Zhang Xiaohua did not have much True Qi in his body to begin with. As the stone stele was refined, the True Qi within his meridians dwindled further and further. Fortunately, the stele was not large, and this senior had said it was merely a test of his cultivation to see whether he was an Incense-Passing Cult disciple. Thus, by the time he had exhausted all the True Qi in his body, most of the stone stele had turned pale gold.
"Fellow Daoist's cultivation... hehe, truly was not ordinarily... beyond this poor Daoist's expectations. The stone stele is actually still one thread away from being fully refined. Could it be that Fellow Daoist has no essence stones or Qi-replenishing pills?"
"Qi-replenishing pills?" Zhang Xiaohua froze, then said loudly, "I do not have any Qi-replenishing pills, but I have some essence stones. Please wait a moment, Senior."
As he spoke, his other hand pulled essence stones from his robe. He drew spiritual energy from them, refined it within his meridians, then sent the refined True Qi into the stone stele. Before long, the entire stele had become pale gold, looking very much... like a lump of gold, making Zhang Xiaohua's eyes burn with envy.
"Fine cultivation, Fellow Daoist. You have grasped the essence of the path of cultivation. Please use your natal True Essence to complete the refinement of the stone stele. Perhaps there may be some unexpected delight!"
Zhang Xiaohua was terribly embarrassed. In a low voice, he said, "I have disappointed Senior. I... do not know what natal True Essence is, much less how to spit it out!"
After a long while, the voice said in great surprise, "Why has Fellow Daoist not yet spat out natal True Essence? Ah, could it be that Fellow Daoist does not know