Fourth Level of Qi Refining

"Spirit stones really do flow away like water."

Before going to the Cultivator Market, he had possessed ten spirit stones and another hundred and twelve grains of spirit sand.

Now he had only three spirit stones and seventy-one grains of spirit sand left.

One Qi-Nurturing Pill had cost five spirit stones, a Fairy First-Hand Talisman Brush one spirit stone, spirit ink another spirit stone, and fine yellow paper forty grains of spirit sand.

He had also exchanged some for a hundred taels of silver to buy daily necessities.

"I hope I have some talent for the Talisman Dao."

Chen Jianghe offered a silent prayer and steered his boat away from Port No. 1. With the Qi-Nurturing Pill in hand, he would next enter secluded cultivation.

After returning to the Inner Waters, Chen Jianghe calculated the time. There was still half a month before the Yun Household delivered the Small Blue Fish fry.

That was enough time for him to take the Qi-Nurturing Pill and break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

He sat cross-legged and gathered his mind.

Absorbing the water-element spiritual qi drifting over the lake, Chen Jianghe circulated the Origin Returning True Water Art, restoring his essence, qi, and spirit to bring himself to peak condition.

He had a five-element mixed spiritual root and would encounter a minor bottleneck when breaking through to the mid Qi Refining stage.

Although it was only a bottleneck between minor realms, he dared not be the slightest bit careless.

Two days passed.

Chen Jianghe felt that his essence, qi, and spirit had all reached their best condition, and the magical power in his dantian was full to the brim.

Then he took out the Sandalwood Box and removed the Qi-Nurturing Pill inside. Its rich medicinal fragrance instantly filled the cabin.

"Master, what's that? It smells so good. I want some too."

Xiao Hei's voice came through the spiritual platform mark.

What a dog's nose-able to smell a spiritual pill even from the bottom of the lake. Chen Jianghe grumbled inwardly, then sent Xiao Hei a voice transmission.

"This is a Qi-Nurturing Pill, a spiritual pill better than a Qi-Nourishing Pill. As long as you work hard, I'll buy you a few to taste once we're better off."

"All right, I'm going to cultivate now. Don't disturb me. Take good care of the fish."

"Woo~ woo~ A Qi-Nurturing Pill, a good pill. I'll remember that. I'll definitely work hard so we can become well-off sooner."

After sending Xiao Hei away, Chen Jianghe spent another two hours clearing away stray thoughts before taking out the Qi-Nurturing Pill and putting it into his mouth.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed the Qi-Nurturing Pill. Instantly, immense medicinal power rose in his belly and surged straight up the conception vessel toward his heavenly numinous point. He immediately circulated the Origin Returning True Water Art, directing the medicinal power around his body and gradually refining it.

His already full qi sea dantian instantly became a vortex, a base for absorbing and refining the medicinal power.

Spiritual qi as fine as gossamer carried the Qi-Nurturing Pill's medicinal power, charging wildly through his twelve primary meridians.

"The Qi-Nurturing Pill's medicinal power is too immense. Even the Origin Returning True Water Art can't guide it into a celestial circuit right away."

The Qi-Nurturing Pill was a spiritual pill used to improve cultivation in the mid Qi Refining stage.

One Qi-Nurturing Pill could equal a year and a half of arduous cultivation. It was simply more than someone at the Qi Refining third layer could withstand.

That was also why early Qi Refining stage cultivators could use it as a breakthrough pill.

What Chen Jianghe needed to do now was not absorb all its medicinal power, but borrow a portion to break through.

He circulated the Origin Returning True Water Art, striving to guide a portion of the Qi-Nurturing Pill's medicinal power through a celestial circuit before channeling it into his qi sea dantian.

Once he wore down the bottleneck, the breakthrough to the fourth level of Qi Refining would follow as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Whoosh, whoosh~

Under the cultivation art's guidance, the medicinal power swept through his meridians like a hurricane, finally reaching the shenque above his qi sea.

Under the medicinal power's assault, the blocked shenque gradually loosened.

A dazzling silver light abruptly shone at the center of his qi sea. The magical power within his dantian surged up toward the shenque, meeting the medicinal power, clearing the blockage, and grinding away the bottleneck.

For a time, the circulation speed of the Origin Returning True Water Art suddenly increased severalfold, absorbing the Qi-Nurturing Pill's remaining medicinal power from his body into his qi sea dantian.

