Chapter 11 - 10: Second-Layer Qi Refining

Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Second-Layer Qi Refining

The next day.

Chen Jianghe stepped off his fishing boat and onto the port, where he immediately spotted Wang Kui chatting with a naive-looking young man with a face full of smiles. The young man’s gaze darted around evasively. He looked hesitant and extremely embarrassed. By coincidence, Wang Kui also caught sight of Chen Jianghe. However, instead of glaring at him, he shot him an amiable look, silently signaling with his eyes for him to keep his mouth shut.

Obviously, Wang Kui was borrowing Spiritual Sand again and was afraid Chen Jianghe would ruin it. However, Wang Kui was overthinking things. Chen Jianghe had no relation to the young man, so why would he spoil Wang Kui’s business? He also had a thorough understanding of people like Wang Kui. Firmly rejecting him the very first time he asked to borrow Spiritual Sand wouldn’t offend him to the death; rather, it would ensure he never targeted you again.

Chen Jianghe smiled faintly and walked toward the Workshop Association from the other side. Aside from the year-end gathering and the Fisherman and Farmer convention, his main purpose in coming to the port this time was to purchase a Qi Nourishing Pill.

"Old Gao, Peiyao," he called out.

Upon reaching the Workshop Association’s ceremonial archway, he bumped right into Old Gao and Gao Peiyao, who were walking toward him.

"Jianghe," Old Gao greeted with a smile, walking over while holding Gao Peiyao’s hand.

"Brother Jianghe," Gao Peiyao called out timidly before hiding behind Old Gao again.

After exchanging a few words, Old Gao led Gao Peiyao away from the Workshop Association and into the adjacent market. Chen Jianghe then stepped into the Workshop Association. It wasn’t appropriate to converse too much in public; even if they had matters to discuss, they would head to a tavern or a fishing boat.

Bumping into Old Gao at the Workshop Association allowed Chen Jianghe to guess a few things. First, Old Gao was bringing Gao Peiyao to broaden her horizons and familiarize herself with the port’s various environments, ensuring she wouldn’t be completely in the dark even after he passed away. Second, he was likely buying a Spirit-Encompassing Pill for her.

Gao Peiyao was not an Immortal Seedling brought back by the Yun family. Even if she had a Spirit Root, the Yun family would not bestow a Spirit-Encompassing Pill upon her. Since Old Gao wanted Gao Peiyao to inherit his mantle, he naturally had to guide her onto the Immortal Path so she could become a Qi Refining Cultivator. The Spirit-Encompassing Pill, which could rapidly aid in Introducing Spirit into the Body, was naturally indispensable.

Chen Jianghe took a stroll around the Workshop Association. It was still the same old stalls, the vast majority of which sold materials.

"Talisman Master Guest Elders and Guest Elder Alchemists aren’t often seen at the Workshop Association, so who are they selling these materials to? Could they be selling them to Fishermen and Farmers?" he wondered. He had harbored this exact doubt the last time he visited.

A Basic-Level Fisherman and Farmer did not earn a high salary; at most, they would make one hundred and thirty grains of Spiritual Sand by the end of the year. That simply wasn’t enough to cover the expenses of teaching oneself to draw Spirit Talismans, let alone practice Alchemy. However, since there were no Honored Guest Elders to be seen, the only remaining consumer base for these material stalls had to be Senior Fishermen and Farmers.

How much could a Senior Fisherman and Farmer who bred Little Cyan Fish earn in a year? Chen Jianghe had asked Old Gao, but the old man was completely clueless about it. If these materials were genuinely being sold to Senior Fishermen and Farmers, then the compensation for breeding Little Cyan Fish had to be at least five or even ten times that of breeding Large Cyan Fish.

Reeling in his thoughts, he arrived at the Elixir stall. The stall owner was still the same woman. Three years had passed, and the wrinkles on her face had multiplied and deepened. The last time he saw her, she had been wearing light rouge, but this time, the rosy fragrance of makeup was entirely absent. Once a Qi Refining Cultivator passed the age of sixty, if they hadn’t taken a Youthful Pill, their appearance would age incredibly fast. Generally, they would transition from looking like a young adult to middle-aged or elderly in just three to five years.

"One Qi Nourishing Pill." Chen Jianghe took out a pre-packaged cloth bag containing two hundred and ten grains of Spiritual Sand.

Exchanging a hundred grains of Spiritual Sand for a single Spirit Stone required a surcharge of five grains of Spiritual Sand. Thus, exchanging for two Spirit Stones naturally required an extra ten grains.

The female stall owner took the cloth bag and swept it with her Divine Sense, instantly verifying the amount of Spiritual Sand. She then picked up a Jade Bottle containing Qi Nourishing Pills, poured one out into a wooden box, and handed it to Chen Jianghe.

