Chapter 49: Qi Refining Sixth Layer

After discussing with Grandfather, Lin Zhangqing returned to his bedroom.

After much thought, he concluded he still needed to boost his strength; currently at the peak of Qi Refining Fifth Layer, he could only break through to Qi Refining Sixth Layer by consuming a Vermilion Fruit.

"Sigh! This damn Beast Tide has thrown everything into chaos!" He took out a Vermilion Fruit, ate it in a few bites, carefully stored the remaining core, and began circulating his Heavenly Cycle to refine the Spiritual Energy within the fruit's flesh.

He guided the Spiritual Energy to rush toward the final acupoint of the sixth meridian. "Boom!" A loud noise echoed in his mind; the Spiritual Energy successfully burst through the last acupoint and surged straight toward the seventh meridian, forcing open more than ten additional acupoints before finally stopping.

Spiritual Energy from the surroundings rushed into Lin Zhangqing's body, bringing a wave of refreshing comfort; he felt a qualitative leap in his life force, as a layer of gray filth was excreted from his skin surface, and his aura surged dramatically.

Having no time to savor this sensation, he hastily calmed his mind and blocked out external disturbances; gazing at the fully unblocked sixth meridian, he continuously circulated his Heavenly Cycle, beginning to fully consolidate his cultivation base.

Since this Spiritual Energy was not cultivated through his own efforts, it would require more time to stabilize this realm.

Fortunately, he was now quite experienced; by dawn, he had preliminarily completed the process, and the remainder could be slowly consolidated over the next few months.

After washing off the gray filth from his body, he saw that Grandfather had already arrived, announcing his breakthrough to Qi Refining!

Everyone was quite happy to see Lin Zhangqing break through to Qi Refining Sixth Layer, especially now with the danger of the Beast Tide looming; any increase in strength was beneficial.

The happiest of all was his mother; the more outstanding her son became, the prouder she felt.

After all, her son was not yet sixteen, only officially turning sixteen after the New Year; currently, Lin Zhangqing's cultivation base could be said to rank among the forefront of his generation.

Just like Lin Changyuan, the son of his Fifth Uncle, he was at Qi Refining Sixth Layer; the two of them represented the highest level of cultivation within the Chang Generation of the Lin family.

Before anyone else could speak, Grandfather interrupted them and called his parents and Second Uncle into the Cultivation Room.

Lin Zhangqing knew Grandfather intended to have them consume Earth Soul Fruits to awaken their Divine Sense and enhance their strength.

Moreover, refining the Earth Soul Fruits would take some time for the three of them, so they would not emerge quickly; thus, he did not wait outside.

Flying straight toward Aoyun Peak, Lin Zhangqing prepared to conduct an experiment with the Purple Crystal Scorpion; as soon as he approached, Chu Yi flew over, but since he had matters on his mind today, he only played with Chu Yi for a short while.

Then, locating where the Purple Crystal Scorpions were kept, he selected one of medium size, fed it two Vermilion Fruits, and immediately after it finished eating, it fell into a deep sleep.

Lin Zhangqing watched it with some concern; silently sensing inwardly, he found its life aura steady and gradually strengthening, showing no signs of trouble for now.

Only then did he set his mind at ease, acknowledging that his earlier action had been somewhat like pulling up seedlings to help them grow; he stored the sleeping Purple Crystal Scorpion in his Spirit Insect Bag for convenient observation at any time.

Fortunately, the Purple Crystal Scorpion was robust enough to withstand and digest two Hundred-Year Vermilion Fruits at once; after this one awakened, he would observe it, and if there were no issues, Lin Zhangqing planned to feed two Hundred-Year Vermilion Fruits to all of them.

Although doing so could rapidly enhance their strength, it would certainly require more time for digestion.

As for Chu Yi, he would wait and see how this Purple Crystal Scorpion's digestion progressed; after inspecting the Spirit Medicine and spirit rice in the Spirit Fields, he decided they would all ripen within two days, so it was best to hand them over to the Affairs Hall early to focus his energy on dealing with the Beast Tide.

With his decision made, he began today's task of accelerating the growth of Spirit Medicine; Grandfather was about to depart for Pingyang Market, and it was unknown how long he would be gone; Lin Zhangqing needed to go to Baicao Garden to help keep watch, wondering when his aunt would emerge from closed-door cultivation, as he missed her somewhat; after settling everything, Lin Zhangqing flew toward the Affairs Hall to agree on a time with his Fourth Grandfather for harvesting the Spirit Medicine; fortunately, there were not many people today, and after waiting a short while, it was Lin Zhangqing's turn.

