Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 17 Condensing the Qi Sea
"This journey may be risky, and I may not be able to protect you completely. But it is our duty to slay demons and monsters. I have three sword talismans to give you. You may stay here and cultivate in peace. I will definitely return in three to five days."

With a light flick of her jade hand, Su Chun sent three beams of white light shooting toward Chen Ye like arrows. Then, with a light touch of her lotus feet, she transformed into a streak of light and sped off toward the northeast.

Chen Yeben still had a lot to say, but as soon as his fingertips touched the three sword talismans, he looked up and saw only the afterimages of the sword light in the sky, like shooting stars disappearing.

Chen Ye couldn't help but sigh deeply: "This Miss Su truly hates evil as if it were her enemy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Ci's voice came from the white banner in his hand: "Unfortunately, this little girl has no experience in dealing with demons."

Chen Ye asked in surprise, "Master, why are you awake? It would be good for you to rest for a few more days."

Mo Ci said, "Sleeping too much won't do any good. I'm just afraid that the girl will notice something is wrong, so I'm not saying anything."

“Indeed, Master, you gave yourself away as soon as you opened your mouth. How could the spirit of a newly born magical artifact have the voice of an old man? It should be the voice of a whimpering child.”

Mo Ci retorted angrily, "Stop talking nonsense. I spoke to remind you that this place where corpses were abandoned is unusual."

Chen Ye laughed and said, "Master, don't worry, I saw it a long time ago. I even wanted to remind Miss Su, but she acted too quickly, and I didn't even have time to speak."

For demonic cultivators, a corpse pit is by no means a simple place to discard corpses.

Generally speaking, demonic cultivators skilled in blood refining techniques would not leave behind so many corpses.

Heart's blood is an excellent material for alchemy, as are bones and flesh, and even remnant souls are treasures in the eyes of demonic cultivators; everything has its uses.

Since corpses cannot be disposed of casually, this mass grave must have some special purpose, most likely hiding some valuable items.

Upon hearing Chen Ye's words, Mo Ci said somewhat agitatedly, "Why remind her? Don't you want the treasures hidden inside?"

Chen Ye shook his head and explained, "If I had one, it would be a demonic treasure. When she comes back in a few days and sees that I've kept this demonic treasure for myself, she'll slice off my head with one sword. Then, Master, you'll truly become a wandering ghost."

"Why don't you hide the treasure first? Do you intend to marry into the Qinghe Sword Sect?!"

Chen Ye stroked his chin, recalling Su Chunyi's stunning beauty, and muttered to himself, "If Miss Su doesn't mind, I wouldn't be bothered either."

Mo Ci scoffed, "Pah, dream on. You little devil, once you enter the Qinghe Sword Sect, you won't even pass the 'Question of the Heart' test. That's far more powerful than the 'Soul Search,' it can clearly reflect even the slightest evil thought."

"That's what the master taught me."

Chen Ye didn't argue back. After all, he was a demonic cultivator, and who knew if the Qinghe Sword Sect would mind? There was no need to take the risk.

Mo Ci quickly said, "Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and take out the treasure!"

Chen Ye refused again.

“Master, now is not the time for treasure hunting. I just obtained the Xuanji Dew, so of course I should hurry up and refine pills and cultivate. Why create more trouble?”

Mo Ci asked again, "Aren't you curious about what treasures are hidden inside?"

"I am naturally curious, but there are priorities. I am now on the verge of condensing my Qi Sea, and I should be able to succeed in just two days. If I am distracted by treasure hunting, it will only create many unnecessary complications. Master, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It is not too late to hunt for treasure after I have condensed my Qi Sea."

"What if Su Chunyi comes back earlier?"

Chen Ye calmly said, "Then it's my destiny to be unlucky with this treasure."

Mo Ci didn't expect Chen Ye to have such good self-control, being able to temporarily put aside the obvious treasure right in front of him.

If I had had that same determination back then, I might not have ended up like this.

"Fine, you decide for yourself."

Mo Ci sank into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and remained silent, while Chen Ye didn't even glance at the abandoned corpses and turned back into the cave.

To be on the safe side, Chen Ye also carefully set up several simple warning traps at the entrance of the cave.

Once everything was ready, Chen Ye began refining the elixir.

The method of refining the Qi Condensation Pill is not difficult. Chen Ye skillfully heated the oil in a wok, first throwing all the auxiliary medicinal materials into the wok and slowly simmering them into a medicinal soup. Then, he gently dripped the most crucial Xuanji Dew into it.

As soon as the Xuanji Dew was put into the pot, something wonderful happened: a vortex naturally formed in the pot.

If the quality of the Xuanji Dew is poor, then it will be more troublesome. It will have to be simmered slowly over a low flame, and Chen Ye will have to personally stir it constantly to help the vortex form.

