Second Layer of Qi Refining

Zheng Que skillfully gathered his focus, entering the void, and continuously seized the spirit essence entwined with cold aura...

Soon, he discovered that the efficiency of this cultivation session was far beyond anything he had experienced before.

If his previous attempts at absorbing the spirit energy of heaven and earth were like a person trying to catch flies by a pond at dusk with empty hands, this time, it felt as if he held a large net, scooping up a vast amount with every motion.

Zheng Que immediately concentrated his mind, operating his cultivation technique with all his might.

As his consciousness immersed itself, strands of spirit energy were refined into his body. Within his Qi Sea, the white spirit power, which had previously been nothing more than a thin mist, grew increasingly dense and expanded...

After cultivating for a long time, Zheng Que opened his eyes. Before him lay the familiar, dilapidated Wide Hall, with the Life and Death Book spread out, continuously absorbing the black mist emanating from between his brows.

Feeling the abundant spirit power within his body, Zheng Que was very satisfied.

The three Medicine Whiskers given to him by the town mayor were capable of greatly increasing his cultivation speed.

In just this short period of cultivation, the spirit energy he had absorbed already exceeded the sum of all his cultivation time since he first entered the path!

Furthermore, the cultivation performed after consuming the Medicine Whisker absorbed very little Yin Energy.

While this was of no use to him, for a normal cultivator, this point might be even more beneficial than the increase in cultivation speed!

He still had two Medicine Whiskers left. Once he finished them all, his cultivation base should be able to reach the Second Layer of Qi Refining.

And that was just the effect of the Medicine Whiskers... he wondered what kind of miraculous properties that true Great Medicine possessed?

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Zheng Que looked at the Life and Death Book.

"Species: Human Race."

"Name: Zheng Que."

"Origin: A native of Changfu Town, Taiping County, Tu Prefecture, Great Li Dynasty."

"Lifespan: Sixteen years, seven months, and ten days; to perish at Hai Hour."

Staring at the reluctant record, Zheng Que's expression turned grave. Tomorrow at Hai Hour, the moment of his tribulation would arrive!

His first tribulation had been against a Call-Sound Ghost with a cultivation base one minor realm higher than his own.

He wondered if this second tribulation would also be a Tricky Specter?

With Qing Li by his side, he should be able to overcome any ghost below the fifth level of the Tongue-Pulling Hell...

Lost in thought, Zheng Que sat in the Grandmaster Chair, waiting quietly.

The hall was vast and cold, and outside the broken openings, the Yin Energy howled and swept through with a mighty momentum.

As time passed, the black mist pouring from between his brows grew thinner and thinner, until it was soon completely absorbed by the Life and Death Book.

The scene around him shifted. In the blink of an eye, Zheng Que was back in the dilapidated temple.

The inside and outside of the temple were deathly silent. A sliver of warm gold leaked through the cracks in the door; the Golden Crow was sinking in the west, and the time was nearing dusk.

His cultivation session this time had taken nearly two hours.

Looking around and finding no changes, Zheng Que did not hesitate to pick up the second Medicine Whisker and shove it into his mouth.

Just like before, once the Medicine Whisker entered his belly, it felt like a rising flame, soon turning into a gurgling warm current that nourished his entire body.

Zheng Que began circulating the Life Planting Technique again. Accompanied by the movement of the cultivation method, a large amount of spirit energy was absorbed into his body.

Time passed slowly. He sat cross-legged on the bed, motionless, yet the aura he emitted grew stronger and stronger.

Outside the window, the daylight gradually faded. As the last trace of light fell behind the western mountains, the day ended and night descended... Gradually, the darkness grew thick.

Zheng Que's eyes were slightly closed as he breathed in and out, absorbing spirit energy. He had already reached the peak of the first layer of Qi Refining.

He felt the spirit energy within his body boiling to the extreme, as if it wanted to break through some invisible barrier. However, by this moment, the medicinal power of the second Medicine Whisker had been mostly exhausted. The spirit power in his Qi Sea surged, but it was always missing something. After repeated attempts, it began to show signs of waning.

Zheng Que immediately grabbed the last Medicine Whisker and threw it directly into his mouth.

Another wave of warmth erupted. The spirit power in his Qi Sea received reinforcements and began to roar and churn like never before, transforming into a hurricane-like vortex of spirit power.

Outside, spirit energy was drawn in from all directions, surrounding him completely. With every breath he took, the room, with its doors and windows tightly shut, seemed to surge with invisible waves, like some dormant giant beast.

This state was extremely strange, and Zheng Que couldn't help but immerse himself in it.

Just then, he suddenly noticed that the spirit power in his Qi Sea had gradually stopped growing.

Zheng Que was startled. Looking closely, although the white, mist-like spirit power in the hazy Qi Sea had stopped growing, under the circulation of the Life Planting Technique, his body was still continuously absorbing the surrounding heaven and earth spirit energy—and the speed was getting faster and faster!

Vaguely, he seemed to understand something. He immediately cast aside all distracting thoughts and circulated his cultivation method with all his might.

Thump... thump... thump...

In the silent room, a faint heartbeat gradually emerged. The surrounding air currents surged like tides; both spirit energy and Yin Energy rushed into Zheng Que's body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

His hair and the corners of his clothes rose without wind, fluttering wildly.

This situation continued for a long time. The temperature in the room dropped continuously, as if it were an ice cellar. Zheng Que sat motionless, his skin becoming increasingly pale from absorbing too much Yin Energy, and he himself seemed to become less and less lively.

Suddenly, the spirit power in his Qi Sea expanded in an explosive manner. In the blink of an eye, this already refined spirit power submerged into every limb and bone of his body, and his aura surged violently!

Feeling the significant increase in his strength, Zheng Que immediately opened his mouth and exhaled a breath of turbid air. The joy on his face was clear and impossible to hide.

Second Layer of Qi Refining!

The small town was silent.

In the courtyard of the dilapidated temple, Qing Li hung comfortably from an old tree, swaying with the breeze.

Suddenly, she tilted her head slightly and looked into the temple.

That human child had broken through in his cultivation!

However, the fact that he needed several days of cultivation just to break through a minor realm showed that his aptitude was truly dull.

Compared to a ghost of destiny like herself, he was simply incomparable!

Thinking of this, Qing Li turned around and continued to hang from the tree, drifting back and forth.

Underworld.

Zheng Que opened his eyes to the familiar scene around him.

Great billows of black energy surged from between his brows, rolling into the Life and Death Book.

As more and more Yin Energy was absorbed by the Life and Death Book, Zheng Que immediately felt the Spirit Power within his body gradually becoming more solid.

He sat quietly on the wobbly Grandmaster Chair, earnestly contemplating the changes brought about by this increase in cultivation...

The essence of cultivation in the Qi Refining Realm was the constant tempering of the Spirit Power within one's body. Once the Spirit Power had been tempered to be incomparably pure and could no longer be refined further, it would liquefy and transform into True Essence—this was Foundation Establishment!

The phenomenon he had just experienced, where the Spirit Power in his Qi Sea suddenly stopped growing and began absorbing spirit energy to undergo a tempering process, was exactly that.

Of course, his cultivation was still too low, and while he understood the principle, he was not yet clear on how the Life Planting Technique achieved this tempering process...

The author never follows celebrities. All characters (whether in this book or previous ones) have no real-world prototypes. Naturally, they have no anime prototypes either. They are all original characters for this book.

Three chapters completed! Seeking monthly tickets! Seeking follows! Seeking continued reading!