Qi Refining Layer 4, a New Spell

Outside the Cave Residence.

Jiang Li watched Yuan Li's departing back, killing intent surging within him.

Give him a little more time, and he would surely kill that old dog to repay him for these three years of "care."

But his most urgent priority now was still to raise his cultivation.

Only by reaching at least the mid Qi Refining stage could he survive this Undercover Optimization Plan.

Otherwise, once he landed on the optimization list, even as the Myriad Desire Demon Lord's Backup Possession Body, he would inevitably be branded worthless.

In the Demonic Cult, being worthless was an extremely serious matter.

Its severity was no less than betraying the sect.

"Looks like I still need system hosting."

If he cultivated on his own, advancing to Qi Refining Layer 4 would still take three months.

And that was with Cultivation Method Progress +30%.

System hosting was different.

The "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" carried on the characteristics of the "Returning Heart Art": the firmer one's heart, the faster one's Cultivation Speed.

During the Heart Questioning Forest trial, the "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" had already brought his Dao Heart to a flawless realm. With Righteous Qi suffusing his entire body, calling it an Innocent Heart would not be an exaggeration.

Cultivating through Cultivation Technique Hosting was equivalent to having a top-tier genius perfectly suited to the technique cultivate for him.

Coupled with the Cultivation Speed +100% effect, his cultivation would undoubtedly advance by leaps and bounds, covering a thousand miles in a day.

The only drawback was that the cultivation technique might go berserk and cause a huge commotion.

But compared to being optimized, he would rather keep drawing attention.

With that thought.

Jiang Li opened the panel.

He activated the Cultivation Technique Growth Plan again.

Activation successful.

The cultivation technique "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" began its hosting service.

Ding...

At that system notification, Jiang Li's heart leaped into his throat.

He was truly afraid that the Dog Cultivation Method would launch another Demon-Hunting Operation.

The attention around him had only just died down a few days ago. He did not want to become famous again so soon.

System, use your head a little.

Life was already hard enough for the host. Don't kick him while he was down.

As though it had heard Jiang Li's muttering, the mechanical electronic voice rang out at once.

Ding, the cultivation technique "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" is immersed in the righteous ideal it has promoted. It is in high spirits. Temporary cultivation efficiency +50%.

Jiang Li was somewhat pleasantly surprised.

This time, the Dog Cultivation Method had not pulled any tricks. It was hosting his cultivation quite obediently.

A rare occurrence.

The next moment.

Jiang Li's body was taken over by the cultivation technique.

It assumed a cultivation posture.

With every breath, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy surged in like a tide, continuously flowing through his meridians, transforming into pure Mana and merging into his Dantian.

His cultivation began advancing rapidly.

The Mana within his Dantian grew increasingly abundant.

It was as pure as glazed crystal.

The purer one's Mana, the deeper one's foundation. It would make it easier to cross the bottlenecks of higher realms in the future. More importantly, high-quality Mana would in turn nourish the body, slowly improving one's aptitude.

Compared to the "Returning Heart Art," the transformed "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" was undoubtedly a top-tier superior Qi Refining Method.

Time passed.

Three days vanished in the blink of an eye.

Over these three days, Jiang Li's body did not move an inch.

It maintained highly efficient cultivation throughout.

His cultivation advanced bit by bit.

Until this moment.

Crack—

A faint sound came from deep within his Dantian.

The bottleneck between Qi Refining Layer 3 and Qi Refining Layer 4 shattered without being attacked.

His Mana abruptly swelled by a large margin.

Even his body grew stronger under the washing of spiritual energy.

His essence, energy, and spirit were full to the brim.

As though he had been reborn anew.

Ding, this hosting service has officially ended.

Jiang Li regained control of his body.

A broad smile spread across his face.

"Qi Refining Layer 4. The crisis of the Undercover Optimization Plan is temporarily resolved. A cheat really is the way to go—three months of breakthrough time was compressed straight into three days. That's terrifying. System, you're awesome."

Jiang Li howled excitedly.

He gave the system a thumbs-up.

If the system could always cultivate peacefully like it had today instead of pulling tricks, he could lie low until the end of time.

He would lie low for a thousand years, then quietly astonish everyone.

After familiarizing himself with his suddenly surging Mana, Jiang Li threw himself into cultivation once more.

He began studying the new trait attached to the "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art," Shield of Justice.

Jiang Li formed a hand seal.

As his Mana circulated, two golden shields merged into one, forming an enormous shield.

Runes flowed across the shield.

It was incomparably wondrous.

"With my Mana, this Guardian Shield can probably last for ten minutes and withstand attacks below Qi Refining Level 7."

Jiang Li made his assessment.

The Shield of Justice could be regarded as a spell. It could be driven by Mana, and its power was among the best of Qi Refining stage spells.

Of course.

