'Gathering' and 'Refining'

Just as the first impression suggested, Chi Jiuyu was a person who could never sit still.

Not long after entering the villa, she had already picked out her room and began to tidy up. Because she had often been tossed onto the Starry Sky Battlefield by her master for training, her storage ring was well-stocked with daily necessities.

She spread out the sheets, took out her quilt and pillow, then flopped onto the bed, rolled over, and sprawled out across it.

Taking out her phone, she logged onto the Spirit Net and began to search.

'How to recover accidentally deleted chat history'

Soon, many answers popped up, and Chi Jiuyu grinned.

Although her martial uncle was of a high cultivation realm, he had only just come out of seclusion, so how familiar could he really be with the Spirit Net?

She couldn't help but be curious about the chat history her master had specifically warned her to delete!

Not looking was impossible; even if she got in trouble after returning, that would be a problem for her future self—what did it have to do with the current her?

Xu Xing knew nothing of this. While his martial sister's disciple was interesting, he couldn't possibly keep an eye on her every second of the day.

At this moment, he was sitting in his study with a laptop in front of him, inserting the crystal card containing the Basic Refining Method into the side slot.

[Reading, please wait...]

The crystal card emitted a trace of extremely faint spiritual energy fluctuations, which quickly began to spread outward.

"An anti-theft system, I see."

Xu Xing raised his hand slightly, suppressing the subtle spiritual fluctuations.

This was within his expectations; a technique like the Refining Method was not meant for mass dissemination.

The vast majority of Qi Refining practitioners did not meet the threshold for a Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation. They couldn't even pass the first hurdle; if they forcibly refined starlight into their bodies, they would be injured at best, or have their cultivation completely crippled at worst. Some with weaker physiques might even be tortured to death.

After suppressing the spiritual fluctuations, text began to appear on the computer screen.

Basic Refining Method

The text spanned several hundred words. The beginning was no different from the refining methods in Xu Xing's memory: one had to sit facing the moon at the midnight hour and channel three parts of spiritual power to form the 'Star-Fishing' seal.

The 'Star-Fishing' seal was not complex; an average practitioner could succeed after two or three attempts. The only thing to watch out for was the steady output of spiritual power.

After drawing in the starlight, the key was how to 'refine' it into the body.

Starlight was formless and intangible; only the power of the soul could capture it, but doing so was no different from a mortal grasping thorns with their bare hands.

If the skin and flesh were torn, it was painful enough, let alone the fragile soul of a Qi Refining practitioner.

Therefore, many people could not persist through this step.

After 'refining' the starlight into the body, one had to 'smelt' it, integrating it into the spiritual power so that the spiritual power would take on a trace of true essence, preparing it to carry lunar and solar energy later on.

However, starlight was extremely sharp, and the pain it caused while traveling through the meridians was comparable to being sliced by a thousand knives.

For those whose foundation was insufficient, even if they managed to force the starlight into their dantian, they would suffer from over-refining due to their weak spiritual foundation.

When this happened, the spiritual power would take on the properties of starlight—incomparably sharp, exceeding the quality of true essence gained from external foundation establishment.

However, every time they channeled their spiritual power, they would have to experience the 'smelting' process all over again; no one could endure that kind of agony.

The Basic Refining Method created by the Saint Emperor Abyss added an extra step to this 'smelting' process.

The practitioner had to condense a spiritual seal within their dantian beforehand. After drawing the starlight into the dantian, they would not rush to refine it, but instead store it within that spiritual seal, releasing it bit by bit to slowly wear it down. While slower, the pain was far less intense than other refining methods.

It was a form of corner-cutting, but could one really forge a Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation this way?

The probability was low.

Solar and lunar energy could not be handled with this method.

Thus, there was a final note left by him.

[Although this method reduces the pain during the starlight refining stage, it cannot be used for the subsequent stages. If you feel you cannot endure it during the first stage, you may give up directly and expel the spiritual seal along with the starlight within it from your body.]

