Qi Refining Layer One

By the time Chen Mo returned home, it was already moonlit and starry. He took off his outer clothes and began cultivating. Today might be the day he advanced.

According to the explanation on the Transmission Jade Talisman, he was currently at the bottleneck between Qi Induction and Qi Refining Layer One. To break through, he needed to continuously accumulate True Essence, then strike at the bottleneck in one decisive push. Of course, attempting to break through when his True Essence lacked staying power would be futile. He had to make his True Essence dense and abundant before striking at the bottleneck. Only then could he break through it and successfully enter Qi Refining Layer One.

A thread of energy came from the Little White Bead. It was still only a wisp, but once it gathered in his Dantian, it had become as thick as his little finger. This True Essence circulated through his entire body again and again, constantly expanding his Meridians, strengthening his muscles and bones, then returning to his Dantian. Each full circulation was a Lesser Circulation, and it made Chen Mo feel incredibly comfortable, as though he were soaking in warm water.

Gradually, the sensation of the bottleneck grew clearer. This drove him to cultivate even harder as he slowly sensed the bottleneck. Yet it was like a thin membrane, blocking his True Essence from moving forward. He could only guide his True Essence to strike against it again and again, increasing the force with every impact. Each time the energy drawn from within the Little White Bead merged with his True Essence, it made his True Essence a little stronger.

Finally, during one attempt, "Boom!" A thunderous roar rang out in his mind. Immediately afterward, his whole body relaxed, as though he had entered a new world. The bottleneck had broken through. His entire body felt cleansed, as if he were drifting in a warm liquid. Every cell cheered, and his spirit felt as though it had been elevated, leaving him unable to stop.

Chen Mo knew that he had entered Qi Refining Layer One. Four full years of hardship had finally borne fruit. The satisfaction and joy in his heart were overwhelming.

At that moment, he felt his physical abilities increase considerably. He clenched both hands tightly. "Pff!" It felt as though he could crush the air itself. Though that was only an illusion, the inexhaustible strength surging through his body was definitely better than the two hundred kilograms of force he had possessed during Qi Induction. His agility and constitution had also improved greatly, though he had no equipment to test them and could only rely on feeling. Most obviously, if he cut his skin with a knife, it felt like slicing through a hard shell. He had to exert force to cut through it, and his blood clotted rapidly as well. Not bad at all!

After entering the Qi Refining realm, his mental strength had also been enhanced, producing Spiritual Sense. Through it, he could sense everything in his room. Without opening his eyes, he could clearly know what was there, as though another pair of eyes were seeing it for him. Everything appeared vividly in his mind. This sensation could not be explained scientifically. It was like a third eye observing his surroundings, with a full three hundred and sixty degrees and no blind spots.

This was Spiritual Sense. At present, however, he could only see within three meters of himself. Beyond that, everything became hazy, and he could see nothing at all. It also left him mentally fatigued. Sensing the area around him was like carrying a panoramic camera with him, except Spiritual Sense was far clearer than a camera. He could even sense dust floating in the air. There was also Internal Vision, which allowed him to directly see the condition inside his own body. This was Chen Mo's first time using Spiritual Sense to sense himself.

Maintaining his cultivation posture, Chen Mo slowly extended his Spiritual Sense toward the Little White Bead in his palm. It was time to investigate this Little White Bead. He had to determine exactly what it was, or else he would never be able to endure the questions that had plagued him for four years.

He wrapped the Little White Bead in Spiritual Sense and slowly infiltrated it. At once, it felt as though his Spiritual Sense had entered thick mud. Every inch forward was extremely difficult. Fortunately, there was no danger, so Chen Mo could only force his Spiritual Sense deeper. Only a rookie in Cultivation of Immortality like Chen Mo would do such a thing. In the Cultivation World, using one's Spiritual Sense to probe an unknown object without knowing what it was would be sheer stupidity. It was incredibly dangerous. If something went wrong and he could not withdraw his Spiritual Sense, he might suffer Soul Power damage at best or become an idiot at worst. Only a clueless little rookie like Chen Mo would dare to try so boldly, completely unaware of how death was spelled.

After a long time, he suddenly felt empty space before him, as though he had entered another dimension. Then his Spiritual Sense jolted, and a stream of energy shot directly along it into his mind. Before he could withdraw his Spiritual Sense in panic, a deafening explosion sounded, and his head felt as though it were splitting apart. Fortunately, he managed to pull back his Spiritual Sense without suffering any harm. That was a blessing amid misfortune.

His headache was caused by information flooding into his mind, which was why it hurt so badly. Thankfully, it was nothing else. Even so, Chen Mo broke out in cold sweat. This time, he had only probed the Little White Bead, and he had likely performed a Blood Sacrifice on it before, so it should not harm him. He would have to be more careful with unfamiliar things in the future. Injury would be the least of his worries.

