With the all-important demon pill in hand, the other ingredients weren't difficult to prepare. Zhou Shu visited several different material stores and gathered the necessary ingredients.
A few days later, the potion was successfully prepared.
This bucket of emerald green liquid was a much darker shade than the previous one, and its scent was much stronger. Spiritual energy emanated like mist. Had Zhou Shu not invested fifty mid-grade spirit stones in installing a better spirit-isolating formation, it would have likely drifted away.
Little Gun felt the potency of the liquid most clearly. It huddled in a corner, nestled among a pile of spirit stones, not daring to move.
Zhou Shu calmly gazed at the liquid and slowly reached in.
The moment it touched the liquid, he felt a searing heat rushing towards his palm.
"Slow down, slow down."
Zhou Shu, following the previous method, used his spiritual energy to form a barrier around his palm, blocking the medicinal power.
However, the medicinal power was incredibly powerful, instantly shattering a hole in his spiritual barrier, allowing the medicinal energy to rush in through his meridians.
The medicinal power surged, pouring in within a split second. Zhou Shu felt a burning sensation throughout his body, as if he were about to explode.
"As expected, the power of a third-tier demon pill is truly violent. I can't continue practicing right now."
Zhou Shu quickly reached out, eyes closed, brows lowered, and absorbed the incoming medicinal power.
Nearly a quarter of an hour passed before he opened his eyes, a look of relief on his face. Fortunately, he had deduced the Flowing Water Sutra, otherwise the consequences would have been disastrous.
Without the proper mental method to guide the overwhelming medicinal power, the Guiyi Heart Sutra alone would quickly burst his Qi channels, causing another painful severance.
Using a spiritual vortex to reduce the potency, as he had done last time, was also not an option. His spiritual power wasn't strong enough to withstand the medicinal power; he couldn't even create a simple barrier, let alone a more sophisticated method like a vortex.
The Guiyi Heart Sutra couldn't do it, but the Liushui Sutra could. Water is gentle, benefiting all things. Under the influence of the Liushui Sutra, the violent medicinal energy, after a period of impact, gradually subsided, forming a steady stream of medicinal energy that flowed smoothly through the Qi channels. If
the Qi channels were completely damaged, the spiritual energy and power flowing through them would be like flowing through a leaky pipe, leaking out before even a fraction of the way. Even if Zhou Shu used deduction and calculation to find the most perfect meridian route, nine out of ten would still leak out... However, using the medicinal liquid and the Liushui Sutra, the spiritual energy and medicinal power intertwined, forming a solid flow of medicinal energy, like a single, unbroken line that remained unbroken even at the points of damage and fracture.
The practice flowed smoothly.
The spiritual energy circulated, gradually transforming and returning to the Qi sea.
The combination of the Liushui Sutra and the medicinal liquid worked in perfect harmony, and Zhou Shu suddenly felt a strange and unusual sensation, as if the Qi channels had never been broken.
This quarter of an hour of practice was equivalent to an entire hour.
Without delay, Zhou Shu quickly dipped his hand into the medicinal liquid again.
He practiced over and over again for two hours, and the effect was similar to the past three or four days.
"At this rate, after using up this bucket of medicine, I'll be able to reach at least the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm."
Zhou Shu nodded in satisfaction, then stood up and began his daily homework without rest.
Drawing talismans, deducing and calculating, he did this every day, never slacking off.
After the deduction was completed, his mind was empty, and he forced himself to eat a little, then rested and fell asleep. His ascetic life was as regular as a machine.
Other Qi Refining Realm practitioners rarely worked this hard, but he had no choice. He had no right to slack off. Every moment was important to him.
A few days later, Zhou Shu successfully reached the third level of the Qi Refining Realm.
The Qi Refining Realm is the most basic realm for cultivators. Levels one through five offer no constraints, allowing for natural advancement. However, after level five, obstacles begin to appear: from level five to level six, from level seven to level eight, and from level nine to level ten. Only by overcoming these obstacles can one advance. These obstacles are referred to by Qi Refining cultivators as "passing the three barriers." Only after navigating these barriers can one successfully reach the tenth level of Qi Refining and pursue Foundation Building.
