Inside his body, the ceaselessly flowing Spiritual Qi seemed to occupy his esophagus and stomach, leaving no path for the chicken meat to go down.
Qian Duoduo tried for a long time, and the chicken meat in his mouth almost turned into a meatball, but he still couldn't swallow it.
“Liu Lao…” Qian Duoduo called out softly.
Liu Boli had already returned to the Golden Toad at this moment, striking a strange pose, seemingly also Cultivating.
“Are you done eating?” Liu Boli asked.
He was currently using Cultivation to mask the wild joy in his heart, thinking about how to get along with Qian Duoduo and how to begin teaching Qian Duoduo.
“I—I can’t eat anymore.”
Qian Duoduo felt a bit embarrassed.
“Not cooked through?”
“No.”
“Burnt?”
“Neither—my stomach is full now.”
Qian Duoduo wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Oh. Then I’ll put it away first. No, you try using your Spiritual Awareness; you should also be able to put the Spirit Chicken into the Golden Toad.”
“Me, can I do it?”
Qian Duoduo couldn't believe it, hesitated repeatedly, and facing the chicken leg, he silently thought “Store” in his mind.
The Spirit Chicken disappeared!
This works too!
Qian Duoduo was stunned: If storing works, then taking out should also work, right?
Looking at the Spirit Chicken, with a thought from his Spiritual Awareness, the Spirit Chicken reappeared in his hand.
“Hey, hey, hey, the Golden Toad listens to my commands now.”
Qian Duoduo grinned.
“Shh.” Liu Boli stopped Qian Duoduo from continuing to speak loudly.
“This Golden Toad has a storage function; never let anyone know about it. Do not flaunt your wealth, lest you invite disaster.”
“Is this very remarkable? Are such treasures rare in the Immortal Cultivation World?”
“There are quite a few treasures that can store things, but those like the Golden Toad, which have large storage space and can even hold Soul bodies, are extremely rare.”
“Soul body? What is a Soul body?”
“I am a Soul body. I only have a Soul, no Physical Body.”
Liu Boli pointed to himself, “The most important thing is that for all these years, the Golden Toad has never had a master; you are the first. This might be related to the Initial Spiritual Qi.”
“Is that so? Oh, right, you’ve lived here for many years, so what you say must be correct.”
It was truly not easy for Qian Duoduo to obtain this Initial Spiritual Qi; the soreness was unbearable, and he Cultivated day and night.
Since the Golden Toad consumed his Initial Spiritual Qi, it naturally had to reciprocate with some benefits.
Qian Duoduo put the Spirit Chicken into the Golden Toad, then took it out again, repeating the process back and forth, having a great time playing.
When he got tired of playing with the Spirit Chicken, he started playing with the Ling Shen, moving three to five Ling Shen in and out.
When he also got bored of playing with the Ling Shen, Qian Duoduo looked at Jin Buhuan’s corpse.
Such a large object, can it also be moved?
With a thought from his Spiritual Awareness, he indeed moved Jin Buhuan’s body outside.
However, in the original spot, there was still a faint layer of smoke, like the mist over a pond in the early morning.
“What is that smoke?” Qian Duoduo asked Liu Boli, who was resting inside the Golden Toad, as he moved Jin Buhuan back in.
Liu Boli glanced at it, “Jin Buhuan’s Soul.”
He concealed one point: he had just fused a part of Jin Buhuan’s Soul with Qian Duoduo’s, which was why Qian Duoduo now possessed Jin Buhuan’s Soul aura and all his memories.
“So thin?”
If Jin Buhuan’s Soul was like Liu Boli’s, Qian Duoduo would indeed be a bit scared.
Its extreme thinness, almost gone, put his mind at ease.
“Severely injured, low Cultivation, accidental death.” Liu Boli immediately gave three reasons.
“Can he survive as a Soul body like you?”
They are both Souls, so why is the difference so great?
“Difficult. His is too weak; he is currently in a dormant state.”
“What would happen if I moved him out?”
“Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, returning to the underworld.”
Although Qian Duoduo didn't like Jin Buhuan and had accidentally crushed him to death, Qian Duoduo had no grievances or enmity with him, so he couldn't kill him twice.
There's so much empty space in the Golden Toad; let him stay there.
Besides, when he Cultivated the Golden Light Technique just now, he had intentionally or unintentionally referenced Jin Buhuan's experience, which was why he was able to Breakthrough to the first layer so quickly.
Qian Duoduo scratched his head, deciding not to touch Jin Buhuan’s Soul.
Since he had entered Ningqi Level 1, Qian Duoduo needed to consolidate it well. The silk scroll stated that the first layer of the Golden Light Technique allowed for the external release of spiritual power and remote control of objects.
He thought to himself, “Liu Lao could grab me like a spider web, and Yan Qi could make a wooden sword fly in the air; isn't that remote control of objects?”
Taking out the two claws of the Spirit Chicken from the Golden Toad, Qian Duoduo found that the claws were actually the size of a palm and extremely heavy to the touch.
When the claws collided with each other, they actually made a metallic sound.
When he dragged a claw across a rock, it actually carved a deep groove.
“These Spirit Chicken claws are heavier than the wooden sword on the ground, and also more fun to play with; they’re also a Sharp Weapon. If they poke someone, they could make a big hole. If they poke someone’s throat, they’d definitely take their life.”
