Starting with Taoist priests from Maoshan to cultivate immortality

This is a lotus flower the size of a palm, with translucent ice-blue petals, and a spiritual light slowly flowing within them.

Below the lotus, the veins of the leaves connect the entire mountainside, growing in a cold pool.

"This is the Ice Vein Jade Shattered Lotus."

Jiang Yu identified its name based on its characteristics.

This lotus contains extremely pure icy water spiritual energy, making it one of the divine medicines for breaking through to the Qi Refining stage.

Jiang Yu knew that a drop of shattered jade dew would condense at the center of its flower, which could restore spiritual power, stabilize the mind, and heal external injuries when taken internally, making it perfect for him in his current state.

"If that leader of the Peerless Sect knew that I not only survived but also obtained such a rare treasure, he would be furious."

Jiang Yu smiled slightly and stepped forward to pick the Ice Vein Jade Lotus.

The moment his foot touched the surface of the icy pool, the Ice Vein Jade Lotus emitted a pale blue light, and several roots emerged from the water, carrying a chill towards him.

Jiang Yu dodged, this was the protective ability of the Ice Vein Jade Lotus.

Rare natural treasures like these are usually guarded by companion spirit beasts or possess autonomous protective capabilities.

Jiang Yu's spiritual energy was almost depleted. After thinking for a moment, a golden chain appeared in his hand:

"This is a good opportunity to test the abilities of the Soul-Binding Rope."

"go!"

Jiang Yu recited the incantation, and the Spirit Binding Rope moved back and forth in mid-air like a serpent, binding the attacking roots.

But as the binding rope tightened, the roots, which carried a chilling aura, suddenly shattered like ice crystals.

Jiang Yu frowned and said:

"Is this an illusion?"

Countless ice spikes shot towards Jiang Yu from the snow lotus.

"Burning Wind and Departing Fire Spell!"

Jiang Yu quickly released a fiery tornado to block it, then rolled away to dodge.

The terrifying gong appeared in his hand.

Boom!

With a sudden strike, a golden ripple spread, and the surrounding space shattered like an ice curtain, revealing a piece of cold marrow radiating a chilling power.

Its shape is a constantly flowing mass of liquid silver-blue crystal, without a fixed form.

Jiang Yu's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in surprise:

"This is Thousand-Faced Jadeite! It's actually such a spiritual object!"

It is an even rarer spiritual object than the Ice Vein Jade Lotus, taking a thousand years to form. Its breakthrough effect is three times that of the Ice Vein Jade Lotus. It can disguise itself as other spiritual objects, making it extremely difficult to distinguish.

If you were to take it to the auction house in Qingming Market, it would definitely be the grand finale item!

Jiang Yu rubbed his hands together:

"I finally managed to get what I wanted!"

What was initially thought to be just a beautiful woman lying prone has now transformed into a captivating fairy.

A flame flickered in Jiang Yu's eyes:

"I am coming!"

The Thousand-Faced Cold Marrow continued to shoot out ice crystals to block them.

Jiang Yu's Thunder Pestle appeared in his hand, flashing with lightning, and struck down the ice crystals:

"Baby, the more you resist, the more excited I get."

However, even with all his efforts, Jiang Yu could not get close to the Thousand-Faced Cold Marrow.

The fact that he couldn't touch a beautiful goddess made Jiang Yu's heart itch with desire.

He carefully recalled the information about the Thousand-Faced Cold Marrow recorded in the book, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him:

"I remember now, she seemed to love pure spiritual energy the most."

Immediately, Jiang Yu took out one hundred spirit stones from his storage bag and tossed them to her.

As expected, the Thousand-Faced Cold Marrow stopped attacking, and the liquid ice crystals transformed into palms that wrapped around the spirit stone and absorbed it into its body.

Jiang Yu was overjoyed. "There's hope!"

He immediately rushed closer.

However, the Thousand Faces of Cold Marrow is like a winter storm, turning its back on people without hesitation.

"Not enough?"

Jiang Yu was taken aback, then gritted his teeth and said:

"Then I'll feed you thoroughly!"

With a heavy heart, he began to throw the spirit stones from his storage bag at the Thousand-Faced Cold Marrow as if they were free.

