Qi Refining Fourth Layer (Seeking Follows)

The next day.

Inside the cellar beneath the shed.

Fang Xi sat cross-legged, gazing at a small black jade bottle in his hand.

It contained a bottle of 'Wood Element Pills', suitable for Qi Refining Stage cultivators in the early and middle stages who cultivated the Wood Attribute Cultivation Method. They also had a slight effect on stimulating breakthroughs past bottlenecks.

"Di Qi is fairly trustworthy. But one Yao Beast Meat with its bones only sold for twenty spirit stones, which was a bit of a loss... He must have skimmed quite a bit off the top..."

That was within Fang Xi's expectations. Being able to save himself trouble and complete the transaction quickly was what he wanted.

After all, he didn't have much time here.

In Daliang, Fang Xi had left the caravan directly under the pretext that he wanted to travel alone.

The caravan moved slowly anyway. With his movement speed, he could easily catch up to a journey of two or three days after running for just a few hours.

If he couldn't catch up... then so be it!

He had already done everything he could. There was nothing more to say.

"Unfortunately, I can't go to Hundred Skills Tower, and I can't sell Taisui Meat anymore... Next time I hunt a Yao Beast, I'll disguise myself as a Rogue Cultivator and sell it at the market..."

"Compared to Di Qi, Pill Cauldron Pavilion is the truly unscrupulous one! A bottle of pills costs thirty spirit stones... and I even had to subsidize quite a bit myself..."

Thinking of the various pills in Pill Cauldron Pavilion and their exorbitant prices, Fang Xi couldn't help gritting his teeth and sucking in a breath.

Was it easy for him to toil as a transporter between two worlds? In the end, all the profits had been devoured by these monopolists!

"Alas... I need to take it easy. Cultivation is everything."

Fang Xi calmed himself, then poured one 'Wood Element Pill' from the black jade bottle.

The pill was emerald green throughout, but it gave off a spicy scent.

After thinking for a moment, he swallowed it directly and closed his eyes to refine it.

Before long, Fang Xi's expression shifted. He felt a vast yet gentle wave of Spiritual Energy explode within his dantian's qi sea, stimulating the restless Evergreen Art.

He began operating the third layer of the Evergreen Art involuntarily, again and again.

By the time Fang Xi came back to himself, he had unknowingly circulated the cultivation method for a full three hours.

After examining himself inwardly, delight immediately spread across his face. "I've actually reached the peak of the Qi Refining Third Layer! It really wasn't easy..."

Heaven itself could attest that he had already been at the Qi Refining Third Layer when he transmigrated, yet more than a year had passed without him even reaching the top!

Now, he had finally cultivated this layer of the technique to its peak and could charge at the bottleneck of the middle stage of Qi Refining!

"The power of pills really isn't bad!"

Fang Xi happily stroked the black jade bottle. There were still two 'Wood Element Pills' inside, which should probably be enough for him to break through the bottleneck of the middle stage of Qi Refining!

"Sure enough, sitting around stupidly in meditation is just stupid. Taking pills is the true path!"

"Moreover, these spirit pills contain Spiritual Energy within themselves. Taking pills is mainly about refining the Spiritual Energy and medicinal properties inside them to cultivate, so even over in Daliang, I can still make progress in cultivation..."

For a moment, Fang Xi even wanted to return to Daliang immediately, hunt Yao Beasts on a large scale, and exchange them for pills to cultivate with.

But soon, he cut off this delusion!

If his cultivation advanced too quickly, his foundation would become unstable!

Besides, pills suitable for increasing magical power during the middle and late stages of Qi Refining and breaking through bottlenecks were even more expensive!

Not to mention that taking large quantities of pills would lead to the problem of pill poison, which would definitely affect breakthroughs into later major realms!

"Selling Yao Beast Meat in large quantities wouldn't just suppress the market and make it a losing proposition—it could also expose me..."

"I still need to stay steady. I'm only seventeen, almost eighteen... There's no rush, no rush..."

Fang Xi gazed at the Wood Element Pill in his hand and fell into thought.

One day later.

Fang Xi walked out of the shed, a trace of gloom on his face.

He had originally thought that taking one more Wood Element Pill would allow him to break through the bottleneck.

He hadn't expected that one pill would be nowhere near enough. Only after taking the final Wood Element Pill did he barely break through the bottleneck of the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, becoming a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

"Talent!"

Fang Xi faintly sensed that the aptitude of a Low-grade Spiritual Root would become an increasingly massive stumbling block on his path to immortality.

The Qi Refining Stage was still manageable. Pills that increased magical power might not be common, but as long as one was willing to throw spirit stones at them, they could always be bought.

But pills needed by Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators to increase their magical power could only be seen at the auction held once every ten years in Green Bamboo Mountain Market.

Not to mention that once one reached the Core Formation level, whether pill formulas or spiritual medicines several hundred years old, everything would become incomparably scarce and rare.

Wanting to rely entirely on the power of pills to climb up was utterly unrealistic, even without pill poison!

"Spiritual Roots... Spiritual Roots... I wonder if there's any way to improve them?"

Fang Xi fell into contemplation.

According to the Spiritual Root theory of the Cultivation World, every cultivator with Spiritual Roots necessarily possessed all five elements. It was merely that one or several of their Spiritual Roots were more prominent. The longest plank determined a cultivator's aptitude.

Fang Xi himself had a Low-grade Spiritual Root biased toward wood. This meant that among his five-element Spiritual Roots, his Wood Spiritual Root was the strongest, but it had only reached the level of a Low-grade Spiritual Root.

Above Low-grade Spiritual Roots were Mid-grade and High-grade Spiritual Roots, and even the legendary Earth Spiritual Root and Heaven Spiritual Root. These all existed only in rumors, but once one appeared, the super sects would inevitably scramble over them as future Core Formation seeds—the reserve forces of future powerhouses!

