Lin Le picked up the three booklets and flipped through them.
One contained the Qi Refining cultivation method of the Five Yin Art, one explained the true principles of artifact refinement for crafting Ghost Dao Artifacts, and the last was a Ghost Raising manual describing how to cultivate ghosts.
After leafing through them, Lin Le took out a firestarter and burned them. Such harmful things should never have existed.
Lin Le then tried using the storage pouch. With only yang energy fed into it, he sensed an extradimensional space. After a few attempts, he skillfully stored away the gold, silver, and valuables, while also sorting through the pills.
Speaking of pills, Lin Le seemed to remember something. He took out the unknown pill he had obtained from Liao Dong and showed it to Qingli. "What kind of pill is this?"
"A True Essence Pill. It replenishes true qi. It would be rather wasteful for you to take it." Qingli glanced at it. "Give it to me."
Lin Le directly tossed the True Essence Pill to Qingli without a trace of reluctance. "Then give me a few drops of your blood?"
Confusion appeared in Qingli's eyes. "What do you want my blood for?"
"To eat, of course. What else could it be?" Lin Le shrugged. "Your blood should be quite nourishing for me."
Qingli hesitated, somewhat unwilling. "Then open your mouth."
Lin Le opened his mouth, and Qingli extended a forked tongue into it. A cool liquid then rolled down his throat and into his stomach.
Did that count as kissing a snake? Lin Le suddenly found himself considering this question.
But he quickly had no energy left to think about it.
The moment the liquid entered his stomach, it was like ignited petroleum, releasing astonishing heat. It felt as though his stomach had been burned through.
Circulating his blood and qi, Lin Le immediately began digesting that drop of blood.
His body became like a blazing furnace, his blood and qi scorching every last corner of his flesh thoroughly.
Red light shone through his entire body until the final dark spot between his brows was erased. All the blood and qi in his body automatically surged into his heart, forming a solid Blood Dan.
Blood and qi embraced the Dan—success!
A flicker of joy rose in Lin Le's heart. His foundation upon the Spiritual Platform Dao was now completely secure.
He looked around, only to discover that he was no longer in Cai Residence, but in Liu Manor.
Qingli stood at the well. "Cultivators were about to arrive over there, so I brought you here first."
"Oh, thank you." Lin Le expressed his gratitude.
"You're welcome." Qingli smiled, then asked curiously, "Did you just embrace the Dan?"
"Yes." Lin Le nodded.
Qingli could not help stretching out their neck. "That was far too fast, wasn't it? When I first met you, you were only a second-limit Martial Master, right?"
"My constitution is extraordinary. I can perfectly digest all kinds of resources," Lin Le said. "That's why I've progressed so quickly."
Perfect digestion alone could not explain this.
Qingli narrowed their eyes, then returned to normal. Lin Le had his own secrets, and Qingli had theirs as well. There was no need to pry into everything.
They pretended to understand and nodded. "So that's how it is. Then take this bottle of pills and eat them."
"What are these?" Lin Le accepted the pills and asked in confusion.
"Yellow Bud Pills," Qingli said. "They belonged to that cultivator. Normally, they are for Huangting cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm, but your constitution is extraordinary. You might be able to digest them. That should let your qi-drawing cultivation reach completion."
As for reaching the limit of qi drawing, Qingli did not think Lin Le had much hope.
The first step of Huangting Dao screened for aptitude, but afterward, aptitude was not particularly important. What mattered was comprehension.
The Spiritual Platform Dao was the opposite. Even those without much aptitude could cultivate its first step, but the further one went, the more it demanded aptitude.
Thus, Lin Le could reach the limit of body refinement and embrace the Dan with his blood and qi, but as for the limit of qi drawing, the step of Jade Liquid Returning to Dan was still highly uncertain.
"Oh." Lin Le accepted the Yellow Bud Pills.
"Oh, and this is for you too." Qingli returned the reinforced Tiger Bone Spear to Lin Le.
The reforged Tiger Bone Spear carried a ghastly pale sheen. It looked as though it had been made from bone, with only the spearhead resembling metal.
