Hours slipped by unnoticed before Qin Xuan felt a bone-chilling cold pour straight down from the crown of his head, plunging directly into his dantian.
Wherever that frigid chill passed, it felt as though some invisible shackle had been shattered.
'A hidden aperture!'
A sudden flash of insight struck him, and his inner vision pierced deep into his dantian.
A secluded aperture—shaped like a crescent moon, dark and fathomless—was currently drinking in and expelling the spiritual qi within his body, steadily transforming it into yin-cold magic power.
It was an extraordinary sight, one that none of the Daoist texts he had read in the Scripture Pavilion could explain.
Qin Xuan opened his eyes to find the room dim, moonlight already streaming through the doorway.
He rose and flipped open the copy of *Huachi Tongqi* on his desk. Authored by Perfected One Jiuya, this Daoist text was a compilation drawn from various records of the Twelve-Storied Tower of Qi Refining, long regarded as a treasured primer for Qi Refining cultivators.
Suspecting that his memory had failed him, he followed the table of contents to the "Embryonic Breathing Section." There it was written plain as day:
*"When a Qi Refining cultivator attains Embryonic Breathing, the spirit may govern the qi, drawing spirit into qi and wrapping qi around spirit until they fuse into one whole. Only then is the initial hidden aperture of Qi Refining obtained, known as the Xuanying. Once the Xuanying sprouts forth, one may practice the method of expelling the turbid and taking in the clear..."*
According to this, the only aperture that could be opened during the Qi Refining stage was the Xuanying, and even that required first reaching the ninth level, the realm of Embryonic Breathing.
Yet here he was, with his Xuanying Aperture unopened, having instead unsealed a Taiyin Aperture within his dantian.
This...
He leafed through the Daoist text, feeling an inevitable trace of unease.
Among the cultivation methods of the various sects, those who practiced yin-yielding arts mostly opened the Shaoyin Aperture, whose qi was gentle and progressed step by step.
The Taiyin Aperture, by contrast, was of extreme yin and supreme cold. Ordinary cultivators would never dare open it lightly; only the most peerless talents of the demonic and ghostly paths took such an aperture as their foundation.
Its counterpart, the Taiyang Aperture, corresponded largely to the five thunder arts: Shenxiao, Qingwei, Tianxin, Zhengyi, and Donghua.
Pacing about as he turned the pages, Qin Xuan found himself stepping out into the courtyard without realizing it. Having skimmed through *Huachi Tongqi* several times, he turned up nothing.
"Perfected One Jiuya isn't reliable at all. Claiming to have compiled the Qi Refining guides of every sect, yet he missed my exact situation entirely."
Considering how sinister and underworldly this thing felt, Qin Xuan felt a chill run down his spine. Curiosity really could kill the cat.
As for the benefits, aside from inner vision...
Huh?
Qin Xuan suddenly realized that after merely half a day of cultivation, he had actually reached the perfection of the sixth level of Qi Gathering.
This... truly lived up to its sinister nature.
He attempted to channel the Nine Nethers Mind Technique, guiding his spiritual qi once more into the Taiyin Aperture. Like boiling water poured over snow, the spiritual qi dissolved away, transforming into a hazy grey current—cold, viscous, and ethereal.
Just as he was pondering it, the current completed nine revolutions in his dantian and abruptly surged outward!
*Whoosh—!*
A plume of black mist erupted from his dantian, churning and swelling until, in the blink of an eye, it condensed into a fiend barely a foot tall. Jet-black from head to toe, its facial features were a blurred smudge, save for a pair of small, crimson eyes that rolled greedily about, brimming with insatiable hunger.
The moment it took shape, it let out a bizarre screech and lunged outward.
Qin Xuan gave a start and hastily chased after it.
The fiend threw itself onto the courtyard wall and opened its maw to suck. As if made of soft bean curd, a large chunk of the wall was bitten away and ground into dust with a flurry of crunching bites.
