Mana Surges

"Finally, I've done it!"

Li Qingyun let out a long laugh and stood up, his pale face filled with joy.

A faint, pale yellow aura exploded from his body!

Inside his heart, the fat, wriggling Spirit Devouring Gu worm, after consuming too much, had finally burst!

The round, silkworm-like body disintegrated into a pool of spiritual fluid!

The spiritual fluid, glowing with a dazzling yellow light, was pumped from his heart and quickly spread throughout his body, nourishing Li Qingyun's physique.

Tendons strengthened, bones grew, Blood Essence was generated, and his physical body slowly grew stronger…

As Li Qingyun listened to the strange sounds of his bones and tendons stretching within him, a faint understanding arose in his heart.

"My essence seems to have received a slight elevation and sublimation!"

He recalled the legends about the Spirit Devouring Gu, which had only two possible endings:

Either it would devour everything within its host and eventually split the body to transform into a new spiritual butterfly.

Or, it would be extracted prematurely by the person who released it, who would then seize the Mana essence it had absorbed, using it to improve their own human potential!

The Cui family could never have imagined that all their schemes would ultimately benefit Li Qingyun!

In their eyes, an illegitimate son of the Marquis's Estate without a Dao Bone Spiritual Root, even if he spent ten years at the temple, would never cultivate any Mana. This Spirit Devouring Gu worm would likely remain dormant its entire life.

"The Cui family even ordered me to write letters back home every month, detailing my cultivation progress. They were probably monitoring the Spirit Devouring Silkworm's consumption at the same time!"

"But today, I broke free and escaped the cage. I will surely repay them in the future…"

Li Qingyun thought coldly.

Faint yellow light flickered on his body, the outward manifestation of his Mana returning to him.

At this moment, nourished by the yellow spiritual fluid from the exploded Spirit Devouring Silkworm, the myriad pores on his skin began to expel black impurities and sludge.

The room filled with a foul stench that he himself could barely tolerate.

He felt that his condition was also better than ever before.

The Blood Essence and vital energy depleted by the demonic woman's essence-draining were slowly recovering.

Furthermore, his current Blood Essence, infused with the aura of Mana, now glowed with faint yellow light, making him stronger and more robust than before.

The yellow spiritual fluid from the Spirit Devouring Silkworm's explosion had all been converted into nutrients for his body!

Combined with the Precious Furnace Qi Absorption Art, which already had a slight effect of improving the basic potential of Lingbao Temple disciples.

With the two effects superimposed, Li Qingyun's so-called Dao Bone Spiritual Root had been subtly improved.

Although not significant, at least he was no longer a complete cultivation outcast. He was slightly stronger than his previous utterly useless physique.

Others cultivate by first possessing a Dao Bone Spiritual Root and then cultivating Mana.

But he, Li Qingyun, relied on the golden finger of his substitute's phantom image to first generate Mana and then feed it back to his physical body, improving his potential bit by bit.

Of course, acquired potential could at most make up for some deficiencies. It was almost impossible to achieve a true, level-crossing metamorphosis.

Unless he could obtain the rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures recorded in the Daoist scriptures that could assist cultivators in transforming their essence!

"Haha, I need to go to the pond near the bamboo hut for a good bath…"

Li Qingyun couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Mana instantly flowed through his body, and his feet began to glow faintly. His figure accelerated instantly, rushing towards the pond east of the bamboo hut.

Even without cultivating any movement techniques, his current speed, purely by circulating Mana, far surpassed that of ordinary people.

The back mountain had numerous streams, ponds, and even several hot springs, serving as natural bathing spots for the temple disciples.

The disciples in the temple were a mixed bag, filled with many like He Xiao and Li Qingyun who had inferior roots and were considered useless. This added a touch of ordinary life to the place.

With so many people needing to eat, drink, excrete, and wash, it was not much different from before they came up the mountain to join the temple.

The next day, Li Qingyun continued to meditate in his bamboo hut.

While meditating, he meticulously studied the first three layers of the Precious Furnace Qi Absorption Art.

