Chapter 65: Chapter Fifty-Eight: [Return to Origin, Return to Place]

That evening, after dinner, Chen Yan had Luo Geng shine a flashlight as they inspected every green stone slab of the Spirit Gathering Array in the courtyard.

He took out the batch of white jade plaques delivered that afternoon—the heartless boss had finally shown a shred of conscience; though he’d ordered a hundred, he’d sent a hundred and twenty, the extra ones a free gift.

Chen Yan casually picked out a few, infused them with Nascent Soul energy, then handed them to Luo Geng.

“You’re in charge of placing them in the array’s core—each jade plaque keeps the array running for two hours. You swap them out every two hours, got it?”

“...” (Aren’t I supposed to sleep?! )

Luo Geng obediently accepted—though Chen Yan couldn’t shake the feeling that the guy was looking at him oddly.

(This thing made me run back and forth for days?! )

After the knockoff artifact was placed in the core, the Spirit Gathering Array, long dormant, reactivated.

As faint threads of celestial energy gathered within the villa’s courtyard, Chen Yan inhaled deeply, savoring the thickening Qi in the air, then turned and walked back inside.

Inside, he found Gu Xiaoniang leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching him.

“Gu Xiaoniang, forgive my crude setup—my resources are limited, so I could only assemble this knockoff Spirit Gathering Array.”

Gu Xiaoniang blinked, then seemed to grasp the meaning of “knockoff,” and shook her head: “This array is well-made. I examined the talisman inscriptions—your cultivation technique was directly taught by the Venerable, wasn’t it? In your world, where Qi is scarce, at twenty-two you’ve reached this level—it’s remarkable.”

Chen Yan raised an eyebrow... I’ve trained less than a month total—does that make me a chosen child of heaven, the Dao’s illegitimate son?

“Actually, using those cheap jade plaques as the core is wasteful.”

“Not wasteful—they cost next to nothing.”

“I mean it’s inconvenient,” Gu Xiaoniang said, shaking her head. “Don’t you know a better way?”

“Hm?” Chen Yan’s eyes lit up. He bowed formally, his expression solemn: “Please instruct me!”

Gu Xiaoniang smiled faintly, stepped outside, and grabbed Luo Geng, who stood beside the flowerbed’s core: “Return to your true form!”

“...Yes, Master.” Luo Geng dared not resist; his body trembled, then swelled into a giant tortoise the size of a millstone.

Gu Xiaoniang frowned: “Too big. Smaller.”

“...”

The tortoise slowly shrank in her grip, until it reached the size of a palm, then stopped: “Master, my cultivation isn’t strong enough—I can only shrink this much.”

“Fine, it’s enough.” Gu Xiaoniang whispered a quick incantation beside the tortoise’s head; the creature’s eyes instantly glowed with excitement.

Gu Xiaoniang asked slowly: “Understood?”

“Understood!” The tortoise’s voice trembled with fervor: “Thank you, Master, for transmitting this method!”

Gu Xiaoniang placed the tortoise on the flowerbed. It slowly crawled into the array’s core, retracting its head, limbs, and tail into its shell...

The array’s Qi surged back into the core; the shell’s patterns glowed faintly, then dimmed, before releasing countless streams of Qi that flowed gently across the villa courtyard.

Gu Xiaoniang clapped her hands and turned back inside, eyeing Chen Yan, who stood wide-eyed.

“What’s wrong?”

“...This actually works?”

“No suitable artifact? Use this instead—it’s even better than any artifact.”

Chen Yan said slowly: “Aren’t you afraid of being doxxed by the Divine Protection Organization?”

Gu Xiaoniang didn’t understand his words, but guessed he was complaining, and shook her head: “It’s a tortoise spirit. This season, it’s due to hibernate anyway—it sleeps for months.”

“Besides, this array gathers Qi, concentrates it at the core, then releases it. As the core, it’s constantly bathed in flowing Qi—great for its cultivation. And I just taught it a method to refine its body with Qi. Three months here equals years of normal training.”

Seeing Chen Yan still confused, Gu Xiaoniang added: “Spirits aren’t skilled in spells. Aside from a few innate abilities, they rely on their tough bodies. The method I taught it was given to me by a spirit friend on the Prison Platform—it suits it perfectly.”

Seeing Chen Yan silent, Gu Xiaoniang frowned: “What’s the problem?”

“I’m just wondering—who’s going to clean the house tomorrow? The only one who works is now the array’s core.”

Gu Xiaoniang smiled, cracking her knuckles: “I’m guessing it’s you.”

“...Fine, you’re right.” Chen Yan sighed in resignation.

·

The three stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm: Entry, Return to Origin, Ascend to the Platform.

According to Gu Xiaoniang, Chen Yan’s current stage is [Return to Origin], the second stage of cultivation.

Chen Yan guessed his advancement to the second stage came from rescuing Lu Sisi and receiving a massive influx of Qi (karma?) from the Dao.

Pure self-cultivation would’ve taken years.

