Chapter 38: Dormant Physique

Several hours passed...

Neolan’s body remained completely motionless as he continued lying unconscious on the ground. The intense cultivation process had pushed both his body and consciousness to their limits, leaving him completely incapable of waking up on his own.

Only after a full six hours had passed did one of his fingers twitch slightly. The moment it moved, Neolan’s entire figure suddenly shot upright as he gasped for air and began panting heavily.

"Huff... Huff... I-I am still alive!" He raised his voice slightly as he looked around, and only after confirming that he was still inside the hut did he finally relax.

The danger he had just subjected himself to had been far greater than he initially expected, and even with his experience from his previous life, he had nearly lost consciousness permanently. ’I think it might be because of Bifrost being fused with my soul...’ Neolan thought as he tried to find a reasonable explanation for why he had managed to survive the process.

He couldn’t think of any other major factor that could have helped him withstand such an extreme strain, especially when he had directly sent Spiritual Qi into his heart and brain at the same time. Although he wasn’t completely certain, Bifrost’s connection to his soul seemed like the most probable explanation for now.

’Anyways, let’s see what I gained from all of that.’ Neolan immediately shifted his attention toward himself and quickly noticed the changes within his body. ’Hmm, I can already feel that my Sea of Consciousness has been opened, but... what’s this strange feeling in my heart?’

The moment he questioned that internally, the System Window that had disappeared earlier suddenly reappeared before his eyes. The familiar mechanical text immediately reminded him of the message he had seen before losing consciousness. Neolan narrowed his eyes as he read it carefully.

[Host has awakened his Dormant Physique through unlocking the "Heart Aperture"!]

’Huh? Heart Aperture?’

Neolan frowned slightly as he had never heard of such a thing before. He searched through every memory he possessed, including the knowledge he had obtained during his previous life, but he couldn’t find even the faintest recollection of a term related to a Heart Aperture.

After several seconds of trying to remember, he could only sigh and stop wasting time on something he clearly had no information about. He shifted his attention back toward the System Window and decided to simply ask it directly, ’Alright, what’s this Heart Aperture? And what exactly is this Dormant Physique?’

The System immediately responded with two new descriptions.

[Heart Aperture: A mysterious internal aperture hidden within the heart, acting as a sealed gateway to the Host’s dormant Physique. Once unlocked, it allows the Physique’s dormant power to awaken and begin integrating with the Host’s body.]

[Twelve Sovereign Primordial Physique: An Unprecedented Physique that was formed due to the forced unlocking of the Host’s Heart Aperture. The Host’s own Spiritual Roots are the cause of evolving the dormant Physique, "Nine Sovereign Physique," into the Twelve Sovereign Primordial Physique.

It allows the user to ???. It is capable of storing ???. Further effects will be unusable until the Host reaches the Mahayana Realm.]

Neolan carefully read through every line of the description, but his expression gradually became more complicated when he reached the final sentences. ’What the fuck? There are question marks everywhere. What do you even mean by "further effects"?’

He stared at the System Window with increasing irritation because the situation reminded him of those cliché novels where the System would constantly seal information or refuse to reveal something simply because the Host wasn’t strong enough.

He had never expected his own System to pull something similar, especially after everything it had already revealed to him. ’Am I also some novel character? What the fuck is with this System? Mahayana Realm is even higher than the realm I reached in my previous life. Damn this!’

Neolan’s expression became increasingly annoyed as he stared at the incomplete description, and for a moment, he genuinely wanted to kick the System itself. However, he quickly realized how meaningless that thought was because the System wasn’t even something he could physically interact with.

He could only sigh and eventually let the matter go, deciding that there was no point in getting angry over information he couldn’t obtain yet. ’If I could actually kick it, then it wouldn’t even be a System, huh Forget it. I’ll be happy with just my Sea of Consciousness for now.’ With that thought, Neolan finally closed the System Window and shifted his attention toward the surroundings.

Just as he did so, a voice suddenly shouted his name from outside the hut. "Qing Lan! Qing Lan!" Neolan immediately recognized the voice and arched an eyebrow as he glanced toward the entrance.

Morning light was already entering through the small gaps in the hut, illuminating parts of the room and confirming that several hours had passed since he began his cultivation, ’It’s already morning, huh? I should go out now, or they’ll start suspecting that I’m some kind of cultist.’ With that thought, Neolan stood up from the ground, which was covered with the viscous impurities that had oozed from his body during the refinement process.

’Void Steps.’

He took a single step, and his figure immediately vanished from inside the hut before appearing outside behind Han. "Senior Han, I was in seclusion for a moment. I just broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm last night." Han immediately turned around and arched an eyebrow when he suddenly saw Qing standing behind him.

’What kind of Technique was that? I wasn’t able to sense him approach me at all...’ Han narrowed his eyes suspiciously as his hand instinctively moved toward the sword at his waist. His gaze then shifted toward Qing’s unfamiliar appearance, and the moment he took a closer look, his expression changed.

"Huh? Who are you?"

Han immediately drew his sword and placed the blade in front of Qing. "W-Wait, Senior! It’s really me! Qing!" Qing hurriedly raised his hands and tried to explain the situation before Han could make any sudden move.

"My physical body changed slightly after I broke through, but I don’t know how it happened!" His explanation sounded somewhat hurried because even he understood how suspicious his current appearance looked after disappearing into the hut for an entire night.

"...Your voice is the same as Qing, but what if you’re a Demon that killed Qing and took his appearance?" Han asked, his expression remaining cautious as he kept his sword raised. Qing’s expression showed a brief hint of surprise when he heard that question, but a small smile soon appeared on his face.

’He’s not an idiot, that’s good, though.’ Qing then calmly answered, "If I were really a Demon, I wouldn’t be able to wield Spiritual Qi or have a Dantian, right?"

Han’s eyes widened slightly at those words, and he instinctively lowered his sword for a moment. His pupils then narrowed as Spiritual Energy surged into his eyes, activating his method of observing the internal condition of another cultivator.

The moment he did so, he could clearly see the Spiritual Qi flowing through Qing’s body and could also identify the Dantian located within him. Although Han couldn’t see Qing’s Spiritual Roots because they existed in the state of "Spiritual Self,"he was still able to observe all of Qing’s Meridians and confirm that his body possessed the structure of a genuine cultivator.

The sight immediately removed the final trace of suspicion from Han’s mind.

Han finally retracted his sword and released a quiet breath. "Hooh... I apologize, Qing. I’ve been on edge ever since these Demons started appearing, so becoming suspicious of everything has become natural for me."

Qing nodded without taking offense and replied calmly, "Not at all. If I were in your position, I would have done the same." He then glanced toward the direction of the building where Yue had been resting and continued, "Anyways, I was wondering whether Senior Yue had already woken up or not."

Han sighed when he heard the question before answering, "I was searching for you exactly because of that. She did wake up, but she’s behaving strangely and said that she would like to see you first thing in the morning." Qing’s expression immediately became slightly serious as he processed Han’s vague explanation.

’Hmm? Behaving strangely?’ He couldn’t quite understand what Han meant by that, and the fact that Yue had specifically asked to see him made the situation even more unusual. Since there was no point in trying to guess what had happened, Qing decided that he needed to see her himself.

"Alright, Senior Han. Lead the way..."

Han nodded and turned toward the direction of the building where Yue was resting. Qing followed behind him without saying anything else, his mind already wondering what could have happened while he had been unconscious.