Qi Refining Fourth Layer

After obtaining the Qi Gathering Pill, Song Qingming rushed back to his Cave Abode without stopping and began preparing to enter seclusion and break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage.

Once everything was ready, to avoid being disturbed by others, Song Qingming also set up a low-grade array outside the entrance to his Cave Abode.

Only after making sure everything was secure did Song Qingming walk to the center of his Cave Abode and sit cross-legged on a meditation cushion. Forming hand seals with both hands, he circulated the Spirit Calming Art and settled his somewhat nervous breathing.

He took out a Calming Heart Talisman and placed it in his hand. After adjusting himself to his best condition, Song Qingming opened his eyes and gazed at the Qi Gathering Pill that had cost him nearly three years of savings.

This time, I must break through successfully. Otherwise, who knows when I'll get another chance?

Although he had failed once before, Song Qingming was still brimming with confidence about this breakthrough. His previous failure had given him experience, which would also increase his chances of success. With the Qi Gathering Pill this time, there should not be any major problems.

Song Qingming rubbed the Qi Gathering Pill in his hand, then swallowed it without hesitation.

A powerful current of Spiritual Energy slowly surged forth from within his body, battering against his Meridians and Spirit Acupoints.

The Qi Gathering Pill was a Level 1 High-grade Spirit Pill. For an Early Qi Refining Stage cultivator like Song Qingming, the Spiritual Energy it contained was extraordinarily immense.

This powerful surge of Spiritual Energy erupted from his Dantian and ran wildly through the three Meridians he had already opened. This was also a tremendous test for Song Qingming.

Each time a Qi Refining Cultivator opened a Spirit Acupoint, they opened another Meridian that could absorb Spiritual Energy, increasing the speed at which their body absorbed it and expanding the capacity of their Dantian. The number of Spirit Acupoints and Meridians a cultivator had opened determined their cultivation level. Once all nine major Spirit Acupoints and Meridians throughout the body were opened, one would reach the pinnacle of the Qi Refining Stage—the Ninth Level of Qi Refining.

The Qi Refining Stage was divided into three levels. Qi Refining First Layer through Qi Refining Third Layer were the Early Qi Refining Stage; the Fourth through Sixth Layers were the Mid Qi Refining Stage; and the Seventh through Ninth Layers were the Late Qi Refining Stage. After reaching the Ninth Level of Qi Refining, one could continue breaking through into the next major realm and become one of the rare Foundation Establishment Cultivators in this world.

Yet in the Cultivation World, the overwhelming majority of cultivators could only wander within the Qi Refining Stage. Fewer than one in a hundred could break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Qinghe County alone had nearly a thousand cultivators, but only six Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The first three Spirit Acupoints of Qi Refining Cultivators were the easiest to open, and they did not increase the Dantian's capacity by much. Beginning with the fourth Spirit Acupoint, the difficulty doubled. This was a common principle in cultivation: the greater the difficulty, the greater the reward. Breaking through this Mid Qi Refining Stage bottleneck would double the Dantian's capacity, and the same was true for the bottleneck of the seventh Spirit Acupoint in the Late Qi Refining Stage.

Song Qingming understood very well that his previous breakthrough had failed because he had been unable to gather enough Spiritual Energy in his Dantian, causing all his efforts to fall short at the final moment of breaking through the Spirit Acupoint barrier.

With the experience from last time, he carefully circulated the cultivation art he had practiced for years, the Earth Origin Art, guiding the Spiritual Energy through his body. Then, bit by bit, he drew that enormous surge of Spiritual Energy from his Dantian into the Meridian of the fourth Spirit Acupoint within his body.

The Earth Origin Art was merely an ordinary Earth Attribute cultivation art commonly found in the Qi Refining Stage, capable only of being cultivated to the pinnacle of Qi Refining. The clan possessed Qi Refining Stage cultivation arts for all five elements, but the only cultivation art that could reach the Foundation Establishment Realm was the Fire Attribute Crimson Flame Art practiced by the clan chief and a few others.

Song Qingming possessed a four-attribute Spirit Root. Since his Earth Attribute Spirit Root was somewhat better, he had chosen this cultivation art, which was more suited to his Earth Attribute.

Several days later, the Spiritual Energy within Song Qingming's Dantian had accumulated more and more, eventually forming a powerful torrent that crashed toward the barrier in his Meridians.

It seemed as if he heard a thunderous boom inside his mind.

Song Qingming felt a rumble within his body. After a burst of noise rang through his Meridians, an incomparably comfortable sensation swept through his entire body, and the Spiritual Energy in his Dantian more than doubled.