As Gu Xiaoniang said, Qi in this world is thin—even with top-tier techniques, progress is painfully slow.

That’s likely why the Dao forbids beings above the Celestial Human Realm from existing here.

·

Gu Xiaoniang cultivates combat arts, not spells—but with a Celestial Human master nearby, Chen Yan wouldn’t miss the chance to ask about cultivation.

That night, Chen Yan asked Gu Xiaoniang to guard him while he demonstrated Qi Circulation, practiced his cultivation, then questioned her about cultivation techniques.

Gu Xiaoniang frowned and shook her head: “The Venerable’s cultivation method you received is top-tier—I don’t understand it. My Gu family’s combat arts differ vastly from your cultivation system—I can’t help you with cultivation.”

Chen Yan was disappointed, but Gu Xiaoniang continued: “Still, you’ve entered [Return to Origin]. I sense your Qi flow is slightly sluggish—likely because you just broke through. Right now, you need steady practice: circulate Qi constantly, solidify your foundation.”

Then her eyes brightened: “There is one method—go lie beside Luo Geng at the core, let the Qi wash over you, sleep there for a month, and your cultivation will surge. But there are side effects.”

“Human bodies differ from spirit bodies. This method refines flesh, but it may drastically alter your physique and appearance—you’ll become ugly, bulky, and brutal.”

“And the process is painful.”

Chen Yan glanced at Gu Xiaoniang... Lie beside that old turtle for a month?

“Any other way?” Chen Yan wasn’t afraid of becoming ugly—he just didn’t want to turn into a muscle-bound brute.

“Then spend more time daily practicing your technique, circulating Qi through your meridians—it’s also a way to refine your body, though gentler than lying at the core...”

Chen Yan sighed.

In the end, it’s just like studying—you need to grind problems to get good grades...

“If you care about your looks, you’ll have to cultivate slowly,” Gu Xiaoniang said. “Cultivation has no shortcuts—it’s talent plus diligence.”

She paused, then added slowly: “I began cultivation at five, entered [Entry] in one day, reached [Return to Origin] in two years, then took six full years to reach [Ascend to the Platform]—I was thirteen.”

After that, it took another seven years to break through the Celestial Gate, enter the Transcendent Realm, and reach [Celestial Human]. I broke through thanks to five years of bloody battles on the Prison Platform, refining my spirit through combat.”

I entered Celestial Human at twenty—among the Gu family’s records, I rank among the top three.”

Chen Yan asked: “How long will it take me, at my current pace, to go from [Return to Origin] to [Ascend to the Platform]?”

“I took six years—but I was in the Domain, with Gu family resources.”

“In your world, Qi is thin, and you have no cultivation resources. Even with top talent and a Venerable’s technique... if you reach [Ascend to the Platform] within twenty years, you’ll be lucky.”

Twenty years? That’s ages away... Chen Yan smirked—he’d leave such distant thoughts for later.

“Alright, I’ll start training hard—first, stabilize my [Return to Origin] stage.” Chen Yan checked the time—it was past midnight. He stood up: “Let’s go.”

“Where?” Gu Xiaoniang tensed.

“To beat someone up. That Luo Qing from Luoyun Studio—we agreed, didn’t we?”

Gu Xiaoniang feigned calm: “It’s so late...”

“Doing something wrong? Of course you do it under cover of night—would you do it in broad daylight?”

Fair point... Gu Xiaoniang sighed.

When they stepped out, she wore a padded coat, a hat, and a mask.

Chen Yan studied the woman—she was barely recognizable. He muttered: “You’ve done this before, haven’t you? You’re good at disguise.”

Gu Xiaoniang blushed, but the mask hid it; she turned away quickly: “Stop talking nonsense and move—like you’ve got a disease.”

·

The two left the house and arrived at the commercial street where Luoyun Studio stood.

It was midnight. The streetlights glowed dim yellow; the cold wind howled, and the street was utterly empty.

They reached Luoyun Studio’s front door. The shop was locked. Chen Yan led Gu Xiaoniang around to the left courtyard wall.

After checking for cameras, they leapt over the wall.

Chen Yan used [Decree: Dun Zi Jue], leaping lightly like a swallow. He didn’t see how Gu Xiaoniang crossed—only that one moment she was behind him, the next she stood inside the courtyard.

Inside, the courtyard was pitch black. But Chen Yan noticed the west wing had collapsed into rubble, the main hall half-caved in, its roof pierced by a gaping hole.

There should’ve been a cassia tree in the courtyard—now only a deep pit remained, the tree lying broken across the ground.

“...What happened?” Chen Yan stared, dumbfounded.

“Hmm... Maybe they’re renovating,” Gu Xiaoniang murmured, gazing into the distance.

Who renovates during the New Year? Chen Yan rolled his eyes.

He scanned the courtyard—no signs of occupancy. A thought stirred in his mind.

Whether Luo Qing is renovating or not—I’ll give him a proper “renovation” myself...

·