Chapter 15: Body Refinement

In Gu Yao's room, bottles and jars, along with scattered spirit herbs, covered the table and floor. The bed was squeezed into a corner, looking pitiful. However, Gu Yao's focus was entirely on refining herbs, and he paid little attention to the surroundings. In his past life, he wasn't one to indulge in comforts; he preferred spending his days in the alchemy room.

The liquids in the vessels finally merged perfectly. Gu Yao retracted his nearly exhausted mental energy. Though his face was pale, his brows relaxed, revealing a smile. After pouring the light blue potion into a nearby porcelain bottle, he smiled.

After days of experimentation, he successfully concocted a detoxifying potion used in the cultivation world. In the Interstellar Alliance, this potion is used to eliminate toxins left by the insect race in warriors' bodies. Now, Gu Yao uses it to regulate his own aura and cleanse the various substances he ingests. With these substances present, the original body, already with poor innate talent, finds it even more challenging to cultivate.

He raised his head and swiftly drank the potion from the bottle. Gu Yao quickly sat down, focusing on the conditions within his body.

One night passed, and on the second day, Chi Changye, who had finished his cultivation, walked out of the room. Although this type of cultivation progresses slowly in treating internal injuries, it's the only method available for now. Over time, there should be some improvement. Perhaps, when he leaves here, he can purchase suitable healing elixirs.

As dawn broke, Gu Yao, who was usually nowhere to be seen, was now stretching in the courtyard, performing peculiar movements. Chi Changye didn't disturb him and silently observed. Gradually, a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes. Was this a body refining technique?

He noticed that Gu Yao's movements guided the surrounding spiritual energy into his body. This spiritual energy seemed to be used to temper his physique. Different movements directed the spiritual energy through various parts of the body.

He could tell that the movements progressed from simple to difficult. As Gu Yao continued, the movements became more challenging. Gu Yao completed the entire set of movements three times before stopping. The gathered spiritual energy rapidly dissipated around him.

"Xiao Yao, are you refining your body?"

"Brother Ye, are you sure this has a body-refining effect?" Initially, Chi Changye was worried that his question might touch on a taboo, but unexpectedly, Gu Yao's eyes lit up.

Chi Changye nodded, "I found that your movements attract spiritual energy to temper your body. Persisting in this long term should have a body-refining effect."

"Haha, that's great! I'll give it a try and see if I can enhance my physical fitness. I didn't expect it to be effective. Haha..." Gu Yao laughed triumphantly, and the beads of sweat on his forehead gleamed in the morning light. The young man appeared vibrant.

Gu Yao was extremely pleased. After one night, the detoxifying potion's effect was indeed excellent; his physical condition had improved significantly. With a few more doses, he believed he could completely cleanse his body. So now, he contemplated his cultivation issues. Considering his poor physical condition in his past life, he almost didn't survive, and even if he did, he had no resistance against assassins.

Therefore, before dying, a wish flashed in his mind. If given another chance, he must find a way to cultivate a robust physique. Whoever bullies him with his fragile constitution, he'll punch them to death.

Although he had suffered enough in his past life, and it's unlikely he'd endure such torment again in this life, the desire to enhance his physical strength seemed to have become an obsession. Besides concocting potions, this thought couldn't be suppressed.

Gu Yao, of course, knew from his memories that as a cultivator's level increased, their physique would also improve. Additionally, there were body-refining techniques specifically for body cultivators. Unfortunately, the former required time, and for the latter, he currently had no access to body-refining cultivation methods. Thus, he thought of the body techniques commonly used in the Interstellar Alliance.

These techniques ranged from level one to level ten, and reaching a certain level allowed one to harness the power of the stars to temper the body, unlocking the body's potential. As a result, these techniques were also known as Star Body Techniques. In the history of the Interstellar Alliance, several powerful individuals had mastered Star Body Techniques to the extreme, breaking through the limits of genetic potential.

In his past life, he had considered Star Body Techniques, and although ordinary people could only access the first three levels, as a senior alchemist, obtaining the complete set of techniques wasn't difficult. Unfortunately, even the first three levels of training posed a problem because his physical condition couldn't withstand the intensity of the techniques.
Since the method of refining and tempering potions with mental energy is equally effective here, does Star Body Technique also have room for development? With this thought, Gu Yao was immediately intrigued. He began practicing in the courtyard, and indeed, his physique was much stronger than in his previous life. On his first attempt, he completed the first two levels without a hitch. Although his body was extremely fatigued, there seemed to be a warm flow soothing his muscles, alleviating the previous soreness.

It turned out he didn't harness the power of the stars but instead attracted spiritual energy. Gu Yao still believed in Chi Changye's insight.