His spiritual root then transformed it into magical power, which surged through his meridians and followed the cultivation art through a greater celestial circuit.

Impurities lying dormant deep within his bone marrow were crushed to dust by this dense magical power, and every pore expelled turbid qi.

"Whew~"

Chen Jianghe slowly opened his eyes, delight showing on his face. "I did it!"

At that moment, he had broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining and become a mid Qi Refining stage cultivator.

His qi sea dantian had been fully opened. Next, he needed to accumulate magical power and raise his cultivation to the sixth level of Qi Refining, then gradually condense his magical power to break through to the late Qi Refining stage. As these thoughts flashed through his mind, a pungent stench reached his nose. Only then did he discover that his body was sticky and covered in a layer of black impurities.

He immediately went to the bow and cast a Body-Cleansing Technique, washing away the impurities expelled from his body.

He instantly felt refreshed and clearheaded.

"I induced qi into my body and stepped onto the immortal path at fourteen. Fifteen years have passed, and I've finally broken through to the mid Qi Refining stage."

Chen Jianghe smiled, fairly satisfied with this pace of cultivation.

After all, he was only a lowly fisher-farmer with a meager wage, and his aptitude was merely a five-element mixed spiritual root.

Having reached this realm in fifteen years, what was there to be dissatisfied with?

Only, nearly seventy percent of the Qi-Nurturing Pill's medicinal power had been lost during the breakthrough, which left him feeling some regret.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

The Qi-Nurturing Pill was not meant for early Qi Refining stage cultivators to take in the first place.

As he was now, he could absorb and refine at least seventy or eighty percent of a Qi-Nurturing Pill's medicinal power, equaling a year of arduous cultivation.

The pill toxins in a Qi-Nurturing Pill were milder than those in a Qi-Nourishing Pill, but it would still take more than half a year to expel them completely.

Of course, even after more than half a year, he would not be able to afford a second Qi-Nurturing Pill for cultivation.

The moment he broke through to the mid Qi Refining stage, Chen Jianghe understood why Gao Peiyao had wanted to leave Mirror Moon Lake.

She would rather brave unpredictable dangers to go to the Tian Nan Sect and take its assessment.

Even absorbing and refining all the medicinal power in a Qi-Nurturing Pill would only equal a year and a half of arduous cultivation. Gao Peiyao's spiritual root aptitude was better than his.

But she would still need at least ten Qi-Nurturing Pills to cultivate to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Fifty spirit stones!

Old Gao could have left her thirty-odd spirit stones at most. Whether that could support her cultivation from the first layer of Qi Refinement to Qi Refining, fifth layer was doubtful.

Even if Gao Peiyao lived frugally for decades and broke through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, what about the resources to buy a Calamity-Breaking Pill?

A four-element false spiritual root required the aid of a Calamity-Breaking Pill to break through to the late Qi Refining stage.

Could she really rely on her ally's financial support?

"With my five-element mixed spiritual root aptitude, I'm afraid I'll need twelve Qi-Nurturing Pills to cultivate quickly to the sixth level of Qi Refining. That's sixty spirit stones!"

In fact, how could sixty spirit stones possibly be enough for him to cultivate to the sixth level of Qi Refining?

He also had a spirit beast to raise. With an equal share for each, that meant a hundred and twenty spirit stones.

Just thinking about it gave him a headache. Fortunately, his lifespan was long, and he was in no hurry.

Even so, he had to master a craft.

Having a craft meant another source of income, especially one of the four great arts of the hundred crafts.

Formations, artifacts, pills, and talismans-mastering any one of them would spare him too much worry over spirit stones in the future.

The Talisman Dao was the first cultivation craft Chen Jianghe wanted to try.

It was also the craft he felt he had the greatest hope of succeeding in.

Chen Jianghe first stabilized his cultivation at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Once the Yun Household delivered the Small Blue Fish fry, he would prepare to try Spirit Talisman Drawing.

A few days later, New Year's Eve arrived.

It was once again the day for the senior fisher-farmers and retainers of the Inner Waters to visit Heart of the Lake Island.

Chen Jianghe did not go.

He lacked nothing at present and had few spirit stones left. Frugality had to come first in everything.

On the eighth day of the new year, people from the Yun Household arrived with a hundred Small Blue Fish fry.

Chen Jianghe handed the Small Blue Fish fry over to Xiao Hei, then ducked into the cabin and began trying to draw talismans.

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