Qi Refiner

Time flies like a shuttle, the seasons cycling in their turn.

Aside from delivering goods, Xia Dong spent most of his time cultivating in the Tiger Hill cave dwelling under the guise of gathering herbs.

As for Zhao Ting, he naturally guessed that Xia Dong harbored many secrets, but since their interests were aligned, he was more than happy to provide cover.

Moreover, Xia Dong did not compete with him for power, leaving him quite satisfied with the status quo.

Thus, even though Xia Dong rarely made an appearance, his performance reviews within the Pingyang County Eagle-Wolf Guard were consistently top-tier, earning him an extra portion of monthly provisions compared to the others.

Over the past six months, Xia Dong had practiced the Divine Treasury chapter of the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art day after day, finally experiencing firsthand the wonders of "the innate Qi returning to store itself within the body."

Once the Divine Treasury chapter was opened, it was as if a bottomless spring of vitality had appeared within him. In the past, whether he was exhausting his mind to craft talismans or pushing his mana to the limit to refine pills, he would always feel a deep, bone-deep exhaustion afterward—a sign that his essence, energy, and spirit had been depleted.

Now, however, he seemed to know no fatigue. Even after spending days and nights before the pill furnace, a brief moment of meditation and closing his eyes to rest was enough for the wisps of innate Qi to circulate quietly, nourishing his parched meridians and sea of consciousness like rain after a long drought, sweeping away all mental and physical weariness.

This extreme abundance of energy meant that Xia Dong possessed several times the effective cultivation time of an ordinary cultivator.

Under such cost-free resource accumulation and tireless, bitter cultivation, the Mysterious Yin Mana of his Profound Yin Scripture grew increasingly deep and viscous, resembling a dark, subterranean river.

Just last month, everything fell into place; his mana broke through the bottleneck without a ripple, officially stepping into the fourth level of Qi Refining.

With the foundation of mid-stage Qi Refining mana, Xia Dong felt much more confident.

However, he did not rush to attempt the condensation of a Talisman Seed, instead pouring more of his focus into martial Organ Strengthening and the opening of the Divine Palace within his kidneys.

This would ensure a deeper foundation and a higher success rate for condensing the Talisman Seed.

Until today.

In the secret chamber, Xia Dong sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly shut.

Under his internal observation, his blood and Qi surged like lead and mercury, while his Mysterious Yin Mana flowed like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, gathering incessantly toward the twin kidneys at the small of his back.

"Drip..."

It was as if a crisp sound of a water droplet echoed in the depths of his soul.

After more than half a year of constant tempering and extreme compression of blood, Qi, and mana, a qualitative change finally occurred within the illusory "Divine Palace" deep inside his kidneys.

A drop of deep, dark blue liquid, seemingly containing both extreme cold and majestic vitality, slowly condensed in the center of the Divine Palace.

The Profound Yin Divine Water had finally been born.

The moment this drop of divine water appeared, a sudden change occurred within Xia Dong.

His entire body's life essence seemed to respond to some mysterious summons, rushing toward the kidney Divine Palace like a breached river. The originally dim kidney area erupted with brilliant radiance at this moment, as if lit up within the pitch-black internal landscape.

At the same time, the mysteries of the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art unfolded. Those "innate Qi" wisps, usually hidden deep within his limbs and bones, flocked toward the kidney Divine Palace as if on a pilgrimage.

The cyan innate Qi and the dark blue Profound Yin Divine Water reflected off each other, rendering this small visceral organ like an ancient, sacred, and solemn internal Divine Treasury.

Hum!

Great music is soundless.

As the internal Divine Treasury lit up, Xia Dong felt a roar like the opening of heaven and earth resound in his mind.

He felt as if he had taken a crucial, watershed step on his long path of cultivation.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the long-dormant, mottled Bronze Ancient Bell began to shake violently, emitting a clear, resonant chime like a great temple bell.

Xia Dong immediately sank his consciousness into his sea of consciousness.

