Foundation Establishment Fairy, Just a Shoe-Shining Maid

Shen Yue nodded. "I'll leave it to you, Brother Zhou."

Relying solely on self-cultivation to reach the perfection of the sixth meridian was far too slow, but it could be accelerated by consuming body-refining spiritual medicines.

However, body-refining medicines in the marketplace were scarce, and their quality and prices were inconsistent.

Zhou Chongwen had spent over a decade in the marketplace; he was experienced, knew the ropes, and could procure relatively decent goods.

"Blood Refining Pill?" Changqin Wuming was startled. "General Shen, what are you doing? Do you have so many spirit stones you don't know where to spend them?"

"Indeed, General Shen. While you were a martial arts grandmaster in the mortal realm and possess a certain foundation, the path of body refining is treacherous. It only gets harder the further you go," Zhou Chongwen advised.

"In my opinion, General Shen should spend spirit stones where they count, such as purchasing Essence Condensing Pills or similar elixirs to boost cultivation."

"I simply wish to have more means of self-protection. I hope you can help me, Brother Zhou." Shen Yue offered no further explanation.

Zhou Chongwen shook his head inwardly.

Young people never listen to advice. Back in his day, as the emperor of a mortal kingdom, he too had reached the grandmaster realm, the pinnacle of mortal martial arts.

After arriving here, he had also wanted to enter the Dao through martial arts and pursue the path of body refining.

In the end, he had barely reached the second stage of body refining, wasting both spirit stones and time.

But some things cannot be taught; one must experience them personally and hit a brick wall before they will turn back.

"A bottle of Blood Refining Pills in the marketplace contains five pills and costs one spirit stone. I cannot change the price, but I can get you a slightly larger quantity."

"I appreciate the trouble, Brother Zhou."

Zhou Chongwen was highly efficient, delivering six Blood Refining Pills that very afternoon.

Once Shen Yue finished his daily recycling tasks, he set about consuming the pills for cultivation.

The Star Sand Return-to-Store Technique did not deceive; the body-refining pills were indeed helpful for the cultivation of the final meridian.

The power of his blood and qi surged through his body, and his Ancestral Aperture Meridian slowly expanded.

"As long as the supply of Blood Refining Pills doesn't run dry, at this rate, I should reach perfection in all six meridians in about a month..."

One month later, at dawn, Shen Yue was recycling waste materials when his blood and qi suddenly boiled, and his Ancestral Aperture Meridian began to throb.

"Your Majesty, I must go into seclusion for two days."

He hurriedly sent a voice transmission to Changqin Wuming and then focused his mind to push through the bottleneck.

Within his body, six streams of blood and qi, like crimson dragons, circulated through the six meridians, while the Ancestral Aperture Meridian continued to expand and clarify.

At a certain moment, the six crimson dragons merged and returned to the Ancestral Aperture.

"Success!"

But Shen Yue did not stop; he swallowed a dose of Fire Flowing Sand, preparing to strike while the iron was hot and step into the Breath-Consuming stage.

Outside the room.

Changqin Wuming and Zhou Chongwen sat opposite each other. He had come to act as a guardian for Shen Yue, and to prevent any accidents, he had called Zhou Chongwen over as well.

"Has General Shen reached the perfection of the third layer of Qi Refining?" Zhou Chongwen looked toward the room, his expression puzzled. "Why the sudden seclusion?"

Changqin Wuming shook his head. "He should have reached it by now."

He had been busy recycling waste qi during this period and had not visited Shen Yue often.

"The spiritual energy fluctuations are faint. General Shen is rushing this breakthrough; I fear it will be detrimental."

Changqin Wuming sighed, thinking to himself that his own cultivation speed must have pressured Shen Yue, causing him to rush the breakthrough.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Shen Yue stepped out.

"Still at the third layer of perfection... he failed, as expected." Zhou Chongwen shook his head silently.

The path of cultivation is filled with barriers at every step; rushing a breakthrough only damages one's foundation and harms the state of mind.

Changqin Wuming felt a pang of regret.

I have been selfish. How could I focus on my own advancement while neglecting General Shen? I have failed the old General Shen.

He stepped forward quickly, preparing words of comfort for Shen Yue.

But before he could get close, his heart skipped a beat.

Just a moment ago, he felt as if something had peered into him, from his head down to his very core.

It wasn't just him; even Zhou Chongwen had experienced a similar sensation.

"Divine sense?"

Although Zhou Chongwen was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining and had not yet condensed his divine sense, he had encountered a fortuitous opportunity that gave him perception far beyond his peers, comparable to the late stage of Qi Refining.

He could feel that the probing from just now was indeed a sweep of divine sense.

Yet, looking around, he found no one else.

There were only the three of them here; excluding himself, it couldn't possibly be Changqin Wuming or Shen Yue, could it?

Zhou Chongwen gave a self-deprecating laugh, wondering how he had regressed so much as he aged.

Divine sense was not something a cultivator in the early or middle stages of Qi Refining could possess; even within the Chen Clan, he had never heard of anyone capable of such a feat.

Shen Yue observed the changes in their expressions, feeling a surge of joy in his heart.

With his six meridians perfected and having consumed the [Fire Flowing Sand], he had successfully stepped into the Breath-Ingestion stage and birthed divine sense.

"Rashly breaking through is a great taboo. General Shen, you were far too reckless this time."

Changqin Wuming, ignoring the source of the prying gaze, looked Shen Yue up and down. Only after seeing he was uninjured did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"General Shen, you must understand one thing: your body does not belong to you alone; it belongs to the entire world!"

