One Year Fulfilled

"Aiya, I already told you, you're old enough, you can start trying to absorb Spiritual Energy to refine it directly. You don't need to sense Qi anymore... Sensing Qi is for children whose Spiritual Roots haven't fully grown to nourish them. You..."

Chen Qingling was quite impatient with Li Ji'an's very sincere request.

Until he saw the secret recipe garlic fried chicken Li Ji'an handed over...

"That's all minor stuff, I'll teach it to you right after I finish eating."

After a year together, Li Ji'an had become more familiar with the Chen Zhao'hu brothers.

Chen Zhao'hu himself didn't spend resources on cultivation, all so he could provide cultivation resources for his younger brother, Chen Qingling.

When Chen Qingling was eight, his spiritual testing revealed a Spiritual Aura of five strands of fire element, showing promise for developing a mid-grade Spiritual Root.

Therefore, over the years, Chen Zhao'hu rented a dojo for him in the United Market. Apart from the occasional times he got bored and returned to accompany Chen Zhao'hu, he spent most of his time "sensing Qi" in the market.

Six months ago, after spiritual testing confirmed there wasn't much room for growth, he began true cultivation.

Unfortunately, his fire Spiritual Root only had nine strands of sensitivity, just barely missing out on being a mid-grade Spiritual Root.

He cultivated the fire-element cultivation method, the Blazing Spirit Art, which Chen Zhao'hu had bought for him. Last month, he reached the first layer of Qi Condensation, truly becoming a Qi Condensation cultivator.

"Old Li, you're already thirty, what are you still sensing Qi for? After fifteen, you don't need to sense Qi anymore. Your Spiritual Root has long since solidified, sensing it won't do anything. If you're really not giving up, then go buy a cultivation method and start practicing. Stop wasting your time," another first-tier basic Body Cultivator in the team teased him while drinking.

"What Qi are you practicing? Brother Li's Bone Structure is exceptional, probably surpassing Brother Hu's. Body cultivation is enough, at least you don't have to spend as much as us. We barely save up any Spirit Stones, we can't even afford to go to the Heavenly Immortal Tower. Living is too boring!" another second-tier Qi Condensation teammate complained.

In Chen Zhao'hu's hunting team, besides Chen Zhao'hu, Li Ji'an, and two basic Body Cultivators, the rest of the Qi Condensation cultivators were temporary.

Most of these temporary cultivators were unaffiliated rogue cultivators with no one to rely on. To be able to cultivate in the market, they had to find ways to earn Spirit Stones.

Li Ji'an smiled and shook his head, "I started late, but I can teach the next generation in the future. If I practice it myself, I'll have a better understanding, so I won't be completely clueless when my descendants ask for advice."

He genuinely thought this.

What was different was that he was accumulating experience in sensing Qi for his next life.

"Sigh, I say, you guys, you haven't even lived well yourselves, yet you're always thinking about making the next generation live well... Aren't you tired?"

"If Tiger didn't have this ungrateful brat, with his Body Cultivation strength, he could have taken a whole house full of wives, and maybe even found someone with good Spiritual Roots. It's a shame..."

Chen Qingling, while sucking his fingers, rolled his eyes at the third-tier Qi Condensation cultivator who called him an ungrateful brat.

But he didn't dare to retort.

It wasn't because of anything else, but after stepping into Qi Condensation, he understood how difficult it was. To him now, a third-tier Qi Condensation cultivator was already a senior expert, no longer like a fearless newborn calf.

That night, Li Ji'an finally "scrounged" a Qi sensing cultivation method from Chen Qingling, saving another three Spirit Stones.

The reason he had to pester Chen Qingling for it was that his Qi sensing method was also a high-grade method that his brother had spent Spirit Stones to buy for him, much better than those of the unaffiliated rogue cultivators in the team.

"Heaven has five elements, mutually restraining and generating, humans have five elements, complementing each other, heaven and man are in resonance, storing Qi within the body..."

After Chen Qingling impatiently explained it once, Li Ji'an returned to his room to study it alone.

"This isn't difficult..."

With the accumulation of five lifetimes of Primordial Spirit, a beginner-level method like this was understood with just a thought.

After only the fifth circulation, he felt a faint resonance between the air and his Dantian.

"This is Spiritual Energy... It really is very thin!"

No wonder Chen Qingling said that sensing Qi was useless in this spiritually impoverished land, because it was impossible to sense it.