He saw that on the verdigris-covered body of the Bronze Ancient Bell, beneath "Name," "Codename," "Talent," and "Spirit Root," a new line of small characters had been forcibly etched amidst a flickering, scarlet distortion:

[Cultivation Identity: Qi Refiner]

Qi Refiner? It was neither the "martial artist" of the secular world nor the "cultivator" or "immortal seeker" commonly used in the current cultivation world, but a special title carrying an ancient, desolate aura—Qi Refiner!

The "Qi" in this title was the "Qi" of innate Qi, not the "Qi" of acquired spiritual energy.

Xia Dong fell into deep contemplation.

He had never understood what hidden meaning lay behind the codename "Gouchen" that the ancient bell had assigned him.

Now, a "Qi Refiner" identity title had appeared without any warning.

Why now?

Xia Dong was deeply puzzled.

He had been cultivating innate Qi all along, while simultaneously practicing the Profound Yin Scripture mana and martial blood-Qi, yet this "identity" suffix had never appeared on the bell before.

Why did this identity only activate the moment he lit up the kidney Divine Palace, gave birth to the Profound Yin Divine Water, and allowed his essence, energy, and spirit to perfectly converge within his kidneys?

What kind of cultivation mystery and heavenly secret was hidden within this?

Despite being full of questions, Xia Dong realized with keen insight: this "Qi Refiner" identity was absolutely no small matter.

Its significance and level were likely even more precious than the "Dao Registry" he possessed.

Xia Dong recalled the various Cultivation Miscellany, Eastern Wasteland Records, and other classics he had obtained over the years through Eagle-Wolf Guard files and the materials Qin Wan had brought from the Immortal Sect.

However, he could not find even a single word regarding "Qi Refiner" in his memory.

"An innocent man is innocent, but his treasure makes him a criminal. Since it is not recorded in the classics, I must not go out and inquire about it."

Xia Dong took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the curiosity in his heart.

The cultivation world is treacherous and unpredictable; once certain ancient secrets are touched, they easily invite disaster. Before his wings are fully fledged, he must never expose the special secrets he harbors.

He has a faint intuition that perhaps these so-called Qi Refiners are practitioners far more ancient and authentic than the cultivators of the Qixia Immortal Sect, or indeed, any cultivator of the present age.

Modern cultivators refine the acquired "qi" and seek the magical power of heaven and earth, whereas Qi Refiners, based on his current experience, cultivate the divine storehouses of the human body and refine the innate "Qi" that points directly to the source.

Slowly severing his distracting thoughts, Xia Dong opens his eyes. Feeling the radiant Divine Palace of the kidney within his body, he reveals a faint smile.

Regardless of the magnificent ancient secrets entangled behind these "Qi Refiners," for him right now, the path must be walked one step at a time.

The more hidden cards he holds, the steadier his immortal path will be.

Qixia Immortal Sect, Lone Moon Peak.

"Disciple Pei Hongling."

"Disciple Lu Qingshan."

"Disciple Feng Fei."

"Disciple Qin Wan."

"Respectfully welcoming Master out of seclusion."

True Person Lone Moon has finally ended her long seclusion.

"This Seat failed the breakthrough," True Person Lone Moon says indifferently.

Her cold, clear eyes harbor a great deal of helpless melancholy. Even though her aptitude is undoubtedly among the best in the Three Islands Sea Region.

However, without condensing innate Qi or receiving the infusion of a sliver of innate primordial yang from an orthodox Qi Refiner, she ultimately cannot open the Purple Mansion to achieve a superior Golden Core.

The fortune of this life is, after all, limited.

If she cannot open the Purple Mansion and achieve a superior Golden Core, what meaning is there in obtaining the Ascension Order from that boy's descendants in the future to reach the vast Three Islands Sea Region?

My path is already lonely, my road already at an end.

A scene from when her own master passed away flashes through the mind of True Person Lone Moon.