After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

Sun Han took the letter, carefully tucked it into his pocket, and stood up, leaning on his wooden cane: "I'll go now."

Only after he had walked away did Lu Qingchen turn his gaze away.

Since Sun Han came to the manor, the bandages on his legs have been removed, and he still walks with a limp, but his complexion is much better than when he was in the spirit mine.

Having him run errands and deliver messages was both to give him some work he could manage and to let him become a familiar face in the village.

Two nights later, Lu Qingchen went into the mountains alone.

He walked through the dense forest, crossed the mountain, and entered the hidden valley.

The illusion array was still there, and the stone wall looked the same as always, smooth and covered with moss.

He passed through the illusion array and walked down the stone steps, the light of the Bright Light Talisman illuminating the mottled bluestone slabs beneath his feet.

Everything in the stone chamber remained the same.

The stone table, stone shelf, and futon were covered in dust.

The earth vein embryo in the spirit pool lay there quietly, its emerald light warm and gentle, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

Lu Qingchen squatted down, his gaze falling on the edge of the spirit pool, his brows twitching slightly.

The roots that he had cut off grew back in just a few days.

Translucent filaments extended from the bottom of the Ganoderma lucidum, climbed down the edge of the spirit pool, and re-entered the crevices in the stone wall.

The new roots are thicker and stronger than before, and their green color is brighter, as if they are holding back their energy to make up for the lost nutrients.

"They've grown really fast."

He muttered something under his breath, reached into the spirit pool, and gently tugged at a bunch of roots.

It's more resilient than last time, carrying a vitality that shouldn't be underestimated.

He released his grip and pondered for a moment.

The vitality of this earth vein spirit embryo is stronger than he expected. When it is transplanted into the spirit protection field, the four walls of the cave must be completely sealed.

If its roots were to break through the ground and extend into other spiritual fields of Qingmu Village, absorbing the earth's energy there, then there would be serious trouble.

When we returned to Aoki Village, it was already dawn.

Lu Qingchen didn't rush back to his house; instead, he went to take a walk around the spirit-protecting field.

A pale blue light shone faintly in the morning mist, revealing the batch of premium spirit rice growing vigorously inside. The rice ears drooped heavily, ready to be harvested in a few more days.

He walked around the protective field, mentally reviewing the details of the transplant plan again—the depth of the burial site, the paving of the bluestone slabs, the location of the concealing jade, he went through each detail in his mind, making sure nothing was missed before turning back to the house.

......

The next day, Lu Qingchen took out the Peiyuan Pill.

The six Qi-Nourishing Pills obtained from Qingyun Sanren, plus the two awarded by the Spirit Plant Hall, make a total of eight.

Those six pills had been in the iron box for who knows how many years, and most of their medicinal properties had been lost; their color had darkened, and their medicinal smell had become very faint.

The two in the Spirit Plant Hall were intact, with a smooth, red color and a fragrant aroma.

The Peiyuan Pill is most suitable for cultivators in the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Its medicinal power is mild, can be tolerated by the meridians, and is absorbed most fully.

When taking Qi-refining medicine in the early stages, the meridians are not resilient enough, so some of the medicinal power will dissipate. It's not exactly a waste, but the effect will definitely be reduced.

In the later stages of Qi cultivation, the effect of a single pill is insufficient, and multiple pills are often needed to be stacked, which is not cost-effective.

He originally planned to use the six Qi-cultivating pills after breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining—although much of the medicinal properties were lost, taking them at the mid-stage of Qi Refining would make his meridians stronger and allow for more complete absorption, thus extracting more medicinal power.

But now that he has two complete Qi-Nourishing Pills as a reward from the Spirit Plant Hall, this concern no longer exists.

Keep those two intact ones and consume them after breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Their effects will be much stronger than those of the six that have been severely damaged.

The medicinal scent in the six pills in the bottle is getting weaker day by day. If they are left out any longer, even the last bit of medicinal efficacy will be lost.

It's better to use it up sooner rather than let it go to waste.

He put a dull-looking Qi-Nourishing Pill into his mouth and closed his eyes to refine it.

The medicine dissolved in my abdomen, and a warm current flowed slowly along my meridians.

However, the medicinal properties were indeed severely lost—the warm current only lasted for less than half an hour before gradually dissipating, far from the sensation of "medicinal power like a tide, and the meridians swelling" described in ancient texts.

He guided this warm spiritual energy to slowly rotate in his dantian, compressing and purifying it until it finally condensed into six strands of pure energy.

After completely refining the first Qi-Nourishing Pill, Lu Qingchen quickly took the second one, which added five strands of Qi after refining.

The third one has six more strands.

The fourth one was the worst, with the most severe loss of medicinal properties, and only four strands were added.

The fifth one, five strands.

When the sixth pill entered my abdomen, the sensation of the medicine dissolving was slightly stronger than the previous ones—this one was in slightly better condition, and a warm current slowly dissolved in my dantian, lasting longer than the previous five pills.

He dared not be negligent, and focused his mind to guide the medicinal power to circulate in his meridians, one circle, two circles, three circles... When the last trace of medicinal power was completely refined, seven more strands of pure energy appeared in his dantian.

He focused his inner gaze on his dantian and silently counted the pure qi.

I cultivated on my own a few days ago, and the number of strands has increased from 180 to 182.

Now, after taking six Qi-Nourishing Pills, another thirty-three strands have been added—bringing the total to two hundred and fifteen strands.

The moment the last trace of medicinal power merged into the blood essence, the dantian trembled slightly, as if something had been stirred.

The last wisp of pure energy that was missing was naturally formed by the medicinal power.

Two hundred and sixteen strands!

Within the dantian, two hundred and sixteen strands of pure energy vibrated simultaneously, emitting a low hum, like the plucking of a zither string.

The gaps between the pure qi were filled, and the entire dantian became full and stable. The spiritual power circulated through the meridians on its own for a full cycle, without any obstruction.

Qi Refining to Level 3, done!

Lu Qingchen opened his eyes, let out a long breath, and couldn't help but smile.

It has only been a little over two months since I broke through to the second level of Qi Refining.

In just over two months, he progressed from the second to the third level of Qi Refining. Although he benefited from the effects of the Qi Cultivation Pill and the Spirit Pivot Dao Stele, it is undeniable that this speed is already very fast for someone with a low-grade Five Elemental Root.

He remembered clearly that Li Sisi had a superior spiritual root and had not yet broken through to the third level of Qi Refining.

Despite being a low-grade five-elemental-root individual, he was actually one step ahead of him.

Of course, Li Si spent most of his time drawing array diagrams in the Array Dao Hall every day, which took up most of his cultivation time, so his progress was naturally affected.

But no matter what, he wouldn't have dared to even dream of surpassing his fellow disciples with four superior spiritual roots in speed just a few months ago.

He was happy for a moment, but quickly calmed down.

This speed is still not enough compared to true geniuses.

He focused his mind on the Dao Stele.

Chu Yunfeng's illusory figure sat cross-legged beside the monument, his spiritual light even more intense than before.

Through the Dao Stele, he could vaguely sense that Chu Yunfeng was at a critical juncture—the peak of the third level of Qi Refining, just one step away from the fourth level.

But he just couldn't get past that one step.

The third to fourth level of Qi Refining is the watershed between the early and middle stages of Qi Refining.

This stage has a minor bottleneck. Unlike the previous stage of condensing pure qi, which can be overcome through sheer effort, this stage requires spiritual roots, comprehension, cultivation techniques, and the purity of spiritual power to reach a certain level in order to break through it.