Breaking Through to the Qi Refining Realm, Trying Law Techniques for the First Time

They drew closer and closer to the courtyard.

Ji Bochang walked ahead, bent at the waist and stepping gingerly, as though terrified he might scare Wu Mingyuan away.

Zhang Jing followed behind him, utterly speechless.

This fellow really must have read too many storybooks and gotten too caught up in them, or he would never have done something so incomprehensible to ordinary people.

That said.

How exactly had Ji Bochang found a wealthy senior sister to dual cultivate with as soon as he arrived?

Zhang Jing really struggled to imagine it.

Could love at first sight really exist? Logically, it shouldn't. We're all cultivators. Even if immortality isn't within reach, we should at least live longer than mortals.

Surely choosing a dao companion called for more caution, however you looked at it.

I don't get it! I really don't get it!

Just as Zhang Jing puzzled over it to no avail, Ji Bochang's quiet reminder suddenly reached his ears, and their footsteps stopped as well.

"Brother Zhang, listen?"

Ji Bochang pointed at the courtyard ahead, an intriguing expression on his face, as though he had caught a glimpse of a grand drama.

Listen to what?!

Zhang Jing froze at first, then unconsciously pricked up his ears and held his breath, listening along.

Although he was unlike Ji Bochang, who had already entered the Qi Refining Realm and transcended the mundane, Zhang Jing's body had been transforming continuously lately, and his hearing already far surpassed that of mortals.

Naturally, he could catch the faint sounds carried on the wind.

"Lingyun, is there really no chance?"

A trace of hope threaded through the voice.

The moment Zhang Jing heard it, he knew it was Wu Mingyuan.

Before he could think further.

He immediately heard another voice, gentle and melodious with a hint of allure. It was lovely to hear, yet filled with unwavering resolve.

"Cousin, you're a good person, but please don't say such things again. I'm afraid Senior Brother Chen might misunderstand."

"Senior Brother Chen... who is he?" Wu Mingyuan's eyes were filled with unwillingness to give up.

"Brother Wu, Fairy Chu means Senior Brother Chen Xiandao, one of the only two First Grade prodigies in this assessment," another voice abruptly explained.

"Him?! Then it's hardly surprising that Lingyun would make this choice."

"You misunderstand. Senior Brother Chen Xiandao has eyes only for the Great Dao. He doesn't even know-"

"Hey-Deng An, why are you bringing that up?"

Chu Lingyun's somewhat embarrassed and annoyed voice instantly rang out.

Silence fell inside the room, followed by a sigh that sounded like resignation.

"I understand, Lingyun. You want to catch up to him... I happen to have some spiritual pills and Spirit Stones sent from home. Perhaps they could help a little."

At this point.

Outside, Zhang Jing and Ji Bochang exchanged a glance, each seeing a trace of speechlessness in the other's eyes.

Wait, Spirit Stones?!

They abruptly came to their senses and hurried toward the courtyard.

Generous as Wu Mingyuan was, he had better not give away all his Spirit Stones. At the very least... he should leave the fifty Spirit Stones wagered that belonged to the two of them.

A short while later.

Inside the reception room.

Chu Lingyun and Ji Bochang sat on either side at the head of the room, their expressions composed.

Zhang Jing and Deng Yuan sat in the secondary seats below them, facing each other.

Wu Mingyuan sat at the very bottom, his expression carrying some sadness and... a trace of embarrassment.

Perhaps because the door was open.

A cold gust suddenly blew inside, breaking the silence in the room.

Wu Mingyuan couldn't help shivering.

How strange. Why was today's wind so deeply chilling?

"Brother Wu," Ji Bochang said from his seat at the head of the room, setting down his teacup and looking toward Wu Mingyuan at the bottom. He asked directly, "Haven't you forgotten something? A certain wager, for instance?"

Hearing this, Wu Mingyuan felt the wind blowing inside grow even colder.

After a moment's hesitation.

He rose straight from his seat, took out a small cloth pouch with one hand, and placed it on Ji Bochang's table.

"You jest, Brother Ji. How would I dare forget? I prepared it long ago, but I've been busy lately, which caused the delay."

"You truly are a man of your word, Brother Wu!"

Ji Bochang picked up the small pouch from the table, hefted it in his hand, and spoke with a smile.

Seeing Ji Bochang act so unceremoniously.

A trace of anger first rose on Wu Mingyuan's face, but when he thought of the disparity between them now, he forcibly swallowed it back down.

"Thank you for the compliment, Brother Ji."

With that, Wu Mingyuan took another small pouch of the same style from his sleeve and placed it on the table beside Zhang Jing.

Meeting Zhang Jing's startled gaze, he said apologetically:

"Brother Zhang, I was young and hotheaded before, which was why I wagered on your assessment. I'm truly sorry. Please accept these few Spirit Stones as an apology, and I hope you won't hold it against me, Zhang Jing."

As he said this, Wu Mingyuan felt deeply stifled.

But he also knew that he certainly couldn't avoid doing this.

As a Grade B talent, Zhang Jing would most likely enter one of the top thirty Mission Teams after the assessment ended. It was best to avoid offending him as much as possible.

