Chapter Twenty-Nine: Fourth Level of Qi Refinement

Qin Ming’s gaze was resolute as he retrieved another exquisite Gathering Spirit Pill and swallowed it. The medicinal energy surged through his body, washing over and expanding his dantian time and again. He took his fourth pill, then the fifth, the sixth…

He continued until he had consumed the eighth pill. At this point, the magical power within his dantian had reached its utmost limit, unable to withstand any more. Like a dam bursting, his aura exploded, his magical energy more than doubling in an instant.

Everything fell into place. The everlasting Spring magic began to flow gently through his meridians.

“My cultivation has finally broken through to the fourth level of the Qi Refining stage!” A glimmer of excitement flashed in Qin Ming’s eyes as he exhaled a long, turbid breath. Now, his total magical energy was more than twice that of others at his level, nearly equivalent to someone at the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

“With this, I can extend the duration and frequency of the advanced Rain of Spirits technique.”

“Mid-stage Qi Refining magical power is finally enough for now.”

“This time, it’s all thanks to Su Yuqing’s pills. If I had only ordinary Gathering Spirit Pills, even if I took them all, I might not have broken through.”

His mood soared with his breakthrough, but a new realization dawned on him. To reach just the fourth layer of Qi Refining, he had consumed so many exquisite Gathering Spirit Pills. These pills had resistance—taking too many of the same kind greatly diminished their effect. If he wanted to break through further, exquisite Gathering Spirit Pills would no longer suffice.

At this rate, the quality and quantity of pills required for his future cultivation would be immense.

“It looks like I’ll have to start producing and selling my own pills soon.”

“My limited resources can hardly keep up with this pace!”

Over the following days, Qin Ming consumed the remaining two exquisite Gathering Spirit Pills to consolidate his cultivation, then continued eating Blood Locust Rice to cultivate the sixth layer of the “Treasure Glazed Sutra.” Compared to his magical power, consuming large amounts of Blood Locust Rice, a body-refining spiritual material, caused his physical cultivation to progress at a tremendous speed—almost as if he were advancing by leaps and bounds.

Each breakthrough of the “Treasure Glazed Sutra” required exponentially more spiritual materials. His stockpile of Blood Locust Rice was nearly depleted, but it would last until the next batch of Beast Fang Rice matured. Once he acquired the “Ripening” entry, he could accelerate the process, having already reserved some Blood Locust Rice seeds.

With Blood Locust Rice, completing the “Treasure Glazed Sutra” should not be an issue. At that point, his physical cultivation would reach the ninth layer’s peak. With the power of this technique, his strength would far surpass ordinary cultivators at the same level—enough to ensure his safety within the Qingyang Market.

Time passed.

Early May, inside Su Yuqing’s pill-refining room.

Sweat dripped from Qin Ming’s brow as he stared intently at the alchemy furnace. After countless failures, a strange fragrance finally wafted out from within.

“It’s done!”

With a wave of his hand, three blue pills landed in his palm. Basic Detoxification Pills, not graded, used by apprentice alchemists for practice.

Excitement filled Qin Ming’s face as he examined the pills. Over the past month, he had repeatedly observed Su Yuqing’s pill refining, gradually grasping the essentials.

Next, he could attempt to refine first-grade inferior spiritual pills.

Su Yuqing, relaxed and sipping tea in the courtyard, caught sight of Qin Ming’s elated expression and couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s just Detoxification Pills—does it make you that happy?”

“Brother Su, I can hardly compare to you,” Qin Ming replied, having grown increasingly familiar with Su Yuqing through daily observation. “It took me great effort to reach this step. These three basic Detoxification Pills are my first work, my foundation.”

“Let me see.” Su Yuqing took the pills, examined them for a moment, then tossed them back. “Barely acceptable.”

Hearing this, Qin Ming felt reassured.

By the end of May, the first crop of Golden Spirit Rice matured.

[Name]: Golden Spirit Rice
[Entry]: Faint magical power (100% maturity, ready for harvest)

Qin Ming harvested the spiritual rice stalks, two white entry leaves appearing in his mind. The three acres of Golden Spirit Rice, nourished by his advanced Rain of Spirits technique, yielded an astonishing harvest—twenty piculs of Golden Spirit Rice.

After the Ling Feather Sect’s forty-five percent tax, he was left with six hundred pounds of spiritual rice. His quarterly spiritual rice production ranked far ahead of the others, claiming the top spot—envied by all spiritual farmers.

Du Haifu, weighing the rice, stared silently at the numbers on the giant magical scale. “Such yield from just three acres—unprecedented in my life! This is the power of mastering the advanced Rain of Spirits.”

From here on, Qin Ming had little to worry about with his three acres of Golden Spirit Rice. He only needed to wait until late June, when new roots would sprout.

His attention shifted to the Beast Fang Rice fields and two other medicine plots. The Cold Smoke Grass had seventy-two stalks, and Spirit Candle Fruit eighteen, both halfway grown.

He needed to advance to a first-grade middle-tier spiritual plant master, which required successfully cultivating three different first-grade middle-tier spiritual plants. So, he purchased several dozen “Black Tongue Orchids” from Steward Liao and planted them in the corners of his spiritual fields.

He chose Black Tongue Orchid because it could be used in refining first-grade inferior spiritual pills. Through constant practice and studying the notes Su Yuqing gave him, Qin Ming gradually began to understand the refinement of these pills.

Three months passed, and the second crop of Golden Spirit Rice matured. The fields did not yield a new “Ripening” entry, but Qin Ming still harvested twenty piculs of rice and three “Faint magical power” entries.

“Sigh, the higher the grade of spiritual plant, the greater the chance for better entries,” he mused.

But soon, the two acres of Cold Smoke Grass, Spirit Candle Fruit, and Black Tongue Orchid would bloom—just a few months to maturity. Qin Ming released his swarm of Four-Winged Frost Bees from his spiritual beast pouch to pollinate the fields, supplementing with the advanced Rain of Spirits. The fields flourished.

Even the ancient steward from the Ling Feather Sect, when collecting spiritual rice, showed rare emotion upon seeing the middle-tier spiritual plants.

Especially the three acres of Beast Fang Rice—Qin Ming himself hadn’t expected that with constant watering, attentive care, and current growth trends, the yield would not only double, but was developing toward “Exquisite Beast Fang Rice.”

After all, Qin Ming had eaten much of it and had ample experience in ripening it.

One day, while directing the bees to pollinate the medicinal herbs, a message arrived via his communication talisman—from Steward Liao.

“Fellow Daoist Qin, I have definite news on the market housing quota you asked about. But I cannot decide this myself—you may speak directly with our Pavilion Master.”