Qi Refining Layer 4

Chapter 24: Qi Refining Layer 4

Guan Sheng remained silent. Only after a long while did he let out a breath of stale air.

"Could it be that I really overthought things?"

"That kid—was he truly in the midst of an alchemical epiphany that day? Wasn't he deliberately hiding indoors to avoid me?"

"And his leaving early without saying goodbye—was that also because he felt guilty toward me?"

"Jiang De's matter has absolutely nothing to do with him?"

"This..."

"It does seem somewhat reasonable, but something still feels off."

Guan Sheng racked his brain until his head ached, yet he still could not make sense of it.

"Forget it. Guan Di doesn't know about my affairs, so the contents of his letter should mostly be true."

"Whether what that kid said is true or not, this is all I can do."

"Or rather, for now, I can only take his words as the truth."

Guan Sheng put away the pills laid out before him, temporarily setting aside his intention to hunt down Han Yi.

There was no need to create unnecessary complications.

If an opportunity arose in the future, that would be another matter.

Elsewhere.

A little over half a month later.

Inside a Meditation Chamber in the courtyard where Han Yi lived on Little Spirit Void Peak.

The painting of a sword immortal riding his sword hung upon the wall.

At the center of the Meditation Chamber, a young man in his early twenties sat cross-legged on a cushion, shattered spirit stones scattered all around him.

At a certain moment, a tidal surge of spiritual energy churned, pulsing and trembling as though it were breathing.

Then, all the spiritual energy compressed madly and was drawn into the young man seated at the center, swallowed in great gulps like a whale drinking in the sea.

That young man was naturally Han Yi.

He abruptly opened his eyes. White light flashed through the void, streak after streak, before vanishing in an instant, as if it had all been an illusion.

"Hah!"

Han Yi exhaled a long breath of stale air. It was as sharp as a blade and lingered for a long while before dispersing.

As that breath left him, an aura unique to a Qi Refining Layer 4 cultivator emanated from his body.

Though this aura was not yet fully stable, there was no question that it had reached the standard of the fourth layer.

"Qi Refining Layer 4. I finally made it."

Joy appeared on Han Yi's face.

More than a year after transmigrating, he had finally crossed his first cultivation threshold: advancing from low-stage Qi Refining to mid-stage Qi Refining.

Han Yi did not stop there.

Instead, he took the opportunity to consolidate his cultivation, stopping only once he felt his aura had stabilized.

By then, two months had passed since he entered seclusion.

Cultivation knew no passage of years.

He was gradually getting used to it.

After stabilizing his cultivation, Han Yi took stock of his belongings and sighed.

Cultivation was far too expensive.

At this moment, he had only a dozen or so spirit stones left on him.

The savings he had accumulated before, together with the spirit stones, spirit sand, and other supplies obtained from Jiang De's storage bag, had only been enough to sustain him for such a short time.

One had to know that, including the spirit stones he already possessed, there had been nearly two hundred of them.

Even within the Mystic Pill Sect, only relatively wealthy outer sect disciples at the fifth or sixth layer could possibly amass such immense wealth through long years of saving.

Thinking of the other outer sect disciples at the third and fourth layers, pinching every coin as they cultivated each day, it was no wonder that for outer sect disciples, advancing in realm was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Han Yi sighed not because he was troubled over his coming cultivation, but because he felt the hardship of cultivation in the outer sect.

Yet for him, these were no longer problems.

Before going to the assessment, he had purchased materials for thirty batches of Qi Nourishing Pills and twenty batches of Evil Warding Pills. During the assessment, he had used only one batch of Qi Nourishing Pill materials, leaving him with plenty of raw ingredients for alchemy.

These were his startup capital.

And what he relied on, naturally, was his alchemy skill.

He first looked toward the proficiency panel after his breakthrough.

Name: Han Yi

Lifespan: 22/93

Realm: Qi Refining Layer 4 (1/100)

Cultivation Art: Fire Pill Profound Art (Proficiency 48/100)

Skills:

Alchemy (Intermediate 78/100)

Spirit Void Finger (Comprehensive Mastery 1/100)

Sword Control Technique (First Glimpse 34/100)

When he saw the realm clearly marked as Qi Refining Layer 4, his face filled with immense relief.

It truly had not been easy.

Then—

He looked upward.

"Lifespan has risen from 89 to 93, an increase of four years."

"And..."

"Without realizing it, another year has passed. I'm twenty-two now."

