Chapter 3
C3 – Chaos Spell
Time flew by, and before long, half a month had passed.
Jiang Que had finally succeeded in testing out a set of circulation routes after innumerable trials with Qi and acupoints. This set centered around the Qi Sea. As the Qi flowed through the meridians, passing eight acupoints before returning to the Qi Sea, it formed a simple yet effective circuit. The results were promising, at least in Jiang Que’s opinion. He could distinctly feel the energy in the air being drawn in, permeating through his skin into his meridians as the Qi completed its circuit back to the Qi Sea. In just one cycle, a significant amount of this energy was transformed and assimilated into Qi. This was precisely the outcome he was aiming for.
Now, he needed to refine the cultivation method, addressing its shortcomings and compiling the complete practice. Jiang Que rose to his feet, ignoring the pain in his waist and back and the buzzing in his head, energized and exhilarated by his progress. He took a sharp stone and sketched the Cultivation Route Map on the wall, then jotted down the insights he had gained about the cultivation method. After some thought, he inscribed the words “Chaos Spell” beside it, a name that signified the beginning.
Without overthinking, he referred to the Qi within the Qi Sea and the unique energy in the air as Spirit Power and Spiritual Energy, respectively. Settling into a cross-legged position, he began to explore ways to refine and enhance the cultivation method to achieve perfect harmony with the circulation route.
In the tenth broadcast room, the audience had dwindled to just two or three hundred people after nearly a month. Those who remained did so out of a compulsive need to see Jiang Que consume all the wild fruits he had gathered; they simply couldn’t bring themselves to leave the broadcast until then.
“What is he trying to do?” one viewer pondered.
“Everything must be in balance. Qi resides in the Qi Sea, and it emerges from there. But what is he writing?” another questioned.
“He’s been rationing his food, making it last for a month, yet his supplies are nearly depleted. He’s not concerned with finding more food, instead, he’s writing and drawing on the cave wall?” a third remarked, puzzled by Jiang Que’s actions.
“I sense a deep philosophical meaning in his writings. Has he been sitting there motionless for nearly a month contemplating the meaning of life? Does he aspire to become a great philosopher?”
“Go on, finish off those wild fruits quickly! The sooner you eat, the sooner you’ll starve.”
“My goodness, is he pondering the meaning of life now?”
“I can’t tell if he’s lost his mind, but one thing’s for certain—I’m on the verge of going insane because of him.”
In front of their screens, over two hundred viewers with OCD were on the brink of an emotional collapse.
They watched as Jiang Que, after revising the writing on the wall, sat down cross-legged and became completely still once again.
What frustrated these OCD viewers even more was the fact that although Jiang Que was known for his frugality, he normally consumed five wild fruits the size of ping-pong balls each day.
But this time, Jiang Que was only eating one wild fruit per day.
At this rate, the wild fruits could sustain him for twenty days, whereas they had anticipated he would finish them within four days.
“He’s utterly mad, eating just one wild fruit a day? I’d wager all my wealth that he won’t last three days.”
“I reckon he’ll give in by tomorrow. Moreover, he might just devour the remaining wild fruits in one sitting. When someone can no longer withstand hunger, they’re bound to consume everything left.”
“People on the Exile Planet really defy all logic. The host in live stream room three is heartless. He killed his companion with a stone at night just because he lost a pheasant to him during a hunt.”
“The host in live stream room seven acts like a starving ghost reincarnated, shoving anything—alive or dead, cooked or raw—straight into his mouth without hesitation.”
“The host of live stream room nine has a penchant for sleeping with women. In a tribe of just over five hundred, his partners and children account for nearly twenty percent of the population.”
“The host of live stream room ten is quite the oddity. Not only is he a recluse, but he’s also a coward. He’d rather starve and hide away in a cave playing philosopher than venture out in search of food.”
Viewers couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with emotion.
“He’s actually the grandson of the Nine Stars Great General, Jiang Wudi. I’ve looked into Jiang Wudi’s background, and he’s notoriously cruel and bloodthirsty, having once ordered the massacre of over a billion members of the Angel Clan on an entire planet.”
“The Angel Clan has been at war with our Human Race for many years, refusing to call a truce because of this very reason.”
These remarks were quickly challenged.
“Is the Exile Planet just any ordinary place? It’s sparsely populated and crawling with ferocious beasts.”
“On the Exile Planet, it doesn’t matter if you’re Jiang Wudi’s grandson or Jiang Wudi himself; you can’t just do whatever you want.”
“Jiang Wudi rose from a Mecha Soldier to the Nine Stars Great General solely on his military merits, becoming a military legend.”
“Yet, after his memory was wiped and he was sent to the Exile Planet, he only managed to become the Patriarch of a small tribe, relying on brute force rather than intellect.”
“Jiang Wudi’s son was even less impressive. After sixteen years as Patriarch, trying to change the clansmen’s will and get them to accept a hereditary leadership system, his position was seized through force shortly after his death.”
“As for Jiang Wudi’s grandson, our number ten here, his frail health made him incapable of hunting, leading the clansmen to expel him from the tribe.”
The audience in the live stream was full of complaints, hoping Jiang Que would quickly finish the remaining wild fruits to spare them from this tedious wait.
They wanted to avoid the need to check back into the live stream every so often to see how Jiang Que was doing.
Ultimately, they were let down.
The following day, Jiang Que had only consumed one wild fruit.
The third day was no different.
Even more astonishing was that on the fourth day, Jiang Que didn’t eat a single wild fruit.
Unknown to all, this was because Jiang Que had successfully advanced to a new level.
He had progressed from the Energy Condensation Stage Level 1 to the Energy Condensation Stage Level 2.
With this breakthrough to the Energy Condensation Stage Level 2, his Qi Sea expanded, and his Spirit Power became more refined.
Jiang Que’s absorption of Spiritual Energy had significantly increased in speed. As the Spiritual Energy from the environment entered his meridians through the pores of his skin, it also provided nourishment to his body. Consequently, this substantially diminished his need for food. This explained why, after commencing his cultivation practice, Jiang Que could sustain himself on just a single wild fruit each day.
Over ten days later, Jiang Que had successfully advanced to Energy Condensation Stage Level 3. As he was striving to reach Energy Condensation Stage Level 4, someone raised an intriguing question. Despite being in a state of prolonged hunger, why did he appear to be in good spirits? In fact, Jiang Que seemed more vibrant than ever.