Watching the shifting expressions on Wu Mingyuan's face.

Zhang Jing could naturally guess some of his thoughts. Perhaps there was secret resentment, perhaps frustration and defiance, but what did that matter?

He didn't care.

Still, one didn't strike a smiling face.

Zhang Jing did not look at the Spirit Stones on the table, but smiled and nodded to Wu Mingyuan instead. "That's thoughtful of you, Brother Wu, but it was only a little joking. No harm done."

Hearing this and seeing Zhang Jing's response, Wu Mingyuan immediately said gratefully:

"Thank you for understanding, Brother Zhang."

With that, he stole another glance at Ji Bochang, finding him increasingly loathsome.

Once Wu Mingyuan had returned to his seat.

Chu Lingyun's gaze shifted, and she stood. "I never expected that we fellow cultivators from the Seventh Temporary Academy would gather together again today. Perhaps this is heaven's will."

Zhang Jing and Ji Bochang looked up together, waiting for her to continue.

"First, congratulations, Brother Zhang. To have secured a Grade B rating through sheer talent is truly extraordinary. I sincerely admire you."

"You're too kind, Fairy Chu."

Zhang Jing smiled faintly, but inwardly went on alert.

"May I ask, Brother Zhang, have you joined a Mission Team?"

"No."

Delight stirred in Chu Lingyun's heart, and she immediately said, "You may not know this, Brother Zhang, but I have an older male relative of my clan in the mid-stage Qi Refining Realm. He's currently in the Linked Mountains Squad, Outer Court Rank Nineteen. Why not join the Linked Mountains Squad, just as Brother Deng and I have?"

"We come from the same prefecture, after all, so we can look after one another. With my clan brother looking out for us as well, our cultivation paths will certainly be much smoother."

As her words fell.

Zhang Jing met Chu Lingyun's expectant gaze directly, looking at her until she grew somewhat uneasy before asking with a smile:

"May I ask, Fairy Chu, if I join the Linked Mountains Squad, will I still have to hand over thirty percent of the Dao Merit I earn in the future?"

"Brother Zhang, naturally. It's the same for everyone. No one can escape it." Chu Lingyun covered her mouth and smiled.

After speaking, she added inwardly: Except me, of course!

"That's right, Brother Zhang. Thirty percent of your Dao Merit isn't much. Cultivation flies like a weaver's shuttle. Just endure those five years, and they'll be over. The Linked Mountains Squad is ranked nineteenth among Mission Teams. Without Lingyun acting as an intermediary, we probably wouldn't even have this opportunity."

Deng An stood opposite him and urged:

"In another three to five days, I'll be able to break through to the Qi Refining Realm. Brother Zhang, if you keep hesitating, we'll leave your cultivation far behind."

"Thank you both for your kindness. Let me consider it some more," Zhang Jing politely declined.

As his words fell.

Chu Lingyun and Deng An wanted to continue, but Ji Bochang interrupted them directly. "Sorry, you three. Brother Zhang and I still have something to attend to, so we'll be leaving first."

He winked at Zhang Jing.

Understanding his meaning, Zhang Jing also rose and took his leave.

Soon, only three people remained in the reception room.

"Brother Zhang comes from a mortal background after all. His vision is a little shortsighted. He sees only the thirty percent of Dao Merit the Mission Team takes, without realizing that it buys the team's protection and nurturing. That is worth far more than a mere thirty percent of Dao Merit."

Deng An sighed faintly.

"Forget it. Let him be," Chu Lingyun said calmly. "We've already done everything kindness and duty demand."

"Once Brother Zhang enters the Outer Court alone and completes a mission, he'll understand the benefits of joining a Mission Team."

On the way back.

"To think Chu Lingyun entered the Qi Refining Realm so quickly too. By the way, Brother Zhang, you still haven't joined a Mission Team?" Ji Bochang asked in surprise.

After all, he had seen senior brothers from several Mission Teams seek Zhang Jing out, and he had thought Zhang Jing would choose one of them.

Yet unexpectedly, Zhang Jing had chosen none.

Phew-

Zhang Jing let out a long breath and said, "Brother Ji, these squads ask for thirty percent of my Dao Merit for the next five years at the drop of a hat. Surely I have to think it over carefully?"

"By the way, have you joined a Mission Team? When you joined, did you also have to agree to let them take a cut of your Dao Merit?"

No sooner had Zhang Jing finished than Ji Bochang chuckled and said proudly:

"Brother Zhang, I joined my senior sister's Five-Colored Squad. Apart from those behemoths ranked in the Outer Court's top ten, the Five-Colored Squad belongs to the strongest tier. It's extremely powerful."

"As for taking a cut of my Dao Merit-because of my senior sister, there isn't one!"

At this moment, Zhang Jing was truly dumbfounded.

He stared at Ji Bochang again and again, trying to see just what charm this fellow possessed that had allowed him to latch onto that mysterious senior sister.

As they parted.

"Brother Zhang, we'll set off for the market first thing tomorrow morning."

"All right."

That night.

