96: Chapter 96 Breakthrough

Saturday, 6:00 AM, Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

Three points of light slowly rotated in his Dantian. After a night of Cultivate, his Cultivation had increased by 38 points.

Qi Refining Level 4: 1218/1800.

He stood up. Instead of casting the Cleaning Spell as usual, he walked directly to the potted spirit plants.

The six spirit plants, under the support of the four Celestial Star Arrays, were growing even better than yesterday.

The four soul-calming grass plants had bloomed five more flowers. The Mint leaves were dense, and the seeds from the wild soul-calming grass were ready for harvest.

He plucked the flowers, gathered the seeds, and ground them into powder.

anshen flower powder stock: 85 grams.

Mint leaves: 200 pieces.

soul-calming grass seeds: a small packet, enough to plant ten new pots.

He walked to the workbench and took out the stack of blank talisman paper.

Today's goal — one hundred talismans.

All made with anshen flower powder ink, all infused with Stellar Energy.

One after another, purple light flickered in the Secret Base.

When he finished the fiftieth one, the door was knocked.

Chen Zhen didn't stop his brush: "Come in."

Zhou Rui pushed the door open, holding two talismans.

He walked to Chen Zhen's side and handed them over.

"Master, I drew these last night."

Chen Zhen took them and glanced at them.

Two Calming Talismans, each better than the last.

The lines on the second talisman were smooth, the spiritual energy fluctuations stable, already approaching ordinary grade · upper tier.

[System Notification: Apprentice Zhou Rui's talent for drawing talismans is steadily improving]

[Current Quality: Ordinary · Middle → Ordinary · Upper (Critical)]

Chen Zhen returned the talismans to him.

"You've made great progress."

Zhou Rui smiled, a rare occurrence.

"I practice every day."

Chen Zhen nodded and continued drawing talismans.

Zhou Rui stood by, watching for a while, then suddenly asked: "Master, how many do you draw a day?"

Chen Zhen didn't stop his brush.

"It depends. Two hundred when there's a lot, fifty when there's less."

Zhou Rui was silent for a few seconds.

Then he said: "Is it too few if I only do one a day?"

Chen Zhen looked up at him.

"You've only been practicing for a week."

Zhou Rui nodded and didn't speak again.

He walked over to the potted spirit plants, crouched down, and stared at the soul-calming grass for a long time.

"Master, can I help take care of these spirit plants?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Want to learn?"

Zhou Rui nodded.

Chen Zhen thought for a moment, took a small packet of soul-calming grass seeds from the workbench, and handed it to him.

"Take these and plant them. If you can grow them, I'll teach you."

Zhou Rui took the seeds and carefully put them away.

"Thank you, Master."

He turned to leave.

Chen Zhen called him back.

"Zhou Rui."

Zhou Rui turned back.

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Did you use that calming flower last night?"

Zhou Rui nodded.

"I did. Cultivating with it in my mouth, my Cultivation speed was at least twice as fast."

Chen Zhen nodded.

"Use one every day from now on. Come get more when you run out."

Zhou Rui was stunned for a moment.

"Master, this is too valuable..."

Chen Zhen interrupted him.

"What's so valuable about it? I have plenty here."

Zhou Rui was silent for a few seconds, then bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Master."

He pushed the door and left.

Chen Zhen continued drawing talismans.

One after another.

At 12:00 PM, all one hundred talismans were finished.

Chen Zhen stood up and stretched his body.

His phone vibrated.

A message from Shen Mo: "Are you free?"

Chen Zhen replied: "What is it?"

Shen Mo replied instantly: "That small fragment is glowing again. It's very bright this time."

Chen Zhen put away his phone and pushed the door out.

At 1:00 PM, at Shen Mo's house.

Chen Zhen pushed open the door. Shen Mo was sitting in the living room, holding the small fragment.

The fragment was emitting a blinding dark blue light, illuminating the entire living room.

Shen Mo saw him enter and stood up.

"It's been like this since last night," he said, "and it's getting brighter."

Chen Zhen took the fragment and injected a trace of spiritual energy.

The fragment instantly burst into even stronger light, and a scene emerged within the radiance.

A snow-capped mountain.

On the summit stood a person.

That person had their back to the scene, face unclear, but the figure was exactly the same as Chen Zhen.

He turned around.

That face — exactly the same as Chen Zhen's.

