Fourth Layer of Qi Refining

In a single day, news of the Chen Family's victory in the Little Bamboo Peak contest spread throughout the southern foothills of the Moon Gazing Mountain Range.

Aside from a few ascetics who cared nothing for worldly affairs, recordings of Chen Xingyuan's and Luo Rufeng's duel, as well as Chen Heng's and Luo Yuyan's, had essentially been passed through every market, large and small, across the southern foothills.

The main reason was that the duels in this contest had been remarkably entertaining.

Whether it was the ancient wondrous art Chen Xingyuan cultivated—the Withered Wood Dragon Chant Art—or the Death Substitution Charm Doll that took disaster and died in Luo Yuyan's stead, or Chen Heng's many calculations that turned defeat into victory.

All of it had plenty of appeal, and the jade slips containing the duel recordings were not expensive either.

Most sold for no more than two or three spirit stones.

Chen Heng, however, had no time to concern himself with any of this.

It was not until the third day after the contest that the Chen Family's Great Elder, Chen Xingzhou, came to visit in person.

"Ming Heng, we were able to win this contest thanks to you." Chen Xingzhou said with a rare smile.

Ming Heng!?

So he had already been entered into the family genealogy.

Chen Heng replied calmly, "I merely took advantage of their carelessness and won by luck. It is not worth mentioning. Besides, I acted purely to protect myself."

Chen Xingzhou's smile froze for a moment before returning to normal. He sighed. "The drawing of lots was indeed the Household's fault, but this old man can guarantee that the lot cylinder was not tampered with."

"Even my own disappointing son was included on the list for that day's drawing."

In his youth, Chen Xingzhou had devoted himself wholeheartedly to arduous cultivation. After becoming an elder, he had been occupied with mundane affairs. His son had only been born when he was sixty, a child granted to him in his old age.

Unfortunately, the child's spiritual root aptitude was ordinary. Yet he was, after all, of the direct line, and Chen Xingzhou still favored him greatly.

After hearing this, Chen Heng said nothing.

Whether the drawing had been fair or not no longer held any meaning for him.

Seeing this, Chen Xingzhou did not dwell on the matter. He knew that Chen Heng's sense of belonging to the Household was still rather weak, so he could only make long-term plans.

"After the contest ended, the Luo Family voluntarily admitted defeat and offered compensation for violating the rules."

"However, since Luo Yuyan openly stated that she had entered Venerable Hanfeng's sect."

"The Household did not dare press the Luo Family too hard. The few items we obtained are all in this storage bag."

"Yes, and there is also the Household's reward for you."

Chen Xingzhou spoke unhurriedly. Then he took an exquisite first-grade high-quality storage bag from his sleeve pocket and placed it on the table.

He rose to leave, then glanced around the crude little wooden hut and frowned. "A cave residence on the mountainside has already been prepared. Ming Heng, you should move out of here as soon as possible."

"The spiritual energy at the foot of the mountain is too thin. Do not let it delay your cultivation."

Having explained everything, Chen Xingzhou did not linger and left directly.

As the Chen Family's Great Elder, he still had many matters to handle.

He could not spend every day fussing over a junior who had merely displayed a little talent in battle.

Besides, on the path of cultivation, cultivation talent was sometimes more important than talent in battle.

After all, cultivators had limited lifespans.

The Chen Family's history recorded quite a few examples of people who had become engrossed in improving their combat ability, delayed their own cultivation, missed their chance to break through, and ultimately died when their lifespans ran out.

After Chen Xingzhou left, Chen Heng picked up the storage bag and began inspecting this harvest.

As an illegitimate son lacking cultivation resources, he naturally attached great importance to it.

Qi Refining cultivators possessed a trace of innate spiritual sense, but it could only be used inwardly to inspect themselves or browse jade slips. It was difficult to project outward.

Thus, Chen Heng could only hold the storage bag and use his body as a medium to send his spiritual sense inside and examine its contents.

If he successfully reached Foundation Establishment in the future, his spiritual sense would transform into divine sense. Not only could it be projected outward, it could also sweep across dozens of zhang in every direction.

Whether in battle or daily cultivation, it would provide immense convenience.

For example, with a storage bag like this one that had neither restrictions nor a cultivator's imprint, he would not need to pick it up. With a single sweep of his gaze, he could know what lay inside.

A first-grade high-quality storage bag had a space more than ten feet square and could hold quite a few things.

The first thing that entered his sight was a pile of spirit stones. The number was not small—around five hundred.

One had to know that Chen Heng's monthly stipend only amounted to sixty spirit stones over an entire year.

This batch of spirit stones alone was enough to satisfy him greatly.

Next came two first-grade mid-quality spiritual materials, a bottle of pills, and a token.

There were also two sets of azure robes, the standard robes of the Chen Family, though they were only first-grade mid-quality.

The two spiritual materials were an Earth Fire Crystal of the fire attribute and Hundred-Year Cold Iron of the water attribute. Neither was a small amount.

