White-Robed Chief
Chapter 194: Magical

Chu Li was surprised. He stared at King An who was sitting in the ancient cauldron as he channeled his energy with his eyes closed.

Although the cauldron's height did not exceed his neck, it seemed as if he was sat in a well.

King An's inner energy circulated like the surging waves of a strong current. Moreover, the speed was several times faster than usual. In an instant, the inner energy was shaped into the form of a ball.

As the surging inner energy in his meridians flowed, it became increasingly faster with every circulation.

Arching his eyebrows, Chu Li delved deeper into the Omniscient Mirror.

Inside the cauldron, as if strands of golden hair were floating around and as if a haze was surrounding him, the strands drifted into King An's ancestral cavity. 1 that serves as the cavity of a profound and ancient knowledge.) At that moment, the flow of his inner energy did not stop, nor did it slow down.

Further activating the Omniscient Mirror, he sensed a shapeless energy that came from the void. The cauldron absorbed it as if it were smoke, but it transformed that shapeless energy into strands of golden hair before it was gathered in the cauldron.

Chu Li knew that the strands of golden hair were the energy of vitality. As they entered King An through his ancestral cavity, it immediately increased his inner energy and quickened the flow.

Chu Li was shocked.

However, Chu Li was very proud of his own vitality. He had the soul of two lives, which meant that his vitality was levels above others. That was the reason he could successfully cultivate the Wisdom Root Scripture, the Omniscient Mirror, the Life and Death Scripture, and the White Tiger Art.

If it were not for his vitality, he would not have been able to achieve what he did; he would have been weaker than an average person.

At that moment, he realized that he was actually proud of what he had achieved because what he thought was unique to himself only was achieved by King An as well. Naturally, he felt uncomfortable about it.

He swiftly calmed himself down. Though as he furrowed his brows, he started to ponder.

Even with the cauldron, why did King An's vitality not amount to his?

Suppressing his own curiosity, he quietly observed King An and the cauldron.

King An sat in the cauldron and his face was beet red as if he had been drinking. Yet although his expression contorted as if he was suffering, he held on for two more hours before he could not take it any longer. Then, he flew out of the cauldron.

When King An landed next to the cauldron, his wound had recovered significantly. However, Chu Li noticed that the strange inner energy still had not dissipated and it was still inside the King. The moment he got out of the cauldron, it started to grow rapidly instead.

Through the two hours of observation, Chu Li had figured out how it worked.

King An had concentrated his ancestral cavity inwards towards himself, like a bottle. In the meantime, all of his vital energy were like golden strings that floated in strands, spread out across space around him. After he entered the cauldron, all the golden strands began to enter his ancestral cavity, which eventually increased the density of golden strands in the ancestral cavity.

Due to the fact that the density of the golden strands was very high, it gave him headaches that made him felt as if his head was about to explode. Despite that, it was quite rare for King An to have held on for two full hours.

The moment King An left the cauldron, all the golden strands immediately dispersed and returned to their initial density with no other significant changes.

This situation was similar as to how he assisted Xue Ling's cultivation. It increased the speed of one's inner energy and boosted the speed of cultivation, but it did not help to increase one's inner energy level.

The odd thing about the cauldron was that it could convert the energy from the void into one's spirit. What was that energy from the void? Could the process be done manually? What were the principles behind it?

So, he activated the Omniscient Mirror and looked at the cauldron, inside and out.

The cauldron was molded with bronze, but there was an odd aura circulating within the bronze. As the aura continued to circulate in the bronze, it drew out a strange symbol.

This made Chu Li think of the human body, on how the inner energy circulated in one's meridians. Likewise, the symbols were the cauldron's meridians. When the aura circulated along these symbols, it absorbed the energy from the void before it was transformed into golden energy. Like water storage, it stayed dormant within the cauldron.

The strange symbol was the secret of the cauldron.

The cauldron was an amazing piece of work. If not for the Omniscient Mirror, it would be impossible for anyone to peer into the cauldron. If the cauldron was split open, there would be nothing inside because the aura would have spilled and scattered all around. This meant that the symbol was not a physical entity but a construction from the aura.