Inside a certain cave abode.

Spiritual qi condensed into a thin, hazy mist, making the entire cave abode resemble an immortal paradise.

"Senior Sister, does our Five-Colored Squad still need people?" Ji Bochang's voice suddenly rang out.

"What, Junior Brother, do you... mm... have someone to recommend?"

His senior sister asked languidly.

"I have a brother who also received a Grade B rating. He's very talented. Senior Sister, could you recruit him into our Five-Colored Squad too? And could you waive that thirty-percent Dao Merit cut for him as well?"

"Junior Brother, having him join the Five-Colored Squad is no problem. His talent already meets the requirements. But as for the Dao Merit cut-"

His senior sister immediately explained with some difficulty, "This rule has existed for nearly a thousand years. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to break it again. How about this, Junior Brother? Ask him whether he could accept reducing the cut to twenty percent. That way, it wouldn't be too difficult... mmh~"

Meanwhile, inside the cultivation room.

Zhang Jing's eyes were tightly shut, his brow furrowing from time to time as wisps of white mist steamed from the top of his head.

He had reached the threshold of his breakthrough.

Success would mean entering the Qi Refining Realm, becoming a true cultivator of the Immortal Dao with all manner of incredible techniques and spells; failure would mean... nothing would happen at all.

Well.

This step was entirely a matter of water flowing into a channel once it was full. There was no risk whatsoever.

Zhang Jing kept his mind firmly guarded, his spiritual sense spreading throughout his body. Not even the slightest internal change escaped his perception.

Spiritual qi circulated rapidly along the route of the [Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method], its speed increasing further and further. Nourished by the spiritual qi, the transformation of Zhang Jing's body slowly reached a critical point.

At last.

Boom-

An enormous crash seemed to ring in his ears.

Every corner of his body seemed to cheer, leap with joy, and celebrate this moment.

Inside the dim cultivation room.

Zhang Jing abruptly opened his eyes.

This time, he needed no spiritual sense. With his naked eyes alone, he could see the spiritual qi surrounding him. Every part of the room, including dust, ants, and insects, appeared clearly in his vision.

It felt as though he had activated an extremely watered-down version of the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed.

Inside his body.

At the point where the spiritual qi's circulation route bordered his Dantian.

A great quantity of spiritual qi seemed to lose control, gathering madly and compressing together, radiating fluctuations of extreme oppression.

At the same time.

The [Origin-Gathering Spiritual Light] at the center of his Dantian suddenly lit up. Its radiance shone straight through his Dantian onto that mass of chaotic spiritual qi, compressed to its utmost limit.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

A wisp of pure white abruptly appeared at the center of the chaotic mass of spiritual qi.

That was spiritual power!

The instant that wisp of spiritual power appeared, the remaining spiritual qi seemed to be drawn by some force and poured into it.

"Spiritual power! The Qi Refining Realm!" Zhang Jing murmured. "I've waited so long for this day."

A few breaths later, that wisp of spiritual power had absorbed every last bit of spiritual qi in his body.

He suppressed his excitement.

Zhang Jing began recalling the low-grade offensive technique, the Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique, recorded in the Five Viscera Water-Origin Guiding Commentary. He had already spent several days practicing this technique with his spiritual sense, all in preparation for today.

Zhang Jing mobilized his spiritual sense, deftly tracing the exceedingly intricate Dao patterns of the technique.

Unlike before, this time spiritual power actually flowed slowly into them.

Before long.

An icy, crescent-shaped edge lit up in Zhang Jing's hand. Wisps of cold spread outward, sending the temperature throughout the cultivation room plummeting.

Go! he shouted inwardly.

The edge flew from Zhang Jing's hand, becoming a streak of light almost too fast for the naked eye to catch. In an instant, it pierced the stone wall before him, a full two feet thick, then dissipated outright.

Zhang Jing instinctively looked toward the stone wall.

A narrow slit about a foot long had appeared in it, its cut smooth. A layer of frost was spreading outward from the slit.

Hiss-

At the sight, Zhang Jing could not help sucking in a breath of cold air.

The stone wall was as hard as steel, yet before the Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique, it was as fragile as tofu. If this struck a person, wouldn't it draw blood straight away?

Right, what would happen if I empowered the Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique with the Nether Flood Dragon Devouring the Void Dao Rhythm?

He acted on the thought at once.

Thirty breaths later, another equally terrifying edge appeared in Zhang Jing's hand.

With a stir of his mind, the incomplete Nether Flood Dragon Devouring the Void Dao Rhythm awakened, spreading in an instant to the edge formed by the Ice Condensation Edge-Forming Technique in his hand.

Bzz! Bzz!

A vibrating hum suddenly rang in his ears.

Zhang Jing felt as though the edge in his hand had become a living Flood Dragon, its strength so immense it defied belief, as if it would break free of his grasp the very next moment.

He turned to look at the stone wall and slowly released his hold.

At once, a streak of light exuding a savage aura shot straight out.

This time, its speed was simply extreme.

Moreover, as it flew, the edge was actually drawing in and devouring the surrounding spiritual qi without pause.

-

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