Cultivating Immortality in a World of Chaos

Chapter 41: Qi Refinement Fourth Layer

The next day.

In the cellar of his shack, Fang Xi sat cross-legged, gazing at a small ink jade bottle in his hand.

This was a bottle of ‘Vitality Wood Pills’, suitable for cultivators practicing wood attribute techniques during early to mid-Qi Refinement stages. They also had a mild effect in stimulating breakthroughs at cultivation bottlenecks.

“Di Qi seems somewhat trustworthy, but selling both the beast’s flesh and bones only fetched twenty spirit stones, which feels like a slight loss… He must have pocketed quite some profit from it…”

As expected by Fang Xi, avoiding complications and completing transactions swiftly was exactly what he desired. After all, his time here was limited.

In Great Liang, he had left the caravan under the pretext of wanting to travel independently. Regardless, with their slow pace, his agile speed would easily allow him to catch up within a few days, covering the distance in just several hours.

If he couldn’t catch up… well, then so be it!

He had done his part, leaving little room for complaints.

“It’s unfortunate I can’t visit the Hundred Skills Pavilion; I won’t be able to sell any more Beefwood meat now… Next time I hunt a beast, perhaps I should disguise myself as a wandering cultivator and sell it at the market…”

“Compared to Di Qi, the Pill Cauldron Pavilion is truly outrageous! Selling one medicinal pill for thirty spirit stones… I even had to subsidize quite a bit…”

Recalling the variety of pills at the Pill Cauldron Pavilion and their exorbitant prices, Fang Xi felt an urge to grit his teeth indignantly.

Wasn’t being a two-realm transporter, tirelessly shuttling goods between worlds, already challenging enough? Yet these monopolists took all the damn profits!

“Sigh… Stay focused, cultivation is paramount.”

Fang Xi composed himself and poured out a single ‘Vitality Wood Pill’ from the black jade bottle.

The pill was entirely emerald green but emitted a spicy aroma upon smelling it. After a moment’s thought, he swallowed the pill and closed his eyes to refine its effects.

Soon, Fang Xi’s expression shifted as he sensed a vast yet gentle surge of spiritual energy exploding within his dantian, stimulating the Everlasting Spring Art to stir eagerly.

Instinctively, he began circulating the third level of the Everlasting Spring Art, time and again.

When Fang Xi finally regained awareness, he realized that without noticing, he had continuously practiced the technique for six full hours.

Upon introspection, his face lit up with joy: “I’ve actually reached the peak of the third layer of Qi Refinement! It sure wasn’t easy…”

Merciful heavens! When he first crossed over, his cultivation was already at the third layer of Qi Refining, yet it took more than a year to reach its peak!

Now, finally, he had mastered this level and could attempt to break through the bottleneck to Middle Stage Qi Refinement!

“The power of medicinal pills is truly impressive!”

Fang Xi joyfully caressed the small black jade bottle, which still contained two Vitality Wood Pills. He estimated that these should be enough for him to surpass the Middle Stage Qi Refinement barrier!

“Indeed, mindlessly meditating to cultivate is foolish; relying on pills is the true path!”

“Moreover, these spirit pills inherently contain spiritual energy. By consuming them, one primarily refines the internal spiritual energy and medicinal properties for cultivation purposes. This means even in Great Liang, I can continue advancing…”

In that moment, Fang Xi contemplated returning to Great Liang to fervently hunt beastfolk, exchanging their parts for medicinal pills to enhance his cultivation.

However, he swiftly dismissed such reckless thoughts!

Rapidly increasing one’s cultivation base risks instability in foundational development!

Additionally, the cost of medicinal pills suitable for advancing from middle to late stages of Qi Refinement, specifically for breaking through bottlenecks, is exorbitantly high!

Not to mention, excessive consumption of pills leads to pill toxicity, which can severely hinder future breakthroughs to major realms!

