Chapter 73

On a morning three days before the apocalypse, Su Jing slowly opened her eyes in her expanded meditation room—

She decorated this 20-square-meter prefabricated house simply yet warmly. The walls were covered with off-white insulation cotton, and a small coal stove was placed in the corner. The fire was burning brightly, keeping the indoor temperature stable at 24℃, which was 2 degrees higher than the living room.

In the center of the quiet room was a thick woolen cushion, and next to it was a transparent jade bottle containing five pale green Qi Gathering Pills. The bottle was labeled "Cultivation Assistance," and she had specially taken it from her spare inventory.

She lightly tapped the system panel with her fingertip, taking out a pale green "Spiritual Energy Absorption Acceleration Card" from her "Backpack"—one of three she had recently purchased with her remaining points, the previous one having been used up during her breakthrough. After clicking "Use," a gentle system notification sounded: [Spiritual Energy Absorption Acceleration Card activated! Cultivation speed increased by 50% and spiritual energy absorption efficiency increased by 50% for 12 hours. Current spiritual energy concentration of the herbs is 1.5, allowing for efficient absorption.]

The moment it was activated, Su Jing clearly felt the speed of spiritual energy flowing through her body accelerate—the spiritual herbs in the space planting area had completed their second round of maturation, and each of the 100 herbs released 30 points of spiritual energy daily. Guided by her will, this spiritual energy flowed into the quiet room like a fine stream, surrounding her body and carrying a refreshing herbal fragrance.

She sat cross-legged on the cushion again, formed the "breathing mudra" with her hands, and gently touched the roof of her mouth with the tip of her tongue, beginning to guide her spiritual energy according to the steps of the "Basic Cultivation Techniques".

Unlike her previous breakthroughs, this time she focused more on "stability" when consolidating her cultivation. When the spiritual energy was inhaled through her nose and descended down her throat to the Qihai acupoint, Su Jing did not rush to push it. Instead, she let the spiritual energy stay in the Qihai acupoint for 5 seconds to feel the weight of the indigo spiritual energy.

When I broke through to the second level of Qi Refining before, the spiritual energy in my Qi Sea acupoint was like a flowing deep sea. Now, after several days of nurturing, it has become more solid, like a melted indigo gemstone, with almost no ripples when gently shaken.

"It will be even more effective when used with Qi Gathering Pills." Su Jing thought to herself, raised her hand, took out a Qi Gathering Pill from the jade bottle, and put it in her mouth—

The pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, its bitter medicinal fragrance blending into the spiritual energy along with the flow of energy. What originally required 10 seconds to complete a small circulation was finished in just 6 seconds thanks to the combined effects of the acceleration card and the pill.

The spiritual energy flowed smoothly along the Ren and Du meridians. When it passed the Neiguan acupoint on the wrist, there was no stagnation. Instead, it brought a gentle pushing force, which widened the meridians slightly. The system panel popped up a prompt: [Current spiritual energy circulation efficiency increased by 55% (acceleration card 50% + pill 5%), meridian resilience slightly increased, spiritual energy density of Qihai acupoint +3%].

Halfway through her cultivation, Su Jing subconsciously touched her forehead—the colds she used to catch occasionally during seasonal changes hadn't returned since she started cultivating and taking the pills. The "Physical Status" section of the system panel clearly displayed: [Current Constitution Level 28, Immunity Index 98 (average for an average adult is 60). Due to long-term nourishment from spiritual energy and the assistance of pills, the probability of contracting common diseases (colds, inflammations, etc.) has decreased to below 0.1%, and the healing speed of external injuries has increased by 200%].

She recalled the small wound she had been scratched by the Azure Wolf in the cultivation instance. At that time, she applied half a healing pill, and it scabbed over and healed in half a day. Now, with the continuous nourishment of spiritual energy, even such a small wound is unlikely to reappear.

Before she knew it, three hours had passed. Su Jing had completed 60 cycles of the Small Heavenly Circuit, and the indigo spiritual energy in her Qihai acupoint had almost solidified, like a full gem embedded in her abdomen.

