The Paladin in the Abyss

A familiar sensation came once again.

Within a single day, Lancelot's mind had been directly infused twice, and he had already experienced it before.

The elves' blessing turned a vast amount of information into a part of his memory. Although direct, it made his recollections quite chaotic.

This time, however, was different. Lancelot discovered that a bamboo slip had appeared in his spiritual world, which seemed to contain endless information, but it usually had no effect on his thinking. Only when he intended to open the bamboo slip could he access the knowledge within.

The young man in white robes saw Lancelot regain consciousness so quickly and showed a slightly surprised expression. He smiled and spoke:

"We are Spiritual Cultivators, who borrow the power of nature and seek the truth of the 'Tao', aspiring to live as long as the heavens and Earth, to shine with the sun and the moon."

"Today I impart to you the 'Tao', yet I cannot provide any further teaching in the future. It is difficult for us to claim a master-disciple relationship, so consider this a chance I'm giving you."

"I've left you with the introductory Cultivation Technique, but the power of nature in this world is different, and the advanced techniques may not be suitable. You'll need to explore slowly on your own. For this reason, I've also left you the cultivation experiences of myself and many wise predecessors, which should serve your cultivation well."

"You must know that in the path of Spiritual Cultivation, seeking the 'Tao' is fundamental, and techniques are merely minor details. I believe you can forge a distinguished and most fitting 'Tao' for yourself."

"My name is Han Li, and I am the Heavenly Master founder of the Qingyuan Palace in the Spiritual Realm. If destiny allows, perhaps we will meet again."

The figure of the young man in white gradually became ethereal, and Lancelot respectfully bowed his head in a salute.

"Thank you, Master Han, for imparting the method, farewell, Master Han."

By the time he raised his head, the white figure had already disappeared, as if it had been a dream.

But a faint laughter still echoed in the air, and the scattered corpses and sore arms around him reminded him that everything that had just happened was real.

Lancelot closed his eyes and felt again the bamboo slip in his spiritual world. He was eager to thoroughly comprehend it, but clearly, this was not the right place.

Vultures were already circling overhead. What beings would be attracted by the flesh scattered all over the ground, Lancelot did not want to know.

If the great demon had carried any valuables, they were probably now sliced into countless pieces. Nonetheless, Lancelot successfully found a red gemstone in the pile labeled "skulls."

It flickered with a beautiful glow, hard to miss.

The gemstone still retained the demon's warmth, and Lancelot, holding it in his hand, felt the powerful force contained within.

Better to study this thing later. It was time to leave.

He put his fingers in his mouth and blew a loud whistle. The clattering of hooves quickly approached, and a black warhorse appeared at the entrance of the valley.

The demon warhorse seemed to be startled by the gruesome scene in the valley; the look it gave Lancelot even carried a hint of fear.

Lancelot smirked inwardly; this creature had completely lost its haughtiness, and he had indeed bluffed successfully. He re-slung his great sword on his back, leapt onto the horse, and disappeared into the mountain range.

-------------------

On a red wasteland, inside a certain steel fortress.

A figure clad in magnificent attire sat on a throne engraved with a hexagram, listening to a subordinate's report.

"Have you found Euric's whereabouts?"

"Yes, great master. Euric tried to conduct a secret summoning ritual to seek the presence of powerful beings from the Stellar Realm, but he tragically failed."

"Oh, what happened?"

The details of what occurred are hard to judge. When we found the ritual site, vultures were enjoying a feast there."

"Did you find Euric's body?"

"His body was easy to recognize, although it was evenly sliced into hundreds of pieces. Great master, I cannot imagine what he endured before his death."

"What a pity, Euric's transformation was just a little short of success. In pursuing self-destruction, demons are always full of creativity."

"Should we continue to look for new targets?"

"Hmm, let's stick to the original plan, Euric was just a small pawn in the scheme."

-------------------

In a cave in the Shattered Mountain Range.

Lancelot sat cross-legged on the ground in a position with his organs aligned to the heavens, trying to feel the existence of "Qi" as he breathed in a pattern of one long and three short breaths, following the methods recorded on the bamboo slips.

According to the slips, in the early stages of spiritual cultivation, one needed to draw in nature's spiritual energy and temper one's physical body. His current posture was considered the most harmonious between humans and the heavens and the earth, making it easier to sense nature's spiritual energy.

He had been sitting like this for nearly an hour now, with no progress so far.

But he was patient. The bamboo slips mentioned that different people had varying sensitivities to Qi; some could feel it immediately, while others might take months or even years. Each time one sat like this and breathed, a part of nature's spiritual energy would remain in one's "meridians." As more and more spiritual energy gathered, one would eventually feel the Qi. Those in spiritual cultivation who lacked even this perseverance would do well to give up early.

Lancelot had previous experience with meditation, and at this moment, as his thoughts gradually emptied, he slowly entered an arcane state. Most of his brain had fallen asleep, but a small part of his consciousness remained very alert, maintaining awareness of his body.

