Chapter 59: Breathing Method, Qualitative Change

On the ground, over a dozen bottles of Chi Jin Dan were lined up, quite extravagantly.

Xu Xiaoshou had already made his preparations, but he found himself caught in a dilemma.Through the "Huxi Zhifa," he could drastically shorten the original refining time of about a month to just two or three hours.Last time, he had cultivated this way, but back then, his "Huxi Zhifa" was at Lv.6.After various subsequent experiments, he had basically deduced that every passive skill breaking through to the Xian Tian level would bring about a qualitative change.So, would "Huxi Zhifa" also become controllable once it reached the Xian Tian level?For example, could he adjust the amount of scorching energy absorbed at once...?If so, that would clearly greatly reduce the pain and risk.But what if the qualitative change led not to that, but to even more intense pleasure?Xu Xiaoshou's body shuddered suddenly—this was too terrifying.He glanced again at the red interface, where the three major skill sections held a total of six passive skills, five of which were already at the Xian Tian level.The only one still at the Houtian level stood out glaringly.Xu Xiaoshou had a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder...

"Pushing forward it is—I can't let fear stop me. I'll need it to upgrade on its own later anyway!"

Xu Xiaoshou gritted his teeth and decisively exchanged for five skill points, dumping them all into "Huxi Zhifa.""Huxi Zhifa (Houtian Lv.7).""Huxi Zhifa (Houtian Lv.8).""Huxi Zhifa (Houtian Lv.9).""Huxi Zhifa (Houtian Lv.10).""Huxi Zhifa (Xian Tian Lv.1)."

The information bar refreshed rapidly. The first few updates felt fine to Xu Xiaoshou, with no major changes.But as the last one appeared, his body jolted violently.He felt as if he had transformed into a spirit-gathering array, with Ling Qi being drawn in and forming a misty haze around his body.In the next instant, every pore on his skin opened wide, and every inch of his body began independently inhaling and exhaling the spiritual mist.His nose was even more dramatic—just a casual breath created two small whirlwinds of Ling Qi.In that single moment, the amount of Ling Qi absorbed equaled what he used to gain from sleeping an entire night!Xu Xiaoshou was completely thrown off; his hands on his knees clenched tightly, his expression twisted as if he was desperately holding something back...

"Mmm!"

His body trembled slightly.

"Oh!"

Xu Xiaoshou clenched his jaw tight.

"Ah~... Ha!"

Xu Xiaoshou struggled desperately— as a man, he had to hold on!He leaped to his feet and threw a punch, the Ling Qi force blasting the door open.After letting out a heavy breath, his pores closed up, and Xu Xiaoshou wore an expression of relief, like he'd survived a disaster."Thankfully, it's not a big issue. I can keep cultivating on my own from now on."From his personal test, the pleasure had intensified several times over, but after the previous sessions of training, he had built up a strong enough resistance to keep it under control.

Xu Xiaoshou pulled out a Ling Jing crystal...After thinking it over, he put it away and swapped it for a Lian Ling Dan."Let's just dive in—better to get it over with quickly!"He extended his hand as far as possible, tilted his head back, flared his nostrils, and took a slight inhale."Sss!"The Lian Ling Dan vanished in an instant.Xu Xiaoshou: ???

He stumbled, his mind reeling— he'd held it so far away...There was no time to think; the terrifying surge of Ling Qi had already rushed from his nose into his Qi Hai, and the intense pleasure exploded throughout his body."Oh~"Xu Xiaoshou's solemn expression lasted only a second before melting away; his legs clamped together, wrists flipped outward, and he collapsed like a damsel in distress."Mmm, mmm..."As his body twitched, waves of pleasure crashed over him relentlessly, impossible to stop.Xu Xiaoshou flailed like a dead fish on the ground, and every time his body touched the floor, the sensitivity amplified..."Uh, uh!""So good!""Help... help me!"...

A short while later,Xu Xiaoshou finally returned to normal. He gazed at the Dan bottles on the ground with lingering fear.From his test, absorbing the Lian Ling Dan now brought pleasure that had increased by about three or four times, and he assumed Chi Jin Dan would be similar.Xu Xiaoshou had it figured out.For tenth-grade Dans like Lian Ling Dan and Chi Jin Dan, even with the improved level of "Huxi Zhifa," the increase in pleasure was limited.The Ling Li contained in a single Dan was only so much, and Xu Xiaoshou had reached the eighth realm of cultivation—he wasn't at the stage where absorbing just one or two Lian Ling Dans could lead to a breakthrough anymore.Well, at least a dozen would be needed...But that wasn't the point. His current cultivation progress was already fast enough; he wasn't in a rush.The key was that he'd discovered Dans of this grade only produced a limited amount of pleasure.For instance, with the Lian Ling Dan just now, the pleasure had indeed multiplied by three or four times, but Xu Xiaoshou could sense that was its absolute limit.Even if it intensified further, it probably wouldn't exceed five times...And within that range, he could handle it completely.Of course, venting emotions through sounds was unavoidable...Hmm, a real man needs to let loose sometimes.This was solid intel he could use as a reference for devouring other Dans in the future.

What's more, he found that at the Xian Tian level, "Huxi Zhifa" no longer relied solely on nasal breathing.Every pore on his body could now inhale and exhale the world's Ling Qi.This was incredibly powerful—his cultivation speed had skyrocketed by more than ten times!The idea he'd envisioned about freely controlling the absorption amount had also been partially realized...Specifically, Xu Xiaoshou could manipulate his pores to decide whether to open or close them.When fully engaged in cultivation, he could even form a layer of spiritual mist around his body; but if he only used his nose to breathe, the speed increase was just two or three times."Excellent!"Xu Xiaoshou looked at the six Xian Tian-level passive skills in his mind and smiled with satisfaction.If he treated them all as Ling skills, he was basically a master with six innate Ling skills—and they had unlimited potential for growth!"All set, just waiting for the final push.""Next, it's time to get rid of this thing!"Xu Xiaoshou eyed the "Jin Zhao Fire Seed" above his Qi Hai—he'd put up with it for far too long, forcing him to sleep on the floor instead of a bed.Forget it being just a fire seed—even if it were a fire walnut, he'd smash it to pieces!He casually picked up a Chi Jin Dan and held his breath.In the next second, veins bulged on his forehead, and his neck tensed rigidly.Accompanied by intense pain, a faint red mist sprayed from his body, carrying a bloody scent but mostly the smell of scorching heat.This was the new-style "Huxi Zhifa"—using his body to... exhale!A flash of joy crossed Xu Xiaoshou's eyes. When he shared the exhalation with his body instead of just his nose, the pain decreased significantly!He didn't even need the Chi Jin Dan anymore; the distributed damage was instantly repaired by the omnipresent "Sheng Sheng Bu Xi."Xu Xiaoshou clenched his teeth. "Come back to me!"He fully activated his body's suction, pulling the red mist that was about to dissipate back in. This time, it was completely suppressed by "Huxi Zhifa" and instantly merged into his Qi Hai.The efficiency...It had more than doubled!Xu Xiaoshou recalled that during previous re-absorption, this scorching energy had to circulate through his body's meridians for a full cycle, causing more harm. Now, that step was completely skipped!No wonder "Huxi Zhifa" at the Xian Tian level was more beneficial than detrimental!