Wait, What Kind of Freak Realm Is Qi Refining Level 10?

Within the pitch-black passageway, Jiang Li took the lead, walking at the very front.

What came into view was a sizable Underground Banyan Grotto, wet and muddy, reeking so foully that the thick stench of blood made one retch, as though a slaughterhouse had been buried here.

Vines extended from both sides, embedded within the walls as if they had fused with the entire Underground Banyan Grotto, flourishing from the stone itself.

As they ventured deeper, human bones began appearing one after another.

All of them had been parasitized by vines within the walls.

Their number was horrifying.

A rough count alone revealed hundreds upon thousands of corpses.

"Jiang Li, this Zhou Family really is raising some evil thing. It looks like a wood-element spiritual treasure of heaven and earth. They turned it into a demonic tree that devours human blood—what a terrible waste of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures."

As a second-generation immortal, Li Xi was broad in experience and immediately recognized it as a spiritual treasure of heaven and earth.

Her tone was filled with deep regret.

Jiang Li's expression shifted slightly.

So-called spiritual treasures of heaven and earth were, in truth, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that possessed spirituality.

Not only could such treasures be used to refine pills, they could also help cultivators shorten the time needed to break through major bottlenecks, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

The higher the rank of the spiritual treasure, the greater its assistance to cultivators.

Certain special types of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures could even help cultivators improve the quality of their spiritual roots and enhance their aptitude.

Clearly.

The demonic vines in the Zhou Family's Underground Banyan Grotto were one such kind.

Just then.

Two furious shouts interrupted their conversation.

Two elderly men, with one foot already in the grave, emerged. More than half of their bodies had transformed into withered wood, making them strange existences caught somewhere between human and tree.

And the mana fluctuations emanating from them were unmistakably at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

"Youngsters, I advise you to return the way you came. Our Zhou Family has no wish to offend the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land, but if you insist on courting death, we will simply bathe Qinghe County in blood and relocate elsewhere."

One of the old men, already half in the coffin, spoke. His cloudy eyes were filled with bloodshot veins.

Clearly.

They were not entirely unaware of what was happening to the Zhou Family outside.

They simply could not go up and offer support for some other reason.

Jiang Li had an idea.

Including the Zhou Family Head, they had three Foundation Establishment cultivators in one family. Such a lineup truly was beyond what the Demon Suppression Division could suppress in Qinghe County.

Had Zhou Yang not been discovered by him, perhaps in another decade or so, Qinghe County might really have seen the rise of a Golden Core family.

"Leave this to me. The Zhou Family Head has remained hidden all this time, so he must be at some critical juncture. You go stop him."

Murong Qing had reached the same conclusion.

She stepped forward of her own accord.

Blocking the two Foundation Establishment elders.

"You dare!"

The two elders had been struck where it hurt.

Their previously placid faces instantly revealed shock and fury.

Their withered palms reached toward the walls.

At once.

The walls cracked open.

Several thorny vines shot out, seeking to seal off the path of the three.

Murong Qing hooked a finger around her sword hilt. Cold light flashed from its sheath, and in an instant, she slashed out more than ten times. The vines shattered to pieces, while frost spread from the wounds and froze solid, icing over the walls on both sides.

"Go."

Murong Qing's voice was cool and clear.

She stood with her sword held at an angle.

Like a breathtaking landscape painting.

Jiang Li thought, Going on missions with Murong Qing really does put one at ease.

Ding, the cultivation art "Emperor's World-Shocking Art" expressed that she should not be taken into the harem. She should be granted command and nobility, becoming My great general.

Heh, you sure know how to dream.

Jiang Li cursed inwardly.

He told the cultivation art to get moving quickly, or he would lock it in a little dark room.

Then.

Jiang Li nodded.

He passed the two Foundation Establishment elders and headed deeper inside.

"Don't come any clo—"

Before the words could finish.

Murong Qing swung her longsword, freezing rain into ice as it soared into the heavens, beginning to lock down the two men's movements.

When she raised her eyes, they were like icy blades drawn from their sheaths.

Her meaning was obvious: defeat her first.

Meanwhile.

Jiang Li had already arrived at the deepest part of the banyan grotto.

Li Xi could not help covering her mouth, her face filled with shock.

A bizarre figure stood there, half its body fused into the wall while the other half was entirely made of wood, with ragged, shriveled human skins hanging from its body.

Dense vines spread throughout the entire banyan grotto.

They formed a grotesque existence where man and tree had merged as one.

"That is... the Zhou Family Head."

Li Xi cried out in alarm.

Though she had guessed that the Zhou Family was raising an evil thing, she had never imagined they were raising it this way.

Man and tree had fused, with the human becoming the dominant force.

In that case, the reason behind the Zhou Family's slaughter became crystal clear.

To raise such an evil tree required a vast amount of life force, far more than the Zhou Family could support. They could only continuously sacrifice human lives.

And those lives would eventually bear abundant fruit, which would nourish the Zhou Family in return.

Without another word, Jiang Li charged forward.

The Zhou Family Head seemed to sense the approaching danger as well. He opened his hollow eye sockets, his voice like the howl of an evil ghost, filled with endless resentment and rage. "Just a little more—just a little more, and I could have completely digested this Yi Wood Spiritual Infant! Why did you have to come and ruin everything? I refuse to accept this!"

As he spoke.

The vines throughout the entire banyan grotto went berserk.

They pierced through the upper layers.

Their tendrils thrust into the secret passageways.

In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains trembled.

The walls collapsed.

Enormous, endless vines burst through the openings, turning the entire Zhou Family upside down.

Above ground.

The Demon Suppression Division soldiers who were besieging the Zhou Family suddenly felt the ground shake madly.

Then countless thick vines burst from the earth, overturning the Zhou Family buildings one by one and exposing a massive pit.

