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

At night, Lu Qingchen sat cross-legged on the bed, his mind sinking into his dantian.

The pure energy swirls slowly in the dantian, one wisp after another, like fine silk threads.

He counted them silently—one hundred and seven.

Just one last step!

He took a deep breath, drew out a trace of his cultivation from the Dao Stele's light pearl, and sank it into his dantian.

That wisp of cultivation transformed into pure spiritual energy, surging within the dantian, merging with the last scattered trace of essence blood, slowly compressing and condensing.

Time passed little by little.

The 108th wisp of pure energy finally took shape.

In that instant, it felt as if something in my dantian had been ignited.

One hundred and eight streams of pure energy vibrated simultaneously, emitting a deep hum, like the plucking of a zither string or the wind passing through a bamboo forest.

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.

Lu Qingchen opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

The second level of Qi Refining has finally been achieved.

There were no extraordinary celestial phenomena, nor any divine light.

The only difference was that the amount of pure energy in the dantian changed from 107 to 108, and from "nearly" to "already arrived".

It was as calm as a drop of water falling into a pond, barely causing any ripples.

But Lu Qingchen knew clearly what this step meant.

It's been more than five months since the 100-day assessment began.

In just over five months, he progressed from the first level of Qi Refining to the second level.

For a prodigy like Chu Yunfeng, perhaps one or two months would be enough.

For an ordinary disciple with four spiritual roots, three or four months would be about right.

He was a low-grade five-elemental root cultivator, and it took him more than five months, plus he had a cheating artifact like the Dao Stele!

not easy.

He sank into his sea of ​​consciousness and glanced at the Dao Stele.

The patterns on the monument remain the same, the binding wheel position is still one, and the rotation ratio is still five.

no change.

He estimated that the number and ratio of bindings would only change after reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining.

But there's no rush.

One Chu Yunfeng is enough for now.

He regained his composure, took out the handwritten copy of "Spirit Cultivation Technique" from beside his pillow, opened the first page, and silently recited the incantation by the moonlight.

The Spirit Cultivation Technique can be cultivated to the second level of Qi Refining.

Using spiritual energy as a guide, it nourishes the roots of spiritual plants and promotes their growth.

The incantation is not complicated, and the path of spiritual energy circulation is not difficult, but to truly master it, one must practice repeatedly.

He closed his eyes and focused his mind, following the instructions of the mantra, drawing spiritual energy from his dantian, along the meridians of his arm, and gathering it in his palm.

A slight warmth spread through my palms, and a pale green aura flickered at my fingertips, but it dissipated after only two breaths.

"Again."

The second time, three breaths.

The third time, five breaths.

On the seventh attempt, the light finally stabilized, condensing into a pale green ball the size of a pigeon egg in his palm, gentle and not dazzling.

Successful.

He opened his eyes, looked at the spiritual light in his palm, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Although it was just the most basic spirit cultivation technique, it was still the first spell he could cast.

He withdrew his spiritual power and was about to lie down to rest when his mind suddenly stirred slightly.

Deep within the sea of ​​consciousness, the Dao Stele seemed to have changed.

Lu Qingchen quickly closed his eyes and focused his mind, his consciousness sinking into his sea of ​​consciousness.

The pitch-black stele still stands unchanged since time immemorial, its surface covered with slowly flowing patterns.

On one side of the monument, Chu Yunfeng's illusory figure sat cross-legged, his spiritual light was even more intense than when he was last seen, and his aura was noticeably stronger.

Refinement level three!

Lu Qingchen stared at the illusory figure for a few moments, then felt a slight jolt of surprise.

How long has it been?

He remembered that the last time he noticed Chu Yunfeng breaking through to the second level of Qi Refining was shortly after the 100-day assessment.

He has just broken through to the second level of Qi Refining, while others have already reached the third level.

Comparing yourself to others can really make you miserable!

Lu Qingchen couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had thought that after breaking through to the second level of Qi Refining, the gap between him and Chu Yunfeng would be narrowed a bit.

