Chapter Sixty-Three: Sixth Level of Qi Refinement [Seeking Your Continued Reading! Advanced to the Third Round]
Qin Ming returned to the Cool Pavilion, once again enjoying tranquility and leisure.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
He approached the vessel containing the nurturing spirit liquid, carefully observing the changes in the five-colored spirit rice seeds. Within the nurturing liquid, a tender sprout broke through its shell.
“Success!” he exclaimed.
Without delay, he submerged all the five-colored rice spirit seeds from the jade box into the nurturing liquid. Once the seeds were fully soaked, he would plant them in the spiritual fields.
Qin Ming then strolled into his courtyard. In the corner, the nest of four-winged Frost Bees had completed their advancement, all transforming into early-stage first-grade spiritual insects, with the queen bee herself breaking through to mid-stage first grade.
With a thought, Qin Ming contacted the queen bee. Receiving his command, she darted from the hive, appearing before him like a phantom—so swift that it startled him. Behind her, thousands upon thousands of spiritual bees followed, buzzing in a spectacular display.
If one were targeted by such a fiery-tempered swarm, even a mid-stage Qi Refiner might not withstand their assault.
Qin Ming directed the swarm to fly about the courtyard, responding precisely to his instructions. The queen bee, having advanced, now shared a deeper, more intimate connection with him, making the bees exceedingly obedient.
He walked over to the withered Bloodbane Vine, gazing at its blooming violet demonic flower. “It can even help the bee swarm advance. Let me see what kind of fruit it will bear.”
Using the last three [Ripening] entries, Qin Ming spent two days urging the three demonic flowers on the vine to maturity.
As the purple petals withered, three round violet fruits appeared.
He plucked them all; in that instant, a brilliant golden entry transformed into a stream of light, merging into his sea of consciousness.
Blue entry: Leaves of Time and Space x5
These can swiftly mature high-grade spiritual plants to a hundred years of age, with effects that can be stacked.
Qin Ming’s expression brightened; this meant he could obtain five century-old spiritual plants, or a single plant aged five hundred years.
He picked up a violet spiritual fruit, casually cracking it open to find only purple-black seeds within, no flesh.
Presumably, these were similar to the previous spiritual seeds, meant for casting the Thorn Art—but their exact potency remained unknown.
He decided to test them on a wild beast someday.
There were still two acres of medicinal fields in the courtyard. Qin Ming bought some top-grade spiritual herb seeds and planted them. These herbs served both for alchemy and, as first-grade herbs matured quickly, for refreshing his regular entries.
Next, he chose a corner of the medicinal field and planted the five Divine Origin Fruits entrusted to him by Su Yuqing.
The second-grade spiritual plant, Divine Origin Fruit, was a key ingredient for refining the second-grade spirit pill “Azure Sky Pill,” which could enhance the mana cultivation of those at the early Foundation Establishment stage.
It seemed, given Su Yuqing’s spiritual root talent, she was all but assured of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm and was already preparing for matters beyond that stage.
Another half month passed.
Qin Ming’s preparations were nearly complete.
He gathered his belongings and set out.
In the spiritual herb fields on the eastern side of the marketplace, Qin Ming walked along the ridges, accompanied by mountain streams, as if entering a secluded, lush immortal realm.
“The environment of a second-grade inferior spiritual vein is truly different!”
He arrived at his five acres of land and began tending the spiritual fields. First, he turned over the soil in three acres, then evenly sowed the five-colored rice spirit seeds that had been soaked in nurturing liquid.
Next, he burned all the stalks of Beasthide Rice, mixed them with manure from the Black-maned Dragon Horse, along with several other spiritual materials, and buried it in the remaining two acres. He then planted the seeds of Red Silver Hemp.
Thunder rumbled!
Qin Ming cast the advanced Spirit Rain Technique, watering all the fields with spiritual rain.
The process lasted nearly an entire day.
“Whew—”
“The rest is up to time.”
“If necessary, I’ll wait for the ripening entries to refresh.”
In the days that followed, Qin Ming persisted in diligent cultivation day and night, while delighting in his pastoral pursuits.
The immortal’s life was monotonous yet fulfilling.
As night fell, the Qingyang marketplace was adorned with lanterns and shimmering streetlights, the stars decorating the sky, and the air suffused with the warmth of mortal life.
Qin Ming stepped out of the shanty district, from what was once Su Yuqing’s room.
His expression was invigorated; today, he had successfully refined two batches of Spirit Gathering Pills—more than twenty pills in total!
Moreover, his luck was extraordinary: all the pills turned out to be of premium quality!
He had now reached a level comparable to Su Yuqing when she first arrived at the marketplace.
Soon, he could attempt to refine top-grade spirit pills and strive to become an advanced alchemist.
Qin Ming returned to his own courtyard.
He entered the meditation chamber, relaxed his body and mind, and sat cross-legged on a woven straw mat.
He opened the pill bottle; a deep azure premium Spirit Gathering Pill rolled into his hand, still radiating a gentle warmth.
“Freshly refined, premium quality!”
He placed the pill in his mouth and began his cultivation.
Several hours later—
Suddenly!
Within the Cool Pavilion’s side courtyard, a surge of powerful mana erupted.
After consuming three premium Spirit Gathering Pills, Qin Ming’s mana cultivation advanced to the sixth layer of the Qi Refining stage.
Amid the joy of his breakthrough, he also recognized a problem:
No matter how good these pills were, they could not substitute regular meals.
Now, as he took the premium Spirit Gathering Pills, he began to experience pronounced resistance to their effects.
Through this round of cultivation, he noticed that the mana gained from the Spirit Gathering Pills was now negligible.
In short, even if he continued with premium pills, their benefit to his cultivation would be minimal.
To break through to the later stages, he would need to refine even higher-grade spirit pills.
Qin Ming was greatly satisfied with his current progress: steady, unhurried, methodical, with solid foundations.
His mana reserves were exceptionally robust!
The Evergreen mana within him was not only extremely pure and unending, but his meridians had expanded more than twice, comparable to a late-stage cultivator of the seventh layer of Qi Refining.
The essence was to accumulate profoundly and unleash gradually.
After finishing his cultivation, Qin Ming went to the courtyard, tapped his storage pouch, and the Azure Sword appeared instantly in his hand.
Whoosh!
Azure sword light crisscrossed, dancing wildly throughout the courtyard.
A joyful smile graced his face as he manipulated the sword with the Art of Object Control.
It was, indeed, a supreme magical implement—besides consuming a bit more mana, it was perfect in every other respect!
There was none of the sluggishness found in lower-grade implements; even the flow of spiritual power through his meridians was noticeably faster.
Swish!
The Azure Sword circled the courtyard, tracing a dazzling arc in the air before landing in his hand.
Holding the sword behind him, Qin Ming raised his gaze forty-five degrees toward the starry sky, adopting the demeanor of a master.
A surge of inexplicable confidence swelled within him.
He felt the grand, heroic spirit of “with sword in hand, the world is mine.”
After a moment, Qin Ming regained his composure and stored the Azure Sword away.
“Stay humble; humility is key.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
“With these cultivation levels, there’s still much to achieve.”