Splitting the Heave

The two different types of qi formed a clear separation in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool.

One side shone a brilliant red, like smoldering hot coals. The fiery qi caused the air on one side of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool to distort. 

On the other side, the air was frigid as the icy qi did its magic. It was so cold that a layer of frost covered half the stone hall Liu Qinglan and Sun Haiwei were in.

The heaven and earth qi in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool started to transform into fire and ice qi.

In the middle of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, a vortex formed due to the vastly different types of qi.

There, the two different types of qi fused to form a mysterious stream of energy that slowly descended into the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool…

Throughout the process, a strange diagram was formed on the surface of the crater as the two types of qi swirled around each other. They seemed to resemble two fishes that were chasing each other’s tails in the eyes of Sun Haiwei and Liu Qinglan.

“Junior Brother Shang adapted really quickly… He managed to find the equilibrium point between the two extremities instantly! He has even started to absorb them!” Sun Haiwei gasped as a smile slowly formed on her face.

She might have changed the way she addressed Shang Xia from her student to her junior brother, but in her eyes, he would always be her student! In fact, he was like a little brother to her.

She was truly happy to see that he was able to adjust his state so quickly!

“Hmm… There’s something interesting about this diagram.” Liu Qinglan muttered as she studied the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool. 

She was a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator after all. Her cultivation level and insights had reached an extremely high level!

Because of the difference between the Azure Origin World and the world Shang Xia came from, she might not know the meaning behind the Yin and Yang Diagram, but she might be able to learn the principle behind it if she received a stroke of inspiration! It was clear that she had realized something the moment Shang Xia started cultivating.

Of course, she was merely shocked by the discovery. Her interest in it quickly waned.

That was because her cultivation had long since surpassed the Martial Extremity Realm. Shang Xia’s experience was like a breath of fresh air, but that was it. She wouldn’t change her entire cultivation process because of it.

She wasn’t the only one who noticed something different. Sun Haiwei managed to discover that there was something special about it. 

As it turned out, Sun Haiwei hasn't broken through to the Martial Intent Realm! Instead, the martial intent she comprehended had reached the grand completion stage. Her combat strength was comparable to a cultivator in the Martial Intent Realm, and that was the power she displayed in the war that went down previously. Now, Liu Qinglan gave her the opportunity to stay by the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, hoping she could gain some benefits or insights.

If she could use the chance to step into the Martial Intent Realm, that would be perfect!

Any Martial Intent Realm cultivator was a huge asset to the Tongyou Institution. They were a source of huge fighting strength and the institution wouldn’t hesitate to pour resources into cultivating them.

…

As the heaven and earth qi became denser and denser in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, Shang Xia found the pressure on his body increasing.

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

The heaven and earth qi might not be something tangible, but it was like a mysterious stream of energy that streamed into his being. 

One had to say that Shang Xia’s physique was much better than cultivators his level. Facing the torrent of energy pouring into him, he could direct it smoothly to every part of his body before refining it effectively. If anyone else was in his position, they would panic when met with the sudden influx of energy.

Shang Xia recalled Liu Qinglan’s warning and paused after he got a general feel of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool. He had to wait for the density of both qis to reach equilibrium before starting his cultivation!

Even so, with the short burst of qi he took in, he felt a huge increase in his strength. He could tell that cultivating in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool was at least twice as effective as cultivating on the Tongyou Peak.

That was because the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool specifically produced the type of heaven and earth qi the cultivator within required! 

Just as the thought formed in Shang Xia’s mind, he discovered that the heaven and earth qi around him started to transform.

The change that happened at the top of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool when Liu Qinglan poured both liquids in started to happen at the bottom of the crater. The heaven and earth qi around Shang Xia slowly separated, and he soon experienced extreme temperatures on both sides of his body.

A searing pain shot through one side of his body and he felt as though he was turning into a human barbeque. Despite the sharp pain, his skin and clothes didn’t show any signs of burning up. 

On the other half of his body, the opposite happened. He felt a bone-chilling pain stabbing straight into his bones, but his body showed no signs of freezing.

At that moment, a soft ripple traveled through the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool and rang in his mind. “Focus on circulating your energy and absorbing the fire and ice qi! Do not be distracted by anything else!” 

Even without her reminder, Shang Xia would have done the same. He started to circulate his inner qi.

Every time it made a cycle around his body, he would absorb a portion of the qi around him. The pain that he felt would be slightly alleviated.

After the short moment of respite, the searing pain returned. This time, with greater intensity.

Shang Xia had to circulate his inner qi as quickly as he could in order to avoid the suffering.

The cycle continued on and on, and the inner qi in Shang Xia’s body started to move at an increasingly fast rate. Every time the density of fire and ice qi around his body increased, the more he would absorb. His cultivation seemed to advance with the speed of a rocket zooming into space.

…

The faster he refined the fire and ice qi around him, the greater the effects on his body. He was like a black hole that sucked up heaven and earth qi endlessly.

Above the crater, Liu Qinglan and Sun Haiwei could feel that the circulation of the fire and earth qi in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool was growing faster and faster. The vortex that formed on the surface seemed to extend even deeper as the strange phenomenon of the rotating fishes at the surface became even clearer.

Liu Qinglan turned to Sun Haiwei and asked, “When the three of you entered the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, how long did each of you manage to last in there? How much essence qi stones did you guys use up?” 

Sun Haiwei thought for a second and replied, “I managed to stay there for six hours and I used one-third of the essence qi stones. The two of them stayed for five hours and used up the remainder of the essence qi stones. However, the heaven and earth qi produced by the formation wasn’t fully absorbed by us. A portion of it remained after we were done.” 

“Take a guess. How much do you think he would use?” Liu Qinglan smirked.

“Junior Brother Shang is a genius and his foundations are incredibly solid. He might be able to stay down there for a much longer time than me, and he should use up a lot more of the essence qi stones. My guess is that he would be able to stay there for eight hours and he would use close to forty percent of the heaven and earth qi alone.” 

Liu Qinglan smiled and nodded slowly. “That might be a little exaggerated, but I think it’s close. The brat is pretty strong. However, he might not be strong enough to outdo all of you.” 

As the two of them spoke, the essence qi in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool dropped by an entire level. The essence qi stones on the second layer were revealed.

The essence qi stones at the very top started to fade and cracks formed on their surface.

The sudden change caused the faces of Liu Qinglan and Sun Haiwei to change dramatically.

“What?! That’s too fast! Not even two hours had passed since he started, and the heaven and earth qi in the first layer had already been used up!” Sun Haiwei gasped.

She turned her head to look at Liu Qinglan, only to be met with a look of amazement on the instructor’s face.

Muttering to herself, Liu Qinglan tried to reason it out with herself. “It probably has something to do with his cultivation method. He might be able to absorb heaven and earth qi quicker than other people… Yep, that’s an effect of the Triple Mystery Polarity Art…” 

Confident that her guess was right, Liu Qinglan continued, “Everyone’s dantian has a limit. They can only contain so much inner qi! From the looks of it, his dantian would be filled soon. He might emerge from the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool in less than six hours.” 

Sun Haiwei thought about it and felt that Liu Qinglan’s reason made sense.