Chapter 23: Practice Qi Level 4

After waiting for two hours, Wang Yu's fingers twitched slightly, and a small amount of alchemy experience and sensations emerged in his mind, as if he had personally refined a batch, though it had failed.

This felt different from any previous sensations, as he had no prior foundation in alchemy. His initial hands-on experience was poor, leaning heavily towards relying on intuition.

"So, this is what it feels like…" he muttered to himself. Wang Yu didn't dwell on it, knowing that by reading more books on pharmacology and medicinal properties in his daily life, he would eventually compensate for the gaps in his foundational knowledge.

The task was now in its latter half, with two months remaining. The spiritual energy within Wang Yu's body had almost solidified, with only the last three streams yet to merge. His eventual breakthrough time was roughly as predicted.

The room where Tantai Chan was in seclusion grew noisier by the day. The temperature near the house became progressively higher, as waves of medicinal fragrance permeated the air. His days in the herb garden were very peaceful; no one foolish dared to cause trouble. Thus, Wang Yu spent his most stable period.

On the one hundred eighty-ninth day, as Wang Yu sat cross-legged in meditation, the air around him twisted, and spiritual energy visibly gathered. In the silence, a faint "pop" seemed to sound. His aura ascended a level, his bones creaked as if undergoing a second growth spurt, completing a minor metamorphosis. His glabella itched intolerably, as if invisible tendrils had finally broken through the body's confines, allowing him to perceive the outside world. This was precisely the characteristic of divine sense leaving the body. Within a radius of about ten feet centered on his body, every minute detail was clear, no different from what his physical eyes could see.

Qi Condensation, Fourth Layer—achieved!

A hundred strands of spiritual energy transformed into ten more solidified, much denser streams, already having a misty feel. Though fewer in number, they could completely overpower his previous self. Most importantly, both Ice Sword Art and Ice Shield Art were mid-grade spells. This meant Wang Yu could finally fully unleash the power of both, and his combat power surged. The superficial aging caused by the rapid loss of lifespan also recovered with the breakthrough, and he no longer appeared aged. Most of his hair was still white, with only a little black emerging at the roots. He estimated it would only turn completely black after breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

Wang Yu was very excited. After all, with his waste spiritual root aptitude, reaching the mid-stage of Qi Condensation usually took a lifetime. He was only seventeen this year, with plenty of time left to cultivate. The "placement slot" was the main reason for his success!

Composing himself, Wang Yu tried activating the Night Concealment Charm. His aura instantly reverted to the third layer of Qi Condensation, with no flaws. The qualitative change in his spiritual energy significantly increased its effective duration, now lasting for the time it takes three incense sticks to burn, making it quite useful.

Cultivation at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation continued into the stage of accumulating spiritual energy. From ten streams, he needed to accumulate three hundred to break through to the fifth layer of Qi Condensation. At the rate of ten strands merging into one stream, this meant he needed 2,900 strands of spiritual energy. The cultivation difficulty increased by more than several times. According to the "placement slot" efficiency, with only one cultivation technique placed, it would take two days to generate one strand of spiritual energy. This would require 5,800 days, or more than sixteen years, to accumulate the spiritual energy and naturally break through. This number made Wang Yu's scalp tingle. The disadvantage of his aptitude was becoming increasingly apparent. One placement slot was no longer enough; even with two active, it would still take over eight years. Improving his aptitude was urgently needed. The "Cold Blood Art" had subtle effects in this regard, but these would only manifest upon its complete mastery.

"Oh right, with my cultivation breaking through to the mid-stage of Qi Condensation, the placement slot might have new changes…" Wang Yu was about to check when he suddenly sensed Tantai Chan's aura appear in the Wind-Piercing Hall. He quickly activated the Night Concealment Charm and went to greet her. She was a few days late compared to the agreed six months.

Upon meeting again, Tantai Chan inspected the herb garden's condition before releasing her aura to summon Wang Yu. Seeing his surprisingly handsome and youthful appearance, her brows furrowed.

"Wang Yu?"

"It is I. Greetings, Senior Tantai."

"Your appearance…"

Wang Yu had already prepared an explanation for this. Feeling the Foundation Establishment divine sense sweep over him, he cursed inwardly but kept his expression unchanged. "Wang Yu was born a spirit slave, and his lifespan was severely depleted, which caused his premature aging as a youth. Fortunately, he was promoted by True Heir Su, thus luckily advancing to the outer sect. In the past six months, with proper conditioning and having consumed many spiritual pills that replenish qi and blood, he has now recovered his original appearance."

Tantai Chan ignored all other explanations, only hearing a few crucial words: True Heir Su values him! Indeed, cases of spirit slaves advancing to the outer sect were extremely rare; such a special promotion certainly had other reasons. Tantai Chan's idea of withholding payment vanished, and her cold expression suddenly became much more amiable.

"I never heard you mention your connection with True Heir Su."

"Senior Tantai didn't ask, so Wang Yu naturally dared not say more."

"Very well." She took out her steward's token and gently tapped it on Wang Yu's black blood waist token. Two hundred contribution points were immediately credited, with the three hundred belonging to the Ice and Snow Pavilion already deducted.

"Many thanks, Senior Tantai." Wang Yu bowed, then spoke again, "I would like to purchase two stalks of 'Nine-Leaf Ice Grass' from the herb garden. I wonder if Your Excellency would be willing to sell them?"

Tantai Chan agreed after only a moment's thought. "Alright," she said. "If you are collecting spiritual herbs for alchemy, you can come find me once you have gathered everything. With my rank as a second-tier, mid-grade alchemist, helping you would be more than enough."

Wang Yu could only thank her again. After his cultivation breakthrough, he had roughly calculated the time needed to reach the fifth layer of Qi Condensation, making spiritual pills like the Cold Blood Pill, which could aid cultivation, very important. For something he would ingest himself, he wasn't at ease trusting others to refine it. This was also one of the reasons he insisted on learning alchemy! The demonic cultivation environment was too harsh; one's vigilance had to be at its maximum.

Rubbing his hands together, Wang Yu's expression became awkward. "Then, I wonder… what would be the price?"

Tantai Chan was silent for a moment. "Two stalks of Nine-Leaf Ice Grass are quite rare," she said. "The exchange price in the sect's treasury is 120 contribution points. How about I charge you 100 spirit stones per stalk?"

The value of spirit stones was generally considered half a step lower than contribution points, making this price very reasonable. Moreover, as it was the main ingredient for Cold Blood Pills, and auxiliary ingredients would be even cheaper, Wang Yu nodded repeatedly. He had just come into a windfall half a year ago, which he hadn't used for anything except food. The spirit stones Wang Yu offered were mixed with eighty catties of spirit sand, making it seem rather shabby.

After obtaining the desired items, he sealed them in a jade box. Preserving spiritual herbs was also a technical skill. Jade sealing was the most common and cheapest method, while slightly more advanced techniques used talisman sealing. There were also other methods like cauldron sealing, stone sealing, and wax sealing. Some old alchemists even had unique secret techniques. Any field of study in the cultivation world had existed for endless ages, and the content derived from them was so vast that one could not learn it all in a lifetime. Therefore, cultivators often only specialized in one or two supplementary skills. However, as their cultivation realm gradually improved, their scope of knowledge would also broaden. From a higher vantage point, it was normal for a Nascent Soul cultivator to master the Four Arts of the first and second tiers.