"At this rate, reaching Qi Refining Layer Three will only take a few days…"

With the mysterious Daoist effigy phantom image in his mind, his current cultivation was akin to an idle game, requiring only the posture of meditation.

In the morning, without the Spirit Devouring Gu worm acting up, he had finally accumulated a furnace of Mana, successfully crossing the threshold of cultivation.

Strands of pale yellow Mana swirled in his Dantian, easily entering the Qi Refining Realm!

Within his Dantian's Qi Sea, wisps of pale yellow Qi condensed to form the outline of an ancient Precious Furnace.

This Precious Furnace was a unique phenomenon of the Precious Furnace Qi Absorption Art upon successful cultivation.

Li Qingyun had also successfully stepped into Qi Refining Layer One!

His enthusiasm for meditation was now fervent. As long as his body could endure it, he was willing to meditate until the end of time.

His roommate, He Xiao, had just returned to the room that morning, his steps somewhat unsteady, still reeking of alcohol.

He saw Li Qingyun still meditating foolishly and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. After teasing him a few times and seeing that Li Qingyun wasn't listening to his advice, he couldn't be bothered to say more.

This roommate then went to bed and snored loudly, filling the room with the smell of alcohol.

He Xiao lived quite a carefree life at Lingbao Temple. As soon as Li Qingyun moved in, he saw He Xiao constantly hosting banquets, reveling in his drunken state.

The two unfinished talismans on the table seemed to have been forgotten by He Xiao, remaining as they were.

"Brother He's life in the temple, tsk tsk..."

Li Qingyun endured the smell of alcohol pervading the bamboo hut, meditating by himself, occasionally adjusting his posture and his somewhat numb body.

He wondered if he should go to the mountains and forests outside to find a quiet, secluded place to meditate and cultivate.

But now he was immersed in the joy of his rapidly growing cultivation, he didn't want to move an inch.

Unknowingly, the autumn sun shone brightly, and it was already noon.

Li Qingyun's cultivation surged, and the results were astonishing!

At this moment, the unknown Qi Sea within his body, and within the Precious Furnace, over three hundred strands of Mana rose like clouds. Following his thoughts, they moved through his meridians and acupoints like soaring snakes and flashing lightning.

They circulated endlessly, repeating, as if extensions of his own arms.

A total of three and a half furnaces of Mana!

The Precious Furnace Qi Absorption Art mentioned that cultivation sects in this world use "furnaces" as a unit of measurement for Mana, to roughly gauge a cultivator's power.

One furnace was entry-level, Qi Refining Layer One, marking the boundary between them and mortals, becoming a true cultivator.

Ten furnaces of Mana, Qi Refining Layer Two;

Twenty furnaces of Mana, Qi Refining Layer Three...

And so on. Based on Mana alone, Qi Refining Layer Nine would be around eighty furnaces of Mana.

And Grand Perfection of Qi Refining would be ninety-nine furnaces of Mana!

"With the blessing of the Daoist effigy's phantom, I generate one point of Mana per second while meditating. It takes about an hour and a half to condense one furnace of Mana. Currently, without external interference, the limit for meditating per day is six hours, which amounts to four furnaces of Mana!"

"At this rate, reaching Grand Perfection of Qi Refining will only take about a month!"

"However, this physical body's talent is indeed too mediocre. After meditating for a full six hours, under the continuous impact of Mana, my entire body's meridians and acupoints cannot withstand it, preventing me from rapidly increasing my cultivation. Otherwise, I could meditate until the end of time."

"Or perhaps, my cultivation speed is too astonishing. If I were to encounter a master within the temple, I might be exposed immediately, as my aptitude cannot explain it! Therefore, I must learn a method to conceal my cultivation..."

After meditating for the entire morning, Li Qingyun meticulously analyzed his situation, and his mind gradually cleared.

At lunchtime, Li Qingyun wanted to invite He Xiao to eat with him. He called out a couple of times, but seeing no reaction, he went to the dining hall to eat alone.

When he returned after his meal, he saw that He Xiao had already woken up and had even bathed at the nearby pond.