Qi Refining Level Three

Another Qingming came around, rain falling, the cries of insects distant.

At that moment, in the back mountains of Medicine Peak, fine rain fell in endless threads. Amid the towering mountains and steep ridges, it seemed like Jiangnan wreathed in mist and rain.

On a meadow not far away, Li Jun wore a rain hat and a straw rain cape, sitting cross-legged on a rock with a solemn expression.

At a certain moment, he pointed a finger, and the gourd behind him opened directly.

Lustrous white cow's milk drifted out from within, then was completely drunk down by him.

The spirit cows grazing at the side all raised their heads. After glancing over, they lowered their heads and went back to eating grass, as if they were already used to the sight.

Only when the sky gradually darkened did a powerful current of spiritual energy scatter the rainwater on his straw cape.

Li Jun abruptly opened his eyes, a bright gleam flashing through them before vanishing.

"I finally reached the third layer of Qi Refining! My month of bitter cultivation wasn't in vain!"

Feeling the surging spiritual energy inside his body, that solid sense of power made him feel at ease.

"As expected, only strength can give me a sense of security. Everything else is duckweed without roots."

Li Jun moved his body a little, then immediately took a step forward and began practicing "Shadow Step" recorded in the Basic Spell Collection.

"Shadow Step" was a basic movement spell. Though it was only a first-grade spell, it could still trigger an entry.

During his previous practice, the entry had kept reminding him that the order of his steps was wrong, and during this period he had been constantly correcting it.

In a flash, Li Jun stepped out, leaving behind a series of afterimages, while he himself appeared almost instantly fifty meters away.

The spirit cows' eyes went round and wide, and they even forgot to eat grass.

[Shadow-Folding Wandering Dragon Step: Progress 100%]

"It worked! What an amazing spell!"

Li Jun's face lit up with delight. He kept casting the spell, and if one looked from afar, he resembled a drifting wraith, extremely eerie.

"My speed is even faster than before, and I can also conceal my aura. Essential for saving my life and fleeing!"

For the past month, he had not dared waste a single minute or second.

Although this month had been relatively peaceful, he always had a feeling, a faint sense in his heart that some major event was about to happen.

Because of that, he had cultivated day and night, forgetting food and sleep, until he was almost sick of drinking cow's milk.

Fortunately, he had finally broken through smoothly to the third layer of Qi Refining, and could at last cultivate some minor spells.

"That Zhao Wenjie is at the fifth layer of Qi Refining. I wonder whether my speed can catch up to his."

Li Jun glanced at the sky. It was time to go back.

He waved his whip and drove the spirit cows, now full from eating and drinking, back to the cowshed.

That night, he made another table of good dishes to reward himself.

In the nearly three months since he had come to Medicine Peak, this was his first proper meal.

"The Qi Refining stage has nine layers in total, and every three layers brings a qualitative change. That Zhao Wenjie is at the fifth layer of Qi Refining. If we fought head-on, I definitely couldn't beat him, but if I ran, he might not necessarily be able to catch me."

Li Jun calculated inwardly.

The first three layers of Qi Refining were mainly the accumulation of spiritual energy. Once one reached the third layer of Qi Refining, one could cultivate some basic spells.

From the fourth to sixth layers of Qi Refining, spiritual energy could be released outward to form protective spiritual light, and a cultivator's physical body would be further strengthened.

That Zhao Wenjie was at the fifth layer of Qi Refining. In terms of physical body and spells, Li Jun was definitely no match for him.

But if it came to speed, he felt there was a high chance the other party could not catch up to him.

"Mm? Someone's here?"

Li Jun gave nothing away and continued pretending to eat. After tidying up a little, he put out the lamp.

He went to the corner of the wall, gently pushed open a hole he had dug long ago, and slipped straight out.

Outside the house, the fine rain still fell. Li Jun lay on the ground and cast Shadow-Folding Wandering Dragon Step, using the cover of night to creep over.

"It's that Liu Yan. What is he doing here?"

Li Jun looked outside the cowshed and saw Liu Yan wearing a straw rain cape, peering into the cowshed at something.

