Qi Refining Level Four, Waiting by the Stump for a Rabbit

At the same time, Luo Fanchen appeared to be breathing with his eyes closed, but he kept Ling Moxue in the corner of his eye.

Killing intent surged within him. Only when the girl put away her dagger and nestled against his shoulder like a cat, sniffing his scent, did a trace of a smile soften his eyes.

What Demoness? She was just a girl with a sensitive heart and no sense of security.

Had Ling Moxue waited another moment to drop the blade, he would have activated the Blood Contract and taught her a lesson she would never forget.

Fortunately, she was not bad. She knew how to repay kindness and could restrain the evil thoughts in her heart. She would be far easier to guide than he had expected.

With a thought, Luo Fanchen summoned the Eight Desolations Record of the Demoness.

The girl's Admiration Points had risen from -4 to -1. That -1 was most likely due to Ling Moxue's childhood experiences: she disliked cultivators indiscriminately, not him in particular.

His Admiration Points had also climbed from 42 to 83.

A surge of 41 points. Was it because he had taught Ling Moxue to cultivate?

Luo Fanchen pursed his lips in thought. Apart from her instinctive hunger for security, he did not believe Ling Moxue had ever admired him.

Her Admiration Points had risen twice: once when they signed the Blood Contract, and once when he taught her to cultivate.

From Ling Moxue's perspective, both increases had come after she feared being abandoned and then, trembling with worry, found reassurance.

More than ten years in an oppressive environment had left Ling Moxue insecure and sensitive. She seemed resilient, but in truth she desperately lacked a sense of safety.

Without realizing it, she would grow obedient to and dependent on anyone who made her feel safe.

In time, the trust that had been worn away in her would grow anew, and she would give it all to him without reservation.

"Isn't she just a stray cat?"

A faint smile touched Luo Fanchen's lips, and the last of his displeasure vanished like smoke.

He turned his attention to his cultivation technique. Longevity Art, third level [920/1000].

Without much hesitation, he poured his Admiration Points into the Longevity Art and successfully raised the technique to the fourth level.

Spiritual energy surged through his Ren, Du, and Chong meridians. The Lesser Celestial Circuit refined it into True Essence, which slowly seeped into his flesh and blood as the Longevity Art circulated.

A dense, prickling sensation spread through his entire body. Luo Fanchen's features tightened, his face flushed red, and mist rose from the sweat on his head.

The Ninth Level of Qi Refining comprised three stages: opening the meridians in the first three levels, cleansing the marrow in the middle three, and opening the sea in the final three.

The fourth level primarily refined the spleen and stomach. Starting at the Life Gate Acupoint, it passed through the Gate of Zhang Acupoint and closed at the Spirit Palace Acupoint. Once complete, a band of True Essence formed a golden ring around the waist and abdomen, tightening to guard against common poisons and keep a hundred illnesses at bay.

A thousand pounds seemed to press on his shoulders, while fire scorched his belly. By the time Luo Fanchen came to his senses, a thin layer of black sludge coated his skin.

"Did it work?"

Luo Fanchen could not hide his delight. The Life Gate and Gate of Zhang Acupoints were open, and True Essence had entered them. He could now look inward and observe his spleen and stomach.

The burst of spiritual energy from the Longevity Art's advance to the fourth level had finally helped him drive True Essence into the Life Gate Acupoint. He had broken through the third level, where he had been stuck for more than five years.

"A shame I can't repeat this method."

Luo Fanchen used a low-grade Cleansing Talisman to clean himself, and the delight on his face slowly faded.

The Longevity Art was of such low grade that it barely counted as a proper technique. Even when raised with Admiration Points, the spiritual energy it released had only been enough to push him over the threshold. Ordinarily, he would still need to nourish his acupoints and temper his organs slowly with True Essence.

Unfortunately, Admiration Points could not be used to raise his cultivation directly.

Furthermore, although the Blood Contract had unexpectedly bound Ling Moxue to him, he had received no Cultivation Return when she broke through.

In other words, he would have to raise her Admiration Points above 2 before he could truly benefit from her.

"A breakthrough is still a good thing."

Luo Fanchen rose. A brief check told him his True Essence capacity had grown by thirty percent. His breathing and absorption speed had also improved slightly with the Longevity Art's advance. For someone of his poor aptitude, it was charcoal delivered in a snowstorm.

It was time to act.

Luo Fanchen walked slowly out of the cave. Nearby, Ling Moxue, who had said she would keep watch, had fallen asleep in her clothes, exhaustion on her small face.

The girl had only just glimpsed the path of cultivation. Dozens of breathing cycles had long since drained her strength.

Luo Fanchen did not wake her. He gently draped a sheet over her, but she was a light sleeper. Rubbing her dirty face, she noticed him right before her and sprang up. She lowered her brows and eyes, embarrassment filling her small face.

"Master Luo, I..."

"It's fine. Since you're awake, you can come with me."

"Master Luo, where... are we going?"

Ling Moxue tilted her head in confusion, her thin shoulders hunched against the cold.

The sky had cleared after the rain. Luo Fanchen said nothing. He took out the last two fragments of a Breath Concealment Pill, tipped one into his mouth, and tossed the other to Ling Moxue.

