Chapter 34: One Qi Transforms into Three Purities (Combined)

Lou Qinghe returned home and let out a soft breath.

The Xu Family had completely withdrawn from Longmen Market; this was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue, catching all the loose cultivators off guard.

"That kid Huang Gensheng, why didn't he tell me in advance?"

Lou Qinghe thought to himself, "It seems the outskirts of the city are not safe; otherwise, the Xu Family wouldn't have given up such a large piece of meat."

When danger approaches, families like the Xu Family are much more sensitive than loose cultivators.

He must go to the Outer City as soon as possible!

Lou Qinghe clenched his fists, then took out a Low-grade Spirit Stone, placed it on the Spirit Gathering Array, and began his cultivation for the night.

In this world, only by striving to improve one's cultivation is the top priority.

As Qi flowed along his meridians, a warm sensation spread through his limbs and bones.

From the Early Stage of Qi Refining to the Middle Stage, it was merely an increase in the capacity of the Qi sea, and the improvement in strength was not obvious; once reaching the Late Stage of Qi Refining, strength would change significantly.

This was why the status of Late Stage Qi Refining cultivators was very different from those in the Middle Stage.

And the Foundation Establishment Stage was a qualitative leap for a cultivator, with even their lifespan increasing to over two hundred years.

The figures seen as attaining the Dao and becoming immortals in the eyes of ordinary people were mostly just Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Suddenly, Lou Qinghe felt that the circulation of Qi this time was extremely slow; his brain felt empty and ethereal, and his whole body seemed to be floating away.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

The Qi completed one cycle and gathered entirely into his Qi sea.

Lou Qinghe opened his eyes and looked at his palms.

"Hmm!?"

Suddenly, he discovered an extra column on his panel.

【Divine Ability: One Qi Transforms into Three Purities.】

"One Qi Transforms into Three Purities!?"

Seeing this, Lou Qinghe's head went blank.

As a disciple of an orthodox Daoist sect like the Taiyi Sect, it was impossible not to know about the divine ability of One Qi Transforms into Three Purities.

This Daoist technique was one of the supreme divine abilities of the Daoist sect.

Even within the Taiyi Sect, no one had mastered it for hundreds of years, and even his master, Qu Nanfang, a person of peerless talent, had no clue about it.

But today, through unintentional cultivation, he had actually experienced a sudden enlightenment of this supreme divine ability.

"Could it be that I am a genius!?"

Lou Qinghe took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart, and immediately cast the method of One Qi Transforms into Three Purities.

Instantly, he felt his vision blur, and then his body felt as if it were being stripped away.

A wisp of light smoke appeared.

In almost the blink of an eye, three Lou Qinghes appeared in the dilapidated thatched hut.

The difference was that two of them were bare-bottomed, without clothes.

"Are these three all me?"

Lou Qinghe took a look and found that the other two shared the same thoughts as him, almost as one person, just like his left and right hands.

One Qi Transforms into Three Purities, also known as the Origin of the Three Caves, is originally the same Dao Qi; the Dao Qi is one, but its application is divided into three, all to entice the secular to cultivate immortality, to prove the Dao from the mortal, all gradually differentiated, hence there are three names.

"This is One Qi Transforms into Three Purities!?"

After a moment, Lou Qinghe finally regained his composure and began to think, "With two extra people, doesn't that mean my strength has doubled, and I have two extra lives?"

Immediately, he thought of something and hurriedly looked at his panel.

At this moment, he was shocked to find that the proficiency on the panel hadn't changed at all.

"Does this mean I can cultivate with three bodies at the same time in the future!? Wouldn't the proficiency increase rapidly?"

Lou Qinghe was overjoyed and hurriedly began to test it.

Afterward, he discovered that the three bodies could indeed speed up cultivation, but he also discovered a problem.

That was, when one body was cultivating a mental method, the other two bodies could not cast the mental method.

In other words, the three could not cast the same spell at the same time.

Lou Qinghe suppressed his joy and thought secretly, "This is a limitation. It seems that in the future, one can only cultivate, one can refine pills, and another can practice spells."

"But before that, I need to go to the market tomorrow to see about buying two robes; being bare-bottomed is somewhat unrefined."

The next day, Lou Qinghe got up early, disguised himself, put on a mask, and headed toward Longmen Market.

The current Longmen Market had changed again; without the Xu Family, it had become a place of mixed fish and dragons, extremely dangerous.

On both sides of the road were many down-and-out loose cultivators, holding trifles, wanting to exchange them for some Spirit Rice to survive.

