Having stepped into the Life Palace, Xu Xuan was in no hurry to knock upon the gates of immortality.
From his lingering memories, he knew how difficult Qi Refining was. It could not be achieved in a single stride.
He needed innate qi as a catalyst before he could refine innate spiritual power and become a Qi Refining Practitioner.
There were broadly three ways to seek innate qi in this world.
The first was to refine "innate mother qi."
This mother qi was the primordial essence left behind when heaven and earth first opened, possessed of boundless mysteries.
If he could obtain and refine it, not only would his breakthrough proceed smoothly, but the solidity of his future foundation in the Dao and the purity of his spiritual power would far surpass those of his peers.
It could even allow his spiritual power to develop unique attributes early on, giving him limitless prospects.
But such mother qi was exceedingly rare.
Only those blessed with profound fortune could encounter it, and only those with substantial resources could obtain it.
It was often held by aristocratic clans and great sects with ancient inheritances.
They regarded it as a secret never to be passed to outsiders.
Ordinary cultivators did not even have the chance to hear its name.
Xu Xuan knew that such mother qi must exist within the Azure Wood Sect.
But with his aptitude and status, it was beyond his reach.
At least in this lifetime, he could not use mother qi to break through to Qi Refining.
The second method of reaching Qi Refining was to refine a "concordance object."
Heaven and earth would naturally give rise to rare treasures, such as thousand-year stone marrow, earthcore fire lotuses, and yi wood essence souls.
Though these were not themselves innate mother qi, they absorbed the essence of heaven and earth over long years.
Thus, they too could contain a strand of extremely pure innate potential, known as "concordance."
Through special methods, cultivators could refine and extract innate qi from them for their own use.
Although this method fell slightly short of directly refining mother qi, it was still a great road reaching to heaven.
The true essence and spiritual power it produced were of exceptionally high quality, placing its practitioners among the finest of their generation.
However, such rare treasures could only be encountered, never sought at will.
They could not be obtained without great opportunity and great luck.
Seventeen or eighteen years had passed since Xu Xuan became a steward.
He had arranged extensive searches through various channels, yet had never found any trace of innate mother qi or concordance objects.
That left only the third method for his breakthrough.
Between heaven and earth, the biting wind and snow, the rushing rivers, the massive mountains, and the vitality of plants all contained their own unique spiritual potential.
This third method was to extract and gather "qi of nature."
Cultivators could set up formations and work patiently, like water slowly grinding stone.
Or, relying on their own cultivation techniques, they could spend long years in particular environments.
Bit by bit, they would draw out, refine, and gather these scattered traces of spiritual potential.
Eventually, a change in quantity would bring about a change in quality.
This, too, could condense a strand of innate qi for a breakthrough.
This method was the most dependable, requiring no reliance on opportunities involving external objects.
But it took an extremely long time, often demanding twenty or thirty years of arduous work.
Some types with unusual attributes or exceptionally demanding requirements might even take a hundred years to complete.
Moreover, the innate qi extracted this way was difficult to preserve. Once formed, it had to be used as soon as possible.
Some great aristocratic clans of immortals would specifically assign cultivators to extract qi of nature for disciples within the clan who possessed spiritual roots.
Xu Qingchan possessed extraordinary talent, and her fortune was not poor either.
During those ten years, she often went out to gain experience.
She had actually found a naturally formed Water Spirit Pearl in a cold pool somewhere in the Southern Wilds.
This pearl had formed from the essence of a water vein gathering over a thousand years.
It was an excellent concordance object.
Seeing that it matched her elemental affinity perfectly, Xu Xuan had no intention of seizing her opportunity.
He sought out numerous methods for refining concordance objects and taught them to her.
He instructed her in extracting its innate water spirit qi, in the hope that she could break through to Qi Refining.
With her earth spiritual root aptitude, aided by such a spiritual treasure, her chances of success were high.
Xu Xuan himself had also long been making plans and weighing his options.
The innate mother qi of the first method was elusive and could not be forced into his grasp.
Qingchan had been lucky enough to obtain a concordance object for the second method, but there was no guarantee he would enjoy such luck himself.
For an ordinary cultivator, obtaining a single strand of qi of heaven and earth suited to their own attribute was already an immense blessing.
He possessed a five elements spiritual root. To perfect his foundation, he needed to gather qi of the five elements.
His breakthrough would be five times as difficult as anyone else's.
