Basic Breathing Technique

Xiao Yue raised an eyebrow with a smile. "Looks like you're not giving up. Good thing I brought these for you."

"These?" Su Shi'er looked up, momentarily stunned.

As the words fell, Xiao Yue waved her hand, and several items appeared in her grasp: a set of blue robes, two books, and an iron token.

"This is your Identity Token. It has your name on it, used to verify disciple status within the sect."

"The Disciple Robe, made from Cloud Dream Silkworm Silk, can stretch to fit your body shape. Amazing, right?!"

"And these two books are the Sect Manual and the entry-level technique, the Basic Breathing Technique!"

Xiao Yue introduced each item with a smile, then handed them over to Su Shi'er.

After a moment's thought, she added, "Also, all new disciples can claim three bottles of Foundation Cultivation Pills from the Pill Pavilion every year."

"Of course, if you reach Qi Refining Stage Six, you can not only pick a formal technique from the Scripture Pavilion but also receive an extra ten Spirit Stones and three bottles of Qi Gathering Pills."

"Thank you, Senior Sister!" Su Shi'er took the items, his gaze sweeping over the Basic Breathing Technique book with an urgent glint. He quickly cupped his hands and bowed to Xiao Yue in thanks.

To him, nothing else mattered. This book, teaching how to cultivate, was the treasure he had dreamed of.

"Alright, seeing how eager you are, I won't disturb you. Cultivate well. Han Yu has already reached the peak of Qi Refining Stage One, so you'd better catch up." Xiao Yue watched Su Shi'er with a teasing smile, noticing the impatience in his eyes.

Even so, she didn't think Su Shi'er could match Han Yu, who possessed a Supreme Dual Spiritual Root. But a few words of encouragement were still in order.

With a light shake of her head and a smile, she hurried off.

Su Shi'er saw Xiao Yue off, firmly memorizing her instructions, then returned to his room. He eagerly picked up the Basic Breathing Technique and began flipping through it seriously.

The book not only recorded the cultivation methods for the first six layers of Qi Refining but also included basic cultivation knowledge and two minor techniques: Fire Control Technique and Wind Calling Technique.

Su Shi'er didn't pay much attention to this information, but his memory was decent. A single scan let him grasp the gist.

Still, his focus remained on the cultivation section.

The book detailed the techniques for absorbing Qi into the body and circulating Qi internally at each stage.

In this regard, Su Shi'er had some talent. After reading it once, he basically understood the meaning.

To be safe, he read the book through twice more carefully. Then, he sat cross-legged and, with some trepidation, began to attempt cultivation.

After consuming a large number of Foundation Cultivation Pills, he could already faintly sense the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the air.

But actually absorbing Qi into the body proved incredibly difficult. The strands of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi were like wild horses breaking free from their reins, extremely hard to tame.

For several days in a row, Su Shi'er cultivated day and night. At first, he worried that the Man in Black might find him at any moment.

But then he realized the Man in Black probably couldn't guess that he actually had a spiritual root and had joined the Yun Ge Sect.

With that thought, he temporarily set his mind at ease.

In cultivation, despite his young age, he showed great patience.

It wasn't until the fifth day that he finally succeeded in drawing the first wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into his body.

Feeling that extra wisp of spiritual Qi within him, Su Shi'er's face lit up with joy. He quickly locked onto it with his mind.

Then, he strained to control the Qi as it circulated through his body in a full cycle according to the technique. After one cycle, the Qi condensed into a grain-of-rice-sized wisp of true essence, merging into his Dantian Qi Sea.

The next second, his body trembled, and an extremely comfortable, exhilarating sensation spread through him.

Exhaling a puff of white air, Su Shi'er beamed with delight, clenching his small fists in excitement.

"Great! From today on, I'm officially a Qi Refiner!"

"This bit of true essence can't do anything yet, but it's a good start! Keep going!"

Taking a deep breath, Su Shi'er continued absorbing Qi into his body and refining the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

But after cultivating nonstop for ten days, he had only refined a few more wisps of spiritual Qi, adding a few barely visible specks of true essence to his body.

This speed and result left him utterly disappointed in his spiritual root.

"No good. At this rate, reaching Qi Refining Stage One is hopelessly far off!"

