Chapter 125 - 121: 7th Layer Changes
Chapter 125: Chapter 121: 7th Layer Changes
At the crack of dawn, Li Yuan opened his eyes and concluded his cultivation.
Qi Refining Seventh Level.
The Spiritual Power circulated through his body on its own, flowing even more smoothly than it had right after his breakthrough last night.
After a night of circulation, the Spiritual Power in his Dantian had fully adapted to the new space, settling into a dense and heavy state.
Li Yuan clenched his fist.
His strength was more than a notch higher than yesterday’s. It wasn’t a change in one specific area, but a synchronized elevation of his entire body. His finger strength, wrist strength, and the explosive power of his waist and legs—every part was a distinct level stronger than when he was at the Qi Refining Sixth Level.
The carrying capacity of his meridians had also changed. The speed at which his Spiritual Power completed a full cycle was nearly thirty percent faster than before his breakthrough.
His Divine Soul had also been enhanced.
When he closed his eyes to perceive his inner state, the distribution of Spiritual Power within his body was clearer than before. Previously, he could sense the flow of Spiritual Power in his main and branch meridians. Now, he could even faintly detect the Spiritual Power fluctuations in his micro-meridians.
Li Yuan got up and walked to the window.
In the courtyard, a few Cultivators from the guard team were changing shifts. The sound of their footsteps drifted in from outside the window.
With a thought, Li Yuan adjusted the degree to which he concealed his aura.
The fluctuations of Spiritual Qi emanating from his body were suppressed. His Qi Refining Seventh Level aura dropped all the way to the level of the Sixth Level. From the outside, he looked no different than before his breakthrough.
’Suppressing from the Seventh Level to the Sixth is still within the thirty percent range. It’s just enough.’
Outside the window, a passing Cultivator from the guard team glanced toward the stone house, but his gaze didn’t linger as he walked straight past.
Li Yuan stabilized his aura at the Qi Refining Sixth Level and turned back to his desk.
There were two empty slots in his equipment panel.
The Soul Mirror and the Mid-grade Spirit Stone were still equipped. The Origin Condensation Skill had been consumed when it was made permanent last night, and the fourth slot had just been unlocked.
Two empty slots.
Li Yuan took out the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill manual from the depths of his storage pouch.
With a thought, he equipped the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill.
The moment its "Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea" effect was re-equipped, the flow of Spiritual Power in his body became a degree smoother.
The synergy between the Spirit-Introducing Skill, the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill, and the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill, all operating simultaneously within his body, suddenly shot up. The faint sense of conflict that occasionally arose was smoothed over.
The circulation of his Spiritual Power and Qi Blood also became more harmonious.
One empty slot remained.
Li Yuan took out the fist-sized Evil Stone from his storage pouch again.
The dark-gray, purple-tinged surface of the stone was slightly cool beneath his fingertips, and its faint surface sheen trembled gently with the fluctuations of his Spiritual Power.
’Equip the Evil Stone.’
[Equip Successful]
[Acquired Entry: Evil Qi Affinity (Green)]
[Entry Effect: Greatly reduces the negative effects of Evil Qi on the user; allows active conversion of some internal impurities into Evil Qi; allows for the storage of a certain amount of Evil Qi within the body.]
[Permanence Condition: Obtain and absorb one strand of Tier One Top Grade Evil Qi (0/1).]
The Evil Stone transformed into a dark purple ray of light and entered his body.
The next moment, an extremely subtle change spread outward from his Dantian.
It wasn’t pain, nor was it a change in the flow of his Spiritual Power. It was a dull, metallic aura seeping out from the depths of his body.
Evil Qi.
Li Yuan closed his eyes and sensed it for a moment.
His brow twitched.
’Evil Qi really has appeared in my body. But it’s not emerging from any single place. It’s spread throughout my entire body—in my meridians, between my fascia, and even in the seams of my bones.’
It was extremely faint, so faint that it was almost imperceptible without careful sensing, like a thin mist permeating his flesh and blood.
But it was definitely there.
This Evil Qi wasn’t absorbed from an external source.
The body always contains some impurities. Even after being filtered by Pure Spiritual Power, the Spiritual Qi absorbed during cultivation could never be one hundred percent pure. There were dregs left behind from taking pills, residual impurities from eating Demon Beast Flesh, and minuscule waste shed from the meridian walls during the operation of a Cultivation Technique.
These things were usually insignificant and would be cleared out by the body automatically. The permanent "Slow-Release Toxin Purification" entry was also slowly cleaning them, but some would always remain.
Now, Evil Qi Affinity had changed the fate of these impurities.
Instead of just being passively expelled, they were converted into Evil Qi and kept inside his body.
Li Yuan took two Evil Essence Pills from his storage pouch and put them in his mouth.
As the pills entered his stomach, that familiar, icy aura spread out from its pit.
But this time, the sensation was completely different.
Previously, when he took Evil Essence Pills, the Evil Qi would bring a distinct corrosive feeling after entering his body.
Although the permanent "Evil Qi Body Tempering" entry could convert and utilize the Evil Qi, the conversion process itself was accompanied by discomfort.
Now, that discomfort had all but vanished.
After surging out from the pit of his stomach, the Evil Qi didn’t rampage through his meridians. Instead, as if it had found its own kind, it automatically merged into the thin mist spread throughout his body, and the corrosive feeling was greatly weakened.
