Chapter 85: Qi Fluctuation and Qi Pressure
"Master, how was it? Did you get lots of milk?" Wang Lingxin asked, tugging on Orion's sleeve.
"Yes. The Liu family managed to get plenty this time," Orion replied, arms crossed.
Orion had the Liu family search for all kinds of materials—from rare and difficult to obtain, to ordinary ones—even unusual items like milk.
Milk—whether from cows, buffalo, or goats—wasn't something people usually drank, at least in this area. Most cattle were raised for farming or meat, not dairy.
Cows and buffalo mainly served as draft animals, pulling carts or plowing fields. Fresh milk was rare and hard to come by.
Fortunately, the Liu family owned several farms and raised their own cattle, so they managed to provide some.
"That's great! Master, this time you must make lots of ice cream! Don't worry, I'll help!" Wang Lingxin said excitedly.
"Okay," Orion replied curtly, glancing at Wang Lingxin as she smacked her lips.
It wasn't hard to guess why she wanted lots of ice cream.
Ice cream was a special treat—something Orion made for Wang Lingxin and only gave her on certain occasions. It served as a reward, usually after she passed her monthly tests or did something noteworthy. And Wang Lingxin loved it.
For Orion, making ice cream was easy—so it agreed to make a large batch. It had done so many times and was already skilled at the process.
First, the milk was gently warmed—never boiled. Sugar and a pinch of salt were added and stirred in until dissolved. Once the mixture cooled slightly, Orion poured it into a large bowl inscribed with a cold-generating inscription.
As the inscription activated, the mixture had to be stirred. Orion used a makeshift stirrer powered by a modified spare DC motor—shaped like a spoon and calibrated to spin at just the right speed. Too slow, and the ice cream wouldn't be creamy; too fast, and it would become foamy.
Creamy texture meant smooth and rich, with fine ice crystals. Foamy meant too much air—light, bubbly, and, as Wang Lingxin once put it, "a weird mouthfeel."
The method wasn't difficult. The real challenge was getting the right ingredients—especially fresh milk. As for the bowl, it was powered by Liquified Qi. Using something so precious, refined from Spirit Stones, just to make dessert would probably leave most cultivators speechless at the extravagance.
But in a world without electricity or refrigeration, Orion had no other choice. It simply adapted—and the overall cost was still tolerable.
"Look, Uncle Mingzhen gave me lots of fruit. See?" Wang Lingxin lifted a bamboo basket, showing several Spiritual Fruits inside.
Orion turned its head but didn't respond. It only observed silently.
"We should use these for making ice cream," Wang Lingxin said.
"Look, this one is very sweet. This one's sweet and sour. And this small one... I haven't tried it yet." She popped one into her mouth. "Mmm, this is yummy too! We definitely have to add it."
She moved on to the next. "This one's a bit hard, maybe we need to smash it first. And this one... and my favorite is… oh, this one is also really good... also... wow we will have lots of ice cream.."
She continued examining the fruits, already busy planning how to use them to make several different flavors.
"Yeah, sure," Orion replied shortly.
As Orion listened to Wang Lingxin, who was still talking, its AI background processes were occupied with many tasks. One of them was replaying and analyzing the earlier meeting—specifically, the moment when it had apparently scared Liu Mingzhen by accident.
During that time in the Liu family's main hall, its AI was heavily multitasking: devising various contingency plans in response to the situation at hand, adjusting multiple ongoing projects that had been affected, reviewing data about the Wu family and other factions, and remotely controlling several SO-1 drones loitering in the air.
Then, when Liu Mingzhen mentioned the possibility of future trouble, Orion also began considering the chance that the Wu family and other factions might become enemies. Its AI became momentarily overloaded, causing a brief freeze or lag—enough to disrupt certain low-priority process. Among the first affected was its control over the inscriptions embedded in its body.
