32: Chapter 32 Spatial Ecology, First Exploration of Alchemy, and the Re-enactment of Teleportation

On the way back to the temporary stone chamber, Ye Qing walked with a light step, his state of mind different from before.

His cultivation at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining was like opening up new rivers within his body. As his spiritual power surged, it carried the momentum of wind and thunder; while calm and heavy, it also possessed a newfound, fluid ease.

His control over spiritual power had become more precise and subtle, and his Divine Sense perception range had broken through ten zhang, allowing him to capture the trajectory of dust in the wind, the flow of sap in plants, and the crawling of insects underground. The entire world, in his "eyes," became clearer, richer, and more distinct in its layers.

He attempted to circulate the newly acquired Divine Refining Technique, coordinated with the nourishment of the moonlight jade tree. His Divine Soul felt like refined iron being repeatedly forged; amidst the intense pain and exhaustion, it slowly and firmly became more condensed and resilient, and his perception became sharper. That special sensitivity to spatial fluctuations also seemed to have strengthened slightly with his Breakthrough and the growth of the space.

Returning to the cliff cave stone chamber, he activated the warning Restriction and sealed the entrance.

Ye Qing did not rest immediately but instead sank his consciousness into the space within his body, which had expanded to thirty-five zhang.

The changes in the space left him stunned.

A radius of thirty-five zhang could now be considered a Small World of its own. The grey fog at the edges was thick and solid, flowing slowly like the fetal membrane of a world, isolating the inside from the outside. The light inside was soft and bright; though the source was unknown, it seemed to follow its own principles of the sun and moon rotation.

The black soil in the center had expanded to thirteen or fourteen zhang square, the soil exhibiting a warm, jade-like luster. The Spiritual Qi mist was so dense it was almost dripping into liquid, gathering in the low-lying areas of the ground to form shallow pools of spirit mist, shimmering with light. The moonlight jade tree stood quietly rooted beside the spirit mist pool, silver radiance flowing and intertwining with the Spiritual Qi mist, appearing even more miraculous. The three moon essence fruits contained hidden brilliance, full of vitality.

More than half of the earliest planted moonlight flowers had matured and bloomed. The silver-white flowers were as large as copper coins, dotted with clear radiance, forming a small sea of silver flowers that complemented the moonlight jade tree. Many flowers had already reached a ten-year quality, and one or two even showed signs of breaking through to twenty-year quality.

The iron wire vine had grown to nearly two feet tall. The dark red vine body was thick and tough, its surface shimmering with a cold metallic light, and the tips of the vines sprouted a few fine whiskers that swayed slightly. The night firefly grass and purple thread grass had also grown lush and green, occupying the damp areas, their leaves thick and full of Spiritual Qi.

More importantly, Ye Qing could clearly feel that within the space, with the moonlight jade tree as the core, a faint but real ecological cycle seemed to have formed among the various Spirit Medicine.

The moonlight flowers absorbed the moon essence radiating from the moonlight jade tree and the Spiritual Qi of the space, growing robustly, blooming, and bearing fruit; they, in turn, emitted a pure moon essence aura, feeding back into the space and the tree. The night firefly grass and purple thread grass grew in the damp environment, their roots and secretions seemingly capable of improving the soil and retaining water. The iron wire vine's tough body and metallic nature made the "Metal" Foundation of the space even more stable.

The auras of various plants subtly blended, vitality flowing, forming a simple yet harmonious micro-ecosystem. Even the Ore scraps and leftover Materials piled in the "waste area" at the edge were being slowly absorbed and decomposed by the space, turning into the most fundamental nutrients that nourished this land.

"Spatial ecology... it has actually begun to form! This means the space's self-circulation, self-purification, and self-optimization capabilities are strengthening! In the future, perhaps it could form a true blessed land, or even... the embryonic form of a Small World?"

This discovery left Ye Qing exhilarated.

The growth of the space lay not only in the expansion of its area but also in the improvement of its "quality," the perfection of its rules, and the formation of its ecology.

Exiting the space, he picked up the Jade Slip containing basic Alchemy knowledge, as well as the newly purchased "Low-Grade Divine Refining Technique (Fragmented)," and began to study them again.

His cultivation Breakthrough, the enhancement of his Divine Sense, and the formation of the spatial ecology gave him new ideas about "Alchemy."

"Alchemy emphasizes the roles of sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy, the control of heat, and the Fusion of medicinal properties. I have the space, I can cultivate high-quality Spirit Medicine, I can purify Materials, and I have the moonlight jade tree to nourish the Divine Soul, enhancing my subtle perception of medicinal properties and heat..."

"Perhaps I can try using spatial energy to simulate 'Earth Fire,' using Divine Sense as the 'Pill Furnace,' using the purified moonlight flower essence as the main medicine, supplemented by other auxiliary medicines produced in the space like night firefly grass and purple thread grass, to deduce the refining of the most basic 'Heart-Cleansing Powder' or 'Spirit-Nurturing Liquid' in my mind?"