It then darted back into the courtyard, gathered several bamboo stools into its embrace, and devoured them in a few bites, leaving not even a stray bamboo shaving behind.
"Vile creature, halt!"
His temper flaring, Qin Xuan launched a kick just as it was about to bite into the stone table, sending the fiend tumbling head over heels across the dirt.
Only then did the fiend look toward Qin Xuan, trembling as it patted the dirt from its body.
Its expression was the spitting image of a dog that had run wild outside all day, only to return the next morning and find its master waiting at the threshold with a stick in hand.
Seeming to understand it had done wrong, it sidled back toward him step by step.
Qin Xuan glanced at the massive bite missing from the courtyard wall, then at the vanished bamboo stools, and finally fixed his gaze on the fiend, extending a hand slightly.
Helpless against his will, the fiend was drawn through the air straight into his palm.
A slight push of the Taiyin Soul Transformation Art would be all it took to obliterate it.
The fiend whimpered and trembled violently, begging for mercy. Qin Xuan did not destroy it, merely ruffling its head. It felt surprisingly soft, like a tuft of cloud.
"From now on, you are not to eat anything without my permission."
The fiend nodded vigorously, circling him in excitement.
Qin Xuan circulated his technique, recalling the fiend into his Taiyin Aperture.
Yuansong Temple placed few constraints on the cultivation paths its disciples pursued.
Many in the temple hailed from cultivation clans and naturally possessed ancestral arts. So long as one obeyed the sect rules and refrained from evil paths, no one cared if a disciple practiced minor arts like Five Ghosts Transportation or the manipulation of yin spirits.
At most, one would simply be frowned upon by the more rigid elders and branded as pursuing heterodox paths.
Fiends were among the most bizarre of demonic entities. A few were born of inner demons and stray thoughts, while most originated in the nether soil of the Nine Nethers or near the Yellow Springs River in the Netherworld.
Since this fiend was cultivated through the Nine Nethers technique, he would need to study its uses carefully.
Taking several swigs of tiger ginger spirit dew, Qin Xuan decided to forgo sleep for the night. He first examined the evil bead, pill furnace, pill recipe, and copper coin obtained from Patriarch Geng's cave abode and Jinyanshu, then sat cross-legged to circulate the *Lesser Heavenly Circulation Mind Technique*.
His cultivation that night proved extraordinarily efficient, nearly draining an entire gourd of specially prepared spirit dew.
***
The day after Monk Jinghui met his end at the Yunxiu Cold Pool.
Basking in the morning light, Qin Xuan arrived at the sect bazaar. He first browsed the stalls where fellow disciples traded among themselves, but unable to find the spirit herbs he needed, he headed straight for Hundred Herbs Hall.
Run directly by Yuansong Temple, purchases here could be partially offset using temple contribution.
Disciples could also trade excess spirit herbs for contribution points.
"Senior Brother Qin."
As soon as Qin Xuan stepped inside, a tall, thin disciple called out to him. The disciples on duty at Hundred Herbs Hall rotated frequently, but Qin Xuan had some impression of this junior brother; his name seemed to be Zeng Mu.
He gave a slight nod and handed over a recipe.
Written on it were duck-tongue vine and curled lily stamen, precisely the auxiliary ingredients required for the Three Flowers Qi-Subduing Pill.
Having attained the perfection of Qi Gathering, this pill suited him perfectly.
"Junior Brother Zeng, are there none available?"
Zeng Mu showed a conflicted look. "In our Pingyuan Commandery, herbs tend to grow better on the northern, shaded slopes of the mountains. These two herbs mostly grow on the sunny, southern slopes. We had some in stock, but Elder Ji An sent someone to buy them all up."
He gave an honest, simple smile and added, "If Senior Brother can wait a moment, I could go to Elder Ji's place to ask for you; perhaps he might spare a little. Otherwise, if you wait for the next delivery of supplies, there's no telling which day they'll arrive."
