Chapter 81: Nangong Li’s Disappointment

"Are you truly this dull?" Nangong Li finally lost interest in Qiu Han, turning away and shutting his eyes once more. Yet just then, he suddenly glanced back, eyes snapping open, a trace of astonishment flickering across his features as his attention fell again on Qiu Han.

"Only half an hour?"

Seated cross-legged atop the great stone, Qiu Han abruptly felt a tingling sensation in his meridians, as though ants were crawling beneath his skin. But as soon as it appeared, the feeling vanished. Inwardly pondering, Qiu Han used his spiritual sense to observe his dantian. The vortex of spiritual power there had already grown to the size of a grown man's fist, its density astonishingly intense.

This far surpassed what a Qi Refining cultivator could possibly contain. Even at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, most cultivators' spiritual vortexes were only slightly larger than an egg, and the concentration of power nowhere near as overwhelming as Qiu Han's. No wonder that, despite only being at the peak of Qi Refining, his strength was already comparable to those in the Foundation Establishment stage.

Though he owed some of this progress to Gu Sui Feng's guidance, even more was due to the extraordinary encounters he had experienced during the past half year of sect trials.

"So you didn't truly comprehend my technique in just half an hour after all. Useless! Worthless! In my youth, my talent was legendary. Now, tens of thousands of years have passed, and each generation of cultivators is weaker than the last. All of them—useless!" The rare flash of surprise on Nangong Li's face faded, replaced by scorn and a glimmer of disappointment in his gaze.

Another incense stick's time passed. Qiu Han remained unmoving atop the stone, eyes closed in meditation. His mind replayed Nangong Li's cryptic incantation again and again. Suddenly, he felt that same crawling sensation in his meridians, but as before, it disappeared before he could grasp it. Undeterred, Qiu Han silently recited the incantation again, striving to seize the essence of the technique.

"One more incense stick, and an hour will have passed. It seems a miracle is unlikely... Perhaps my hopes for him were too high. With his aptitude, he could never master the essentials of this art in such a short time, let alone fully comprehend it... Ah, Nangong Li, when will your cultivation be restored, when will you return to the stars?"

Time slipped by. Nangong Li no longer focused all his attention on Qiu Han; disappointment had set in. In truth, he had withheld the most crucial aspect of the technique, convinced that no matter how extraordinary Qiu Han's talent, at his current level it would be impossible to grasp. That realm was simply beyond a mere Qi Refining novice.

Another half incense stick passed, and now less than that remained before the hour was up. If Qiu Han failed to master the technique, he would be forced to attempt a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage here and now—a perilous endeavor, but the only option left. Otherwise, he faced a violent death as his power overwhelmed his body.

Sweat began to bead on Qiu Han's forehead. Just then, the crawling sensation arose once more. This time, he concentrated wholly on the feeling, and at last seemed to catch a hint of its secret. He strained to recall how his body had changed each time the sensation came and went.

"Spiritual power and spiritual sense—they are intangible, but undeniably real. So that's it! I thought the Devouring Spirit and Condensing Mind Supreme Technique relied on spiritual sense to devour power, but I was mistaken. The essence of this art lies in one thing: the 'void'—neither truly empty, nor wholly real. Grasp this, and spiritual sense can merge with spiritual power, transforming excess energy into spiritual sense."

Qiu Han's eyes snapped open, a strange gleam flashing within them, then closed again as he pondered this new insight.

"Spiritual power reaches a limit, but in all my cultivation, I've never heard of spiritual sense becoming saturated. Even now, at the peak of Qi Refining, my spiritual sense rivals that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet my sea of consciousness shows no sign of being full. This means the strength of spiritual sense is unbounded!"

"If this technique lets me transform energy into spiritual sense, then in theory, a cultivator could refine their sense to an unimaginable degree. No wonder Nangong Li once said that, at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, his spiritual sense rivaled those of the Soul Ascension realm."

Qiu Han's eyes opened and closed again as the allotted hour drew ever closer. In the Immortal Compass space, Nangong Li watched, a mocking smile on his lips but disappointment plain in his eyes—disappointment in Qiu Han.

"Less than a cup of tea's time remains. Still unwilling to give up? It's futile. After so many millennia, I finally encountered someone destined for the Immortal Compass and pinned all my hopes on him, only for his talent to be so mediocre. With such gifts, can he ever reach the Nascent Soul stage? When will I escape this compass and regain my power?"

Nangong Li muttered to himself, his expression despondent, then gradually regained his composure.

"I'll give you this last cup of tea's worth of time. If you still cannot master the essence of Devouring Spirit and Condensing Mind Supreme Technique, perhaps it is simply fate."

On the great stone amid the forest, Qiu Han was drenched in sweat. The vortex of power within him began spinning rapidly, drawing the ambient spiritual energy toward him—a clear sign of impending breakthrough. Here, in the misty marshlands, if this continued much longer, it would surely attract the attention of other beasts.

"If this art can merge spiritual power into spiritual sense, could the reverse be possible? If I can think of it, then surely Nangong Li, its creator, had thought of it as well. Yet in the incantation he gave me, there was no mention of this. Perhaps he is concealing something."

Eyes closed, Qiu Han fell into deep contemplation, yet remained acutely aware of the changes within himself and in the surrounding energies. Within the Immortal Compass space, Nangong Li's gaze was already drifting away from Qiu Han. If only he had known Qiu Han's thoughts at that moment, he would have been astounded.