Upon seeing his Fourth Grandfather, he promptly bowed and greeted him, then mentioned the matter of harvesting the Spirit Medicine; Fourth Elder agreed immediately and set a specific time.

After completing this, he bid farewell and flew toward Baicao Garden.

After a busy day, upon returning home, everyone was brimming with joy; it seemed they had all successfully refined the Earth Soul Fruits and should have awakened their Divine Sense, though it remained unknown how extensive the range of their Divine Sense was.

Possessing Divine Sense would make them much safer during this Beast Tide; he told his family that the Spirit Medicine and spirit rice on Aoyun Peak would ripen in two days, and everyone expressed willingness to go help with the harvest, even his younger sister Lin Changling indicating she wanted to participate.

All that remained was to wait for news from Grandfather and the others, though it was eighty or ninety percent certain that the Beast Tide was confirmed; he hoped everyone would pass through this ordeal smoothly.

Returning to his room to continue consolidating his cultivation base, he felt that in the current situation, every slight increase in strength counted.

Facing such a large-scale Beast Tide, perhaps only cultivation could bring Lin Zhangqing peace of mind.

There was also the matter of the three Heart Earth Lotus plants grown in his Space; Lin Zhangqing had not paid them much attention, only accelerating their growth until they bloomed, using them to decorate the Space.

Since the Beast Tide was approaching, he might as well accelerate them to full maturity; by then, from the three lotus pods, he would keep one as Spirit Seeds and send the other two lotus pods off!

Second-Rank Lotus Heart Pills possessed the effects of healing injuries and detoxifying; with this kind of Pill, more clan members could survive this Beast Tide.

Thinking thus, he decided to include the three Heart Earth Lotus plants in tonight's acceleration targets; he estimated that after three accelerations, the lotus pods would be ensured to reach full maturity.

The next morning, after completing his basic cultivation, Lin Zhangqing flew toward Aoyun Peak; Chu Yi spotted him from afar and flew over to play around him, but today Lin Zhangqing did not accompany it in play.

His main purpose was to check on yesterday's Purple Crystal Scorpion to see if it could digest being fed two Vermilion Fruits at once.

Opening the Spirit Insect Bag, he found the little creature inside had already awakened; holding it in his hand to examine it, he discovered its body size had increased.

It was now approximately 45 centimeters long, its purple color had obviously deepened, and its tail needle measured about eight or nine centimeters, shimmering with cold light and appearing far more lethal.

Judging by its Spiritual Pressure, it had already reached the stage of First Rank Middle Stage; holding it in his hand, he could feel waves of chill, and if not for the fact that Lin Zhangqing was its master, he might have felt an even greater sense of threat from it.

This was excellent! With the Purple Crystal Scorpion successfully advancing and its strength greatly increased, it would be of even greater help to Lin Zhangqing during this Beast Tide.

Since it could digest them smoothly, there was nothing more to say; he summoned the scorpion herd over.

After working busily for half a day, feeding each Purple Crystal Scorpion two Hundred-Year Vermilion Fruits, they all fell into deep sleep; he stored them all in the Spirit Insect Bag, as this was the safest method, and by tomorrow when they awakened, they would all be First Rank Middle Stage Spirit Insects.

As for the remaining 248 Vermilion Fruit cores, Lin Zhangqing considered for a moment, then took out a Jade Box to store them first; planting too many Zhu Fruit Trees would be impossible to digest for now, so he would set them aside, as they might prove useful in the future.

After exchanging the Spirit Medicine with the Affairs Hall tomorrow, Lin Zhangqing planned to see if there were any good Defensive Magical Artifacts available; currently, his only one was a damaged Lower Grade Defense Artifact, a spoil from the previous battle.

Lin Zhangqing did not think much of it, so he had not sent it for repair; he would exchange it with the Affairs Hall next time along with other items, to avoid taking up space.

He also needed to prepare some Spirit Returning Pills and Spring Return Pills; having these items on hand would certainly ensure he was prepared for any eventuality, and once news of the Beast Tide spread, the prices of these Spirit Pills would definitely rise.

Alternatively, he could consider visiting the Wanbao Pavilion in Pingyang Market tomorrow after the Spirit Medicine harvest was completed.

He would see if he could acquire a few Dharma Artifacts with considerable power, or Thunder-Attribute Artifacts or Spiritual Objects suitable for use as Town Objects.

He would purchase the Pills there as well, leaving the family's Pills for the clan members.

Very well, it was settled; when the time came, he would borrow a Flying Boat from Lin Zhanglian.

(End of Chapter)