Mid-Stage Qi Refining

After the pills were in hand, Li Qianqing chatted with Fourth Uncle for a few moments, briefly asked for guidance on a few cultivation questions, then left.

"Stop right there!"

Li Qianyin, who had been about to leave together with Li Qianqing, was called back by her father. Her step had already gone halfway out, and she could only draw it back in disappointment.

"Oh."

"It's been nearly three years, and you still haven't reached Qi Refining Fourth Layer. When your father was your age, I had long since entered Mid-Stage Qi Refining. What a waste of your talent."

Toward his own daughter, Li Lilong rarely showed the manner of a loving father.

He was doing this for Li Qianyin's own good.

"Just watch. Your Qianqing-ge's talent is not as good as yours, but he will definitely enter Qi Refining Fourth Layer before you do."

The moment this was mentioned, Li Qianyin perked up.

"Hmph, I don't believe it."

"Fine. If you don't believe it, how about you and your father make a bet? As long as you can cultivate to Qi Refining Fourth Layer before Qianqing does, I won't ask about your cultivation situation in the future. But if you lose, then from now on you will cultivate properly and honestly for me, and put away that playful mind of yours. How old are you already?"

"Fine! A bet it is!" Li Qianyin agreed at once.

"Very good. Now that is like my daughter. Starting now, before you cultivate to Qi Refining Fourth Layer, you are not allowed to go see your Qianqing-ge."

"Ah, fine... I guess..."

Originally, Li Qianyin had wanted to coordinate with Li Qianqing. Now it seemed her father was not giving her that chance.

Then she could only rely on her own strength, solid and real.

Li Qianyin also had confidence. One had to know that she was a Dual Spiritual Root, while Qianqing-ge was only a Three Spiritual Roots. The advantage was hers.

On the other side.

Li Qianqing returned to his residence and began cultivating.

At thirteen years old, he had clearly already become a child in other people's eyes.

Every bit of his behavior had been deliberate.

The current situation was proceeding according to his plan.

The Qi Refining stage cultivation method he cultivated was called the "Verdant Wood Engulfing Flame Art." As the name suggested, this was a cultivation method with fire as the main element and wood as the auxiliary, extremely suited for cultivators with wood and fire spiritual roots.

Among his Three Spiritual Roots, aside from the wood and fire spiritual roots, he also had a water spiritual root.

The "Verdant Wood Engulfing Flame Art" was a top-tier Qi Refining stage cultivation method, famous for its fast cultivation speed and strong locking of spiritual power.

This was not a cultivation method of the Mortal Realm. It was something Li Qianqing had obtained in the Spirit Realm.

The world he was currently in could be called the Mortal Realm, and also the Small World, or the Lower Realm.

On the road of cultivation, before becoming immortal, there were nine realms in total: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, Mahayana, and Tribulation Transcendence. After cultivating to the Spirit Transformation stage, one could ascend to the Spirit Realm.

The Spirit Realm called this place the Mortal Expanse Realm. A Mortal Realm that could have a name indicated that many Spirit Transformation stage cultivators had ascended from it, and that its overall spiritual energy value was high.

Before circulating the "Verdant Wood Engulfing Flame Art," Li Qianqing also had to activate the secret art "Clear Water Art."

This was an auxiliary cultivation secret art, and one needed a water spiritual root to cultivate it. At present, he had already cultivated it to minor accomplishment.

Aside from allowing a person to maintain the best state during cultivation, the "Clear Water Art" could also achieve the effect of water engendering wood, and wood engendering fire.

For him, with wood, water, and fire as his Three Spiritual Roots, it was excellent.

Only through the combination Li Qianqing had made based on his own experience and gains had his cultivation speed reached a level close to that of a Dual Spiritual Root cultivator.

In truth, he himself knew his spiritual root talent clearly. Among Three Spiritual Roots, it could only be considered lower-middle, somewhat worse than most Three Spiritual Roots cultivators.

First he took a Fasting Pill, then swallowed a Rank 1 Low-Grade Qi Gathering Pill. Only then did Li Qianqing circulate the "Verdant Wood Engulfing Flame Art."

The three small cyclones in his qi sea began to continuously draw closer under the effects of the Rank 1 Low-Grade Qi Gathering Pill.

In ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivation methods, there was only gaseous spiritual power in the qi sea. The spiritual power of the "Verdant Wood Engulfing Flame Art" formed cyclones; aside from better absorbing and converting spiritual energy, it also had a very good effect of locking spiritual power.

Cultivation was like rowing a boat against the current: if one did not advance, one retreated.

If cultivators did not cultivate for a long time, the spiritual power in their qi sea would evaporate like water in a large vat, constantly scattering away.

Of course, if the realm was still there, the spiritual power was easy to cultivate back. It was just that it would consume quite a bit of time to recover.

The "Verdant Wood Engulfing Flame Art" could greatly extend the time before spiritual power scattered away.

When the three small cyclones merged into one large cyclone, that was Peak Qi Refining Third Layer. When another small cyclone formed, that would be Qi Refining Fourth Layer, and at the same time, the "Verdant Wood Engulfing Flame Art" would also have been cultivated to the fourth layer.

Seven days later.

The medicinal power of the Rank 1 Low-Grade Qi Gathering Pill had been completely absorbed. Compared to ordinary Qi Refining Third Layer cultivators, Li Qianqing's absorption speed was faster by two days.

The current him was already about to reach Peak Qi Refining Third Layer. Roughly three more days of bitter cultivation would be enough.

Just so, the Fasting Pill still had three days of energy left before it was exhausted.

For Early-Stage Qi Refining cultivators, the most ordinary Fasting Pill could maintain the energy needed for ten days of life.

Three days also passed very quickly, and the energy of the Fasting Pill was completely exhausted.

At this moment, within Li Qianqing's qi sea, a large cyclone had already formed.

Peak Qi Refining Third Layer!

"Next is the breakthrough."

From Peak Qi Refining Third Layer to Qi Refining Fourth Layer was officially stepping from Early-Stage Qi Refining into Mid-Stage Qi Refining. For Four Spiritual Roots and Five Spiritual Roots cultivators, this was already an extremely difficult checkpoint. Many Five Spiritual Roots cultivators could not even enter Mid-Stage Qi Refining in their entire lives.

This checkpoint had some difficulty for Three Spiritual Roots cultivators, but the difficulty was not very high.

Li Qianqing, who had been reborn, did not think there would be any chance of him failing the breakthrough.

Factors of cultivation method and experience, plus the decent concentration of spiritual energy at his residence—all kinds of factors added together were the source of his confidence.

However, before breaking through, he first had to fill his stomach.

He no longer had any Fasting Pills on him, so he could only cook White Corn to eat.

White Corn was a Rank 1 Low-Grade Spirit Rice, and could also be used as currency in the Cultivation World. Under normal circumstances, one Low-Grade Spirit Stone could buy one hundred jin of White Corn.

Spirit Stones were the most commonly used currency in the Cultivation World. They could be divided into four grades: low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and supreme-grade. Normally speaking, one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and the exchange situations between other grades of Spirit Stones were more or less the same.

After Li Qianqing went through a round of skilled operations, a large bowl of fragrant White Corn rice was complete.

Early-Stage Qi Refining cultivators had to consume one jin of White Corn each day. This was necessary. If they ate food eaten by mortals, they would need to spend a great amount of time each day expelling Acquired Impurities.

Cultivators all had innate bodies. When they entered Qi Refining First Layer, they had already expelled clean the previous Acquired Impurities.

If Acquired Impurities existed within the body, one's cultivation could not possibly advance.

Therefore, for an Early-Stage Qi Refining cultivator like Li Qianqing, normal cultivation for one month required consuming thirty jin of White Corn, and one year was three hundred and sixty jin. This was the most basic energy consumption for food for ordinary Early-Stage Qi Refining cultivators. Cultivators who wanted to rot away had no worries about food.

After eating the White Corn rice, Li Qianqing began his breakthrough.

The breakthrough process was just as he had imagined, extremely smooth.

The next day.

When the first ray of sunlight spilled from the edge of the sky, Li Qianqing's aura had already changed.

"Qi Refining Fourth Layer."

The cultivation setting was broadly based on A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality (for the Qi Refining stage, at most ten layers).