The circulation of Evil Qi within his body had become gentle.
’It’s not gone. My body just no longer rejects it.’
Li Yuan activated the Iron Bull Skill.
Qi Blood was drawn from his Dantian and poured into his internal organs along the path of the Iron Bull Skill. At the same time, the Evil Qi Body Tempering entry guided the Evil Qi in his body to permeate his fascia and bones, compressing his organs from the outside.
A dual cleansing.
Aside from the amount of Evil Qi, it felt the same as it had back in the mine.
Li Yuan carefully observed the sensation for a few more breaths.
The force of the Qi Blood cleansing hadn’t changed, and the intensity of the Evil Qi compression was comparable to when he used Evil Essence Pills before. The effect of the Body Tempering hadn’t been weakened just because Evil Qi Affinity had reduced the negative side effects.
’It only reduced the corrosion and damage, not the tempering itself.’
’A huge gain.’
Li Yuan concluded the technique, clenched his fist, and then relaxed it.
The three effects of Evil Qi Affinity were clear. Reducing negative effects, converting impurities into Evil Qi, and storing Evil Qi in the body—the combination of these three was equivalent to turning Evil Qi from a dangerous external tool into a part of his own body.
’In the future, when I take Evil Essence Pills or come into contact with external Evil Qi, I won’t have to worry about the strain on my organs anymore. The efficiency of my Body Tempering will be much higher than before.’
The permanence condition was to absorb a strand of Tier One Top Grade Evil Qi.
’I’ve already got the herbs. I can make progress on this next time I go to the Pill Hall and find Old Sun to refine them.’
Li Yuan stood up, stretched his limbs, and walked to his desk.
Half a stack of Cyan Pattern Paper was spread on the desk, with Spiritual Ink and a talisman brush resting in the corner.
He picked up the talisman brush, dipped it in Spiritual Ink, and spread out a sheet of talisman paper.
A Fireball Talisman.
The moment he put brush to paper, the difference was apparent.
The transmission of Spiritual Power from his fingertip to the brush tip was a level steadier than yesterday. It wasn’t that his technique had changed; the quality of his Spiritual Power itself had changed.
After reaching the Qi Refining Seventh Level, his Spiritual Power was more condensed. Combined with the density increase from the permanent "Spiritual Power Condensation" effect, the precision with which he could control the same wisp of Spiritual Power sent to the brush tip and infused into the paper was another notch higher.
He drew the six Spirit Patterns in one smooth motion. As the Talisman Core converged, the Spiritual Power retracted inward, and the crimson glow that surfaced on the talisman was deeper than ever before.
Success.
Li Yuan set the Fireball Talisman aside and laid out a second sheet.
The second one, a success.
The third, a success.
...
Out of a total of eight attempts, six were successful.
The success rate was another ten percent higher than before his breakthrough.
After breaking through to the Qi Refining Seventh Level, he had more Spiritual Power, and its quality was higher.
Li Yuan didn’t stop and continued drawing.
After finishing a batch of Fireball Talismans, he switched to Heart-lock Talismans.
The tightening rhythm of the Sealing Pattern became easier to control after his breakthrough. Before, his Spiritual Power density tended to fall short by the third ring. Now, with ample Spiritual Power reserves, the process of incrementally increasing the density was much more relaxed.
Four Heart-lock Talismans, two successes.
He also drew a few Rejuvenation Talismans and Vajra Talismans.
The success rate for every type of Talisman was slightly higher than before his breakthrough. The increase wasn’t large, but every little bit added up.
After a full morning of work, a thick stack of finished products had piled up on the corner of his desk.
Li Yuan put down his talisman brush and sorted the finished products by type.
Six Fireball Talismans, three Heart-lock Talismans, four Rejuvenation Talismans, and two Vajra Talismans.
The output was much higher.
It wasn’t just the increase in success rate.
His total Spiritual Power and recovery speed had also increased after the breakthrough, allowing him to draw more talismans in the same amount of time. The Spiritual Power consumed by each talisman was also a smaller percentage of his total reserves.
Li Yuan stacked the Talismans neatly and placed them on the edge of the desk.
In the afternoon, He Shou came to collect the Talismans.
He looked through the stacks of finished products, his gaze pausing on the quantity for a breath.
"Quite a few more than yesterday."
"I was in the zone," Li Yuan said.
He Shou didn’t ask any more questions. He placed the Talismans into a wooden box and left.
Li Yuan returned to his desk.
He took out two more Evil Essence Pills from his storage pouch and consumed them.
The Evil Qi entered his body and was gently guided by the Evil Qi Affinity entry to merge with his entire system. The Evil Qi Body Tempering entry operated in sync, drawing the Evil Qi into his fascia and bones.
There was no discomfort, no corrosive sensation.
The progress of his Iron Bull Skill continued to climb.
Outside, the sky slowly darkened, and the noise from the courtyard gradually subsided. The night-shift Cultivators began their patrols, their footsteps passing by the stone house.
Li Yuan closed his eyes and circulated his techniques, Spiritual Power and Evil Qi flowing alternately through his body.
The permanence progress for Pure Spiritual Power was also advancing.
[Pure Spiritual Power (Green) Permanence Progress: 412/500]