What kind of magic? This is called cultivating immortality!

Chapter 43 Qi Refining Peak

The witch's scheme against China had already been quietly laid out after the failure of her operation in Red Cherry City.

The entire plan is divided into three steps.

The first step was for the witch to deliberately reveal the secret coordinates of her hiding place in the Antarctic ice sheet, intentionally exposing her tracks and luring the Chinese headquarters of the Heavenly Mandate into taking the bait.

Things unfolded exactly as the witch had predicted.

As expected, the Schicksal headquarters, which was searching for the witch's coordinates, couldn't hold back and quickly assembled an advance team to head straight for the Antarctic ice field to conduct an investigation.

Destiny acts cautiously. To prevent this from being a witch's trap, it has secretly deployed several elite squads on standby, ready to reinforce the advance team at any time, so that even if it is a trap, it can turn the witch into an enemy.

Unfortunately, all the methods prepared by Destiny were exactly what the witch had anticipated, and she used them to advance the second step of her plan.

The Icefield Outpost is indeed real, but it's also a trap.

The moment the advance team stepped into the stronghold, the outcome was already decided.

The dream weaver Lilia and a group of witches unfurled their meticulously woven, boundless dream net, instantly enveloping the entire team.

Of the entire team, only Viviana reacted extremely quickly, immediately raising a shield to protect everyone.

However, this actually helped the witch.

The shield protected the advance team, but it only made them sink deeper into the eternal illusion.

The witch and her group led the people trapped in the illusion to a void outside the real world, trapping them without killing them. Their purpose was to use this advance team as bait to launch the final step of their plan.

At this moment, Destiny faced only two choices: either gather enough manpower to search and rescue on the Antarctic ice sheet, or abandon the trapped advance team and leave them alone.

The situation unfolded exactly as the witch had predicted, and the outcome even exceeded their plans.

The reason is that among the trapped advance team is a heavyweight figure, the only daughter of a government member.

Under pressure from numerous government members, the Destiny Headquarters had no choice whatsoever.

Left with no other choice, Destiny had to draw on key personnel from major cities, along with magical girls from headquarters, to gather a total of sixty-one elite fighters, who then set off in a grand procession to the Antarctic ice field for rescue.

For a time, most of Destiny's attention and core combat power were tied up in the ice field.

Thus, the witch's meticulously planned first two steps were successfully completed.

The overall situation is settled, everything is ready, and only the final step is needed to deliver the decisive blow.

Taking advantage of the window of opportunity when the core leaders of those cities are vacant and the defenses are weak, the witches can then launch the third step of their plan.

They will send witches to infiltrate those cities silently, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash devastating chaos across the entire land of China.

The intricate arrangement of each element is truly ingenious.

It wasn't that no one within the Destiny organization noticed this.

Cecilia had long been aware of the risks involved, so she took the initiative to meet with the highest authority of Schicksal and tried her best to persuade him to stop the rescue operation. In the end, she even wanted to go to the government alone and cause a scene.

However, she was ultimately suppressed by Minister Lin Guohui.

The Mandate of Heaven is merely an official organization; the government, however, is the supreme ruler who governs all affairs of the entire nation.

……

A night passes in the blink of an eye.

The dawn's light tears through the thick night, dispelling the pervasive darkness.

The golden sun leaped into the sky, and warm rays of light poured down, covering the entire Tai'an County.

Inside the room, Zhong Hui slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long, stale breath.

After a whole night of intensive seclusion and practice, I finally achieved perfection!

At that very moment, he successfully broke through the shackles and stepped into the ultimate realm of Qi Refining!

All nine main meridians and one hundred and eight branch meridians in the body were opened up, and the meridians throughout the body were unobstructed and without any obstruction. The pure and abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth filled the meridians and circulated throughout the body endlessly.

He no longer needed to transform; with a mere wave of his hand, the spiritual energy within his body would move at will and be released directly from his body.

