Chapter 349: Breakthrough, Five Qi Advancing Toward the Origin!

Inside the Wu Quxing Hall, starlight poured like a waterfall, serene and profound.

Chen Mu sat upon the Starlit Cushion at the center of the great hall, clearing his mind, sinking his spirit into his body, carefully contemplating the key to Break Through Realm from "Three Flowers Converging at the Crown" to "Five Qi Advancing Toward the Origin."

The Earth Altar realm's "Three Flowers Converging at the Crown" involves refining the "Essence, Qi, and Spirit" to their peak, condensing the three floral shadows atop the head, restoring the Three Primordials to their rightful places, and laying the foundation.

The "Five Qi Advancing Toward the Origin" builds upon this, activating the five zang organs and their corresponding spirits—"Essence, Spirit, Soul, Corporeal Soul, and Will"—to produce a mysterious resonance, each settling into its proper place, harmonizing and unifying, ultimately achieving the supreme state of gathering body and mind, mind unswayed, emotions unattached to external things, and merging into a single primordial whole.

Specifically:

The heart stores the Spirit; when heart and spirit are calm, untroubled by external things, the spiritual terrace remains perpetually clear.

The liver stores the Soul; when soul-force is condensed, neither scattered nor lost, perception becomes keen enough to discern the finest details.

The spleen stores the Will; when will is firm, thoughts flow unimpeded, without obstruction.

The lungs store the Corporeal Soul; when corporeal soul-force is strong, sensation is acute, body and soul unified.

The kidneys store Essence; when essence is full, blood and qi are vigorous, life thrives.

These five must each "return to their place," achieving perfect balance and circulation.

Among them, the "Spirit" and "Will" are the most mysterious, involving the tempering and mastery of heart and will—key difficulties in the breakthrough.

The "Essence" aspect, due to Chen Mu's extraordinarily solid physical foundation and dragon-like blood and qi, was by far the easiest.

The "Soul" and "Corporeal Soul" lay between difficulty and ease, requiring subtle comprehension through the interplay of spirit and body.

As the inheritance site within the Star Palace corresponding to Wu Quxing, the hall gathered pure starlight energy and a unique cultivation field, offering incomparable aid in refining a warrior's essence, qi, and spirit.

Within it, Chen Mu felt as if resonating with the stars above, his spirit empty and lucid, perception sharp.

First, he activated the vast, ocean-like essence and blood qi within his body; "kidneys storing essence" achieved perfection and returned to its place, his blood and qi faintly echoing like tides, life surging forth.

Next, he refined the seven corporeal souls, strengthening the body's resonance with cosmic qi; "lungs storing corporeal soul" stabilized accordingly, and with each breath, he seemed to naturally exchange qi with the external world.

Then, drawing upon Wu Quxing's inheritance for spiritual refinement and his own already powerful spirit-soul, "liver storing soul" came effortlessly; within his mind-sea, soul-light condensed, greatly expanding the range and precision of his perception.

For "spleen storing will," Chen Mu recalled his past—from humble beginnings, step by step, through countless battles and trials—that had forged his will into tempered steel, unbreakable.

With a thought, his will sliced like a blade, effortlessly severing illusions and returning to its rightful place.

Finally, the most difficult: "heart storing spirit."

Chen Mu closed his eyes, inwardly observing, sinking his spirit to the deepest depths of his mind-sea.

There, he must subdue the mind-monkey, bind the will-horse, and silence his restless spirit completely—unmoved by external conditions, undisturbed by internal thoughts.

He activated the Great Luo Martial Scripture, contemplating the mystery of celestial star-force, sensing the faint yet profound connection between himself, the Star Palace, and the cosmos.

Fleeting thoughts rose like clouds, came and dispersed; his mind-lake gradually calmed, his spiritual terrace grew ever clearer.

This process consumed Chen Mu exactly two days.

When the last trace of restlessness was utterly purified, his spirit settled completely, like an ancient well without ripples, reflecting all things yet untouched by them—"heart storing spirit" was finally perfected!

In an instant, Chen Mu's five zang organs resonated together, emitting mysterious dao-sounds.

Essence, Spirit, Soul, Corporeal Soul, and Will found their perfect positions, resonating and cycling in flawless harmony.

A sensation of primordial unity, perfect and unbroken, filled his entire body!

All prerequisite conditions for breaking through "Five Qi Advancing Toward the Origin" were fulfilled.

Achieved!

Without hesitation, Chen Mu used his Break Through Realm card.

Hum!

The card erupted in soft, mysterious light, instantly dissolving into countless shimmering streams inscribed with rule-characters, merging into Chen Mu's limbs, organs, mind-sea, and spirit-soul.

An indescribable, wondrous sensation surged within him!

Chen Mu seemed to "see" his newly balanced Essence, Spirit, Soul, Corporeal Soul, and Will, guided and empowered by this mysterious rule-force, beginning a deeper fusion and transcendence.

The qi of the five zang organs was activated, naturally flowing and harmonizing toward the central "Huang Ting," following the most fundamental principles of heaven and earth.

In this profound and mysterious state, the realm barriers and thresholds that once required painstaking effort, risked backlash, or even birthed demonic thoughts now melted and pierced through like snow beneath sunlight, silent and effortless, under the power of the Break Through Realm card.

No earth-shaking commotion. No agonizing struggle.

Everything unfolded as naturally as water finding its course.

As if merely stepping across a threshold long since smoothed.

When the countless streams fully merged into his body, indistinguishable from his primordial essence—

Boom!

A force far more vast, pure, and primordially unified than during "Three Flowers Converging at the Crown" erupted from Chen Mu's body.

Instantly filling the entire Wu Quxing Hall.

Earth Altar realm—Five Qi Advancing Toward the Origin!

Promotion successful!

Chen Mu clearly felt that the "Spirit Bridge" connecting his lower dantian sea to his upper mind-sea had become immensely smooth and resilient.

True qi no longer required deliberate cultivation to form a self-sustaining, endless, perfect cycle within his body!

With each breath, he seemed to exchange the most fundamental cosmic qi with heaven and earth; his true qi recovery rate far surpassed before.

The total volume of his internal true qi surged nearly twofold at the moment of breakthrough.

And its quality became denser and purer; within the pale golden true qi, faint five-colored luminescence swirled, embodying the subtle principles of the Five Phases' generation and restraint.

Within his mind-sea, his spirit-soul power also surged; his perception range expanded by more than double, his spiritual force more condensed and agile, his thinking speed faster, his control over his own power and the external environment reaching an entirely new level.

His entire demeanor transformed from within outward—less sharp, less glaring; more profound as the ocean, unified as the primordial.

Standing there, he seemed fused with the surrounding environment, yet stood apart, transcendent.

Long moments passed; Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes, his pupils holding the birth and death of starry rivers, profound beyond measure.

With a flicker of thought, he activated the specialized cultivation art for concealing his realm: the Gui Cang Hidden Spirit Scripture.

His aura instantly receded like a tide, withdrawing inward, finally stabilizing at the Earth Altar realm's Spirit Bridge level.

Breakthrough complete.

It's time to head north and see the Qilin Armory.

Chen Mu stood up, stretched his limbs, and felt a surging power within him, like a river rushing forward.

After sensing it for a moment, he tidied his attire and stepped toward the hall's door.

Starlight trailed behind him in a faint path, then the great door of Wu Quxing Hall closed silently, the interior returning to stillness, with only starlight flowing eternally…