Qi Refining Fourth Layer

The white jade flying boat stopped in front of the hall on Steward Peak. Ye Shanhua put away the White Jade Boat and strode toward the Steward Hall.

The others hurried after her. Jiang Xiaochuan glanced at Xu Changshou and saw him dawdling at the rear, then quickened his pace and followed Ye Shanhua into the hall.

Xu Changshou had already visited the Steward Hall once. This was his second visit, and he knew his way around.

Once inside, he lost sight of Ye Shanhua and the others. The hall was enormous and crowded, and their small figures had vanished into the throng the moment they entered.

Xu Changshou looked around. There were counters selling pills, magical artifacts, yellow talismans, and all kinds of Daoist robes and enchanted garments.

Without another word, Xu Changshou headed straight for the pill counter.

He had come here to buy pills. Nothing else interested him, nor did he have spirit stones to spare.

Now that he had reached the Green Immortal Sect, his most pressing task was to raise his cultivation as quickly as possible.

At the pill counter, he found a young woman in her twenties tending it. She had a graceful, alluring figure and skin as luminous and white as snow. Xu Changshou had never seen such a beautiful woman. Every smile and frown seemed beautiful beyond description.

In truth, although she was pretty, she was hardly a beauty who could topple cities and kingdoms. But Xu Changshou had seen little of the world. The prettiest girl he had ever known was Zhang Taohua, the daughter of the Xu Family Village chief.

When Zhang Taohua married, she had worn makeup, her lips red and her teeth gleaming white. It had left a deep impression on Xu Changshou. Back then, in his young heart, Zhang Taohua was already the prettiest girl in the world. Yet the woman before him was more than ten times prettier.

He glanced at her cultivation. Good heavens-qi refining twelfth layer.

Xu Changshou immediately became deferential and cupped his hands.

"Senior Sister, may I ask your name?"

"You must be a new disciple, Junior Brother. Hello, my name is Liu Ru Is. What should I call you?"

Her voice rang like silver bells.

Liu Ru Is. A beautiful woman with a beautiful name.

"I'm Xu Changshou. Greetings, Senior Sister Liu!"

"So you're Junior Brother Xu. What pills would you like to buy?"

"Qi Gathering Pills."

Liu Ru Is nodded slightly and smiled. "Qi Gathering Pills cost one spirit stone per bottle. You can also buy them individually. How many would you like?"

Xu Changshou thought for a moment. "Five Qi Gathering Pills, please."

As he spoke, Xu Changshou handed over a spirit stone. Most likely, all his spirit stones would eventually go toward pills.

But he feared he might need spirit stones for something else later, so he did not dare spend them all at once.

"Of course!"

Liu Ru Is took the spirit stone, then handed Xu Changshou a white jade bottle and fifty Fragmented Spirit Stones.

He opened the white jade bottle and looked inside. It held five emerald-green pills, their color rich and vivid, glistening as though about to drip, and giving off a medicinal fragrance.

They looked quite appetizing.

"Thank you, Senior Sister. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, little Junior Brother."

After leaving the pill counter, Xu Changshou wandered around for a while but failed to find Ye Shanhua and the others. He simply took the Public Flying Boat back to Reserve Beauty Peak by himself.

Once back, Xu Changshou carefully shut the door, sat cross-legged on his bed, and took out the Ten Paths Formula.

The method of circulating energy in the Ten Paths Formula differed slightly from that of the Everlasting Spring Art, but not by much.

Xu Changshou had not progressed far in cultivation, so it was not too late to change his cultivation method. After practicing for four hours, he had mastered the method described in the Ten Paths Formula.

He glanced outside. It was almost dark.

Xu Changshou stepped out. Jiang Xiaochuan's door was shut tight, and he had no idea where Jiang Xiaochuan had gone.

With Jiang Xiaochuan absent, Xu Changshou could enjoy some peace and quiet. He went straight to the Spirit Dining Hall to eat, then returned to continue cultivating.

Night fell.

After bathing and changing his clothes, Xu Changshou sat cross-legged on his bed. This was the first time in his life he would take a pill, and he was afraid something might go wrong.

Treating it like a precious treasure, he tipped out a pill. In the pitch-black night, it shone with a faint green light, like a precious pearl.

I wonder if one pill will let me break through to qi refining fourth layer?

Xu Changshou popped the pill into his mouth, then hurriedly circulated his energy to refine it.

After entering his body, the pill first dissolved into a warm current that flowed into his stomach. Then the warm current split into hundreds of fine threads.

Qi Gathering Pills not only raised cultivation but also suppressed hunger to some extent.

The hundreds of fine threads then darted wildly through his body. Although they moved chaotically, none escaped his body. Moreover, the spiritual energy produced by the pill was gentle and did not harm him.

Although he had swallowed the pill, its medicinal power could not be absorbed in a short time. He had to refine it slowly.

Time slipped away in cultivation. When Xu Changshou opened his eyes again, daylight had already come.

He did not feel particularly hungry, so he continued refining the pill.

Another day passed, and he had refined less than a tenth of its medicinal power.

This tiny Qi Gathering Pill was worth at least half a year of cultivation.

Xu Changshou could clearly feel his cultivation rising rapidly.

The pleasure of making such progress was beyond words. It felt even better than eating.

After a full day, Xu Changshou still did not feel hungry.

Keep refining...

Time flowed by, and ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

He had refined more than half the pill's medicinal power. Xu Changshou felt a little hungry, but he could endure it.

Keep cultivating. I'll eat once I've finished refining it.

Xu Changshou gritted his teeth and closed his eyes again.

Boom...

Time passed.

When the final trace of medicinal power had been refined, Xu Changshou's body suddenly began to tremble, as though some barrier had opened.

Xu Changshou examined himself internally. The vortex of qi at the origin pass point in his abdomen had grown to the size of an infant's fist.

Qi refining fourth layer. I've finally broken through.

That pill certainly wasn't wasted.

"Why is it so hot? What's going on?"

Suddenly, Xu Changshou felt a scorching heat against his chest. He reached up and touched it. The Bloodline Jade Talisman was heating up.

He took it out and saw that the entire Bloodline Jade Talisman had turned crimson and was trembling gently.

Good heavens, the Bloodline Jade Talisman is reacting! Is it about to activate?

At that thought, Xu Changshou could not help growing excited.

But the jade talisman gradually settled down and stopped trembling. The scorching heat slowly faded as well.

Before long, the jade talisman had returned to its original state.

"How could this happen?"

Xu Changshou was deeply disappointed. He had thought the Bloodline Jade Talisman was about to activate, but it had only made a feint.

The Bloodline Jade Talisman had first emerged from his body when he attained qi sensation. Now that his cultivation had broken through to qi refining fourth layer, it had reacted again.

That meant one thing: it would activate soon, but his cultivation was still too low to meet the requirements.

If reaching qi refining fifth layer could not activate the Bloodline Jade Talisman, he would probably have to wait until the seventh level of qi refining.

The seventh level of qi refining. Soon...

"Ow!"

Just as Xu Changshou tried to stand, his vision went black, and he nearly toppled over.

An intense wave of hunger suddenly struck him.

He was hungry. Far too hungry.

Even being starved for three days as punishment by that vicious woman had not left him this hungry. He was hungry enough to eat an entire cow.

Little did he know.

This was Xu Changshou's first time taking a pill. He had made no preparations and had refined the whole thing in one sitting.

He had sat there for half a month without eating or drinking. It would have been strange if he were not hungry.

"I'm starving! I'm starving!"

Xu Changshou rushed over, grabbed the water jug, and gulped down more than half of it.

After drinking, he felt even hungrier.