In that short moment, one of the inscriptions was accidentally activated, resulting in a brief Qi fluctuation—enough to alarm Liu Mingzhen, who even showed a hint of fear. The AI recovered almost instantly, regaining control and shutting down the inscription before it fully activated.
The inscription in question was located on the index finger of Orion's right hand. Orion's fingers had been modified to include retractable small blades that acted like claws—not just ordinary blades, but ones enhanced with a chainsaw-style Qi mechanism for tremendous cutting power. At the time, it had been tapping the table—likely contributing to the accidental activation.
A combination of factors led to the mishap.
There are many inscriptions throughout Orion's body, each with different effects and purposes. The inscriptions and their control mechanisms are highly localized, functioning as individual subsystems within its body. These systems are powered by storage rings embedded in various parts of its body.
Orion's AI is responsible for overseeing many of them, which places a considerable burden on its processing capacity. As a result, when not in combat mode or under immediate need, the processes responsible for their control are assigned a lower priority.
Overall, the inscription system is complex and has a low chance of accidental activation. However, disruptions to Orion's AI—caused by various internal or external factors—can increase the risk of accidental activation
After a while, Orion's AI processed the incident and determined that the best solution was to use ADAMS. By installing ADAMS into its body, everything would become more centralized.
The Qi needed to power and activate the inscriptions would come solely from the artificial Dantian, transported through the artificial Meridian System. This would allow Orion to control all the inscriptions through ADAMS, easing the operational burden and giving it more control.
Not only could ADAMS handle the inscriptions, it would also enable Orion to use combat techniques like a cultivator.
Unfortunately, Orion wasn't ready to modify its body and install ADAMS yet—it still required more preparation. For now, there was no permanent solution. The best Orion could do was adjust and optimize the existing processes to prevent the AI from losing control again, as a temporary measure.
After optimizing its systems, Orion's AI shifted focus to a new task. It began exploring a deeper study into Qi fluctuations and Qi pressure, having noticed their potential in combat and as forms of indirect attack.
Currently, Orion had only a limited understanding of Qi fluctuations and Qi pressure, having learned about them primarily through books and scrolls.
In simple terms, Qi fluctuation refers to the changes or disturbances in the surrounding natural Qi. These could be caused by a variety of sources—cultivators, artifacts, talismans, natural treasures, environmental phenomena, and more.
Cultivators naturally emit Qi fluctuations due to the Qi stored in their Dantian and circulating through their meridian. The activity of Qi within a cultivator's body affects the surrounding Qi, creating unique fluctuations.
Each cultivator's Qi fluctuation is distinct, and cultivators often use it to identify others, gauge their cultivation level, or glean additional information. However, there are also techniques to conceal one's Qi fluctuation.
Qi pressure, on the other hand, is a more forceful, oppressive manifestation of Qi. It arises when cultivators manipulate surrounding Qi with intent—to suppress, threaten, or attack. This pressure can weigh down on others, especially those with weaker cultivation.
To put it more simply, Qi fluctuation was like showing your fist—others could gauge your strength just by looking. A large, overwhelming presence could intimidate opponents, while a restrained one could conceal your true power.
Qi pressure, on the other hand, was more forceful—like actually using that fist to push someone back or strike them down.
Orion had previously assumed that the inscriptions on its body couldn't generate significant Qi pressure—after all, its body was just an object enhanced with inscriptions, much like weapons or armor.
When inscriptions on weapons or armor were activated, the resulting Qi fluctuations and pressure were usually minimal. Because of this, Orion had never considered weaponizing Qi pressure or using it as a form of indirect attack.
But that assumption first wavered during its encounter with Chen Rongwei. At the time, simply activating its inscriptions had created enough Qi pressure to make Chen Rongwei wet himself.
Still, Orion dismissed it—Chen Rongwei was only a Qi Condensation cultivator, so the reaction seemed expected.
That view changed after the incident with Liu Mingzhen. Even though he was a Golden Core cultivator, he too appeared affected just by the Qi fluctuation.
