Entering the Qi Refining Realm

Chapter 41: Entering the Qi Refining Realm

The bodies in the Cai Manor had still not been collected.

Lin Le arrived at the courtyard where Cai Chengxuan's corpse was located.

As if sensing the presence of a living person, Cai Chengxuan's corpse actually moved strangely, seeming to want to pounce on Lin Le.

So he really did become a ghost, Lin Le thought.

From Cai Xiuyong's conversation, Lin Le knew that Cai Chengxuan had likely been intentionally cultivated by him to become a special kind of fierce ghost.

Therefore, Lin Le was certain that Cai Chengxuan, who had died in extreme pain, would most likely turn into a ghost.

However, the situation before him looked more like a jiangshi.

But it didn't matter, as long as he could be saved.

Lin Le began to chant the Sutra for Rebirth.

Cai Chengxuan's corpse trembled as if struck by lightning, then stopped moving. After Lin Le chanted it twice, gray Qi emanated from Cai Chengxuan's body and was absorbed by him.

Lin Le chanted the Sutra for Rebirth again for Cai Xiuyong's corpse. This time, there was no gray Qi, only three points of Earthly Dao merit.

After chanting for all the corpses, Lin Le's Earthly Dao merit reached 25 points.

As expected of a demonic cultivator, he chooses people with the potential to become ghosts.

Lin Le looked at the condensed Earthly Dao lotus seed.

He casually found a place to sit and used his Inner Vision Divine Ability to observe his Inner Scenery.

Three drops of Soul Strengthening Dew, originating from Cai Xiuyong controlling the two ghosts and Cai Chengxuan, were consumed.

Lin Le felt a throbbing sensation in his head and immediately entered a state of meditation.

One breath to enter meditation, one breath to hear the thunder, one breath to see the thunder, and one more breath, and the lightning fire engulfed him.

The pain, as if his physical body was being torn apart, surged through him. Lin Le endured it silently, and the throbbing sensation rapidly subsided.

As the throbbing faded, the pain also grew less and less intense.

His soul gradually felt a sense of completeness.

When Lin Le regained consciousness, the sky had already turned to dawn.

He had actually been in meditation for over two hours, far exceeding his previous record.

It seems my soul refinement is also nearing perfection.

Lin Le felt the spiritual agility in his Numinous Palace, which felt as if it could leap out at any moment.

I wonder if there's a limit to soul refinement.

Lin Le recalled the Thunderfire Soul Refining Diagram but found no mention of such a thing. After the Fourth Zen, it directly transitioned into meditation and then Inner Vision.

Should I ask Qingli? Lin Le thought. He could tell that Qingli possessed a system inheritance.

With that thought, Lin Le voiced his question.

"A limit to soul refinement? There isn't one," Qingli shook his head after hearing the question. "Soul refinement, in the end, is just geniuses cultivating their future path in the present."

"Whether it's body refinement or Qi Guiding, one must eventually cultivate their spirit and soul. Soul refinement simply accelerates and advances this process."

"That's why those top powerhouses are often dual cultivators of the Heavenly Gate and Huangting, or Huangting and Spiritual Platform."

"What about triple cultivation?" Lin Le asked curiously.

"That's generally not the case, as everyone's aptitude is different. Constitutions that emphasize both Huangting and Spiritual Platform are quite rare," Qingli glanced at Lin Le. "You're not thinking of triple cultivation, are you? That consumes an immense amount of resources."

"I'll try it first," Lin Le said noncommittally. "If I run out of steam later, I'll abandon one path."

"As long as you have your own ideas," Qingli nodded. "Where are you going next?"

"I'll go into seclusion for two to three days to enter the Qi Refining Realm, and then I'll pick off the gentry lords in town one by one," Lin Le said.

"Oh, and don't forget to buy me food," Qingli then opened his mouth, and a breath of Qi flew out from Lin Le's body, landing in his mouth. "You've lifted the restrictions on me."

"Aren't you afraid I'll betray you?" Lin Le patted his chest and laughed.

"Hmph, worst case scenario, I'll just eat you," the white snake raised its head proudly. "With your current cultivation, you probably can't escape my grasp."

"Yes, yes, Great Cultivator Qingli," Lin Le turned. "I'll have someone send the food over. Remember to eat it on time."

