In the worst case, it means I’d have to live in a state of qi deviation from the twelfth life onwards…

‘That’s really not acceptable.’

If it were a one-time life, I might shout “Let’s go!” and push my energy into the middle dantian.

But it’s too big of a gamble to risk qi deviation when I don’t know how many more lives I’ll have to live.

If that’s the case, rather…

‘It’s wiser to sacrifice just this life.’

Na Rin cautiously sent a mental message to Gong Son Wu.

[Excuse me, Guardian Spirit.]

“What’s with the ‘Guardian Spirit’ that doesn’t suit you. Just call me Uncle Gong Son.”

Gong Son Wu looked much more relieved as Na Rin’s complexion stabilized.

He probably thinks the qi circulation will end safely soon.

In reality, she’s on the brink of qi deviation.

[Uncle Gong Son. Can you guide me?]

“You mean now?”

Na Rin briefly explained the current situation to Gong Son Wu, who had a ‘Why now of all times?’ expression on his face.

[I originally had a little over 2 gapja of inner energy.] [The yin and yang energies of the Ten Thousand Year Flower were fighting among themselves, so I threatened them a bit with my original inner energy.] [Then, instead of fighting each other, they combined forces and grew enormously.] [I think I’ll get indigestion if I consume this.] [But actually, my middle dantian is also open, so if it passes through there, these energies will become even stronger.] [I think I’m going to fall into qi deviation, so please guide me.]

“……”

As Na Rin’s explanation progressed, Gong Son Wu’s expression became increasingly distorted.

If he had known just one, just one of those troublesome pieces of information in advance, it wouldn’t have come to this!

“Haah……”

Gong Son Wu pressed his forehead and let out a deep sigh.

[I’m sorry……]

“Do you even know? Be prepared for a caning if you survive this.”

It would be a blessing if it ended with just a caning.

Gong Son Wu moved behind Na Rin, placed his hand on her back, and gently stroked with his energy as if assessing the situation.

Na Rin’s tattered lower dantian and the swollen meridians were on the verge of rupturing.

To endure to this extent. Even a grown man would scream and faint from this pain.

‘First, I need to drain some of the energy.’

Gong Son Wu absorbed as much of the frantically surging Ten Thousand Year Flower energy from Na Rin’s body as possible, while gently guiding the remaining energy to fuse together.

[Gradually accept the energy and slowly ride the flow. Don’t try to solve it all at once.]

Na Rin entrusted her body to Gong Son Wu’s guidance, mixing her original inner energy with the Ten Thousand Year Flower energy as she circulated it through her body (yizhouitian).

It became a bit intense when passing through the middle dantian, but it was still at a level she could control.

[You’re doing well. Don’t lose the flow and keep going. I’ll gradually return the energy so it can merge smoothly.]

From Gong Son Wu’s dantian, the somewhat tamed Ten Thousand Year Flower energy seeped back into Na Rin’s body, one stream at a time.

The Ten Thousand Year Flower energy, not going against the main current but gradually adding its color, blended with Na Rin’s inner energy until they were indistinguishable, riding the flow.

‘She’s exceptionally familiar with inner energy manipulation.’

At this point, it was only a matter of time before Na Rin fully absorbed the Ten Thousand Year Flower energy.

Just as the heart sends blood throughout the body, Na Rin’s inner energy was flowing naturally and in accordance with the principles.

Gong Son Wu finally let out a sigh of relief.

“If you gather and control it, the Ten Thousand Year Flower energy will become entirely yours. Congratulations. Your inner energy will increase by at least 1 gapja.”

Unlike Gong Son Wu, who seemed to think it was all over, Na Rin’s internal situation was not quite comfortable.

‘I’m dying! I’m dying!’

With each circulation, the flow of inner energy that had been gently tapping the upper dantian began to speed up, and before she knew it, it had accelerated to an unmanageable speed.

In other words, Na Rin’s upper dantian was now in this state:

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap!

‘Aaaaah! My upper dantian feels like it’s going to burst!’

If she stopped the flow of energy, it would backflow and she’d die, but if she didn’t stop it, her upper dantian would burst. It was a dilemma.

Crack.

The upper dantian began to develop cracks.

‘Uwaaah! Primordial Heavenly Lord! No, Demon God! Whichever one, please save me!’

Right at that moment.

[*Safely open the upper dantian. (Yes/No)]

A message window.

Na Rin’s mind snapped to attention.

‘Safely?’

She didn’t feel like shouting, ‘How can the upper dantian be safely opened, you fool!’

At this rate, her upper dantian would burst anyway.

There was no room for hoping for a lucky break.

Then, what reason was there to hesitate?

‘Yeeeeees!’

As soon as she selected ‘Yes’, the door to the upper dantian swung wide open.

She worried that the pouring inner energy would crash into the upper dantian like a tidal wave, but surprisingly, that didn’t happen.

All the energy turned into foam as it passed through the door of the upper dantian, losing its momentum and form.

[*The upper dantian has been opened. You can now view the status window of others.] [*The upper dantian has been opened. ‘The Path to the Divine Realm’ is now open.] [*Due to insufficient enlightenment, you cannot proceed on ‘The Path to the Divine Realm’.]

“Na Rin? Na Rin! You…?”

As soon as the notifications rang out, Gong Son Wu’s gaze, which had been fixed on Na Rin, slowly turned upward.

Na Rin’s body, still in a cross-legged position, had started to float in the air.

Flashing blue light, brilliant golden light, and vibrant flames began to orbit around Na Rin’s crown, and finally, a black and white ring appeared and started to intertwine with them.

Five rings of blue, yellow, red, black, and white.