"To eliminate a Demonic Cultivator."

With that, Luo Fanchen took out a Spirit Talisman and bit his fingertip. He drew a formation pattern on it in blood, formed the Xu hand seal, and muttered an incantation as he poured in a great deal of True Essence.

Activated, the Spirit Talisman folded itself into a paper crane. It hovered in midair, then flew toward the mountaintop.

"Come."

Luo Fanchen grabbed Ling Moxue by the back of her neck and carried her like a chick as he sped after the paper crane.

He had activated the Gu Puppet inside the Demon Serpent's belly. By now, Ling Youdao should have been able to sense the Snake Demon's location through his secret art and would surely rush there through the night.

Luo Fanchen needed to find the Snake Demon first and lie in ambush, leaving nothing to chance.

As for Ling Moxue, she was his means of staying alive.

In the worst case, if Ling Youdao's cultivation far surpassed the Demon Serpent's and he spotted Luo Fanchen, holding Ling Moxue hostage might still give him a sliver of hope.

"Master Luo, are you going to hand me over to the Demonic Cultivator?"

Tucked against Luo Fanchen's waist, Ling Moxue had her small face whipped red by the biting wind. Her eyes reddened, and her voice stumbled over the words.

She had only begun Qi Refining last night. In a fight, she would be nothing but a burden to Luo Fanchen.

"You little girl. Leave you behind and you let your thoughts run wild; bring you along and you're frightened."

Luo Fanchen smiled and found a moment to give her the Breath Concealment Pill fragment.

"You're indispensable to this fight. Swallow the pill and watch me slay this fiend. After that, you'll be safe for good."

At the thought that Luo Fanchen needed her, Ling Moxue's almond eyes shone. Her uncertainty had already been flung beyond the ninth heaven.

She swallowed the pill at once and wrapped her small hands around Luo Fanchen's waist like an octopus, holding on tight.

What an easy stray cat to fool.

A flicker of guilt rose in Luo Fanchen's heart, but he quickly cast it aside.

His mastery of Smoke Cloud Escape was exceptional. In less than half an hour, the paper crane led him to an underground cavern at the heart of Four Directions Valley.

In the art of formations, this place was a Central Palace dragon lair. It could absorb moonlight and gather what little spiritual energy there was.

The cave entrance was muddy. Before they even entered, gusts of cold, eerie wind struck their faces, and the stench of rot filled their noses. Ling Moxue's small face went deathly pale as she retched again and again.

Concealing his presence, Luo Fanchen went in. Bones lay everywhere along the way, mostly animal, though human joints could be seen here and there.

Farther in, the scrape of scales reached their ears. Ling Moxue clamped a hand over her mouth, barely holding back a scream.

What a huge snake.

Deep in the cave, a giant snake more than ten meters long lay coiled like a small mountain. Its dim eyes were as large as lanterns. It seemed to be asleep, refining the Spirit Stone in its belly.

The cost made Luo Fanchen's heart ache. He drew a low-grade magical sword, covered Ling Moxue's mouth, and whispered in her ear, "Bear with it."

The sword cut Ling Moxue's wrist. Bright red blood soaked into the mud, spreading into a crimson patch.

Luo Fanchen tore off half of Ling Moxue's rough-spun sleeve, mixed it with a few strands of her hair, and soaked it in the blood. Then he slowly backed away, leaving drops of blood along the route.

The Demon Serpent's nostrils twitched, as if it had caught the scent of blood.

Fortunately, after swallowing the Blood-Absorbing Talisman, its mouth and nose were already full of the thick reek of blood. This trace was not enough to draw its attention.

The Snake Demon cracked its slit-pupiled eyes open. After sensing its surroundings briefly, it failed to detect Luo Fanchen and Ling Moxue, who had taken the Breath Concealment Pill. It closed its eyes and went on refining the Spirit Stone.

"That was close."

Luo Fanchen sighed softly. Staying low, he and Ling Moxue slowly withdrew from the cave.

They were covered in mud, and the stench was nauseating. Luo Fanchen used several Cleansing Talismans, but the shoddy talismans only removed the grime on their skin. They could not get rid of the smell.

"Can you hold on?"

"M-Master Luo, I'll try my best!"

Ling Moxue's lips were pale and her awareness hazy; she had lost too much blood. After hesitating a moment, Luo Fanchen poured out a Qi Gathering Pill and fed it to her.

The two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills Fellow Daoist Ling had left contained twenty pills in all. Each was worth five Spirit Dust.

Counting this one, only fifteen remained. It made his heart ache.

After she swallowed the Qi Gathering Pill, its True Essence replenished her blood. When the girl came groggily to her senses, Luo Fanchen was holding her as they lay low more than five hundred meters from the snake's cave.

"Refine the pill's power. I'll handle the rest."

"I'll do as you say, Master Luo."

Ling Moxue's pretty face was deathly pale. Shivering, she burrowed into Luo Fanchen's arms until her back pressed against his chest.

She tucked her small head close to Luo Fanchen's neck. Only then did she feel at ease and quietly begin refining the pill.

She had no notion that men and women should keep their distance. If anything, years of hardship had left her mind far behind her physical age.