment, he felt something else.

A cool ripple at the edge of his consciousness. A brush of wind against his mind's eye. The weight of stone. A faint hum like water sliding over skin.

'What…?'

Quinlan tried to pull them in, but the fire in his dantian roared instantly, rebelling against the foreign elements.

The other forces vanished like smoke.

He coughed so badly that his blood dirtied the grass. His pulse spiked. His qi flared erratically.

Feng Jiai instantly pressed a palm to his chest. "You idiot! What did you just try to do?! Your body's not ready to draw from the fire essence! You could've torn your channels apart!"

Quinlan winced, panting. "I… just felt something. I didn't think-"

"Exactly! You don't think, Uncle! Stop acting like a suicidal maniac!"

"One must experiment to progress."

"Agh, you sound dumber and dumber each time you open your mouth!"

"…"

Quinlan didn't know what to do with this horribly rude girl. In fact, he didn't know what to do at all. "How do I reach the Meridian Opening Stage?"

"That's the stage I'd been trying to reach for the last few years, so I can guide you through it, Uncle. But first, as I already told you, you must rest. No more 'funny experiments' from you until then, okay? For now, we should wait until you're capable of moving properly and leave this place. It's abandoned, but sooner or later, the clan will notice their young master's absence. We must leave the area before they get here."

Quinlan nodded, thinking along similar lines. He knew staying here would be his end. As such, he only asked, "Where to?"

Feng Jiai thought inwardly for a second before she exhaled, determination settling into her eyes. "Vulkaris, the Nation of Flame. We're already on their border, and you're a fire cultivator now, so your best bet is to join a sect there and learn their martial arts."

Her determined expression shifted, transforming into an angry one with furrowed brows and squinted eyes. "And since you stole my only valuable property, I'll tag along so that you can protect me while I'll help you navigate the world with your 'amnesia'. You wouldn't happen to be such a cruel, narcissistic pig that after taking her sole item of value from a young girl, you leave her to fend for herself, correct, Uncle?"

Quinlan eyed this strange girl for a few seconds before sighing defeatedly. "… You certainly have a way with words. Welcome aboard I suppose, pipsqueak."

"Hmph!"

With that single snort and the proud tilt of her chin, their strange partnership was sealed. And so, the unique duo of an arrogant uncle and a loud-mouthed brat set off toward the Nation of Flame, unaware of how deeply entangled they would become in the world of cultivation, conspiracies, and cosmic power.

But first… Inspecting the corpse of the haughty young master in search of valuables would have to be conducted.