Chapter 490: Forming the Cyclone

The technique of the Mountain River Moon Shadow Blade was already circulating ceaselessly within Duan Rong's meridians and dantian.

The surging Essence Flow was scouring his meridians, but near the Danzhong acupoint in his chest, the surging Essence was clearly struggling to keep going. It hovered near the Danzhong acupoint in his chest, unable to push through.

Duan Rong, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes. At this moment, a trace of gravity flashed through his gaze.

After all, this was his first time forming a Qi Cyclone; although he had some intuition, he was not yet very clear about the various barriers during the formation of the cyclone.

At this moment, he could clearly feel that the Essence within his body was obviously still very insufficient for the operation of the Qi Cyclone Realm technique.

Duan Rong flipped his hand and gripped a Porcelain Bottle in his palm.

This Porcelain Bottle was one of the two Porcelain Bottles that Zhu He had given him last night on Yunfu Peak.

Inside this was a drop of Essence Blood from a High-Tier Beast.

Duan Rong's gaze was cold and sharp; he opened the bottle stopper and urged his Divine Sense.

A thick drop of blood, only about one-third the size of a pinky fingernail, was seen slowly floating out from the Porcelain Bottle, hovering in front of Duan Rong.

That drop of Essence Blood from the Origin Beast presented a rich purplish-red color, and even carried a faint Essence Pressure.

This was, after all, the Essence Blood of a High-Tier Beast!

Duan Rong's gaze shifted, his Divine Sense concentrated, and the drop of Essence Blood before him suddenly twisted, then abruptly scattered, as if it had hit something and dispersed.

One drop of Essence Blood transformed into ten smaller drops of Essence Blood.

Ten drops then transformed into twenty drops!

This was the Essence Blood of a High-Tier Beast; a High-Tier Beast was already equivalent to a human cultivator in the Dongming Realm. If Duan Rong had swallowed the drop of Essence Blood directly, he would have instantly exploded and died!

Twenty tiny drops of Essence Blood hovered around Duan Rong, like a small, dense swarm of red ants surrounding him.

Duan Rong moved his Divine Sense, and one of the tiny drops of Essence Blood, like a red ant that had left the swarm, flew into his mouth.

Duan Rong swallowed one-twentieth of the Essence Blood and immediately felt the Essence in his dantian surge like the sea, with great tides rising, each wave stronger than the last.

The unstoppable tide of Essence broke through the chest acupoint in his chest, the throat acupoint in his neck, and finally rushed straight toward the crown acupoint at the top of his head.

At this most critical juncture, Duan Rong's heart instead grew calm; his state of mind was like an ancient well without ripples, perceiving the tide of Essence gathering near the crown acupoint.

For some reason, as if he had learned it without a teacher, Duan Rong actually slowed down the operation of the Energy Cyclone Realm technique, waiting for the force of the Essence tide near the crown acupoint.

He keenly perceived that the force of the Essence tide near the crown acupoint was not yet fierce enough at this moment.

The Essence in his dantian continued to surge out wave after wave.

The surging Essence contained within this one-twentieth of the High-Tier Beast's Essence Blood could not be released in an instant, but rather surged out of the dantian wave after wave.

Duan Rong consciously suppressed the speed of his technique for several breaths; during these few breaths, the Essence tide had become increasingly powerful, and his meridians began to feel a slight, tearing pain.

The Essence tide at the crown acupoint was already in a state of being ready to burst forth.

Just at this moment, Duan Rong suddenly pushed the speed of his technique to the maximum in one go.

The Energy Cyclone Realm technique, carrying the Essence tide that was ready to burst forth, instantly rushed out from the crown acupoint; this barrier is called: Breaking the Crown Wheel.

The Essence tide in the three main meridians gushed out and surged back.

The Essence Flow of those three meridians converged and circulated above Duan Rong's head. The gradually forming circuit of the Essence Flow appeared vividly like three petals; this is called: Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

As the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown gradually took shape, the Essence Flow gradually stabilized and no longer surged or rushed.