Chu Li suddenly disappeared and reappeared in the training room. Then, he entered the cauldron.

Immediately, the strands of vitality rushed into his head, and a vivid picture of the White Tiger Art formed in his mind. The spirit tiger then leaped into him. Surging with the power from the void as well, the Blinking Technique consumed his body.

Not only could he feel that his body was being crushed, he could also hear as his bones cracked. One moment he was squished like a meat dumpling, the next moment his body expanded until it felt like he was going to burst. This cycle went on and on as it trained his body so that his muscle would gradually grow bigger.

After four hours, Chu Li realized that it was already dawn. He wished to continue, but he had to leave. Disappearing from the cauldron, he reappeared in his room. He took off the outer layer of his clothing and put on a pale blue shirt as he sat on the couch. He could feel the changes in his body.

Even with four hours of cultivation, he felt no trace of exhaustion. It felt as if his energy was not expended at all; the cauldron was amazing.

It was no wonder King An had already achieved Grandmaster in his mid-forties. With the help of the cauldron, it was a no-brainer.

——

He stayed there for another day. When King An left during the night, he utilized the cauldron to train himself again. The White Tiger Art was more vivid this time and his body was even stronger.

As his body grew stronger, so did his base. Even if the people around him were Innate Masters, they would be no match for Chu Li.

On the third morning, he departed King An's Imperial Residence.

In these two days, he had figured out who King An really was but he could not find a way to kill him yet.

King An was in trouble. The inner energy within his body was odd. No matter how hard he tried to remove it, it was still there. Although he was a Grandmaster, his inner energy was unusually pure — even more so than the rest of the Grandmasters, so nobody could do anything to help.

Chu Li allowed the horse to break into a brisk trot as he looked into the symbol on the cauldron.

He tried visualizing the symbol in his head, but there was nothing abnormal.

He initially thought that by successfully visualizing the symbol in his head, it would cause his inner energy to circulate endlessly and it would generate a huge amount of it.

It was a pity that disappointment was the only thing he felt.

However, he always thought that it was possible that it could be the Talismanic Art.

By evening, he arrived at a small town called the Golden Crow Town.

Since there was nothing he had to attend to, he was in no rush to return and so he entered the town at a leisurely pace. When he arrived at the best inn in town, he asked for a small courtyard.

Night descended as the streets lit up. He then bought some vermillion before he proceeded to the best restaurant in town — Greatness Domain.

With a window view on the third floor, he started to people-watch. Meanwhile, he occasionally sipped on some wine and downed some snacks.

Some people seemed to be in a hurry, while others took their time. Some were bored, and others were having the time of their lives. Seeing all the people living their everyday lives made Chu Li feel extremely relaxed.

Although he had left the temple and stepped back into civilization, he was still living an unordinary life.

Staying in the Imperial Residence, he usually spent his time in the Glory's Will Courtyard to cultivate and read. He rarely visited the Sky Inn and had never been to the New Moon Brothel. It was as if he had nothing to do with the bustling Chong Ming Town at all.

All he had ever wanted was stronger martial arts skills and a craving for more power. Even though he was rank 2 now, he felt that this was still not the time for him to relax. With King An and the Emperor in power, he could not do as he wished.

All the people around him are martial artists, even the ones who sold food in small stalls on the street. That was how common martial arts was.

As he focused his attention, he noticed three women with magnificent bodies in green gowns traveling from one side of the street. When they arrived at the restaurant, they glanced up at him and entered the restaurant.

The girls were wearing face veils and they took small, gentle steps. Nobody could see their faces, but they seemed like beauties whom every guy dreamt of.

They ascended to the third floor and seated themselves at a table that was not far from Chu Li's. The waiter then served them with booming enthusiasm. The girl who ordered was soft spoken with a gentle voice.

Everyone present in the room occasionally took a glance at the three beauties. Even though they had veils on, they would have to take it off to eat. Everyone wanted to see how they looked like — if they were actual beauties. Within Daoist self-cultivation, this is a specific point (located between and behind the eyes