Development

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, you can't do this. I just got rid of the Yin Evil Qi in my body, I can't yet..."

Zhang Li ignored him, acting as if she had gone mad, and chuckled, "Fellow Daoist Li, you're only at the Second Level of Qi Refining, you can't resist me. Just behave... Hmm, see, your body is quite honest, isn't it..."

"No... Ah hu..."

Wu Tao woke up groggily.

"Why am I having this dream? Hmm, but why is it Zhang Li, and not Youcai, Yihua, Xiangnai, Yongmei, or Aili?"

He mumbled as he got out of bed.

Actually, it wasn't hard to understand. The past month had been too stressful.

Now that the Yin Evil Qi was gone, his body and mind were completely relaxed, and it was natural for his essence to overflow.

After showering and washing his clothes, Wu Tao put on his clothes and opened the door. He immediately closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the summer morning sunlight on his eyelids. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the summer morning sunlight.

This was the first time he had ever looked up at the sky, at the Source of Life that represented the growth of all things.

The sunlight shone on his body, and he could feel the warmth of the sun on his skin. Only then did he truly feel his own existence, his own aliveness.

"Life is so beautiful!"

Wu Tao reached out his hand, as if he could grasp the light of life. In his heart, he had truly grasped it.

"The first day after my New Life, I will live hard and never die."

After basking in the sun with his eyes squinted for a while, Wu Tao returned home, picked up Huzi, and went to dump the night soil. After he finished, he came back and saw Zhang Li leaning against his door, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

When Wu Tao saw Zhang Li, he couldn't help but recall the dream from last night. His face felt a little hot, and he had a guilty conscience, not daring to look her in the eye. He said sheepishly, "What are you looking at me for?"

Zhang Li crossed her arms and circled Wu Tao. After a long pause, she clicked her tongue and said, "Fellow Daoist Li, I think you've changed. You seem different?"

"What's different? I'm still me... I think you're the one who's different. Why didn't you have any guests last night..."

"Get lost, get lost, get lost. Stop worrying about my business. Take care of yourself first. Don't let the Evil Qi spread through your body and die suddenly." Zhang Li interrupted him. For some reason, she was as angry as if her foot had been stepped on by a cat, and she turned back into her house angrily.

Clang!

She slammed the door shut loudly.

This left Wu Tao bewildered. This woman, she could change her mood just like that.

It was incomprehensible. Wu Tao went back into his room and sat on the bed to cultivate the Sanyang Technique.

It's worth mentioning that he used Spirit Stones to cultivate.

Money makes things different.

"So satisfying!"

An hour and a half later, Wu Tao stopped cultivating. Looking at the spirit stones in his hand, he could feel his progress.

The Qi Refining Stage was a process of accumulating spiritual energy. When the accumulation reached a state of fullness, one could break through a minor realm and expand their Dantian.

Currently, his Dantian was a little over half full of spiritual energy. Once it was completely full, he could attempt to break through to the Third Level of Qi Refining.

"Slow and steady, no rush!"

Wu Tao's mindset was very stable now. He no longer had to constantly worry about Yin Evil Qi taking his life. He had also become an Artifact Refiner, so he wouldn't lack cultivation resources anymore. As long as he cultivated step by step, he would eventually break through his realm.

Putting the spirit stones back into his Spirit Stone Bag, Wu Tao began practicing the Fireball Technique.

According to his Personal Status, his Fireball Technique was at 60% progress in the Beginner stage. As long as he could see the progress, he could continue practicing slowly.

He didn't have any other spells to choose from right now.

Once he saved enough spirit stones, he would go buy a Close Combat Spell or a Body Technique to learn.

With the threat of Yin Evil Qi no longer endangering his life at any moment, Wu Tao's life seemed to have become more relaxed. Everything was proceeding according to his plan, and the days passed one by one.

"Fireball Technique!"

