Chapter 20: Qi Cultivation Level 6
Having bid farewell to Huo Yuan, Yang Ji left the cave.
In the wooden hut at the southern part of the city, beneath the green mountains.
Yang Ji sat cross-legged. It seemed as though he was not cultivating, yet the swirl of spiritual power within his dantian was constantly rotating.
It generated a circulatory force within his meridians, automatically absorbing the free-floating spiritual energy in the air, refining it into pure spiritual power.
Although the process was exceptionally slow, his cultivation was indeed improving at every moment.
This was the beauty of cultivation techniques. With a slight guidance of the mind, the whirl within could automatically draw in and refine spiritual energy.
However, this method of cultivation was not as fast as concentrating one's mind on cultivation.
Yang Ji was now inspecting the sparse spiritual power in his dantian, took out a Spirit Enhancing Pill from his storage bag, and consumed it.
Bursts of medicinal power immediately spread throughout his body, the cultivation technique was activated, and it refined and absorbed the medicinal spiritual energy of the Spirit Enhancing Pill bit by bit.
The spiritual energy from the superior-grade Spirit Enhancing Pill was relatively pure, and in a single dose for someone with lower-grade spiritual roots, the amount was over five times more than that absorbed from the miscellaneous spiritual energy in the surroundings.
The vortex swiftly refined a thread of spiritual power, gathering it into the spirit sea of the dantian.
Yang Ji looked at his spirit sea, which was no more than a small puddle at the moment, and his heart was suddenly filled with hope.
Though as cultivation progresses to later stages, breakthroughs in cultivation become harder to achieve.
But with a sufficient supply of medicinal pills providing a continuous stream of pure spiritual energy, the small puddle would slowly fill up.
Breakthroughs in cultivation, one level at a time.
Until the small puddle completely transformed into a vast spirit sea, by then, he would have reached the peak of the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining.
But given the cultivation speed granted by the lower-grade spiritual roots, this process may take a long time, ten years, twenty years, thirty years—no one could tell.
Yet at this moment, with an abundant supply of medicinal pills, the process would be greatly shortened.
...
Yang Ji sat cross-legged in the small hut, fully focused on refining the medicinal pills.
Two days swiftly passed by.
[Name: Yang Ji]
[Spiritual Root: Lower-grade]
[Lifespan: 18/100]
[Realm: Fifth Layer of Qi Refining (15/1600)]
[Cultivation Technique: Ling Water Technique]
[Skills: Water Tracing Sword Technique (Complete), Light Body Skill (Complete)]
After two days of cultivation, Yang Ji discovered that one Spirit Enhancing Pill could sustain his cultivation for two days.
He sensed briefly, estimating that he could earn about 5 cultivation points per day.
At the moment, he had one hundred and ninety Spirit Enhancing Pills, which meant that theoretically, if all were refined and absorbed, they could provide him with 1900 cultivation points.
In other words, a year from now, he could successfully break through to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining.
Yang Ji couldn't help but rejoice at this rate of cultivation; it was much faster than absorbing the spiritual energy from the environment.
He planned to cultivate with all his might, not to leave the house until he had finished refining all the medicinal pills in his possession.
In cultivation, time is of no essence.
Days like these passed by, one after another.
Spring went, and autumn came, winter ended, and spring arrived.
Time flew by, and a year had gone in a blink.
On this day, in the hut beneath the green mountains.
Yang Ji was circulating the last bit of medicinal spiritual energy in his body.
The spiritual energy conducted a grand circulatory cycle through his meridians, pulled into the vortex of spiritual power by the force of circulation, then quickly refined into pure spiritual power and added to the spirit sea inside.
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At this moment, the Spirit Sea within him had clearly become more than double the might of what it was before.
As the last wisp of Spiritual Power gathered, the Spirit Sea trembled, and a faint aura of spiritual pressure emanated from his body.
Yang Ji's robe instantly puffed up, billowing with the wind.
As the spiritual pressure dispersed, it caused the surrounding air to ripple with visible tiny undulations.
With the innate spiritual pressure arising within his body, Yang Ji was no longer the junior cultivator at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining he once was; he had now reached the Sixth Layer.
The nearly doubled might of his Spiritual Power made his strength significantly greater than when he was at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.
[Realm: Sixth Layer of Qi Refining (300/3200)]
"In one year's time, my cultivation has advanced by one level. The speed of cultivation with or without Medicine Pills is indeed worlds apart; consuming pills is truly the right path."
