Chapter 18: Breakthrough!

Qin Ming sat cross-legged on a straw-woven mat inside the room.

In his hands, he held a bowl of blood locust rice.

Its spiritual rice grains, resembling tiny insects, emitted a crimson mist from their entire bodies, casting a red glow upon Qin Ming's face.

Qin Ming grinned broadly, a surge of joy at his harvest rising in his heart.

Merely by smelling it, he could feel a dense force of qi and blood rushing toward his face.

Consuming blood locust rice places high demands on a cultivator's physical qi and blood strength; one must not eat too much.

Given Qin Ming's current qi and blood strength,

this bowl of blood locust rice should be just barely bearable.

He scooped a spoonful of blood locust rice and sent it into his mouth.

Boom! A surging force of qi and blood shot straight to the crown of his head! Even though Qin Ming had prepared himself, he nearly failed to withstand it! He hastily began circulating his qi and blood according to the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra," refining his marrow and transforming his blood.

In an instant,

thick crimson mist began to rise from around Qin Ming's body.

An unbearable itch racked his interior; beneath the surface of his skin, it felt as though countless insects were wriggling.

He felt the blood throughout his entire body beginning to boil and seethe with heat.

Through repeated compression and refinement of his qi and blood, the qi and blood within Qin Ming's body gradually began to turn into a paste-like substance.

Qin Ming finished eating the remaining blood locust rice.

In an instant, the condensation of his entire being's qi and blood reached a peak.

Boom! Qin Ming opened his eyes; layers of scabs formed during the blood transformation peeled off his skin.

Fourth layer of the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra," breakthrough! "Finally," Qin Ming thought, feeling the powerful qi and blood surging within him, his heart filled with excitement.

"Entering the fourth layer is equivalent to the mid-stage of Body Refinement."

In merely a short year, Qin Ming had undergone such a tremendous transformation that even he found it hard to believe.

"The fourth layer... is still not enough; I must attempt to break through to the fifth layer as soon as possible!" Qin Ming clenched his fist, thinking silently.

In the days that followed,

aside from tending to the spiritual fields, Qin Ming did nothing but vigorously cultivate the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra."

Keeping to himself and rarely going out, his progress in body refinement accelerated rapidly under the boost of the blood locust rice.

As he devoted himself to cultivation, time swiftly passed.

Another half-year went by.

Inside the room,

Qin Ming kept his eyes tightly closed.

After these days of repeatedly refining his marrow and transforming his blood, the qi and blood within his body had become increasingly compressed and condensed.

Now, his force of qi and blood had reached an unprecedented height.

Now, only one final barrier remained before he could break through to the fifth layer.

Without hesitation, Qin Ming expended the 'Abundant Qi and Blood' stored in his sea of consciousness.

In an instant,

everything before his eyes went dark, as if a surging, turbulent sea were pouring down from above.

The pressure nearly left Qin Ming unable to breathe.

The qi and blood amplification contained within this 'Abundant Qi and Blood' was immense, little inferior to that of the blood locust rice.

Rush-rush-rush~ In a flash,

the sound of qi and blood constantly flowing and circulating rang in Qin Ming's ears.

The scene before his eyes suddenly changed.

Using his spiritual sense to look inward, he discovered that the interior of his body now resembled a boundless sea of blood.

The qi and blood was viscous, like mercury slurry.

A mysterious force of qi and blood surrounded him.

Standing within it, Qin Ming appeared incredibly tiny.

Suddenly!

Deep within the sea of blood, a massive tsunami began to gradually churn upward.

The waves surged violently, instantly submerging Qin Ming.

Boom! Qin Ming's mind exploded with a roar, and a ringing echoed in his ears.

The force of qi and blood within his body underwent another transformation, beginning to continuously strengthen Qin Ming's physical body, tendons, bones, and constitution. A layer of glazed-like precious light

gradually appeared around Qin Ming, covering every inch of his skin like a long robe.

