Chapter 12
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Chapter 12: Qi Refining Level 4
Yue Qianchou naturally didn’t know what his master outside was thinking and was desperately competing with the golden bead. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but the golden bead, which had been spinning faster and faster, finally slowly decelerated and was now rotating at a constant speed. Yue Qianchou was overjoyed, thinking to himself that this fellow had finally eaten its fill. The true qi converted from spiritual energy immediately surged in, and the dantian inflated at a visible speed.
Damn! The dantian could only be inflated to two-thirds of its original size before it couldn’t expand anymore. Yue Qianchou had already cursed the white fox’s ancestors for eighteen generations—giving him this thing was nothing but harmful. In his current state, he feared he couldn’t even reach the Foundation Establishment stage, and his dream of sword flying would be cut short.
While he was feeling frustrated, the golden bead rotating at constant speed suddenly emitted dazzling light, and the dantian immediately became scorching hot. The heat made Yue Qianchou unbearably restless. The true qi that had been unable to squeeze in for so long suddenly rushed in. The already formed dantian began inflating again. Yue Qianchou was stunned—the opportunity had come, and he couldn’t care about anything else. Enduring the heat, he pushed the Mysterious Heaven Technique to its limit again, and true qi continuously poured in.
After an unknown amount of time, when the dantian had grown five or six times larger, the golden bead’s light dimmed, as if it had awakened, and was now moving along a certain trajectory. True qi could no longer be injected, but Yue Qianchou was quite satisfied. Given the current volume of his dantian, cultivating to that Tribulation Crossing stage shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Thinking of this, he felt secretly pleased. Successfully inflating the dantian meant entering Qi Refining Level 1. He decided to test it according to the first level of Qi Refining in the Mysterious Heaven Technique. When he guided out the true qi, it indeed flowed smoothly through his meridians. After several cycles, Yue Qianchou’s spirits soared, and his heart was overjoyed. Thinking of the circulation route for Qi Refining Level 2, he gritted his teeth, redirected his true qi, and charged toward those unfamiliar meridians.
The powerful true qi surged forward with unstoppable momentum. The pain from expanding meridians was inevitable. Yue Qianchou was in pain but happy at the same time. Gritting his teeth, he forcibly circulated the qi. The second-level circuit was connected, his whole body trembled, and after the true qi circulated for several cycles, the previously painful meridians instantly became warm, and his entire being felt as if floating on air.
“Comfortable! True qi advance, target the third-level circuit, haha!” Yue Qianchou commanded his true qi to charge again. The unstoppable airflow rolled forward, breaking through all obstacles and completing the circulation.
“Damn! Target the fourth-level circuit, charge!” Yue Qianchou’s mind was everywhere. His true qi was still fierce, but the resistance was stubborn and the pain immense. Halfway through the assault, he had to pause to regulate his breathing, cursing silently: ‘The little devils aren’t good enough! Time to switch tactics.’
“The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades must continue to work hard. For the great cause of cultivation, comrades, charge!” Yue Qianchou adjusted his true qi circulation to the limit and was invincible all the way. The intense pain made his body tremble slightly. He bit the tip of his tongue, held his strength, and broke through the last obstacle in one go.
Instantly, his body felt as if soaking in a hot spring, comfortable all over. True qi circulated repeatedly, and the sensation of all eight extraordinary meridians being connected was truly wonderful. After enjoying it, he returned to reality. Yue Qianchou thought to himself: ‘Have I mastered the elementary techniques of the Mysterious Heaven Technique? Have I already reached Level 4? Well! I still need to ask my master to be sure.’
He slowly retracted his true qi into the dantian, exploring the enormous dantian space. Suddenly, he thought of a question—if his dantian was this large, wouldn’t his belly become like a pregnant woman’s?
A month had passed, and his disciple still hadn’t finished his cultivation and awakened. How could a normal person possibly inflate their dantian for a month? Hao Sansi stood in front of the bed with a heavy expression, already certain that something was wrong with his disciple. Just as he was considering whether to intervene and investigate, a scream rang out.
Yue Qianchou jumped up from the bed, looking as if he’d seen a ghost, his hands constantly feeling around his abdomen. After a long while, he patted his chest and sighed: “Thank goodness, thank goodness, I didn’t become a pregnant woman. That scared me to death!” Suddenly seeing an old face approaching, he was startled again. After seeing clearly, he exhaled: “Master! It’s you!”
Hao Sansi looked him up and down suspiciously: “You’ve been sitting for a whole month—are you alright?”
“Hehe! I’m fine!” Yue Qianchou patted his chest loudly and laughed: “Master! I succeeded!” Then he was stunned and asked: “I sat for a month?”
“What do you think? I’ve been guarding the door for you for a whole month. How is this possible? Inflating the dantian—most people need at most five days, but you sat there for a whole month. You’re not pulling my leg, are you?” Hao Sansi asked.
