Qi Refiners

Early the next morning, when Lu Chuan awoke, Shen Gongbao, who had been meditating nearby, was already gone.

Lu Chuan jolted upright, his groggy mind snapping to clarity in an instant. He scrambled to his feet and dashed out of the temple, but there was no sign of Shen Gongbao anywhere.

"Master? Master, where have you gone? At least give your disciple a shout!"

Lu Chuan circled the dilapidated temple, but after failing to spot anyone, he grew anxious and began to call out loudly.

From the moment he snuck out to sabotage Jiang Ziya's wedding night, to meeting Shen Gongbao, becoming his disciple, encountering demons, and receiving the teachings—this entire chain of events had unfolded in the span of a single night. This one night had been more thrilling and intense than some people's entire decades.

Of course, he had also discovered that this master of his, aside from having a somewhat eccentric temper and acting in ways that were hard to fathom, was not as villainous as the legends claimed; in fact, he was quite easy to talk to.

In this short time, Lu Chuan decided to cast aside his "colored glasses" and let go of his prejudices toward Shen Gongbao.

"Master? Master, Mas..." Lu Chuan walked away from the ruined temple, searching as he went.

Only now, with the coming of day, could he see that there was indeed a small lake not far from the temple.

However, the lake had shrunk by two-thirds, exposing a cracked and parched lakebed.

Even more horrifying was the sight of human skeletons scattered across the lakebed, picked clean of every scrap of flesh and bone-white in the morning light.

There had to be at least a hundred, perhaps nearly two hundred of them. They lay close together, a dense, snow-white expanse that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Lu Chuan's scalp tingled, and his heart hammered against his ribs.

These were all people, just like that, devoured.

Although he had mentally prepared himself to accept this world, seeing such savage cruelty for the first time left him feeling conflicted and deeply unsettled.

And terrified.

It seemed that last night, he had come perilously close to becoming one of them, joining these skeletons in their eternal rest.

At this thought, Lu Chuan clenched his fists tightly.

Now that he had obtained the method of cultivation, he had finally taken hold of his own future.

In this life, he, Lu Chuan, would never become food for anyone.

Never!

Shen Gongbao stood not far away, his right hand forming a seal, his eyes slightly closed as he chanted toward the lake.

Seeing the skeletons, Lu Chuan felt a sudden, chilling gloom settle over the area.

Although it was daytime, the sun had yet to rise, and a thin, wispy mist drifted through the air.

"Ah... achoo! Master, what are you doing?"

Lu Chuan rubbed his arms as he walked over, muttering, "The baleful qi is a bit heavy here. Let's get out of here!"

"Step back. This Seat is using the Primordial Soul-Crossing Sutra to dispel the resentment here," Shen Gongbao said, opening his eyes. "You have no cultivation; this is no place for you to linger. Go wait over there."

"Oh!"

Lu Chuan cast a wary glance at the pale mist surrounding them and hurriedly obeyed, moving to the side.

However, the moment he turned, the white mist began to trail behind him.

Lu Chuan walked a few paces, then suddenly sensed something. He stopped, his expression shifting, and the mist behind him halted as well.

"Why are you following me?"

Lu Chuan pondered for a moment, his eyes darting around. Suddenly, he spun around with a fierce expression, raising his palm high. "Do you believe that I, your humble disciple, will use the Five Thunders Method to scatter your souls into nothingness?"

Whoosh!

As the words left his lips, the mist dissipated completely, and the chilling, eerie sensation that had made his hair stand on end vanished instantly.

"Damn it..."

Lu Chuan froze, then took to his heels and ran. "Something is definitely wrong with this place."

The mist seemed to want to pursue him, but Lu Chuan quickly scrambled off the lakebed and reached the shore. Seeing that they couldn't catch him, the mists gave up.

Once Lu Chuan reached the bank, he saw the mist retreat back into the lake. He couldn't help but mutter, "Ghost Mist... Master, lend me your Divine Tiger."

Shen Gongbao didn't turn his head. "What for?"

"To bolster my courage!" Lu Chuan patted his chest. "That scared the life out of me. I heard that tigers have a strong baleful qi, and ghosts are afraid of tigers."

Shen Gongbao: "..."

About a quarter of an hour later.

Shen Gongbao suddenly opened his eyes, golden light flashing within them. His body began to glow, and he shouted, "The demons have been purged! You wronged souls are no longer enslaved or driven by monsters. Why do you not depart for the Netherworld now? Go!"

With that, he finished.

The thin mist suddenly began to churn and thicken, from which emerged several men clad in white robes, who kowtowed and said, "Many thanks to the Immortal Master for your great kindness."

Having said this, they transformed into a gust of cold wind and vanished.

Shen Gongbao nodded, then suddenly raised his sleeve and swept it toward the lakebed, causing all the white bones scattered upon it to float up and drift, one by one, into the small temple where they had taken shelter the previous night.

"You monster, you committed evil and harmed people during your life; now, let your temple serve as a resting place for them, which shall be considered a slight atonement for your sins," Shen Gongbao said with a nod.

As his voice fell, a thunderous "BOOM" echoed out, and the dilapidated temple immediately collapsed, forming a large burial mound.

Shen Gongbao sighed, turned, and stepped off the lakebed, only to see Lu Chuan staring at him with a strange expression.

"Is there... a flower on your master's face?"

Shen Gongbao touched his face in surprise and asked, "Why are you looking at your master like that?"

"Master, I have to say, I am looking at you in a new light, truly," Lu Chuan said.

"Why?"

"Uh... Master, if you lend me your Divine Tiger, I will tell you," Lu Chuan said with a mysterious smile.

"You brat, still coveting your master's Divine Tiger..."

Shen Gongbao could not help but laugh, but suddenly, he glanced toward the east and urged, "Right, sit down immediately, focus your mind, and contemplate the cultivation method..."

Although he did not know why Shen Gongbao was in such a hurry, Lu Chuan naturally complied with his instructions.

Lu Chuan hurriedly sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused his mind...

Soon, a glowing passage of the Five Elements True Origin Formula appeared in his mind.

The words were obscure and difficult to read, filled with profound and mysterious meanings.

Lu Chuan tried three times in his mind before he could fluently recite the entire passage to himself.

After reciting it just once, Lu Chuan felt refreshed and his spirit greatly invigorated; he was overjoyed, knowing he had obtained a treasure.

"We cultivators are also known as Qi Refiners; we dine on clouds and eat qi every day, gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and absorbing the essence of the sun and moon to attain longevity."

Shen Gongbao continued, "The first hurdle in entering the path of cultivation is to develop a sense of qi, turning the void into reality, and generating the first wisp of qi within your body..."

Qi Refiners?

Lu Chuan's heart stirred; he had thought it would be like the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stages from novels!

However, it seemed that in the Investiture of the Gods, they were indeed called Qi Refiners, and the dialogue that frequently appeared was:

Jiang Ziya: "Fellow Daoist, at which immortal mountain or cave dwelling do you cultivate?"

Then those experts would cooperate by announcing their origins: "I am a Qi Refiner from such-and-such mountain, such-and-such cave..."

Among them, the ones who left the deepest impression on Lu Chuan were several Qi Refiners from some place called Nine Dragon Island, known as the "Four Sages of Nine Dragon Island."

Of course, in the end, it was inevitable: they arrived with great fanfare, only to die in a pathetic manner!

As Shen Gongbao explained from the side, Lu Chuan sat facing the east according to the method, performing his breathing and respiration.

Soon, his breathing rhythm became different from that of an ordinary person, entering a special cadence.