Chapter 34: Collection and Refinement

Just as he had first perceived, Chi Jiuyu was a person who could never sit still.

Soon after entering the villa, she picked out her room and began cleaning and organizing, for having often been cast by her master into the Starfield Battlefield for training, her storage ring was stocked with many daily necessities.

She laid down the sheets, took out the quilt and pillow, then flung herself onto the bed, rolled over, and lay sprawled out on her back.

She pulled out her phone and logged onto the Spirit Net to search.

'How to recover accidentally deleted chat records'

Quickly, many answers popped up, and Chi Jiuyu grinned.

Though her uncle's realm is high, he's only just emerged from seclusion—how well could he possibly know the Spirit Net?

The chat records her master specifically ordered deleted—how could she not be curious? Not looking would be impossible; even if she'd be punished later, that'd be the future her, not the present one.

Xu Xing knew nothing of this; though his senior sister's disciple was interesting, he couldn't possibly monitor her every moment.

At this moment, he sat in his study, a laptop before him, inserting the crystal card storing the 'Basic Collection and Refinement Method' into the side slot.

【Reading, please wait…】

The crystal card emitted a faint aura fluctuation, rapidly spreading outward.

'A theft-prevention system.'

Xu Xing slightly raised his hand and suppressed the faint aura fluctuation.

This was within his expectations—Collection and Refinement Methods aren't suited for widespread dissemination.

The vast majority of Qi Condensation cultivators lack the foundation to meet the threshold of the Heaven-Born Dao Base; they can't even pass the first stage. If they forcibly draw starlight into their bodies, they'll suffer injury at best, lose all cultivation at worst, and some with frail physiques will be killed outright by the pain.

After suppressing the aura fluctuation, text began appearing on the computer screen.

'Basic Collection and Refinement Method'

Hundreds of characters flowed freely—the opening matched Xu Xing's memory: sit facing the moon at midnight, then mobilize three-tenths of one's spiritual power to form the 'Star-Fishing' Seal.

The 'Star-Fishing' Seal isn't complex; most cultivators succeed after two or three attempts. The only caution is to output spiritual power calmly.

After drawing in the starlight, the key is how to 'collect' it into the body.

Starlight has no form or substance—only spiritual soul force can capture it, yet this is like a mortal trying to grasp thorns barehanded.

Even skin and flesh tearing hurts; how much more so for a Qi Condensation cultivator's fragile spiritual soul?

Thus, many cannot endure this step.

After 'collecting' starlight into the body, one must 'refine' it, blending it into one's spiritual power to imbue the spiritual power with a trace of true essence, preparing for later stages of absorbing lunar and solar essence.

But starlight is extremely sharp; its passage through the meridians causes pain comparable to being sliced by a thousand knives.

Those with insufficient foundation may force starlight into their dantian, yet still fail due to weak spiritual power roots, over-refining it.

When this occurs, the spiritual power acquires a trace of starlight's nature—exceedingly sharp, its quality surpassing even true essence from external Foundation Establishment.

Still, every time one activates spiritual power, one relives the 'refinement' process—that agony is unbearable.

The 'Basic Collection and Refinement Method' created by the Holy Emperor Yuan added one extra step to the 'refinement' phase.

The cultivator must first condense a spiritual seal within the dantian; after drawing starlight into the dantian, they do not immediately refine it, but store it within the seal, releasing it bit by bit to slowly erode it—though slower, the pain is far milder than other Collection and Refinement Methods.

It's a clever trick—but can this truly forge a Heaven-Born Dao Base?

The probability is low.

Solar and lunar essence cannot be handled this way.

Thus, there was one final note from him.

【Though this method reduces pain during starlight refinement, it cannot be used in later stages. If you feel unable to endure the first stage, abandon it immediately and expel the spiritual seal along with the stored starlight from your body.】

Expelling the spiritual seal will cost some cultivation, but it's better than over-refining or failing in later stages.

A spiritual seal formed from spiritual power cannot carry the forces of the next two stages; higher-level energies that intervene will instead corrupt the cultivator's foundation.

This is why the Heaven-Born Dao Base is so hard to forge—what truly matters is the cultivator themselves.

'It does give more people a chance to try.'

Xu Xing withdrew the crystal card and crushed it into ash with a thread of magic power.

………… Xuanjian City Hospital.

Xiao Fan exchanged his second-place prize from today's Duel Test for spirit coins and paid the surgery fee.

Watching his parents embrace, weeping with joy, and seeing his elder brother taken away by the Nascent Soul physician, his heart felt hollow.

Dazed, he rose and walked outside.

His mother, seeing this, opened her mouth to say something, but his father pulled her back and shook his head.

Xiao Fan walked out of the hospital.

Reaching a flowerbed, where bright yellow flowers bloomed perfectly, he suddenly felt utterly drained and slowly sat down beside it.

Gazing at the ground, his eyes were clouded with confusion.

Yes, his elder brother had exceptional talent—he joined the Longxiang Qingtianzong before the Gao San exams three years ago.

He was also always kind to him, occasionally sending back precious cultivation resources, which is precisely why Xiao Fan reached Qi Condensation Ninth Layer in Gao San.

'Xiao Fan, study hard at school. I've checked—the Combat Merit List has Longxiang Pills. I'll get you one!'

He was truly kind.

Xiao Fan had always deeply admired his elder brother, dreaming of one day joining the Longxiang Qingtianzong like him.

But the Starfield Battlefield isn't an amusement park—it's an extremely dangerous battlefield where anyone might die.

When he saw his brother lying unconscious on the hospital bed, his mind went blank.

The Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect offered some aid, and his parents borrowed everything they could, yet still fell short.

So Xiao Fan thought of the upcoming Duel Test.

He hid it from his parents, secretly took money from home, and bought a Breakthrough Spirit Elixir.

The events replayed in his mind—all of this was his own choice, yet… why did it still hurt so much?

Tears streamed down uncontrollably.

He understood that his life… was over.

"Young man, you look terribly sad."

A pair of polished leather shoes appeared in his line of sight. Xiao Fan wiped his tears and raised his head.

The person before him wore a casual outfit that didn't match those leather shoes at all—ordinary in appearance, with a gentle temperament.

Moreover, there was a strange feeling about him that made anyone who saw him think at first glance, 'This guy's a total pushover, I should bully him a bit.'

"Here, wipe up." He handed over a tissue.

"…Thank you." Xiao Fan took the tissue. "Are you here because of my big brother?"

He was already a cripple.

"Your big brother?" That person shook his head slightly. "No, I'm not interested in him."

As if performing a magic trick, a jade box appeared in that person's hand.

"An ancient treasure—consume it and you can change your fate, gain a great fortune. Care to learn more?"

"…"

So he's a salesman. I'm already this miserable—can't you see that? But Xiao Fan didn't have the strength to chase him off either.

"I have no money. I can't afford it."

"During the promotion, free trial. Now or never."

That person stuffed the jade box into his hand, then turned and left directly.

Huh? Just like that? Xiao Fan stared blankly at the jade box in his hand for a while. After much hesitation, he ultimately chose not to throw it away.

On the hospital rooftop, that person watched Xiao Fan pocket the jade box and couldn't help but nod. Then he looked up toward a certain spot, as if speaking with someone.

"Dao Brother, I wonder how much progress you've made since coming out of seclusion this time?"

Begging for favorites, begging for follows!! (End of chapter)