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The moment the pill entered his throat, it instantly melted into a surge of spiritual energy.

The force was overwhelming, like a wild bull rampaging through his body. His meridians ached from the strain, and even his chest heaved, as if it were about to explode.

"Hmph!" Qingchen groaned.

He had anticipated the pill's potency, so he didn't panic. Instead, he used the pain to calm himself.

As the spiritual energy surged towards his dantian, he suddenly bit his tongue, instantly clearing his mind.

His internal energy, like a whip, lashed out at the surging spiritual energy, forcing it to pause.

"Go to the dantian!" Qingchen commanded inwardly, guiding his internal energy little by little towards his dantian.

The process was excruciating, causing veins to bulge on his forehead and cold sweat to drip down his face.

But he dared not relax. If the spiritual energy got out of control, forget about breaking through; even ruptured meridians would be the least of his worries.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the spiritual energy was finally guided into his dantian.

Just as Qingchen was about to catch his breath, he felt as if his dantian was being filled with hot water, scalding him and making him tremble.

Then, the meridians around his dantian suddenly made a soft "crack," as if a thin shell had shattered—the shackles of a second-rate master!

Using this momentum, the spiritual energy surged through the meridians to his limbs and bones.

Wherever it passed, the previously tense muscles gradually relaxed, and even the calluses left from practicing the *Jade Forging Technique* felt faintly warm.

What surprised him even more was that when the spiritual energy swept across his brow, he suddenly felt a subtle fluctuation of spiritual energy, as if struck by a divine inspiration!

This resonance with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth filled Qingchen with joy.

"A perfect opportunity!" His heart warmed, and he immediately began circulating the *Eternal Spring Inner Landscape Technique*.

Previously, when guiding spiritual energy with internal force, the power was like a wild horse; now, following the cultivation method, it was as gentle as a stream.

He used his mind to guide the spiritual energy, first circling it three times around the Qi Sea (CV6), and only after the warm current had stabilized did he slowly guide it towards the Ren Meridian!

From the Qi Sea to the Tanzhong (CV17), then to the throat, and finally to the Baihui (GV20) on the top of the head, each step felt like warm water flowing through his meridians, so comfortable he almost groaned.

Then the spiritual energy flowed down the Du Meridian, past the Yangguan (GV23) on the waist, through the Mingmen (GV4), and back to the Qi Sea.

After this cycle, Qingchen suddenly felt like he was on a cloud!

Multicolored lights floated before his eyes, red like fire, green like leaves, swirling around him endlessly, and he could faintly hear the sound of flowing water.

He knew this was the "internal landscape" mentioned in the cultivation method, a sign of smooth spiritual energy circulation, and he couldn't help but grin.

"This is merely a basic cultivation technique at the Yellow Rank, only the initial stage of Qi Refining, yet it already possesses such wondrous qualities. Wouldn't the deeper realms of cultivation be even more captivating?"

An indescribable joy welled up within him, far surpassing the elation he felt upon breaking through to the second-rate expert level.

This refinement continued until the wee hours of the morning.

As dawn broke outside the window, Qingchen slowly finished his practice.

He opened his eyes, raised his hand to examine it, and found his skin significantly smoother than before, even the old scars on his wrists had faded—a sign of reaching the first level of Qi Refining!

The satisfaction of successfully completing the initial stage of the *Changchun Inner Landscape Technique* was a hundred times more intense than the breakthrough to the second-rate expert level.

His Qi Sea also began to gather wisps of thin spiritual energy, stepping into the first level of Qi Refining.

But his joy was short-lived; he frowned.

"Why is the spiritual energy in this world so thin?"

After refining the elixir's spiritual energy, Qingchen attempted to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

However, he was surprised to find that the spiritual energy in the air was so thin it was almost imperceptible.

"The spiritual energy in the air is so thin. Even if I meditate and cultivate for ten or twenty years, I probably still won't be able to break through to the second level of Qi Refining."

This environment could only maintain his current cultivation level from regressing.

To further strengthen the spiritual energy within his dantian was nothing short of a pipe dream.

According to the *Xuanyou Records*, a mid-grade spiritual root cultivator in the early stages of Qi Refining, without encountering bottlenecks, could break through to the next level in about two years.

The mid-stage of Qi Refining takes three to five years to break through to the next level, and the later stages require even longer.

Theoretically, a mid-grade spiritual root cultivator who embarks on the path of cultivation at sixteen years old

if the path is smooth and without obstacles, it would only take thirty to forty years to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining.

However, the path of cultivation is fraught with difficulties.

If one encounters those elusive bottlenecks, even some with mid-grade spiritual roots might never reach the peak of Qi Refining in their entire lives.

"A single pill is enough to enter the path of cultivation? This *Xuan You Jian Wen Lu* says sensing spiritual energy is so difficult? Why not just give everyone a pill? That would be much simpler, far better than sitting in meditation for a month."

Qing Chen muttered to himself.

But what he didn't know was that while guiding spiritual energy into the body was tedious and monotonous,

no one would dare bestow pills upon newcomers to cultivation.

After all, they hadn't truly embarked on the path of immortality, nor had they diligently cultivated internal energy; they were still mortal beings, no different from ordinary people.

Qing Chen had previously used only a fragment of a pill, yet it had caused the prisoner to vomit blood and suffer severe injuries.

Therefore, if someone were to take it rashly, there was a risk of their body exploding.

Just then, Qing Chen suddenly smelled a strange odor, like rust mixed with oil.

He looked down and was immediately both amused and exasperated: his body was covered in a thick layer of black grime that crumbled at the slightest rub, dripping from between his fingers, and even his clothes were soaked and smelled foul.

"This is too filthy! This must be the legendary cleansing of the marrow and tendons!"

He stood up, stretched his arms, and felt a sense of lightness wash over him.

The soreness from practicing the Jade Forging Technique was completely gone, and his senses were frighteningly sharp.

"Cultivation is truly amazing! I've become an immortal, haha!"

He could even see the patterns on the feathers of a bird in the neighboring yard flapping its wings.

With a slight movement, the grime on Qingchen's body fell off as quickly as autumn leaves.

He tried throwing a punch, and his inner energy surged through his arm more than twice as fast as before.

The force of the punch whooshed through the air, making the oil lamp on the table flicker.

He was now completely transformed, his strength and innate talent surpassing that of ordinary second-rate masters.

This extraordinary perception allowed him to move with ease in battle, swiftly seizing opportunities and making the most precise reactions.

"If I encountered my former self again, I could send him flying with a single punch," Qingchen thought to himself, then touched the area around his dantian.

That little bit of spiritual energy, though scarce, was like a seed.

As long as he could leave the Immortal-Slaying Island and find a place with abundant spiritual energy, it would surely take root, sprout, and soar to great heights.

He walked to a corner of the secret chamber, added some hot water to the bucket, took off his clothes, and jumped in.

The black mud dissolved upon contact with water, leaving a layer of oil on the surface.

Qingchen rubbed his arms, his mind racing: Now that he was a second-rate expert and had crossed the threshold of cultivation, the next step was to find the city lord's token.

Li Muyun said the token was bestowed by the emperor, and it was most likely hidden in a secret chamber of the city lord's mansion.

How to get in—he needed to figure that out ca