But the moment the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown formed, a mutation occurred again in his dantian!

Only after the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown is formed is it the true moment of forming the cyclone!

The moment the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown is formed, the Heaven and Earth Essence within a radius of several dozen miles can be used by Duan Rong as the three flowers gather above his head.

A large amount of Heaven and Earth Essence from the space entered Duan Rong's body along with the Essence Flow of the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

And in his dantian, that one-twentieth of the High-Tier Beast's Essence Blood was still transforming into Essence, flowing into the meridians.

The internal and external Essence collided instantly!

The Heaven and Earth Essence from the space carried by the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown collided and merged with the Essence transformed from the High-Tier Beast's Essence Blood that was gushing out from the dantian.

Amidst this collision and fusion, an extremely tiny Qi Cyclone, almost invisible to the naked eye, had already begun to form.

At first, that Qi Cyclone was only the size of a needle tip.

As the two sides of Essence collided and clashed, the Qi Cyclone seemed to have absorbed some kind of power and grew bit by bit.

A normal formation of a cyclone is already a complete success when the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown is formed and the Qi Cyclone first appears in the dantian!

In fact, at this point, he had already advanced to the Qi Cyclone Realm!

But Duan Rong did not stop, because his Essence Flow had not yet become disordered or collapsed at this moment.

Although the Qi Cyclone had appeared and the collision and clashing in the dantian became more and more intense as the cyclone grew, Duan Rong was still able to firmly control the Essence Flow.

These Essence Flows did not completely collapse due to the growth of the Qi Cyclone.

Duan Rong's ability to control it stemmed from the condensation of the Artistic Conception within the technique; the Artistic Conception in the Mountain River Moon Shadow Blade was condensing the airflow, so it did not disperse even with the stirring of the Qi Cyclone.

Duan Rong's brows were already knitted into a knot; as the Qi Cyclone grew bit by bit, wave after wave of severe pain had already come from his dantian.

The pain was too intense; even with his firm will, he could not help but let out a muffled groan at this moment.

He had been paying attention to the Essence Flow, the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, and the Qi Cyclone in his dantian, and had not noticed that tiny cracks had already appeared on the dantian wall.

As the Qi Cyclone grew and the Essence Flow scoured it, the dantian wall clearly could no longer withstand the spiritual pressure of the Essence.

Duan Rong secretly thought "bad" in his heart; after all, it was his first time forming a cyclone, and it was in a rush, so he had actually neglected the condition of the dantian wall for a moment. If the pain had not been so intense, he would not even have discovered the cracks on the dantian wall.

His gaze was cold and sharp; he flipped one hand, and another Porcelain Bottle was already gripped in his hand.

This was the other Porcelain Bottle that Zhu He had given him last night; inside this bottle was the bile of the Mid-Tier Beast, the Fire Scale Python, which had a miraculous effect on repairing hidden injuries in the dantian.

If Duan Rong had experience, or was well-prepared and had deduced it in advance, he would have swallowed this bile the moment the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown formed.

Then, at this moment, there would not have been any cracks on the dantian wall.

Duan Rong grabbed the Porcelain Bottle and poured a mouthful of the black bile of the Fire Scale Python into his mouth.

Of all things in the world, nothing exceeds the bitterness of bile, hence it is called bitter bile!

The rich bitterness even suppressed the severe pain in his dantian for a moment; at that instant, Duan Rong's brows knitted even more tightly.

But as the bile surged into his dantian, the originally torn dantian instantly felt a touch of warmth and coolness, and the cracks on the dantian walls actually healed rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Once Duan Rong saw that the bile of the Fire-Scaled Python had such a miraculous effect, he immediately withdrew his focus and concentrated on the growth of the Qi cyclone within his dantian.

At this moment, the Qi cyclone within his dantian had already grown from the size of a needle tip to the size of a grain of wheat, and the cyclone storm within the dantian was already becoming increasingly violent.

