This Dao Ancestor is too young.

The next day, early in the morning.

As the sun rises, its morning light illuminates the mountains and rivers.

A tall, slender figure, dressed in a worn-out cotton coat and carrying a long sword, slowly walked out of the house.

Zhang Yuanzhu sat cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, raised his face, looked at the rising sun, and smiled confidently.

After a night's rest, my energy and spirit have been restored to their best state, and I will surely succeed in breaking through this barrier.

With a thought, spirit stones floated out of his robes and landed around him, filling the courtyard with rich spiritual energy.

"Break through the Qi Condensation stage and enter the Qi Refining stage right now."

He muttered to himself, raised his arms, and formed an ancient hand seal.

boom!

His body trembled slightly, his blood and qi began to surge, and strands of divine light flowed towards his dantian.

The sound of waves, like the ocean, echoed through the courtyard.

Within his dantian, the dark blue aura trembled, then was continuously compressed and gathered.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The divine light, formed from the condensation of Qi and blood, surged into the dantian. The moment it came into contact with the Qi, it blended together like water and milk, and began to unite.

Everything went smoothly and without any difficulty.

At the same time, Zhang Yuanzhu also began to fully utilize the "Annotations on the Qi-Guiding Record of the Hidden Spring".

Huhuhu~

A breeze, formed from gathered spiritual energy, blew through the courtyard.

Strands of colorless spiritual energy entered the body, flowed through the kidneys and throughout the body, and finally surged into the dantian.

The moment the spiritual energy entered the dantian, the divine light and aura that were merging surged up and continuously devoured it.

Time passed second by second, and the fusion and devouring became increasingly intense.

The first trace of dark blue magic was born.

boom!

A silent thunderclap exploded in his mind, leaving the boy momentarily bewildered.

In the depths of the soul, in a place beyond high and low, beyond the Way and the Law, the Bodhi tree grows anew.

The roots spread downwards, taking root in unknown lands, the trunk stretches forward, and branches and leaves grow one by one.

The radiance woven from the interplay of Tao and reason covers the Bodhi tree and reflects all things in the world.

Sacred and vast!

Such a dramatic change was completed in the blink of an eye.

Realm: Qi Refining Level 1 (4/100)

At the same time, streams of information flooded into my mind.

"The supernatural power [Great Dream of a Thousand Autumns] has been further improved, allowing me to manifest myself in that unknown space."

Zhang Yuanzhu murmured.

In this way, one can fight against those who have come before, hone one's skills, cultivate oneself, try different paths, and constantly learn from mistakes.

The Bodhi tree, as expected of a sacred tree planted by the future Dao Ancestor, is truly extraordinary.

Immediately, he stopped thinking about it and focused his consciousness on his dantian.

The fusion of divine light, aura, and spiritual energy continues.

Meanwhile, flesh, bones, and internal organs are undergoing rapid transformation, advancing towards a higher level.

About an hour later, the sun was high in the sky.

Within his dantian, his breath, divine light, and spiritual energy had all vanished, leaving only wisps of magical power flowing, drifting slowly like water.

"This is the Qi Refining Realm."

Zhang Yuanzhu raised his arm, lowered his gaze, and his palms were as white and flawless as jade.

The scars and roughness of the past have completely disappeared, leaving only a powerful and continuous surge of energy.

Gently clench your five fingers together.

boom!

The air in his palm exploded instantly, and a rolling wave of air swept in all directions, stirring up layers of dust.

A thought arose.

A faint blue glow emerged from the palm of his hand.

In an instant, the courtyard became damp, with droplets of water forming and turning into raindrops.

Tick-tock! Tick-tock!

The floorboards were broken, revealing holes, and the artificial rockery crumbled inch by inch.

"This is magic power, far surpassing mere breath."

Zhang Yuanzhu chuckled, looking delighted.

Breaking through to the Qi Refining Realm brings about a comprehensive transformation of the body and breath, resulting in strength far exceeding that of the Qi Condensation Realm.