Chen Heng's brows rose unconsciously. These were spiritual materials specifically meant to refine and upgrade his Water-Fire Cudgel!?

To be honest, he still yearned more for the elegant bearing of sword cultivators commanding their flying swords than for the brutish image of a man wielding a long staff.

However, the only spell he was proficient in for self-defense at present was the Water Fire Heaven-Reaching Staff Technique.

For now, it was not suitable to change his weapon.

Moreover, the enhancement effect of the Force Piercing Thousand Jin Lu Qi paired rather well with the Water-Fire Cudgel.

The token was the Chen Family identity token. Aside from proving one's identity, it generally recorded merit points awarded for rendering service to the Household or carrying out missions.

Merit points could be used to exchange for cultivation resources in the treasury, cultivation arts and spells from the Scripture Pavilion, and so on.

There was nothing worth investigating for now. He could deal with it when he needed it later.

As for the bottle of pills, Chen Heng could not inspect it through the storage bag and the bottle itself.

So he took it out of the storage bag.

The instant the stopper was opened, a medicinal fragrance that refreshed the heart and cleared the mind spread through the room.

He poured it into his palm and brought it closer for a look. Only then did he discover that it was a pale cyan pill, no larger than a longan, with cloud-like patterns on its surface.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Heng recognized it. It was actually a Spirit Clearing Pill.

This pill was a rare medicine that could help cultivators wear away at their bottlenecks. Its grade was as high as first-grade high-quality.

In six years of cultivation, he had only consumed Golden Bud Grass grown by the Chen Family and Golden Bud Pills, their own first-grade low-quality pills.

As for such a rare breakthrough pill, this was his first time seeing one.

He simply did not know whether it was compensation from the Luo Family or a reward from the Household.

But that no longer mattered to Chen Heng.

After carefully examining the pill and confirming that nothing was wrong with it.

He immediately rose, unable to wait any longer, and headed to the underground cultivation chamber.

Then he promptly sat cross-legged, swallowed the Spirit Clearing Pill in one mouthful, half-closed his eyes, and assumed the five-hearts-facing-heaven posture.

He had already cultivated to the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining, and his true essence had long accumulated sufficiently.

Otherwise, he could not have defeated a heaven-favored daughter like Luo Yuyan, who possessed a wind spiritual root, with calculations alone.

The Blade-Hiding Staff's ingenious design, on the other hand, would likely be useless in the future now that the recordings had been exposed.

The Spirit Clearing Pill melted upon entering his mouth, turning into a stream of clear spiritual energy that surged into his meridians and acupoints.

Chen Heng immediately circulated the Water Fire Defense Scripture, guiding that clear spiritual energy through the circulation of his internal heavenly cycle, hoping to use the pill's power to knock open the bottleneck to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

The fourth, seventh, and tenth layers of Qi Refining were three difficult barriers in a Qi Refining cultivator's cultivation, far more difficult than ordinary breakthroughs.

Once crossed, however, the true essence within the body would undergo certain changes, and the cultivator's overall strength would rise to a new level.

This was likely why the contest's three bouts had been divided into late Qi Refining, Mid Qi Refining, and early Qi Refining.

Since he held a precious breakthrough pill like the Spirit Clearing Pill in his hand, Chen Heng naturally took the opportunity to seek a breakthrough.

Although, with the aptitude of his fifth-grade mid-level spiritual root.

If he patiently polished his cultivation for a while, breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining should not have been difficult.

But on the path of cultivation, one step slow meant every step slow. Naturally, he had to seize every opportunity and scale the highest peaks.

Of course, the most important thing was to see whether he could once again sacrifice demon beasts to the mysterious black mirror in his sea of consciousness and continue receiving Lu Qi enhancements.

At this moment, the river of true essence that had originally gathered in Chen Heng's dantian gradually began to surge.

An hour later, the spiritual energy in the underground cultivation chamber suddenly churned.

The pores across Chen Heng's body opened, greedily devouring the surrounding spiritual energy like a whale drinking water.

The river of true essence in his dantian joined head to tail, transforming into a vortex. Then, under the influx of external spiritual energy, it expanded rapidly.

And at this moment, the disadvantage of living at the foot of Jade Spring Mountain revealed itself.

The spiritual energy was simply too thin!

Chen Heng did not hesitate. He took every spirit stone from the storage bag, held one in each hand, and replenished the spiritual energy entering his body.

Who knew how much time passed.

At last, a soft pop sounded. His realm broke through, and a lake of qi formed!

Fourth layer of Qi Refining!

Chen Heng abruptly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flickered within them, and true essence surged through his body, nearly three times denser than before.

His innate spiritual sense had also become more condensed!

Sure enough, the gap between Mid Qi Refining and early Qi Refining could not be spoken of in the same breath.

And most importantly, after breaking through, he could clearly sense that he could once again sacrifice demon beasts to the mysterious black mirror in his sea of consciousness and obtain Lu Qi!