Thinking of this, Qian Duoduo threw the chicken claws on the ground, took a few deep breaths, and according to the drawing on the silk scroll, he formed a hand seal with both hands and pointed at the chicken claws.
As his finger pointed out, Qian Duoduo immediately felt a stream of Spiritual Qi from the small river within his body rush directly towards his right index finger, bursting out from the fingertip like an invisible beam of light.
With a “snap,” the chicken claws trembled, and the Spiritual Qi connected with them!
Biting his teeth, Qian Duoduo held his breath, and as he raised his index finger, the chicken claws stood up, slowly hovering in the air. They had just risen an inch when they dropped back to the ground.
“It rose, haha.”
Qian Duoduo was overjoyed. If it rose, it would be easy. One inch meant ten inches, and ten inches meant a hundred inches.
Qian Duoduo pointed with force, and the chicken claws rose into the air, one inch, two inches, nine inches…
After an unknown amount of time, he could make the chicken claws rise to his chest.
At this point, the small river of Spiritual Qi within his body was almost dry.
This time, he was truly hungry.
After all that effort, Qian Duoduo was covered in a layer of grime from head to toe.
He sniffed himself, and there was a foul smell.
He took out the roasted Spirit Chicken, gnawed off two chicken legs, and his stomach was full.
The small river of Spiritual Qi was also full, automatically flowing along the Cultivation Technique’s path.
He started playing with the flying chicken claws again.
First, straight lines, acceleration, sudden stops.
Turning, drawing circles, drawing spirals.
Diving, making a hole in the ground. Then climbing, suddenly thrusting upwards from the ground…
The chicken claws gradually became extremely obedient, like fingers, becoming a part of his body, like a large bee flying around the cell.
He was already an Immortal!
Qian Duoduo was extremely proud.
“When Liu Lao was out for fresh air, he must have used this skill to steal the Ling Shen and Spirit Chicken, right? Of course, his technique was much faster than mine.”
Qian Duoduo became more and more excited as he played, and the chicken claws flying around gradually made a sound of breaking wind.
During this time, he ate the entire Spirit Chicken and gnawed off all the whiskers of a Ling Shen.
When he was too tired from playing, he even took a few naps. After waking up, he continued to play.
“Naughty disciple, there’s another chicken claw here. Try controlling two at the same time.”
At some unknown point, Liu Boli had emerged.
Qian Duoduo didn't treat Cultivation as Cultivation, but as play, which secretly pleased Liu Boli.
“Two? No problem.”
Qian Duoduo recalled the contents of the silk scroll; it indeed had a method for controlling multiple objects simultaneously.
He extended his middle finger, formed the hand seal, and pointed at the second chicken claw. A surge of Spiritual Qi burst forth, and the second chicken claw immediately rose into the air.
Just as he was about to feel proud, the Spiritual Qi in his index finger weakened, and the first chicken claw lost control and fell to the ground.
Qian Duoduo couldn't keep a straight face.
“A great Immortal, and he can’t even control two chicken claws?”
However, when Spiritual Qi rushed out from both the index finger and middle finger simultaneously, dividing into two, the force became weaker, and the control became less precise.
The two chicken claws rose and fell, tumbling wildly on the ground.
What’s going on? Is the Immortal Technique not working? Qian Duoduo pulled out the silk scroll and examined it word by word.
He slapped his thigh; he understood.
Controlling multiple objects simultaneously was content of the second layer of the Golden Light Technique, only possible at Qi Condensation Level 2.
He was only at Qi Condensation Level 1 now, so of course he was powerless.
Qian Duoduo took a fierce bite of the main stem of the Ling Shen.
As the Ling Shen went down, the small river of Spiritual Qi within his body immediately began to surge.
He assumed the posture of the second diagram, combined with his breathing, and propelled the Spiritual Qi to follow the Spiritual Vein path of the second layer of the Golden Light Technique.
This layer of Spiritual Veins was not only much longer than the previous layer, but also far less familiar than the previous layer, and certainly lacked the long-practiced foundation of the previous layer.
Passing through each Acupoint was like digging a long, new river channel in the ground, consuming enormous amounts of physical strength, mental effort, and spiritual power.
After persisting for dozens of breaths, waves of soreness surged throughout his body, and sweat began to drip from his dirty chin again.
“If you’re tired, rest.”
Back in the Golden Toad, Liu Boli’s voice was light and airy, as if he knew Qian Duoduo was about to give up.
“We’re both Immortals, why do you look down on me?”
Qian Duoduo rolled his eyes at him, and with fierce determination, he persisted and persisted, until his hands and feet lost sensation and his vision became a bit hazy, only then did he stop.
Gasping for breath, he carefully examined his body. Although he was still far from opening up the second layer of the Golden Light Technique, the small river of Spiritual Qi in the first layer had become wider and deeper.
Controlling one chicken claw felt a bit easier, and its speed was faster. Even the holes it poked into the rocks were three fen deeper.
Indeed, there is no wasted effort in Cultivation, no wasted sweat.
Qian Duoduo understood this point, and his spirits lifted.
“No matter how long the path, no matter how deep the riverbed, I can complete it, I can dig it, one Acupoint at a time.”
After a short rest, as soon as his physical strength recovered, Qian Duoduo began to Cultivate the second layer of the Cultivation Technique again.
Just then, he heard someone approaching the prison door. By the footsteps, it sounded like Hu Qingyin.