This was the "Glazed Precious Robe" condensed by Qin Ming upon reaching the stage where qi and blood resembled mercury slurry, utilizing his own vast force of qi and blood! The moment the Precious Robe coalesced signified that he had finally entered the fifth layer of the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra"!

Body Refinement had completely undergone a qualitative change.

Qin Ming's current strength already far surpassed that of other Body Refinement cultivators at the same realm.

He took out the Green Spirit Dharma Sword and forcefully slashed it across his own skin.

Only a faint white mark appeared on his skin, which vanished immediately afterward.

"It seems ordinary dharma treasures can no longer harm me!" Qin Ming thought with great joy, an inexplicable sense of security arising spontaneously within him.

More importantly, the 'Glazed Precious Robe' possessed the effect of repelling dharma arts.

"The fifth layer is this powerful! The might described in this sutra is actually true!"

"I have completed cultivation of the first five layers of the 'Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra'; it seems I must obtain the remaining four layers of the technique from Daoist Ruan as soon as possible."

Feeling his own strength surge greatly, Qin Ming couldn't help but begin to look forward to the subsequent techniques.

His rapid breakthrough was primarily due to the powerful boost in blood and Qi provided by the Xue Huang Mi.

Otherwise, given the spiritual materials required by the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra," he had no idea how long it would take to reach this realm.

Qin Ming felt immensely refreshed in his heart.

After washing and grooming himself.

Qin Ming's entire body's blood and Qi reverted to a concealed state, hiding deep within.

The skin on his body still retained the appearance of a spirit farmer, slightly wheat-colored.

Yet his overall essence, energy, and spirit were completely different from before; his demeanor was restrained, yet his eyes sparkled with vitality.

"Now, I can finally count on having a slight ability to protect myself in this chaotic Immortal Cultivation World."

"This must be the first trump card I've acquired in all these years since coming to the Immortal Realm."

"Sigh, it really has been too difficult."

The tension that had shrouded Qin Ming in recent days due to the appearance of rogue cultivators diminished greatly.

His entire being, once tightly strung, now felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

There were only two months left.

The one mu of Beast Tooth Rice in Qin Ming's spirit field was nearing maturity.

By then, not only could he exchange it for the remaining cultivation methods of the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra,"

but he could also promote to a First-Grade Lower-Tier Spirit Planter.

From now on, he would enjoy the Lingyu Sect's policy of halving the spirit rice tax.

This would not only greatly elevate his status among spirit farmers,

but also bring with it a very substantial increase in spirit rice income.

However, promoting to a First-Grade Spirit Planter still required passing an internal assessment on spirit planting knowledge.

As for successfully cultivating First-Grade spiritual plants, he had already grown Beast Tooth Rice and Yin-Ning Flowers.

These achievements had already been registered and reported by the Lingyu Sect's record-keeper.

Now, only the assessment on spirit planting knowledge remained.

Qin Ming still intended to strive for the title of First-Grade Spirit Planter.

After all, with this credential, there would be various conveniences in his future cultivation life.

After breaking through in body refinement, Qin Ming had no follow-up cultivation method.

He could only wait patiently for the one mu of Beast Tooth Rice to mature in two months.

During this period,

Qin Ming frantically crammed on spirit planting knowledge to prepare for the assessment.

Besides that, he was also learning the art of pill refining.

He had even bought a small pill furnace from Shopkeeper Liao and attempted to refine several batches of basic pills.

All of them ended in failure.

"It seems that without guidance, just reading books isn't enough," Qin Ming sighed helplessly as he stared at the pitch-black spiritual materials inside the furnace.

Pill refining truly depends on talent; in this aspect, his aptitude was merely average.

It seems he could only wait until later, when he could massively cultivate spiritual herbs and pile up experience through trial and error; he hoped that when the Yin-Ning Flowers matured, Pill Refiner Su could give him some guidance.

(End of Chapter)