But as he ran forward, Chu Yunfeng also ran forward, and now the gap between the two has not only not narrowed, but has widened.

If it weren't for the cultivation boost he received daily from the Dao Stele, he probably wouldn't have even seen the shadow of that person in his entire life.

He took a deep breath and suppressed his agitation.

With the Dao stele on his person, he could at least still see Chu Yunfeng's back.

......

The next morning, Lu Qingchen came to the edge of the field, squatted down, placed his palm over several seedlings, and activated the Spirit Cultivation Technique.

A pale green aura seeped from the palm of his hand, enveloping the seedling.

The seedling trembled slightly, and its leaves seemed to have unfolded a bit more than before.

It has some effect, but not much.

He tried a few more plants, and the results were all about the same.

It's probably because he's not yet proficient; his spiritual energy output is not stable enough, and the coverage area is not precise enough.

"You need to practice more."

He muttered to himself, stood up, and patted the mud off his hands.

Then he remembered the problem he had discovered yesterday—the spiritual energy was fading away.

The Spirit Infusion Technique can nourish spiritual plants, but as long as the underground suction force remains, the spiritual essence will continue to be lost.

This only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause.

He crouched down and focused his divine sense into a seedling, carefully sensing the direction in which the spiritual energy was flowing away.

The suction force drew the spirit towards the depths of the earth, towards the northwest.

What's in that direction?

He stood up, looked at the mountains and forests to the northwest, and his gaze darkened.

I need to find some time to go and take a look over there.

......

Over the next two days, Lu Qingchen conducted repeated experiments to confirm the direction of the suction.

He then selected several seedlings from different locations and infused them with a wisp of his cultivation from the Dao Stele's light pearl.

Each time, the direction in which cultivation was absorbed was the same—the northwest.

He squatted by the field and drew a simple diagram on the muddy ground.

His sacred field is located at the end of the village, with mountains and forests to the northwest.

The source of the suction was not in his fields, but in the mountains.

Lu Qingchen decided to go into the mountains to find out what was going on.

However, he did not act rashly, but made preparations first.

"Uncle Li, have you ever been to that forest in the northwest of our village?"

Old Li was squatting on the edge of the field smoking. Hearing this question, he looked up at him, took the pipe out of his mouth, and said, "Over there? I've been there a few times. I used to go there to chop wood and hunt. What's wrong?"

"What's the situation over there? How deep in the mountains? Is there any danger?"

Li Laosi took a drag of his cigarette, squinted, and looked northwest: "The mountains aren't too deep, but it gets harder to go further in."

"There are still small paths for the first three miles, but there are no paths after that. It's all trees and vines, and you can't even squeeze through."

"Danger... well, there's not much danger, just the occasional small wild beast like a wolf."

"How far can you go?"

"Furthest?"

Li Laosi thought for a moment, "I've been to Wolf Valley, but I haven't been further in. I heard there's a Misty Ravine further in, which is foggy all year round, and it's easy to get lost if you go in. We basically don't go there."

Lu Qingchen nodded, then asked, "Is there anything special over there? Like spiritual herbs or spiritual wood?"

Old Li shook his head: "No, if there were any, they would have been harvested long ago."

Lu Qingchen was silent for a moment before asking, "Uncle Li, do you have a map of that area? Just draw one, I'm planning to go into the mountains to collect some herbs, and I'm afraid of getting lost."

Li Laosi glanced at him, didn't ask what kind of herbs he was going to collect in the mountains, tucked his pipe into his waistband, took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, spread it on the ground, and started drawing on the paper with his finger dipped in mud.

"This is the estate, this is the sacred field, this is the path up the mountain..."

As he drew, he said, "Go up from here, cross this small hill, and follow the ridge to reach Wolf Valley. Two miles further in from Wolf Valley is Misty Ravine. I haven't been beyond Misty Ravine."

After finishing the drawing, he handed the paper to Lu Qingchen and added, "Manager Lu, there's nothing good in the mountains. Don't go too deep, and remember to come back before dark."

"Understood." Lu Qingchen put the map away, smiled, and said, "Thank you, Uncle Li."

......