"Forget it." Qin Xuan took back the recipe and turned to leave Hundred Herbs Hall.
Anyone else might have spared a portion, but this Ji An was in league with Shen Yunfei and bore a grudge against him; there was no way he would concede anything.
He cast a sidelong glance at Junior Brother Zeng. This lad was not being honest.
Back when Qin Xuan had listened to the Grand Master lecture on the *Lesser Heavenly Circulation Mind Technique* in the Scripture Hall, Elder Ji An, who had been sitting in, had tried to make things difficult for him. In the end, the elder failed to embarrass him and only humiliated himself instead. The bad blood between the two sides was hardly a secret in the temple.
Wherever there were people, there would be strife. Qin Xuan found it neither surprising nor alarming, but when the time came for a reckoning, he would show no mercy.
Not long after Qin Xuan left the temple grounds, three figures filed into Hundred Herbs Hall...
"Senior Brother Shen!"
Zeng Mu hurried forward to greet them with immense reverence.
The man leading the group wore hemp robes. He was tall and gaunt as withered bamboo, with a slight hunch in his back and prominent shoulder blades; when he walked, one shoulder rose higher than the other, giving the constant impression that he was peering sideways from the shadows.
His eyes were not small, but the whites far outweighed the dark pupils, causing a fierce glint to flicker whenever they moved, much like a stalking leopard.
This man was none other than Shen Yunfei, an outstanding figure among the core disciples of Yuansong Temple.
Zeng Mu recounted everything that had just occurred.
The corners of Shen Yunfei's mouth pulled downward into a smile. The three wisps of black beard below his chin seemed rooted deep into his flesh, twitching before he even spoke. "Well done. Deliver the duck-tongue vine and curled lily stamen to Elder Ji's place now. The elder will reward you."
"Thank you, Senior Brother!"
Clearly accustomed to Shen Yunfei's temperament, Zeng Mu beamed and backed away.
"It's merely two spirit herbs—what's the point of such petty obstruction?"
Behind Shen Yunfei, a youth with triangular eyes spoke with a trace of disdain. He continued, "If this is the only sort of trick you have to deal with Qin and Zhao, I'm afraid I cannot cooperate with you."
This triangular-eyed youth was Qian Fan, a disciple of Fengling Temple in the neighboring Chuanlai Commandery, which also served as a Lower Court under Guanjiang Mountain.
The two temples maintained regular exchanges, and Qian Fan had become acquainted with Shen Yunfei when he was dispatched here on business.
Beside them stood another burly fellow named Zhou Cang, also one of the thirteen core disciples of Yuansong Temple.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Shen Yunfei raised a hand to stop him.
"Zhao Huaimin is a formidable rival, and this Qin Xuan is held in high regard by the temple head, so he cannot be underestimated either. The struggles between Qi Refining cultivators hinge on the subtlest details. Two spirit herbs may seem trivial, yet they can disrupt one's frame of mind.
"When one's thoughts are blocked, inner demons arise. And in an instant, an inner demon can manifest into a fiend, devouring the physical body entirely."
Shen Yunfei chuckled. "Achieving victory without drawing blades—is that not a superior approach?"
"Tch." Qian Fan sneered, thoroughly unconvinced. "Far too petty. If you want to rob them, rob them; if you want to kill them, kill them. I prefer direct action and have little interest in your child's play. As it happens, I must return to Fengling Temple. Our prior agreement is hereby void."
They spoke through voice transmission, so outsiders saw only the three standing together without hearing a word.
Qian Fan turned and strode out of Hundred Herbs Hall, taking three large strides.
Behind him, Shen Yunfei called out casually, "Brother Qian, slow down. I have a lucrative opportunity for you."
Paying no heed, Qian Fan took another three large strides.
Shen Yunfei's leopard-like eyes widened, a hint of urgency finally breaking through his composure as he called out, "Fellow Daoist Qian, please stay your steps...!"
Chapter 14