19: Chapter 19 Ascetic Training in the Stone Chamber, Breaking Through Body Refinement Barrier

The ice-blue sub-token of the xuanyuan token emitted a faint chill in his palm, and the flowing runes on the gate of the Inner Chamber seemed to be silently tempting him.

Three breaths.

Breaking into that unknown ancient cultivator's Inner Chamber could mean ascending to the heavens in a single step, or more likely... falling into eternal damnation.

Lin Ye slowly clenched the token, then solemnly stored it in the deepest part of the space within his ancient ring on his left hand.

"It is not yet time." He whispered to himself, his eyes becoming calm and determined once again.

First Level of Qi Refining, the just-started Ice Soul Sword Art, the superficial postures of the Mystic Jade Body, and almost completely empty means of combat... With this little capital, to gamble on the Inner Chamber of an ancient cultivator who was at least at the Foundation Establishment stage (or even higher)? That was not courage; it was stupidity.

What he needed was time, sedimentation, and to completely transform this accidentally discovered "safe zone" and his existing resources into real, tangible strength!

Lin Ye retreated to the central stone chamber of the outer chamber.

He first carefully inspected the seven sealed stone doors. The stone doors were thick and integrated seamlessly with the walls; there were no keyholes, no seal imprints, as if they were part of the wall itself. He probed them with Spiritual Qi, sensed them with his ancient ring, and even tried to push them, but they did not budge. The Opportunity visualization only showed [Stone door sealed, cannot be opened], with no further information.

It seemed that these seven doors either required a specific method (such as the main token of the Inner Chamber), or they were just decorations or corresponded to other long-abandoned passages. For now, there was no need to pay them any mind.

He selected a corner of the stone chamber, near the position of the abandoned Pill Furnace, as his temporary base. It was relatively hidden here, and the Pill Furnace was huge, providing some cover.

Next, he formulated a simple yet rigorous Cultivation plan.

First, Spiritual Qi Cultivation. Main practice: Ice Soul Sword Art. Although this place was not extremely cold, the Spiritual Qi in the depths of the stone chamber was much denser and purer than that of the dark river and the outside world, making it especially suitable for ice and water attribute Cultivation Techniques. Holding a Low-Grade Spirit Stone in his hand, he operated the technique over and over, polishing that sliver of icy Spiritual Qi, making it increasingly refined and strong. He also consumed two fruits of the ice soul orchid (unripe) to further purify his Spiritual Qi and deepen his affinity for the ice attribute.

Second, Body Refining Cultivation. Auxiliary practice: Mystic Jade Body. He consumed all the remaining jade marrow powder, coordinating it with the three basic guiding postures, tirelessly polishing his blood and Qi day and night, tempering his tendons, bones, skin, and membranes. Body Refining in the Early Stage did not rely much on resources, focusing more on hard work. Like an untiring machine, he repeatedly assumed painful and awkward postures, enduring the muscle-tearing soreness and the swelling sensation of surging blood and Qi.

Third, combat technique Cultivation. Repeatedly pondering those three incomplete Sword Intents—[Severing Flow], [Hidden Edge], and [Shattering Jade]. Without a sword, he used his fingers instead of a sword, combining it with the Spiritual Qi circulation of the Ice Soul Sword Art, trying to fuse that "sharp" intent with the icy Spiritual Qi to simulate the prototype of Sword Qi. At the same time, he also practiced simple chopping, stabbing, and blocking techniques with the black-sashed short blade.

Fourth, recovery and vigilance. During breaks in Cultivation, he would consume a bigu pill and take short naps. He always kept a sliver of his mind focused on maintaining the Qi Concealment Technique and perceiving any subtle changes inside and outside the stone chamber.

Days passed one by one in this boring, painful, yet incredibly fulfilling hard Cultivation.

There was no cycle of sun and moon, only the eternal white light of the illumination pearls.

Lin Ye was completely immersed in Cultivation, forgetting the passage of time. When hungry, he ate a bigu pill; when thirsty (there was sweet rock water seeping out in the corner of the stone chamber), and when tired, he would lean against the Pill Furnace for a short nap, then continue.