"You don't need to remind me," Qingli muttered. "I'm not a child. By age, I could be your great-grand-aunt."

Two days later, at the inn.

Lin Le digested the newly produced Concentrated Divine Dew, and the spiritual light between his brows suddenly leaped out.

Lin Le's vision abruptly turned black, or rather, it didn't turn black entirely; he could still see a patch of red.

The red formed bones, flesh, muscles, and internal organs.

This was his body.

The thought appeared in Lin Le's mind, and he had no reason to doubt it.

He carefully observed his body, watching his organs function.

"Creating martial arts often requires inner vision; it might save hundreds of merit points," Lin Le couldn't help but think.

When he created the Thirteen Revolutions of Fighting Heaven, the most troublesome part was the coordination between Blood Qi and his internal organs. If he hadn't been unafraid of death during the one thought, one year process, he estimated he would have died within half a year.

After observing for a while, Lin Le stopped and meditated for another half day.

Once he confirmed his condition was stable, Lin Le began to break through.

The first to break through was the Spiritual Platform Secret Realm.

The Spiritual Platform refers to the heart.

The Dantian within the heart is called the Crimson Palace, and the Spiritual Platform Secret Realm is hidden within it.

As Lin Le's thoughts moved, the Blood Pill, already located in the Crimson Palace, exploded.

Blood Qi surged, filling the Crimson Palace. Without needing to be sought out, it found the wandering Secret Realm and poured into it.

An ordinary person could only rely on the sparse Blood Qi to find it, and a single misstep could injure the heart, causing severe depletion of Vital Energy or even death.

Lin Le didn't check the result. Instead, he detonated the Qi Pill in his Qi Sea once more.

To cultivate both the Huangting and the Spiritual Platform simultaneously from the start was crucial. Otherwise, once the Secret Realm stabilized, it would absorb all the Qi in the body and convert it into True Qi. At that point, neither internal Qi nor Blood Qi would be generated anymore.

A large amount of Yang Qi surged into the already discovered Huangting Secret Realm.

This was also the benefit of cultivating the Qi Sea. During daily practice, one could slowly search. If not today, then tomorrow; if not tomorrow, then the day after. Eventually, a blind cat might stumble upon a mouse.

This was also why cultivators in the Qi Guiding Realm could generally advance to the Qi Refining Realm.

With the Secret Realm stabilized, Lin Le's consciousness was also pulled into two small worlds.

One was a golden-yellow land, about ten feet in diameter, with five bone-shaped sections, each ten feet high, forming a red pillar in the center.

The other was a crimson stone platform, also about ten feet in diameter, with thirteen patterns on its surface, such as dragons, phoenixes, and apes.

Both were slowly expanding.

At this moment, Lin Le performed inner vision on himself, mobilizing excess Blood Qi to collide with the Numinous Palace in his glabella.

He could clearly see a point of spiritual light moving about.

The Blood Qi collided and stabilized the spiritual light.

This was also why the Heavenly Gate was often cultivated through dual cultivation. Since soul refinement did not produce Qi, it required the assistance of other Qi to open.

With the spiritual light stabilized, Lin Le saw another small world.

Misty clouds permeated an area of ten feet, with flashes of lightning within.

This was also slowly expanding.

The Spiritual Platform Secret Realm was the first to expand to its limit, as Lin Le's accumulation in this area was the most profound.

Next was the Huangting Secret Realm.

Mobilizing the remaining Blood Qi and Yang Qi, Lin Le poured them all into the Spiritual Platform Secret Realm.

Finally, it was expanded to its ten-zhang limit.

With the three small worlds stabilized, a point of spiritual light suddenly flew out from the center of each and began to dance within Lin Le's body.

Lin Le tried to control them, but found he couldn't, only able to let them dance freely.

Eventually, one crashed into the golden light representing the Golden Light Divine Mantra, one crashed into the residual Blood Qi, and the last one actually flew into the divine ability Inner Scenery.

It roamed for a while before directly crashing into the Sun Moon Spirit Nectar.

No!

Lin Le cried out internally. That was his trump card. Otherwise, how could he have been so bold as to seek out Cai Xiuyong and the Mountain Imp?

He had relied on the Sun Moon Spirit Nectar's ability to burst forth briefly to allow him to escape.

Unfortunately, that point of spiritual light did not listen to him at all and had already crashed into the Sun Moon Spirit Nectar.