The Zhou Family Head rose from within the pit.

His upper body still vaguely retained some human form.

But his lower body was a complete monster, woven from vines without a trace of humanity.

At the sight.

Every Demon Suppression Division soldier stood frozen in place.

That was the Zhou Family Head?

How had he become like this?

Was he even human anymore?

"You killed my Zhou Family members and obstructed my plans. I will use the blood of your Demon Suppression Division to fill this debt!"

The Zhou Family Head watched the miserable state of the Zhou Residence, and his heart bled.

Had he known this group would be so troublesome, he should have sent the two Foundation Establishment elders out first instead of having them guard him and ensure nothing went wrong.

His misjudgment had made the situation irretrievable.

All he could do now was slaughter everyone, then consider rebuilding from scratch.

Just then.

The sound of something tearing through the air came from right behind him.

The Zhou Family Head was horrified and turned to block it.

Bang.

A whip kick smashed viciously into his shoulder.

Overwhelming force struck him, sending his body crashing down.

He smashed out a deep pit.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the ground.

Lying in the crater, the Zhou Family Head looked at his shattered left shoulder and arm, his face filled with disbelief.

"You monster! I am a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator blessed by the Yi Wood Spiritual Infant. How can a mere Qi Refining cultivator like you possibly hurt me?"

Jiang Li said nothing.

He stomped down heavily.

The floor tiles cracked.

Wrapped in incomparable momentum, he charged forward.

"Do you really think I fear you?"

The Zhou Family Head roared.

Countless thick vines shot toward him with savage speed.

They formed more than a hundred attacks.

Jiang Li's face was expressionless as his fists crashed out like falling rain, yielding not an inch.

Bang bang bang bang bang...

The horrifying impacts became the only color on this battlefield.

Flesh-and-blood fists collided with vines.

The vines continually shattered, only to be replenished almost immediately, their attacks unending.

For a time, neither side could determine victory or defeat.

Nor could anyone tell who had fallen into disadvantage.

Yet anyone with eyes could see that Jiang Li's combat strength was astonishingly rare in this world.

With the cultivation of Qi Refining stage 8, he was clashing head-on with a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator without falling behind in the slightest.

It was simply too shocking.

It was not as though they had never seen prodigies from great sects, but none had been as fierce and peerless as Jiang Li.

On Jiang Li's side, his automatic cultivation had already ended.

The cultivation art "Emperor's World-Shocking Art" truly was ferocious beyond compare, granting him a powerful body capable of rivaling the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. But... within the realm of Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, an entry-level Body Refinement Method still could not achieve overwhelming suppression.

If this continued, it would become a battle of endurance.

There was no need for that.

Ding, the cultivation art "Emperor's World-Shocking Art" was helpless. She secretly made up her mind: I shall enter seclusion and cultivate again. Once My divine art reaches great completion, I shall emerge and sweep across the world.

Oh-ho, now it was getting competitive.

That was great.

Jiang Li was delighted to see it.

Then.

A three-foot, three-inch longsword appeared in his hand.

Its blade resembled a crimson phoenix.

It was the second-tier spiritual treasure, Skyburner.

Against a tree demon's body like this, the spell Dragon Slaying Sword clearly held a greater advantage than the Body Refinement Method.

Li Xi saw through Jiang Li's intentions.

Her figure flashed.

She risked entering the battlefield.

She poured all the mana in her body into Jiang Li.

The nearly sixty percent of mana Jiang Li had expended was restored completely in that instant.

Li Xi did not retreat.

She took out a bottle of pills from her Storage Ring and, without caring how many there were, swallowed them all.

Her cheeks puffed out slightly.

Jiang Li did not stand on ceremony either.

Mana surged.

He swung his sword.

Sword Aura Dragon Transformation transformed once more into a roaring crimson dragon that howled away.

The vines were burned to ashes, yet its remaining force did not diminish as it came crashing in.

The Zhou Family Head was greatly alarmed.

No.

Weren't you a Body Cultivator?

How had you become a Sword Cultivator again?

He could deal with crude martial brutes of the same realm, but against a Sword Cultivator—against that crimson fire capable of burning vines—he stood no chance.

The tide of battle began to turn.

Crimson Dragon Slash was unleashed again and again, each strike shearing away a portion of the Zhou Family Head's body.

Only three strikes.

The Zhou Family Head fell from the vines, no longer able to control that enormous tree demon body.

"Spare... spare me..."

Before he could finish speaking, a streak of sword light swept past.

The Zhou Family Head was split in two.

His life came to an end.

At once.

A cold system notification sounded in Jiang Li's mind.

Ding. The cultivation method "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" silently recited the Rebirth Mantra, delivering the wronged souls here from suffering. It received the wronged souls' most sincere gratitude. The belief in justice was spread far and wide, Heaven and Earth responded, merit descended upon you, your fortune was profound, and your comprehension increased.

Cultivation Method Progress +100%.

Option Mission completed.

Completion reward: Cultivation Method Progress +100%, Mana Purification.

The next instant.

Jiang Li's aura swelled.

His mana surged.

It was as though he had entered an entirely new level.

However...

Jiang Li froze.

Wait.

The cultivation method's belief in justice had been spread far and wide, granting Cultivation Method Progress +100%.

The reward for completing the Option Mission was also Cultivation Method Progress +100%.

By that calculation.

That was two levels of cultivation.

He was currently at the Qi Refining stage. If he rose two more levels, shouldn't that mean Foundation Establishment?

Jiang Li carefully sensed his condition.

He had not reached Foundation Establishment.

Yet his mana had surpassed the peak of Qi Refining Level 9.

Had he advanced to Qi Refining Level 10?

No.

Was there even such a realm in the Qi Refining stage?!