Visualization Method Mastery, Grand Lecture...

If he took Meditation Fluid and Soul Dispersing Pills.

At minimum, his soul could spill over an amount equivalent to ten Soul Particles a day, but Qi Refining cultivation was hindered by spiritual energy. Condensing a single Soul Particle took roughly two and a half hours.

Even if Zhu Yu went without sleep or rest, he could condense at most five Soul Particles a day—but that was clearly impossible.

Whether it was transforming his body or cultivating the Fierce Tiger Corpse Seed, both required time. And to enter the Demon Cave and Insect Nest half a year from now, he needed to prepare enough protective treasures.

Treasures required Spirit Stones to purchase. In other words, aside from cultivation, he also had to spend time earning Spirit Stones...

"Hiss... There simply isn't enough time..."

Zhu Yu took a deep breath and sighed inwardly. "No wonder there are so many people setting up stalls at the Market..."

Suppressing the stray thoughts in his mind, he stirred his thoughts slightly, and a piece of information surfaced.

["Basic Visualization Diagram" Minor Mastery → Mastery, analysis progress "78%", estimated analysis time "ten days".]

"Ten days... I hope this can shorten the time needed to condense Soul Particles..."

Zhu Yu shook his head slightly, dismissed the panel, closed his eyes, and entered a concentrated state, immersing himself in meditation.

Time flowed like water, and ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Zhu Yu occasionally checked on the Fierce Tiger Corpse Seed and prepared food to cultivate Little Black. The rest of the time, he never stepped beyond his door, focusing wholeheartedly on secluded cultivation in his wooden cabin.

The results were quite gratifying.

Not only had he condensed thirty Soul Particles, but under the contamination of the Corpse Control Art Dharma Seed he was nurturing, his Spiritual Power had gained a trace of cold, sinister chill. Its increase in power was not great, but it allowed him to sense the Corpse Qi drifting through the air.

Besides that.

A few days ago, after Little Black ate the cultivated food, it had actually drawn spiritual energy into its body and fallen into slumber. Its body grew larger by the day.

From this, it could be seen.

The mustached stall owner truly had not deceived him. The Insect Mother from which Little Black originated had indeed been killed.

Then there was the spiritual plant, Corpse Taro. As expected of something universally praised for being easy to care for, it grew lush and flourishing. He had once pulled one up to inspect it, and its roots had already begun to spread.

Just as he had expected, the Corpse Taro had attracted quite a few insects. Perhaps they were ill-suited to the Corpse Field environment, but the Corpse Taro's branches and leaves had not been gnawed on. Instead, many insect corpses had appeared in the Corpse Field, serving as nourishment.

This day.

While Zhu Yu was resting and studying the spell structure of the Demon-Rearing Record, his heart suddenly jolted. When he came back to himself, a vast quantity of cultivation memories regarding the Basic Visualization Method surged forth from the depths of his mind out of nowhere.

Within those memories.

Day after day, he conducted tedious meditations. While condensing Soul Particles, he continuously fine-tuned the methods for drawing the Three-Ring Pattern. There were successes and failures along the way, but with each attempt, drawing the Three-Ring Pattern became simpler and more efficient.

The time required also grew shorter each time.

Following an indistinct insight, Zhu Yu quickly sank into meditation.

Within his consciousness space, his intent transformed into a brush tip. With a single stroke, he naturally outlined the inner ring. Wood and Earth Spiritual Energy arrived as promised, and he did not stop them.

The instant the Wood and Earth Spiritual Energy settled in, he instinctively raised the brush tip and drew another inner ring. At once, the Wood and Earth Spiritual Energy began to churn, spiritual light surging as they tried to break free from their confinement.

Zhu Yu did not pause in the slightest. His Divine Sense forcibly suppressed them, and then another stroke fell. As though he had shattered some kind of shackle, his Divine Sense followed a strange rhythm and became more condensed in an instant.

Under its suppression, the Wood and Earth Spiritual Energy could no longer stir up even the slightest wave and took shape in the blink of an eye.

The next instant.

A luminous glow bloomed. Soul power converged in a rushing tide, and the Three-Ring Pattern directly manifested within his Divine Sea. The Wood and Earth Spiritual Energy dwelling within no longer required suppression by Divine Sense, obediently submitting...

A moment later.

When it transformed into pale golden points of light and vanished into the boundless Divine Sea.

["Basic Visualization Diagram" Minor Mastery → Mastery "1/10000", derived trait: Gathering Spirit, allows one to easily enter deep meditation and enhances the condensation of Divine Sense.]