“Selling large quantities of beastfolk meat would not only depress market prices but also bring diminishing returns, potentially exposing myself…”

“Stability is key,” Fang Xi thought to himself. “I’m only seventeen, turning eighteen soon… No need to rush, no need at all…”

Fang Xi gazed at the Vitality Wood Pill in his hand, lost in contemplation.

The next day.

Fang Xi emerged from his shack, a hint of frustration on his face.

Initially, he believed that consuming just one more Vitality Wood Pill would be enough to break through the bottleneck. However, contrary to his expectation, it took both remaining pills to finally overcome the barrier and reach the Middle Stage of the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, becoming a mid-stage cultivator.

“Oh, my aptitude!”

Fang Xi began to realize that his low-grade spiritual root would increasingly become a stumbling block on his path to longevity.

In the Qi Refinement stage, while medicinal pills for enhancing magical energy were not common, they could still be purchased with sufficient spirit stones. For great Foundation Establishment cultivators, such potency-enhancing pills were available only once every ten years at Qingzhu Mountain Market’s auction.

As for reaching Core Formation level, both the pill formulas and centuries-aged spirit medicines became extraordinarily scarce and rare.

Relying solely on medicinal pills to advance, even without considering pill toxicity, seemed utterly impractical!

“Spiritual root… Spiritual root… I wonder if there’s any way to improve it?” Fang Xi pondered deeply.

According to the cultivation world’s theory on spiritual roots, every cultivator possesses all five elements within their spiritual root. However, one or more of these elements may be more prominent, with the strongest element determining the cultivator’s innate aptitude.

Fang Xi himself had a low-grade wood-biased spiritual root, indicating that among his five elemental spiritual roots, the wood element was the strongest but still only reached the level of a low-grade spiritual root.

Above low-grade, there were mid-grade and high-grade spiritual roots, followed by the legendary Earthly Spiritual Roots and Heavenly Spiritual Roots—these were merely spoken about in rumors, yet their appearance would inevitably trigger fierce competition among super sects for potential Core Formation talents! They represented future powerhouses in the making!

“But… I don’t recall hearing any methods to enhance spiritual roots? Perhaps it’s because my predecessor’s cultivation base was too low, limiting his knowledge?”

“If enhancing spiritual roots post-awakening were possible, why would sects bother searching for disciples with exceptional innate roots? Therefore, even if such a method exists, the cost must be exorbitant…”

“Ah…in short, it seems nearly impossible!” Fang Xi silently worried about his own Dao path.

He stepped into the courtyard, and suddenly, a tiny seed appeared in his hand.

This was a seed from iron gauze grass, casually collected during his time as a spirit farmer—a type of resilient weed comparable to steel.

Fang Xi retrieved this seed for practicing magic spells!

Having advanced to the Middle Stage of Qi Refinement, he could finally move beyond the awkward phase where only basic farming techniques like weed removal and rain invocation were within his reach. Now, he was ready to learn mid-tier first-order spells!

The spell he intended to master was called the ‘Entangling Spell’, a minor technique recorded in the Everlasting Spring Art.

Its primary effect involved using magical energy to sprout seeds, creating vines that entangle and restrain enemies!

As expected from a run-of-the-mill cultivation technique with its accompanying generic spells… their power is limited indeed.

Recalling the incantation, Fang Xi channeled his magical energy and tossed the seed.

Snap!

The seed landed on the ground but remained motionless for quite some time…

“Spell failed…” Fang Xi sighed.

From the beginning, he had never been considered a genius in the path of cultivation.

Fortunately, proficiency in casting spells can be achieved through repeated practice.

Fang Xi didn’t need immediate combat readiness, so he could recite the incantation slowly and perform the hand gestures deliberately, aiming to reduce the complexity.

After half a day of attempts,

accompanied by a series of intricate and tongue-twisting phrases, Fang Xi formed seals with his hands and tossed the iron gauze grass seed.

“By Everlasting Spring’s command, let myriad woods flourish!”

