Chapter 396 - 364: Level 4 Qi Refining
Chapter 396: Chapter 364: Level 4 Qi Refining
’Become dao companions?’
Zhao Lin raised an eyebrow, a strange feeling stirring within him. ’What kind of trick is the Li family playing? The assassination failed, so now they’re trying a marriage alliance?’
But on second thought, that seemed impossible. ’I’m just a Martial Cultivator at the Qi Refining Third Layer with an ordinary, mid-grade Spiritual Root. My aptitude is mediocre, and I have no family to rely on. And Li Zhen is one of the Li family’s top young prodigies. They have no reason to invest so heavily in trying to win me over. Besides, I even killed one of their talented young cultivators who was in Late-stage Qi Refining. The enmity between us runs deep; there’s no room for reconciliation. So why does Li Zhen want to become my dao companion?’
"Is this your own idea, or your family’s?"
With this in mind, Zhao Lin asked, his gaze intense.
Li Zhen lowered her gaze and said in a low voice, "It’s my own idea."
Zhao Lin pressed on, "Does your father, the patriarch, know?"
"He doesn’t know yet."
Li Zhen paused for a moment before speaking slowly. "When I made that oath, I was still young. I came to regret it as I got older."
"Cultivators shouldn’t make oaths lightly, but I never thought it would actually come to pass, so I gradually put it out of my mind."
"But ever since hearing news about you half a year ago, the words I spoke back then have constantly been on my mind."
"Whenever I cultivate, they echo in my mind..."
A corner of Zhao Lin’s mouth curled into a sneer as he cut her off. "You’re worried the oath will become a Heart Demon and hinder your cultivation, is that it?"
Li Zhen nodded, making no attempt to deny it. "Yes. That’s why I came to find you."
Zhao Lin said bluntly, "That’s your problem."
Li Zhen was gifted and beautiful, with suitors in abundance. She never expected Zhao Lin to be so completely unmoved. Hearing his words, she was taken aback for a moment. "You refuse?"
Zhao Lin said nothing, merely shaking his head. Whether her words were true or not, he hadn’t the slightest interest.
Li Zhen pressed her lips together, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "I have a Water Spirit Body, and from what I understand, you possess a Water-element Spiritual Root."
The Water Spirit Body was a special constitution, making one adept at practicing Water Element Skills. Not only was it beneficial to the possessor, but through dual cultivation, it could also greatly benefit a dao companion’s mastery of Water Element Skills.
Zhao Lin was slightly surprised. ’A brother and sister, one with a Yin-Sinking Body, the other with a Water Spirit Body,’ he thought. ’They are truly favored by the heavens.’
However, he couldn’t be bothered to say anything more. He glanced out of the pavilion, his intention to dismiss her perfectly clear.
Li Zhen, for her part, was frank. A flicker of disappointment crossed her face before she cupped her fist. "I have been presumptuous. We will meet again!"
Zhao Lin also cupped his fist. "Take care. I won’t see you out."
Li Zhen strode away from the pavilion. Suddenly, she glanced back over her shoulder with a smile. "Just as distance tests a horse’s strength, time reveals a person’s heart. Junior Brother Zhao, we’ll be seeing each other again sooner or later."
Zhao Lin didn’t answer, watching her retreating figure until she was far away. ’I wonder what kind of face Li Chenglin would make,’ he mused, ’if he knew his precious daughter had come to my door proposing marriage?’
...
With a soft HISS, Spiritual Qi flooded into the Jiuwei acupoint on his chest. Zhao Lin had broken through his thirty-seventh Spiritual Acupoint.
"I’ve finally reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer!"
Zhao Lin’s eyes flew open with delight as he let out a long sigh of relief.
It may have been just one more Spiritual Acupoint, but it marked the watershed between the Early and Middle Stages of Qi Refining. His Spiritual Power had taken a qualitative leap.
The reason Zhao Lin’s cultivation had progressed so quickly was twofold. Firstly, he had been constantly using Merit to exchange for access to the Spirit Caves. To break through this particular acupoint, he had been cultivating continuously in a superior-grade Spirit Cave for three days.