His body changed at a speed visible to the naked eye. His originally thin and weak frame was gradually covered with a layer of well-proportioned muscle lines, and his skin, under the tempering of the Mystic Jade Body and jade marrow powder, faintly revealed a hint of warm luster, with his defensive power and strength significantly improved.

The icy Spiritual Qi in his Dantian, from the initial weak sliver, gradually grew and solidified, finally reaching a certain critical point—

Boom!

It was as if ice layers were cracking and spring water was surging.

More abundant and refined icy Spiritual Qi surged through his Meridians, his five senses improved once again, and his absorption speed of Spiritual Qi accelerated by a notch!

Second Level of Qi Refining, achieved naturally!

After the Breakthrough, he did not stop and continued his hard Cultivation. His cultivation base was consolidated at the Early Stage of the Second Level of Qi Refining, and he continued to steadily advance toward the Middle Stage.

He finally thoroughly mastered the three postures of the first layer of the Mystic Jade Body, his blood and Qi were vigorous, and he was difficult to injure with ordinary swords.

Those three Sword Intents, although limited by the lack of a sword and his cultivation base, were not very powerful, but he could barely attach a sliver of icy Spiritual Qi to his short blade, slashing out a blade wind carrying faint cold air, with speed and explosive power far exceeding the past.

When he consumed the ninth and final bigu pill, he knew that his closed-door training should come to an end.

Calculating the time, he feared that at least a month had passed in this stone chamber.

Lin Ye stood up, stretched his muscles and bones, and his joints erupted with crisp cracking sounds. He walked to the center of the stone chamber and waved his hand casually.

Sish!

A blade wind of cold air, an inch long and carrying a faint white glow, burst from his fingertips, shooting at the distant stone wall and leaving a shallow white mark.

The power was still limited, but it already possessed a certain amount of long-range attack and interference capability.

He walked to the abandoned Pill Furnace and looked at the cracks on the furnace body. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he placed his left hand on the cracks of the Pill Furnace, attempting to slowly inject the icy Spiritual Qi of the Ice Soul Sword Art combined with the sharp intent of the ancient ring.

He wanted to try whether he could temporarily "freeze" or "repair" this crack for an instant, or use this to investigate whether there was any deeper mystery inside the Pill Furnace.

The Spiritual Qi was injected, but at first, there was no reaction.

But when he continued to output it and sank his mind into it, vaguely, through the material of the Pill Furnace and that crack, he seemed to "hear" an extremely distant, extremely blurry... sound of water? No, it was a deeper, flowing sound like the pulse of the earth.

This sound had a faint, extremely weak resonance with the "water flow" calling that he had sensed from the golden patterns in his palm on the bank of the dark river back then!

Could it be... that this underground dark river, or even the water vein of the mystic yin true water, had some unknown connection with this ancient cultivator's Immortal Cave, or even this Pill Furnace?

Before he could figure it out.

Suddenly!

The entire stone chamber shook violently without any warning!

Rumble!

Dust fell down in rustles, and the light of the illumination pearls flickered.

Immediately after, a massive, cold, and tyrannical aura of Spiritual Qi fluctuation, like a tide, transmitted over from the direction of the Inner Chamber gate on the north side, penetrating the stone gate and the Restriction!

Was something in the Inner Chamber disturbed?!

Or... did something happen outside that affected the Restriction of the Inner Chamber?

Lin Ye instantly flashed backward, pushed his Qi Concealment Technique to the limit, held his short blade in hand, and looked vigilantly at the gate of the Inner Chamber.

The vibration lasted for a few breaths, then slowly subsided.

But the cold and tyrannical aura that was transmitted did not completely dissipate; instead, like a waking giant beast, it slowly paced behind the door.

At the same time, in the space of the ancient ring on Lin Ye's left hand, that ice-blue sub-token of the xuanyuan token suddenly emitted a faint light on its own and became scalding hot!

It was as if it was urging him, or as if it was... giving a warning?