72: Chapter 72 What is Qi Refining?

"Fate, it is all fate."

Xia Shaoxin sighed, "I thought that to Cultivate, hard work was enough. I didn't expect that it also depended on fate."

"Heh, you shouldn't say that. If you really look into it, fate might be even more important than hard work," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said.

"There are plenty of people in the Chiyan Sect who work harder than you, and not all of them succeed," Senior Brother Shao Junwei remarked with a sneer. "Take Senior Brother Chen Jingrao, for example; he is a very hardworking person."

"Oh, I actually don't know much about him." Xia Shaoxin hadn't wanted to pay attention to this person before, but now he needed to understand him properly.

Senior Brother Shao Junwei snorted coldly. "I used to just feel that he was too serious about how he conducted himself and his affairs. Recently, however, his personality has changed drastically, becoming calculating and petty. It must be because he hasn't been able to achieve a Breakthrough for a long time, so his temperament has changed."

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said, "Perhaps this is his true nature, and it just wasn't apparent before."

Xia Shaoxin smiled bitterly. "Then why does he always target me?"

"Actually, he has had conflicts with many people, but most of it is just idle gossip. He hasn't really targeted anyone specifically," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said.

Senior Brother Shao Junwei snorted coldly. "Actually, he just looks down on you. He thinks you are unworthy of standing alongside him, and on top of that, he doesn't think well of your future. Since you lack a Foundation, he just bullies you."

Xia Shaoxin said with a cold face, "Isn't this the same mentality as Nangong Yi and the others?"

Senior Brother Shao Junwei pondered for a moment and nodded. "Yes!"

Xia Shaoxin suddenly felt very helpless.

He had previously thought that becoming an Inner Sect Disciple would change his fate, but he hadn't expected to still be treated with such unscrupulous contempt.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this."

Xia Shaoxin waved his hand, chasing these troublesome thoughts away.

He recalled the Breakthrough that night; he had clearly been on the verge of a Breakthrough, yet he had been completely unaware of it.

Therefore, he asked the two Senior Brothers, "Although I have successfully achieved Qi Refining, I don't know what Level 2 Qi Refining is about, or what the Third Layer of Qi Refining entails. Could you tell me about it?"

The two Senior Brothers took turns explaining the path of Cultivation as they knew it, detailing it carefully.

According to cultivation theory, the Dantian of the Qi Refining Realm is very weak. The wisp of True Qi that one works so hard to refine leaks away in a few days; it cannot be stored.

Therefore, the main task of the Lower Stage of Qi Refining is to use True Qi to nourish the Dantian and the meridians, making them stronger.

The hallmark of Level 2 Qi Refining is the expansion of the Dantian region.

It will continue to expand afterwards; this step is called Dantian Voiding.

Throughout the entire Lower Stage of Qi Refining, the Dantian region will expand twice.

Xia Shaoxin suddenly understood. No wonder that night, he felt the area of heat in his Dantian increase; it turned out his Dantian was breaking through its boundaries.

After the Dantian expands to its maximum, it will stop expanding and begin to contract. This is called solidifying the Dantian, which is the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.

If the Dantian expands to the extreme but lacks the strength to contract, becoming large and bloated, then one will be stuck at the Third Layer of Qi Refining for the rest of their life.

Generally speaking, as long as one succeeds in Qi Refining, they will eventually reach the Third Layer of Qi Refining.

But whether one can Break through to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining is not guaranteed.

At this point, Senior Brother Shao Junwei lowered his voice and mentioned the names of a few Deacons.

Those old Senior Brothers were stuck at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, and the Sect had determined there was no possibility of further advancement.

Upon reaching the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, the Dantian undergoes significant changes; while contracting and solidifying, the vast majority of people will refine a Divine Ability at this stage: Inner Vision.

There is a pair of eyes within the Sea of Consciousness that can monitor the internal conditions of the body.

Upon reaching the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, more of the refined True Qi can be retained.

At this time, a Qi Refiner can manipulate simple Laws of heaven and earth, which means they can cast Spells by consuming True Qi.

Xia Shaoxin's eyes lit up. "Can you two also cast Spells?"