"If something were to happen to you, who would share the burden of This Seat's grand ambition?"

At this moment, Zhou Chongwen's eyes lit up as he asked, "General Shen, you were not attempting to break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining, but were instead tempering your body?"

He could sense the dense, thick power of blood and qi emanating from Shen Yue.

Shen Yue nodded.

"Second level of Body Tempering?" Zhou Chongwen's face revealed his astonishment. He had once possessed such blood and qi himself and knew just how difficult the second level was to achieve.

"You actually succeeded?" Changqin Wuming's brows shot up. "Haha, This Seat's grand ambition has taken another step forward..."

"Quiet!" Shen Yue's expression suddenly shifted as he looked toward the sky.

Above Refining Lake, a gaze that looked down upon them like ants swept across their bodies.

Fortunately, that gaze was fleeting and did not linger.

The three of them each circulated their cultivation techniques, and it took a long while before they could shake off that invisible pressure.

"Chen Yunxi!" Changqin Wuming's eyes turned bloodshot as he glared viciously at the firmament.

The streak of light that had just flown past was none other than Chen Yunxi, the prodigy of the Chen Clan who had single-handedly suppressed them back in the mortal kingdom.

"That woman's status is noble. I heard she has been cultivating in the Jade Void Sword Sect. I know not why she has come to Refining Lake... Gentlemen, I shall take my leave."

Zhou Chongwen felt a vague sense of foreboding and bowed to bid them farewell.

Seeing that Zhou Chongwen had gone far away, Changqin Wuming closed the door with a gloomy expression and whispered:

"General Shen, do you remember the female strategist who served under the Third Prince?"

Shen Yue was startled: "Chen Yunxi?"

Changqin Wuming nodded heavily: "Wu Xuan told me two days ago that this woman disguised herself as a mortal strategist to cultivate her state of mind, aiming for perfection before Foundation Establishment."

At this, his face turned black.

Back in the mortal kingdom, Changqin Wuming had been one step away from the throne and was at the height of his power. He had captured the subordinates of other princes, including Chen Yunxi, whom he had even gifted to Shen Yue to wash his feet and wipe his shoes.

If this woman held a grudge, then they...

"This Seat's grand ambition has collapsed halfway through its inception. General Shen, remember well: this enmity is irreconcilable!"

Having said this, he cautiously stepped out of the room, glanced at the sky to confirm no one was there, and scurried away.

"Walking on thin ice—truly stifling!" Shen Yue felt a sense of irritation.

He had now entered the Breath-Ingestion stage and mastered divine sense; combined with his original third-level Qi Refining cultivation, he might not be a match for an average middle-stage cultivator.

However, Chen Yunxi was a prodigy of the Sword Sect with profound cultivation; even if he exhausted all his means, he likely could not do anything to her.

Fortunately, the woman seemed busy with her Foundation Establishment and had no time to concern herself with other matters.

This was both a blessing and a curse.

If he truly waited for Chen Yunxi to reach Foundation Establishment, a general who had once acted so arrogantly like him would likely be wiped out with a mere flick of her finger.

"I must make another trip to Ancient Wei!"

He had collected [Star Flow Sand] and [Fire Flowing Sand] during this period; he had no idea how many spirit stones the latter could fetch.

Only with spirit stones could he convert them into combat power.

"However, Ancient Wei is treacherous. This trip might take some time, so I must arrange things properly."

For some reason, the number of artifacts being refined by the Chen Clan had surged recently, and Chen Qiaoqian patrolled every two days; it would be troublesome if he were caught.

Two days later, Shen Yue finished sorting the waste materials for the next two months ahead of schedule and prepared to travel to Ancient Wei, but Changqin Wuming brought him some news.

"Gathering pearls in the outer lake?"

Shen Yue's eyes lit up, and he thought of a more secure plan.

Refining Lake spanned ten thousand acres and was divided into an inner and outer lake. The outer lake connected directly to the rivers and seas and was quite dangerous, but its resources were far richer, including the Five-Colored Shell Pearls used for artifact refining.

"General Shen, keep a low profile these next few days. When This Seat returns in triumph, I will help you buy a Foundation-Breaking Pill to assist you in breaking through to the middle stage."

Everyone said the outer lake was dangerous, but Changqin Wuming now had the cultivation of the fifth level of Qi Refining; how could he be afraid?

Shen Yue told Changqin Wuming to be careful and then took the initiative to seek out Chen Qiaoqian.

"You want to go pearl-gathering?" Chen Qiaoqian was somewhat surprised. "Do you not know that the outer lake is dangerous and you could lose your life at any moment?"

Among the thousand island guards at Refining Lake, Shen Yue was the first early-stage Qi Refinement cultivator to volunteer for pearl harvesting.

"I know, but we cultivators are born between heaven and earth, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon and tempered by wind and rain. Since we have stepped onto the path of cultivation, we must possess a fearless heart."

In plain terms, the pearl harvesting mission was located in the outer lake, making it the perfect opportunity for him to head toward Ancient Wei.

Chen Qiaoqian's expression shifted.

Back then, everyone believed she wouldn't be able to enter the Jade Void Sword Sect, yet she had succeeded.

Resources are seized through struggle, and the title of a so-called prodigy is earned through bloodshed.

However, this man's cultivation was far too weak.

"You may go, but," she flicked her hand, and a pale blue orb whistled through the air, "take this strike first."