6: Qi Refining Level 7

The night wind blew fiercely, and bamboo shadows danced wildly under the ink-colored sky. Li Muge sat cross-legged on the blue stone by the pool, the Spiritual Qi around his body churning violently like boiling water. He took a deep breath of the cool night air, a flash of determination in his eyes, and retrieved three crystalline iron birch tree gels from his Storage Pouch, rubbing them into a sticky paste in his palms.

"Since I have come this far, why not push through in one go?" He whispered, spreading the paste evenly over his arms and chest. The moment the gel touched his skin, a bone-chilling cold instantly invaded his Meridians, piercing straight into his Dantian, only to immediately transform into a scorching fire! Li Muge let out a muffled groan, beads of sweat seeping from his forehead, shimmering with silver light under the cold moonlight.

As the medicinal power took full effect, his Azure Profound Dark Pupils activated on their own. The world before him suddenly twisted and shifted! The originally silent, pitch-black bamboo forest suddenly bloomed with thousands of flowing points of light—these were the vital Spiritual Qi surging within the plants! In the veins of the nearby green bamboo, green Spiritual Qi surged like a stream; among the roots of the wild grass by the pool, pale golden vitality spread like a spider web, weaving a magnificent landscape of life.

"Come on!" Li Muge roared inwardly, his will like iron. He attempted to extend his Divine Sense outward. In an instant, the plants within a radius of one mile seemed to become the tentacles of his perception—thirty zhang away to the southeast, the slight quiver of a night moth's wings was clearly perceptible; under the old pine tree in the northwest corner, the rustling of a few field mice gnawing on pine nuts felt as if it were right by his ears.

Even more wondrously, when his mind connected with these plants, the rich wood-attribute Spiritual Qi around him seemed to be summoned by an invisible force, docilely gathering toward him.

The originally wild and rampant medicinal power of the iron birch tree gel, under the harmonization and nourishment of this abundant wood-attribute Spiritual Qi, became much more docile, transforming into strands of gentle, warm currents that slowly permeated his limbs and bones, nourishing every inch of his muscles and flesh.

"Fortunately, I have these Azure Profound Dark Pupils..." Li Muge felt a slight sense of relief. He simply opened all the pores on his body, letting the pure wood Spiritual Qi from the bamboo forest pour into his body through his Acupoints like a trickling stream. Under the precise guidance of his Azure Profound Dark Pupils, this wood Spiritual Qi blended perfectly with the violent medicinal power of the iron birch tree gel, turning into a pure and majestic torrent of energy that surged and scoured the barriers of his Meridians.

Suddenly, a tearing pain came from his right arm! Looking down, the Meridians beneath his skin were glowing with an eerie red light, bulging and knotted like a spider web, clearly visible—this was the violent medicinal power of the iron birch tree gel forcibly breaking through and expanding his Meridians!

Li Muge steadied his mind, sinking all his Divine Sense into his body. With the internal vision ability of his Azure Profound Dark Pupils, he clearly "saw" a qualitative change occurring in his Dantian—the originally foggy Spiritual Qi was rapidly condensing and compressing, gradually taking on a crystalline, liquid luster! This was the key sign of being about to Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Late Stage!

"Just one final push!" His thoughts raced, and without hesitation, he took out five more iron birch tree gels, instantly refining and covering his entire body! The even more violent medicinal power was like a mountain flood breaking a dam, impacting every inch of his flesh. The intense pain caused his muscles to spasm, his teeth clenched tight. However, under the precise insight of his Azure Profound Dark Pupils, he locked firmly onto the trajectory of the surging medicinal power, guiding this violent force to fiercely strike that final invisible Bottleneck!

"Break!" A low, sharp shout erupted from Li Muge's throat. A sound like a rushing river roared within his body! In his Dantian, the churning liquid Spiritual Qi finally stabilized completely, turning into a slowly rotating liquid vortex. With every rotation of the vortex, a large amount of miscellaneous turbid Qi was expelled from his body. His skin instantly took on a warm, jade-like luster, then immediately returned to normal.

As the first touch of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, Li Muge slowly opened his eyes. Deep within his pupils, a cyan, profound rune flashed and vanished; it was the Origin imprint of the Azure Profound Dark Pupils. He clenched his fist gently, and a faint sonic boom of air sounded between his knuckles—this was a sign that he had not yet fully controlled his surging power.

"Qi Refining Seventh Layer... done." He let out a long breath of turbid Qi, carrying the fresh fragrance of refined plants. Even more surprisingly, the plants within a three-zhang radius were all tilting slightly toward him, as if silently worshiping him.

Even without deliberately activating his spiritual pupils, the state of the plants within a hundred-meter radius was clearly reflected in his mind: the old bamboo in the southeast corner was full of vitality and about to bloom; under the shadow of the wild berry bushes to the west, a green snake was lurking and coiled...

With a slight shift of his thoughts, Li Muge established a connection with the nearest green bamboo through his Azure Profound Dark Pupils. In an instant, his consciousness seemed to split in two—his main body watched the ripples on the pool water, while the other part of his consciousness attached itself to the bamboo, "seeing" his own back as he sat cross-legged on the blue stone, bathed in the morning light.

"Perception sharing, Spiritual Qi affinity..." Li Muge murmured. In places where vegetation was lush, his cultivation speed would far exceed his peers, and this ability of perception sharing was an excellent means of investigation, and also the root of why he could detect the presence of that Senior yesterday.