As the spiritual energy surged, all the tables, chairs, ornaments, and miscellaneous items in the room rose into the air, and then, with a thought, steadily returned to their original positions.

Extreme conditions.

Countless cultivators strive for the rare final realm.

He crossed the boundary sea alone to descend into this world. He had been cultivating for less than a month when, with his body having lost all his cultivation, he defied the odds and started cultivating again. He made great strides all the way and forcefully reached the Qi Refining Realm, which was beyond the reach of countless geniuses.

Admittedly, his rapid breakthrough was inseparable from his previous profound foundation and the assistance of the Myriad Things Mother Qi Cauldron.

But looking across the myriad realms, which of those long-lived families and top sects that have stood the test of time doesn't have the foundation accumulated over generations? Which one doesn't possess countless rare and precious materials, immortal techniques, and ancient scriptures?

However, even the most prodigies throughout history, who broke through to the Qi Refining Realm the fastest, took a full seven months to achieve this feat.

In contrast, Zhong Hui quietly created a record that will shake the world in less than a month!

"You strange creatures, just you wait! When Yin and Yang are in chaos, I will once again set foot on this plateau and annihilate you all!"

The host seems to be getting sicker... The system couldn't help but speak up, "Master... your spiritual energy has accumulated to its limit, you could directly break through and advance to the second star... Foundation Establishment stage. Why are you deliberately suppressing your cultivation level and delaying your breakthrough?"

Zhong Hui has now completely perfected her Qi cultivation. As long as she releases her own suppression, she can instantly complete her transformation and advance to the Foundation Establishment realm, which is equivalent to a two-star magical girl.

He slowly rose, his hands behind his back, his eyes calm yet carrying a sense of detachment as if surveying the heavens.

“Spirit, it seems that the great war back then caused you great damage, resulting in the loss of many memories, which has narrowed your perspective.”

"If I were to break through now, I would only achieve a mediocre Foundation Establishment."

"But if I were to refine a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill and capture a wisp of Heavenly Dao Qi, using the pill to solidify my foundation and the Heavenly Dao Qi as a guide, I could break through under the double blessing and forge an unparalleled Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, achieving an unparalleled and supreme cultivation foundation throughout the ages."

His ambitions have never been limited to mere breakthroughs in realms.

He wants to sweep away the strange and restore peace to the heavens.

Therefore, he had to polish each of his realms to the extreme perfection, leaving no flaws whatsoever.

Only in this way can one surpass one's past life, reach a peak unseen by predecessors, traverse countless worlds, and possess the absolute power to overturn and sweep away everything.

"Sigh, time is running out..."

With a soft sigh, a rare trace of sorrow appeared in Zhong Hui's eyes.

【…】

The system fell silent for a long time.

As for what it's thinking, only it knows.

After a long silence, it cautiously asked, "Then... what does Master intend to do?"

"Once the cemetery exploration mission is complete and I return, I will begin refining elixirs and prepare for Foundation Establishment. As for the Heavenly Dao Qi..."

"boom!"

The door was suddenly pushed open, interrupting Zhong Hui's words.

Cang Xin carried a steaming bowl of soy milk and fried dough sticks into the room with a faint smile on her face: "I've bought breakfast. Come out and eat with me. After we eat, we'll go explore the cemetery."

Chapter 44 Unexpected Changes

The morning sun shines through the clear glass windows, gently pouring into the luxurious and spacious villa, bathing the entire house in warmth.

The lingering chill of the morning was completely dispelled by the warm sunlight, and the whole house was bathed in gentle and comfortable morning light.

At the elegant dining table, two women and a man sat quietly, leisurely enjoying the breakfast that Cangxing had bought that morning. The room was peaceful and tranquil.

This tranquility did not last long.

Qianjia suddenly put down her soy milk cup, her gaze fixed on Zhong Hui, who was engrossed in eating fried dough sticks. She said solemnly, "You don't need to participate in this Ronglong Cemetery exploration. To prevent the witch from causing trouble in Tai'an County while we're away, you can stay in the city and keep watch."

