The world faded into a low hum. Each breath deepened, drawing in the faint natural Qi that lingered in the cave's air. It was weak, but he didn't need much.
His body began to stir and inside his dantian, the Crimson Flame Bamboo pulsed gently. it was unresponsive some time ago but now its wildly pulsing.
It had grown slightly since it was first planted, its tiny stalk glowing with a soft red hue like an ember hidden beneath ash.
As Damien absorbed the surrounding Qi, the bamboo responded, drawing in the same energy it's not for itself, but to refine and purify it.
The Qi he gathered did not move wildly. It flowed with rhythm, like a river being fed by rain, and was absorbed cleanly through his pores.
Every breath brought in more, guided along his meridians, until it reached his dantian where it spiraled into a controlled current.
The bamboo flickered as the Qi passed through it, and as it did, the impurities were burned away.
The remaining essence became purer, warmer, and more potent. It merged into his core, enhancing his foundation.
[System Notification: Cultivation Detected]
[Activating Effect: Ten Times EXP Boost]
As the system notified the flow intensified. The Qi he absorbed now moved faster, thicker, and purer. As if the world itself had begun to pour energy into him.
Inside his dantian, the bamboo responded again. A thin red root stretched further, anchoring itself deeper, as if it too was growing stronger from the flow.
His body felt light, his core steady, and his thoughts were quiet. The cave remained still, the fire crackling gently beside him.
He felt his mind expand and his strength grow stronger with each passing moment. His presence radiated brilliance, as though he were becoming more than just a man.
After thirty minutes, he finally stopped, opening his eyes with a deep sigh.
"The 4th level of body awakening. Well, this speed is impressive," he said, a smile creeping onto his face.
His talent was ten times greater than in his first life, thanks to the system. In truth, his cultivation talent had been just decent back then.
What accelerated his progress was Dual Cultivation. Since he had a natural affinity for it, which allowed him to increase his cultivation at an incredible pace.
As he stood up, preparing to check the outside, he noticed the girl squirming on the flat ground.
He quickly squatted down and checked her pulse at her wrist. The moment his hand touched it, a wave of ice-cold energy shot through his fingers.
He quickly pulled his hand back, inspecting his fingers, which had been caught by a sudden frostbite.
"Cold..." he muttered in surprise, though his expression remained nonchalant.
"Does she have a fever," he wondered and test it.
He placed his fingers on her wrist again, this time using the fiery energy of the Crimson Flame Bamboo to ward off the cold.
The chilling sensation no longer froze his hand. He sent his Qi into her body, to feel her veins, and his eyes widened in shock at what he discovered.
"Frozen Lotus Physique," Damien murmured under his breath.
"It seems her physique is running wild. If she doesn't control it, she'll freeze herself to death," Damien said, standing up. The cold feeling in the cave was intensifying.
"So, even if I hadn't helped her, she would have still killed those thugs," Damien muttered to himself.
He understood the awakening and defense mechanism of this physique.
If anyone ever attempted to forcefully dual cultivate with her, the physique would activate on its own, freezing that person in place.
However, it would also freeze the host, leading to their death as well. But this occurrence seemed to coincide with the awakening period, meaning that this must be nearing the age of 18 and was now triggering the awakening.
Damien's mind drifted to someone from his past who had possessed a similar physique.
To successfully awaken it, the process needed to be aided by a powerful treasure, one that would make the awakening easier and safer.
Although she could control it for now, buying herself some time to find the necessary treasures, and locating them wouldn't be easy.
Since even in the vast Thousand Star Domain, it's hard to locate those kinds of treasures.
In this low realm, the chances of finding such treasures were slim. They might not even exist here, and it all depended on fate and luck.
Even without the assistance of a powerful treasure, the chances of survival are slim, if you want to survive it using talent alone.
And the host's chances of living would only be around 5%, which is a very low probability.
"If I had at least 1% of my strength, this would be easy, but I don't," he muttered, watching as her face grew colder, a layer of frost beginning to form on her skin.
Her lips were turning pale, and if this wasn't resolved, she would die. Damien stood there, still hesitating, before letting out a deep sigh.
"I'll help you this once," Damien uttered as he took off his clothes.
His rod that was limp, all of a sudden it stood tall like an indomitable sword.
It was radiating with primal energy, that can even make an experienced woman closed their legs by just a glanced at it.
"Hmm, the size is not bad, it's the same back then" he said looking at his sword.
It was 7 inches tall, radiating with power he then activated his dantian and the Crimson Flame Bamboo was activated.
"Dual cultivation is the only way," he said as he arrived in front of her.
The frozen, rocky floor began to burn beneath his powerful Yan Qi. He then turned his attention to the girl, whose face had turned as white as paper from the freezing effects.
He then slowly extended his hand and gently touched her frozen face.
"What a beautiful young woman," Damien praised inwardly.
Not going to lie, Damien couldn't help but notice that the girl was a rare beauty. Her silver-white hair shimmered like moonlight, and her face was carved with the precision of a master craftsman.
Anyone who looked at her would be charmed by her exquisite features.
Her skin was spotless, and her sizes were also not small, the example of this is her breast which is big that even the bandage like layer cover could not hide those two peaks.
But Damien had seen countless beauties in his life, even with this beauty in front of him. He did not lose control, rather he was in control.
"Excuse me for my intrusion," he uttered.
With that he extended his hand towards her chest, ripping those bandages covering the two peaks.
As the bandage was ripped, two perfectly round peaches, bounced up like it was happy to be free from its constraints.