"I won't aim for a finished Medicinal Pill, just purification and Fusion of medicinal properties, making the crudest medicinal liquid or powder. It's both an initial practice of Alchemy and a way to obtain low-grade medicinal agents useful to myself."

He decided to act on his thought.

Ye Qing first used his Divine Sense to carefully strip a wisp of the purest moonlight flower dew essence from a mature ten-year moonlight flower. This process required extreme precision and placed high demands on Divine Sense control; any slight mistake would damage the flower or waste the medicinal power.

Under the Comprehension Ability boosted by the space and his fine control, he succeeded. A crystal-clear liquid bead, shimmering with pure silver radiance and emitting a cool, tranquil aura, hovered at his fingertip.

Next, he extracted a wisp of pale green calming essence and dark red blood-stasis-resolving essence from the night firefly grass and purple thread grass, respectively.

Three wisps of essence with different medicinal properties hovered in the air.

Ye Qing closed his eyes and focused, his Divine Sense gently wrapping around the three wisps of essence, simulating the environment inside a Pill Furnace.

He used his own pure spiritual power, tempered repeatedly by the space, as "firewood" to simulate a gentle and stable "soft fire," slowly roasting and fusing the three wisps of essence.

At the same time, his Divine Sense acted like the most dexterous hands, constantly adjusting the ratio, contact method, and temperature changes of the three wisps, guiding them to blend and permeate each other, removing Impurities while retaining the most effective medicinal parts.

This process was extremely draining on his mind and spiritual power, requiring more focus and precision than combat.

Sweat seeped from his forehead, and his face turned slightly pale.

But his eyes were focused, his mind completely immersed in that subtle feeling of "creation" and "harmonization."

The cool tranquility of the moonlight flower dew served as the sovereign, the calming and soul-soothing properties of the night firefly grass as the assistant, and the blood-stasis-resolving and new-tissue-generating properties of the purple thread grass as the envoy.

Under the precise regulation of his Divine Sense and the "soft fire" simulated by his spiritual power, the three wisps of essence gradually blended, the Impurities were slowly refined out and dissipated as green smoke. The remaining medicinal essence gradually fused into a fist-sized, pale silver-grey, viscous medicinal liquid that emitted a mixture of cool, calming, and slightly sweet scents.

There was no Pill Furnace, no Earth Fire, and no complete Pill Formula.

It was all based on his understanding of medicinal properties, control of Divine Sense, subtle manipulation of spiritual power, and the super-high Comprehension Ability brought by the space.

When the last wisp of Impurities was refined, the medicinal liquid stabilized and emitted a soft light; Ye Qing slowly stopped his technique and let out a long breath of turbid air.

It was done.

A most basic, perhaps not even ranked, "Moonlight Calming Liquid."

He carefully collected this medicinal liquid into a jade bottle. Although crude, it truly possessed the weak effects of calming the mind, soothing the soul, and nourishing the Divine Soul. It was of no small help for recovering from Divine Sense fatigue and stabilizing one's state of mind. Its quality, due to the extremely high quality of the main ingredient, the moonlight flower, and the indirect nourishment of the spatial energy, far exceeded similar medicinal liquids refined from ordinary moonlight flowers in the outside world.

"Initial Alchemy exploration, success. Although it's just the crudest medicinal liquid, it has verified the feasibility of my approach. In the future, with a deeper understanding of medicinal properties, improvements in Divine Sense and spiritual power control, and obtaining more Pill Formulas and Materials, perhaps I can truly refine Medicinal Pills in this space using this unique method."

A gleam appeared in Ye Qing's eyes. This meant that besides combat and plundering, he had gained another stable way to obtain resources—making his own Medicinal Pills.

He put away the jade bottle, took a Qi-Recovery Pill, and regulated his breath to recover.

At the same time, the information about that dark yellow fragmented map appeared in his mind again.

"Ancient teleportation... ancient teleportation array..."

This fragmented map pointed to a possible site of an ancient teleportation array. If true, its value was immeasurable. ancient teleportation arrays often meant access to unknown lands, Secret Realms, ancient ruins, or... a wider world.

"With my current strength, exploring the site of an ancient teleportation array is no different from seeking death. But I can pay attention to relevant information, investigate secretly, and perhaps find clues from other Loose Cultivators, market rumors, or even some ancient fragmented texts."

"Blackwater Market is a mixed bag of people and well-informed. Next time I go, I can pay attention to information in this regard. Perhaps I can trade some irrelevant information or resources with others?"

He silently noted this long-term goal.

The night grew deeper.

Ye Qing finished regulating his breath and lay down on the stone bed.

Today's harvest was huge. A cultivation Breakthrough, a qualitative change in the space, the initial success of Alchemy, and an additional long-term goal regarding the ancient teleportation array.

Inside his body, the thirty-five-zhang space had its ecology formed, and vitality was flowing.

His cultivation at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining was steadily consolidating.

On the road of steady development, knowledge, strength, resources, and channels were all steadily expanding.

Loose Cultivator Ye Qing, with his own unique rhythm, was quietly taking root and growing steadily in this Black Water Swamp where crises and opportunities coexisted.