He slowly stood up and stretched his body.

Boom!

The rain has stopped, and the sun is shining again.

Zhang Yuanzhu lowered his hand, placing it on the hilt of the sword, sensing his own formidable power, and chuckled:

"Such power, yet defeated by someone at the Qi Condensation Realm; their talent is indeed far inferior."

At this moment, things that once seemed difficult now have more room for maneuver.

He might be able to save everyone.

However, before that, we need to further improve our combat capabilities.

In a moment of thought, he flipped his hand, and a pair of gold-threaded boxing gloves appeared in his palm.

The low-grade magic weapon—the Golden Spirit Gauntlets—should be enough to further enhance his combat power.

The magical power within his dantian surged forth and flowed into the Golden Spirit Gauntlets, beginning its refining process.

The power of the Nether Spring was incredibly ruthless, washing away past marks while leaving its own traces.

Time passed second by second, and about half an hour had passed.

hum~

The gauntlets trembled, and streaks of golden light burst forth, covering the palms and spreading upwards.

Zhang Yuanzhu's arms transformed into a dazzling gold, as if cast in gold, brilliant and eye-catching.

Hands together!

Ding~

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the courtyard.

"Good defense, and strength has also increased."

A smile appeared on the young man's face. To him, the Golden Spirit Gauntlets, a low-grade magic weapon, were quite remarkable.

The magical artifact has been refined; the next step is to change the cultivation method.

The "Annotations on the Qi-Inducing Record of the Nether Spring" is ultimately just a Qi-Gathering Realm technique. It needs to be transformed into the Qi-Refining Realm technique, "The Nine Netherworlds of the Azure Sky Scripture".

Lost in thought, the young man took out a jade slip from his storage bag and held it to his brow. Lines of writing entered his mind:

"Reaching the highest heavens and the deepest hells. Reversing the order of Yin and Yang, all flows in one breath..."

The scriptures are profound, each word containing the Tao and the principles. Even though I have read them more than ten times, I still gain new insights every time I read them.

After a short while, the young man put away the jade slip, walked out of the courtyard, and came to a pool of water in the Tao family mansion.

He walked on water, standing in the center of the water, with clear water beneath his feet and the bright sun overhead, its endless radiance piercing through the clouds and painting the world.

Raise both arms and form hand seals.

Huff... puff...

Zhang Yuanzhu opened his mouth, inhaling and exhaling the energy of heaven and earth.

The magical power within the body operates at full speed along a specific trajectory.

In an instant, wisps of water, earth energy, and golden light emerged from the pool, the earth's depths, and the sky, then entered his mouth and nose like smoke.

Every ray of light that enters is devoured by magical power, then flows through the meridians and converges into the dantian.

Gradually, the dark blue magic power was tinged with a layer of sky blue, carrying an inexplicable chill and deathly stillness.

His body was somehow covered in a layer of azure light, making him appear like a god descending to earth.

As time passed, the Nether Spring magic power within his body completely transformed into Azure Sky magic power.

The transition between the two water-attribute techniques was extremely smooth, without the slightest discord.

Call ~

A pale blue mist slowly escaped from Zhang Yuanzhu's mouth.

In an instant, it transformed into a sharp sword that flew dozens of meters before slowly dissipating.

Zhang Yuanzhu extended his five fingers, and a ray of sky-blue light appeared in his palm, moving like a small snake, extremely agile.

He quietly experienced the changes after the magic power was converted, and nodded in satisfaction.

Compared to the Qi Condensation Realm techniques, the "Azure Nine Nether Scripture" is indeed more outstanding, with more dynamic and vast magical power.

"With everything accomplished, it's time to clean up the rats in the gutter."

Zhang Yuanzhu rested his arm on the hilt of his sword and turned to look at the Shang family mansion in the east of the city.

It's time to sever some ties.

With a thought, wisps of mist formed, blurring the figure.

A gentle breeze blows, and the reflections on the pool slowly fade away and disappear.