"But... I don't seem to have heard of any method that can improve Spiritual Roots. Could it be because my predecessor's cultivation was too low and his knowledge too limited?"

"If Spiritual Roots could be improved after birth, why would the sects still search everywhere for disciples with outstanding Spiritual Roots? Therefore, even if such a method exists, the price must be enormous..."

"Alas... In one word, difficult!"

Fang Xi silently worried about his Dao Path.

He walked into the courtyard, and a tiny seed suddenly appeared in his hand.

This was a weed he had casually collected while working as a spiritual farmer here—the Iron Luo Grass Seed!

This weed had no useful effects. It was merely extremely tough, comparable to steel.

Fang Xi took out the seed for the sake of cultivating a spell!

After his cultivation rose to the middle stage of Qi Refining, he could finally cast off the awkwardness of only knowing the spiritual farmer's weeding and rain-calling spells during the early stage of Qi Refining, and practice First-grade Mid-rank spells!

The spell he was about to practice was called 'Entanglement Technique', a Minor Spell recorded in the 'Evergreen Art'.

Its main function was to use magical power to force seeds to grow, forming vines that entangled and restrained enemies!

It was a common technique paired with a common cultivation method... Naturally, it only had this much power.

Fang Xi recalled the incantation while circulating his magical power and tossing out the seed.

Smack!

The seed landed on the ground and didn't move for a long time...

"The spell failed..."

Fang Xi sighed.

He had never been a genius in the way of cultivation.

Fortunately, spells could be mastered through repeated practice.

Fang Xi wasn't demanding immediate practical use, so he could recite the incantation more slowly and perform the hand seals in the same manner, reducing the difficulty.

Half a day later.

Amid a string of complicated, awkward syllables, Fang Xi formed hand seals and threw out the Iron Luo Grass Seed.

"Spring endows its decree; let all wood sprout and flourish!"

The next instant, Fang Xi felt the magical power within his body pour out like a dam that had sprung a leak!

The Iron Luo Grass Seed on the ground rapidly burst open, sending out strips of pitch-black leaves roughly ten feet long. Their edges were lined with sharp sawteeth, and they wrapped around a wooden stake.

Crack! Crack!

The Iron Luo Grass was like a giant python, constantly tightening its coils. The wooden stake inside shattered in an instant, sending countless splinters flying.

"This power... is just passable."

"At a critical moment, I'll still have to rely on my fists!"

Seeing this, Fang Xi wasn't particularly disappointed.

"Haha... What a fine Wood Attribute spell!"

At that moment, a voice of praise suddenly came from beyond the wall.

Fang Xi looked over and saw his neighbor Chen Ping. He smiled. "Not at all, not at all... It can't compare with the agility and destructive power of Fellow Daoist's Fireball Technique."

He was probably the only one who could exchange such commercial flattery with him.

Chen Ping's cultivation method was even more lousy than his, and his only capable spell was Fireball Technique. After immersing himself in it for many years, he had truly made the fireball dance with marvelous skill.

"However, this Entanglement Technique is a First-grade Mid-rank spell. Could it be that Fellow Daoist Fang, you...?"

Chen Ping suddenly looked at Fang Xi in surprise.

"Haha... By a stroke of luck, I finally broke through to the middle stage of Qi Refining!"

Fang Xi had never intended to conceal the progress of his cultivation.

What he truly wanted to hide was his body-refining cultivation.

"I see. Then congratulations, Fellow Daoist."

Chen Ping gave a solemn bow, envy in his eyes.

His aptitude was also truly ordinary, making both cultivation and breakthroughs exceptionally difficult.

At this point, Chen Ping continued, "I happened to run into you, so I'll tell you as well... I'm moving."

"Oh? Why?"

Fang Xi was stunned.

Was Chen Ping giving up being a spiritual farmer?

"To be frank, after obtaining Master Zong's inheritance, my talisman-making skills have improved somewhat. I'm now a First-grade Mid-rank Talisman Master..."

Chen Ping answered proudly.

This time, it was Fang Xi who felt envious of Chen Ping.

A First-grade Mid-rank Talisman Master was worth far more than a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Damn it, there's no justice in this world... Even Master Zong had only barely reached this rank. Chen Ping used to struggle even with drawing First-grade Low-rank spirit talismans. How did he suddenly get enlightened?

Fang Xi was utterly baffled.

Chen Ping rubbed his head and revealed another honest smile. "Also... Fellow Daoist Lu saw how diligent I was and was moved by my talent in the Talisman Path. She's willing to stay and guide me for several more days, so she won't be leaving anytime soon..."

"..." Fang Xi was even more speechless. Suppressing the twitching at the corners of his mouth, he congratulated him. "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist. Your sincerity has reached such heights that even metal and stone have yielded!"

The Cultivation World did not place importance on first or second marriages. Even female cultivators could keep three thousand male favorites, and everyone would flatter them.

Because when it came to 'power', female cultivators could cultivate and break through just the same, without falling short of male cultivators in the slightest.

Equal power was the true root of equality!

And Lu Zhi had high cultivation, a beautiful appearance, and a large inheritance...

At this moment, Fang Xi felt a little sour.

After sighing over this, Fang Xi suddenly recalled Yunmeng Fairy and the others' interactions with Chen Ping. Could it be... that this Fellow Daoist Chen really does possess some unique charm?

Unfortunately, no matter how he looked at him, he still couldn't see it. Besides, if Chen Ping truly had a secret, how could he have lived so miserably before?

"Haha... When Fellow Daoist Lu and I become Dao companions, I definitely won't forget to offer Fellow Daoist Fang a cup of spirit wine!"

Chen Ping threw his head back and laughed, full of confidence.