This day was unexpectedly peaceful.
Yang Wenqing sat behind his desk, several documents freshly issued by the General Bureau spread out before him.
One was the "Opinions on Strengthening the Structural Development of Grassroots Teams in the City Defense System," filled from start to finish with empty phrases about raising political awareness; another was the "Briefing on Recent Northern Border Conflicts and Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Vigilance in Various Regions." It mentioned increasing border frictions and required all local branches to raise their alert levels, but the specific details were vague.
He carefully read through the documents, trying to catch the direction of the higher-ups between the lines. These seemingly dull official papers often foretold where resources would be directed and what future work would prioritize.
During that time, Zhao Qin and Qian You were dispatched to handle a large-scale brawl sparked by a dispute between merchants. They did not return until near the end of the workday. According to Zhao Qin's report, it was nothing major—merely a jurisdictional issue, with two Public Security Offices at odds.
"Good work." Yang Wenqing expressed his approval of their efficiency. Zhao Qin immediately wore an overwhelmed, flattered expression, while Qian You merely nodded steadily.
As soon as it was time to get off work, Yang Wenqing left the branch office on the dot.
He did not linger outside. He first went home and simply cooked himself a bowl of noodles for dinner, then headed to a nearby grocery shop and spent fifteen hundred yuan on three standard energy cores for formations.
By the time he returned home in Dongning Community, night had fallen. Yang Wenqing immediately locked the door behind him, then laid out the newly purchased silver powder, Clearheart Grass powder, Black Tortoise Shell, and three rune energy cores one by one in the center of the living room. He also took out that precious bottle of Centennial Stone Marrow Liquid.
Afterward, Yang Wenqing practiced inscribing the formation twice more, then simulated it twice in the Golden Core World. Only after confirming there were no problems did he settle his thoughts and prepare for the real thing.
First, he carefully spread the Clearheart Grass powder evenly across the floor, outlining the boundary of the formation's outer ring. A faint, almost imperceptible tranquil aura immediately began to spread.
Next, he took out the silver powder and used his own spiritual power as a guide, meticulously tracing the six complex spirit-guiding runes in the middle ring. Thanks to last night's practice, his movements were now steady and precise. The silver lines extended smoothly with the movements of his wrist, linking together to form a profound pattern.
Then, he precisely located the three formation eyes in the inner ring and firmly embedded the three rune energy cores within them. At once, the patterns on the cores' surfaces perfectly connected with the spirit-guiding runes drawn in silver sand, causing a flash of blue radiance to sweep past.
Finally, he placed the Black Tortoise Shell, roughly the size of a meditation cushion, at the formation base in the center of the formation. He opened the glazed bottle, dipped his fingertip into a little of the viscous Centennial Stone Marrow Liquid, focused his mind and held his breath, then wrote the crucial "stabilize" rune stroke by stroke in the center of the shell.
When the final stroke fell, the rune drawn with Stone Marrow Liquid flashed with spiritual light before quietly sinking into the Tortoise Shell.
After carefully examining the formation for a while, Yang Wenqing formed hand seals according to the Secret Art and stirred the spiritual energy within his Qi Sea, intending to test the formation's activation. As the hand seal took shape, a ray of spiritual light swiftly shot into the formation. Two seconds later, accompanied by a low hum, the entire Origin-Stabilizing Meridian-Nourishing Formation activated.
The Clearheart Grass powder emitted a gentle white glow, forming an outer barrier that soothed the mind. The silver-sand runes in the middle ring lit up with dazzling silver light, reflecting one another with the blue light of the energy cores. They slowly circulated like living things, sorting and guiding the spiritual energy. The three energy cores in the inner ring steadily released pure spiritual power. Meanwhile, the Black Tortoise Shell at the core gave off a dense earthy-yellow radiance that blended with the spiritual light of the Stone Marrow Liquid, forming a stable force field that enveloped the entire formation.
Standing outside the formation, he could feel a steady, peaceful aura. Without the slightest hesitation, Yang Wenqing stepped into the formation and sat cross-legged atop the Black Tortoise Shell.
