Qi Refinement Fifth Layer

As soon as she finished speaking, Huan'er beside her let out a soft gasp, her hands trembling as she held the jade bottle:

"High-Grade Qi Gathering Pill! Young Master, this pill is far too precious for you. Huan'er... Huan'er dares not accept it."

Shen Jingchuan reached out and gently patted the back of her head:

"Just take what I'm giving you, what's there to be afraid of?"

Huan'er stuck out her little tongue and looked timidly at Xiao Mingshu.

Xiao Mingshu rolled her eyes at her:

"If your young master likes you and he gives it to you, then you should take it."

Huan'er blushed, then stole a glance at Shen Jingchuan and whispered:

"Well... thank you, young master."

Xiao Mingshu composed herself, then uncorked the second jade bottle, poured out the contents, and exclaimed softly again—five High-Grade Qi Condensing Pills! These were pills specifically for Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators, extremely rare and hard to come by.

"Alright, sister." Shen Jingchuan was both amused and exasperated. "What's wrong with you two today? One keeps calling the other that, you've never seen anything like it before."

Xiao Mingshu held the jade bottle, looked at him, and suddenly whispered:

"It seems I have no choice but to marry you."

"Alright, alright, here we go again." Shen Jingchuan waved his hand. "Hurry up and get married, hurry up and get married, get married today, and we'll consummate our marriage in a little while."

Xiao Mingshu raised her hand and slapped him, then burst into laughter through her tears, the tears that had been hanging in the corners of her eyes falling down her cheeks.

"Sister, I'll head back now. We're going to the auction tomorrow to see what good stuff they have. We'll leave the day after tomorrow, "Shen Jingchuan said, standing up.

"Alright, I know you're worried about home." Xiao Mingshu waved her hand. "You go back first, we'll have lunch together tomorrow and then go over."

Shen Jingchuan returned to his room, closed the doors and windows, took out the Spirit Gathering Formation Plate and placed it on the table. The array plate emitted a faint spiritual light, slowly gathering the Spiritual Qi around him.

He sat cross-legged and scanned the Heaven and Earth Ring with his Divine Sense —all the pills and talismans inside had been upgraded.

He counted out two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Ring, and with a thought, sent them all into the Ring's space.

"Sister Xian'er, I've brought you food again." He communicated with Xian'er using his Divine Sense.

A hearty laugh came from the Ring: "You little rascal, got your hands on Spirit Stones again?"

Before she finished speaking, the two thousand Spirit Stones vanished in a flash, Xian'er's beautiful figure appeared in the Heaven and Earth Ring.

Shen Jingchuan smiled and said:

"Sister, actually, I just buy a batch of pills from the market, upgrade them, and then resell them. It's a very profitable business. But this market isn't big, and I don't dare to be too obvious about it. After all, you know my strength is still too weak right now, and if I'm exposed, the consequences will be severe."

Xian'er's voice calmed down:

"Yes, that's why I've never rushed you. If you just went all out, wouldn't you be accumulating a massive amount of Spirit Stones? Your caution is the right thing to do. I'm not in a hurry. We've come this far over the years; it's better to take it one step at a time, steadily and surely."

She paused, then changed the subject. "Alright, let's not talk about Spirit Stones for now. How's your cultivation lately? Have you encountered any problems?"

This question struck a chord with Shen Jingchuan.

"Sister, that's exactly what I was going to ask you."

He frowned:

"You taught me this Five Elements Qi Refining Instruction, which should allow me to absorb Spiritual Qi quickly and cultivate rapidly. I've been using High-Grade Qi Gathering Pills throughout my cultivation, so why haven't I leveled up? I recently reached the barrier between the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, but I just can't break through it; I'm always just a little short."

"Silly boy."

Xian'er chuckled:

"Didn't I tell you? Don't just focus on improving your cultivation level; you also need to pay attention to refining your Divine Sense. You have to walk on both legs to progress faster. This Five Elements Qi Refining Instruction is different from other Cultivation Methods; it places particularly high demands on Divine Sense. If your Divine Sense can't keep up, your cultivation will naturally stagnate."

