Sage’s training speed eventually leveled out. A full cycle of opening a Qi Pore was cut down to merely an hour. With this improvement, he finally completed opening the required number of Qi Pores within a couple months. Once the speed leveled out after the first month, Sage started to diversify his training regimen. He had to practice Divine Breath, Ancestral Serpent Techniques, study Seals, create Formation Plates, and finally breed Insects. That Seal Master’s cave had been there for who knows how long so he didn’t really have any time constraints. On the other hand, he didn’t want to waste any time. He set himself a timeframe of one year. That should be more than enough time to complete all of his preparations.

The weapons and clothing he’d gained in the Soul Taming Abode could be studied at any time. In fact, he’d need the help of a higher ranked blacksmith and tailor to help disassemble them without causing damage so he decided to leave that off for later. There was a similar problem with the Golden Egg, just like that Armored Ghost Hand in his storage ring, the Dawn Light Pillar, and some other treasures; he wasn’t sure how to use them at the moment so he merely saved them for later. He didn’t want to rush into something without the correct knowledge. If he used up or damaged one of these treasures and later on found out their proper use he’d be left with only regret. Better to hold onto them and save them for the right time. He had an idea how to use the Golden Egg, but right now his focus was on gaining power before heading back out to the Seal Master’s cave. The experimentation could be saved for later.

Sage set up a schedule and spent a few hours per day on each task. He’d wake up and feed the insects, then spend the morning training Divine Breath and the Serpent’s techniques. In the afternoon he’d head to a Smithy and forge Formation Plates. In the evening he’d head to the Million Skill Library and study all the foundational knowledge on Seals. At night he’d check up on the Insects and do some breeding while reviewing the knowledge he’d collected in the Memory Spheres from the Soul Taming Abode’s library. He followed this schedule for all but a couple days of the week when he was obligated to perform some duties for the sect or sell some of the products from his Insects. He didn’t want to neglect his earning of contribution points, since he still needed to purchase materials for his studies and training. He might also need techniques from the Library or training time in the Sunfire Pagoda soon so building up a big reserve of points was never a bad idea.

A few months later, Sage had finally reached the first level of proficiency with Divine Breath. Every day he had to train strange and unusual methods to improve the strength and toughness of his lungs. Qi was emitted through the Qi Pores in his lungs to create a powerful suction force to let him breathe in huge quantities of air. The next portion of the technique used the Qi Pore in his throat and mouth to channel and control the air as he breathed it out. The shape, volume, pressure, and even temperature of the expelled air could be manipulated with the technique, but it was all dependent on one factor. The physical quality of the body. If the flesh was not strong enough it couldn’t contain the high compressed air nor could it guide the violently expelled gas without failing. First of all the Qi technique was nearly impossible to perform without having the proper Qi Pores opened. On top of that, if it was attempted without also reaching the correct stage of body hardening, the Cultivator’s lungs might collapse when inhaling or their throat may explode when exhaling.

Sage created a few unique but mostly simple apparatus to perform the unique training listed in the Technique. He built a few bladders out of very specific types of animal hides and stomachs. One of the training methods was to inflate these bladders like a balloon, the difference being that the bladders were created at different levels of tension. Each step required a higher and higher level of pressure in order to inflate. It was a strange form of resistance training with the lungs. There was also a similar device for inhaling through smaller and smaller pipes while exercising. That was just the beginning though. Later training would seem like torture to an outsider as he had to drown himself in alternating boiling and freezing waters. The technique included perfect control over the esophagus so he could choose to drink water straight into his lungs. After holding it there for a while to temper his organs from the inside he used the qi that now coated the inside of his lungs to perfectly expel the liquids so he could resume breathing again. For a normal person this would all be impossible, but the training technique taught him how to use his Qi to protect his insides from damage. Small amounts of the heat or cold would seep through the defenses while the technique gradually adjusted his body to heal rapidly and fuse with more energy.

Whenever a Cultivator increased a stage, their body would undergo a minor transformation. All of the cells in their body would be replaced by slightly stronger ones, forged in the higher quality of energy they had attained. In fact, each transformation was the dividing line to know a practitioner had reached a new stage. Only when they felt the small changes in their body and felt the impurities in their flesh being expelled through the pores of their skin would they be sure of their improvement. The change was even more drastic when a new rank was reached as they usually were accompanied by other earth shattering improvements. Sage had never really practiced a true Body Hardening technique so he didn’t know how interesting it felt.

Golden Mantis was the closest thing to one he’d tried in the past, but it wasn’t exactly Body Hardening as it was using a Qi Technique to mimic body hardening and a matching martial art. The aura of a Golden Mantis formed around the body, enhancing strength, speed, and toughness. It also included training in hand to hand maneuvers that matched up well with the Golden Aura that could be formed into Mantis like forearms and claws. At the time Sage had thought it was a powerful and impressive art that could do anything. Combined with the Mantis Heart Manual as a Qi Cultivation technique to give him courage and protect from poisons, it seemed like he could be invincible if he just trained enough. Years later, Sage realized how weak the techniques actually were. He saw then that they were perfect for training footsoldiers. Those two techniques plus the Insect Immortal Index would easily create an army of men and mantis that were quite well rounded. Just three techniques and a pretty well rounded pair of combatants would be ready. My branch family really was just a training yard for cannon fodder.

With such a thought, Sage was somewhat sad. Then again, he was quite curious about the Ancestral graves. If they were really just an expendable bunch of cannon fodder, why would the Ancestral graves be so expansive and contain such powerful figures? What exactly was going on there in his hometown?

His mind had wandered, but he thought back to his training and was both excited and relieved to have completed the first stage of dreadful training for Divine Breath. The first stage consisted of training to withstand heat, cold, and wind pressure. He’d had to withstand boiling water and sub-zero salt water flooding his lungs and swishing around in his mouth. If it weren’t for the qi protecting his tongue he was sure every last tastebud would have been melted away by now. The reason he felt dreadful was that stage two consisted of training with poisons and contaminants. Instead of just shielding his lungs, the qi would have to be controlled to act like a filter. He would have to breath in poison mist and smoke clouds till they didn’t affect him in the least.