‘The Five Qi Returning to Origin!’

Just as he was marveling at this unbelievable state, the colors from the five rings were sucked into Na Rin’s crown.

Then, Na Rin’s body began to crack like a flower bud opening, and five-colored light leaked through the fissures. Gong Son Wu had seen this spectacle before.

“Bone… transformation…”

Like a lotus flower blooming, like the colors of newly sprouted spring unfurling under the sky, like a bursting flower bud, Na Rin’s body shattered.

Light Wind.

Kuguuuuguung!

Gong Son Wu closed his eyes, unable to withstand the dazzling light.

A strong suction force that seemed capable of uprooting the pillars of the hall and a crushing pressure struck simultaneously, creating a whirlwind inside the room.

“Lord Jiguk Cheonwang!”

“Are you alri…!”

The Blue Dragon Squad member who rushed in, alarmed by the strange phenomenon, was captivated by the sight of Na Rin floating in the air, emitting light.

They knew she had taken the spirit medicine, but how could this be possible?

Fwooosh!

The next moment, the five-colored light wind that had been piercing their eyes instantly dissipated its blade-like intensity.

And slowly descending was a child.

“Na Rin!”

Gong Son Wu sprang up and caught Na Rin.

Na Rin, with newly grown white hair reaching down to her waist, was wrapped in her own hair, sleeping peacefully.

[This is the timeline

‘It’s less severe because it’s a child’s body.’

Na Rin washed herself with warm water in a large, cauldron-like circular bathtub.

After removing the grime and discharge, her skin, whiter than rice cake, shone brightly.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, young miss. Ugh!”

The maid’s face turned pale as she nodded, but it wasn’t very convincing.

Seeing this, another maid spoke up.

“We should finish this initial bath and change the water. We’ll prepare a fragrant medicinal bath, so could you wait for a moment?”

“Yes.”

As the capable maid took care of the retching one and left, three or four girls who had been waiting outside the bathroom came in and efficiently washed Na Rin’s body.

“You’re so beautiful!”

“We’ll prepare the best medicinal bath!”

“Drink some warm tea so your body doesn’t get cold!”

They were bright, diligent, and well-educated children.

While the young maids cleaned the bathroom and boiled fresh water, Na Rin had a moment alone in the adjacent room, drinking tea. Her eyes gleamed sharply. It was the perfect opportunity.

“Status window!”

As if it had been waiting, a scroll appeared and unfurled in mid-air.

Hehe. How much had her inner energy increased?

Na Rin looked at her status window with a grin, after a long time.

‘Since I went through bone transformation, it must have increased by at least 1 gapja, right?’

[Name: Ju Na Rin

Age: 4

Level: 1

Affiliation: Daeseong Academy First Year, Ilwol Gate Odd-job Worker, Skilled Archer’s Attendant (Special)

Status: Child Bone Transformation Stage 1 MAX (Temporary +100 to physical ability stats applied. Duration: 5 years)

Titles: Growing Young Sprout (Experience gained +100%), Demon Sect’s Favorite Doll (Demon Sect inclination +1%), Bone Transformation ▶ See more

Inclination: Righteous Path 99% > Demon Sect 1%

Inner Energy: 4.2 gapja]

“Fo… Fo…”

4.2 gapja.

Na Rin fell backward from her sitting position, landing on her bottom, but she didn’t feel any pain.

‘Surely I didn’t see it wrong?’

It was so unbelievable that no matter how she looked at it, it clearly showed 4.2 gapja.

Jackpot. A real jackpot.

Was the Ten Thousand Year Flower such an incredible spirit object?

Na Rin thought she should hold a memorial service for the grateful, grateful Ten Thousand Year Flower as she quickly sat cross-legged and checked her dantian.

‘It’s real. It really was.’

The size of the lower dantian seemed to have doubled, no, tripled.

The middle dantian near the heart also seemed to have become stronger in emitting inner energy.

With the upper dantian wide open, she felt a refreshing sensation as if washing the inside of her head with hot spring water in the middle of winter.

‘At this level, I’d be considered quite strong even among those in the Absolute Realm, right?’

During her Blood Plum Blossom days, Na Rin was in the Absolute Realm, but compared to others who had achieved similar accomplishments, she wasn’t particularly outstanding.

It was because she only liked learning martial arts and wielding swords, and had no talent for cultivating the Way.

‘They said that no matter how much inner energy you have, you can’t get stronger without enlightenment, right? Stupid old men! It’s because you’ve never tried boiling and eating a thousand-year-old carp!’

Na Rin repeated words that would make senior masters faint if they heard them, and laughed, “Puhaha!”

It was a laugh she could make because she didn’t know that she should have entered the threshold of the Divine Realm when she opened her upper dantian, but was stuck in the Absolute Realm due to her lack of enlightenment.

“Right. Did my stats increase too?”

Na Rin immediately looked down at the ability stats section.

[Stamina: 605+100 (Tough, Enduring, Tireless.)

Strength: 455+100 (Quite Strong, Powerful, World’s Strongest.)

Speed: 710+100 (Hard to Follow with Eyes, Swift, Lightning-fast.)

Accuracy: 565+100 (Unfailing, Dead-on, Marksman.)]

‘What’s this?’

Na Rin tilted her head at the ‘+100’ notation next to the physical ability stats.

The ability stats had never been displayed in this divided format before.

Reading the status window carefully from the beginning again, she noticed a part she had missed earlier, distracted by the 4.2 gapja of inner energy.

[Status: Child Bone Transformation Stage 1 MAX (Temporary +100 to physical ability stats applied. Duration: 5 years) ▶ See more]

This somehow feels ominous.

[This is the timeline separator]