In that instant, Fang Xi felt his magical energy surge like a dam bursting, pouring out instantly!

The iron gauze grass seed rapidly exploded upon hitting the ground, sprouting long, jet-black leaves approximately three meters in length, each edged with sharp serrations that entwined around a wooden stake.

Crack! Crack!

Like a massive python, the iron gauze grass tightened continuously, shattering the wooden stake within moments, sending countless splinters flying.

“This power… it’s decent enough, I suppose.”

“In critical moments, my fists will still prevail!”

Despite witnessing this display, Fang Xi wasn’t overly disappointed.

“Haha… Impressive wood-type magic!” Suddenly, a voice of admiration came from beyond the boundary wall.

Fang Xi noticed his neighbor Chen Ping watching nearby and smiled, “Not at all… it can’t compare to the agility and destructive power of your fire-based spells, Fellow Daoist.”

Perhaps only with Chen Ping could he engage in such mutual praise.

Chen Ping’s cultivation techniques were even less impressive than Fang Xi’s, relying solely on the Fireball Technique. However, through years of practice, he had indeed mastered it to an exceptional level.

“However, this Entangling Spell is a mid-grade first-stage spell. Could it be that Fellow Daoist Fang?”

Chen Ping suddenly looked at Fang Xi with surprise.

“Haha… pure coincidence, but yes, I finally broke through to the Middle Stage Qi Refinement!”

Fang Xi never intended to hide his progress in cultivation.

What he truly wanted to conceal was his body cultivation realm.

“I see, sincere congratulations are indeed in order, Fellow Daoist.”

Chen Ping bowed respectfully, envy evident in his eyes.

His aptitude was average, making both cultivation and breakthroughs exceptionally challenging.

Then, Chen Ping continued, “Since we’ve crossed paths, let me inform you… I’m moving soon.”

“Oh? Why?” Fang Xi was taken aback.

Is Chen Ping giving up spirit farming?

“Truthfully, after obtaining Symbol Master Zong’s legacy, my talisman crafting skills have significantly improved. Now, I am already a mid-rank first tier talisman master…” Chen Ping proudly replied.

This time, it was Fang Xi’s turn to envy Chen Ping.

Being a mid-rank first tier talisman master held much more value than being at the Middle Stage Qi Refinement.

‘Damn, how is this fair… Even Symbol Master Zong barely reached this level, and previously, Chen Ping struggled with low-tier first rank spirit talismans. How did he suddenly make such rapid progress?’ Fang Xi couldn’t comprehend it.

Chen Ping scratched his head, revealing another sincere smile. “And… Fellow Daoist Lu, impressed by my diligence and potential in the Dao of talismans, has agreed to mentor me for a few days. She won’t be leaving anytime soon…”

Fang Xi was rendered speechless, barely managing to suppress a twitch at the corner of his mouth as he congratulated Chen Ping, “Well done, fellow Daoist! Persistence truly pays off!”

In the cultivation world, marital status is not highly regarded. Even female cultivators can have numerous paramours, and such relationships are widely accepted.

This acceptance stems from the fact that both male and female cultivators possess equal potential for power through cultivation breakthroughs, showing no disparity in strength.

True equality lies in the balance of power!

With Lu Zhi’s high cultivation base, attractive appearance, and substantial inheritance…

Even Fang Xi couldn’t help feeling a bit envious at this moment.

After these thoughts, Fang Xi suddenly recalled the interactions between Goddess Yunmeng and others with Chen Ping: ‘Could it be… Fellow Daoist Chen truly possesses some unique charm?’

Despite scrutinizing him closely, Fang Xi still couldn’t discern any special qualities. Moreover, if there was indeed a secret, how could Chen Ping have struggled so much before?

“Haha… Once Fellow Daoist Lu and I become cultivation partners, you’ll surely receive a cup of spirit wine, Fellow Daoist Fang!” Chen Ping laughed heartily, brimming with enthusiasm.