61

Qingchen sat cross-legged, his body enveloped in a tangible aura of spiritual energy, shimmering faintly in the darkness.

Months of seclusion had swelled his spiritual energy, transforming his internal energy into a powerful, flowing energy.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged forth, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, crashing and raging through his meridians.

Each impact brought a tearing pain, yet he also felt his physical body and magical power undergoing a transformation;

—like mortal iron being forged through countless hammer blows, eventually becoming steel.

As night deepened, the chirping of insects outside the cave abruptly ceased.

The spiritual energy that had accumulated within Qingchen suddenly surged, like a flood bursting its banks, roaring and surging through his meridians.

He clearly sensed that the bottleneck that had bound him for so long was loosening.

Just one more step, and he would step into a completely new realm.

He did not use the treasured Little Xuan Pill.

His mid-grade spiritual root meant his cultivation bottleneck wasn't nearly as severe as that of cultivators with miscellaneous or low-grade spiritual roots.

"Now!"

Qing Chen's mind raced, and the three drops of essence blood in his Brahma Aperture simultaneously ignited!

Like throwing a raging fire into a furnace, the already surging spiritual energy instantly became violently violent!

A gale suddenly arose within the cave, sending pebbles and dust flying, only to be pulverized by the fierce spiritual energy.

"Boom—"

A deafening roar, audible only to him, exploded in his sea of ​​consciousness.

The bottleneck shattered instantly, and surging power rushed to his limbs and bones like a tidal wave.

Qi Refining Level 4, achieved! He officially entered the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

The transformation after the breakthrough astonished him.

His physical strength skyrocketed, and his internal organs were enveloped in a layer of warm spiritual light.

His magical power had also increased significantly.

Just as he was immersed in the joy of this breakthrough, the second level of the *Brahma Demon Refining Technique* naturally emerged.

Carefully circulating the second level's techniques, he discovered an offensive spell within—Blood Qi Transformation!

This secret technique could condense the blood and qi within his body into a physical form for attack or defense, possessing astonishing power!

Without hesitation, Qing Chen immediately began to comprehend it.

Following the guidance of the techniques, he activated the new magical power nurtured by the second level, gathering the blood and qi throughout his body in his palm.

"Condense!"

With a low shout, a blood-red blade pierced through the air.

Amidst a piercing shriek, the cave's stone wall cracked open, the fissure several feet deep, the cut surface smooth as a mirror.

Qing Chen's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and as his hands moved swiftly, blood and qi surged around him.

A blood-red longsword materialized in his palm, its blade flowing with a dark red luster, trembling slightly as if alive.

He swung his sword at the stone wall, each strike accompanied by a roar of blood and qi.

If he were to burn his essence blood to manifest a physical form, the power would surge instantly.

The sword's momentum was invisible, effortless, and difficult for the enemy to defend against.

With his current cultivation level, the power of 'Essence Blood Manifestation' was already comparable to a mid-grade magic weapon!

Even better, this method did not consume spiritual energy, making it an excellent trump card for surprise attacks.

As Qingchen's cultivation level increased, the power of 'Essence Blood Manifestation' would become even stronger!

"This spell, according to the description, is probably no less powerful than a Xuan-rank secret technique!!"

If the manifested blood and qi were attached to a magic weapon, its power would be greatly enhanced.

Compared to the simple and crude method of burning essence blood to infuse magic weapons before, this method was infinitely more refined.

Through a year of arduous cultivation, he not only made breakthroughs in the *Brahma Demon Refining Technique*, but also never slacked off in his practice of the *Demon Seed Golden Lotus*.

At this moment, he introspected, seeing his spiritual energy abundant and flowing, subtly shimmering with golden light.

What surprised him even more was the change in his divine sense—his perception range had expanded to twenty zhang, reaching the threshold of the late Qi Refining stage!

This meant that in combat, he could detect danger earlier and control magical artifacts more precisely.

In the treacherous world of cultivation, this advantage was enough to determine life and death.

"My divine sense strength has finally reached the requirement for condensing the Demon Seed," Qingchen thought with delight.

According to the *Demon Seed Golden Lotus*, to condense the Demon Seed, one must first divide the divine soul.

This step was extremely dangerous; the slightest mistake would result in the annihilation of both soul and spirit.

Therefore, cultivators must begin tempering their divine soul from the early Qi Refining stage until it is as resilient as iron.

Qing Chen held his breath, focusing his mind deep into his sea of ​​consciousness. He then took out the old futon from Beiman Mountain on Juexian Island and sat down.

Through years of tempering, his soul was extremely solid, far surpassing that of ordinary cultivators, radiating a warm light within his sea of ​​consciousness.

He cautiously extended his divine sense, like a healer wielding a sharp blade, slowly approaching his own soul.

With each step forward, the instinctive resistance from his soul grew stronger.

Invisible pressure surged from all directions, attempting to repel his divine sense.

Cold sweat soaked his clothes, but he dared not relax for a moment.

Finally, his divine sense touched his soul—an area refined through countless secret techniques.

This is it!

"I need to cut off a small piece."

Qing Chen tentatively reached out his mental hand and touched his soul. The ball of light trembled, and his temples throbbed instantly, a piercing pain shooting through him.

He didn't dare rush, trying three times first, each time only touching briefly before stopping.

On the fourth try, his mental hand formed a claw, slowly digging into the edge of his soul.

The moment it touched, a sharp pain exploded from the back of his head, like a red-hot needle piercing his brain, and his vision instantly went black.

"Damn it, this is worse than being pinched by a rock crab!"

Qingchen's fingers gripped the edge of the stone bed tightly, his nails digging into the wood, leaving several deep marks.

He dared not stop.

If he let go, all his previous strength would be wasted, and his soul might even be damaged.

His mental hand pinched deeper and deeper, shaping the pale white primordial spirit into a small, sharp point.

With each deeper pinch, his ears buzzed, and even breathing became difficult, as if a hand was choking him.

"Ah—"

An indescribable pain instantly swept through his entire body, far worse than being sliced ​​into pieces.

It felt as if countless red-hot iron pincers were tearing at his soul, trying to rip him to shreds.

His consciousness trembled violently, his