While expelling the spiritual seal would result in a loss of some cultivation, it was better than refining too far or being unable to endure the later stages.

A spiritual seal formed of spiritual power could not support the latter two stages, and the intervention of higher-level power would conversely contaminate the practitioner's foundation.

This was why the Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation was so difficult to build; what one truly had to rely on was the practitioner themselves.

"It can be considered giving more people a chance to try."

Xu Xing pulled out the crystal card and reduced it to fly ash with a wisp of magic power.

Mystic Sword City Central Hospital.

Xiao Fan had exchanged the reward from today's second-place finish in the Dharma Combat Test for spirit coins to pay the surgery fees in full.

Looking at his parents, who were embracing each other and weeping with joy, and his older brother being taken away by a Nascent Soul physician, he felt empty inside.

In a daze, he stood up and walked toward the exit.

His mother, seeing this, wanted to say something, but was held back by his father, who shook his head.

Xiao Fan walked out of the hospital just like that.

He walked over to a flower bed where bright yellow flowers were in full bloom. Suddenly feeling weak, he slowly sat down by the edge of the bed.

Looking at the ground, his eyes were filled with confusion.

Yes, his older brother possessed exceptional innate talent and had joined the Dragon-Elephant Heaven-Supporting Sect three years ago, even before the college entrance examination.

Moreover, his brother had always treated him very well, occasionally sending back precious cultivation resources; it was precisely because of this that he had been able to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining by his senior year of high school.

"Xiao Fan, you focus on your cultivation at school. I've inquired about it, and the upcoming Merit Ranking includes a Dragon-Elephant Pill. I'll get one for you when the time comes!"

He was truly a good brother.

Xiao Fan had always admired him deeply, dreaming that one day he, too, could join the Dragon-Elephant Heaven-Supporting Sect just like his brother.

However, the Starry Sky Battlefield was no playground; it was an extremely perilous front where anyone could die at any moment.

When he saw his brother lying unconscious on the hospital bed, his entire world went blank.

The Dragon-Elephant Heaven-Supporting Sect had provided some assistance, and his parents had borrowed everything they possibly could, yet they were still short of the required amount.

That was why Xiao Fan had set his sights on the Dharma Combat Test that would be taking place soon.

Keeping it from his parents, he had quietly taken money from home to purchase a vial of Barrier-Breaking Spirit Liquid.

The sequence of events replayed in his mind; everything had been his own choice, but... why did it still hurt so much?

Tears flowed uncontrollably.

He understood that his life... was over.

"Young man, you seem to be very sad."

A pair of polished leather shoes appeared in his line of sight, and Xiao Fan wiped his tears before looking up.

The person before him was dressed in casual attire that didn't match the leather shoes at all, with an ordinary appearance and a gentle temperament.

There was even a strange quality about him that made one think at first glance, 'This guy is a pushover, I should bully him.'

"Wipe your face." He handed over a tissue.

"...Thank you." Xiao Fan took the tissue. "Are you here because of my brother?"

He was already a ruined man.

"Your brother?" The man shook his head slightly. "No, I have no interest in him."

As if performing a magic trick, an jade box appeared in the man's hand.

"An ancient treasure. Consuming it can alter your fate and grant you great fortune. Are you interested in learning more?"

"..."

So he was just a salesman. Couldn't he see how miserable I already am?

But Xiao Fan lacked the energy to drive him away.

"I have no money. I can't afford it."

"During this promotional period, it's a free trial. Don't miss this opportunity; it won't come again."

The man shoved the jade box into his hands and then turned and walked away.

Hm?

He just left like that?

Xiao Fan stared blankly at the jade box in his hands for a while, hesitated for a long time, and ultimately chose not to throw it away.

On the roof of the hospital, the man watched as Xiao Fan tucked the jade box away, nodded slightly, and then looked toward a certain spot, as if speaking to someone.

"Brother Dao, I wonder how much progress you have made since emerging from seclusion this time?"

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