Chapter 12 – Where’s my Cultivation Golden Finger!

  Within the quiet depths of his meditation chamber, Jun De sat motionless with his back straight and his eyes shut. His breathing was deep and rhythmic as he drew in the ambient Qi brought to him by the spirit-gathering formation.

  Jun De guided the Qi through his meridians with painstaking control as had been illustrated by the Tranquil Cultivation Method set on the ground in front of him. He had cycled Qi through the proper pathways hundreds, if not thousands, of times already, but he still hadn’t broken through to the 1st Level of Qi Condensation.

  The manual said he would know he succeeded when his body underwent a change, Qi visibly gathered in his Dantian, and his body purged the toxins he had accumulated in his mortal life.

  But, so far, all Jun De had felt was disappointment.

  Again, the spiritual coursed through him like a shimmering river of life essence. It flowed along his limbs, his spine and his veins, brimming with vitality. But just as it reached his Dantian, the energy dissolved and vanished into nothingness.

  There was no sudden surge of heat, no sign of gathering Qi or a breakthrough, just emptiness.

  Jun De let out a disappointed sigh and opened his eyes.

  It had been like this for days, then weeks, until finally months passed.

  No matter how diligent Jun De was, no matter how precisely he circulated the Qi inside his body, he couldn’t break through the 1st Level of Qi Condensation. It was as if his Dantian were a cracked container, unable to hold anything.

  ‘My Dantian is a bucket with a hole in it.’ Jun De thought despondently as he stood up and reached for a Fasting Pill he had placed nearby. Feeling it drive away any sense of hunger and leaving him energized, Jun De left his cave and went to sit in a chair in his courtyard.

  With the sun on his face, he tried to calm his emotions and think through what he was doing wrong.

  His handsome face twisted into a grimace of despair, and his flawless features his new body came with did little to console him from his inability to cultivate.

  He would never allow anyone to see him in this emotional state; his calm fa?ade was his biggest defence against being discovered as not belonging to this world!

  But here, safe from prying eyes by the restrictions placed on his cave and the courtyard around it, Jun De let down his guard.

  “Why do I suck at cultivation!?” Jun De shouted, and he slammed his fist onto the arm of the chair he was sitting in. The high-quality wood protested its rough treatment with a creaking sound, and Jun De stopped himself before he broke it.

  “Where’s my Golden Finger? Huh!? Where’s my magical system, or a special cheat item? Why don’t I have an ancient master sealed in my ring!” Jun De exclaimed, tapping the small gold ring against the arm of his chair so that it let out a ringing sound.

  Stubbornly, it refused to respond.

  Jun De lay back on the chair and put his hands over his face in despair.

  “I reincarnated into this body, for what? Just to look good and be useless!?”

  Elder Shen had said that most people who possessed the ability to cultivate could reach the 1st Level of Qi Condensation within a short period of time, at most a few months of trying. Breakthroughs would get progressively harder, but the 1st Level was considered the entry point of the cultivation world!

  Jun De couldn’t show his face in the Outer Sect without reaching the 1st Level. Then, everyone would know he was a fraud, a fake genius who didn’t belong in a cultivation sect. Sure, his body was talented; it was as clear as day.

  So, the fault had to be with Jun De’s soul.

  “I bet the original owner of this body wouldn’t have been so useless!” Jun De cursed, before deciding to rest for the day and try again tomorrow.

  What Jund De didn’t realize, and what the manual couldn’t inform him of, was that the Qi wasn’t disappearing inside his body. It was being refined.

  Each cycle of energy that passed through him wasn’t wasted; it was silently and invisibly being purified. It was honing his meridians, tempering his flesh and strengthening his Dantian. His body was transforming, preparing itself to hold Qi that was purer and denser in quality than most cultivators could ever dream of.

  But, because the ambient spiritual energy around him was weak and impure, the process was agonizingly slow.

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  The morning sun woke Jun De up from his sleep the next day. Rising from the chair with a stretch, he returned to the cultivation chamber to try once more to break through to the 1st Level of Qi Condensation.

  He would give it a few more days, and, if there was still no progress, he would resign himself to visit Elder Shen for instruction, even if that brought about a slew of questions about his lack of talent in cultivation, and knowledge of the basic facts that people in this world took for granted.

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  Unbeknownst to Jun De, the golden glow above his immortal cave had caused quite a stir in the Outer Sect. He hadn’t been able to see it as he rarely left his meditation chamber, and, when he did, he was so distracted by his lack of progress that he could focus on nothing else.

  But for the rest of the Outer Sect Disciples, the name ‘Jun De,’ his heaven-blessed talents, and his extraordinary appearance had been all they could discuss for weeks.

  Disciples whispered to each other during their morning drills, speculating as they exchanged hushed theories about Jun De in the meal hall. Some people claimed that Jun De had skipped Qi Cultivation and had entered Foundation Establishment directly.

  Others insisted that Jun De cultivated a secret technique that had been recognized by the Dao, resulting in his impending ascension to immortality.