The Evergreen Technique accommodated all five elements, and Xu Xuan had encountered no difficulties in cultivating it thus far.
Since this technique could elicit a response from the Earth Spirit of the Eight Directions, it surely possessed its own mysteries.
Xu Xuan harbored the lofty ambitions of a swan soaring high. Now, with the sect behind him and an entire lineage under his command, he had a chance to give it a try.
He left the valley and ventured alone deep into the Spiritual Expanse Mountain Range.
He climbed to the highest peak, sat cross-legged amid the swirling clouds and mist, and circulated his cultivation technique.
His spiritual sense merged with the towering mountains beneath his feet, sensing the massive, majestic aura of the earth veins that bore all things.
He sat there for more than half a year.
He set up a Spirit-Gathering Formation there to refine qi of mountains and sent people to guard it.
Then, following the mountain streams, he reached the banks of a surging great river outside Spiritual Expanse Mountain.
Where towering waves battered the shore, he sat in stillness for nine times nine-eighty-one days.
His spiritual sense merged with the rolling river waters, sensing their ceaseless flow and the vitality that nourished all things.
He drew forth a strand of long, vast qi of rivers and brought it into his Life Palace, using the water element to complement it.
The water qi here was immense. He likewise built a great formation and assigned members of his lineage to guard it...
His temperament was steady, and he disliked placing all his hopes on chance opportunities.
Thus, he established several qi-gathering formations around Spiritual Expanse Mountain and the surrounding mountains, treacherous passes, and riverbanks.
On one hand, he searched for clues to concordance objects and innate mother qi.
On the other, he began extracting and preparing qi of the five elements suited to his own breakthrough.
The five qi gathered, each settling into its proper place.
Xu Xuan knew well that this was work like water slowly grinding stone. He could neither hurry nor grow impatient.
By his estimate, if everything went smoothly, condensing enough five elements innate qi through this method to attempt a breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm would take at least twenty or thirty cycles of heat and cold.
If he sought still greater perfection, spending a hundred years was not impossible either.
All I can do in this lifetime is this...
In the blink of an eye, an unknown number of springs and autumns had passed.
Xu Xuan's body gradually began showing signs of age as well, resembling that of a seventy-year-old man.
Xu Ziyu had also passed away. Having lived for a hundred and thirty years with only Meridian Opening cultivation, he had indeed been a rarity.
Xu Xuan saw him off and buried him at an auspicious site behind Spiritual Expanse Mountain.
This was the Xu Lineage's new ancestral mountain.
The newly appointed head of the Xu Lineage was named Xu Xingzong, and he was now in his thirties.
He was Xu Ziyu's fourth-generation descendant.
It was not that Xu Ziyu had intended to skip generations when passing on his position.
Rather, his children and grandchildren were no longer alive, none having enjoyed his longevity.
Xu Xingzong cultivated much faster than Xu Ziyu had. He was also a skilled practitioner within the Xu Household and had already opened his Yellow Court Spiritual Treasury, extending his lifespan by sixty years.
For a long time to come, he would be the one at the Xu Lineage's helm.
He was tall, sturdy, and imposing. When he first arrived at Spiritual Expanse Mountain, he had been only eleven.
Xu Xuan felt that the boy, too, held hills and valleys within his heart, and had kept him at his side to cultivate since childhood.
He possessed a metal-element spiritual root and was a promising seed for Qi Refining.
He was most skilled with a great refined-iron spear, fighting with broad, sweeping movements that were fierce and unyielding.
Over the years, he had fought many battles for the Xu Lineage. He carried numerous injuries, but had also established a formidable reputation.
That day, while practicing his spear in the household's training grounds, he suddenly saw a streak of blue light approaching from the horizon. Looking closely, who could it be but Xu Qingchan?
Xu Xingzong immediately stepped forward and bowed. "Greetings, grandaunt!"
Xu Qingchan waved her hand, sending forth a pale blue light. It resembled a bubble, enclosing a stream of deep blue qi.
"I've extracted the final strand of qi of rivers. Hurry and take it to Ancestor Xuan."
"I was ambushed while away this time and sustained some injuries. I need to recuperate for a while."
Without saying anything more, Xu Qingchan rode the wind into the air again and headed toward the mountain behind them.
Such means already marked her as a Qi Refining cultivator.
Xu Xingzong dared not delay. He carefully put away the qi of rivers and headed toward the cave abode where Xu Xuan was cultivating in seclusion.