Lin Mu had been close to the peak of the Dao Treading realm for quite some time now and was only waiting for his Dao Embryo to reach the limit. Only when it did would he be able to enter the Immortal ascension realm and be able to sense Immortal Qi.
But Lin Mu had not done that. Instead, the consumption of Immortal Qi rich food had allowed him to obtain Immortal Qi before he even reached the Immortal ascension realm.
Normally, if a cultivator forcefully consumed Immortal Qi in any form, whether it be in the form of beast meat, immortal fruits and herbs, or even immortal pills, it would be useless.
At the best, the immortal Qi would dissipate automatically as their bodies would be incapable of holding it. And at the worst, they would explode from the immortal Qi and die from it.
For Lin Mu though, there were additional factors in play. The first was the fact that he wasn't just a Qi cultivator, he was also a body cultivator which was at the peak of the five treasures realm.
This gave him the physique that could withstand the pressure of the Immortal Qi which was further compounded by his defenses.
Then came the second factor which was the Nameless technique of the Lost immortal. This technique had transformed his stomach into an entirely new kind of organ that could absorb and contain nearly every type of energy.
It would greedily suppress all energies, whether they be elemental, natural or Qi in form. Similarly, there was no way his stomach would let go of Immortal Qi. Normally it should have leaked out of his body, but the stomach forcefully held it in place.
This allowed his body to acclimatize to it and eventually the immortal Qi was pushed out into the rest of the body. Since Lin Mu had not cultivated with the Immortal Qi before, it couldn't fully enter his meridians and Dantian.
So there was no automatic circulation of immortal Qi like there was for spirit Qi.
But this resulted in another effect. It allowed his Dao Embryo to progress quickly and Lin Mu directly gained the ability to sense the Immortal Qi. With that, he skipped over the Immortal ascension realm and reached the False Immortal realm.
And now, Lin Mu had gathered all the Immortal Qi that was spread in his body into his meridians. Usually, this immortal Qi should have been in the form of wisps, but with the sheer amount, Lin Mu had absorbed, it directly started to condense into a liquid form.
Once it was condensed, it dripped down into his dantian and formed a pool of itself.
~RIPPLE~
Lin Mu suddenly felt the ocean of spirit Qi within his Dantian tremble.
"Huh? What is it…" Before he could observe it though, the ocean of spirit Qi started to stir.
Ripples appeared and turned into waves before they started to move. The spirit Qi ocean directly parted from the middle, creating a depression in it, and in this depression the liquid immortal Qi started to accumulate.
"The immortal Qi exerted its influence?" Lin Mu didn't know it could do something like this.
Little by little, the Immortal Qi started to gather in the depression. This also exerted a pressure on his Dantian, as it had already reached its maximum capacity.
'No wonder I felt the ache. Its due to the Dantian expanding…' Lin Mu could feel the limits of his Dantian extending slowly.
His Dantian was already very large and was bigger than several experts combined. But it was not the limit for him and could continue to expand even more. The only difference was that to expand it, a great force was needed.
Before this, Lin Mu had already reached the limits of what he could achieve with his spirit Qi, but now there was a new form of Qi that could further affect it. And since his Dantian was already quite large, the speed of expansion was slow.
"I just need to focus and let it happen naturally…" Lin Mu understood and fully immersed himself in it.
A minute after minute passed and the Immortal Qi continued to condense. His stomach also released the excess Immortal Qi that had been suppressed in it, and now it was automatically channeled into his meridians.
Lin Mu also started to get familiar with the Immortal Qi. The first difference he found between spirit Qi and Immortal Qi was the natural density. The Immortal Qi felt 'heavier' than spirit Qi.
If he compared a drop of Immortal Qi and a drop of Spirit Qi, the weight difference was exponentially higher. This also gave Lin Mu more thoughts about the immortal Qi and its properties.
'If it is already this dense when it's in the liquid form, can it be compressed further? Can it be turned into a solid form?' Lin Mu wondered.
In the core condensation realm, one condensed the liquid spirit Qi into a solid core in order to give birth to a Nascent soul. But there was no such thing in the Immortal realm. Lin Mu knew this too but just wanted to know 'What If' he did something like that.
He was already sensitive to weight due to learning the Aspect of Heaviness and wondered how far it could be taken.
If someone didn't have this, they might not have even felt the weight difference between the two types of Qis. This type of understanding was the natural variation brought upon by the myriad types of Dao Embryos that existed in the universe.
Others might find different kinds of changes in the properties of the Qis.
Lin Mu continued along with this thought and let himself enter a trance. The immortal Qi continued to accumulate and finally reached the 10% mark.
Now ten percent of Qi in his Dantian was immortal Qi!
At this point though, the immortal Qi also stopped accumulating. Lin Mu had already condensed all the immortal Qi there was, and his stomach had also released all that was stored within it.
Now the only wisps of immortal Qi that were left in his body were in the meridians. They naturally circulated and formed a cultivation circuit for Lin Mu.
'The Primordial path… follow your body and let the fates guide you to the path of cultivation…' Lin Mu learned the method he needs to follow in the Immortal realm.
This was a method that would be unique to him and his body. No one other than him would be able to use it, nor would they be able to learn it. This was a method formed by his own understanding and comprehension.
~HONG~
As if a bell had been rung, Lin Mu's body resonated with the immortal Qi in the world. His spirit sense spread and pierced through the surrounding immortal Qi, no longer being suppressed.
But after reaching the fifty kilometer limit, it stopped!
~BOOM~
Then it exploded!
Lin Mu's spirit sense had been shattered apart!
This was something that should have been a cause of great anguish to most experts, but to Lin Mu, it felt like a mere breeze. He didn't panic either, feeling as if this was merely natural.
~HUALA~
Finally a change happened. The exploded parts of the spirit sense mixed with the immortal Qi in the air before starting to return. Wisps of Immortal Qi were pulled along with these fragments and started to join up.
Just like Spirit Qi wisps could join up to form a tendril of spirit sense, Immortal Qi could also join and develop a new form of sense… The Immortal Sense!
Lin Mu's spirit sense was sacrificed to make way for the immortal sense. But the refinement level of both was not the same.
In the rust sky world, Lin Mu's spirit sense could reach a maximum of Ten kilometers but after sacrificing itself and condensing Immortal sense, the reach was just a hundred meters.
But one must not be mistaken by this, as it was a qualitative change.
The benefits obtained from this would be similarly great. Besides, Lin Mu could also refine his Immortal sense further. Even the hundred meter long tendril he had formed alone was unique.
Most cultivators didn't even form their Immortal sense when they broke through to the Immortal realm. They needed to learn it all over again and then form their Immortal sense.
For example, Immortal Taegu was in the first tribulation realm and even then he didn't have Immortal sense. He simply didn't have the understanding needed to refine it yet.
So far, only Elder Niji and the three immortals of the Huyun Clan seemed to have Immortal sense. Lin Mu didn't know what it was back then, but now he could instinctively grasp what their sensory ability was.
~huu~
Lin Mu let out a breath, making the Qi in the air stir and returning his Immortal sense.
"So this is the False Immortal realm…" Lin Mu opened his eyes and glanced at himself.
He looked the same, but his demeanor had evolved.
