67: Chapter 67 Qi Refining Level 3

The last day of summer vacation.

Chen Zhen stood at the Riverside, watching the sun rise from the opposite bank.

Golden sunlight blanketed the river, and the morning breeze carrying water vapor blew over, exactly the same as the morning forty-seven days ago during his Awakening of the System.

But everything was different now.

He pulled out the star core fragment from his chest.

The dim blue light flickered like a heartbeat.

91% activation rate, unchanged for half a month.

He went for morning runs, studied, Cultivated, and went to the Bookstore every day.

He had practiced thirty-five rune stones for the Formation, his Spirit Control precision had exceeded 350%, his Cultivation had risen to 324 / 800, and he was just one step away from Qi Refining Stage 3.

Only for the fragment, he hadn't injected a single bit of spiritual energy into it again.

Chen Yuanshan hadn't appeared again since that day.

Engineer Zhou had called once and only said one sentence: "Not activating it is the right choice."

Old Gu hadn't asked anything, just brewed an extra cup of tea for him every day.

Life was so calm it was as if nothing had ever happened.

But Chen Zhen knew that some things had already changed.

For instance, his perception.

Even without activating the fragment, he could vaguely "see" that direction in the distance.

East Mountain, the Ancient Temple Ruins.

There was a faint speck of light there, flickering in his consciousness like it was breathing.

In the afternoon, the answer came.

Engineer Zhou called, his voice more urgent than usual: "Come over, Old Chen is here too."

Chen Zhen rode his bike to the Jiangcheng University residential area.

He pushed the door open to find two people sitting in the living room.

Engineer Zhou and Chen Yuanshan.

A thick stack of documents lay on the coffee table; the one on top was a satellite photo of East Mountain. A point was circled in red ink on the photo.

The location of the Ancient Temple Ruins.

"Sit," Engineer Zhou said, pointing to the sofa.

Chen Zhen sat down.

Chen Yuanshan looked at him and got straight to the point: "Do you plan to keep suppressing it forever?"

"I don't know," Chen Zhen said. "I'm waiting for you to tell me whether I should open it."

Chen Yuanshan and Engineer Zhou exchanged a look.

Engineer Zhou sighed, pulled an older notebook from under the documents, and pushed it toward Chen Zhen.

"Old Gu's last notebook."

"He never let anyone see it. I found it at the bottom of a box while sorting through his belongings the day before yesterday."

Chen Zhen opened it.

The first page was dated December 1985.

"They have come."

Only three words.

But the handwriting was trembling violently, as if it had taken all his strength to write those few words.

He continued to flip through it.

January 1986: "I saw them. It wasn't a dream; I saw them with my own eyes. That night, they walked out of the light and stood before my bed. They had no faces, but I could feel them looking at me."

March 1986: "They told me the star path is bidirectional. They can come over, and we can go over."

May 1986: "I tried. It didn't succeed. But I learned the method."

August 1986: "That stone is not a beacon; it is a key. Fully activate it, and you can open the door. But after opening the door, who comes in and who goes out is decided by the person holding the key."

1987: "I dare not try anymore. I'm afraid of opening the wrong door and letting in things that shouldn't be let in."

1988: "I buried it back in the cave. Let it sleep."

The last page, dated 1990: "If someone finds this notebook, if you have already activated it, remember: before 91%, you still have a choice. After 91%, the power of choice is no longer in your hands. It will complete the remaining 9% on its own. You only have one chance. Before it finishes on its own, decide which door to open."

Chen Zhen closed the notebook.

The living room was quiet, save for the ticking of the old clock on the wall.

"So," he began, "it's not a beacon, it's a key. 91% is not the end, it's a critical point. Once past this point, it will activate on its own."

Chen Yuanshan nodded.

"You still have 9% of time," Engineer Zhou said. "Decide which door to open."

Chen Zhen was silent for a long time.

Then he asked: "Which doors are there?"

Engineer Zhou pulled three photos from the documents and laid them on the coffee table.

The first one, East Mountain—that cave, that rune stone.

"This door leads to the 'Star Radiance Realm'," Engineer Zhou said. "The 'they' written about in Old Gu's notes come from there. Energy beings, bodiless, feeding on spiritual energy. Harmless, but not beneficial either. They just want to come over and take a look."

The second one, North Mountain—another rune site.

"This door, Old Gu didn't have time to study. But judging by the runes, it might lead to a more distant place. He called it the 'Unknown Realm'."

The third one, West Mountain.

"This door, Old Gu said not to open."

Chen Zhen looked at the third photo: "Why?"

Engineer Zhou shook his head: "He didn't write it down. He only left a sentence on the back of the photo."

Chen Zhen turned the photo over.

On the back, in Old Gu's handwriting: "This door smells like blood."

The sun set.

Chen Zhen sat at the Riverside, holding the fragment in his hand.

The 91% dark blue glow was exceptionally clear in the twilight.

Three doors.

One leads to the Star Radiance Realm—harmless, but useless.

One leads to the Unknown Realm—don't know what's there.

One leads to the smell of blood—Old Gu said not to open it.

He stared at the fragment for a long time.

Then he stood up and made a decision.

Not opening it.

At least not now.

He put the fragment into his Storage Space and turned to go home.

He walked a few steps, then stopped.

He looked back at the direction of East Mountain.

The speck of light was still there, flickering.

He remembered it.

But not now.

The day before school started.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Secret Base, with twenty-five Hetian jade seeds arranged into a Spirit Gathering Array, surrounded by three spiritual plants; the crispness of the Mint and the gentle warmth of the pothos intertwined into a rich spiritual energy field.

He activated [Spiritual Resonance].

The rotation rhythm of the Dantian spiritual bead synchronized with the Formation, spiritual plants, and the surrounding environment; the whole world came "alive."

Spiritual energy surged into his body like a tide, washing through his meridians and nourishing his internal organs.

Deep in his Dantian, the spiritual bead began to expand violently.

One circle, two circles, three circles—

Bang.

A faint sound, only he could hear it.

The spiritual bead burst open and instantly reformed.

The newly formed spiritual bead was a size larger than before, the luster flowing on its surface changed from jade-colored to pale gold, its rotation speed was faster, and the spiritual energy was more condensed.

[Congratulations to the Host for breaking through to Qi Refining Stage 3]

[Cultivation: 324 / 800 → 0 / 1200]

[Spiritual energy cap increased: 15 → 20, recovers 8 points daily]

[Unlocked new Spell: [Spiritual Barrier], consumes 3 points of spiritual energy/minute, forms a protective shield with a diameter of two meters, can withstand medium-intensity impacts]

[All-dimension growth speed +20% (Qi Refining Stage 3 bonus)]

[Special reward: Cultivation +50]

Chen Zhen opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

He stood up and stretched his body.

The flow of spiritual energy was smoother, his perception was sharper, and his control over everything around him was more precise.

In the evening, Chen Zhen returned home.

His father was watching the news, and his mother was busy in the kitchen.

A cake was placed on the table.

It wasn't bought; his mother had baked it herself.

"School starts tomorrow," his mother said. "Celebrating a bit early for you."

Chen Zhen looked at the lopsided cake and smiled, a helpless smile.

"God, thanks Mom, actually celebrating the start of school."

His father turned off the TV, walked over, and sat down.

"You're in your third year of high school," he said. "Study hard."

"Mm."

His mother cut the cake and handed a piece to Chen Zhen.

He took a bite.

A bit sweet, a bit dry, but delicious.