The Yang Qi pool was actually smaller than Lin Mu had originally expected. The Yin Qi pools that he had seen so far had been very large, going so far as to be nearly a hundred meters wide.
But the Yang Qi pool was merely two meters wide.
"No… it's not just the size… the Yang Qi in it is very pure too." Xukong spoke up.
Lin Mu came closer to the Yang Qi pool and kneeled next to it. The Reddish Orange fluid in it was none other than the Liquefied yang Qi. While there were still some impurities in it, they were greatly reduced from before.
"The concentration seems lower than that of the crystal we saw before though, senior?" Lin Mu replied.
"This might be the only way he could stabilize it perhaps or keep it in a state in which it could actually be utilized. That crystal we saw before was highly condensed, but also difficult to use directly.
But this liquid Yang Qi is the perfect material to be utilized." Xukong explained.
"I see…" Lin Mu said and curiously extended his hand towards the pool.
His finger lightly dipped into the reddish orange liquid for merely a moment when Lin Mu felt burning energy entering through it.
"ARGH!" Lin Mu cried in pain and quickly pulled his finger back.
Looking at the finger, red veins had popped up on it, despite the gold skin. The Yang Qi had drilled into his finger without so much as even caring about the defense of the gold metal.
"How is this possible?" Lin Mu was surprised at seeing his defenses being breached.
"Pure yang Qi like this is extremely dangerous to be absorbed. There is a reason why nearly no one uses pure Yang or Yin Qi for cultivation. Balance is very important for cultivators and even if they use elements to cultivate, there is still a certain level of it maintained in their bodies.
But when pure Yang or Yin Qi is used, that balance will be tilted and the cultivator will suffer. Even you can't make use of the Yang Qi like that. This is also the reason why Gu Yao is utilizing the barriers as filters. It would allow the Yang Qi and Yin Qi to mix and get balanced before being assimilated by him." Xukong explained.
"I understand now." Lin Mu nodded his head. "But then the egg… how can it directly absorb Yin Qi and Yang Qi? Is it not harmed by it." He asked.
"That is something we will only know after the egg hatches. By now I'm sure the beast born from it won't be normal. If it can already absorb Yang Qi and Yin Qi like this, it is bound to be one of the few exceptions that can absorb them freely." Xukong answered.
Lin Mu furrowed his brows, but was only more curious about the egg.
~shua~
Flipping his hand, the grey egg appeared in it.
~Tremble~
And as soon as it did, the egg shook as if excited for something.
"Oh? It reacted really quickly." Lin Mu said as he saw the egg shaking.
~HONG~
Then a moment later, a wave of energy spread from the egg as it got incredibly cold!
Lin Mu almost dropped it from his hand, but the egg automatically floated up.
~SHUA~
The egg flew toward the Yang Qi pool and sank into it.
"This…" Lin Mu was left surprised.
~SPLASH~
A vortex formed in the Yang Qi pool and all the liquid Yang Qi started to swirl. A minute later, the level of the liquid Yang Qi started to fall visibly.
"That's very fast!" Lin Mu was stunned.
As if the stopper at the bottom of a tub was removed, the liquid was rapidly spinning and being drained.
In just five minutes, nearly half of the Yang Qi had been depleted.
And while this was happening, Gu Yao was unaware of the danger that was about to fall on him.
He continued to cultivate within the isolated space. The balanced Yin and Yang Qi floated in the air, looking like streaks of smoke coming from joss sticks.
Right now the color of the smoke was grey and looked almost the same as normal spirit Qi. Gu Yao mediated in a specific pattern and the Qi would be pulled towards him. It would then enter his body through his nostrils as well as through his pores.
His cultivation base was also improving by the second, his aura rising.
'Just a bit more…' Gu Yao thought to himself. 'The Qi accumulated in the pools should be enough for me to not just breakthrough, but also reach the very peak of the Immortal Ascension realm. Then I just need a little more help from that thing and I'll be an Immortal!'
But soon he felt something was wrong.
"Huh?" Gu Yao's eyes opened wide as he felt a tearing pain in his body.
~COUGH~
"What?!" Gu Yao almost screamed upon coughing out blood.
But that was not all, as the blood he had spat out became black and turned into mist. It was now that he saw the Qi in the air that was no longer grey.
"HOW! WHAT IS HAPPENING!? THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Gu Yao exclaimed, seeing the black gas spread in the air.
He knew what it was, but didn't know how it was here.
"Why is Yin Qi spread like this? Is the Filtering barriers not working?" Gu Yao said anxiously.
He checked the formation arrays but found it to be hard. The Yin Qi was increasing more and more, and he couldn't stop it from entering his body anymore. It was directly forcing its way into his skin and raging in his meridians.
The Yin Qi was cold, but was being restrained by his body and cultivation base.
'I won't have long like this…' Gu Yao reckoned.
If he didn't solve the issue quickly, there was a great chance he might be overwhelmed by the Yin Qi!