Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms

Chapter 10 Refining Qi

Dan Island, a cave.

Fang Qing sat cross-legged, gazing at the several brand-new books in front of him.

One of the books was none other than the "Commentary on the Waterways Classic," which covered everything from the first level of "Guiding Spirits into the Body" to the nine levels of Qi Refining and even how to build a foundation.

After lending out the original, he swore not to divulge it to anyone, and then copied it himself stroke by stroke in the Heavenly Book Pavilion.

"It is said that after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, one's divine sense can leave the body, and all cultivation techniques can be recorded on jade slips, easily memorized with a glance, thus avoiding this trouble..."

Fang Qing shook his head and looked at the other pharmacopoeias and alchemical texts.

"The Complete Collection of Elixirs", "The Flying Waterfall Elixir Classic"...

These books were also recommended by Zeng Shu; they form the foundation of water-based alchemy.

Fang Qing planned to memorize it first, and then familiarize himself with the properties of the medicine.

As for alchemy? That will naturally have to wait.

"The most urgent task is to first master the basics of cultivation, otherwise it will be inconvenient to go out and we won't be able to use magical artifacts... We'll have to travel by boat just like ordinary people."

Fang Qing opened the first page of "Commentary on the Waterways Classic" and saw a diagram of the human body's meridians.

"My body is from the ancient Shu world; I hope there won't be any problems."

He memorized it silently and then looked at the incantation for the technique.

The first step in cultivating immortality is "meditation and forgetting oneself," in which one absorbs a wisp of spiritual energy from heaven and earth while meditating in a state of deep concentration.

If one can completely absorb that wisp of spiritual energy into the body, allowing it to circulate within the meridians and acupoints, and ultimately return to the dantian to become magical power, then one has completed the skill of 'drawing spiritual energy into the body' and become a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining.

Of course, it sounds simple, but it is extremely difficult to do.

Fang Qingguang spent a lot of effort memorizing that meridian diagram.

The numerous technical terms in the formulas gave him a headache, so he had to go to the Heavenly Book Pavilion again to borrow many medical books and Taoist scriptures. In addition, he attended public classes on the first and fifteenth of each month and shamelessly asked his senior brothers and sisters for help. It took him more than a month to finally master the first level of the formulas.

……

"Sigh... Compared to them, those disciples from Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan and Qi Refining Family definitely have an advantage in this aspect, and are far ahead."

Fang Qing sat cross-legged, looking at the contribution points on his disciple's token with deep emotion.

New disciples typically have a one-year adaptation period, but it's impossible to cover daily expenses and even ask questions without contributing points.

Looking back now, things are a bit tight.

"I should hurry up and cultivate to the Dao, become a Qi Refining stage cultivator, then I can go to Wanbao Island to accept missions, earn contribution points, and exchange them for cultivation resources such as spirit stones and spirit herbs..."

Outside the cave, the moonlight was as clear as water.

On a bright yellow futon, Fang Qing sat cross-legged, silently circulating the incantation to sense spiritual energy.

Since confirming that he had fully mastered the first level of the "Commentary on the Waterways Classic", he has been sitting cross-legged every day, trying to sense the spiritual energy in the void. He had already gained some confidence and almost completed the final step yesterday, but he was too excited and failed at the last minute.

"Today, I will surely succeed!"

With a firm belief in his heart, Fang Qing entered a state of selfless meditation.

Just as he was forgetting himself and everything else, he sensed a slight chill in the void.

Silently following the incantation, the coolness entered the body through the acupoint between the eyebrows, traveled along the spine, and flowed through the limbs and bones.

Immediately afterwards, he seemed to switch from breathing through his mouth and nose to innate fetal breathing, and all the pores on his body opened up, greedily inhaling and exhaling spiritual energy.

Boom!

A large amount of spiritual energy circulated within his body, and after several major cycles, it finally rushed into a mysterious place in his abdomen.

"The dantian is opened, and magical power is born!"

"Spiritual energy has entered the body; successful!"

Feeling the cool, black water magic power within his dantian, Fang Xing opened his eyes.

"this……"

In an instant, he found that his eyes seemed to be nearsighted and he was wearing glasses, and the whole world became much clearer.

In addition, he could hear the rustling of insects crawling several feet away by the slightest twitch of his ears.

"Cultivators have keen hearing and eyesight... indeed completely different from martial arts practitioners, more like... human evolution?"

"I am now considered a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining."

"Next, it's about continuously accumulating magical power. Once the first level is perfected, you can try to break through to the second level of Qi Refining..."

"The first level of the formula took me a month to figure out because I had no foundation... Now that I've completed it, relying on my own understanding and occasionally asking my senior brothers and sisters for help, I should have no problem fully mastering the 'Commentary on the Waterways Classic' technique..."

"Furthermore, once you have magical power, you can cultivate spells, refine magical artifacts... and truly transcend the mortal realm."

Fang Qing sighed with satisfaction.

If this were in the ancient Shu world, he would have been wasting a long time. Unlike here, he was practically guaranteed a smooth journey, which made him marvel at the simple and honest folk customs of this place.

However, although he possessed a Green Leaf Boat magic artifact, and the Water Classic Commentary included several Qi Refining stage techniques in its appendix, Fang Qing was not most concerned about these.

"The Dao gives birth to the Pearl!"

