Third Stage of Qi and Blood

At the first outer district of Shangqing Mountain's assessment outpost, Bai Jing stood at the entrance, bored out of his mind.

"Come on, let's hurry to the dining hall, or the good food will go cold."

"What's the rush? Isn't Li Huai'an just having a meal? Do you really have to fangirl this badly?"

"You little brat, what did you say?!"

Youthful, beautiful female disciples passed through the entrance, and a waft of fragrance struck his nose.

This was the area where the female disciples lived. Bai Jing could not enter to look for anyone, so he could only wait here.

Of course, if there happened to be a fire inside or something, he definitely would not stand by with folded arms.

Before long, two tall female disciples approached from afar.

"Qinghe, did you get another new admirer? Chu Ming used to wait here, but now he's been replaced by someone else."

"Still, this disciple has better features. He's quite handsome, though sadly, he's still no match for my Li Huai'an."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Ling Qinghe shot her companion an irritated glare, utterly speechless.

If it had been someone else, she might have had a few guesses. But this person was definitely no good!

"Daoist Ling!" Seeing the young woman approach, Bai Jing greeted her with a smile.

"Gentle as jade—this one's good. He's far classier than Chu Ming." Ling Qinghe's companion leaned close to her ear and giggled softly.

"Go wait over there for me. Go on, hurry!" Ling Qinghe helplessly sent her friend away before sizing up Bai Jing.

"Tsk!"

She clicked her tongue and smiled.

"Long time no see. Daoist Bai, you're already about to advance to the Third Stage of Qi and Blood. What astonishing progress."

At that, Bai Jing immediately covered his stomach. Was this woman some eagle-eyed sage? She had seen right through him.

Seeing the youth's movement, Ling Qinghe could not help but laugh.

"I was wondering what you wanted with me. Don't tell me you were looking for me to join you in some murder-and-robbery business?"

"..." Bai Jing fell silent.

Her impression of him seemed rather poor.

"Now it seems you're feeling the pressure."

"Daoist Ling, you look radiant, carefree, and at ease. Could it be that you don't feel any pressure at all?" Bai Jing looked at her seriously.

Clatter!

The young woman patted the sachet hanging at her waist, and a pile of medicine bottles immediately appeared in her hands. She looked at Bai Jing with a half-smile.

"Pick one yourself."

"..." Bai Jing fell silent.

All right, she truly was under no pressure.

With the way she popped pills every day, it would be harder for her cultivation not to improve.

Still, he was somewhat surprised inside. She was clearly not just an ordinary alchemy disciple.

Then Bai Jing casually picked a bottle. He was not an alchemist, so he could not judge the quality of the pills.

"This is the payment for the medicine." He took out five Ascension Coins from his robes and handed them to her.

"You're welcome to come back for more, Daoist!" Ling Qinghe happily put away the Ascension Coins.

"Daoist Ling, don't casually spy on other people's cultivation in the future. Everyone has their own secrets. That habit of yours is very bad, and it could easily bring about a fatal disaster."

Before leaving, Bai Jing offered her a word of warning.

Back in his thatched hut, Bai Jing immediately sat cross-legged at the head of his bed and inspected the quality of the Qi Replenishing Pill.

He opened the jade bottle, and a faint medicinal fragrance drifted out at once.

"What a black-hearted merchant—there are only five pills!" He counted them, and his whole mood turned sour. His heart ached terribly.

Five Ascension Coins in exchange for only five pills.

There was no helping it. The Qi Replenishing Pills from the Pill Pavilion were even more expensive, and he truly had no extra Ascension Coins to buy them.

Though Bai Jing felt the pain of spending those Ascension Coins, raising his cultivation was the foremost priority.

He carefully took out a pill and swallowed it directly.

In mere moments,

Bai Jing felt a warm current flowing through his body.

He immediately closed his eyes and circulated the Minor Formless Technique.