"You should be on the verge of breaking through the First-Layer Qi Refining. Taking a Qi Nourishing Pill would be a bit of a waste," the woman suddenly remarked. "I suggest you buy a Qi-Introducing Pill instead. It will be enough for you to break through to the Second-Layer Qi Refining."

"Thank you," Chen Jianghe replied, offering a word of thanks just like he had last time before turning to leave.

The Qi-Introducing Pill barely qualified for the Entry Tier. It was also an Elixir used by Early-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators to elevate their Cultivation. However, its price was only half that of a Qi Nourishing Pill, being worth exactly one Spirit Stone. Despite this, Cultivators usually didn’t buy Qi-Introducing Pills. Even if they didn’t have enough Spirit Stones to buy a Qi Nourishing Pill, they would rather wait. This was because the Qi-Introducing Pill was, in reality, a defective Qi Nourishing Pill.

When an Alchemist was Refining Qi Nourishing Pills, they didn’t create them one by one. Instead, a single furnace could produce seven or eight pills at once. Naturally, the quality of these Qi Nourishing Pills varied. The exceptionally poor-quality ones were simply renamed as Qi-Introducing Pills and sold for one Spirit Stone.

Although they could also enhance a Cultivator’s Cultivation, the Pill Poison contained within them was more than double that of a normal Qi Nourishing Pill. In truth, any Elixir carried Pill Poison, and consuming them without restraint would damage a Cultivator’s foundation. This was especially true for those with low Spirit Root Talent. Excessive consumption would lead to an overwhelming accumulation of Pill Poison in the body, resulting in an extremely high failure rate when attempting to break through a Small Realm.

Of course, as long as one consumed Elixirs in moderation, the Pill Poison could naturally be expelled from the body over time. The only exception was overly inferior Elixirs. Their Pill Poison was so fierce that even if it was eventually expelled over time, it would still inflict lasting damage to one’s foundation—the Qi-Introducing Pill was a prime example of this. In contrast, the Pill Poison in a Qi Nourishing Pill was mild and could be completely flushed out within a year, leaving the foundation unharmed. This was something Chen Jianghe could comfortably accept.

He returned to his fishing boat moored at the port.

Chen Jianghe sat cross-legged and circulated the Returning Origin True Water Technique, absorbing the thin Spiritual Qi in the air to cultivate and adjust his condition. Once his Essence, Qi, and Spirit had fully recovered to Perfection, he took out the wooden box, retrieved the Qi Nourishing Pill, and swallowed it. A massive burst of pure Spiritual Qi instantly flooded his entire body. He channeled his Cultivation Technique, guiding the Spiritual Qi through a full Circulation in his body. Through his Spirit Root, it was converted into Magical Power and converged in his Dantian.

Two hours later.

"Second-Layer Qi Refining," Chen Jianghe muttered as the Magical Power fluctuations on his body ascended to a higher level. His Dantian Qi Sea expanded once more, reaching the size of a quail egg.

"Two Spirit Stones are a bit expensive, but two hours of refinement are equal to an entire year of bitter Cultivation. The Alchemy Dao truly deserves its reputation as the best auxiliary skill on the Immortal Path," he thought. He felt that the two hundred and ten grains of Spiritual Sand were money well spent.

Calculating his Cultivation time, it had been exactly six years since he swallowed the Spirit-Encompassing Pill bestowed by the Yun family and stepped onto the Immortal Path. If he hadn’t taken the Qi Nourishing Pill, it would have taken him another year of Cultivation to reach the Second-Layer Qi Refining. In other words, if someone with a Five-Element Mixed Spirit Root practiced systematically without external aid, they would need seven full years just to go from the First-Layer Qi Refining to the Second-Layer Qi Refining.

It was no wonder that many of the old Fishermen and Farmers in the Outer Waters were stuck at the Mid-Stage Qi Refining for their entire lives. Old Gao had been with the Yun family for seventy to eighty years, yet he only had a Fourth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivation.

There was a saying widely circulated in the Cultivation Realm:

Those with a Five-Element Mixed Spirit Root will struggle their entire lives without ever reaching immortality.

It meant that it was impossible for a Five-Element Mixed Spirit Root to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Without a massive influx of resources, they would find it nearly impossible to even break through to the Late-Stage Qi Refining over their entire lifetime.

However, Chen Jianghe was not disheartened. He possessed double the lifespan of an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator. Moreover, Little Black was about to reach the Entry Tier and become a true Spirit Beast, at which point his maximum lifespan limit would increase once again. With this thought in mind, he was filled with hope for the future. Immediately, Chen Jianghe cleared his mind of distractions and continued to refine the nearly half remaining medicinal efficacy of the Qi Nourishing Pill.