Secondly, because he had absorbed the Essence Soul of the Pipa Catfish, he possessed incredible regenerative abilities. He didn’t have to worry about the damage caused by assaulting the Spiritual Acupoints, allowing him to make five consecutive attempts in just three short days.
The Spiritual Acupoint was repeatedly torn and healed, until at last, on the fifth attempt, he finally succeeded.
’Now that I’ve reached the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, I should be able to cultivate all my Magic to the Great Accomplishment stage.’
Zhao Lin glanced up at the Everlasting Stone overhead. Feeling the abundant Spiritual Power coursing through him, a faint smile touched his lips.
He had been on the Xuanyuan Continent for two years now, meditating and practicing Qi Refining every day, feeling his cultivation grow, bit by bit.
Zhao Lin was gradually growing accustomed to this life, no longer thinking of himself as a mere warrior, but as a true cultivator on the path of the Dao.
Now that his realm had advanced, the first order of business was to upgrade his Magic.
To cultivate Magic to the Mastery stage required sixty-four Spirit Stones, but reaching Great Accomplishment required two hundred and fifty-six—a difference of nearly two hundred Spirit Stones. The total cost would come to about one thousand Spirit Stones.
Zhao Lin had already prepared enough Spirit Stones before his breakthrough.
Over the next seven or eight days, he used the Spirit Cultivation Map to absorb Spiritual Qi and cultivated his five Magic skills—Rock Armor Skill, Ice Blade Skill, Flame Stream Arrow, Water Manipulation Skill, and Qi Observation Skill—to the Great Accomplishment stage.
His Void Trapping Skill, having been learned from a talisman, could only be raised to the Mastery stage. Similarly, the Thunder Blade Skill he had obtained from the Li family’s Li Yuanzhi could also only reach the Mastery stage.
’Even though my cultivation is only at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, I’ve mastered five Magic skills at the Great Accomplishment stage, plus a powerful offensive skill like the Thunder Blade Skill.’
’As long as I don’t run into someone like Miao Kefa, or a Body Cultivator at the Eighth Layer of Body Tempering or higher, I’ll have few rivals in the Qi Refining Realm. At the very least, I can protect myself.’
Zhao Lin had planned to start taking on external missions as soon as he broke through to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining. Now that he had succeeded, his mind began to race with the possibilities.
He had two reasons for this.
First, the Nine Revolutions God Condensing Skill had a huge demand for Merit. The Merit Zhao Lin had accumulated from his last mission to the Yinfeng Realm was nearly gone. To support his continued training, he had to earn more.
Second, Zhao Lin wanted to bring his family to Han Chi County. Relocating his mother, his older brother and his wife, and their three children would cost six hundred Merit.
Without enough Merit, he could only settle them in a place like Jue Ming Mountain, where the conditions couldn’t compare to the safe, Spiritual Qi-rich environment of Han Chi County.
Going out on missions was certainly risky. Beyond the inherent dangers of the tasks themselves, the Li family from Three Mountains County might seize the opportunity to seek revenge.
Nevertheless, Zhao Lin was determined to go out on missions.
The grand path to eternal life was laid out before him. He had to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm before he turned forty, and then, step by step, break through to the Purple Mansion, Golden Core, and Divinity Transformation realms.
The path of the Dao was one of contention. While staying in the county was safe, his cultivation would inevitably stagnate without Merit.
Fall behind once, and you’ll fall behind at every step. The eventual outcome was easy to predict.
’My goal is eternal life. How could I possibly give up?’
Lu Yuanxiu had started taking missions in his second year. By his third, he was already tackling high-risk, white-ranked missions, desperately accumulating Merit to achieve his current success.
’I can’t fall behind. If I want to cultivate the Dao and become an immortal, how can I do it without taking any risks?’
’Back when I practiced martial arts, I could kill Qi Realm experts while only being in the Power Realm. Now that I’m on the path of the Dao, I can’t afford to be timid and indecisive either.’
’Of course, I still need to choose missions that are as safe as possible. Ideally, places like the Yinfeng Realm, which only permit cultivators of the Qi Refining Realm to enter.’
’Otherwise, if the Li family sends another Foundation Establishment cultivator after me—or even two or more—it would be very difficult to escape.’
With this in mind, Zhao Lin headed to the Merit Hall.