Late at night, Qin Xuan clutched the warm Demon Pill in his robes.
He secretly found a secluded spot deep in an old mountain forest.
'The Golden Finger hasn't given a warning. This Demon Pill is safe. I can absorb it!'
Qin Xuan carefully examined the Spiritual Sense Jade Tube before him.
"Interesting... The cultivation experience in this technique is actually fine too."
For a moment, Qin Xuan found himself unable to figure out Wu Mengmeng's true intentions.
'Could it be that she wants to win me over because I haven't surpassed her?'
Qin Xuan didn't dwell on it for too long. Increasing his Cultivation was what mattered most.
'When the day comes to run her through with my sword, I'll give her a quick death. I'll consider that my way of repaying her.'
Putting aside the dual cultivation experiences from the Great Yin-Yang Union Poem, Qin Xuan, for the first time, gained a clear understanding of the true meaning of Qi Cultivation in the world of Cultivation.
"The so-called Qi Cultivation Stage is also known as the Cloud Gathering Realm. The name implies 'feasting on rosy clouds and drinking dew,' defying the heavens to change one's fate."
Qi Cultivation is divided into three major phases.
They are the Early-stage Qi Cultivation's [Introducing Spirit into the Body], the Mid-stage Qi Cultivation's [Fog-Locked Mystic Gate], and the Late-stage Qi Cultivation's [Bridge Connecting the Profound].
The first through third layers of Qi Cultivation are all categorized as Early-stage Qi Cultivation. This stage involves Introducing Spirit into the Body by breathing in the purple qi of the morning sun and refining the Sun and Moon Essence into True Essence within the body.
Of course, this is the cultivation method of the Righteous Dao.
"The Blood Demon Sword Sect truly lives up to its name as a Demon Sect. Such ingenious, twisted ideas."
Using the Blood Demon Sword Scripture, they cleverly replace the process of absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi with devouring the fresh blood of living beings. This not only greatly accelerates the speed but also increases the power.
Following that, the fourth to sixth layers of Qi Cultivation constitute Mid-stage Qi Cultivation.
This stage requires the True Essence within the body to transform into Spiritual Mist and flush the twelve Mystic Gates of the meridians.
A realization dawned on Qin Xuan.
"Back then, when Li Fan and the others cultivated the Nine Netherworld Yellow Springs Flame, it was because their Cultivation was insufficient. In their greed for quick progress, they recklessly drew in the Nether Ghost Fire, causing the Demonic Essence and Spiritual Mist in their bodies to spin out of control. This ruptured their meridians and organs, leading to cultivation deviation!"
In simple terms, there was nothing wrong with the Mystic-tier Technique, the Nine Netherworld Yellow Springs Flame. The problem was with Li Fan and the others.
Their Cultivation was only at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, and it had been forcibly raised with Qi Blood Pills. Naturally, they couldn't cultivate a technique that required the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer as a minimum!
"Unfortunately, Senior Sister Wu is only at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, so she isn't familiar with how to perform [Bridge Connecting the Profound] either."
Feeling that he hadn't learned enough, Qin Xuan put away the Jade Tube.
'It's a good thing I have this Jade Tube. Otherwise, if I had rashly absorbed the Demon Pill without knowing how to turn Spiritual Qi into Mist, I most likely would have made a critical error in my cultivation of the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer!'
"Every drink and every peck is preordained."
Qin Xuan felt the power of his Golden Finger more and more keenly.
'If I had taken a single wrong step in this scheming Demon Sect, I'm afraid I would have long since become cultivation fodder for someone else.'
The first Divination from long ago quietly surfaced in his mind.
He summoned his Lifebound Iron Sword.
The sharp longsword cut through iron as if it were mud.
A bewitching red light flashed. It flowed along the groove on the Lifebound Iron Sword, greedily devouring the dense Demon Power as if gulping down fresh blood. GULP, GULP, it absorbed without stopping for a moment.
Rampant Demon Qi suddenly surged into his body.
RUMBLE...
Qin Xuan's face flushed crimson. The endless stream of Demon Qi was filled with a tyrannical aura. His Elixir Field Qi Sea stirred with excitement, frantically devouring the Demon Power like a great whale drinking the sea.
His Cultivation soared, causing his flesh and blood to squirm. A faint, ferocious phantom of an Iron Armor Demon Rhinoceros seemed to appear before him, rampaging through his meridians.
Gradually, the phantoms of three Mystic Gates slowly appeared.
"Pfft!" A trace of blood trickled from the corner of Qin Xuan's mouth. The rampaging Demon Power burned his Demonic Essence scalding hot, and his eyes turned scarlet.
