Qi Refining Second Layer
Zheng Que skillfully gathered his focus, entering the void, continuously seizing the spiritual opportunities entwined with a cold aura.
Soon, he realized that the efficiency of this cultivation session was far beyond anything he had experienced before.
If his previous absorption of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was like a person catching flying insects barehanded by a pond at dusk, this time it was as if he had a large net, scooping up vast amounts at once.
Zheng Que immediately concentrated his spirit, fully operating his cultivation method.
As his mind immersed itself, strands of Spiritual Qi were refined and absorbed into his body. Within his Qi Sea, the originally mist-like white spiritual power continuously thickened and grew.
After cultivating like this for a long while, Zheng Que opened his eyes to the familiar sight of the dilapidated grand hall. The Book of Life and Death lay open before him, ceaselessly absorbing the black Qi emerging from between his brows.
Sensing the abundant spiritual energy within his body, Zheng Que felt extremely satisfied.
The three medicinal roots given by the town mayor could greatly enhance his cultivation speed. Just from this period of cultivation, the amount of Spiritual Qi he had absorbed already exceeded the total from all his cultivation sessions since he first entered the Dao.
Moreover, after consuming the medicinal root, the Yin Qi he absorbed during cultivation was extremely sparse. While this was of little use to him, for a normal cultivator, this aspect might be even more valuable than the increased cultivation speed.
Of the three medicinal roots, two remained. After using them all, his cultivation should reach the second layer of Qi Refining.
And this was only the effect of the medicinal roots. What miraculous properties might the true great herb possess?
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Zheng Que looked at the Book of Life and Death.
Category: Human Race. Name: Zheng Que. Origin: Resident of Town of Lasting Fortune, Great Peace County, Marsh Province, Great Li Dynasty. Lifespan: Sixteen years, seven months, and ten days. Died at the hour of Hai.
Gazing at the record before him, Zheng Que’s expression turned grave.
Tomorrow at the hour of Hai would be the moment his calamity arrived.
His first calamity had him facing a Calling Ghost whose cultivation was one minor realm higher than his own. For this second calamity, would it also be an Abomination?
With Qing Li present, he should be able to overcome any ghostly entity below the fifth layer of the 【Tongue-Tearing Hell】.
Lost in thought, Zheng Que sat in the grand armchair, quietly waiting.
The hall was vast, cold, and desolate. Outside the broken opening, a chilling wind howled and swept through with a mighty force.
As time passed, the black Qi flowing from between his brows grew increasingly sparse, soon completely absorbed by the Book of Life and Death.
The surrounding scenery shifted, and in the blink of an eye Zheng Que was back inside the dilapidated temple.
Inside and outside the temple, a deathly silence prevailed. A sliver of warm gold light leaked through the door crack. The golden crow was setting in the west, and dusk was approaching.
This cultivation session had taken him nearly two and a half hours.
After scanning his surroundings and finding no changes, Zheng Que picked up the second medicinal root without hesitation and placed it in his mouth.
Just like before, once the root entered his stomach it felt like flames rising, soon transforming into a warm, flowing current that nourished his entire body.
Zheng Que once again operated the 【Life Seed Art】. As the cultivation method circulated, a large amount of Spiritual Qi was absorbed into his body.
Time slowly passed. He sat cross-legged on the cushion, motionless, yet the aura he emitted grew increasingly powerful.
Outside, the daylight gradually faded. After the last glimmer of light sank behind the western mountains, day turned to night, and the darkness grew thick and heavy.
Zheng Que’s eyes were slightly closed as he focused on absorbing and refining Spiritual Qi, having already reached the peak of the first layer of Qi Refining.
He felt the Spiritual Qi within his body boiling to its peak, as if trying to break through some invisible barrier. However, by now the medicinal power of the second root had already been nearly exhausted. The spiritual power in his Qi Sea surged and churned, yet it always seemed to lack something. After repeated attempts, it gradually began to wane.
Zheng Que immediately grabbed the last root and tossed it directly into his mouth.
Another wave of warmth erupted, providing support to the spiritual power in his Qi Sea. It churned and roared like never before, transforming into a hurricane-like vortex of spiritual power.
Outside, Spiritual Qi was drawn from all directions, enveloping him completely. With each breath he took, an invisible tide seemed to surge within the tightly sealed room, like some slumbering giant beast.
This state was incredibly peculiar, and Zheng Que found himself involuntarily immersed in it.
At that very moment, he suddenly noticed that the spiritual power in his Qi Sea had gradually stopped increasing.
Zheng Que was momentarily stunned. Upon closer inspection, although the white, mist-like spiritual power in the hazy Qi Sea had ceased growing, under the operation of the 【Life Seed Art】, his body continued to absorb the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi at an increasingly rapid pace.
Vaguely, he seemed to understand something. Immediately, he cast aside all distracting thoughts and focused entirely on operating the cultivation method.
Thump… thump… thump…
A faint heartbeat gradually echoed in the silent room. The surrounding airflow surged like tides, with both Spiritual Qi and Yin Qi rushing into Zheng Que’s body like rivers flowing into the sea.
His hair and the corners of his clothes fluttered and danced without any wind.
This continued for a long time. The temperature in the room continuously dropped, as if it had become an ice cellar. Zheng Que sat motionless, his complexion growing increasingly pale from absorbing too much Yin Qi, making him seem more and more lifeless.
Then, the spiritual power in his Qi Sea expanded in an explosive burst. This long-refined spiritual power, in the blink of an eye, infused into every part of his limbs and bones, causing his aura to surge dramatically.
Feeling the noticeably increased sense of power, Zheng Que immediately opened his mouth and exhaled a turbid breath, his face clearly revealing unconcealable joy.
He had reached the second layer of the Qi Refining Stage!
The small town was silent.
In the courtyard of the dilapidated temple, Qing Li swayed leisurely from the old tree, drifting with the wind.
Suddenly, she tilted her head slightly and looked toward the temple.
That little human child’s cultivation had broken through!
However, it actually took him several days of cultivation to break through a single minor realm. His aptitude was truly mediocre.
He couldn’t even begin to compare with a destined ghost like herself!
Thinking this, Qing Li turned back and continued hanging from the tree, swaying back and forth.
The Underworld.
Zheng Que opened his eyes. The surroundings remained a familiar sight.
Large streams of black Qi surged from between his brows, rolling and merging into the Book of Life and Death.
As more and more Yin Qi was absorbed by the Book of Life and Death, Zheng Que immediately felt the spiritual power within his body gradually becoming more condensed.
He sat quietly on the broken-legged grand armchair, earnestly contemplating the changes brought about by this breakthrough.
The essence of cultivation in the Qi Refining Stage was to continuously refine the spiritual power within the body. Once the spiritual power was refined to an extremely pure state and could no longer be refined further, it would liquefy and transform into true essence. That was Foundation Establishment.
Earlier, when the spiritual power in his Qi Sea suddenly stopped increasing yet continued to absorb Spiritual Qi, it was precisely the process of refining the spiritual power.
Of course, his current cultivation level was too low. He only understood the principle and was unclear about how the 【Life Seed Art】 actually achieved this tempering process.