He stood up and stretched his muscles and bones, his joints emitting a series of crisp pops. The Breakthrough overnight brought not only a leap in cultivation but also an advancement in his Body Refining Realm. Now, relying solely on this tempered Physical Body, he no longer feared confronting an ordinary Eighth Layer of Qi Refining Cultivator head-on! Looking at the water rippled by the morning breeze, a cold arc curled at the corner of Li Muge's mouth: "Wu Family... Liu Clan..."

The morning light was faint, and the dew on the tips of the bamboo leaves had not yet dripped off.

Li Muyun stood quietly at the edge of the bamboo pavilion, his hands unconsciously clutching the corner of his clothes. He gazed at the figure by the pool, standing tall like a green pine, his eyes filled with indescribable shock. The morning breeze blew, lifting the hem of Li Muge's ink-colored robe, the bamboo patterns embroidered with silver thread flowing with shimmering light under the rising sun.

"Second Brother... did he really break through?" Li Muyun's voice was as light as a mosquito, filled with unbelievable trance. He clearly remembered that the exceptionally talented eldest brother, Li Muhuang, had only broken through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer at the age of twenty, and the eldest brother had Three Spiritual Roots! Yet this Second Brother, who also had Three Spiritual Roots, had actually... at the age of eighteen...

"Click!"

A crisp sound startled Li Muyun. He saw that when Li Muge turned around, a pebble under his feet shattered upon contact. He glanced down, and the gravel turned into powder under his feet. When he looked up again, his gaze met his fourth younger brother's eyes, which were filled with astonishment and admiration.

"What, don't recognize your Second Brother?" Li Muge chuckled, his voice slightly hoarse from the Breakthrough overnight.

Li Muyun suddenly woke up from his dream and rushed over in three steps: "Second Brother! You really broke through to the Qi Refining Late Stage!" The young man's voice trembled slightly with excitement, "And... the method you used for the iron birch tree gel..."

The words stopped abruptly. Li Muyun's gaze fell on his Second Brother's exposed arms—there were several deep red burn marks remaining, hideous and stinging to the eyes. The hair-raising "sizzling" sound from last night seemed to ring in his ears again; that was the sound of the gel's overbearing medicinal power burning flesh and bones!

"It... must have hurt, right?" The young man lowered his voice unconsciously, filled with heartache.

Li Muge moved his wrists casually, the new skin gleaming with toughness in the morning light: "Just get used to it." The three understated words made Li Muyun's nose sore. He knew deeply that the hardships his Second Brother had experienced while wandering outside for the past two years were by no means as light and breezy as he described.

...

Seven days later.

In the quiet courtyard, the morning light filtered through the carved windows, sprinkling broken golden spots on the ground. Li Muge sat cross-legged on the futon, his hands forming a seal in front of his knees, his breathing containing a peculiar rhythm. As his breath circulated, the bamboo leaves outside the window moved without wind, and strands of pure cyan Spiritual Qi seeped out from the leaf veins, penetrating the thin gauze window and pouring into his crown Acupoints.

"The Spiritual Qi of the Qi Refining Seventh Layer is indeed extraordinary..."

With internal vision, the liquid Spiritual Qi vortex in his Dantian rotated slowly, purifying and condensing the newly absorbed Spiritual Qi with every rotation. Li Muge clearly perceived that the total amount of Spiritual Qi was now nearly 30% higher than before the Breakthrough, and its quality was more pure and solid. He tried to operate the 《Green Wood Technique》, and the Spiritual Qi surged through his widened and toughened Meridians, at a speed more than double that of the past!

Suddenly, he frowned slightly. The newly promoted Realm still had some instability, and there was an occasional feeling of stagnation during the circulation of Spiritual Qi. Li Muge's expression remained unchanged, and he calmly took out a mutton-fat jade bottle from his bosom, pouring out three pills as green as emeralds—these were the "Solid Origin Pill" for consolidating the foundation.

The Medicinal Pill melted upon entering his mouth, and the cool, gentle medicinal power flowed down his throat, quickly spreading through his limbs and bones. Li Muge concentrated his mind, feeling the rhythm of the Spiritual Qi in every tiny Meridian in his body, precisely guiding the medicinal power to nourish and soothe those Meridian nodes that were still fragile.

Two hours later, Li Muge slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long, turbid breath. The breath was as condensed as substance, vaguely forming the shape of a small Qi snake in the air, hitting the wall with a soft "pop" sound before quietly dissipating.

"Finally adapted to the power of the Qi Refining Late Stage." He moved his neck, and his bones emitted a crisp sound. As he stood up, his gaze involuntarily drifted to the corner of the wall—a long object wrapped tightly in coarse cloth was quietly leaning there, and even in the dim room, it faintly emitted a chilling coldness that made one's heart palpitate.

Li Muge walked closer, and the moment his fingertips touched the coarse cloth, the cloth seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, sliding down abruptly, revealing a cold and stinging silver light! He flicked his wrist, the cloth completely unraveled, and a long spear with a cyan-black body appeared!

The spear was seven feet and two inches long, and the shaft was refined from a hundred-year-old iron birch tree heart, filled with natural, vigorous wood grain. It felt heavy in his hand, containing immense power. The spear tip was cold and sharp, and a long, thin blood groove on the blade edge revealed a chilling Killing Intent. Near the spear tassel, two ancient and vigorous small characters were deeply engraved—**Ink Dragon**.

Li Muge closed his five fingers, holding the spear shaft firmly, and a sense of familiarity, as if connected by blood, welled up. He flicked the spear blade with his finger, and a clear, Dragon-like vibration echoed in the silent room.

"Old friend," cold light flashed in his eyes, his whisper like ice, "It's time to move your bones."