She slowly finished her practice and raised her hand to move her wrist—the spiritual energy swirling around her fingertips did not immediately dissipate, but instead formed a thin layer of pale blue light, like a transparent glove, which was a sign of improved precision in controlling spiritual energy.

She walked to the window of the quiet room, pushed it open a crack, and a cold wind rushed in instantly, carrying the chill of the frost-covered branches outside. But she felt no cold at all. The spiritual energy in her Qihai acupoint automatically spread to her limbs, forming an invisible protective layer that kept the cold out.

"It's time to check the situation outside." Su Jing turned off the real-time notifications from the acceleration card (9 hours remaining), walked to the door of the quiet room, and opened the global channel on the system panel—

Unlike the previous screen filled with panic, the light blue "China" logo now conveyed a sense of urgency, with a prominent red "Official Notice" pinned to the top of the channel:

[Official Notice from the Ministry of Emergency Management of China: The recall of overseas citizens has entered its final stage! With only 3 days left until the end of the world, all Chinese citizens who have not yet returned home are urged to immediately go to the nearest Chinese embassy or airport to take one of the last chartered flights or ferries back home! After 3 days, all external transportation will be completely closed, and the government will no longer be able to provide asylum support to those who have not returned home. Please cherish this last opportunity and return home as soon as possible!]

Below the notice, Chen Yang, the "Sharp Blade (China)," wrote urgently: "I'm helping out at the Capital Airport! The airport is overflowing with people, all overseas compatriots trying to return home. There are long queues at every boarding gate, and staff are working overtime to check tickets. Charter flights are flying one after another, and even cargo planes have been temporarily converted into passenger planes!"

Zhao Yue, a user from "Flying Swallow (China)," followed closely with a photo of the port: "I'm at Shanghai Port! There are five large ferries docked at the pier, all carrying compatriots returning from Europe and the United States. Many of them are carrying large bags of luggage, looking both tired and relieved, thankfully catching the last batch! However, a few compatriots are still hesitant, saying they can't bear to leave their local property behind. The staff are all trying to persuade them, saying that time is really running out!"

There were more comments from overseas compatriots on the channel, expressing their relief at surviving the ordeal:

- "User 890 from China": "I'm at the New York airport! Just got my boarding pass, the last charter flight! I was hesitant about whether to stay in the US, but seeing the chaos in the US shelters, I'm so glad I decided to go back home. I feel so relieved to be back in my motherland before the end of the world!"

- "User 123 from China": "I'm at the embassy in London! The embassy staff gave us warm coats and energy supplements, saying that we'll be directly assigned to shelters after returning home, and we won't have to find them ourselves! Thank you, motherland, for not abandoning us!"

In contrast, the messages featuring the red US logo and the gold EU logo are filled with envy and anxiety:

- Jack the Red "Hunter (USA)": "The airports in the US are full of people leaving, but there are hardly any planes! We used to laugh at China for recalling its citizens, but now we know they were prepared all along. We can only freeze here!"

- Emily, the Golden Nightingale (EU): "The EU ports don't even have ferries, so you can't leave even if you want to! I'm really envious of my compatriots in China being able to go home. I wish we had cooperated with China earlier!"

Su Jing quickly scrolled through the messages, feeling a growing sense of approval for the official arrangements.

From building shelters in advance to distributing medicines, and insisting on recalling every overseas compatriot, these preparations gave China more confidence before the apocalypse. She turned off the channel, returned to her meditation room, and sat down again—

The acceleration card had 9 hours left to expire, and she wanted to take this opportunity to further stabilize her Qi Refining Level 2 cultivation. After all, the apocalypse not only brought extreme cold but also unknown monsters. Only by being strong enough could she truly be safe.

The stove in the quiet room was still burning brightly, and the spiritual energy of the herbs continued to flow in. Su Jing once again formed the "breathing seal," and indigo spiritual energy gently swayed at her fingertips, completely isolating her from the chaos and cold of the outside world. There were only 3 days left until the end of the world.