Both smiled. "Just a minor trick; we know a little."

Xia Shaoxin said earnestly, "Can you show me?"

Senior Brother Shao Junwei kept a straight face and snorted. "Without relying on Magical Artifacts or spiritual talismans, casting Spells out of thin air consumes a large amount of True Qi. We in the Qi Refining Realm don't have much True Qi to begin with. Unless we are fighting for our lives, who uses Spells?"

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran scoffed, "If we were willing to cast Spells casually, Senior Brother Chen Jingrao wouldn't have thrown punches at you."

Senior Brother Shao Junwei said, "Then again, for us mere Middle Stage of Qi Refining cultivators, the effect of Spells is very weak; it's not worth it."

Xia Shaoxin finally understood that there were such requirements for casting Spells.

"Where did you learn your Spells?"

Senior Brother Shao Junwei said, "When you Break through a Realm, you will comprehend some Spells, but most are learned from the Black and White Cave."

Xia Shaoxin asked in surprise, "The Black and White Cave? I've never heard of it."

Both of them laughed, because hardly anyone goes there.

"Using Spells consumes an extreme amount of True Qi; it's better to imbue the sword with True Qi, which has greater power."

"After you reach the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, you can apply to a Deacon and go to the Black and White Cave to comprehend Spells. How much you can comprehend depends entirely on fate."

So this also depended on fate.

He was still very far from the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, so there was no need to waste his energy on it for now.

Xia Shaoxin asked, "When does one reach the Qi Refining Upper Stage?"

"Once you have the ability of Inner Vision, observe your Dantian every day. Until one day, a golden rim appears, firmly securing the edges of the Dantian; that is the sign of a Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Upper Stage."

"Oh, what does this golden rim signify?"

"It means your Dantian is permanently fixed. In the future, you will use this as a Foundation to Cultivate to Foundation Establishment, and then to Golden Core!"

Xia Shaoxin didn't dare to breathe out loud. "What is Foundation Establishment like?"

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran smiled slightly. "Once you reach the Qi Refining Upper Stage, you can compress your True Qi and refine Qi into water."

"As long as you refine a single drop of pure water within your Dantian, you will be reborn and become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator," Senior Brother Shao Junwei said.

Oh, so that's how it is!

The only wish of a Qi Refiner is to refine True Qi into liquid.

Elder Qian Yunchang was at this stage.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran sighed and said that the Qi Refining Realm is actually still the Mortal Realm, which does not increase one's Lifespan.

Only by successfully achieving Foundation Establishment can a person truly transcend their Mortal body, with a Lifespan exceeding the limit of a Mortal, living to one hundred and fifty or two hundred years old is a very common occurrence.

This is the true path to longevity.

Xia Shaoxin listened, captivated.

"What about after Foundation Establishment? What is that like?"

"As for what comes after... one must eat one bite at a time. You are only in the Lower Stage of Qi Refining; first, see if you can Cultivate to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining. There's no need to fantasize about what comes after that," Senior Brother Shao Junwei said bluntly.

Xia Shaoxin was left speechless by the retort.

The entire Yue Kingdom didn't even have a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator; talking about such distant things was purely a waste of breath.

"Senior Brother, what was the highest Realm of cultivation in the history of our Chiyan Sect?"

Both Senior Brothers wore solemn and respectful expressions.

"In the most glorious era of our Chiyan Sect, there were once eight Golden Core cultivators coexisting; we were the number one Sect in the Yue Kingdom."

Xia Shaoxin asked curiously, "Above the Golden Core, isn't it possible to Cultivate to the Nascent Soul Realm? There wasn't even a Nascent Soul?"

The two Senior Brothers looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"Our Yue Kingdom, as well as the Tang Kingdom, and the vast area where these countries are located, are collectively known as the Lowlands. There has never been a Nascent Soul here. You didn't know that?" Senior Brother Liang Ruoran was extremely shocked, not expecting there to be someone so ignorant.

Xia Shaoxin swallowed his saliva. "I am a Bug Catcher. I only left that damned, poisonous-mist-filled Dawu Mountain two years ago. I have never heard of any of this!"