Li Ji'an tried multiple times, confirming that he had understood the Qi sensing method.

The reason he could sense the resonance between the Spiritual Energy and his Dantian even in such a spiritually barren place was naturally due to the blessing of his five lifetimes of Primordial Spirit.

Over the past year, he had also figured out the reason why his spirit grew stronger, his thinking became sharper, and his comprehension improved with each Rejuvenation.

It was his Spirit!

In this cultivation world, Qi Condensation cultivators absorb Spiritual Energy, refine Magical Power, and transform their Dantian.

Body Cultivators are similar to the Martial Path of the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty. In the early stages, they temper their muscles and bones, and refine their Vital Energy and Blood, requiring no external resources. However, in the mid to late stages, they need Spirit materials corresponding to their cultivation methods to push their physical limits and continuously temper themselves.

Regardless of which path, the Spirit is crucial.

Qi Condensation cultivators need their Spirit for Foundation Establishment. Many of the hundred arts of cultivation also require the Spirit. The Spirit condenses into Spiritual Sense, and when the Spiritual Sense becomes strong enough, it gathers into Divine Sense, then the Primordial Spirit, and eventually the Divine Thought... It is indispensable for cultivation, combat, alchemy, and talismans.

Body Cultivators also need their Spirit, especially in the mid to late stages. The stronger the Spirit, the greater the impact they can withstand during body tempering. Otherwise, if the body can withstand it but the Spirit is too weak to bear it, it can easily lead to Spirit damage.

Furthermore, the Spirit has a greater impact on the sensitivity and perception of Body Cultivators.

As for the rare Soul Cultivators, who specialize in cultivating the Spirit and exist through their soul, there's no need to even mention it.

Li Ji'an had a huge advantage in this regard!

Comparing himself to several early-stage Qi Condensation cultivators, their initial Spiritual Sense was clearly weaker than his.

"I need to find a method to condense Spiritual Sense as soon as possible... Once Spiritual Sense is condensed, the five senses will improve significantly."

"It's just a shame that Soul Cultivation methods are too rare and uncommon. Otherwise, the path of Soul Cultivation should be more suitable for me in this lifetime."

He closed his cultivation and stood up, just in time to see the morning glow filling the sky.

A new day had begun.

This also indicated that the one-year period for him and Chen Zhao'hu had come to an end.

During this year, Chen Zhao'hu had truly treated him like a mascot, stating that as long as he followed the team, it would be fine.

And just as Chen Zhao'hu had said, during this year, their team had suffered no casualties, and their harvest had been slightly better than before.

This further deepened Chen Zhao'hu's belief that Li Ji'an was a person of great fortune.

What he didn't know was that all of this was merely Li Ji'an using his powerful Spirit to sense potential dangers in advance and secretly guiding them to avoid them.

As for the harvest, Li Ji'an also wanted to save up more Spirit Stones.

Cultivation is not easy; one needs wealth, companions, methods, and a place!

From the hidden compartment, he took out the twenty-four Spirit Stones and seventy-three taels of Spirit Sand remaining after deducting living expenses for the year and put them in his pocket.

He also gathered the stack of letters at the very bottom.

There were eight in total. One was from Zhang Tie Zhu, sent three months ago, which simply stated that he had successfully joined the pioneering team upon arrival. After nearly a year of hard work, he had gained the attention of the Yan family's steward, received commendations, and saw hope for becoming an immortal.

One was from Zhu Linxian, sent half a year ago, which only said she was leaving the United Market to seek opportunities elsewhere, and nothing else.

The remaining six letters were from Zhao Shuyao.

She sent one almost every two months, detailing everything from leaving their settlement last year, to arriving at the market, to parting ways with Dong Jiangling and Zhu Linxian, and then failing her application at the Spirit Pill Pavilion... She left no detail out.

The first half of the year was filled with her attempts to persuade him, describing the hope and future of the immortal cultivation market, wishing to reawaken Li Ji'an's fighting spirit.

However, in the latter half, especially in the letter from last month, she no longer urged Li Ji'an to cultivate immortality; her words were filled with exhaustion.

Dong Jiangling had vanished without a trace.

"I hope these Spirit Stones will be enough for me to establish myself in the market!" Li Ji'an went to bid farewell to Chen Zhao'hu.

It was time to truly enter the world of cultivation.