"If I can't raise my cultivation quickly, forget about avenging myself against the Man in Black—I might not even pass the Newcomer Trial in three years."

"I guess I'll have to try the Qi Gathering Pill. But it can only be claimed at Qi Refining Stage Six, so there must be a reason."

Su Shi'er sat cross-legged on the bed, muttering to himself. Then, he pulled a Qi Gathering Pill from his robe.

Studying the pill in his hand, his expression froze slightly.

"According to the book, pill grades are divided into four types: low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, and supreme-grade. Supreme-grade pills, being impurity-free, appear completely translucent and flawless, like white jade."

"Such pills, containing no Pill Toxin, can be consumed endlessly by cultivators, making them incredibly precious. Could it be that everything refined from that Pill Furnace is supreme-grade?"

At this thought, Su Shi'er's emotions surged with excitement.

Others had to be careful with pills, regularly finding ways to purge Pill Toxin. But with the mysterious Pill Furnace, the pills he refined required no such worry.

Suppressing his excitement, Su Shi'er's gaze returned to the Qi Gathering Pill in his hand.

For him, the most important thing now was to raise his cultivation as quickly as possible.

After a moment's hesitation, he resolutely swallowed the Qi Gathering Pill.

As the pill entered his body, it immediately transformed into a vast surge of spiritual energy that flooded his entire being. The next second, Su Shi'er's face flushed red, veins bulging across his body as he writhed in agony.

Though he had mentally prepared himself, truly facing it made him realize just how excruciating the sensation was.

The spiritual energy contained in the Spirit Gathering Pill, while not as violent as Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, was immense in quantity—far beyond what a Qi Refiner below Qi Refining Stage Six could withstand.

At this moment, he couldn't cultivate normally at all. The pain threatened to knock him unconscious. The terrifying spiritual energy nearly burst every meridian in his body!

In his daze, thinking of the hatred he bore on his shoulders, Su Shi'er gritted his teeth, barely mustering a shred of focus. He forced himself to activate the breathing technique, enduring the pain to refine the spiritual energy within him. Xiao Yue raised an eyebrow with a smile. "Looks like you're not planning to give up. Good thing I brought you these."

"These?" Su Shi'er tilted his head, momentarily stunned.

As her words fell, Xiao Yue waved her hand, and several items appeared in her grasp. They were a set of blue robes, two books, and an iron token.

"This is your Identity Token. It has your name on it and is used to verify your identity as a disciple within the sect."

"The Disciple Robe is made from Cloud Dream Silkworm Silk. It can stretch to fit your body shape. Amazing, right?"

"And these two books are the Sect Manual and the entry-level cultivation method, the Basic Breathing Technique!"

Xiao Yue introduced each item with a smile, then handed them over to Su Shi'er.

After a moment's thought, she added, "Also, all new disciples can collect three bottles of Foundation Cultivation Pills from the Pill Pavilion every year."

"Of course, if you raise your cultivation to Qi Refining Stage Six, you can not only pick a formal technique from the Scripture Pavilion but also receive an extra ten Spirit Stones and three bottles of Qi Gathering Pills."

"Thank you, Senior Sister!" Su Shi'er took the items, his gaze sweeping over the Basic Breathing Technique manual with an urgent gleam in his eyes. He quickly cupped his hands and bowed to Xiao Yue in gratitude.

To him, nothing else mattered. This manual, teaching how to cultivate, was the treasure he had dreamed of.

"Alright, seeing how eager you are, I won't disturb you. Cultivate well. Han Yu has already reached the peak of Qi Refining Stage One, so you'd better catch up." Xiao Yue watched Su Shi'er with a cheerful smile, noticing the impatience in his eyes.

Still, she didn't think Su Shi'er could match Han Yu, who possessed a Supreme Dual Spiritual Root. But she figured she ought to offer some encouragement anyway.

With that, she shook her head with a smile and hurried off.

Su Shi'er saw Xiao Yue off, committing her instructions to memory, then returned to his room. He eagerly picked up the Basic Breathing Technique and began flipping through it seriously.

This book not only recorded the cultivation methods for the first six layers of the Qi Refining Stage but also included some basic cultivation knowledge and two minor techniques: Fire Control Technique and Wind Calling Technique.

Su Shi'er didn't pay much attention to this information. But his memory was decent, and after a single pass, he had a rough grasp of it.