After laughing for a while, he realized Chi Changye was still standing there. He looked a bit foolish, so he quickly stopped and said, "This is called Star Body Technique. The movements I just did are from the first two levels. See if they have any effect on your internal injuries. This is something I inadvertently acquired, unrelated to the Gu family."

Remembering the emphasis on inheritance, he added that if others found it useful, he didn't mind them using it. After all, in the Interstellar Alliance, body techniques were public knowledge, and anyone who made a significant contribution to the alliance could access them.

Initially inclined to refuse, Chi Changye, upon seeing Gu Yao's bright and candid eyes, inexplicably nodded, "Fine." Realizing what he had agreed to, he added, "Body-refining techniques usually have corresponding cultivation methods. What about your Star Body Technique?"

"I don't have one, just the movements. As you progress, the movements become more challenging. It's a body technique that maximizes the development of various parts of the body." Gu Yao explained.

"I see. Then I'll give it a try."

As someone who had reached the Golden Core realm before, Chi Changye's physical quality was beyond comparison with Gu Yao. Therefore, replicating the movements he had just seen wasn't difficult. Gu Yao, watching him complete the two levels without breaking a sweat, couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy. Why were people so different?

Seeing Chi Changye perform the movements accurately without needing corrections and getting immersed in the practice, Gu Yao left to prepare breakfast. Clearly, this person had a formidable ability to learn, belonging to the category of those favored by the heavens.

When Chi Changye snapped out of his practice, an hour had unknowingly passed. He, more than Gu Yao, could feel the flow of spiritual energy and its effects within his body. Although his body's strength prevented the spiritual energy from playing a refining role, after an hour, he distinctly felt the spiritual energy seeping into his body. It provided a slight recovery to his battered meridians, a result better than a month of meditative cultivation.

"Thank you, Xiao Yao. It's beneficial for me," Chi Changye found Gu Yao and expressed his gratitude.

"As long as it's helpful. Later, I'll draw the movements for the higher levels and see if they can be of assistance to Brother Ye," Gu Yao happily responded.

"Sure." Chi Changye couldn't refuse because more than anyone, he hoped to expedite the recovery of his injuries. Even if it couldn't fully recover, being able to access the spiritual power of the Foundation Building stage, or even the High-Grade Qi Refinement stage, was better than being helplessly restrained by others and forced to take medicine, as happened before with Gu Yao.

Taking some time, Gu Yao drew the movements for the latter eight levels. After reviewing them, Chi Changye felt deeply moved. Unexpectedly, in such a remote and backward place, there could be such valuable techniques. According to his estimation, the tenth level of the technique might also have an effect on a Golden Core cultivator, surpassing many extreme body-refining techniques.

Subsequently, Chi Changye devoted as much time as possible to practicing Star Body Technique. To his surprise, he found that practicing it at night could attract the power of the moon, enhancing the healing effect. He informed Gu Yao of this result. It seemed that Star Body Technique lived up to its name, truly capable of attracting the power of the stars.

A few days later, Gu Yao used the detoxifying potion to cleanse his body of impurities. Due to his previous accumulation and the practice of Star Body Technique, his cultivation smoothly advanced to the third stage of Qi Refinement. The rise in strength made him extremely happy.

In addition to the potions for treating external injuries, Gu Yao also concocted a potion for internal injuries. After Chi Changye personally tested it and found it somewhat effective, suitable for early-stage cultivators, Gu Yao handed over all three healing potions to Tian FeiRong. He showed no intention of handling it himself, as long as Tian FeiRong provided enough silver or spirit stones. Even if they were not sold on the market, he didn't mind.

He was well aware that these three potions were only effective for early-stage cultivators, ranging from Qi Refinement levels one to three. Beyond that, their impact would be limited. For someone like Chi Changye, the potion for internal injuries was not as effective as practicing Star Body Technique at night, so strength was the key. Only by improving his strength could he produce better potions or refine higher-quality pills, and then his status could rise.

These three potions brought a pleasant surprise to the Tian family. Every family had a considerable number of low-level cultivators. So, after collecting a large amount of spirit herbs, Tian FeiRong sent them to the small courtyard where Gu Yao lived. After keeping some for themselves, they began selling the potions in their family shop. It was worth noting that there were more low-level cultivators in YuanYang Town. Many cultivators with no significant background risked going out of town to collect spirit herbs and hunt demonic beasts. Getting injured was a common occurrence, and normally, the production of elixirs was mostly controlled by the Gu family. Even if the Gu family was unpopular, cultivators generally hesitated to offend them.

Because of the commotion caused by the three potions from the Tian family in YuanYang Town, Gu Yao finally caught the attention of the family head, who hastily summoned the family steward for an explanation.

"What's going on? Why wasn't I informed earlier? Now, there are rumors outside that the Tian family's potions are more effective than our Gu family's pills and at a lower price!" The head of the Gu family was furious.