However, the violently surging Essence Flow remained firmly under Duan Rong's control and did not become disordered or collapse, which indicated that the Qi cyclone within the dantian could still grow further.

Duan Rong's gaze tightened, and suddenly his mouth opened. He saw another tiny drop of High-Tier Beast Essence Blood floating nearby, which flew into his mouth like a red ant.

As the second drop—one-twentieth of the High-Tier Beast Essence Blood—entered his mouth, his dantian, which had already gradually calmed down, instantly felt as if a storm had suddenly risen, and a massive amount of extremely pure Yuan Qi gushed out.

The Qi cyclone within the dantian began to spin violently, just like the eye of a storm.

Following the violent rotation of the cyclone, it was growing circle by circle at an extremely slow pace; this was the growth of the Qi cyclone.

With the growth and violent rotation of the cyclone, the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown above Duan Rong's head also saw its Essence Flow become more surging and magnificent, and the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi in the space gathered toward the space above Duan Rong's head at an even faster speed, like a river breaking its banks.

Gradually, as the cyclone grew, the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown above his head acted like a giant beast with its mouth wide open, whale-swallowing the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi in the nearby space.

Therefore, the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi within a radius of several dozen miles surged toward the top of Duan Rong's head... like a massive tide, rushing toward Cuiwei Peak...

The first to discover the anomaly were the four Guards outside the Elder Council; they were already using their Divine Sense to probe everywhere, and they immediately discovered the frantic surging of the Qi Tide near Cuiwei Peak.

"This is..." A look of astonishment flashed in an old man's eyes.

Because the center where the Qi Tide from all directions was surging and gathering was clearly inside the Elder Council.

"Has something happened?"

The four Guards discovered it almost simultaneously, and they all followed the surging of the Qi Tide, flying into the Elder Council from different directions toward the core of the surging Qi Tide.

The four of them stopped there, looking at the cross-legged Duan Rong with astonished expressions.

Those Qi Tides were actually all surging into Duan Rong's body along with the flow of the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

One old man was so shocked his mouth was half-open, and he asked another Guard who had arrived beside him in a daze: "What is he doing?"

The other Guard pondered for a few breaths before saying with an uncertain tone: "It seems to be Vortex Formation, right?"

In the meeting area inside the Elder Council, the arguing had already subsided on the huge oval Stone Table.

This meeting area was shrouded by a Sound Isolation Wall; not only was sound isolated, but the Qi Tide could not penetrate the Sound Isolation Wall either. Because the propagation of sound is the vibration of sound waves, which is no different from the surging of Yuan Qi.

Therefore, initially, these Elders were in the middle of a meeting and had not noticed the surging of the Yuan Qi, but at this moment, firstly, the meeting had concluded, and secondly, the Qi Tide had become increasingly dense, whistling past the surroundings of the Sound Isolation Wall.

Zhu He and Yang Sixuan discovered the anomaly almost at the same time.

Especially Zhu He; the moment he discovered the anomaly, his Divine Sense was released, and he immediately "saw" Duan Rong sitting cross-legged at the center of the Qi Tide.

Zhu He and Yang Sixuan flew up almost simultaneously!

And at the same time, the other Elders also discovered the anomaly, leaving their seats almost simultaneously and following behind Zhu He and Yang Sixuan, flying toward the place where Duan Rong was.

Zhu He looked on in shock at Duan Rong, who sat unmoved amidst the surging tide.

At this time, Duan Rong had already swallowed three drops of one-twentieth of the High-Tier Beast Essence Blood. Originally, he had been prepared to swallow a fourth drop because he could clearly feel that the Qi cyclone in his dantian could still grow, and after the initial scramble, he was now well-versed in the process.

But just as Duan Rong was about to swallow the fourth drop of Essence Blood, he suddenly felt one powerful Divine Sense after another sweeping across his body.

And at this time, the Qi cyclone in his dantian was already the size of a fingernail.

Because of the connection of those extremely powerful Divine Senses sweeping over him, Duan Rong finally stopped the rotation of the Qi cyclone in his dantian.

