The Refining stage is the most critical phase of the Refining Essence to Qi process, so Wang Sheng prepared extensively for this stage.
Whether it be the Five Elements Fist or the Yijin Scripture, in fact, both were prep work for the major medicine required for the Inner Core Skill.
Qi-Blood, physical constitution, all could elevate the quality of the medicine to the next level.
During the Refining stage, the process continues along the river cart path; in this process, the Qi Blood Power and “divine” elements extract strength from the human body, merging into the major medicine of the body.
The stronger the body, the more powerful the major medicine.
Only then would the path ahead be walked more steadily.
This step, just like the previous medicine production, could not run autonomously; it required manual transportation of Qi Blood Power, and different methods of transportation would affect the formation of the major medicine.
The method of transporting Qi Blood Power in the Inner Core Skill is a postnatal breathing technique; to form the major medicine more effectively, a good breathing technique is essential. This technique is generally referred to as “controlling the heat.”
The character “refine” in Refining is not decorative; without proper control over the “heat,” forming the major medicine would be difficult.
Of course, for Wang Sheng, this was not a concern.
The presence of a progress bar allowed him to master the perfect method of transporting Qi Blood Power without having to tread cautiously, fearing mistakes.
Wang Sheng operated the method once according to his mastery, feeling the familiar yet completely different approach, then saw the progress bar that had barely moved.
“Indeed, Refining truly is a long and arduous task!”
Although he had heard about the time-consuming nature of the Refining stage, only through actual attempts did he realize its difficulty.
And this was with the help of the progress bar; without it, he wouldn’t even know where to start.
Not making mistakes meant not having to transport Qi Blood Power cautiously, and during this time, untold hours could be saved.
Soon, he opened his eyes.
Refining required intensive cultivation, but success wouldn’t come overnight; while he felt an urgency in his cultivation, he never rushed.
He needed to adapt to the new realm.
Well, realms come naturally like water flows into a channel; there really wasn’t much to adapt to.
It was simply that he had cultivated all morning, and it was now time for a midday rest.
He also wanted to contemplate how to enhance his combat abilities during the Refining stage.
The Refining stage undoubtedly could increase combat capabilities.
Unfortunately, Wang Sheng didn’t know any combat methods, or to be specific, any combat techniques within the Inner Core Skill.
At least the Inner Core Skill had a theoretical foundation, and many people practiced it.
However, the practice of the Inner Core Skill did not include skills for fighting techniques.
“Sword Flight? Riding on a cloud? Summoning wind and rain? Or perhaps flying swords?”
After considering his options, Wang Sheng felt that Sword Control and flying swords were more reliable.
Summoning wind and rain, riding on a cloud—such advanced feats didn’t seem attainable at his current beginner level of Inner Core Skill Refining Essence to Qi.
Sword Control and flying swords, however, seemed very possible.
The reason was simple: the existence of the “divine” element.
During the medicine production phase, Wang Sheng could already use the “divine” element to control arrows simply, improving his accuracy.
However, at that time, the “divine” element wasn’t strong enough to do much, so he could only use it in a basic way.
But now, it was different; during the Refining stage, the “divine” element would become incredibly powerful.
Controlling Technique could very well achieve this.
Within the realm of Controlling Technique, both Sword Control and flying swords were included.
Sword Control Skill was an old dream of Wang Sheng’s.
Now, it was a goal placed before his eyes, attainable.
Once he reached a profound level in the Refining stage and the “divine” element was sufficiently powerful, Sword Flight would not be a difficult task.
But—
“If I can control swords, why not just fly directly?”
This sudden thought struck Wang Sheng, leading to a revelation.
If he could command swords, why not simply make himself fly? There was no need for the roundabout way of Sword Flight.
Moreover, compared to the Sword Flight technique, he preferred the Rainbow Transformation Technique, traveling tens of thousands of miles in an instant, which was also a celestial-like skill.
The flying swords technique was a legendary swordsmanship capable of slaying enemies from afar, a controlling technique with the unique traits of swordsmanship, different from ordinary Controlling Techniques.
However, Wang Sheng had no method of cultivation, whether for flying or the flying sword technique; he was completely clueless.
So he would have to explore on his own after reaching a certain level in Refining.
“Let’s see if I can ’unlock’ a skill when the time comes!”
Whether it be flying or the flying sword technique, Wang Sheng could only explore by himself, which was more difficult than simply progressing with an existing method. He would first have to discover, then attempt to level up.
But exploring these things also required accumulation.
Fortunately, he had many excellent things at hand—the martial techniques transcribed by Yue.
Yue’s martial skills were numerous. To be precise, his mind held an abundance of contents, among which were the martial techniques.
Wang Sheng was not very interested in the Grandmaster Level Cultivation Techniques, but he did have some interest in the martial techniques.
Only, he had been busy cultivating the Inner Core Skill earlier, aiming to break through to the Refining stage, so he didn’t want to distract himself and had not spent much time researching.
But now that he had broken through to the Refining stage, it was time to delve into it.
Among them, one martial technique related to space intrigued him the most.
This was something Yue had mentioned when seeking his protection.
After entering Qingshan Village, Yue quickly transcribed it and gave it to him, although Wang Sheng hadn’t studied it.
This martial technique was called “Qiankun.”
Its main principle was described in one sentence: “Sleeve Universe is vast, inside the pot, days and months are elongated.” That was the crux of this technique.
When Wang Sheng first saw it, he thought it was the divine skill Sleeve Universe, only to realize he had thought too much.
The content of “Qiankun” was simple: trap the enemy within a space to be arbitrarily executed.
Simply put, it was a restrictive martial technique that could control an enemy. According to the technique’s description, trapping the enemy was essentially solidifying a piece of space, which creates the controlling effect when solidified.
Being related to space, it was thus named “Qiankun.”
According to Yue, martial techniques involving space were rare in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and “Qiankun” was one of the best.
Reportedly obtained by chance, it did not seem like a skill created by humans but more like a divine skill sent from heaven.
Because essentially, all who learned this technique knew how it worked but not why; they could only perform the technique without understanding how it achieved such effects.
That’s why it was called a divine skill bequeathed by heaven.
“Interesting, I really want to see what kind of marvelous martial technique this is…”