"Gathering Spirit..."

Delight filled Zhu Yu's eyes.

Recalling that strange rhythm, the instant his Divine Sense aligned with it, it was as if water had frozen into ice. The Wood and Earth Spiritual Energy, which he had barely managed to suppress before, had become meek as lambs under its influence.

Most importantly.

With the Basic Meditation Method at Mastery, condensing a Soul Particle now took only half an hour.

This meant that from now on, he could cultivate at full force with pills, and it would take up less than half of his day.

At a rate of ten Soul Particles per day, he could absolutely break through to Late Qi Refining before entering the Demon Cave and Insect Nest.

At that time, even without protective treasures, with his Late Qi Refining cultivation, the danger would not be great so long as he did not venture too deeply into the Demon Cave or Insect Nest.

"Phew..."

Zhu Yu finally set his mind completely at ease. Just as he was about to consume the Meditation Fluid with only a thin layer remaining, a call came from outside.

"Is Junior Brother Zhu home?"

"Hmm?"

The voice sounded familiar to Zhu Yu. After thinking for a moment, a smile appeared on his face. He rose from the bed and walked toward the stairs.

After leaving the main hall.

Two people stood not far away.

One wore the same black robe as him. He was fat and tall, his round face gleaming with a waxy sheen.

The other wore a green Daoist robe embroidered with a White Crane Carrying Pill across the chest. He was a handsome youth with a face like polished jade.

"Senior Brother Xiang? Senior Brother Liang?"

Seeing the two, Zhu Yu froze. Then he looked at them as though he had seen ghosts, especially Xiang Sui.

Where was the slovenly figure from before? Perhaps extremes reversed themselves? Not only had that lecherous air vanished, but he now possessed a somewhat graceful, jade-like elegance.

At a glance, he gave people the feeling that this man would surely be extraordinary in the future.

Coming back to himself, Zhu Yu hurried forward and extended a hand in invitation. "You two..."

Before he could finish, he sensed two auras far stronger than his own—one warm as water, the other filled with fierce hostility.

"Senior Brothers, you broke through?"

Zhu Yu looked at them in shock. Based on what they had said before, did that not mean one of them was now at Late Qi Refining, while the other was at Middle Qi Refining?

Seeing his astonishment, Xiang Sui and Liang Kuan exchanged a glance. Smug smiles appeared on both their faces as they answered in unison:

"I broke through the day before yesterday/yesterday..."

Previously, although they had relied on having condensed more Soul Particles than Zhu Yu and believed they would definitely surpass him once they broke through, when they truly saw him enter Qi Refining, both could not help feeling somewhat anxious.

They had conveniently used that as an excuse to suspend their lessons and focus solely on cultivation.

Having listened in on who knew how many classes, Xiang Sui's Visualization Method was not far from Minor Mastery, while Liang Kuan had already reached proficiency. That was also one reason they had broken through Qi Refining so quickly.

Looking at the two smug faces, Zhu Yu was rendered speechless.

No, you two broke through and instead of staying home to adapt to your cultivation, you came here just to show off?

Zhu Yu said irritably, "Congratulations, Senior Brothers. Don't just stand outside. Come in and talk..."

With that, he turned and walked away.

"Hahaha..."

Xiang Sui and Liang Kuan both burst into laughter. As they followed him into the courtyard, they asked, "Why did Junior Brother choose such a gloomy Underworld Grounds to cultivate in?"

"Of course, to prepare for refining corpse puppets..."

Zhu Yu suddenly turned around, his gaze dark and sinister as he sized them up.

Immediately.

The smiles on Xiang Sui and Liang Kuan's faces stiffened.

They knew perfectly well what the Underworld Grounds were used to cultivate, and when it came to refining corpse puppets, what material could compare to a cultivator's body?

"Ha..."

This time, Zhu Yu laughed. After frightening the two of them a little, he entered the living room, fetched a teapot and cups, poured each of them a cup, then said apologetically:

"These past few days, Junior Brother has been busy cultivating and forgot to prepare congratulatory gifts..."

"Ah, I thought it was something serious!"

Xiang Sui waved a hand indifferently. Pointing at the crane and pill embroidered on his robes, he said proudly, "I'm an alchemist. Do you think I'm lacking for such trifles from you?"

"I saw that you planted quite a lot of Corpse Taro in your Corpse Field. When it ripens, remember to spare me some." Liang Kuan grinned.

"No problem. Take as much as you want."

Zhu Yu readily agreed, then looked toward Xiang Sui and hesitated. "Then this Grand Lecture... are we holding it or not?"