15: Chapter 15 Qi Refining Level 3

[When Lin Bufan opened his eyes, what met his gaze was precisely such a picture of a beauty reading a scroll.]

[Dressed in elegant green robes, her features serene, she looked like someone straight out of a painting.]

[He stared blankly for a long time at you, whose demeanor had changed drastically, until you noticed that burning gaze and raised your head from the scroll.]

["Brother Lin, you're awake?"]

[Hearing your slightly raspy voice, Lin Bufan snapped back to reality. His eyes flickered slightly, and taking a few quick steps to your side, he pulled you into his embrace without giving you a chance to object.]

[You secretly rolled your eyes in your heart. Why did he always insist on hugging all the time?]

["Why aren't you resting a bit more?"]

[Perhaps remembering that he had indeed gone too far last night, his voice betrayed an unrestrainable sense of guilt and self-reproach.]

["I'm fine. I just want to start cultivating earlier so I can help you in the future, Brother Lin."]

[Your eyes were clear and bright. At this moment, your aloof sword cultivator attire, paired with the blush on your cheeks, almost excited Lin Bufan once again.]

[But remembering your physical condition, he hurriedly suppressed the tender thoughts in his heart and gently comforted you:]

["It's alright, I've already broken through to the second layer of Qi Refining. I'll definitely be able to protect you well in the future."]

[The fake smile on your face almost shattered.]

[God knows how difficult it was for you to break through a minor realm, yet look at him—in just about a month, he broke through all the way from a mortal to the second layer of Qi Refining.]

[O vast heavens, how unfair!]

["Brother Lin, you're really amazing~!"]

["Oh? Where am I amazing?"]

["You're terrible~"]

[After the two of you fooled around for a bit, Lin Bufan wiped the smile off his face and said solemnly:]

["Qingyu, I need to leave the sect for a while in two days."]

["Where are you going? Will it be dangerous?"]

[At this moment, you looked just like a little wife about to be abandoned, your eyes filled with helplessness and reluctance.]

["Don't worry, I'm just going to seek out some opportunities."]

[His eyes gentle, he softly stroked your hair.]

["Those secret arts from last night were..."]

[Saying this, Lin Bufan's face stiffened, and you covered his mouth just at the right moment:]

["Brother Lin, you don't need to tell me anything. As long as I'm in your heart, that's enough."]

["Thank you, Qingyu."]

["Why are you thanking me?"]

[Lin Bufan shook his head without a word, simply holding you even tighter.]

["In these next two days, I'll help you prepare the resources needed for cultivation. Just stay in the cave dwelling to cultivate with peace of mind and don't go out casually, okay?"]

[You didn't speak, obediently nodding while your fingertips tightly gripped his clothing.]

[At the same time, you praised in your heart: a Son of Fortune really is great~]

[However, the mood quickly turned improper again...]

[Sigh~]

[You sighed helplessly. Perhaps this was the price to pay for becoming stronger!]

[Three days later, like a satisfied little puppy, Lin Bufan cheerfully walked out of the cave dwelling.]

[Lying on the bed, you began to have a few doubts about your cultivation career as a righteous fairy.]

[One-third of a second later, you discarded this terrible thought. The mistake wasn't yours; it was this world where the strong devour the weak!]

[You activated the cave dwelling's restrictions. After circulating spiritual power through your body once, the physical exhaustion eased considerably.]

[Your gaze fell upon the stone table, which was piled high with resources.]

[About a thousand spirit stones, along with a generous preparation of various pills to aid in cultivation.]

[That guy, Haji Fan!]

[You were touched just a little bit, then immediately sat cross-legged on the cushion and began attempting to operate the Xuantian Sword Scripture.]

[Cultivation methods in this cultivation world had no clear division of grades; their effectiveness and power mostly depended on the cultivator's own talent, comprehension, and state of mind.]

[However, as the sect-anchoring technique of a second-tier sect, the Xuantian Sword Scripture naturally had its unique strengths.]

[Its formidable combat power went without saying. Additionally, the technique's greatest characteristic was that it was easy to learn but hard to master, which was why the Tianxuan Sword Sect accepted disciples so widely.]

[As long as the numbers were high enough, a few late-blooming geniuses would naturally emerge.]

[A month flashed by, during which spirit stones filled the small spirit-gathering array in the cave dwelling as if they cost nothing.]

[On this day, you finally achieved basic mastery of the technique. Although the aura on your body had changed somewhat, the Hehuan technique still remained dominant.]

[Aura...]

[A stroke of inspiration suddenly struck you, and your gaze landed on the "Dust Transformation" trait. If you merely concealed the Hehuan Sect technique, wouldn't only the pure aura of the Xuantian Sword Scripture remain?]

[Putting thought into action, with a slight turn of your mind, the faint, wisp-like alluring aura around you abruptly withdrew, leaving only a frigid, sharp aura.]

[It worked!]

["Great, great, great!"]

[This way, when sneaking around... or exterminating demons in the future, you could perfectly conceal your identity.]

[After calming down, you carefully felt your own aura.]

[If strictly categorized, you had previously reached the late stage of Qi Refining Layer Two, but now your total amount of spiritual energy had decreased significantly, down to around the early stage of Qi Refining Layer Two.]

[This was likely because the quality of spiritual energy from the Xuantian Sword Scripture was far superior to that of the Thousand Silk Love-Inducing Formula.]

[You tried running the Thousand Silk Love-Inducing Formula again and found that the total spiritual energy did not increase, but it was much purer than before.]

[You knew that a good technique could purify spiritual energy, but why didn't it revert back when switching techniques?]

[Your twenty years in the Hehuan Sect had accumulated a considerable reserve of knowledge for you, but this question was clearly beyond the syllabus, so you decided to ignore it.]

[You began running the Xuantian Sword Scripture with all your might to cultivate. With an ample supply of pills and spirit stones, your cultivation base advanced rapidly.]

[One year later.]

[Dressed in green robes, you were sitting cross-legged inside the cave dwelling surrounded by spirit stones. The concentration of spiritual energy in the cave dwelling had reached an extremely high level.]

["Break!"]

[When the time was ripe, you, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly opened your eyes. The surrounding spiritual energy surged at your command, condensing into a small yet fierce vortex that poured into your body from all directions.]

[Still feeling unstable, you casually pulled out a blue pill and popped it into your mouth.]

[This pill was called the "Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pill," a top-grade pill for Qi Refining cultivators to break through minor realms, exclusively sponsored by Fellow Daoist Su Yu of the Hehuan Sect.]

[The next moment, the bottleneck that was already teetering shattered completely under such a powerful impact!]

[The momentum around your body surged abruptly, and the spiritual energy within you boiled before returning to tranquility a moment later.]

["Phew~"]

[You let out a long breath, feeling thoroughly comfortable from head to toe.]

[Qi Refining Layer Three, achieved!]

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