Suddenly, a dizzy spell came over him, making him feel disoriented. Soon, his entire body felt pleasantly numb and tingling, with warmth flowing from every corner of his body.

He knew this was the so-called True Qi, and quickly focused his mind.

Following the method recorded in the bamboo slips, he concentrated his consciousness near the lower abdomen on a spot called the "Dantian," trying to guide the flow of this warm current.

The attempt immediately received feedback; he felt the True Qi gradually gathering at the focus of his consciousness. Lancelot started to follow the route recorded in the bamboo slips, controlling the True Qi to circulate within his body.

The circulation went very smoothly. Lancelot clearly felt many channels within his body through which True Qi could pass, realizing these were the so-called "Meridians."

His "Meridians" were quite broad, and the True Qi flowed through without any of the resistance mentioned in the bamboo slips, possibly due to his naturally strong physique.

Lancelot quickly completed a full Heavenly Cycle with the True Qi inside his body as recorded on the bamboo slips. The warm current that started at the Dantian was just warm at the beginning, but as it returned to the Dantian, it was as comforting as a cup of hot tea.

Upon further reflection, he felt his body was like a net that, through the posture of organs aligned to the heavens, captured the spiritual energy of the heavens and the earth in every corner of his body. And to control the True Qi to circulate inside his body was to gather the diffuse spiritual energy across his body and eventually channel it back to the Dantian, where it was stored as a Qi Sea.

After completing one Heavenly Cycle, he immediately began another with a strand of True Qi.

According to the bamboo slips, when one first felt True Qi in the body, the body was still in a primordial state with a large amount of Innate True Qi remaining inside. After completing the first Heavenly Cycle, the vital points opened, and the body began to automatically absorb spiritual energy from nature, causing the Innate True Qi to flow away. Within less than a day, the Innate True Qi distributed throughout the body would dissipate entirely.

Innate True Qi had a significant impact on combat strength in the early stages, though its influence gradually diminished in later stages, yet it still retained many marvelous uses.

Therefore, upon first feeling the "Qi" inside the body, one should perform as many Heavenly Cycles as possible to retain the Innate True Qi within the body's Qi Sea.

The bamboo slips also warned that initially learning the Heavenly Cycle circulation was very taxing on one's physical strength. If one were to faint from exhaustion midway, it would result in a significant loss of True Qi, a counterproductive outcome. Therefore, one should act according to one's capacity and not be greedy.

However, Lancelot felt no resistance during the Heavenly Cycle circulation, and his body, after enduring long-term knight training, was in excellent physical condition. Therefore, he repeatedly performed the Heavenly Cycle, circulating it precisely forty-nine times, the maximum emphasized in the bamboo slips, before stopping reluctantly.

Lancelot slowly opened his eyes, and a sharp gleam shot from them, briefly illuminating the dim cave.

The brilliance quickly retracted into his eyes, and Lancelot felt his spirit fuller than at any other time. He stood up and moved his long-seated body slightly. There was not a hint of numbness, and he felt even lighter than before.

Just as he was about to test his body's capabilities, a foul, putrid smell invaded his nose, causing him to cough violently.

Only then did he notice that his skin was covered with a sticky, dark red filth.

This was impurity from the flesh and blood, clogging the vital points throughout his body and preventing the absorption of the power of the heavens and the earth. However, it had been pushed out from his body with the first circulation of the Heavenly Cycle.

Luckily, there was a small hot spring in the cave. Lancelot ran over and jumped into the boiling pool, comfortably beginning to wash himself.

The originally steaming water quickly turned a contaminated dark red, and even the strong sulfur smell of the hot spring couldn't mask the foul odor.

"Hahaha, starting today, I can also be considered a cultivator," he thought.

Soaking in the hot spring, Lancelot sincerely thanked Master Han Tian, who had generously taught him the way. He was only at the beginning now, but as his realm increased, his survival rate in the Abyss would greatly improve.

Moreover, the strength of cultivators is contained inwardly and difficult to discern from outward appearance. In the Abyss, muscle size is a significant indicator of strength, so enemies would undoubtedly underestimate his abilities, which would be a great advantage.

As long as he kept a low profile, it would be easy to create a favorable situation where enemies he couldn't handle would hardly provoke him, but those who did would severely underestimate his strength.

It was perfect - an unbeatable position indeed.

But he furrowed his brows, worried about another matter.

"My fighting style is still that of a knight, so saying I'm a cultivator doesn't quite fit, does it?"

"A warrior who fights with the power of faith is called a Holy Warrior; a swordsman who masters the power of magic is called a Demon Swordsman..."

"So, what should a knight who has learned the ways of spiritual cultivation be called?"

Lancelot's eyes sparkled, and he leaped from the hot spring.

"Decided! From today onward, I am the world's first Paladin!"