Derailing

Sneaking around and looking for specific grass sounds weird, but it's for a grand cause.

The grass is very basic but it stimulates Profound Energy sensitivity.

Sensitivity toward Profound Energy grows alongside one's cultivation.

When one is above [Sovereign Profound], then one can start sensing things like the world laws and stuff like that. Even a [Sovereign Profound] can rip space apart and use it as storage space.

The sheer mass of energy starts affecting the very fabric of space. 

That's why the sensitivity above your level is good because it accelerates cultivation. Not only that but I am thinking of using this to sense other types of Profound energies.

"There it is!" I said with a happy tone as I swiftly went over and started to cut the grass with a knife.

After getting a whole bag of it I swiftly went back to my cave. 

Over the years in training at the mountainside, I created a cultivation cave.

These are good because profound energy accumulates in this kind of place. They enter but they don't leave.

This will be a perfect place to test the profound energy sensitivity.

But first, I need to refine the grass into pills.

I pulled out the bag and took a handful of grass and proceeded to channel Profound energy into my hand.

I started to channel [Alchemist Flames]. I created this art a while ago but the levelling for it is extremely slow. 

I guess that I need to use it properly to get those levels.

It started with simple sparks before it evolved into [Profound Flames]. Then it split up into [Alchemist Flames] and [Orange Flames].

One is pure destruction, the other is pure refinement.

"Oh shit…"

Just like that the grass easily burned away in my hand.

"...Fuck…"

I quickly took another handful of grass and tried again. 

"..."

Again, it burned away.

Thinking for a bit, I needed more control, so I tried to use my Profound energy to sense the grass. To sense the impurities and let them burn away.

Same time I needed to control fire to perfection, it should not burn it, it should turn it into a liquid form.

Though after burning the whole bag I finally got some results.

Several notifications popped after I burned the last grass away.

*Ding*

{You have created [Basic Refinement] art!}

Mentally I opened the Art window and saw the last image, it was an icon of a burning pill.

[Basic Refinement] (1/10) {0.17%}

[Refinement Art]

[Basic art of refinement which involves using fire to remove impurities from herbs]

"Nice…finally."

With a sigh. I got up from the ground and returned to grass hunting.

~~~

A few days later I looked at the green nearly half of the finger-size pill. This was the basic thing I was able to do after a bunch of failures.

It did help that my alchemy fire increased by two levels. As it increased my ability to sense things through the flames has manifested.

I was able to remove the impurities, but then the temperature control needed to increase. That's why it went up by two levels. It was a pure grind on my part.

Regardless, it was done. I had a whole batch of pills ready to use.

After popping one in, I could feel my senses flaring up. The amount of Profound energy I sensed around the areas went up.

Without wasting any more time I started to use my absorption technique. [River Current Style Profound Energy Absorption]. The name is mouthful but it reflects the style of how I absorb the Profound energy.

Since I only have 11 opened Profound entrances this technique counteracts the issue. Not fully but it allows the Profound energy to flow towards me like a river's current. Making the profound energy denser.

The way to achieve that is to release my Profound energy and guide the one from outside toward me like how the fish boats throw their nets into the sea and then pull them back with all the fish.

This style increases the amount of energy I gather, however, it doesn't solve the issue of 11 Profound Entrances.

After reaching [Fifth of Nascent Profound] the increase in profound energy requirement for a breakthrough has increased significantly, but the amount I absorb didn't go up.

So to solve this issue I just need to increase the quality of the Profound energy.

A few hours later, the pill stopped working, and I took another one. 

Being stuck at [Tenth of Nascent Profound] for several months is starting to bother me to the point that I am planning to pull out those purple crystals I have stashed away.

Though eventually there was a surge of power and I had a breakthrough.

[First of True Profound], it's a realm where some of the clan men only reach this stage in their late 30. The greatest genius of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Ying reached this stage in late 20. 

This means that my small tricks to cultivate do work as I reached [True Profound] in just a year.

But, I can already sense how much Profound Energy I need for the next small realm. 

The gaps are just getting bigger and bigger.

'I guess I need to return to the library to do some more research on the herbs found in the area.'

Thinking for a bit, I have a few ideas about how I could potentially open more entrances.

~~~

A certain black-haired girl who was watching someone cultivate in a cave saw him finally leave.

She sensed that he was only in [Second of Elementary Profound] but that was a big fat lie. The girl sensed a massive surge of energy. He had a big breakthrough but he doesn't reveal it. The girl knows that he is showing his average cultivation to blend in with the rest of the clan.

But she knows better. 

After he left the cave she waited for a bit before sneaking into the cave.

The girl could sense how the profound energy in this place was higher than outside, even more potent than her pond.

It was the perfect place to cultivate for her. 