With a thought, the Dao Sheng Pearl spun rapidly, and the wisp of black water magic power within his dantian instantly dissipated, transforming into the purest 'Yuan Qi'.

"Hmm? In terms of conversion rate and quality, it's even higher than my Red Sand Hand technique, which I've honed for ten years! So, magic power really is superior to physical strength?"

Fang Qing slightly circulated his magic power, converting it all into the power of the Red Sand Hand technique.

In an instant, his palm turned from white to red, then from red to white, repeating this seven times, with a mysterious energy faintly forming within it.

"External release of internal energy... a type of innate martial artist that's almost extinct in the secular martial arts world?"

Fang Qing slightly slapped out with his palm, releasing his inner energy, which actually leaped three feet through the air and struck the stone wall of the secluded cultivation room, causing stone dust to fall down.

"And... he achieved his martial arts innate level using such a common, third-rate martial art as the Red Sand Hand?"

"Unfortunately, to cultivators, innate martial artists are nothing more than large ants... a single spell can take them down."

He activated the Dao-Generating Pearl again, transforming all his power into the Black Water Magic Power of the "Commentary on the Waterways Classic," but felt that his own magic power had only increased by a negligible amount.

"That's roughly equivalent to the power I've gained from several days of meditation... This is the power of ten years of Red Sand Hand techniques!"

"As expected, in the world of cultivation, there's no future in practicing martial arts."

"At least... all the martial arts I've encountered have been completely crushed."

……

Several days later, Dan Island.

Standing before the cave, Fang Qing was visibly excited as he pulled out a green leaf-shaped magical artifact from his robes.

This is the standard magic weapon issued to disciples by the Azure Sea Sect—the Azure Leaf Boat. It can only fly slowly and is considered a low-grade first-tier weapon.

He spent an entire night finally completing the refining of this magical artifact.

"rise!"

Fang Qing made hand seals, and the green leaf continued to grow larger, eventually transforming into a small boat half a zhang long and several chi wide, which floated in mid-air.

He leaped onto the green leaf boat and began to wobble as he tried to fly.

At first, Fang Qing's flight path was very chaotic, and he almost fell down several times, but fortunately he did not fly too high.

"The feeling of flying freely is different from being on an airplane or being carried by someone else."

As Fang Qing gradually became familiar with the boat, the speed of the Qingye Boat kept increasing, and he started to try some tricks.

Flying forward, flying backward, flying diagonally, flying upside down...

Occasionally, he would dash into the clouds and emerge from the other side.

"Haha... Riding the wind is indeed exhilarating, but unfortunately, I don't have much magic left."

Fang Qing felt the thin magical power in his dantian, shook his head, aimed, and landed on Wanbao Island.

Elder Wanbao, the most powerful cultivator on the island, has reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. His "Hall of General Affairs" is a place that many disciples of the Azure Sea Sect cannot avoid.

The General Affairs Hall is located on the largest flat area of ​​Wanbao Island. It is an ancient bronze hall that is very majestic and tall, with eight doors. At this time, a large number of disciples are going in and out of each door.

Fang Qing stepped inside and was immediately drawn to the lively scene.

Many disciples of the Azure Sea Sect even set up stalls directly by the roadside, trading spirit stones or bartering.

Above the bronze plaza, a dozen enormous bronze pillars rise into the sky, their surfaces shimmering with various colored runes.

[The Lakeside Wilderness Herb Garden No. 17 is recruiting a Spirit Plant Cultivator. Must have mastered the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique. Compensation: 300 contribution points per year.]

[Long-term recruitment of Spirit Farmers. Compensation: 100 contribution points per year.]

[Wanted: The Three Fiends of the Sea, late-stage or perfect Qi Refining cultivation, one head worth one thousand contribution points...]

[Long-term purchase of Green Dragon Carp, excellent compensation...]

……

Fang Qing glanced at them and saw all sorts of missions and bounties.

Some of these were issued by the sect, while others were issued privately by elders and disciples, making it difficult to keep track of them all.

"Guarding and bounty missions... require combat skills, and I'm still a nobody, I can't handle that."

"I can only look at production and construction projects for now... The pay for spirit farmers is too low, isn't it?"

Fang Qing looked at the alchemy-related jobs, which offered generous rewards, but unfortunately he didn't know any alchemy techniques.

After searching around, I managed to find something similar:

[Task: Refine 300 bundles of 'Azure Spirit Silk'. Reward: 200 contribution points if the employer provides the raw materials, 500 contribution points if you provide the raw materials yourself...]

Fang Qing continued reading and learned that this "Azure Spirit Silk" required a spiritual plant called "Azure Hemp" to be washed and refined in a cold spring.

Its texture is flexible, light and breathable, making it an excellent material for crafting ritual implements such as inner armor and gauze scarves.

The best cold springs of the Azure Sea Sect are all located on Dan Island, so as a disciple of Dan Island, you can go and enjoy them.

"This must be a perk specifically for the disciples of Dan Island, right?"

"What else is there to say? Just accept it."

Fang Qing immediately took out his disciple token, went to accept the mission, and took several bundles of 'Sky Blue Hemp' with him, carrying them all the way back to his cave.

Because they hadn't anticipated needing to bring raw materials on the return trip, Qingye Boat was overloaded and almost lost its magic power, causing it to fall into the lake halfway through the journey...