The moment the pill entered his throat, it dissolved into a surge of spiritual energy.
Its force was too fierce, like a wild bull charging about inside his body. His meridians ached as they were stretched, and even his chest heaved, as though it would explode the next second.
"Urgh!" Qing Chen let out a muffled grunt.
He had expected the medicinal power to be fierce, so he did not panic. Instead, he used the pain to steady his mind.
When that surge of spiritual energy slammed toward his dantian, he suddenly bit the tip of his tongue, and his mind instantly cleared.
The internal force within him lashed like a slender whip at the rampaging spiritual energy, forcibly making it pause.
Head into the dantian! Qing Chen commanded inwardly, guiding it toward his dantian bit by bit with his internal force.
The process hurt so much that veins bulged on his forehead, and cold sweat dripped down his cheeks.
Yet he dared not ease up. If the spiritual energy went out of control, breaking through would be out of the question-even severed meridians would be a light consequence.
After roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, that surge of spiritual energy was finally guided into his dantian.
Qing Chen had just been about to catch his breath when his dantian felt as though it had been filled with hot water, scalding him until his entire body trembled.
Then the meridians around his dantian suddenly gave a faint crack, as though a thin shell had shattered-that was the shackle barring him from becoming a second-rate master!
Riding that momentum, the spiritual energy raced through his meridians into his limbs and every part of his body.
Wherever it passed, his previously taut muscles gradually relaxed. Even the calluses left by practicing the Jade Forging Art grew faintly hot.
What delighted him even more was that, as the spiritual energy swept past the space between his brows, he suddenly sensed its subtle fluctuations in a flash of intuitive clarity!
This resonance with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth filled Qing Chen with joy.
What a chance! His heart surged with excitement, and he hurriedly began circulating the Everlasting Spring Inner Vista Art.
When he had guided the spiritual energy with internal force earlier, that power had been like a wild horse. Now, following the art, it became as gentle as a stream.
He drew the spiritual energy along with his will, first circling it three times through his sea of qi. Only once that warm current had steadied further did he slowly guide it toward his conception vessel!
From the sea of qi to the center of his chest, then to his throat, and finally to the crown of his head, every step felt like warm water flowing through his meridians. It was so comfortable that he nearly moaned aloud.
Next, the spiritual energy flowed down his governing vessel, passed through the lumbar yang gate and the gate of life, then returned to his sea of qi.
After completing this circuit, Qing Chen suddenly felt as though he had reached the clouds!
Multicolored lights floated before his eyes, the red like fire and the green like leaves, circling him ceaselessly. He could even faintly hear running water.
He knew this was the "inner vista" described in the art, a sign that his spiritual energy was circulating smoothly, and he could not help grinning.
This is merely a basic Yellow Grade immortal cultivation art, merely the first step on the path of qi refining, yet it already holds such wonders. Wouldn't the scenery deeper along the path of immortal cultivation be even more captivating?
An indescribable joy welled up within him, far surpassing his delight when he had broken through to become a second-rate master.
This refining lasted into the latter half of the night.
Only when the sky outside his window turned fish-belly white did Qing Chen slowly end his practice.
He opened his eyes and raised a hand to examine it. His skin was much smoother than before, and even the old scar on his wrist had faded. These were signs of Qi Refining Layer One!
The satisfaction of successfully taking the first step in cultivating the Everlasting Spring Inner Vista Art was a hundred times stronger than that of breaking through to the second-rate master realm.
Wisps of thin spiritual energy also began gathering in his sea of qi, marking his entry into Qi Refining Layer One.
But before he could enjoy it for long, he frowned.
Why is the spiritual energy between heaven and earth so thin?
After finishing refining the pill's spiritual power, Qing Chen tried absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
To his surprise, however, he discovered that the spiritual energy in the air was so thin it was almost imperceptible.
With the spiritual energy in the air this thin, even if I sit in meditation cultivating for ten or twenty years, I probably won't be able to break through to the Qi Refining Second Layer.
Such an environment could only keep his current cultivation from regressing.
Trying to further strengthen the spiritual energy in his dantian would be no different from dreaming in broad daylight.
According to the Records of Profound Mysteries, someone with a middle-grade spiritual root cultivating in the Early Qi Refining Stage could advance one layer in roughly two years, provided no bottleneck stood in the way.
In the Middle Qi Refining Stage, advancing one layer took three to five years, while the late stage required even longer.
In theory, a cultivator with a middle-grade spiritual root who set foot on the immortal path at sixteen-
If everything went smoothly and they encountered no bottlenecks, they could reach the Qi Refining Ninth Layer in just thirty or forty years.
However, the path of cultivation was fraught with hardships.
If they encountered those elusive bottlenecks, some people, even with middle-grade spiritual roots, might never touch Peak Qi Refining in their entire lives.
One pill was enough to get me through the door of immortal cultivation, yet the Records of Profound Mysteries says sensing spiritual energy is so difficult? Why not simply hand everyone a pill and be done with it? That would be much simpler, far better than sitting idly for a month.
Qing Chen muttered to himself.
What he did not know was that, although drawing spiritual energy into the body was dull and tedious-
No one would dare bestow a pill on a newcomer taking their first steps in cultivation.
After all, they had not truly set foot on the immortal path, nor had they painstakingly cultivated internal force within their bodies. They were still mortal flesh, no different from ordinary people.
Earlier, Qing Chen had used only a fragment of a pill, and it had made the prisoner vomit blood and suffer serious injuries.
Thus, swallowing one rashly could risk making their body explode.
As he was thinking, Qing Chen suddenly smelled something strange, like rust mixed with greasy grime.
He looked down and did not know whether to laugh or cry: a thick layer of black sludge had crusted over his body. A rub turned it into crumbs that fell between his fingers, and even his clothes had been soaked through and stank.
"This is filthy. So this is the legendary cleansing of the sinews and marrow."
He stood up and moved his arms, feeling light and nimble all over.
All the soreness left by practicing the Jade Forging Art was gone, and his five senses had become frighteningly keen.
"Immortal cultivation arts really are good! I've become an immortal too, hahaha!"
A bird in the neighboring courtyard had only just flapped its wings, yet he could clearly see the patterns on its feathers.
At the slightest movement from Qing Chen, the grime on his body rapidly fell away like autumn leaves.
He tried throwing a punch. Internal force surged along his arm, more than twice as fast as before.
The wind from his punch went whoosh, making even the oil lamp on the table sway.
At this moment, he had shed his old flesh and bones. Both his strength and his root bone had surpassed those of ordinary second-rate masters.
This extraordinary perception could let him move through battle like a fish in water, swiftly spotting openings and making the most precise responses.
If I faced my former self now, one punch would send him flying, Qing Chen reckoned inwardly, then touched the spot over his sea of qi again.
Though that little bit of spiritual energy was scant, it was like a seed.
As long as he could leave Immortal-Severing Island and find somewhere rich in spiritual energy, it would eventually take root and sprout, soaring into the sky in a single flight.
He walked to a corner of the secret chamber, added some hot water to the bathing barrel, stripped off his clothes, and jumped in.
The black sludge dissolved upon touching the water, and a layer of oily film floated to the surface.
Qing Chen scrubbed his arms, but his mind was not idle: now that he had become a second-rate master and crossed the threshold of immortal cultivation, he needed to find a way to locate the city lord's token next.
Li Muyun had said the token was bestowed by the sovereign, so in all likelihood it was hidden in a secret chamber in the city lord's residence.
He would have to give some serious thought to how to get inside.