Shen Jingchuan suddenly realized. He had been so focused on accumulating Spiritual Power and consuming pills that he had forgotten what Xian'er had told him, neglecting the cultivation of his Divine Sense. No wonder he hadn't been able to break through for so long.

"Sister Mind-Calming Pill, or should we use something even better?"

"At your current stage, High-Grade Mind-Calming Pill is sufficient," Xian'er said. "Your foundation is strong enough that even a better one wouldn't be unsuitable, but considering how small the market is, it might be difficult for you to find one. This is enough for now; we can discuss it again when you reach the Late Qi Refining."

"Alright, you go and cultivate now, I'm going to absorb Spiritual Qi too."

Shen Jingchuan withdrew his Divine Sense from the Ring, took out a High-Grade Mind-Calming Pill, and put it in his mouth.

The pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, and a cool sensation rushed along the meridians to the top of the head, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over a burning head. The entire sea of consciousness hummed and instantly became clear.

The previous feeling of heaviness and sluggishness in his Divine Sense was completely swept away, and his thoughts became exceptionally clear. He could even clearly see the subtle flow of Spiritual Qi gathered by the Spirit Gathering Formation.

He could clearly feel that his Divine Sense was gradually solidifying and shrinking, slowly becoming more condensed and substantial from its original loose, misty state.

Shen Jingchuan was overjoyed and, without delay, took out another High-Grade Mind-Calming Pill and swallowed it.

The cooling sensation from this pill was weaker than the first, but his Divine Sense was still steadily condensing, like a piece of pig iron being repeatedly forged, removing impurities little by little, becoming purer and purer. After the medicinal power of the second pill was completely refined, he felt that his Divine Sense was much stronger than before.

My Divine Sense has been almost fully restored.

Shen Jingchuan opened his eyes, poured out a High-Grade Qi Condensing Pill from the jade bottle, and examined it between his fingers.

Qi Condensing Pill is a pill used only by cultivators in the Qi Refining Late Stage. Its medicinal power is much stronger than that of Qi Gathering Pill. Ordinary cultivators in the Middle Stage of Qi Refining dare not touch it at all, as they may damage their meridians if they are not careful.

But Shen Jingchuan knew what he was doing—he had the Five Phases Spirit Root, a strong foundation of Spiritual Power, and had taken it before, so he knew he could withstand it.

Without further hesitation, he popped the Qi Condensing Pill into his mouth.

As soon as the pill entered his stomach, Shen Jingchuan's expression changed slightly.

This thing is in a completely different league from the Qi Gathering Pill.

The medicinal power of the Qi Gathering Pill is like a gentle stream, flowing slowly and gently along the meridians; the medicinal power of the Qi Condensing Pill, however, is like a powerful torrent, exploding in the Dantian with a "boom," with scalding Spiritual Power surging out and rushing wildly along the twelve meridians, washing over every meridian and every acupoint.

An ordinary cultivator at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer would have suffered damage to their meridians from this impact. However, Shen Jingchuan's foundation of Five Phases Spirit Roots was undeniable, and his meridians were much wider and thicker than those of his peers, allowing him to withstand the attack.

He dared not be careless, and used all his strength to circulate the Five Elements Qi Refining Instruction, guiding the violent medicinal power to flow through his body in circles, refining, absorbing, and returning it to his Dantian.

As his Spiritual Power accumulated, he could clearly "feel" that membrane—the barrier between the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, as thin as a sheet of paper, so close he could almost touch it.

Shen Jingchuan could sense that they could break through in one go.

He gritted his teeth, took out another High-Grade Qi Condensing Pill, and swallowed it directly.

The second Qi Condensing Pill entered his stomach, and the two medicinal forces merged in his Dantian, causing his Spiritual Power to surge to its peak. Shen Jingchuan grunted and manipulated this powerful Spiritual Power, slamming it fiercely into the barrier.

Once.

Twice.

The third time--

"Bo."