Qi Refinement (Please Follow and Read)

Pill Island, cave dwelling.

Fang Qing sat cross-legged, looking at several brand-new books before him.

One of them was none other than the Water Classic Commentary, containing everything from the first level, "Spirit Guidance into the Body," to Qi Refining Ninth Layer Grand Completion, and even the sections on how to achieve Foundation Establishment.

After borrowing the original, he had first sworn not to spread its contents, then copied it stroke by stroke himself at the Heavenly Books Pavilion.

"They say that after Foundation Establishment, Spiritual Sense can leave the body. Any cultivation technique can be recorded on jade slips, and one sweep of the eyes is enough to remember it. There's no need for such trouble..."

Fang Qing shook his head and looked toward the other medicine manuals and alchemy classics.

Compendium of Spirit Medicines, Flying Waterfall Alchemy Classic...

These had also been recommended by Zeng Shu and were the foundations of Water-Method Alchemy.

Fang Qing planned to memorize them first, then familiarize himself with the properties of the medicines.

As for alchemy? Naturally, that would have to wait.

"The most urgent matter is still getting started in cultivation. Otherwise, even going out is inconvenient, and I can't use magic artifacts... I'd still have to take boats like an ordinary mortal."

Fang Qing opened the first page of the Water Classic Commentary and saw a diagram of the human body's meridians.

"My body comes from the Ancient Shu World. I hope there won't be any problems."

He secretly committed it to memory, then looked at the cultivation chant that followed.

The first step in entering the path of immortality was "Meditative Emptiness": absorbing a wisp of spiritual qi from heaven and earth while sitting in meditation and entering concentration.

If one could completely draw that wisp of spiritual qi into the body, circulate it through the meridians and acupoints, and finally return it to the dantian to become dharma power, then one had completed the work of "Spirit Guidance into the Body" and become a Qi Refining First Layer cultivator.

Of course, it sounded simple, but it was exceedingly difficult in practice.

Fang Qing spent quite some effort merely memorizing that diagram of the meridians.

The many technical terms in the chant gave him such a headache that he had no choice but to visit the Heavenly Books Pavilion again, borrowing numerous medical texts and Daoist scriptures. Along with attending public lectures on the first and fifteenth of every month, and shamelessly asking senior brothers and sisters for guidance, more than a month passed before he finally mastered the first-level chant.

"Ah... compared to them, disciples born into Foundation Establishment Immortal Clans and Qi Refinement families truly have the advantage. They start out far ahead."

Fang Qing sat cross-legged, gazing at the Contribution Points on his disciple token with deep emotion.

New disciples were customarily given a year to adjust after entering the sect, but daily expenses, even asking questions for guidance... none of it came without Contribution Points.

Now that he did the calculations, things were getting a little tight.

"I should hurry and enter the Dao through cultivation. Once I become a Qi Refinement cultivator, I can go to Myriad Treasures Island to take missions, earn Contribution Points, and exchange them for spirit stones, Spirit Herbs, and other cultivation resources..."

Outside the cave dwelling, moonlight flowed like water.

Fang Qing sat cross-legged on a bright yellow prayer mat, silently circulating the chant for sensing spiritual qi.

Ever since confirming that he had completely mastered the first-level chant of the Water Classic Commentary, he had sat in meditation every day, trying to sense the spiritual qi in the void. He had already gained a faint grasp of it. Yesterday, he had nearly completed the final step, but his emotions had become too agitated, and all his efforts had gone down the drain.

"Today, I will definitely succeed!"

Holding fast to that belief, Fang Qing entered the realm of selfless, egoless Meditative Emptiness.

Just as he forgot both self and surroundings, he sensed thread after thread of coolness within the void.

Following the chant, he silently circulated it. That coolness poured into his body through the acupoint between his brows, passed along the Spinal Dragon, and coursed through his limbs and every bone.

Then, it seemed as though his breathing through nose and mouth changed into Innate Embryonic Breathing. The pores across his body abruptly opened, greedily inhaling and exhaling spiritual qi.

Rumble!

A vast amount of spiritual qi circulated within him. After several great cycles, it finally charged into a mysterious place in his abdomen.

"Dantian opened, dharma power born!"

"Spirit Guidance into the Body succeeded!"

Feeling the thread of icy Black Water Dharma Power within his dantian, Fang Xing opened his eyes.

"This..."

In that instant, he discovered that it was as though his nearsighted eyes had put on glasses. The whole world became much clearer.

Moreover, with the slightest twitch of his ears, he could hear the rustling of small insects crawling several yards away.

"Cultivators have sharp ears and bright eyes... indeed, it's completely different from martial arts. It's more like... the evolution of the human body?"

"I can now be considered a Qi Refining First Layer cultivator."

"Next, I only need to continuously accumulate dharma power. Once the first layer reaches completion, I can attempt to break through to Qi Refining Second Layer..."

"I needed a month to grasp the first-level chant because I had no foundation... Now that I've made up for it, so long as I comprehend it on my own and occasionally ask senior brothers and sisters for advice, fully digesting the Water Classic Commentary shouldn't be a problem..."

"Furthermore, with dharma power, I can cultivate spells and refine magic artifacts... I'll have truly transcended the mundane."

Fang Qing sighed in satisfaction.

If he were in the Ancient Shu World, who knew how long he would have wasted away? Unlike here, where he was practically ushered forward every step of the way. He could not help marveling at how simple and honest the local customs were.

However, although he had a Green Leaf Boat magic artifact on him, and the end of the Water Classic Commentary included several Qi Refinement-stage spells, that was not what concerned Fang Qing most.

