Chapter 104: Perfected Qi Refinement
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The boring life was repetitive.
After returning from Spring Garden, Shen Ping forgot himself and devoted himself to cultivation. He even canceled his daily escort. The time arranged was very tight. He was even thinking about the spirit pattern circuit of making medium-grade Level Two talismans during dual cultivation. He did not dare to let his heart relax.
Just like that, five months passed.
Qingyang City was just as Shopkeeper Qu had deduced. After the Danxia Sect and the Acacia Faction moved in, it became even more prosperous and lively. The number of rogue cultivators from Jinzhou, Yue Kingdom, and other countries increased, and the alleys in the city were filled to the brim.
Therefore, the two sects of the two countries built a small market around Qingyang Lake to accommodate other uninhabitable rogue cultivators and sent a Golden Core elder to oversee it.
Yu Yan watched for two to three months. In the end, she rented a shop in South City and specialized in selling the Level One talismans and puppets made by Shen Ping. Due to the good quality and the availability of quantities, the shop gradually prospered after operating for half a month.
Although the shop did not earn much spirit stones overall, his wife and concubines were very excited.
It was almost August.
Cloud Mountain Parlour’s Shopkeeper Ding had returned from his Foundation Establishment.
It was spacious and bright in the private room of Virtue Tower. Shopkeeper Ding’s face was red, and there was an indescribable confidence between his eyebrows. There was also a faint spiritual pressure on his body that was deliberately restrained.
Once he stepped into the Foundation Establishment Realm, he could become a true cultivator.
“Senior Ding, congratulations on building your foundation. Congratulations on building your foundation!”
Shen Ping originally thought that Shopkeeper Ding would be able to successfully build his foundation last year. He did not expect him to delay until now. However, as long as he could successfully build his foundation, all the preparation and patience before would be meaningful.
Shopkeeper Ding laughed and said, “Talisman Master Shen, don’t call me senior in the future. There’s no need to be so distant between us. Please take a seat.”
There was indescribable joy in his tone.
Not long after, Shopkeeper Qu and the other third-grade guest elders arrived one by one. But there were no second-grade guest elders. Chong Ji had yet to return from his training with his disciples. He sent his disciples to participate and gave them two additional congratulatory gifts.
It was almost noon when all the invitees arrived. There were a total of 30 to 40 Foundation Establishment Cultivators and two mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Although it could not compare to the small banquet at Qingyang Lake, this was all because of Shopkeeper Ding’s connections.
At the banquet, Shopkeeper Ding chatted with every Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Shen Ping and the other late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators were also as relaxed as a spring breeze. Looking at this scene, Shen Ping could not help but think of the first time he went to Virtue Tower for the welcoming banquet.
That day, although he had invited Senior Chong and other Foundation Establishment guest elders, Shopkeeper Ding’s attitude was warm and respectful.
Now that Shopkeeper Ding had broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he could already face every Foundation Establishment guest on an equal footing. Even when he was with Shopkeeper Qu and the other two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, he was no longer as reserved as before.
It ended at five in the evening.
Shopkeeper Ding gave out two items. With a sincere expression, he said, “Talisman Master Shen, I was able to build my foundation when I’m close to sixty. That rare treasure played a huge role. If not for Talisman Master Shen’s generosity, I wouldn’t have today’s glory. These two items are not expensive. I hope you can accept them.”
After accepting it, Shen Ping’s footsteps slowed down on the way back from Virtue Tower. He looked at the Cloud Fir with its lush leaves and could not help but think to himself, “When can I build my foundation? Soon!” He answered himself firmly, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.
He returned to the quiet room in the small courtyard. He opened two exquisite jade boxes. One of them was the Foundation Establishment Pill. He almost blurted out, “Shopkeeper Ding is really trustworthy!”
Hidden Spirit House.
At the entrance of the private room, Mu Jin, who was wearing an emerald green loose robe, stood up.
Shen Ping looked over and quickly noticed that the jade beads on her earlobes had been replaced by tiny bells. There was some makeup on her lips and eyebrows, and her black hair had already spread to her waist.
Although she was no longer curvaceous today, it still made his eyes light up. They didn’t speak. The moment the door closed and the array was activated,
Shen Ping smiled and said, “That’s right. I really want to rip off your robe now.”
After so many exchanges, although he could imagine the wrinkled rock layers left behind by time with his eyes closed, every time he saw Mu Jin, whether it was the material, the patterns, or the hair, there was always a different feeling. It was a very strange feeling.
A faint smile appeared on Mu Jin’s lips. “If you want it, then do it. I really want to feel your power and see if it’s as heavy as a mountain!”
Psst.
