Secluded Cultivation Advancement

Li Ming was on leave today, so Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun patrolled Zone 3 together. At noon, Li Ming's voice came through the squad's private communication channel—the cultivator's skeleton had sold for thirteen thousand.

Yang Wenqing found it regrettable. Unfortunately, his pockets were empty. He was not in the habit of borrowing money, and even if he wanted to, he had no one to borrow from. Aside from Captain Xiao Liang, the others around him were probably not well-off either. Besides, he still had an outstanding debt to repay.

When the afternoon shift change finally came, Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun both headed straight back to the Second Squad's base, though they were looking forward to different things.

Zhou Kun rushed into the room first. After looking around, he did not find Li Ming. Liu-jie stood up at that moment and said, "The money's with me." She held two thick envelopes in her hands.

As the two accepted the envelopes, Xiao Liang entered the room with Ye Yong. Since Li Ming had publicly mentioned selling the skeleton in the squad channel at noon, Ye Yong immediately began clamoring when he saw the envelopes in Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun's hands. "You two have to treat us!"

Liu-jie smacked the back of Ye Yong's head irritably. "All you think about all day is eating and drinking. You should save some money too. Getting a wife in the future won't be cheap."

Ye Yong immediately shut up.

Afterward, everyone entered the changing room, chatting as they removed their equipment. When they came out, Xiao Liang stepped forward and said to Yang Wenqing, "Wenqing, come with me."

Yang Wenqing understood. After saying goodbye to Zhou Kun and Liu-jie, he followed Xiao Liang out of the room.

The moment they stepped outside, Yang Wenqing said quietly, "I'll go buy a White Dragon Ginseng first."

Though he felt that he most likely would not need medicinal assistance to advance to the Qi Refining Stage, he now had a little money in hand. He still planned to buy a White Dragon Ginseng just in case.

Xiao Liang paused and looked at Yang Wenqing. "I happen to have a Dragon Ginseng Pill. I'll lend it to you first. You can repay me once you've earned enough merit."

His tone was casual, as though he were lending Yang Wenqing something entirely ordinary. Without waiting for a response, he continued, "Consider it me asking you for a favor."

As he spoke, he handed over a wooden box half the size of his palm. A preservation formation on it glimmered faintly. Yang Wenqing met Xiao Liang's gaze and could not bring himself to refuse the kindness.

The two arrived at the county branch office. As soon as they entered through the gate, they saw a middle-aged man in the uniform of a senior police inspector stride toward them.

"Old Xiao!" the middle-aged man greeted Xiao Liang warmly.

"Old Zhang!" Xiao Liang shook his hand politely, then looked at Yang Wenqing and introduced him. "Wenqing, this is Zhang-ge from Logistics."

"Zhang-ge." Yang Wenqing greeted him respectfully.

"No need to be so formal. Come with me." Zhang-ge waved his hand and led them down a path to the left of the main building, arriving before a separate structure. There was a formation inspection at the entrance, and only after their authorization was confirmed did the metal doors slowly slide open.

Beyond the doors was a brightly lit corridor. Closed metal doors lined both sides, each inscribed with intricate soundproofing runes.

Zhang-ge led them to a door halfway down the corridor. He took out a jade talisman and pressed it into a groove beside the door. The door opened soundlessly, revealing a quiet room of roughly ten square meters. There was only a meditation cushion, while simple Spirit-Gathering Formations were inscribed on the walls and floor.

"This is the one. The jade talisman for activating the Spirit-Gathering Formation is here." Zhang-ge handed Yang Wenqing a small jade talisman. "The spiritual energy gathered here has already been refined. There's a calling formation beside the cushion. If there's an emergency, press it, and we'll know."

After speaking, Zhang-ge took out another oil-paper package. "This has three days' worth of food and water. There's a restroom next door."

As he finished, he looked at Xiao Liang. Xiao Liang said to Yang Wenqing, "The fee has already been deducted in advance from three months of your merit allowance."