It felt as if his meridians were being torn apart inch by inch. The heart-piercing, bone-gnawing agony was so intense that Qin Xuan nearly shattered his teeth.
"Found it! Right here!" Qin Xuan's eyes suddenly lit up.
Several full hours later.
The sky on the horizon was beginning to show the pale light of dawn.
Qin Xuan's consciousness returned from a daze.
He felt his entire body lighten and a warmth spread from his lower abdomen.
BOOM!
Qin Xuan's eyes snapped open, his face filled with joy.
It was as if he had broken free from some kind of shackles. The manic, tyrannical aura within him vanished, replaced by a feeling of refreshment and weightlessness.
Six sparkling, crystalline specks of starlight had appeared within his body. They were, without a doubt, the locations of six Mystic Gates.
Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer!
He looked up at the sky; it was already dawn.
He summoned his Lifebound Longsword. Except for the remaining five inches of its iron-blue tip, half of the blade was now the color of ancient bronze.
'After the Saint promotion ceremony, my Lifebound Iron Sword might finally transform fully into a Copper Sword...'
Qin Xuan was eager to test it out.
He held the longsword and swung it casually.
Who would have thought that the Sword Qi would run rampant? An ancient, towering tree before him, so thick it would take two people to encircle it, was sliced clean in half. The massive trunk split in two, sending wood chips flying before it crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Qin Xuan froze, his mind reeling in shock.
'So strong...'
'To have such power at just the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer... If I cultivate to a higher Realm in the future, won't I truly be able to burn mountains, boil seas, and move the very stars?'
He suppressed the excitement in his heart.
In less than half a month, he had undergone such an astonishing change in strength. Qin Xuan found that he was beginning to like this captivating Fantasy World.
Taking this opportunity, Qin Xuan chanted an incantation and formed a sword sign with his fingers.
"White Bone Yin Talisman, heed my command! Go!"
BOOM!
A skeletal Rune slowly took shape, drawn from pitch-black Demonic Essence. Then, one by one, ghastly white bones suddenly burst forth from the yellow earth in front of him.
Two clusters of eerie green light ignited within the pitch-black skull. In an instant, the bones assembled into a tall Bone Shadow Soldier wielding a Bone Knife.
Qin Xuan controlled it as easily as his own arm. With a single thought,
"BANG!"
the Bone Shadow Soldier, with immense, heavy force, smashed a hard, calf-sized boulder in front of it with a single blow.
Immediately after, it opened its mouth and spat out a cold, eerie green flame that silently melted the stone fragments.
The Bone Shadow Soldier came with its own Magic: [Nether Flame]!
[Nether Flame]: Derived from Nether Ghost Fire and condensed from Moonlight Evil Qi. It can melt all things, is bitingly cold, and applies a slowing effect.
"This [Bone Shadow Soldier] is incredibly powerful! It can actually absorb Moonlight Evil Qi on its own. Apart from the initial summoning which requires some Demonic Essence, casting its Magic consumes almost no power at all!"
Qin Xuan was ecstatic.
He did a rough calculation. The Bone Shadow Soldier that was once Li Fan could cast the [Nether Flame] Magic about four times, and its power was equivalent to someone at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer, a level lower than Qin Xuan's previous one.
This was the 'potential for growth' mentioned in the Divination back then!
Moreover, Qin Xuan had a subtle feeling.
If he had used ordinary bones to cultivate the [Netherworld White Bone Yin Talisman], he would have never achieved such an effect.
'Brother Li Fan, you were a good man!'
...
After breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, the Demonic Essence in his body turned into Spiritual Mist, suffusing his limbs and bones.
Qin Xuan had the strange feeling that with his current combat strength, he could fight ten of his former self from the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.
He quietly returned to the Demon Disciple Dormitory.
Chen He, who was as burly and sturdy as an iron tower, also returned at this time.
However, Qin Xuan's keen senses immediately told him something was wrong.
After his Cultivation reached the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, things that once seemed ordinary now appeared abnormal.
Chen He's condition was very strange. He was lifeless, his eyes vacant and dull, like a string puppet.
'I'm afraid Instructor Li has already planted the Possession Secret Technique on him...'
Qin Xuan recalled the content of the earlier Divination and shook his head secretly.
The world is unpredictable. This guy had once coveted his Bone Shadow Soldier, and Qin Xuan had been waiting for him to start a fight so he could justifiably devour all his blood.
Unfortunately, the current Chen He had already been "shaped" by Instructor Li.
'The Demon Sect is as dangerous as they say. I must be even more careful. I absolutely cannot end up like Chen He.'
'Oh, right. I have a Golden Finger. Never mind.'
Qin Xuan laughed heartily in his mind.
...