This made Orion realize the true potential of the Qi pressure produced when it activated the inscriptions on its body—as a viable tool for battle.
Ordinary inscriptions didn't generate significant Qi pressure. However, the inscriptions on its body used a modified and improved inscription system called O#, which appeared to produce much stronger Qi pressure than standard inscriptions.
The Qi fluctuation generated by the combat inscription on Orion's index finger alone had been enough to affect someone like Liu Mingzhen. So, what if an inscription were specifically designed to generate Qi pressure?
With that thought, another subject was added to Orion's already long queue of research topics.
"...So, what do you think, Master?" Wang Lingxin asked, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Yeah, sure. We'll do all that—but after we return home," Orion replied.
Even as its AI busied itself with various tasks and calculations, Orion still allocated some attention to Wang Lingxin. It had carefully followed everything she said about adding fruit to the next batch of ice cream—and hadn't missed a word.
Not long after, the carriage arrived in front of Orion's mansion in the city. Wang Lingxin eagerly hopped down and rushed to knock on the gate. Moments later, the gate opened, and a young woman appeared behind it.
"Little Lingxin, you're back?" Chunhua greeted her with a warm smile.
"I'm back, Big Sis Chunhua!" Wang Lingxin replied cheerfully.
Chunhua gently patted her head. "So, how was the training?"
"It went really well!" Wang Lingxin beamed, clearly enjoying the affectionate pat.
Orion had never told Chunhua the real reason they had left the city and also instructed Wang Lingxin not to tell Chunhua the truth. Orion had only mentioned they were going out to train, which was a common and reasonable thing for a master and disciple to do.
Chunhua naturally assumed that every time Orion took Wang Lingxin to train, she imagined Orion bringing Wang Lingxin into the wilderness—sleeping under the open sky, catching and cooking wild food, enduring wind and rain.
In reality, Orion had a house outside the city where they lived quite comfortably. Although training did take place, it was far from harsh and completely different from what Chunhua imagined.
As for food, Orion either cooked whatever Wang Lingxin wanted or gave her restaurant dishes whenever she asked—there was still plenty of food stocked in its storage rings, all ordered from various restaurants.
Wang Lingxin also slept on a soft, warm bed, had access to hot water for baths, and enjoyed other comforts—completely opposite of what Chunhua had pictured.
"You must be tired. I'll cook lots of food for you today," Chunhua said, looking at her with pity, imagining all the hardship the girl must have endured.
"Yay! That's great!" Wang Lingxin smiled brightly, happy she could eat lots of Big Sis Chunhua's cooking. On top of that, her master had promised to make her ice cream—truly the best.
"Welcome back, Master," Chunhua said respectfully, bowing as Orion stepped down from the carriage.
"Hmm." Orion nodded. "How has everything been while I was away?"
"All is well, Master." Chunhua replied. "I've cleaned your workroom, removed anything you didn't need just like you instructed, and organized everything you asked for. Also, the items you previously ordered from the market have arrived. I've placed them neatly in the storage room."
"Good job," Orion said.
The three of them entered the mansion. As they walked, Orion asked a few casual questions, checking the overall state of the household. Then, Wang Lingxin grabbed Chunhua's hand and pulled her toward the kitchen, eager to get the cooking started. Chunhua excused herself and let the girl drag her along without resistance.
Orion silently watched Chunhua's departing figure. It began to seriously consider telling her about the house outside the city and bringing her there.
Orion had started to trust Chunhua—she had proven herself trustworthy, diligent, and dependable, with no suspicious behavior and a clean background. She handled her responsibilities well.
Having her manage the house and help look after Wang Lingxin would be far more useful than leaving her at the city mansion. It would also give Orion more free time, as it was very busy with many plans and things to do.
Orion then turned and made its way to the workroom. Busy… very busy, Orion thought internally as it checked and adjusted its current schedule and tasks for the day.