Chapter Thirty-Nine: Crushing a Jade Beetle to Death and Leveling Up (Extra Chapter)

The west wing faced the setting sun, and its temperature was noticeably higher than that of the other two rooms. Thus, the "Jade Insects" in this room hatched the fastest. When Old Master Chen rushed in, dozens of "Jade Insects" had already broken free from their shells.

Upon seeing people, they became wildly excited, as if intoxicated, and in the blink of an eye, grew to the size of cantaloupes. Hissing and swarming, they quickly encircled the female disciple, who was utterly petrified with fear.

"Out!" Old Master Chen shouted without a second thought. He darted forward, grabbed the girl as deftly as an eagle snatching a chick, and flung her out of the room, then swiftly swept his sleeve to shut the doors and windows.

With a dull thud, the girl landed squarely on the blue stone slabs of the courtyard. Yet, the fall finally snapped her out of her stupor.

"Heavens..." she scrambled away on all fours, rolling and crawling in a desperate retreat.

Meanwhile, in the east wing, Feng Ke'er had barely taken two steps when a series of metallic crashes resounded—the doors and windows had all slammed shut at once.

She was trapped inside!

Her heart leapt into her throat. In a panic, she dashed to the nearest window and tried to push it open. But now, the wooden window panes seemed as solid as if they were cast from molten iron; they refused to budge.

The wily old man had activated the protective array without clearing the room!

Regret and outrage flooded her. She cursed his ancestors with heartfelt venom.

With no way out, Feng Ke'er forced herself to set aside all distracting thoughts. She ran to the corner to observe the situation as clearly as possible.

Fortunately, the windows were covered with fine, semi-transparent white silk, so although the doors and windows were sealed, the room remained well-lit.

The lowest layer of wooden blocks creaked, slowly rising as though dough was fermenting and swelling. It was as if a basin of filthy glue had overturned—a growing pool of purple slime, bubbling with black foam, spread across the floor.

Suppressing her nausea, Feng Ke'er took a deep breath and braced herself to pry up the wooden frame.

Despite her mental preparation, she still gasped, her scalp tingling from head to toe.

The cracks at the bottom were widening at a speed visible to the naked eye. All the insect eggs were moving, soaking in the slime like thumb-sized transparent bubbles. Inside each, the scorpion-like creatures were clearly visible—they were alive and moving!

From the outermost crack, a glossy black "Jade Insect," about the size of a cockroach, raised its pincers, trailing strings of purple slime, and clumsily crawled outward on eight spindly legs.

Exposed to light, the creature grew at an astonishing rate.

By the time it fully crawled out onto the wooden board, it was already as large as a common scorpion—and it kept growing, faster and faster.

Perhaps it had noticed Feng Ke'er's presence, for it paused amid the black foam, raised its lustrous black pincers, and looked her way. It had four pairs of eyes, each bulging and redder than blood, larger than soybeans.

Being stared at by such eyes made Feng Ke'er's skin crawl.

In just that brief pause, the "Jade Insect" had already grown to nearly the size of a fist.

What a sinister creature. If left unchecked, it would surely become a disaster!

Feng Ke'er held her breath, focused her spirit, and, without hesitation, raised her foot to stomp it.

She dared not underestimate the foe—she summoned her spiritual power, activating her Swiftstep technique. Her kick flashed out like lightning, truly a "Shadowless Kick."

The pitiful "Jade Insect" had just hatched, its many legs not yet coordinated. With a crisp snap, her stomp landed squarely, and its hard shell shattered instantly.

As the saying goes, "A centipede does not stiffen even when dead." Especially for these hard-shelled insects, their resilience was formidable. Worried it might not be dead yet, Feng Ke'er suppressed her disgust and, standing in the pool of slime, stomped down several more times with force.

Unexpectedly, a subtle warmth spread from her lower abdomen. A thread-thin strand of spiritual energy circulated within her, then darted into her dantian. Immediately after, a crisp "pop" sounded from her belly—thanks to her intense study over the past two nights, Feng Ke'er now had a solid grasp of basic cultivation concepts like "dantian" and "spiritual power," and was no longer a total novice.

Could crushing this thing actually help her level up? Feng Ke'er could hardly believe it. She lifted her foot to check. In the foam, the creature had been pounded into a pool of black pulp, utterly destroyed.

Yet, the reaction within Feng Ke'er's body did not cease.

Like the first domino falling, every joint in her body began to crackle in rapid succession. It was as though she'd triggered a violent chain reaction. Fine threads of spiritual energy zipped around in her dantian, then more streams surged in, swirling faster and faster.

She seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough! Feng Ke'er was startled. Good heavens—here, now, in this situation... a breakthrough? Wasn't this a bit too dramatic? Could a girl even catch a break?

Yet, the spiritual energy within her dantian was like a rocket igniting, growing ever more frenzied. The energy twisted into six thick strands, battering fiercely against the walls of her dantian.

Feng Ke'er could even see her lower belly swelling and contracting from the impacts.

With a roar, a violent wind erupted.

The Morphing Technique was broken.

Her hair, once bound in a bun, fell loose, revealing her true appearance.

No matter. A breakthrough was a breakthrough!

Ignoring the foul slime, Feng Ke'er sat cross-legged on the floor. Following the methods she'd recently studied, she closed her eyes, raised her five hearts upward, and used her consciousness to control the wildly swirling spiritual energy in her dantian.

