Shen Yue nodded. "Sorry for the trouble, Brother Zhou."
Reaching perfection in the sixth meridian through cultivation alone would be too slow, but taking body-tempering elixirs could speed things up.
The trouble was that body-tempering medicines were scarce in the market, and their quality and prices varied wildly.
Zhou Chongwen had spent more than a decade in the market. He knew the ropes and had connections that could get relatively decent supplies.
"Blood Refining Pills?" Changqin Wuming exclaimed. "General Shen, what are you doing? Got more spirit stones than you know what to do with?"
"That's right, General Shen. You may have been a martial arts grandmaster in the mortal kingdom and have a solid foundation, but the path of body tempering is no easy road. The farther you go, the harder it gets," Zhou Chongwen advised.
"In my opinion, General Shen, you should spend your spirit stones where they count, on pills that improve your cultivation, like Essence Condensing Pills."
"I just want another means of protecting myself. I hope you can help me out, Brother Zhou." Shen Yue offered no further explanation.
Zhou Chongwen shook his head to himself.
Young people never listened to advice. Back when he had been emperor of a mortal kingdom, his martial arts had reached the mortal limit: the grandmaster realm.
After coming here, he had wanted to enter the Dao through martial arts and take the path of body tempering, too.
But in the end, he had barely reached the second level of body tempering, wasting both spirit stones and time.
But there were some things no amount of advice could prevent. Only after experiencing them firsthand and banging one's head against a wall would someone turn back.
At the market, Blood Refining Pills came in bottles of five for one spirit stone. Zhou Chongwen couldn't do anything about the price, but he could get Shen Yue a larger quantity.
"Much obliged, Brother Zhou."
Zhou Chongwen worked quickly. That very afternoon, he delivered six Blood Refining Pills.
After finishing his daily recycling task, Shen Yue began cultivating with the pills.
[Star Sand Return-to-Store Technique] had not lied. Body-tempering pills really did help with cultivating the final meridian.
His qi and blood flowed through his body as the Ancestral Aperture Meridian gradually widened.
"As long as I can keep taking Blood Refining Pills, at this rate, I should reach perfection in all six meridians in a little over a month..."
One month later, on a clear morning, Shen Yue was sorting scrap when the qi and blood in his body suddenly surged. His Ancestral Aperture Meridian began to swell.
"Your Majesty, I'm going into seclusion for two days."
He hurriedly sent a message to Changqin Wuming, then focused his mind and began to break through.
Inside him, six streams of qi and blood moved like scarlet dragons, circulating through the six meridians as the Ancestral Aperture Meridian steadily widened and became clearer.
At a certain moment, the six scarlet dragons joined into one and returned to the Ancestral Aperture.
"I did it!"
But Shen Yue did not stop. He swallowed a strand of [Fire Flowing Sand], intending to ride the momentum and step into Qi Absorption.
Outside the house.
Changqin Wuming sat facing Zhou Chongwen. He had come to protect Shen Yue while he cultivated, and, to guard against mishaps, had called Zhou Chongwen over as well.
"General Shen has reached perfection at the third level of Qi Refining?" Zhou Chongwen stared at the house, puzzled. "Why did he suddenly go into seclusion?"
Changqin Wuming shook his head. "He probably reached perfection."
He had been busy recycling waste qi lately and had not visited Shen Yue much.
"The spiritual energy fluctuations are weak. General Shen may have rushed into his breakthrough this time, which won't do him any good."
Changqin Wuming sighed. He figured his own rapid cultivation must have put pressure on Shen Yue, making him rush to break through.
Just then, the door opened, and Shen Yue stepped out.
"Still at the third-level peak... He really failed." Zhou Chongwen shook his head to himself.
The path of cultivation was one barrier after another, and each one was harder than the last. Rushing a breakthrough would only damage one's foundation and harm one's state of mind.
Changqin Wuming felt a pang of regret.
I've been selfish. How could I focus on improving myself without considering General Shen? I've let Old General Shen down.
He hurried forward, ready to comfort Shen Yue with some carefully chosen words.
But before he could get close, his heart suddenly lurched.
Just now, he had felt something probe him from head to toe.
It wasn't just him. Zhou Chongwen had felt something similar.
"Divine sense?"
Though Zhou Chongwen was at the sixth level of Qi Refining and had yet to condense divine sense, he had once come across a fortuitous opportunity. His perception far exceeded that of others at his level, rivaling those in the late stages of Qi Refining.
He could tell that what had just probed them was a sweep of divine sense.
But when he looked around, he saw no one else.
There were only the three of them here. And setting himself aside, surely it couldn't have been Changqin Wuming or Shen Yue?
Zhou Chongwen gave a self-deprecating smile. He was getting more foolish with age.
How could someone in the early or middle stages of Qi Refining possess divine sense? Even in the Chen Clan, he had never heard of anyone managing it.
Shen Yue noticed the changes in their expressions and felt a surge of joy.
With all six meridians perfected and the [Fire Flowing Sand] consumed, he had successfully entered Qi Absorption and awakened divine sense.
"Rushing a breakthrough is a grave mistake, General Shen. You were far too reckless this time."
Changqin Wuming forgot about the strange probe and looked Shen Yue up and down. Only when he saw that Shen Yue was unharmed did he relax.