"Dao-Born Pearl!"

With a thought, the Dao-Born Pearl spun round and round. The thread of Black Water Dharma Power in his dantian instantly dissipated, transforming into the purest Origin Qi.

"Hmm? In both conversion rate and quality, it's far greater than the power from ten years of bitterly cultivating the Red Sand Hand! As expected, is dharma power simply more advanced than inner force?"

Fang Qing circulated it slightly, transforming all his dharma power into Red Sand Hand inner force.

In an instant, his palm changed from white to red, then from red to white. It cycled seven times, and an indescribable force of qi faintly took shape.

"Qi force released beyond the body... a Martial Dao Innate master, something already nearly extinct in the secular martial world?"

Fang Qing lightly struck out with his palm. Qi force flew forth, crossing three feet through the air and slamming into the stone wall of the meditation chamber, sending stone dust pattering down.

"And... I achieved Martial Dao Innate with the Red Sand Hand, this commonplace third-rate martial art?"

"Unfortunately, to cultivators, Innate martial artists are merely larger ants... one spell would settle them."

He circulated the Dao-Born Pearl again, converting all the inner force in his body into the Black Water Dharma Power of the Water Classic Commentary. Yet he felt that his dharma power had only increased by an utterly negligible trace.

"Probably equivalent to several days of my meditative cultivation... and this was ten years of Red Sand Hand inner force!"

"As expected, martial arts have no future in a world of cultivation."

"At least... the martial path I've encountered has been utterly crushed beneath it."

A few days later, Pill Island.

Before his cave dwelling, Fang Qing excitedly took out a leaf-shaped magic artifact from his robes.

This was the standard magic artifact issued by the Azure Sea Sect to its disciples—the Green Leaf Boat. It could only fly slowly and was considered First-Order Low Grade.

After spending an entire night on it, he had finally succeeded in refining this magic artifact.

"Rise!"

Fang Qing formed hand seals. The green leaf continuously grew larger, eventually becoming a small flat boat half a zhang long and several feet wide, floating in midair.

With a leap, he jumped onto the Green Leaf Boat and began shakily attempting to fly.

At first, Fang Qing's flight path was chaotic. Several times, he nearly fell off, though fortunately he had not flown very high.

"This feeling of flying freely really is different from riding in an airplane or being carried through the air by someone else."

As Fang Qing gradually became familiar with it, the Green Leaf Boat's speed continued to increase, and he began trying out tricks.

Flying upright, flying backward, flying sideways, flying upside down...

Every so often, he would charge forward and plunge into the clouds, emerging from the other side.

"Ha ha... riding the wind is truly exhilarating. It's a pity my dharma power is running low."

Feeling the scant dharma power in his dantian, Fang Qing shook his head, picked out his direction, and descended onto Myriad Treasures Island.

The highest-cultivated person on this island was Elder Myriad Treasures, who had already reached Foundation Establishment Late Stage. The Palace of Miscellaneous Affairs under his control was a place that countless Azure Sea Sect disciples could not avoid.

The Palace of Miscellaneous Affairs stood on the largest flat ground of Myriad Treasures Island. It was a towering, majestic ancient bronze hall with eight open doors, each of which had large numbers of disciples entering and leaving.

The moment Fang Qing entered, he was drawn in by the bustling scene.

Quite a few Azure Sea Sect disciples had even set up stalls directly by the roadside, trading with spirit stones or bartering goods for goods.

On the bronze plaza, more than ten enormous bronze pillars rose into the sky, their surfaces shimmering with the light of various runes.

[Lakeside Wilderness-Character No. 17 Medicine Garden seeks one spirit plant cultivator. Minor Cloud-Rain Technique mastery required. Compensation: three hundred Contribution Points per year.]

[Long-term recruitment of Spirit Farmers. Compensation: one hundred Contribution Points per year.]

[Wanted: Sea-Mad Three Fiends, cultivation at Late Qi Refinement or Qi Refining Great Perfection. One thousand Contribution Points for each head...]

[Long-term purchase of Azure Dragon Carp. Generous compensation offered...]

Fang Qing swept his gaze across them and saw all manner of missions and bounties.

Some had been issued by the sect, while others had been privately issued by elders and disciples. The sheer variety was dazzling.

"Guarding and bounty-type missions... require fighting. I'm still a tiny shrimp right now; I can't handle those."

"I can only look at production and construction work first... but the pay for Spirit Farmers is far too low, isn't it?"

Fang Qing looked at the alchemy-related missions. Their rewards were generous, but unfortunately, he did not know a single alchemy method.

After searching around, he barely found something suitable:

[Mission: refine three hundred bundles of "Jade Spirit Silk." Mission reward: two hundred Contribution Points if the employer provides the raw materials; five hundred Contribution Points if you provide your own materials...]

Only after continuing to read did Fang Qing learn that this Jade Spirit Silk needed to be made by washing a spirit plant called Azure Sky Hemp in cold spring water.

Its texture was tough, light, thin, and breathable, making it an excellent material for refining inner armor and gauze-veiled magic artifacts.

The Azure Sea Sect's best cold springs were all located on Pill Island. As a Pill Island disciple, he could still go and take advantage of them.

"This should be a benefit specially provided for Pill Island disciples, right?"

"What else is there to say? I'm taking it."

Fang Qing immediately took out his disciple token to accept the mission. He also collected several bundles of Azure Sky Hemp, carrying them all the way back to his cave dwelling.

Because he had not anticipated needing to bring raw materials on the return trip, the Green Leaf Boat was overloaded. His dharma power nearly failed, and he almost fell into the lake halfway home...