Faced with this sudden arrangement, Zhong Hui appeared indifferent and readily nodded in agreement.

"and many more!"

Cang Xing spoke up to stop him, then turned to Qian Jia and objected: "If someone really needs to stay and guard the city, it would be most appropriate for me or you to stay. Zhong Hui is only at the one-star level now, and he has no ability to contend with that witch hiding in the shadows whose strength is unknown."

Qianjia remained calm and composed as she slowly explained, "Our core objective for this trip is to investigate whether the witch is hiding deep within the cemetery and to find useful clues. Therefore, we must gather our high-end combat forces. If either of us stays in the city, it will weaken the team's strength for nothing. If we actually encounter the witch, we will miss the opportunity to eliminate the threat in one fell swoop."

She paused briefly, her gaze growing increasingly serious, and continued to analyze the implications: "This is merely a precautionary measure. The witch might not dare to rashly invade Tai'an County. If she truly intended to attack and cause chaos, she would have done so long ago and wouldn't have waited until now."

“Even if she does launch an attack, Zhong Hui doesn’t need to fight her head-on. As long as we can hold her off for a minute or two, we can return at full speed to provide support. Then, the three of us working together will have a chance to completely eradicate the witch’s threat in Tai’an County.”

Cang Xing was about to argue when Zhong Hui spoke first, his tone brimming with arrogance and confidence: "She's just a witch hiding in the shadows, too afraid to show herself. I have plenty of ways to deal with her. Cang Xing, you can go ahead and investigate the cemetery without worry. Leave the safety of Tai'an County entirely to me!"

Seeing his confident demeanor, Qianjia's lips curled up slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.

Suddenly, she reached out and pulled Cang Xing beside her, decisively saying, "Since you are so confident, then the safety of Tai'an County is entrusted to you. Let's set off for the cemetery immediately."

The two walked quickly to the villa entrance. Cang Xing's worries had not dissipated. She couldn't help but turn back and repeatedly instructed Zhong Hui inside the house: "If the witch really launches a surprise attack on Tai'an County, you must not fight recklessly. Just try your best to buy time. We will come back to support you as quickly as possible. Remember that!"

Zhong Hui raised his hand and casually made a "no problem" gesture, looking completely at ease.

As he watched the two leave together and the villa door gently close, Zhong Hui instantly changed his demeanor. His calm and reliable aura vanished, and he dashed into the kitchen, expertly picking up the rice cooker.

He was secretly delighted. He had originally planned to refine pills after the cemetery exploration mission was over, but he didn't expect Qianjia to arrange for him to stay behind.

This was like a godsend, perfectly creating an excellent opportunity for him to refine elixirs.

After opening the rice cooker, Zhong filled it with water, carefully closed the lid, and then gently snapped his fingers.

A cluster of clear flames rose from the bottom of the rice cooker, scorching the bottom of the pot.

Strangely enough, the open flame was extremely hot and intense, yet it did not damage the plastic shell of the rice cooker at all, which looked particularly bizarre and magical.

At this moment, Qianjia and Cangxing, who were outside the gate, never expected that Zhong Hui would start his crazy operation of refining pills in a rice cooker as soon as they stepped out.

"By the way, where's Kyubey? I haven't seen him at all." When Cangxing reached the door, he belatedly realized that he hadn't seen Kyubey since morning, and asked with a lot of doubt.

"I don't know either. It's always been elusive and has a lot on its plate. It probably has other private matters to attend to," Chika replied casually.

After thinking about it carefully, Sousei realized that Kyubey seemed to be right, so he didn't ask any further questions.

The two were enveloped in light, then transformed into two streaks of light and sped toward the Ronglong Cemetery in the distance.

The Ronglong Cemetery looks exactly the same as it did yesterday.

The trees are lush and green, and a gentle breeze rustles through the woods.