Yue Qianchou chuckled. It must be because of the golden bead in his dantian. Now he didn’t know whether he should tell his master or not. After thinking it over, he decided not to say anything for now. He shook his head: “I don’t know what happened either.”
Hao Sansi didn’t ask further. He sighed, patted his disciple’s shoulder, and said: “You’ve now entered Qi Refining Level 1. Since there’s hope, you need to cultivate diligently. When you reach Qi Refining Level 4, you can practice techniques.”
“Uh…” Yue Qianchou scratched his head awkwardly and said sheepishly: “Master! I have something I want to ask you. Please help me take a look.”
Hao Sansi nodded. Yue Qianchou extended his palm, and white true qi emerged from his palm, gradually forming a lotus bud about to bloom. He forcefully urged the true qi, and the bud gently swayed as one petal slowly opened. After it opened, the bud swayed again, and the second petal gradually unfolded.
“Qi Refining Level 2!” Hao Sansi’s voice trembled. His disciple had actually broken through to Qi Refining Level 2 in just one month. In his amazement, the third petal opened, and Hao Sansi’s eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
When the fourth petal unfolded, Yue Qianchou was already sweating profusely, obviously having pushed his true qi to its limit. His face slightly pale, he asked: “Master! Does this count as reaching Qi Refining Level 4?”
“Put it away!” The amazement on Hao Sansi’s face disappeared, replaced by a solemn expression. After his disciple retracted the true qi, he said carefully: “Qianchou, although your master doesn’t know what happened to you, you absolutely must not tell anyone about your dantian inflation. Remember—you must not tell anyone! As for your successful cultivation, it can’t be hidden forever. If anyone asks, just say that shortly after becoming my disciple, you successfully inflated your dantian, and it was your master who told you to keep it secret. You absolutely must not say that you entered the path and reached Qi Refining Level 4 within this month. Otherwise, I fear it will bring you great trouble. Your master’s words—you must remember them!”
Speaking of this, there’s something that must be explained: Hao Sansi, who had always been alone, had already begun to develop the mentality of treating Yue Qianchou as his son.
Hearing his master’s words, Yue Qianchou was first happy—he had really reached Qi Refining Level 4. But he wasn’t stupid either. His master spoke so seriously, and thinking about how he’d been in the Azure Light Sect for so long, he indeed had never heard of anyone who could cultivate to Qi Refining Level 4 in one month. It was said that even someone with extremely high talent took nearly a year to reach Qi Refining Level 4. Achieving it in one month was truly impossible—it was probably related to the golden bead in his body. He believed there were many people in this world who would harbor evil intentions upon seeing treasure. His master’s words made sense. He immediately nodded seriously: “This disciple understands what master means and will definitely keep it in mind.”
“Eh! This is really strange—I actually can’t tell your cultivation level!” Hao Sansi looked at his disciple strangely, then suddenly shook his head: “Forget it, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know either.”
Yue Qianchou shrugged and smiled bitterly: “Master, even if you asked me, I wouldn’t know clearly. I only know it might have something to do with the forbidden area in the back mountain.” He said this with a guilty conscience. Actually, he already knew in his heart that it must be the golden bead’s doing. But due to his experience of two lifetimes, and after hearing his master’s earlier words, he decided to keep the matter of the golden bead to himself. It wasn’t that he feared what his master might do, but some truths are often like this… There are certain things that can’t be said even to the closest people. It’s not that he didn’t trust them, but it was for their good and his own good—that way everyone would be well!
“The forbidden area in the back mountain?” Hao Sansi murmured. His disciple often ran to the back mountain, so it probably was related to that. Then he shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
A few days later, Yue Qianchou was meditating on the bed when Hao Sansi came in and threw a pile of things onto the bed. The former finished his practice and woke up, while the latter smiled: “I’m going out for a month. Here are some spirit stones for you to absorb during cultivation. That book is one I copied for you—it contains all the techniques for the Qi Refining stage. And that sword—I collected it for you. When practicing, find a secluded place and don’t let anyone see you. Although your cultivation level is high enough to qualify for carrying a sword, the sect hasn’t officially granted you one yet. It wouldn’t look good if people saw. Keep your cultivation level secret for as long as you can!”
Yue Qianchou flipped through the book and asked puzzledly: “Where is master going?”
Hao Sansi smiled: “Ha! Your cultivation speed is divine. For this ‘Rising Star Conference,’ I’m going to pester Senior Brother Sect Leader to let me contribute. Tomorrow I’ll lead a team with several senior brothers. When the Foundation Establishment Pills are distributed, I’ll have the nerve to ask for one or two to prepare for your foundation building.”
“Mm!” Yue Qianchou nodded, biting his lip without saying anything, his eyes slightly red. How could he not know that this drunkard master was used to being lazy, but now actively requested work—all for his sake.
The next day, his master left. Yue Qianchou chose a time when no one was around, shouldered a pack of things, stood at the entrance of the forbidden cave, took a deep breath, and walked in.