In an instant, he felt the space around him become viscous yet stable, as though wrapped in the invisible power of the earth. Outside noise was shut out, and his mind naturally calmed. More importantly, he could sense that the heaven and earth spiritual energy gathering around him had become exceptionally gentle and easy to guide.
"What a fine formation!" Yang Wenqing silently praised.
He did not delay any longer. Following the method for the Second Refinement, "Skin Membranes Like Drums," from the Ninefold Refinement Method, he immediately began guiding the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea to strike and temper the skin membranes throughout his body.
With the assistance of the Origin-Stabilizing Meridian-Nourishing Formation, the spiritual energy flowed with incomparable smoothness. The intense numbness, itchiness, and stinging pain brought by tempering the skin membranes were also greatly weakened by the formation's power. Though they still remained, they were now entirely within the range he could endure.
Under the clear projection of the Golden Core World, he could see spiritual energy like the finest sandpaper brushing over the depths of his skin membranes again and again, stimulating those nearly imperceptible fascial tissues and making them tougher.
Feeling the stabilizing effects brought by the Origin-Stabilizing Meridian-Nourishing Formation, Yang Wenqing decided to strike while the iron was hot and took out the bottle of Centennial Stone Marrow Liquid again to aid his cultivation.
He carefully poured around ten grams of Stone Marrow Liquid into his palm. The liquid was milky white, warm and viscous to the touch, and gave off a rich, heavy aura. He then pressed his palms together and circulated his technique, guiding the spiritual energy within his body to envelop the Stone Marrow Liquid in his hands before closing his eyes and concentrating.
As the cultivation technique circulated, the Stone Marrow Liquid in his palm was stirred into motion, transforming into a warm, heavy current that seeped through his skin pores in countless fine threads and penetrated deep into his skin membranes.
Under the clear projection of the Golden Core World, Yang Wenqing could see the milky-white medicinal power silently permeating every minute structure of his skin membranes. Wherever it passed, the membrane fibers seemed to be infused with vitality, becoming denser and more resilient.
At the same time, an extremely faint pale-yellow glow began to appear over the surface of his skin, making his entire body seem as though it were covered by a barely visible thin film of stone.
Along with it came a peculiar sensation, as though all the skin on his body were being stretched to a moderate degree. At the same time, waves of gentle numbness and itchiness flowed through him, like countless tiny sparks of life wandering beneath his skin.
Through the Golden Core World's observation, the path of the Stone Marrow Liquid's medicinal power was clearly visible. It spread diffusely and evenly covered the skin membranes of his entire body, focusing on nourishing areas that had been weaker during the previous tempering or were currently being heavily struck by spiritual energy.
What originally required dozens of repeated spiritual-energy shocks to achieve could perhaps be accomplished after only a few rounds under the nourishment of the Stone Marrow Liquid's medicinal power, and the foundation would be even more solid.
Yang Wenqing guarded his mind closely, guiding spiritual energy to cooperate with the vast medicinal power of the Stone Marrow Liquid as he tempered the skin membranes across his body over and over. The power of the Golden Core also continuously refined the residual medicinal power left inside him, allowing him to perfectly absorb all of the Stone Marrow Liquid's effects.
In less than half an hour, the ten grams of Stone Marrow Liquid had been completely absorbed. The pale-yellow glow around his body slowly withdrew, while the deep sense of tautness and the gentle numbness and itchiness gradually faded.
He then spent another half hour healing the hidden injuries caused by cultivation within his body.
"Haha, excellent!" Yang Wenqing laughed aloud, feeling exceptionally refreshed.
According to the Secret Art's records, one could use at most ten grams of Stone Marrow Liquid each time. After using it once, one needed at least a month of cultivation to clear away the toxicity brought by the medicinal power before using Stone Marrow Liquid again. But with the Golden Core's help, Yang Wenqing did not need to clear away any toxicity at all.
In other words, if he had enough money, he might be able to complete the Second Refinement in only a few months!
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