The emerald green robe had already fallen with the sound. Shen Ping’s breathing tightened. He stared at Mu Jin. Her round and curvy outline was stuck to the jade robe with golden threads. Although it covered her fair luster, it had an indescribable charm.
Mu Jin turned around. Her black hair parted quietly.
“This is the Golden Silkworm Jade Robe. I’ve put in a lot of effort. Its material should be enough to make Talisman Master Shen happy.” As she spoke, she leaned forward slightly. The honeydew instantly became heavier and heavier.
Soon, the wind and rain blew down. A faint voice came from the private room.
“Thanks to Talisman Master Shen, I can step into the late stage of Qi Refinement in half a year!”
In an instant, the rain became even more intense.
After relaxing, Shen Ping returned to his calm cultivation life. The thought in the depths of his mind faded. Even when he thought of Spring Garden, he did not have the urge.
Another two months passed.
In the quiet room of the spirit pool, under the support of the Snow Ganoderma Pill, spirit liquid, and various other resources, the spiritual energy in his dantian at the ninth level of Qi Refinement was finally filled.
At this moment, no matter how Shen Ping circulated his cultivation technique, absorbing the spiritual energy in the spirit pool could not increase his spiritual energy at all. The meridians that his physique had expanded were also completely filled. He carefully sensed with his divine sense that the total spiritual energy in his dantian was nearly 50% stronger than other Qi Refinement cultivators of the same level.
If he used a high-grade defensive Dharma artifact now, he could last for a long time.
“Perfected Qi Refinement!” He stood up. Shen Ping paced around the quiet room. It had been ten years since he got married. Back then, he was still a low-level cultivator at the third level of Qi Refinement. Now, he had officially reached the perfection of Qi Refinement.
The next step was Foundation Establishment!
A moment later, he arrived at the talisman making room and carefully took out three talisman materials from his storage bag. These materials were used to make mid-grade Level Two talismans.
“Unfortunately, my divine sense is still half a step away from the mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm.”
These days, through the hard work of his wife, Wang Yun, his level in the Dao of Talismans was considered relatively outstanding among the high-grade Level Two. Even with his deep experience and the unique understanding of the Dao of Talismans produced by the golden frame, Shen Ping still did not have the slightest confidence in truly producing a mid-grade Level Two talisman.
If it was the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had a 30% chance of successfully making a high-grade Level 2 talisman, let alone a mid-grade Level 2 talisman. He looked at the materials.
Shen Ping hesitated for a long time. In the end, he gritted his teeth and began to pray silently.
The process ritual was completed.
He picked up the talisman brush and placed the first stroke on the mid-grade Level 2 talisman.
Nowadays, the requirements for talisman masters are getting lower and lower. As long as one could successfully outline the spirit rune circuit and master every detail of the brushwork, one could become a talisman master with a little effort. However, if one wanted to make high-level talismans, level two talismans, it would test one’s control over the spirit rune circuit.
On the other hand, there were more than 600 spirit rune circuits on the mid-grade Level Two talismans. Every one of them was complicated and had additional changes. They were no longer the simple circuits from before.
Therefore, it was very difficult to successfully make talismans of this level.
There were many talisman masters in the True Treasure Pavilion who could satisfy the requirements of third-grade guest elders, but the number of talisman masters who were second-grade guest ciders decreased drastically. It was the same for cultivation families in the sect.
Time passed slowly.
Shen Ping was fully focused on drawing every spirit rune. The blood ink and high-grade talisman brush collided with the Level 2 talisman paper. His mental strength was also quickly depleted.
Before production, he even specially swallowed a high-quality Spiritfount Pill. However, as he outlined it, he gradually felt tired even with the nourishment of the Spiritfount Pill.
Swoosh!
When he drew 400 spirit patterns, Shen Ping made a mistake and the entire talisman burned. It was a failure. He lay heavily on the ground and hurriedly consumed another Spiritfount Pill.
Several hours later, Shen Ping looked at the remaining two sets of materials and shook his head. “My spiritual energy and divine sense can’t complete a mid-grade Level 2 talisman independently.”
He frowned. Since the True Treasure Pavilion had a special-class guest elder with the skill of a talisman master, it meant that a cultivator who had Perfected Qi Refinement had definitely succeeded in making it.
“What’s the difference?”
If it was only the restriction of his divine sense, he still had a direction to work towards. However, after making it just now, he had already discovered that the spiritual energy in his dantian, which had reached the perfection of Qi Refinement, could not support him until he completed the entire talisman. During this period, he had to take the Spirit Revitalization Pill.
However, once the production process paused for a moment, it would be even more difficult to complete.
No matter how he thought about it, he could not figure it out. So he simply came to the True Treasure Pavilion..