This was not the proper way to use the Shield of Justice.

The proper way was to have the "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" power it with Righteous Qi.

As long as Righteous Qi remained in one's heart, the Guardian Shield would not shatter and could persist indefinitely.

And the "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" itself was Righteous Qi.

Its Righteous Qi could never be exhausted.

Shield of Justice: As long as there is Righteous Qi, I will never shatter.

Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art: As long as the Shield of Justice does not shatter, I will continuously generate Righteous Qi.

A perfect bug exploit.

That was the trait's proper usage.

With this trump card, so long as he did not encounter someone capable of killing him in a single move, his survival rate would be completely maxed out.

For an undercover agent, this was simply too important.

Not long after.

Jiang Li, absorbed in cultivation and oblivious to everything else, received another visitor notification.

He opened the formation.

Then went outside to welcome the guest.

The visitor was Zhang Song, the Teaching Elder from before.

"Elder Zhang, why have you come? Please, come in. My humble residence is simple, so if there is anything lacking in my hospitality, I hope you will forgive me."

Zhang Song smiled.

He waved away Jiang Li's hospitable gesture.

"No need to busy yourself. I came to deliver resources. This time, you exposed three Yin Puppet Sect undercover agents and even had them abandon darkness and turn toward the light, allowing the Holy Land to obtain much valuable intelligence. Your merit is great, and the Holy Land has decided to reward you."

As he spoke.

Zhang Song handed over a Storage Bag.

His appreciation for Jiang Li was plain to see.

It was not merely that Jiang Li's conviction to Slay Demons and Defend the Dao suited his tastes. In terms of temperament, Jiang Li's performance had also been exceptionally outstanding.

He knew perfectly well how tempting the Elite Training Program was to Outer Sect Disciples.

Yet Jiang Li had not sought him out to ask about it these past days, nor had he gone around publicizing it. He had remained low-key, cultivating in his Cave Residence all along. His steady temperament was clear for all to see.

His evaluation of Jiang Li rose even higher.

At those words.

Delight appeared on Jiang Li's face.

No one understood better than him how important cultivation resources were to a cultivator.

If Yuan Li had not withheld his Undercover Deposit, leaving him exhausted from constantly working to earn Spirit Stones, how could he have remained at Qi Refining Layer 2 after three whole years?

Even though system hosting now allowed his cultivation to advance a thousand miles in a day, if he could supplement it with Pills, his cultivation efficiency could rise several more levels.

"Thank you for your concern, Elder."

Jiang Li accepted the Storage Bag and thanked him.

Zhang Song chuckled. "Next, I have another matter to tell you. It concerns the Elite Training Program."

"Mm." Jiang Li listened attentively.

"After I fought through every objection, the Holy Land has decided to give you an opportunity. However, you must still meet the standards to be selected."

Zhang Song's expression turned solemn.

"First, your cultivation must reach at least Qi Refining Level 7."

"Second, you must pass the first half of the Heart Questioning Forest. The minimum requirement is to take thirty steps."

"These are thresholds the Holy Land deliberately relaxed in consideration of your weak foundation. If you cannot meet them, then no matter how strongly I recommend you, I cannot make the Holy Land waste vast resources training you."

"You are currently at Qi Refining Layer 3... Hm? Qi Refining Layer 4?"

Zhang Song was somewhat surprised.

When he had taught at the Sermon Hall, Jiang Li had clearly only recently entered Qi Refining Layer 3. How many days had passed? Yet he had already advanced to Qi Refining Layer 4.

Jiang Li said modestly, "I was fortunate enough to advance. Ever since I understood my own conviction, I have found myself increasingly compatible with my cultivation technique, and my cultivation speed has grown day by day."

Zhang Song was greatly astonished.

"What Qi Refining Method do you cultivate?"

"The Returning Heart Art."

"Hiss..."

Zhang Song grabbed Jiang Li's wrist and carefully examined him. A trace of shock flashed through his eyes.

"Remarkable. To comprehend the Returning Heart Art to such a degree, you are not far from enlightenment. The purity of your Mana far surpasses even late Qi Refining stage cultivators."

Zhang Song marveled endlessly.

His evaluation of Jiang Li rose once again.

Jiang Li's aptitude might not be particularly exceptional, but his comprehension had absolutely reached the level of a top-tier genius.

Even without Zhang Song, he might not have lacked an opportunity to join the Elite Training Program.

After giving it some thought.

Zhang Song offered some guidance. "It seems you have not cultivated any spells yet. Given your comprehension and the purity of your spiritual energy, I recommend that you choose a spell called the 'Dragon Slaying Sword.' It will be of great benefit to your joining the Elite Training Program."

"Thank you for your guidance, Elder."

Jiang Li's expression shifted.

Other than the Shield of Justice, he truly had no means of fighting enemies.

Learning an offensive spell was an urgent priority.