In just an instant, that fingernail-sized cyclone quietly hovered in Duan Rong's dantian, and the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown that had been flowing ceaselessly above his head also instantly extinguished and withered, wilting like a giant lotus flower of Yuan Qi.

But Duan Rong knew that as long as his mind prompted it, this Three Flowers Gather at the Crown would bloom again above his head.

At this very moment, Duan Rong abruptly opened his eyes.

The first things to enter his sight were the four Guards of the Elder Council.

Behind the four Guards were Zhu He and Yang Sixuan.

Behind Zhu He and Yang Sixuan stood the various Elders of the Sect, who had gathered in a circle.

Everyone was looking at Duan Rong with astonished expressions; the scene was deathly silent!

They were all experts of the Dongming Realm!

Everyone knew that Duan Rong was undergoing Vortex Formation!

Not to mention, for this child to actually be undergoing Vortex Formation inside the Elder Council—what an absurd thing this was!

What they were surprised by was the surging and magnificent Qi Tide, and that Qi cyclone in Duan Rong's dantian that was already the size of a fingernail!

Compared to this, the absurdity of Duan Rong undergoing Vortex Formation inside the Elder Council was already of no importance.

They were all cultivators of the Dongming Realm; they had all undergone Vortex Formation.

No one had ever caused such a huge commotion when undergoing Vortex Formation, capable of triggering such a surging and magnificent Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi Tide!?

And no one, upon just beginning Vortex Formation, had a Qi cyclone the size of a fingernail in their dantian!

A genius like Chu Qiushan, when he first entered the Vortex Formation Realm, only had a Qi cyclone the size of a needle tip!

The ability of a Qi cyclone to exist within the dantian is obtained through a cultivator's comprehension of Artistic Conception!

Comprehension of Artistic Conception can further improve the ability of Divine Sense to control Yuan Qi!

This improvement is not a quantitative increase in size or range, but an improvement in dimension.

Only by using Artistic Conception to control Yuan Qi can one stabilize the Qi cyclone within the dantian.

Therefore, Artistic Conception is the foundation of the Vortex Formation Realm!

Thus, the correct steps for Vortex Formation are actually to study the ultimate arts of the Vortex Formation Realm after reaching Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Realm. During the study, one gradually comprehends the Artistic Conception within the ultimate arts.

Only when the comprehension of Artistic Conception has a prototype can one attempt Vortex Formation.

Because the prototype Artistic Conception has very limited control over the cyclone, it is already not easy to have a needle-tip-sized cyclone at the beginning of Vortex Formation!

The mind-boggling part about Duan Rong is that while he was still in the Qi Refining Realm, he relied on the Devouring Artifact Spirit to comprehend a nearly mature, formed Artistic Conception.

Just now, if he had not been interrupted, he could have kept letting the cyclone grow, and could even have directly achieved the First Layer of the Vortex Formation Realm!

In fact, at this moment, the state of the cyclone in his dantian was not far from achieving the First Layer of the Vortex Formation Realm.

Zhu He flashed over in an instant and was already standing in front of Duan Rong; he glanced at the table beside Duan Rong.

There, shockingly, lay a spread-out, wax-yellow animal hide, which was precisely the cultivation technique for the Mountain River Moon Shadow Blade.

Duan Rong's gaze was dazed, and he called out, "Master..."

Hearing this, Zhu He turned his head to look at Duan Rong, anger surging across his gloomy face, and he roared like a thunderclap, "What a life-threatening matter the Vortex Formation is, how could you be so reckless?!"

Duan Rong was just about to say something.

Zhu He suddenly said, "Come with me! I must immediately check your meridians and dantian to see if any hidden dangers have been left behind!"

As Zhu He spoke, he flicked his sleeves, and the wax-yellow animal hide technique on the table, along with Duan Rong who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, were both swept up by him, turning into a streak of black light that flew out of the Elder Council.

(End of this chapter)