Rapid Progress

After seeing Bi Qiong off, Xu Yuan sat down on the floor. The moonlight outside the window remained unchanged, but most of his earlier excitement had drained away.

It was as though someone had poured a basin of cold water over him, chilling him to the bone.

If what Bi Qiong said was true, then his desperate cultivation now was actually accelerating his own death?

And if he wanted to avoid such an outcome, the only way seemed to be to avoid the mine overseer's notice before drawing attention, find a quiet place with no one around, and ascend to the heavens in a single step—successfully refine Qi.

To achieve that, Jade Marrow Crystals could indeed play the greatest role. Aside from being the main ingredient in gathering-Qi pills consumed by Qi refiners, directly consuming this mineral could also increase the spiritual resonance within one's body.

As Xu Yuan weighed every possibility in his mind, his greatest concern remained whether Bi Qiong could be trusted. Since that was the case, he only needed to make her trust him.

Casually opening the Little Blue Mountain Essence-to-Qi Art beside him, Xu Yuan thought that by tomorrow night, he would be able to enter the gate; three days later, he ought to have refined spiritual Qi.

At a moment like this, whoever was stronger would be the one to seize the initiative!

The next day, Xu Yuan went mining as usual. With a sense of urgency in his heart, he did not even bother putting on an act this time and directly mined enough ore for twelve men.

The overseer looked at him in amazement, his eyes brimming with appreciation for such an ox and horse.

As the saying went, with talent like you around, why would I worry about failing to meet this quarter's targets?

After exchanging all the black iron ore for jerky, Xu Yuan returned home and used gold to add attributes to it.

Then, he resumed cultivating the Little Blue Mountain Essence-to-Qi Art.

The remaining movements and visualization diagrams were undoubtedly more difficult than the earlier ones, but Innate Martial Bones truly gave Xu Yuan more than enough of a boost in comprehension in this regard.

About two and a half hours later, Xu Yuan's movements suddenly stopped. His whole body abruptly drew in, and he became like an old monk entering meditation.

The final movement of the Little Blue Mountain Essence-to-Qi Art: Embracing the Green Pine.

Sweat still covered Xu Yuan's forehead. His loose hair veiled his eyes, while his robe clung tightly to his body, making him appear rather disheveled.

Yet Xu Yuan seemed utterly unaware of it. His mind had already settled into calmness. After thirty-five movements, the blood and Qi throughout his body had boiled, only to subside with his stillness now, receding like an ocean tide.

Between such ultimate motion and ultimate stillness, Xu Yuan seemed to have touched upon something profoundly mysterious. Drawn by that vital spark, a wisp of blood and Qi within the sea of blood in his flesh suddenly seemed to answer some summons. It actually separated from his blood vessels and headed straight toward his chest.

During this process, that strand of blood and Qi grew lighter and fainter. By the time it reached his chest, only thin wisps remained.

Yet those wisps alone were enough. The instant they were born, Xu Yuan suddenly felt his body lighten. Relying on the strand of spiritual Qi in his chest, he felt as though he had formed some connection with the vast, boundless heavens and earth.

His ears became clear, his eyes bright—but that was not all. Xu Yuan felt that with the birth of that first wisp of Qi, his mind, too, seemed to be growing clearer. Many things he had long forgotten now surfaced one after another.

"Eh? I heard those immortal slaves who had spiritual Qi arise in their chests say before that spiritual Qi merely nourished the body and had no other wondrous uses. Why does it feel different for me?"

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment before understanding dawned on him. The other immortal slaves in the mine had their spiritual Qi force-fed into them through pills; they had not refined it themselves. On top of that, without cultivation methods to guide them and without the body of a Qi refiner, they naturally could not control it. Naturally, they would be missing many of spiritual Qi's wondrous uses.

He had also often heard that after some people reduced their medicine intake, the spiritual Qi they had nurtured would gradually thin until it vanished into nothing.

"Sure enough, external things can only serve as support. On the great path of immortality, I still have to rely on myself."

Rising to his feet, Xu Yuan did not try to refine another strand of spiritual Qi. Instead, he studied the two methods for facing enemies recorded in the Little Blue Mountain Essence-to-Qi Art.

The first was the Wooden Man Stake, which could be cultivated after mastering the Little Blue Mountain Essence-to-Qi Art.

Though this method was called the Wooden Man Stake, it did not truly require one to practice some sort of stance. Instead, it required one to visualize oneself standing like a piece of wood, thereby avoiding disturbances from the outside world.

Thus, aside from being used against enemies, this technique was actually of immense benefit to cultivation as well.

When cultivators trained, they would inevitably encounter disturbances from outer demons. With this technique, one could keep one's mind at peace.

And for Xu Yuan as he was now, if Bi Qiong had lied to him, he would have a way to deal with her charm talismans.

The other method was the Heart-Intent Fist.

It took the essence of all twenty-three movements in the complete set and combined them into an incomparably fierce and powerful punch. When throwing the punch, one who cultivated this method could also visualize in their heart the thing that charged forward with the greatest resolve.

Use intent to strengthen the fist; let intent shatter all things, and the fist would shatter all things.

"Choosing this method before really was the best decision I ever made."

Muttering inwardly, Xu Yuan began training these two combat methods anew beneath the moonlight.

The powerful body granted by Innate Martial Bones now displayed another benefit. His body's ability to withstand strain was simply far greater than that of others who had yet to step onto the immortal path.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

At dawn, Xu Yuan woke from his bed. He had only slept for three hours the night before, yet aside from a slight mental fatigue, his body had nearly fully recovered.

"Compared with that so-called endurance and distance, aren't Innate Martial Bones the true sacred body of an ox and horse?"

With a laugh, Xu Yuan pushed open his door and stepped outside. His neighbor Wang Quan greeted him, then supported himself against the wall as he headed toward the mine tunnel.

Xu Yuan shook his head slightly. Judging by the man's self-abandoning state, he probably would not need to wait until old age to be culled. In another year or so, he would cull himself.

But Xu Yuan could barely protect himself at the moment, so he had little mind to spare for persuading the other man. Besides, according to Bi Qiong, if he did not have this attribute system, then in these sunless mine tunnels, living like Wang Quan—enjoying each day as it came—might actually be the better way.

But there was no if. Since he had been given such an opportunity, he had to seize it tightly. Climbing out of this mine tunnel would only be the beginning.

Following the address Bi Qiong had left before departing, Xu Yuan searched his way there, arriving at a secluded corner of the residential district.

He came before a house with a red lantern hanging by its door, then stepped forward and knocked.

"I'm Xu Yuan."

The moment he finished speaking, the doors flew open with a bang. Then Bi Qiong came rushing out, her face alight with excitement.

"Boss Xu, I knew you'd come."

That doesn't look like someone who knew all along. Xu Yuan muttered inwardly, then nodded. "Are we heading down into the mine now?"

"Wait for me to prepare a few things." With that, Bi Qiong turned and ran back inside. A moment later, she came out carrying a lotus-leaf pouch.

"Let's make this clear beforehand. You'll be doing most of the work, so you get two shares of the Jade Marrow Crystals, and I get one."

Xu Yuan: "?"

"What about the other seventy percent?"

"Seventy percent?" Bi Qiong patted the pouch in her hand. "That seventy percent belongs to someone else."