"Thank you, Zhang-ge. Thank you, Captain!" Yang Wenqing thanked them solemnly.

"Cultivate in peace. We'll be waiting outside for your good news." Xiao Liang patted Yang Wenqing's shoulder, then left the quiet room with Zhang-ge.

After watching the metal door close, Zhang-ge could not help sighing. "So young."

Xiao Liang nodded. "Many things in this world are inherently unfair. Some younger geniuses only need to guide spiritual energy for a few years before naturally entering the Qi Refining Stage."

Zhang-ge continued, "There are even greater geniuses who, after reaching the Qi Refining Stage, do not need to temper their bones at all. They just cultivate and meditate every day, and in a little over a decade, they can break through to the Marrow Cleansing Stage. Meanwhile, we've cultivated for decades and are only at the Third Refinement."

After saying that, he looked at Xiao Liang and asked, "Can this little brother succeed?"

Xiao Liang thought for a moment before replying, "There's a high chance. You should be able to sense it too. His Qi Sea is full to the brim. He's only one step away from the Qi Refining Stage."

Zhang-ge stared silently at the door for more than ten seconds before asking, "Are you going to try for this year's exam?"

The exam he meant was the test for promotion to police commissioner.

Xiao Liang replied, "We'll see." Then he changed the subject. "You should have plenty of good tea here, right? I finally made a trip over, so you can't leave me standing here waiting, can you?"

"Haha, come on. Let's go to my office."

Laughing and chatting, the two headed deeper into the corridor.

Inside the cultivation room.

Yang Wenqing walked to the meditation cushion in the center of the quiet room and sat down cross-legged. He first adjusted his breathing, calming his somewhat turbulent emotions. Only when his heart was as still as an ancient well did he pick up the activation jade talisman and inject a thread of faint spiritual energy into it according to Zhang-ge's instructions.

"Buzz..."

The jade talisman lit up with a gentle white glow. At the same time, the patterns of the Spirit-Gathering Formation inscribed on the walls and floor lit up one after another. Soon, he sensed the spiritual energy density in the room steadily rising. Moreover, this spiritual energy was exceptionally docile, far easier to absorb and refine than the energy outside or the energy gathered by that spinal bone.

Yang Wenqing did not waste time. He immediately closed his eyes, sank his awareness into his body, and circulated the Basic Qi Refining technique. As he slowly absorbed external spiritual energy, he guided the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea, already brimming within his lower dantian, through the Spirit Veins that had long since been opened.

One Greater Circulation...

Two Greater Circulations...

He was extremely patient and did not pursue speed. With the support of the Spirit-Gathering Formation, the docile spiritual energy outside continued to be absorbed, replenishing the circulation through his Qi Sea and Spirit Veins. The process became much smoother than usual.

The third Greater Circulation...

The eighth Greater Circulation...

He repeated the process over and over. The rotation of his Qi Sea gradually accelerated without him noticing, while his Spirit Veins began to grow faintly warm beneath the constant, steady washing of spiritual energy.

As the tenth Greater Circulation was about to be completed and the spiritual energy in his body turned into a tame stream, an indescribably profound sensation suddenly surged into his heart!

The next moment, the spiritual energy within his Spirit Veins abruptly accelerated without warning. Had Yang Wenqing's Qi Sea not been full of spiritual energy at that moment, it would likely have been drained dry in an instant, causing his advancement to fail.

Yang Wenqing knew that success or failure would be decided in the next ten or so seconds. The spiritual energy in his Qi Sea was enough to complete three Greater Circulations through his Spirit Veins, and the Spirit-Gathering Formation could continuously provide spiritual energy to replenish his Qi Sea.

But he still took out the wooden box containing the Dragon Ginseng Pill.

PS: Brothers, the story's been added to the library. Please keep reading, send monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, tips, and comments. Comments add weight too, brothers—even just typing "1" would help.