He slowly circulated his cultivation art once more, allowing the Spiritual Energy to complete a cycle through his body before gradually calming down. This time, after taking the pill, he finally broke through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage without mishap and reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

After spending half a day stabilizing his cultivation, Song Qingming finally opened the stone door and walked out of his Cave Abode. From this day onward, he could be considered a true Mid Qi Refining Stage Cultivator.

He cooked two bowls of Spirit Rice in his Cave Abode, easing the hunger brought on by the days of seclusion. He could feel that the speed at which he absorbed Spiritual Energy had indeed increased by several degrees.

After refining the abundant Spiritual Energy from the Spirit Rice he had just eaten, Song Qingming began studying the various spells he had long yearned for in his Cave Abode.

Early Qi Refining Stage cultivators did not have sufficient cultivation to gather enough Spiritual Energy outside their bodies and could only cast some low-grade spells. To barely cast higher-level spells, they had to rely on tools such as Spirit Talismans. Their power still differed greatly from spells naturally cast with one's own Spiritual Energy after one's cultivation had risen.

Upon reaching the Mid Qi Refining Stage, cultivators could release enough Spiritual Energy outside their bodies to cast all kinds of spells with ease, and their combat ability would likewise rise greatly. Under normal circumstances, a Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator's Cultivator Combat ability would certainly surpass that of two Qi Refining Third Layer cultivators joining forces.

"Entangle Spell," "Voice Transmission Spell," "Breath Concealment Spell," "Earth Spike Spell," "Fireball Spell," "Spirit Calming Spell," "Wind Control Art," "Object Control Spell."

The power of these low-grade spells depended entirely on the depth of the caster's Mana.

If wielded by one of great divine ability, turning a thousand miles of fertile fields into desert or freezing the Yangtze River and great rivers into glaciers would be as effortless as one wished.

Of course, for Song Qingming, who had only just entered the Mid Qi Refining Stage, this was still a castle in the air. Even though the Spiritual Energy within his body had reached the Mid Qi Refining Stage, it remained very limited. He could only barely cast these low-grade spells. To cultivate more advanced spells with greater power, he would have to wait until his cultivation was higher and his body contained sufficient Spiritual Energy.

Immersed in all these fresh new spells, Song Qingming did not leave his Cave Abode until half a month later.

A streak of azure light shot out from Song Qingming's side, instantly striking a massive boulder more than ten zhang from his Cave Abode. With a bang, dust and shattered stones flew into the air. When the dust settled moments later, one corner of the boulder had already been sliced off by the azure light.

Song Qingming changed his hand seals, and the azure light swiftly returned before him, transforming into an azure-black iron sword.

"I can more or less use this Sword Control Technique skillfully and as I please now."

Over the past half month, Song Qingming had not only successfully cultivated the Earth Origin Art to the fourth layer, but had also learned seven or eight low-grade spells. He could now be considered a genuine Mid Qi Refining Stage Cultivator.

After putting away the flying sword before him, Song Qingming went to the family Treasury Pavilion to update his cultivation level. There, he also received a Storage Bag he had long dreamed of obtaining.

Storage Bags were essential items for cultivators in the Cultivation World, but one needed to reach the Mid Qi Refining Stage and learn to release spiritual power before they could use one. After a cultivator refined it, they merely had to inject some spiritual power into the Storage Bag and lock onto an item for it to be automatically stored or retrieved.

The one Song Qingming received was only a beginner Storage Bag with a space of three cubic feet. Even the lowest-grade Storage Bags were not cheap in the marketplace, each costing at least ten Spirit Stones. However, in order to encourage the younger generation of the Song Family to cultivate diligently, every clan member who broke through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage received a beginner Storage Bag for free as a reward.

Song Qingming released a drop of his essence blood and merged it into the Storage Bag. After forming several hand seals, he successfully completed the refinement. He then took stock of all his belongings and placed every last one into the Storage Bag.

One low-grade Mysterious Iron Sword, one set of low-grade Five Elements Array Flags, several low-grade talismans, thirty jin of Spirit Rice, and more than a dozen Spirit Stones. That was everything Song Qingming possessed.

Compared with other Mid Qi Refining Stage cultivators, he did not even own a single Mid-grade Magic Tool. He was truly poor as a church mouse. If he encountered cultivators of the same level in combat, he would surely suffer a severe disadvantage.

A Mid-grade flying sword in the marketplace cost roughly thirty Spirit Stones. Even if he wanted to exchange for one, the Spirit Stones on him were still not enough.

Now that he had successfully broken through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage, his next task was to find a way to earn Spirit Stones, repay the Spirit Stones he had borrowed from Thirteenth Uncle and the others, and gradually equip himself properly.