This is a long process; it takes at least three hours to finish. If one's stamina is lacking, a moment's carelessness can ruin everything. However, high-end materials often only require the simplest refining methods. Take this superior Xuanji Dew, for example; Chen Ye doesn't need to worry about it at all. It will automatically absorb the essence of other medicinal herbs.

As a result, Chen Ye had some free time, but he didn't wander around. Instead, he stayed put and patiently waited for the Qi Condensation Pill to take shape.

Having read so many novels in my past life, and having heard my master tell me so many negative examples in this life, all of them are accidents caused by carelessness during alchemy, such as the pills being stolen or various accidents causing all efforts to be in vain.

Chen Ye wouldn't falter at this crucial moment; instead, he became even more focused, not daring to blink even once.

I waited patiently for three whole hours until the medicinal liquid in the pot had completely disappeared.

A cyan pill, seemingly appearing out of thin air, floated leisurely above the iron pot.

This elixir, from a distance, looks like it's carved from jade, exquisitely beautiful. But if you look closely, you'll find a miniature vortex inside, just like the dantian (energy center).

Without saying a word, Chen Ye grabbed the pill, tilted his head back and swallowed it, then sat cross-legged, closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.

As soon as the Qi Condensation Pill entered his stomach, it instantly transformed into a wisp of ethereal matter, which, under Chen Ye's divine sense, slowly sank into his dantian. The meager spiritual energy that had been dormant there seemed to be summoned, and began to swirl around the Qi Condensation Pill on its own, gradually peeling away its emerald-like outer shell.

A moment later, the vortex trapped in the elixir broke free and began to slowly rotate within Chen Ye's dantian.

One cycle, two cycles... three hundred and sixty cycles. With each rotation, the cyclone fades a little.

Chen Ye focused intently on controlling the newly formed vortex, not daring to slacken in the slightest, until it completely dissipated.

It seems the effects of the medicine have worn off and nothing has been gained. If a rogue cultivator were to try to cultivate on their own, they would probably be panicking.

However, Chen Ye had a lineage of teachers. Although his master could only recite from the book, he still taught these basic common sense concepts with great care.

The most crucial moment is when the cyclone dissipates; success or failure hinges on this.

Chen Ye completely released all control, even his consciousness became blurred, and he seemed to fall into a deep sleep.

It is unknown how much time passed, until a faint stream of energy quietly formed in the dantian.

At first, it was just a thin wisp, but in the blink of an eye, it seemed to have a magical power, attracting countless spiritual energies to flock to it, transforming into a dazzling vortex like a nebula.

Chen Ye suddenly opened his eyes and then burst into laughter, the sound echoing throughout the cave.

Destruction precedes construction, and a vortex naturally arises.

With his dantian and qi sea successfully condensed, from now on, even without meditating, Chen Ye can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth on his own, making his cultivation speed more than a hundred times faster than before.

When one reaches the Spirit Awakening Realm, they are not much different from ordinary people, but once they enter the Qi Sea Realm, things become completely different. With abundant spiritual energy, they can cast more spells and can no longer be regarded as ordinary people.

For cultivators at the Qi Sea Realm, the primary task is to strengthen their dantian and Qi Sea, while carefully selecting the spells they need to cultivate.

One should never be greedy in practicing magic, since each spell requires years of practice.

Just like the swordsmanship used by Su Chunyi, not only is its power astonishing, but it can also be executed instantly with an astonishingly fast casting speed, which must be the result of long-term hard training.

Even if you gave Chen Ye all the sword techniques from the Qinghe Sword Sect, he'd probably still need to chant incantations for ages to get the flying swords flying.

A cultivator at the Qi Sea Realm has a lifespan of only two hundred years; this time cannot be wasted carelessly.

Therefore, most cultivators at the Qi Sea Realm will choose one spell and devote themselves to its cultivation to deal with combat. Other auxiliary spells will be practiced selectively until they are proficient.

As a demonic cultivator, Chen Ye had a wide variety of spells available for combat, but most of these spells were cruel and vicious. He wasn't a bloodthirsty person to begin with, so his choices were limited.

"If only I could learn the Qinghe Sword Technique, after all, the Qinghe Sword Technique is the best in the world."

Although Chen Ye thought this way, he also knew it was wishful thinking. The Qinghe Sword Sect had strict rules, and it was extremely difficult for outsiders to obtain the true teachings. No matter how easy-going Su Chunyi was, there was no way he would pass on the sect's secret techniques to him.

Chen Ye could not possibly join the Qinghe Sword Sect; if his identity as a demonic cultivator were exposed, he would be lucky to escape with his head.

However, there's no rush. Now that our cultivation has improved, it's time to explore that mysterious mass grave.

Perhaps, there will be some unexpected gains.

(End of this chapter)