Cultivating immortals is not an easy journey, and many Qi Refining cultivators become stuck at these three barriers, unable to progress. These barriers have little to do with aptitude; they rely solely on individual perseverance and endurance.
Zhou Shu, however, has no such concerns.
Compared to level two, the Qi Sea at level three increases by approximately two-thirds, though the difference isn't as significant as a doubling from level two to level one.
Zhou Shu has carefully calculated the Qi Sea's spiritual energy reserves. If level one is one, level two is three, and level three is five. Similarly, level five is nine, nine times the amount of Qi Sea at level one.
This calculation is based on Zhou Shu's conditions. His aptitude surpasses that of ordinary people, and his Qi channels are fully open, a level ordinary cultivators clearly cannot achieve.
Most cultivators have one level at level one, two levels at level two, three levels at level three, and five levels at level five.
Compared to most cultivators, Zhou Shu naturally has a significant advantage, and this advantage grows with each higher realm. But currently, with his Qi channels ruptured and his Qi sea damaged, he can only utilize a quarter of his potential, less than an average cultivator of the same level.
While insufficient at this stage, his future is bright. If he could find the treasure to repair his Qi channels and Qi sea, he would soar to new heights.
However, finding the treasure to restore his Qi channels and Qi sea is far from easy.
It's like reaching for the moon or searching for a needle in a haystack. Other cultivators would have given up long ago, but not Zhou Shu. Once he's chosen a path, he'll persevere.
Even thinking about this, he can't help but feel a bit melancholy.
Zhou Shu smiled helplessly, pushed open the door, and walked out. The food in his storage bag was depleted; it was time to restock.
As soon as the door was pushed open, Xiao Gun came over happily, as if he couldn't stand the smell of medicine in the hut and wanted to go out for some fresh air.
"Okay, I'll take you out. You've eaten so many of my spirit stones, so don't run away secretly."
Zhou Shu knocked on its back twice, then picked it up and put it on his body.
Xiao Gun shook his horns quite smartly, then crawled into Zhou Shu's pocket, lying there lazily, with only his pointed horns sticking out.
"You're quite well behaved."
Zhou Shu was a little surprised, "I was hoping you'd run away, and then I'd give you a good beating."
Pinching its horns, Zhou Shu walked quickly towards the market.
After walking a short distance, a quarrel up ahead caught his attention. The two people arguing seemed familiar.
"How could you do this? Weren't we talking about two low-grade spirit stones? How did it become medium-grade?"
"I was talking about two low-grade spirit stones. You didn't see it yourself, and now you're accusing me of that? Little girl, don't be unreasonable!"
"It clearly said low-grade. The Snow Firefly Flower is a first-grade, so two low-grade spirit stones should be enough."
"My Snow Firefly Flower is hundreds of years old. It's not comparable to ordinary Snow Fireflies. Two medium-grade spirit stones are a bargain. Hurry and give me some spirit stones."
"You're lying, I won't give you any!"
A young girl, utterly wronged, her face flushed red, tears welling in her large eyes, glared angrily at the cultivator across from her.
"I, Zhang, never lie. Don't talk nonsense, little girl."
The cultivator who spoke, his hands on his hips, a thin figure with shifty eyes.
Zhou Shu recognized Zhang immediately. He had initially planned to team up with Zhu Weiquan to deal with him, but had left after seeing Yan Yue.
That young girl was, of course, Yang Mei from the Heyin Sect. The cultivator surnamed Zhang must have bullied her and forced her to buy things because of her young age and low cultivation.
"Yang Mei, you're here?"
Zhou Shu smiled as he approached, greeting Yang Mei. He then turned to the cultivator surnamed Zhang. "Hey, is that you?"
Zhang was already lashing out, and when he saw someone approaching, he was about to change his target, but when he saw Zhou Shu, he froze.
Zhu Weiquan had been missing for a long time, and he knew for sure that he was most likely killed by an enemy, most likely this guy.
He wasn't as strong as Zhu Weiquan, and he didn't want to end up like him, disappearing inexplicably.
Seeing Zhou Shu, he was like a mouse seeing a cat: unable to provoke, he had to hide.
"This... Hello, young master, I'm leaving now, leaving now."
He shook his body a few times, grabbed something on the ground, and turned to walk away.