Chapter Ten: Caiyao - Part Two

The rainbow-hued auspicious light completely encircled Li Sibai, leaving him utterly immobilized. A sense of unease began to creep into his heart—was she truly planning to eat him? Considering how fond this multicolored mystical bird was of flesh, the possibility seemed all too real...

Yet as his body gradually acclimated to the radiant glow, a gentle warmth began to well up from his core, flowing ceaselessly through every meridian. The sensation was one of utter comfort, as if he were bathed in a spring breeze, leaving him feeling clear-headed and invigorated.

Meanwhile, Caiyao made no further move, and Li Sibai soon found himself able to move once more. Unwilling to question his good fortune, he sat where he was, entering meditation to harmonize the energies within and without. His entire body seemed to be changing. Deep within his muscles and beneath his skin, two distinct currents of energy circulated, while around his body, seven invisible streams of force coiled and swirled, setting his clothes fluttering about him.

Human bodies, he knew, were naturally filled with impure energy. To cultivate immortality, one had to refine this turbid energy into true qi. Now, he could feel the two currents within his body being pressured by the seven external streams. The seven merged into one, slowly permeating his being. With the aid of the Jade Void Heart Technique, his internal cultivation art ceaselessly drew in true qi. The two external energies fused within him, surging into his governing meridian. Instantly, a strange pain twisted in his abdomen—like being cut by knives, or as if some tremendous force were yanking at the muscles and meridians within, an agony almost unbearable. Sweat poured off him, soaking his clothes and dripping to the floor.

Li Sibai's brow was tightly furrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line, his body trembling uncontrollably. Yet amid the pain, a thread of delight flickered in his heart. He could sense an endless surge of energy flooding into him—more than his body could yet withstand. But as he drove his true qi to circulate again and again, he was astounded: he was no longer confined to a single cycle of qi circulation as before. He felt, unmistakably, that he had broken through to the third level of the Phoenix Dawn Realm.

With Caiyao’s rainbow light pouring in, and his cultivation art drawing in ever more true qi, his body gradually adjusted to the new intensity. In the span of a single incense stick’s time, his true qi, revolving ceaselessly, propelled him to the fourth level of the Phoenix Dawn Realm. But just as before, the pain returned, signaling that he had reached the limits of what his body could bear. Only by constantly adapting to this sensation could he hope for further breakthroughs.

Suddenly—with a thunderous rush—the warm current erupted through him, so searingly hot he thought his very flesh would melt. In that moment, he seemed to hear a sharp, crystalline crack. Unbeknownst to him, his governing meridian had been opened.

The torrent of heat dispersed wildly, then gathered, merging into a single milky-white stream. What had once been a trickling brook now surged as a small river, flowing briskly through his body, and everywhere it passed, the blistering pain faded, replaced by a scalding but comforting warmth.

Abruptly, a jet of fiery red energy burst from his core, shooting straight into Caiyao and vanishing within her.

His once-damp clothes were soaked anew. Gratitude toward Caiyao swelled in Li Sibai’s heart. Glancing up, he saw she too was drenched in sweat, teetering on the brink of collapse, her body swaying unsteadily.

After the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, the rainbow glow finally faded. Just as Caiyao crumpled, Li Sibai rushed forward and caught her. She had fainted dead away, limp in his arms. With a frown, he thought to himself how much he owed this girl—she had pushed herself to exhaustion for his sake. Gently, he carried her to the bed.

Moments later, she reverted to her avian form, the rainbow-feathered bird, lying quietly at rest.

Only then did Li Sibai truly attend to the changes within himself. The true qi in his body now circled his meridians several times in the blink of an eye before flowing gently into his core. The sweat on his skin had dried, leaving him ruddy and radiant, his eyes shining brighter than before. He knew he had reached the fourth level of the Phoenix Dawn Realm—astonishingly, he had advanced two levels in a single sitting!

For years, he had struggled without success to progress from the second to the third level, his reputation shifting from child prodigy to useless youth. Yet now, in the brief company of this rainbow bird, he had soared two ranks in an instant. Long-buried memories rose, flooding his heart with emotion.

He thought of the praise heaped on him as a child, contrasted with the scornful looks and whispered slanders that followed his failure to break through the third level. Uncle Cai’s sometimes pitying glances, the mystery of his own parents’ whereabouts, the unknowns of his own origin—all these thoughts tumbled through his mind.

Turning his head, he caught sight of Caiyao, the rainbow bird, lying peacefully on the bed, utterly relaxed and defenseless in sleep. Sibai was a man who believed in fate and cherished gratitude. This little sister who had descended from the heavens had brought new hope into his life. He cherished and appreciated her all the more, and silently vowed that, should she ever need him, he would care for this little one with all his heart.