The First Heaven of Qi Refining

"This is a Qi Nourishing Pill. It can speed up a Soul Master's cultivation, and its effects last anywhere from three months to a year. The stronger you are, the shorter the effects last. For Uncle Snake Lance and the others, one dose lasts half a year."

She picked up another white jade bottle, a sly glint in her eyes. "This is a Shaping Pill. It can change your face."

"After you take it, just picture what someone looks like in your mind. A few breaths later, you'll look just like them. It lasts for three days. Pretty interesting, right?"

"And this is a Soul Burst Pill. After taking it, your Soul Power becomes frenzied, like a support-type Soul Master's boosting Soul Skill. It can double or even triple your strength, and lasts for an hour. But afterward, your body will be weak for seven days..."

Qian Renxue rattled on, swapping one jade bottle after another in her hands. There were attack-type pills and defensive Magic Tools, formation disks for aiding cultivation and talismans for concealing one's presence—a dazzling array that left Qian Daoliu's eyes darting everywhere.

Half an hour later, Qian Renxue's mouth had gone dry from talking. She stopped for a breath, then looked at Qian Daoliu. "Grandpa, what would you like? You can take any of these and use them. If they're not enough, Xue'er can make more."

Qian Daoliu reached out and patted her head, his eyes full of affection. "Xiao Xue, Grandpa doesn't want anything. Keep these for yourself."

He had lived for over a century and had never seen so many wondrous objects. Every one of them held an air of mystery. It was hard to imagine they had all come from the hands of a fourteen-year-old girl.

Then he changed tack and asked curiously, "You don't have any Soul Power in your body. How do you draw on the energy of heaven and earth and use it for yourself?"

This was the greatest mystery to him. Soul Masters relied on Soul Power to draw on the energy of heaven and earth. Xiao Xue had no Soul Power, yet she could control energy to make pills and forge tools. It was completely beyond his understanding.

"Master says that the Great Dao has three thousand paths, but they all lead to the same destination." Qian Renxue tilted her head and earnestly repeated Chen Qingxuan's words.

"Whether it's Soul Power, blood and vital energy, Mental Power, or Life force, any power a person can master can connect with heaven and earth."

"Different kinds of power can transform into one another. As long as you know how to transform them, all power will eventually move toward the same goal."

Qian Daoliu fell silent. Her words seemed simple, yet they held profound truths, far beyond the understanding of the Soul Master World.

Soul Masters had always regarded Soul Power as supreme. No one had ever thought blood and vital energy or Mental Power could also serve as a bridge to connect with heaven and earth.

Had Xiao Xue's master truly reached such a level of understanding about power?

"Grandpa, would you like to learn alchemy?" Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Qian Renxue asked him outright. "I can teach you."

A flicker of interest crossed Qian Daoliu's eyes, but he shook his head. "No. Alchemy is vast and profound. I'm too old to learn it now."

"But you're so young and already so accomplished. Your future is bound to be limitless."

He was curious, but he knew that every field had its own specialty. His energy ought to be spent protecting Spirit Hall, not learning a new craft.

"No, Grandpa, you're amazing. I'm sure you'd pick it up right away." Qian Renxue wouldn't take no for an answer. She took his hand and led him to the Blazing Flame Cauldron.

"I'll teach you to identify medicinal herbs first. That's the easiest part. Look, this is a Flame Flower. It's fiery by nature and can raise the temperature of flames. This is an Ice Grass. It's cold by nature and can balance out the heat of medicinal ingredients..."

Unable to refuse her, Qian Daoliu could only listen patiently as she explained.

The girl's voice was clear and sweet, and her explanations were well organized. From the properties of medicinal herbs to the taboos of combining them, she knew her subject inside and out.

He occasionally asked a question, and Qian Renxue always answered smoothly. She had clearly committed all of it to memory long ago.

In the days that followed, Qian Daoliu ended up joining Qian Renxue in the forge, watching her make pills and forge tools. From time to time, he even tried to control energy as she instructed.

But he was used to driving everything with Soul Power. Whenever he tried to draw on energy with his blood and vital energy, he was clumsy, and before long he'd be drenched in sweat, his blood and vital energy churning inside him.

Whenever Qian Renxue saw this, she'd give him a Body Tempering Pill. "Grandpa, this can replenish your blood and vital energy. Give it a try."

Qian Daoliu smiled and accepted it, his heart filled with warmth.

These were the most peaceful days he'd had in years. There were no chores from the Worship Hall, no disputes within Spirit Hall—just his granddaughter chattering beside him, occasionally giving him pointers. Life was simple and warm.

Three months later, in Qian Renxue's bedroom.

She sat cross-legged on the bed, her blood and vital energy surging like a tide and forming a faint crimson glow around her.

With a sharp cry, her blood and vital energy abruptly drew in. A faint yet pure energy rose from her dantian and slowly circulated through her meridians. Her Organ Refining was complete. She had drawn Qi into her body and successfully stepped into the first heaven of Qi Refining!

"Master, I've drawn Qi into my body!" Qian Renxue cried excitedly in her mind. But when she felt the faint thread of energy inside her, she couldn't help pouting. "Why is there so little Soul Power in me?"

"Drawing Qi into your body and reaching the first heaven of Qi Refining only requires you to draw in a thread of spiritual energy from heaven and earth," Chen Qingxuan replied. "After that, each time you advance by one heaven, the amount of Soul Power in your body will increase significantly."

"But Master, this Soul Power feels so weak. It's not even as strong as my blood and vital energy. The total amount is probably only one percent of it." Qian Renxue felt a little dejected. She had thought that drawing Qi into her body would give her powerful Soul Power, but it was surprisingly faint.

"The soul, the body, and vital energy each express themselves differently through cultivation. During the first stage of a cultivator's journey, vital energy is the weakest of the three. They only reach parity in the second stage," Chen Qingxuan explained.

"Why is vital energy the weakest? Aren't they all at the same level?" Qian Renxue asked, confused.

"They're not the same," Chen Qingxuan said. "Your soul and body have existed since you were born, and have grown stronger over the years."

"But Qi Refining starts from zero. The three may be at the same stage, but their 'amounts' are worlds apart."

"Their strongest attacks have similar power, but you've only reached the first heaven of Qi Refining. Your Soul Power can support one full-strength attack, while your body can strike a hundred times. That's the difference."

"Is that so?" Qian Renxue asked doubtfully.

"Go out and try it. You'll see."

Qian Renxue immediately leapt off the bed and hurried to the training grounds.

She took a deep breath, gathered the faint thread of Soul Power in her body into her right hand, and swung a hand blade with all her might.

"Fwoosh—"

A pale-green sword of energy, several feet long, shot out with a howl and struck a huge boulder, three meters high, in the distance.

"Crack!"

The boulder had been cleanly sliced in two, its cut surface smooth as a mirror.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Qian Renxue's eyes lit up. But the next moment, her brows furrowed—the Soul Power in her body had already run dry. Just as her master had said, she had the strength for only "one strike."

She clenched her fist, feeling the still-surging blood and vital energy inside her, and suddenly understood.

Perhaps her Soul Power was weak now, but if she kept accumulating it, one day it would catch up with her body.

Besides, with such a powerful body as her foundation, her Soul Power would surely grow much faster than an ordinary person's.

In the distance, Qian Daoliu watched, a look of relief flashing through his eyes.

The three months were up, and Xiao Xue had indeed cultivated Soul Power. Though it was faint, it meant she had returned to the path of a Soul Master.

More importantly, that one strike of hers was equivalent to a Soul Saint's full-strength attack.