He looked at Chen Zhen on this side of the scene and smiled.

Then he said something.

There was no sound, but Chen Zhen understood the lip-reading.

"I am waiting for you."

The scene dissipated.

The fragment returned to normal, its light receding, lying quietly in his palm.

Chen Zhen was silent for a long time.

Shen Mo asked cautiously from the side: "Who is that?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

He returned the fragment to Shen Mo.

"Keep it safe."

He turned and left.

At 3:00 PM, at the Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the array, staring at the purified fragment.

Three of them now.

That person who looked exactly like him said he was waiting for him.

On the other side of the Heavenly Road.

The Original Body.

He took a deep breath and put the fragment away.

Then he activated [Star Core: Third Layer] and began to Cultivate.

The three points of light in his Dantian spun crazily, and Stellar Energy rushed into his Meridians like a tsunami.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

At 6:00 PM, he opened his eyes.

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 4 1318/1800]

Increased by 100 points in three hours.

Still 482 points away.

He stood up, walked to the workbench, and took out the stack of blank talisman paper.

Continued drawing talismans.

Tonight, he had to finish the rest of the talismans.

At 10:00 PM, Chen Zhen put down his brush.

Five hundred talismans, all completed.

He walked to the potted spirit plants and checked them once.

The four soul-calming grass plants had bloomed three more flowers.

The Mint leaves had become twice as dense.

The wild soul-calming grass had started growing its second crop.

He plucked the flowers, gathered the leaves, and ground them into powder.

anshen flower powder stock: 100 grams.

Mint leaves: 300 pieces.

Enough for a while.

He walked back to the center of the array and sat down cross-legged.

Activated [Star Core: Third Layer], and began to Cultivate.

The three points of light in his Dantian spun crazily, and Stellar Energy poured in like a tide.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

At 1:00 AM, he opened his eyes.

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 4 1518/1800]

282 points to go.

Almost there.

He stood up and stretched his body.

Then he walked to the window and looked at the night sky outside.

The Big Dipper hung at the zenith, starlight spilling down, echoing the Stellar Energy in his Dantian.

He activated [Fragment Perception].

Sixteen points of light.

Five red ones, three moved, two didn't.

Seven yellow ones, four moved, three didn't.

Three green ones — Yun Xi was at Wuyi Mountain, the other two were at the foot of Wuyi Mountain and Changbai Mountain.

He himself was here.

And that black source — disappeared.

Replaced by the point of light of the person who looked exactly like him.

On the other side of the Heavenly Road.

He withdrew his perception and walked back to the center of the array.

Sat cross-legged and continued to Cultivate.

2:00 AM.

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 4 1600/1800]

3:00 AM.

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 4 1700/1800]

4:00 AM.

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 4 1798/1800]

Two points to go.

Chen Zhen opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

He took a Celestial Star Array from his Storage Space and stuck it on himself.

Then he activated [Star Core: Third Layer] and sprinted with all his might.

The three points of light in his Dantian spun crazily, and Stellar Energy rushed in like a tsunami.

Meridians were burning, Meridians were expanding, every inch of flesh and blood was cheering.

Bang — In the Dantian, the three points of light exploded violently and instantly reorganized.

The newly born spiritual pearls were three times larger than before, with dark blue light circulating on the surface, and a faint trace of gold in the middle.

[Congratulations to the host for breaking through to Qi Refining Level 5]

[Cultivation: 1798/1800 → 0/2500]

[Spiritual Energy limit increased: 300 → 500, daily recovery 30 points]

[Unlocked new Spell: [Starlight Domain] consumes 20 spiritual energy, expands a 10-meter diameter Domain, all enemies within the Domain have -30% speed, self speed +50%]

[All-dimensional growth speed +30% (Qi Refining Level 5 bonus)]

[Special Reward: Cultivation +100]

Chen Zhen opened his eyes and looked at his hands.

In his palm, the dark blue light was ten times brighter than before.

Power.

Power ten times stronger than before.

He stood up and walked to the window.

It was almost dawn outside, the eastern sky tinged with a fish-belly white.

He took a deep breath, feeling the surging spiritual energy in his body.

He turned around and walked back to the center of the array.

Took out the purified fragment and placed it in front of him.

Three pieces.

Thirteen more out there.

He closed his eyes and continued to Cultivate.