Chapter 81: Qi Refining Sixth Layer [Please Follow! Advancing to Round Three!]

Qin Ming returned to the Cool Cottage, resuming his leisure and tranquility.

Seven days passed in a flash.

Qin Ming went to the side of the Spirit Liquid cultivation vessel and carefully observed the changes in the Five-Color Spirit Rice seeds.

From within the Spirit Liquid, a tender sprout broke through its shell!

“Success!”

Immediately, he immersed all the Five-Color Spirit Rice seeds from the jade box into the Spirit Liquid.

Once the seeds had soaked through, they could be planted in the Spirit Fields.

Qin Ming then went to the courtyard.

The nest of Four-Winged Frost Bees in the courtyard’s corner had completed their evolution—all had transformed into First-Stage Initial Spirit Insects, and the queen bee’s aura had surged into First-Stage Mid-Stage.

Qin Ming focused his mind and immediately established contact with the queen bee.

Upon receiving his command, she flew out of the hive—whizz!—appearing before him like a phantom.

Her speed genuinely startled Qin Ming.

Behind her, thousands upon thousands of spirit bees followed in a buzzing swarm, a magnificent sight.

If such a nest of volatile spirit bees turned on you, even a Qi Refining Mid-Stage cultivator might not hold out, right? Qin Ming directed the swarm to fly wildly around the courtyard, commanding them to strike wherever he pointed.

Primarily, since the Frost Bee queen had evolved, she had grown spiritually attuned to him, their bond tightened, and the entire swarm remained obedient.

Qin Ming approached the withered Blood Poison Vine, gazing at the blooming purple demonic flower. “It can trigger the bees’ evolution—let me see what kind of fruit it will bear?”

Qin Ming used his last three [Ripen] terms, spending two days to fully ripen the three demonic flowers on the withered Blood Poison Vine.

As the purple petals withered, three purple round fruits formed atop them.

Qin Ming plucked them all—instantly, golden terms flared into streaks of light and entered his spiritual sense.

Five [Leaf of Space-Time] blue terms can rapidly ripen high-grade spiritual plants to a hundred-year maturity, and their effects stack.

Qin Ming’s expression brightened—this meant he could obtain five hundred-year spiritual plants, or one five-hundred-year plant.

He picked up the purple spirit fruit, casually broke open one, and found no flesh inside—only purple-black spirit seeds.

Likely the same as the previous seeds, meant for casting Thorns Art, though he didn’t yet know their exact power.

Qin Ming pondered, deciding to test them on a wild beast one day.

The courtyard still contained two mu of medicinal fields; Qin Ming bought more premium spirit herb seeds and planted them—these herbs served both as ingredients for pill refinement and as First-Stage spirit herbs with short growth cycles, ideal for refreshing commonly used terms.

Afterwards,

He found a corner of the medicinal field and planted the five Divine Essence Fruits entrusted to him by Su Yuqing.

Second-Stage spirit plant Divine Essence Fruit is a primary ingredient for refining the Second-Stage Spirit Pill, “Biluo Pill,” which enhances cultivation base of Foundation Establishment Initial Stage.

Clearly, with Su Yuqing’s spiritual root talent, her breakthrough to Foundation Establishment was all but certain—she was already planning for life after the breakthrough.

Another half-month passed.

Qin Ming’s preparations were nearly complete.

He took his belongings and stepped outside.

In the spirit herb fields east of the marketplace.

Qin walked along the field ridges, accompanied by mountain streams, as if entering a secluded, lush fairyland.

“The environment of a Second-Stage Low-Grade spiritual vein is truly different!”

He reached his five mu of land and began tending the Spirit Fields—first, he turned over the soil in three mu of fields, then evenly sowed the Five-Color Spirit Rice seeds soaked in Spirit Liquid.

Next, he burned all the Beast Tooth Rice stalks, mixed them with the dung of the Black-Maned Dragon Horse and several other spirit materials, buried them in the other two mu of fields, then planted the Red-Silver Yellow Hemp seeds.

Boom! Crack!

Qin Ming chanted the Advanced Spirit Rain Spell and irrigated all the Spirit Fields with spirit rain.

It lasted for most of the day.

“Phew～”

“The rest is up to time.”

“If all else fails, I’ll just wait for the [Ripen] term to refresh.” In the days that followed,

Qin Ming diligently cultivated day and night, while also indulging in the pastoral rhythm.

Cultivation life was dull yet fulfilling.

Night fell; the Qingyang Marketplace lit up with lanterns, streets shimmered with light, starlight sprinkled halos overhead, and the air hummed with the warmth of mortal life.

Qin Ming stepped out from the shanty house—originally Su Yuqing’s room.

His expression was exhilarated—he had successfully refined two more batches of Spirit Gathering Pills, totaling over twenty! And his luck was extraordinary: every pill was of premium quality!

He was now nearly on par with Su Yuqing when she first arrived at the marketplace.

In a while, he could attempt refining top-grade spirit pills and strive to become a top-grade pill refining master.

Qin Ming returned to his courtyard.

He went straight to the quiet chamber, relaxed his body and mind, and sat cross-legged on the woven grass mat.

He opened the pill vial—a deep emerald premium Spirit Gathering Pill rolled into his palm, still warm.

"Freshly baked premium pill!"

Qin Ming swallowed the pill and began cultivating.

Several hours later,

Suddenly!

A powerful surge of magic power erupted within the Cool Cottage annex.

After consuming three premium Spirit Gathering Pills, Qin Ming’s magic power cultivation base officially entered Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

Amid his joy at the breakthrough, he also noticed a problem.

That was—

No matter how good the pills, they can’t replace food.

He was now developing serious resistance to premium Spirit Gathering Pills.

Through this cultivation session, he easily realized the magic power increase from the pills had become negligible.

In short, continuing to consume Spirit Gathering Pills—even at premium grade—would yield almost no cultivation benefit.

To break through to the later stages, he would need to refine higher-grade spirit pills.

Qin Ming was quite satisfied with his cultivation progress—steady, unhurried, methodical, solidifying his foundation.

His current magic power base was extraordinarily robust! His Evergreen magic power had become extremely pure, continuous, and enduring, and his dantian had expanded over twice its original size—equivalent to a Qi Refining Seventh Layer late-stage cultivator.

The principle: accumulate deeply, strike lightly.

After cultivation, Qin Ming went to the courtyard, slapped his storage bag, and the Qingming Sword instantly appeared in his hand.

Whoosh! A blue blade aura crisscrossed wildly through the courtyard.

His face beamed with delight as he chanted the Object Control Spell to guide the magic sword.

No wonder it was a top-grade magic treasure—aside from high magic power consumption, every other aspect was nearly perfect! There was none of the sluggishness he felt with low-grade magic treasures; spiritual energy flowed through his meridians noticeably faster.

Swish! The Qingming Sword circled the entire courtyard, carving a brilliant arc through the air before landing back in Qin Ming’s hand.

He held the magic sword behind his back, tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle toward the stars, assuming a lofty master’s posture.

A sudden surge of unspoken confidence rose within him.

He felt the grandeur of a swordsman with blade in hand, master of all under heaven.

Moments later,

Qin Ming calmed himself and returned the Qingming Sword to his storage bag.

“Stay humble. Always stay humble.”

“Don’t get carried away.”

“This level of cultivation means nothing.”

(End of Chapter)