Yang Ji felt the robust Spiritual Power inside him, his face lit up with joy, and a hint of confidence slowly surfaced on his face, "With my alchemy skills, I should be able to concoct both mid-grade Spirit Pills and high-grade Spirit Pills with ease. The speed of cultivation with such pills should be even faster."
With a slight smile, Yang Ji got to his feet and headed towards Myriad Treasures Tower.
He intended to purchase some aged Spiritual Medicine to refine Spirit Pills that would enhance his cultivation speed even more.
...
In the main hall of Myriad Treasures Tower, Jin Dafu promptly gestured for Yang Ji to sit down, who was approaching with a smile, at the counter furthest inside.
"Brother Yang has arrived, please have a seat, take a seat!"
He served Spiritual Tea and set out Spirit Fruits, treating him well.
Yang Ji too, without any hesitation, took a seat.
"Haha, Brother Yang, your complexion has greatly improved since last year. Did you go on another adventure? You must have acquired quite a bit of resources," Jin Dafu said with a grin, "Alchemy is something you can't stop practicing. Tell me, how many batches of Spiritual Medicine will you take this time?"
"I indeed want to buy some Spiritual Medicine," Yang Ji said with a slight smile after taking a sip of Spiritual Tea, "I'll need some for concocting mid-grade Spirit Pills."
"Spiritual Medicine for concocting mid-grade Spirit Pills?"
Jin Dafu's eyebrow raised as he tried to persuade him, "Brother, alchemy is not something to reach for in one step. You should focus on becoming a junior alchemist first. Mid-grade Spirit Pills, those can only be concocted by an Alchemy Master."
"I'm aware of that, Elder Jin. Just bring me the Spiritual Medicine. You wouldn't pass up the chance to earn Spirit Stones, would you?" said Yang Ji, raising his eyebrows with a smile.
"..."
Jin Dafu gave him a skeptical glance, then shook his head, "No."
"No?" Yang Ji was taken aback.
"That's correct!" Jin Dafu said, "Our Myriad Treasures Tower only sells Spiritual Medicine for refining lower-grade Spirit Pills, we don't have any for mid-grade or high-grade Spirit Pills."
"Why is that?" Yang Ji asked, puzzled.
"Not only does Myriad Treasures Tower lack them, but other shops on Nanfeng Island also don't have them," Jin Dafu added.
"Why is that?" Yang Ji wondered, surprised.
"The Spiritual Medicine for concocting mid-grade Spirit Pills is over a century old. Such aged Spiritual Medicine is quite precious and hard to come by. After being sought after by numerous cultivators over the years, there are probably only a few plants left," Jin Dafu said slowly.
"Is the conflict between cultivators scavenging for resources and resource regeneration really so severe?" Yang Ji frowned slightly.
Seeing Yang Ji's slightly disappointed expression, Jin Dafu took a sip of Spiritual Tea and, still smiling, said, "While there aren't many aged Spiritual Medicines, with some effort, they can still be found."
"Oh?" Seeing the "playing hard to get" hint appear above Jin Dafu's head, Yang Ji's spirits lifted as he said, "Elder Jin has wide connections, you must have a way to help me find some."
"That I can, but what do you need those kinds of Spiritual Medicines for?" Jin Dafu still didn't understand.
"Alchemy," Yang Ji said with a smile.
"Alchemy?" Jin Dafu blinked, shook his head as if thinking "Something isn't right with this kid," and said comfortingly, "Brother, alchemy is not something that can be accomplished overnight. It's best not to get stuck in a dead end."
Yang Ji smiled faintly, releasing his spiritual pressure, "Elder Jin, sense my cultivation level for a moment."
"Isn't this the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining?" Jin Dafu responded offhandedly, then suddenly paused, "Wait, you've reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining? I remember you were only at the Fifth Layer a year ago. With your lower-grade Root Bone, it's impossible for you to have cultivated so quickly, right?"
As if realizing something, he said with dismay, "Ah, brother, have you been buying Medicine Pills from other shops? You're not even looking after your old brother's business?"
"Of course, I'd look after your business, Elder Jin, and it's about a big business deal. It's time we discussed how to help you clear out your stock of Spiritual Medicine and split the profit from the Medicine Pills fifty-fifty," Yang Ji said with a smile.
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