Still, his focus remained primarily on the cultivation section.

The book detailed the techniques for absorbing Qi into the body and circulating Qi internally at each stage.

In this regard, Su Shi'er showed some talent. After one read, he basically understood the meaning.

But to be safe, he read the book carefully two more times. Then, he sat cross-legged and, with some trepidation, attempted to cultivate.

After consuming a large number of Foundation Cultivation Pills, he could now clearly sense the faint traces of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the air.

Yet truly trying to absorb Qi into the body proved incredibly difficult. Those wisps of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi were like untamed wild horses, extremely hard to subdue.

For several days in a row, Su Shi'er cultivated day and night. At first, he was worried, afraid the Man in Black might find him at any moment.

But then he realized that the Man in Black probably couldn't guess that he actually had spiritual roots and had even joined the Yun Ge Sect.

With that thought, he temporarily set his concerns aside.

In cultivation, despite his young age, he displayed remarkable patience.

But it wasn't until the fifth day that he finally succeeded in drawing the first wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into his body.

Feeling that extra wisp of spiritual energy within him, Su Shi'er's face lit up with joy. He quickly used his will to lock onto it.

Then, he strained to control the spiritual energy, circulating it through his body according to the technique. After one full cycle, the spiritual energy condensed into a grain-of-rice-sized clump of true essence, merging into his Dantian Qi Sea.

The next second, his body trembled, and an extremely comfortable, exhilarating sensation spread rapidly through him.

Letting out a puff of white breath, Su Shi'er beamed with excitement, clenching his little fist in elation.

"Great! From today on, I'm officially a Qi Refiner!"

"This bit of true essence can't do anything yet, but it's a good start! Keep going!"

Taking a deep breath, Su Shi'er continued absorbing Qi into his body, refining the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

But after cultivating for ten straight days, he had only managed to refine a few more wisps of spiritual energy, adding a few barely visible specks of true essence to his body.

This speed and result left him utterly disappointed in his spiritual root.

"No good. At this rate, actually reaching Qi Refining Stage One is a distant dream!"

"If I can't raise my cultivation quickly, forget about taking revenge on that Man in Black—I probably won't even pass the Newcomer Trial three years from now."

"Looks like I'll have to try the Qi Gathering Pill. But this pill can only be claimed at Qi Refining Stage Six, so there must be a reason."

Su Shi'er sat cross-legged on the bed, muttering to himself for a moment, then pulled a Qi Gathering Pill from his robe.

Staring at the pill in his hand, his expression froze slightly.

"According to the book, the grades of medicinal pills are divided into four types: low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, and supreme-grade. Supreme-grade pills, being free of impurities, appear completely crystal-clear, like flawless white jade."

"This type of pill, because it contains no Pill Toxin, can be consumed endlessly by cultivators, making it incredibly precious. Could it be that everything refined from that Pill Furnace is a supreme-grade pill?"

Thinking this, Su Shi'er's emotions grew stirred.

Others had to be extremely cautious when taking pills, and even had to regularly find ways to purge the toxins from their bodies. But with the help of the mysterious Pill Furnace, the pills he refined required no such worry whatsoever.

Suppressing his excitement, Su Shi'er continued to fix his gaze on the Qi Gathering Pill in his hand.

For him, the most important thing right now was still to raise his cultivation as quickly as possible.

After a moment of hesitation, he resolutely swallowed the Qi Gathering Pill.

As the pill entered his body, it instantly transformed into a vast surge of spiritual qi that flooded his entire being. The next second, Su Shi'er's face flushed red, veins bulging across his body as he writhed in agony.

Though he had mentally prepared himself, only when facing it directly did he realize just how excruciating the sensation truly was.

Although the spiritual qi contained in the Spirit Gathering Pill was not as violent as Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, it was still immense—far beyond what a Qi Refiner below Qi Refining Stage Six could endure.

At that moment, he could not cultivate normally at all. The pain was so intense he nearly blacked out. The terrifying spiritual qi threatened to burst every meridian in his body!

In his dazed state, remembering the hatred he carried on his shoulders, Su Shi'er gritted his teeth, mustered a shred of focus, and desperately activated his breathing technique, enduring the pain to refine the spiritual qi within him.