Lin Le weighed it in his hand. It was more comfortable to use than before.
"Do you want me to stand guard for you?" Qingli asked.
"Sorry for the trouble." After saying that, Lin Le swallowed a Yellow Bud Pill.
The Qi Gathering Art began circulating on its own, digesting the Yellow Bud Pill.
Using the Inner Vision Divine Ability, Lin Le inspected the gains from the Annihilation of Cai Manor.
Current Human Dao merit: 142 points, Earthly Dao merit: 12 points, karmic sin: 54 points.
Cai Xiuyong had possessed two ghosts in total. Lin Le had beaten one to death, while the remaining one had been sent on its way at once, earning him ten points of Earthly Dao merit.
With a thought, the earth-yellow lotus seed dissipated.
One thought, one year. Lin Le first tried refining souls, but it did not work. Then he tried Combining Momentum, but momentum did not work either. Finally, he tested the Golden Light Divine Mantra and discovered that he could cultivate it.
However, Lin Le did not cultivate the Golden Light Divine Mantra. He merely continued painstakingly cultivating the Qi Gathering Art until his qi sea was full and he achieved Jade Liquid Returning to Dan.
When his consciousness returned, Lin Le felt the medicinal power of the Yellow Bud Pill he had just digested being frantically absorbed by his qi sea.
One Yellow Bud Pill after another went down his throat. Qingli watched in a daze, afraid that Lin Le would burst himself to death.
If Qingli had not sensed that Lin Le's aura was stable and steadily strengthening at a consistent pace, they would have stopped this act that was no different from suicide long ago.
After digesting a total of five Yellow Bud Pills, Lin Le felt a sensation of perfect harmony arise from his qi sea.
Jade Liquid Returning to Dan—success!
That thought appeared in Lin Le's mind.
Compared to the limit of body refinement, Lin Le understood the limit of qi drawing more clearly, because the Qi Gathering Art described it.
The four steps of qi drawing actually had a fifth step: Jade Liquid Returning to Dan, where qi was refined into a false Dan. That was the true foundation of the highest grade.
Using it to open the Huangting Secret Realm would not only guarantee that the secret realm expanded to ten zhang, but would also give rise to a spark of spirituality.
That spirituality could combine with all things to create a natal artifact. It could grow alongside its master and was undoubtedly the finest choice among treasures that protected one's Dao.
"Your qi sea is full?" Qingli blinked.
"It's full, and I've also achieved Jade Liquid Returning to Dan." Lin Le stood and stretched lazily.
"Jade Liquid Returning to Dan?!" Qingli's voice suddenly rose. "How is that possible?!"
"Why wouldn't it be possible?" Lin Le asked in return.
Qingli craned their neck. "To achieve Jade Liquid Returning to Dan, your cultivation method must reach great completion, and you must comprehend momentum from it. Only by using momentum to suppress qi can you achieve Jade Liquid Returning to Dan."
"You mean momentum?" Lin Le threw a punch toward Qingli. The air suddenly twisted, as though distorted by searing heat. "Like this?"
Qingli froze. That strike had undoubtedly contained the momentum of fire.
"You had already comprehended it? When did you comprehend it?" Qingli asked.
"The day before yesterday, I think," Lin Le said.
The day before yesterday? Qingli recalled that it was the day they had just brought Lin Le to Qinghu Town.
"You comprehended it in battle?" Qingli asked.
"Mm." Lin Le pondered for a moment. "More or less."
Qingli looked Lin Le up and down. "Do you possess some kind of Battle Saint Body or War King Treasure Body? Only those with such constitutions could display something like this."
"If I really had one, that would be great." Lin Le shrugged. "I wouldn't have to run around like this. I could just find a powerful sect and join it."
"That's true." Qingli nodded.
Lin Le looked at the sky and realized that it was already night.
"Take me back to Cai Residence once more. I still have something to deal with." Lin Le said to Qingli.
"Alright." Qingli did not ask why and directly left with Lin Le.
Before you continue