Wu Tao formed the hand seals for the Fireball Technique with both hands. Spiritual energy flowed through the meridians of his hands. With a slight 'bang', a teacup-sized fireball appeared in the center of his palms. The flames flickered, not very stable.

"Go."

He flicked his hand and threw it. The fireball wobbled and landed in a water basin about a meter away. It hissed upon contact with the water and was extinguished.

Seeing this, Wu Tao's expression was blank. He didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only shake his head and give a wry smile, "Can this Fireball Technique really hurt anyone?"

After speaking, he opened his Personal Status to check his progress.

[Name: Wu Tao]

[Lifespan: 25/83]

[Realm: Second Level of Qi Refining]

[Cultivation Technique: Three Yang Technique: Qi Refining Chapter (Second Layer): 56%]

[Spells: Fireball Technique: Beginner (90%), Cleaning Spell: Beginner (20%)]

[Divine Ability: None]

[Primary Profession: Artifact Refiner]: Mastered Restrictions: First-Order Level 1 Cooling Restriction, First-Order Level Two Wind-Speed Restriction. First-Grade Level Three Small Spirit Light Shield Restriction (18%)

[Secondary Profession: Body Cultivator]: None

Ten days had passed since he regained his new life.

For these ten days, he had been cultivating the Sanyang Technique, practicing the Fireball Technique, and practicing the First-Grade Level Three Small Spirit Light Shield Restriction on the Spirit Board, refining four sets of robe materials per week.

In this first week, he successfully refined three robes.

He sold them for thirty-nine Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Perhaps due to the lingering shadow of the Evil Spirits, as soon as he sold the robes, he rushed to the Yuanyou Talisman Pavilion and bought another Evil-Breaking Talisman to keep on his person.

Everything was developing in an orderly fashion.

Wu Tao looked at his status panel and calculated, "I am currently cultivating with Spirit Stones. It takes one Low-Grade Spirit Stone to cultivate for seven days. A month requires four Low-Grade Spirit Stones for cultivation. It took me ten days to improve the Sanyang Technique by one percent. Calculating this way..."

"Hmm... I still need 440 days to accumulate enough spiritual energy to break through to the Third Level of Qi Refining. That's one year and two months... At this rate, I'll break through to the Third Level of Qi Refining at 26, and the Fourth Level of Qi Refining at 29..."

"I won't reach Qi Refining Layer 9 until I'm 44... That's not too late. For a Cultivator, 44 is still in their prime..."

"Once I have Spirit Stones, I'll cultivate with Pills, and the progress will be much faster..."

"Let's set a small goal first: Foundation Establishment before the age of 35..."

He shifted his gaze back to the Fireball Technique. Perhaps the Fireball Technique was just a Basic Spell, and it could improve by three percent a day. However, even with ninety percent proficiency in the Fireball Technique as a beginner, its attack power was rather unsatisfactory.

He was even considering whether to give up on this spell.

After all, the Fireball Technique was a ranged spell, and he found it difficult to cultivate. His secondary profession, Body Cultivator, offered no help in this regard.

"Forget it, I'll keep practicing for now."

Closing his Personal Status, he slung the bundle from his bed over his shoulder, intending to go to the Market to set up a stall.

The bundle contained four robes. This time, all four sets of refining materials were successful. As he refined more, he became increasingly proficient with the First-Grade Level Two Gale Robe, almost able to make it with his eyes closed.

Furthermore, the Evil Qi on his body had been removed. He no longer needed to use his spiritual energy to fight against the Evil Qi, making refining easier. He could now refine twice a day.

His refining speed had also increased significantly.

Opening the door, Wu Tao's gaze, as usual, fell on the door next door. The door was locked. During this period, Zhang Li had been leaving early and returning late, and he didn't know what she was doing. She wasn't receiving guests at night either.

But he didn't dare to ask, fearing that Zhang Li would get angry inexplicably like last time.

"Could she have gone back to work at the Spring Beauty Pavilion?"

Wu Tao's thoughts drifted. He locked his door and headed to the Market.