"General Shen, you need to understand one thing: your body doesn't belong only to you. It belongs to the whole world!"
"If anything happens to you, who's going to help me shoulder the burden of my great undertaking?"
But Zhou Chongwen's eyes suddenly lit up. "General Shen, you weren't trying to break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining. You were body tempering?"
He could sense the powerful, weighty qi and blood within Shen Yue.
Shen Yue nodded.
"Second level of body tempering?" Zhou Chongwen looked astonished. He had possessed qi and blood like that once and knew how difficult the second level was.
"You really did it?" Changqin Wuming raised his brows. "Ha ha! My great undertaking is one step closer..."
"Quiet!" Shen Yue's expression changed. He looked up.
Over Refining Lake, a gaze that looked down on them like ants swept across their bodies.
Fortunately, the gaze vanished in an instant and did not linger.
The three of them each circulated their cultivation techniques. It took quite a while to dispel the invisible pressure.
"Chen Yunxi!" Changqin Wuming glared furiously at the sky, his eyes bloodshot.
The streak of light that had just passed overhead belonged to Chen Yunxi, the Chen Clan prodigy who had once single-handedly crushed them in the mortal kingdom.
"That woman has a noble status. I hear she's been cultivating at the Jade Void Sword Sect. I don't know why she came to Refining Lake this time... You two, I'll take my leave."
Zhou Chongwen had a vague sense that trouble was brewing, so he clasped his hands in farewell.
After Zhou Chongwen had gone, Changqin Wuming shut the door with a grim expression and said in a low voice:
"General Shen, do you remember the female strategist who was once with Third Brother's faction?"
Shen Yue was startled. "Chen Yunxi?"
Changqin Wuming nodded emphatically. "Wu Xuan told me a couple of days ago. That woman disguised herself as a mortal strategist to cultivate her state of mind. She wants to perfect it and achieve Foundation Establishment."
His face darkened as he spoke.
Back in the mortal kingdom, Changqin Wuming had ascended the throne in a single move and reigned supreme. He had captured the people serving the other princes—including Chen Yunxi—and even given her to Shen Yue to wash his feet and wipe his shoes.
If she held a grudge, then they...
"My grand undertaking has fallen apart halfway through! General Shen, remember: this feud is irreconcilable!"
With that, he cautiously left the house, glanced at the sky to make sure no one was there, then bolted.
"Walking on eggshells like this is truly suffocating!" Shen Yue thought, irritated.
He had now entered Qi Absorption and mastered divine sense. Combined with his original cultivation at the third level of Qi Refining, he could probably take on ordinary cultivators in the middle stage.
But Chen Yunxi was a prodigy of the Sword Sect with profound cultivation. Even if he used every method at his disposal, he probably couldn't do anything to her.
Fortunately, she seemed busy with Foundation Establishment and had no time to concern herself with anything else.
That was both good and bad.
Once Chen Yunxi achieved Foundation Establishment, she might casually wipe out a general like him, who had once thrown his weight around.
"I'll have to go to Ancient Wei again!"
He had gathered [Star Flow Sand] and [Fire Flowing Sand] lately, especially the latter. He had no idea how many spirit stones it would fetch.
Only with spirit stones could he turn them into combat strength.
"But Ancient Wei is strange. The trip may take some time, so I'll need to make proper arrangements."
For some reason, the Chen Clan had recently begun producing far more spirit artifacts. Chen Qiaoqian inspected the grounds every other day. If she caught him, he'd be in trouble.
Two days later, Shen Yue finished sorting the scrap for the next two months ahead of schedule and prepared to travel to Ancient Wei. But Changqin Wuming brought him some news.
"Pearl gathering in the Outer Lake?"
Shen Yue's eyes lit up. He thought of a safer plan.
Refining Lake stretched across thousands of acres and was divided into the Inner and Outer Lakes. The Outer Lake flowed directly into the rivers and sea, making it quite dangerous, but it was also richer in resources, including Five-Colored Shell Pearls used in artifact crafting.
"General Shen, keep a low profile for the next few days. Once I return in triumph, I'll help you buy a Breakthrough Pill so you can reach the middle stage."
Everyone said the Outer Lake was dangerous, but Changqin Wuming had already reached the fifth level of Qi Refining. Why would he be afraid?
Shen Yue told Changqin Wuming to be careful, then went straight to Chen Qiaoqian.
"You want to gather pearls?" Chen Qiaoqian asked, surprised. "Do you know how dangerous the Outer Lake is? You could lose your life at any moment."
Of the more than a thousand island guards on Refining Lake, Shen Yue was the first at the early stage of Qi Refining to ask to gather pearls.
"I know. But we cultivators are born between heaven and earth, blessed with the essence of the sun and moon and tempered by wind and rain. Since we've stepped onto the path of cultivation, we must have a fearless heart."
In plain terms, the pearl-gathering assignment was in the Outer Lake, making it the perfect excuse for him to travel to Ancient Wei.
Chen Qiaoqian's expression shifted.
Back then, everyone had thought she would never get into the Jade Void Sword Sect. But she had made it in anyway.
Resources had to be fought for. Even the title of prodigy had to be won through struggle.
But this man's cultivation was too weak.
"You can go, but..." She waved a hand. A pale blue orb shot toward him. "First, take one hit from my pearl."
Before you continue