The information transmitted by the Little White Bead was far less than what the Transmission Jade Talisman had transmitted. However, the Transmission Jade Talisman had a Restriction. If the recipient could not accept the information or it exceeded their mental capacity, the transmission would slow down or be cut off. It was a relatively gentle method, which was why it was called a Transmission Jade Talisman. Unlike the Little White Bead, which simply dumped all its information into his Spiritual Sea regardless of whether he could handle it. No wonder Chen Mo's head hurt.

This made him realize the dangers of Cultivation of Immortality. Even an item that remained in his body day and night had nearly caused his mind to crash. If it had been even a little bit worse, would he not have truly become an idiot? Cultivation was dangerous. Proceed with caution!

The Little White Bead was called the Universe Cave Profound Bead. The name was a little tacky, but its functions left Chen Mo stunned.

As its name implied, the Universe Cave Profound Bead had been crafted by an ancient mighty expert. It used Restrictions to adjust the flow of time and obtain precious Medicinal Materials with sufficient age. It had been refined from fragments of an ancient Innate Spiritual Treasure, along with other rare treasures. "Cave" referred to the space within it, a place specifically used to grow Medicinal Materials. It had once been the mighty expert's herb garden.

"Universe" referred to its ability to alter the passage of time. Some precious Medicinal Materials required age, and some had to be older than even cultivators before they could be used in medicine or pill refinement. Its internal Universe function could use time acceleration in different areas, assigning different rates of time acceleration.

However, the only unlocked time acceleration function at present was tenfold acceleration. Using the Restriction Technique transmitted by the Universe Bead, he could designate different time acceleration rates in different areas. These areas could be divided into sections or applied as a whole.

This varying time acceleration in different areas was meant for different Spiritual Plants. But in the early stages, when there were not many precious Spiritual Plants, he could simply accelerate everything by a fixed multiple of time.

Furthermore, because it contained fragments of an Innate Spiritual Treasure, it could assist cultivation and accelerate cultivation speed. It also possessed a special function: it could independently absorb Spiritual Energy within a thousand-li radius, then supply it to its cultivator. The Spiritual Energy it provided was attribute-less and extremely gentle. Whoever obtained it and used it to cultivate could absorb its Spiritual Energy into their Dantian without any side effects, transforming it into their own True Essence.

It had another special function: cultivating with it could slowly increase Soul Power. This function was incredible. Though the increase was slow, Soul Power was simply too important for cultivators.

Soul Power not only determined the range of a cultivator's Spiritual Sense, but also reduced the chances of cultivation deviation. The stronger one's soul, the lower the chance of cultivation deviation. Advancement in cultivation would also become steadier and easier. There were other benefits as well, but they need not be repeated here. Chen Mo's cultivation was far too low for him to use them anyway. This function was practically a blessing for cultivators.

There was another function, one that was somewhat dark but extremely useful. Any object, whether plant or animal, could be absorbed into it and transformed into nutrients and Spiritual Energy for the Universe Bead. In other words, whether living or dead, flora and fauna could be converted into Spiritual Energy and nutrients. The soil Inside Universe Bead had been obtained by transforming all things in the world.

It had other functions as well, but Chen Mo could not see them yet. He would have to reach the Golden Core Realm before he could unlock them.

The Little White Bead's name was a little long, so Chen Mo simply called it the Universe Bead. According to the information it transmitted, if he wanted to become its master, he had to refine it according to the Restrictions within it. There were eleven layers of Restrictions in total. Aside from the first layer, every other layer contained thirty-six nodes, and each node required one hundred and eight hand seals to unlock. After opening a Restriction, he had to imprint it with his Spiritual Sense information. The difficulty increased considerably with every layer. Once he had done so eleven times, the Universe Bead would fully acknowledge him as its master.

Fortunately, the Universe Bead First Layer Restriction had only one Restriction. Once it was unlocked, he could use some of the functions inside the Universe Bead. There were another ten layers, each with ten Restrictions, each Restriction having thirty-six nodes, and each node requiring one hundred and eight hand seals. In other words, the Universe Bead First Layer Restriction required only three thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight hand seals to unlock. By the second Restriction, it would be thirty-eight thousand eight hundred and eighty hand seals. Chen Mo felt that his heart contained only three words: Damn it!

The reason the Universe Bead could transmit so much information to him was thanks to the several Blood Sacrifices he had performed. It had already acknowledged him, allowing this to happen. Once he unlocked the first Restriction—by imprinting its three thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight hand seals—he would be able to absorb it into his body.

Fortunately, the hand seals for the first layer of Restrictions were relatively simple. He only needed to spend some time to unlock them.

Chen Mo impatiently began refining it, but the rumbling of his stomach left him stunned. He had not expected to still feel hungry after reaching Qi Refining Layer One. Did he still have to eat after cultivating?