Not that she can stay here for long, but even then she could get several hours done of cultivation here before she has to leave.

"...This smell… it's not burned grass anymore… did he succeed with making pills?" 

The girl said to herself as she inspected the surroundings. She could smell more like medicine than the burning grass she has been sensing for the past few days.

It makes her frown that he is advancing at such a fast pace while she was just in the middle stages at [Nascent Profound].

After cultivating for a while she needed to return to her home.

"?" 

As she returned she saw that her father was doing something with several wagons of products. It appears some sort of goods have arrived.

"Qingyue, I will be taking these to Xiao Clan. Do you wish to come with me?"

Her eyes widened for a bit. Her father noticed that the girl had been asking something about the Xiao Clan. So Xia Hongyi understands that she is fascinated with her future home. 

The girl slowly nodded her head. This was the perfect opportunity for her to see if she could see him!

"Good. It's good to see that you are interested in the Xiao Clan. I can let you see Xiao Che and his grandfather."

For a second Xia Qingyue had a confused look. Before she remembered that she was supposed to marry Xiao Che. 

Internally she frowned for a bit. 

She has nothing against that guy, but she is just not interested…

"I understand."

~~~

The black-haired girl frowned as she realised that her visit to the Xiao Clan so far was fruitless. The girl copied the same method of hiding cultivation as she saw from her source of curiosity.

She saw him reel in his base of cultivation and only allow a certain amount of fluctuation. 

It's a genius method, which Xia Qingyue finds fascinating. So far she is showing her cultivation base around the middle stages of [Elementary Profound]. Just being at this stage made everyone in the Xiao Clan go crazy.

'I wonder how would they feel if they learn that one of the Clan members is at—'

The girl got spacey when she saw a group of boys walking past her.

One of them… it was him!!!

They of course saw her, and they were respectful and slightly awed to see her. 

Though she did notice that the source of infatuation doesn't have certain awe like the other 3 have.

'Of course not… he is much stronger than I am!' She thought to herself with extreme certainty. Though she doesn't realise that he is weary of her because of all the things he knows.

As the group of four passed through, Xia Qingyue had a frustrated look before she saw another pair pass through. Thinking for a bit she swiftly got in their way.

"...You two can you tell who are those four?" The black-haired girl had a commanding tone. As she was slightly radiating her higher cultivation base on them which was higher than theirs.

"...Umm…Miss Xia… I can answer your question." 

One of them nervously got her attention. He then proceeded to tell her their names according to the way they are lined up.

Once he said that, the black-haired girl proceeded to explain herself as she doesn't want some sort of misunderstanding.

"My thanks, they looked like a good friends." The girl said quite randomly as she turned around and proceeded to return to her father's side. She learned what she wanted to learn. It was a worthwhile trip.

'Xiao Long…finally…after a year and a half I learned your name!'

Xia Qingyue thought about it giddily as she returned to where her father was. This was a highly successful walk. Now she needs to deal with Xiao Che and his Aunt.

The Aunt of his… is one strange girl. It's like she loves her nephew more than one should. 

~~~

As time moved on I realised that something was amiss. Xia Qingyue is visiting the Xiao Clan often for some reason.

Her visits make everyone gushing how beautiful she was, how lucky that waste of space is. Same time I heard that he was having a rough time in the clan as everyone was jealous of him.

'Is Xia Qingyue want to kill him just by visiting him?' 

Honestly, I can see it happening.

Well, it was not my problem, I have no interest in squabbles among famous people.

My studies finally bear some fruit, I found out that there exist basic herbs which are good at cleansing impurities. Not many known but Profound Entrances are closed because of impurities in one's body. 

While the herb's original uses are supposed to be used with water to remove impurities in other medical herbs, I can see a much grander use.

Instead of going to the medical pavilion which Yun Che burns down in the canon story, I went to my mountainside.

I already know where these grasses grow since I saw them before.

A short trip later I was in front of a semi-marsh area where a stream of water was flowing. One could see the effects of this grass as water is pure around them. 

I swiftly gather a full bag of this grass before returning to my cave.

Once there I quickly started refining the grass into pills.

Since it was a new pill I failed a couple of times, but on my fifth time, I finally got a white pill the size of my thumb.

After a successful try, I quickly ended up refining the other pills.

'Nice! I got a whole batch ready! Let's do it!'

Without wasting much time I popped a pill into my mouth. The purifying energy exploded from the pill and I guided it through my body. 

I could feel that something was getting removed from my body. 

When I realised there was some sort of black layer all over my body.

'Fuck! It smells!

Realising my mistake, I swiftly left the cave and went to take a quick bath.

Once I was done with the shower I swiftly went back to my pavilion and proceeded to purify and take a bath. Rinsing and repeating the process.