Han Yi suddenly thought of his family in the other world, and it felt as if something had lodged itself in his throat.

After a moment, he composed himself and looked back at the panel.

"Alchemy's Intermediate level has also advanced to 78/100 proficiency."

"If this skill advances and reaches the same Comprehensive Mastery as the Spirit Void Finger, would that mean the pills I refine could consistently be Standard Quality or above?"

At the thought, Han Yi's heart burned hot.

One had to know—

Within the Mystic Pill Sect, only the most outstanding disciples of the inner sect could generally refine Standard Quality pills.

And—

Even they could not produce Standard Quality pills from every batch.

By then, aside from his cultivation, Han Yi's alchemy skill alone would be more than enough for him to enter an Inner Peak.

He would not go to Little Dragon Beard Peak, Little Green Cloud Peak, or Little Blazing Fire Peak. After all, they were all Outer Peaks.

But if he had a chance to enter an Inner Peak, he would fight for it with everything he had.

Of course—

That was only under the premise of ensuring his own safety. He could not reveal such terrifying alchemy talent too early.

Otherwise, with only Qi Refining Layer 4 cultivation, entering an Inner Peak where the minimum was Qi Refining Layer 7 would be like a sheep walking into a pack of wolves. He might be devoured without even bones left behind.

For now, it was better to keep a lower profile.

Han Yi thought.

Through the proficiency panel, he gained a comprehensive understanding of his current situation.

He was very satisfied with the result.

Next, Han Yi began refining pills directly. Thanks to his Intermediate-level alchemy, his success rate in refining Qi Nourishing Pills had now reached eighty percent, and he could occasionally produce some Standard Quality Qi Nourishing Pills as well.

His success rate for refining Evil Warding Pills had also reached thirty percent.

This time, he was in good form. Of twenty batches of Evil Warding Pills, seven were successfully refined—two more batches than when he had been in Mengshan City.

On the one hand, his strength and alchemy skill had improved. On the other, returning to Little Spirit Void Peak felt like coming home, leaving him in peak condition.

In less than half a month, he had refined all the pills. Whenever his spiritual power was depleted during that time, he used the remaining dozen or so spirit stones to recover quickly.

Half a month later.

The last spirit stone on Han Yi's person crumbled into ash. Before him sat twenty-three bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills and seven bottles of Evil Warding Pills. Among the Qi Nourishing Pills were three bottles of Standard Quality pills.

This was his entire fortune now.

After organizing his things, he left the courtyard, only to happen upon Zheng Hai, who had come looking for him.

"Good grief, Han Yi. I heard you passed the assessment and returned to the sect. How did you manage that, kid?"

Zheng Hai's face was as dark as ever.

Han Yi did not answer directly. Instead, he looked Zheng Hai over and smiled. "Not bad. You've reached Qi Refining Layer 3 already."

Zheng Hai's aura was already at Qi Refining Layer 3, and he had likely broken through nearly half a year ago.

When Han Yi had descended the mountain, Zheng Hai had been at the peak of Qi Refining Layer 2 and was preparing to break through to the third layer.

Seeing that he had succeeded now, Han Yi was naturally happy for him.

Come to think of it.

In this world, his former self had probably only one and a half friends: Zheng Hai counted as one, while Guan Di counted as half.

"Of course. I practically risked my life just to break through to Layer 3."

"But Han Yi, what's going on with the aura around you?"

Zheng Hai frowned. The aura around Han Yi was identical to that of the Outer Peak disciples at Qi Refining Layer 4 whom he had seen before.

But how was that possible?

One year—only one year—and he seemed like an entirely different person.

Han Yi smiled. Showing off a little in front of a friend felt exceptionally satisfying.

"You weren't mistaken. I'm at Qi Refining Layer 4."

"And not only Qi Refining Layer 4—my alchemy has also broken through. Now I can refine Qi Nourishing Pills with ease."

"Forget one hundred points. Several senior brothers at high Qi Refining levels in the Outer Peak have invited me to move in with them, and I turned them all down."

"In the future, not just the Outer Peak—even the Inner Peak will have a place for me."

"What's Qi Refining Layer 4? Reaching the high levels is just around the corner, and even establishing my foundation on the immortal path is no longer a dream."

"Don't worry. From now on, I'll carry you to glory."

Han Yi's string of words made Zheng Hai's heart tremble three times in succession.

(End of Chapter)