Statue Grotto-Heaven.
The Heart-Linking Rope split into an index-finger-long black thread before Chen Mu.
With a thought, he unleashed Five Ghosts Moving Mountains. A cloud of black smoke surged up before him and swallowed the threadlike Yin Nether Insect into the Five Ghosts Bag.
Chen Mu sent his awareness inside and looked around eagerly.
Before long, a head-sized mass of black mist appeared within the Five Ghosts Bag.
"Did... did it work?" Chen Mu's heart leaped with joy.
But the next moment, the head-sized black mist began to tremble violently, then repeatedly contracted and expanded in place.
Then, under Chen Mu's anxious gaze, it popped. Like a punctured bubble, it shattered into specks of fluorescent light and vanished.
The joy on Chen Mu's face froze.
The process was supposed to be Yin Nether Insects dying and becoming Yin Soul Monsters. Why had it failed?
Half a month later, Statue Grotto-Heaven.
Beneath a large tree beside the Moon Gate of the East Cross-Courtyard, Chen Mu lay in a Rocking Chair and opened his pale eyes.
After accumulating enough for nearly two months, he had completed another round of Spirit Aperture tempering.
He replaced the White Jade Coin on the Exquisite Jade Disk atop the nearby stone table. As he absorbed Earth Spirit Vital Qi to replenish his dharma power, Chen Mu felt the changes brought by the qualitative transformation of his Divine Aperture.
Though he had only completed three temperings, his body had already undergone obvious changes. It was slowly transforming into an active state, like a newly sprouted seed or a newborn infant, filled with fresh vitality.
"The ultimate purpose of River Chariot cultivation, the fourth stage for Qi Refining cultivators, is to nurture Innate Qi. This transformation is clearly laying the foundation for nurturing Innate Qi." Chen Mu