Development

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, you can't do this. I've only just rid my body of the Yin Evil Qi. I still can't..."

Zhang Li paid no heed, as though she had gone mad, and chuckled. "Fellow Daoist Li, you're only at the Second Level of Qi Refining. You can't resist me. Be good... Mmm, look, your body is quite honest, isn't it..."

"Don't... ahh..."

Wu Tao woke in a daze.

"Why would I have such a dream? But why Zhang Li, instead of Youcai, Yihua, Xiangnai, Yongmei, or Aili?"

Muttering to himself, he got out of bed.

It was not hard to understand. He had been too tense for over a month.

Now that the Yin Evil Qi had been removed, his entire body and mind relaxed. Naturally, his essence overflowed when it was full.

After bathing and washing his clothes, Wu Tao got dressed and opened the door. He instantly shut his eyes. He could feel the warmth of the early morning sun upon his eyelids. Slowly opening his eyes, he raised his head to gaze at the summer morning sunlight.

This was the first time he had looked up at the sky, at that source of life that represented the growth of all things.

Sunlight shone over him, and his body truly felt the warmth it brought. Only then did he truly feel his own existence, feel that he was alive.

"Life really is wonderful!"

Wu Tao reached out a hand, as though he could grasp life's radiance that way. In his heart, he truly had grasped it.

"On the first day after my New Life, I'll strive to live on and never die."

After squinting in the sun for a while, Wu Tao returned home, picked up the chamber pot, and went to dump the night soil. When he came back, he saw Zhang Li leaning against his doorway, scrutinizing him.

At the sight of Zhang Li, Wu Tao could not help recalling last night's dream. His face grew hot, and he felt like a thief with a guilty conscience. Unable to meet her eyes directly, he said awkwardly:

"Why are you staring at me?"

Zhang Li folded her arms across her chest and circled Wu Tao once. Only after a long while did she click her tongue. "Fellow Daoist Li, I think you've changed. You seem different somehow."

"What's different? I'm still me... I think you're the one who's changed. Why were there no guests again last night..."

"Get lost, get lost, get lost! Mind your own damn business, woman's affairs are none of yours. Worry about yourself first—don't let that Evil Qi spread through your whole body and kill you." Zhang Li cut him off. For some reason, she was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, turning angrily and heading back inside.

Bang!

She slammed the door especially loudly.

That completely baffled Wu Tao. This woman—she turned hostile at the drop of a hat.

Unable to make sense of it, Wu Tao returned to his room and sat cross-legged on the bed to cultivate the Sanyang Technique.

One key point: he cultivated using Spirit Stones.

Having money really was different.

"Feels so good!"

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

The Qi Refining Stage was a process of accumulating Spiritual Power. Once it accumulated to a full state, one could break through a minor realm and expand the dantian.

His dantian was now a little over half full of Spiritual Power. Once it was completely filled, he could attempt to break through to the Third Level of Qi Refining.

"Slowly. No rush!"

Wu Tao's mindset was now very steady. He no longer had to constantly fear the Yin Evil Qi stealing his life, and he had become an Artifact Refiner, so he would no longer lack cultivation resources. As long as he cultivated step by step, his realm would eventually break through.

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

Judging from his Personal Status, his Fireball Technique was at sixty percent of Cleaning Spell: Beginner. As long as he could see the progress, he could keep practicing slowly.

He had no other spells to choose from now, either.

Once he saved enough Spirit Stones, he would buy a Close Combat Spell or a Body Technique to learn.

Without the Yin Evil Qi constantly threatening his life, Wu Tao's days seemed to have become more leisurely. Everything proceeded according to his plans, and the days passed one by one.

"Fireball Technique!"

Wu Tao formed the hand seals for the Fireball Technique. Spiritual Power flowed through the meridians in his hands. With a soft pop, a fireball the size of a teacup appeared between his palms. Flames danced across it, but it was not very stable.

"Go."

With a flick of his hand, the fireball flew crookedly into a water basin a meter away. It hissed when it met the water, then was extinguished.

Seeing this, Wu Tao was at a loss for words. In the end, he merely shook his head with a bitter smile. "Can this Fireball Technique really hurt anyone?"

With that, he opened his Personal Status and checked 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-Rank Level 2 Wind-Speed Restriction. First-Rank Level 3 Small Spirit Light Shield Restriction (18%)

[Secondary Profession: Body Cultivator]: Blank

It had already been ten days since he regained his New Life.

Over these ten days, he cultivated the Sanyang Technique, practiced the Fireball Technique, practiced the First-Rank Level 3 Small Spirit Light Shield Restriction on the Spirit Board, and refined four sets of Magic Robe materials each week.

During that first week, he successfully refined three Magic Robes.

He sold them for thirty-nine Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Perhaps because the shadow of the Evil Spirit still lingered, he immediately ran to Yuanyou Talisman Pavilion after selling the robes and bought another Evil-Breaking Talisman, keeping it close to his body.

Everything was developing in an orderly fashion.

Looking at the panel, Wu Tao calculated, "Now that I cultivate with Spirit Stones, I consume one Low-Grade Spirit Stone every seven days. I need four Low-Grade Spirit Stones per month for cultivation. It takes ten days just to raise the Sanyang Technique by one percent. Calculating it this way..."

"Mm... I still need 440 days to accumulate enough Spiritual Power to break through to the Third Level of Qi Refining. One year and two months... At this rate, I'll break through to the Third Level of Qi Refining at twenty-six, and the Fourth Level of Qi Refining at twenty-nine..."

"I won't reach Qi Refining Layer 9 until I'm forty-four... That isn't too late. For an immortal cultivator, forty-four is the prime of life..."

"Once I have enough Spirit Stones, cultivating with pills will make my progress faster..."

"First, I'll set a small goal: reach Foundation Establishment before thirty-five..."

He then turned his attention to the Fireball Technique. Perhaps because it was merely a Basic Spell, it could raise his progress by three percent a day. Yet even at ninety percent of Fireball Technique: Beginner, its offensive power was still barely satisfactory.

He was already considering whether he should give up on this Spell.

After all, the Fireball Technique was a long-range Spell. He could feel how difficult it was to cultivate, and his Secondary Profession as a Body Cultivator offered no help whatsoever.

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

Closing his Personal Status, he slung the bundle from the bed over his back, intending to head to the Marketplace to set up a stall.

The bundle held four Magic Robes. This time, all four sets of refining materials had succeeded. Having refined so many, he had become increasingly adept at the First-Rank Level 2 Wind-Speed Magic Robe, nearly able to make it at his fingertips.

Moreover, with the Evil Qi removed from his body, he no longer had to use his mental strength and Spiritual Power to resist it. Refining had become much easier, and he could refine twice a day.

His refining speed had also improved considerably.

Opening the door, Wu Tao's gaze habitually fell upon the neighboring door. A lock hung on it. During this time, Zhang Li had left early and returned late. He did not know what she was doing, and she no longer received guests at night.

But he did not dare ask, afraid that Zhang Li would inexplicably fly into a rage again like last time.

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

Wu Tao's thoughts drifted as he locked the door and headed for the Marketplace.