The Thousand-Faced Cold Marrow accepts all comers, extending its many palms to greedily absorb them.

Its entire body was several times larger, like a round ball.

Jiang Yu calculated that it had cost him a full 2,500 spirit stones, which meant that almost half of his fortune had been wiped out.

Having absorbed too much spiritual energy, the Thousand-Faced Cold Marrow was so stretched that it could no longer move and naturally could not resist.

Jiang Yu easily stepped forward and subdued him.

Sensing the pure spiritual energy contained within, Jiang Yu smiled and said:

"My hard work has paid off. Thanks to this, I can break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining tonight."

Jiang Yu sat cross-legged and began circulating his magic to absorb the Thousand-Faced Cold Marrow.

"I feel so bloated!"

As soon as he absorbed it, a surge of pure spiritual energy rushed into his body. Jiang Yu quickly activated the Shangqing Zhengqi Technique to control it.

Fortunately, the cultivation technique he practiced was powerful enough; otherwise, it would have probably burst from the Maoshan breathing technique he had previously practiced.

Two hours passed, and Jiang Yu's spiritual energy continued to circulate without stopping.

To break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, one needs to condense gaseous true Qi into a mist-like form.

To achieve a breakthrough as usual, it would require several years of arduous practice.

However, due to repeatedly consuming rare and precious herbs to improve his physique, and in addition to awakening the Mysterious Talisman True Body, Jiang Yu's cultivation speed and cultivation limit have been greatly improved.

He continuously compressed his spiritual energy, his dantian feeling like a flattened balloon, accompanied by a faint tearing sensation.

He repeatedly attacked, causing the spiritual energy to change from a gaseous state to a misty state before dissipating.

Each impact was accompanied by pain, but Jiang Yu remained calm and tried again and again.

He was extremely cautious from beginning to end.

If he is not careful, his spiritual energy will go out of control, and his entire meridian system may burst.

If an ordinary person acted this way, they would have been possessed by their inner demons long ago.

However, because of the merit he has accumulated, whenever his inner demons harass him, his mind becomes extremely agitated, leading to disordered meridians.

At these times, a ray of spiritual light spreads throughout his body, his mind returns to tranquility, and his posture becomes peaceful.

Two more hours passed, and the spiritual energy was compressed to its limit, accompanied by a roar that only he could hear.

The originally gaseous spiritual energy transformed into a light mist.

An invisible force field was generated around Jiang Yu, shattering all the frozen ice crystals.

Qi Refining Level 4, breakthrough successful!

Jiang Yu let out a soft breath; he had finally succeeded.

No wonder the third and fourth levels of Qi Refining are only one level apart, yet they are completely different realms.

After entering the mid-stage of Qi Refining, the total amount of mana increased several times.

Previously, casting the "All Talismans Return to One" spell would exhaust one's spiritual energy, but now it can be cast at least twice, and the magic power has become more refined.

Even the most basic palm lightning, which was originally a single strand, has become several intertwined strands, with thunderous roars, making it even more powerful in warding off evil.

Jiang Yu sighed:

"Only when you truly reach this level can you feel it. I really don't know what it will be like to reach the late stage of Qi Refining or the Foundation Establishment stage."

Jiang Yu stood up, his ears twitching slightly.

His five senses have also been greatly enhanced. Night is as bright as day in his eyes.

He can hear the chirping of insects and the sound of the wind from a hundred meters away, and he can actively filter them out.

The Thousand Faces Cold Marrow was not used up; half of it remained.

Jiang Yu said regretfully:

"What a pity. If I were skilled in alchemy, I could add other spiritual ingredients to refine it into a more easily absorbed pill."

The various arts of cultivating immortality each require a great deal of time to study.

For ordinary cultivators, it is already very difficult to balance cultivation and delve into one skill to reach a profound level.

Only those exceptionally gifted geniuses can master several skills.

However, Jiang Yu possesses the Heavenly Mandate Treasure Talisman, which allows him to improve his cultivation techniques and skills without any bottlenecks by infusing his body with Dao power.

Jiang Yu murmured:

"When I have time, I'll go to Qingming Market and buy a few beginner's guides to alchemy."