The texts told her that, at this stage, her task was to guide the chaotic spiritual power onto the correct path.

But what exactly was the "correct path"? Despite poring over her materials, she found no standard answer.

So, she could only rely on her own intuition—surely, it meant guiding the energy along its usual circular trajectory.

From her experience, spiritual energy in the dantian typically revolved rapidly around its center. Thus, her task was to use her consciousness to direct the energy back into an orbit.

However, she had six strands of spiritual energy, each more unruly than the last—difficult to manage.

It was like playing whack-a-mole with six hyperactive, slippery, and vigorous moles, all while blindfolded and barehanded.

Or rather, like fighting herself...

Oh, this was too much! Feng Ke'er had to rely on her instincts, flustered and overwhelmed.

The six strands of spiritual energy only grew more powerful and chaotic.

Feng Ke'er felt the walls of her dantian ache faintly. From her studies, she knew this was a very bad sign. If this continued, the six strands would eventually shatter her dantian. The dantian was the foundation of cultivation—if destroyed, not even the great Pangu could save her. That would be the end; she'd become a true cripple.

The old headmaster had said, in adversity, never panic. The worse the situation, the more one must observe keenly and seize any opportunity to turn the tables.

Don't fear, don't panic, stay calm! You can do this! Feng Ke'er silently encouraged herself and once again focused her spirit.

She reflected and realized she had always tried to passively block and capture the spiritual energy. But as she'd observed, the power within her dantian was like a flood—impossible to contain.

Wait, a flood... can't be blocked!

That's it! Water must be guided, not dammed—diversion, not obstruction!

Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated. To channel these energies, first she needed to understand them.

A sudden clarity dawned in her heart. Feng Ke'er adjusted her breathing, relaxed as much as possible, and began to use her consciousness to track the most active and powerful strand of spiritual energy.

To her relief, not all the energy was moving in chaotic, high-speed disorder. The dantian was essentially round, and this primary strand of energy followed a roughly hexagonal path, colliding with the walls six times each cycle. With smaller streams of energy constantly joining from the other five weaker strands, its speed and force increased, but the six collision points remained roughly fixed.

After identifying these six points, Feng Ke'er lay in wait with her consciousness, intercepting the energy. After several attempts, she finally managed to capture the main strand and, like leading a stubborn hound, guided it gently back onto the "correct path."

This major strand had a strong adhesive pull—once the other energies touched it, they were partially absorbed and wound together.

After countless cycles, the five weaker strands were all merged into the main one, which now grew nearly twice as robust. In the process, Feng Ke'er regained control over the energy.

As the spiritual power finally resumed its usual high-speed orbit, her dantian gave a sudden jolt, followed by an overwhelming sense of relief.

With a bang, a radiant five-colored light burst from the vortex formed by the spinning energy. In that instant, she felt as though fireworks blossomed within her.

A comfort like nothing she'd ever known suffused her. Feng Ke'er couldn't help but stretch out her arms and cry, "Ah—!"

A clear chime sounded—the silent Codex spoke again: "Master has advanced, now at mid-stage Qi Refinement!"

Crushing a single fist-sized "Jade Insect" had actually triggered her advancement! Feng Ke'er could hardly believe her eyes as she glanced down at herself.

Her robe fluttered, her long hair flowed.

Her body seemed draped in a rainbow-hued garment, radiant from within, glowing with a serene five-colored light.

A sizzling sound filled the air—the "Jade Insects" crawling over her body evaporated upon contact with the light, like dewdrops vanishing under sunlight. During her internal struggle, most of the insects in the room had already hatched.

These creatures were carnivorous, their eight fierce eyes sharp and hungry. The moment they opened their eyes, they spotted the only "meat" in the room.

From every corner, they scurried eagerly toward her, clambering up her body, ready for a feast.

Luckily, Feng Ke'er was entirely absorbed in the battle within, unaware of what was happening outside. Otherwise, even the calmest person would have been terrified at the sight of thousands of melon-sized, black scorpions, pincers gleaming, swarming up her body.

At the critical moment, the Codex silently activated a protective barrier.

The first wave of "Jade Insects" found no point of entry, circling her in frustration, unable to bite, while the rest, oblivious, climbed on regardless.

Soon, she was covered in layer upon layer of "Jade Insects."

When Feng Ke'er broke through and the five-colored light burst from her dantian, the later arrivals finally sensed the danger and scrambled to escape.

Unfortunately, with only eight legs each, their two-inch, bristling limbs were no match for the speed of light.

In a flash, the five-colored light reached every corner of the room.

The cracked and warped rosewood floorboards were miraculously restored.

All traces of the "Jade Insects," the filthy purple slime, and even the unhatched eggs were wiped away, as if they had never existed.

The five-colored light emanated from within Feng Ke'er, so all credit went to her. Her lower abdomen throbbed with warmth—she had gained another surge of spiritual power. It was as if gentle, warm hands caressed her every organ, bringing bliss to every cell.

At that moment, the door was smashed open with a thud.

Old Master Chen burst in, clutching a large purple gourd nearly a foot tall, shouting, “Who? Who is in here?”

Tongtian Codex, Chapter 39: Crush a Jade Insect, Level Up (Extra) — End of update!