After he seemed to confirm something, he turned and disappeared into the night.

Li Jun narrowed his eyes slightly. After waiting a while, he quietly followed.

"Damn it! When will these days ever end?"

Liu Yan spat, then directly ducked into a carriage prepared in advance.

Not far away, Li Jun peered over there, then looked around.

This place was a barren mountain, right next to the Azure Cloud Sect.

"This guy isn't staying in Oak Garden. What did he run here for?"

He crawled forward a little more and watched as Liu Yan drove the carriage to a mountain hollow, surrounded on all sides by towering ancient trees.

If he had not followed them here, then even looking down from the sky, he would never have discovered that there was actually a mountain hollow here.

Clearly, this place had been chosen with the utmost care.

"That Zhao Wenjie really is stubborn enough. So what if Li Jun awakened a spiritual root? A piece of trash with five spiritual roots—he probably won't cultivate to the third level of Qi Refining even by the time he dies of old age. He wasted so much of my time watching him for nothing."

Liu Yan's words were astonishing, and Li Jun had not expected this guy to have been watching him all along.

Fortunately, he had broken through to the third level of Qi Refining, and his own senses had also become sharper.

Otherwise, he really would have been kept in the dark the whole time.

"Forget it. That kid's good days won't last much longer either. Once Senior Sister Yao's divine art reaches great success, Shen Xiyue's lackeys are going to be in for it!"

Liu Yan stopped the carriage, took out a pipe, and began smoking with great relish.

Off to the side, Li Jun remained silent, feeling the pressure in his heart double.

His previous guess had been right. There really was someone behind Zhao Wenjie.

Because of the previous pill-refining matter, the other side had already taken him for one of Shen Xiyue's people.

If the other side wanted to make a move against Shen Xiyue, the first ones to suffer would be outer sect disciples like him.

Before long, a figure walked out from the forest to the side.

The newcomer was not tall, wrapped in a black robe, and when they spoke, it was actually a woman.

"Lord Zhang, this lowly one pays his respects."

Seeing the newcomer, Liu Yan hurriedly jumped down from the carriage and called out respectfully.

"Go back and tell Zhao Wenjie that in half a month, Senior Sister Yao will be forging a magic-tool blank. Have him send over all the oak prepared over these past few years."

"Got it, Lord Zhang. I'll go back and tell Steward Zhao to deliver it on time in half a month."

The black-robed person nodded, then continued asking, "Senior Sister Yao also wanted to ask, is there any news about Shen Xiyue's Purple Foundation Pill? Have you all made inquiries?"

Liu Yan thought for a moment, then said cautiously, "Lord Zhang, ever since Shen Xiyue opened the furnace to refine pills that day, she hasn't appeared again. No one in the sect knows exactly how effective that Purple Foundation Pill is either."

"On the other hand, the fellow who pointed out the furnace temperature that day was specially approved by Shen Xiyue to become an outer sect disciple of Medicine Peak. He's now feeding spiritual oxen on Medicine Peak, and it's already been more than three months."

The black-robed person was silent for a moment, then said, "Senior Sister Yao heard that the Purple Foundation Pill seems to have some use. Think of a way to seize that ox-feeder and ask him about the details of what happened that day."

"Got it! Don't worry, Lord Zhang. We've been keeping watch on that ox-feeder Li Jun all along. Once the oak is delivered to Artifact Peak, we'll tie that guy up."

Liu Yan agreed at once. These days of keeping watch were finally about to be endured to the end.

"Mm. Right now, the competition between the major core disciples is extremely fierce. Move cleanly when you act, and don't let anyone else catch you by the horse's hoof."

"Don't worry, my lord. We have experience with this kind of thing. We'll definitely satisfy Senior Sister Yao!"

In the bushes, Li Jun watched the two people below with a cold expression.

At this moment, he finally knew who the backer behind Zhao Wenjie was.

So it was the chief disciple of Artifact Peak—Yao Yuzhi.

What surprised him even more was that he had actually been targeted by the other side.

And Zhao Wenjie would probably make a move against him two weeks later!