Guided by the supreme art, the energy within the Qi Replenishing Pill reached his spleen viscus.

Thump! Thump!

It was like thunder beating against a drum. Bai Jing felt his spleen viscus undergoing violent changes, as though its potential had been awakened. Dense streams of qi and blood continued to grow.

His strength was visibly increasing.

Time gradually passed.

By the time Bai Jing opened his eyes, it was already the following afternoon.

"Miraculous elixirs and wondrous medicines are no empty boast!"

Feeling his cultivation advancing at breakneck speed, he muttered to himself, recalling what Ling Qinghe had said when he first met her.

To enter the Dao through pills and forge longevity was certainly no empty talk.

No wonder that girl had not felt the slightest pressure when he saw her again. With such fine pills every day, who would still be nervous?

Then Bai Jing took out the jade bottle and began taking the second Qi Replenishing Pill.

Time flowed onward once more, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

During this time, aside from that heaven-blessed prodigy, no one else had made it onto the Golden Ranking.

Li Huai'an also showed all the disciples what a difference as vast as heaven and earth truly meant.

In just over twenty days, he had actually completed all ten tasks, and without exception, every single one had received a Grade A Rating!

Most astonishing of all, this youth had broken through again in that short time. Someone had once seen five divine lights rise from his body from afar.

This signified that he had already reached the Fifth Stage of Qi and Blood!

Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air, overcome with shock.

This man was truly heaven-defying!

For a time, Li Huai'an became the topic most often discussed throughout the outpost.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Bai Jing.

He cultivated diligently, and with the help of the Qi Replenishing Pills, he finally entered the Third Stage of Qi and Blood several days ahead of schedule.

Thump!

Inside a thatched hut in the eighth district, countless mysterious runes flickered. Surging qi and blood nearly blew the entire house apart.

Bai Jing stood bare-chested, ancient runes gleaming red beneath his skin.

"These runes are still scattered and disorderly for now, but they say that once the Five Viscera reach Perfection, they will arrange and combine in a certain way, forming something unimaginable, something connected to Foundation Establishment in the immortal path!"

He examined himself and pondered.

The Fifth Stage of Qi and Blood was a watershed, linked to Foundation Establishment in the immortal path and the realms that followed. It was also the beginning of a fierce transformation for cultivators like them.

As for exactly what it would become, that would have to wait until the Five Viscera reached Perfection.

"The Talent Tree has grown several times larger and much taller, but the fourth branch still hasn't emerged."

With a thought, he focused his mind on the Scorched Earth within his sea of consciousness.

At this moment, the Scorched Earth had expanded severalfold. The sapling, which had originally been less than ten centimeters tall, now stood over half a meter high.

It swayed with a rustling sound, and its branches and trunk radiated mysterious, divine light.

Yet not a single leaf had grown. This further confirmed Bai Jing's guess.

The leaves of this Talent Tree had to be extraordinary things.

Grrr~

At that moment, his stomach rumbled.

Having just broken through, he had expended a great deal of energy, and a sudden ravenous hunger seized him.

"Luckily, I didn't spend all eight Ascension Coins. I still have two left."

Bai Jing took out his last spendable jade coins, put on his clothes, and left for the dining hall.

As he passed through the area of thatched huts, he found scarcely anyone around.

"Looks like this assessment really has put everyone under immense pressure," he muttered to himself.

After arriving at the dining hall, Bai Jing ordered a serving of Spiritual Meat and began to feast heartily.

The tender, juicy beef turned into dense streams of qi and blood as it passed down his throat and entered his body.

"Before the next task, this may be the most delicious meal I'll have." Bai Jing felt somewhat wistful.

At least until he reached the Fifth Stage of Qi and Blood, he would not consider taking tasks to earn Ascension Coins.

He hoped to climb, step by steady step, to the absolute summit of the immortal path in a more reliable manner!

What came next was still closed-door cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed since the second task assessment was announced.