'...It appears it is working…but the process is several times slower than if It was done with the Poison Pearl.'

Poison Pearl is a hack, it's no wonder it's a Heavenly Treasure but Heavenly Treasure attracts an absurd amount of attention. Like sugar for ants, they are going to swarm you.

I would rather open the Profound Entrances on my own.

After thinking for a bit I started to count the entrances I have.

'One, three, seven, eleven, thirteen, fifteen!' 

'Holy cow, I think it's enough to reach Emperor Profound!'

Thinking for a bit I went to the back of my pavilion and proceeded to try to cultivate.

The increase in speed was obvious. With the pill discovery, I no longer need to worry about encountering a roadblock with the name 'bottleneck'. 

Though after opening these entrances the other ones were much harder as I needed to figure out where they were. 

However, I had some ideas on how to improve the purifying power of the pills. 

And that is to have baths with the very same grass extract. 

The bath was crystal clear water, like those waters on tropical beaches. So clean that you can the bottom of the water.

After inspecting the water I popped several pills into my mouth and jumped into the water, submerging myself in the water and guiding the purifying energy through my veins. 

The thing was that I would try to understand and copy how this specific profound energy operates.

It would take a while, but I would eventually understand the principle of how this works.

'I should add this into the Profound Orange Flames and Alchemy flames.'

Thinking about this, I left the bathtub and inspected myself.

'One, five, ten, fifteen, nineteen, twenty-three, twenty-seven, thirty-five, thirty-seven.'

It appears it will take time to unlock all the entrances. But it no longer matters. What matters is that this is no longer a dead end.

If the pills are not strong enough I can just mix alchemy flames with purifying energy to improve the pill and then It will be a stronger variant of it.

Then of course mix the grass with some other grass to get an even stronger variant. 

As they say, the limit of this is the sky itself.

After spending a couple of days at my pavilion it was time to return to my cave.

~~~

Xia Qingyue freaked out when she sensed that all of the Profound Energy from the part of the mountain was getting sucked into one place where his cave is.

'What is going on!? Did he create something again!?' 

She didn't approach too close with fear that he might discover her.

Though she did observe that place from some distance anyway. 

The guy is rapidly progressing with cultivation which is making her anxious. 

The girl is wondering how she could approach him. She doubts he will just teach her. Not that there is anything she could offer with materials. Her father doesn't deal with cultivation-related stuff.

Just like that she returned to her pond with a spacey look. 

Time went on, and Xia Qingyue continued with her cultivation, though she would continue to watch him regardless, she won't surrender just because the gap between them is getting wider. 

Without realising two more years have passed, and her cultivation finally reached [True Profound].

Her marriage to Xiao Che is getting close…

Or it should have been.

As her father brought her some news that made her baffled.

"...He died? How?"

She asked her father with a confused look. Isn't he a grandson of an Elder?

"...Some of the clansmen went slightly too far and he died from internal bleeding."

Xia Qingyue had a blank look on her face.

What now? How will she now get closer to him? 

At that moment she had a revelation of some sort.

She is free, and he is free.

"What does this mean father? The marriage is cancelled?"

Xia Hongyi had a thoughtful look.

"It's up to you Yue'er. You can do as you wish."

Hearing that she smiled for a bit. Though her father didn't see it because of her veil.

"Then…I know who I want to marry."

This made Xia Hongyi curious…what does her daughter have in mind?

~~~

I sighed in relief as I finished my cultivation session. Being in [Fifth of Spirit Profound] has its perks and downsides. For one cultivation is becoming a pain in the ass. For another, I like sensing this power flowing through my body.

So far I haven't touched the purple crystals, not that I think I will need them anytime soon. With my 54 Profound Entrances open I can cultivate without much hassle.

As I left the cave I walked back to the Xiao Clan.

Everyone is whispering among themselves. Something major has happened.

"Cousin, what's going on?" I asked one of my cousins. He was a familiar face, another average guy just like I am.

"Oh, hey Long. Something has happened between the elders. The trash Xiao Che has died and the Fifth Elder went to get some justice for him. It ended up with a brawl."

For a second my mind went black. Yun Che died? But the main characters don't die before the canon! Hell, he should not even die in the first place. Even when Xia Qingyue doesn't exist he would still marry the Mayor's daughter who treats him like a dog. 

That is just how things are.

But now he is dead, and Xiao Lie went to fight? What the hell?

"I see, how it has ended?" 

"Don't worry grandfather is alright." He said with a reassuring tone.

I slowly nodded. Thankfully our 'roof' is still fine…

"Then what happened to the Fifth Elder?" 

"I heard he died fighting, he took out the Clan Leader and other few elders." 

I blinked a couple of times… he died?