  Even the Outer Sect Elders could be seen staring at Jun De’s residence with looks of expectation and curiosity.

  They knew that he hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment, a realm they themselves hadn’t managed to break through to. Otherwise, the Inner Sect Elders would have come to see Jun De themselves, instructing the young man to make his way up the stairs to the Inner Sect.

  But, when they had asked, the Outer Sect Elders had been told to abide by the rules of the Tranquil Mountain Sect and show no favouritism toward Jun De until he left seclusion and demonstrated that he had reached the 7th Level of Qi Condensation.

  Meanwhile, Ren Qiu and Mei Lian had become two of the more prominent members of the new outer Sect Disciples. They had both shown their aptitude by reaching the 1st Level of Qi Condensation only a few days after arriving and were diligent with their training.

  Ren Qiu was still arrogant, but it had been significantly tempered by his run-in with Jun De. To make things even more clearer to the young man, he had only to look at the golden glow above the Upper Ridge to be reminded of the difference between him.

  It had been a shock to the young master to realize that he had been ‘a frog in a well, who knew nothing of the sea.’

  He had grown up in the Ren Clan, a prodigy whom the clan had placed high hopes in him joining the Tranquil Mountain Sect. There had never been any doubt in his mind that he would succeed. In fact, he expected to rank first amongst the new disciples.

  Until he saw Jun De climb the staircase with ease.

  Ren Qiu, who had never pushed himself or needed to exert much effort to excel in anything he did, found himself struggling for every step, to raise his foot one more time in order to match Jun De.

  And he had failed.

  But, rather than rub it in his face or take the opportunity to mock him, as Ren Qiu would have done if their positions were reversed, Jun De forgave him!

  It was beyond ridiculous!

  Jun De was talented, handsome, elegant and humble. What burned Ren Qiu the most was that he started to find himself admiring him!

  Him! Ren Qiu of the Ren Clan, admiring some nobody from a small city on the outskirts!

  Ren Qiu couldn’t imagine what his Father or his Clan Elders would think if they knew.

  Distracted, Ren Qiu left his cultivation chamber and stepped outside into the courtyard where he could still see the golden glow above Jun De’s immortal cave.

  Oddly enough, it seemed to match Jun De’s reclusive and humble nature. It wasn’t blinding or ostentatious. Instead, it was a quiet and persistent presence, like the rising of the sun. It would fade at times, for a few hours or even an entire evening, before returning to normal.

  Each time it did so, it would spark a new tide of debate as people speculated what Jun De was up to, or if he was finally going to leave his courtyard. Most of the Outer Sect Disciples had never seen Jun De before, but the rumours of his appearance and talent had spread far and wide, to the point where Ren Qiu had no doubt his own family had likely heard the name already.

  After watching it for an hour or so, Ren Qiu let out a resigned sigh and returned to his cultivation.

  Despite Jun De’s talents, Ren Qiu had his own pride, and he wouldn’t allow Jun De to easily surpass him.

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  Two days later, in the stillness of Jun De’s cultivation chamber, the spiritual energy subtly shifted. The Qi cycle that he had performed thousands of times already surged through him with a new smoothness and sudden vibrancy.

  Jun De felt it gather and press inward like a tidal wave that converged at his core, where his Dantian was located.

  There was a feeling, like glass shattering or a door being unlocked with a ‘click,’ and Jun De was filled with energy.

  His eyes snapped open as a rush of warmth flooded his limbs. It was like standing in the sunlight after years of being cold. A deep, comforting heat radiated from his core, filling every inch of his body with life.

  “I did it.” He whispered.

  “I did it!” Jun De repeated, much louder this time. He began to laugh with wild, breathless triumph as he leapt to his feet.

  “I finally did it! Screw you, Cheat Mode! I did it on my own!” Jun De yelled, his voice echoing off the stone walls.

  When he calmed down enough to assess his body, he found a few oddities that were different than what the manual said would happen.

  First, there was no purge of filth, no black sludge or oily sweat that marked the expulsion of impurities like the cultivation method said would mark his breakthrough.

  Instead, his skin was slightly smoother, paler and faintly radiant. His features, already handsome, were just a touch more refined and ethereal. His eyes gleamed a little brighter, but otherwise, he looked the same as he had did before.

  The physical changes were subtle, but internally, things were wildly different. His Dantian, which should have been filled with pale, white mist, was instead a swirling pool of golden Qi that was warm and lustrous.

  It pulsed softly like liquid sunlight, and, deep within it, delicate threads of violet were laced through it like lightning in a summer sky.

  “Huh. That…isn’t normal. Or is it? Shit, did I mess something up?” Jun De muttered.

  Having no real idea what to expect from cultivation, both from his own inexperience and his not understanding the cultivation manual, Jun De didn’t know if what had happened was normal or not.

  “I should probably ask Elder Shen about this. And I can finally walk around the Outer Sect and visit the Treasure Pogoda!”