Even some honest loose cultivators had wavering looks in their eyes, ready to turn from house dogs into hungry wolves in the wild at any moment.

Lou Qinghe walked quickly to the second-hand clothing shop, pointed to two robes, and said, "Shopkeeper, how many Spirit Stones for these two robes?"

The shopkeeper saw business coming and said enthusiastically, "Customer, you have a good eye. These are both high-quality First-Grade High-Grade robes, one Middle-grade Spirit Stone in total."

Lou Qinghe rubbed his hands and said, "Fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones."

Hearing this, the shopkeeper's eyes widened, "No way, at least ninety Low-grade Spirit Stones."

In the end, Lou Qinghe bought the two robes for seventy Low-grade Spirit Stones.

One black, one white, to distinguish them.

After walking out of the market, he restored his original appearance and walked toward Qingyun Street.

On the way, he saw several familiar faces, all looking somewhat panicked.

Lou Qinghe couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"

The loose cultivator whispered, "Feng Ziwu alienated and was killed by Fellow Daoist Yu and his men."

Feng Ziwu alienated!?

Lou Qinghe's heart shook.

The old cultivator was fine yesterday; how did he suddenly alienate today?

In an instant, Lou Qinghe understood the mystery.

"Fellow Daoist Yu has formed the Tianling Gang; joining the gang exempts you from hygiene fees, and not joining costs five Low-grade Spirit Stones a month. I am now planning to go to Fellow Daoist Yu's house to report."

After the loose cultivator finished speaking, he hurried toward Yu Tonghai's house.

"This Yu Tonghai is trying to rise to power."

Watching the loose cultivator's back, Lou Qinghe thought secretly.

Now that the loose cultivators were already in danger, plus Yu Tonghai using thunderous means, with both carrots and sticks, many loose cultivators had no choice but to join his gang.

Qingyun Street was not large, but it had four or five Qi Refining Level 6 cultivators.

If Yu Tonghai advanced further and reached the Late Stage of Qi Refining, he would have a lot to accomplish.

However, from beginning to end, Lou Qinghe never thought about joining this Yu Tonghai's gang.

He knew this place was extremely dangerous, and the top priority was to leave Qingyun Street quickly and head to the Outer City.

Sure enough, by evening.

Yu Tonghai brought a group of loose cultivators to collect hygiene fees.

Lou Qinghe took out ten Low-grade Spirit Stones and said, "This is for me and Fellow Daoist Pei."

"Fellow Daoist Lou, rest assured, as long as my Tianling Gang is here for a day, you will be safe for a day."

Yu Tonghai smiled and put away the Spirit Stones.

"Then many thanks."

Lou Qinghe closed the door and continued to cultivate.

Fang Zu clicked his tongue and said, "This Fellow Daoist Shengkui is a sensible person, quick and decisive."

Just now, when collecting hygiene fees from other loose cultivators, many had cried poverty and made excuses.

Yu Zhijing sneered, "Just a coward afraid of death."

"Let's go, next house."

Yu Tonghai smiled faintly and led the group of loose cultivators toward the distance.

Just then, a tall, thin female cultivator in grey robes appeared ahead.

It was Pei Siyu.

Seeing Yu Tonghai and the dozens of gathered loose cultivators, Pei Siyu was clearly somewhat panicked and moved to the side to avoid them.

Yu Tonghai said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Pei, why be so panicked? Our Tianling Gang was formed to protect the security of Qingyun Street; you can rest assured."

"However, the monthly hygiene fee has risen to five Low-grade Spirit Stones."

Pei Siyu timidly took out ten Low-grade Spirit Stones, "I understand. These are the Spirit Stones, the hygiene fees for me and Fellow Daoist Shengkui."

"Good, I understand."

Yu Tonghai's eyes lit up, and he accepted the Spirit Stones without hesitation.

"Sorry to bother you."

Pei Siyu hurriedly bypassed the group and walked toward home.

Seeing this, Fang Zu said nervously, "Taking two portions of Spirit Stones, this might..."

Yu Tonghai said faintly, "Rest assured and accept it; they definitely won't communicate with each other."

Qiu Qingxin looked at that graceful back and couldn't help but say, "This Pei Siyu just doesn't look as good as one might hope, but everything else is quite good."

Yu Tonghai sneered, "When the Tianling Gang grows big and strong, what kind of female cultivator won't we have?"

Yu Zhijing chimed in from the side, "Right, as long as we control Longmen Market, this area will be our territory; we'll have as many Spirit Stones as we want."

"Right, following Gang Leader Yu, we'll have as many Spirit Stones as we want in the future!" "Tomorrow I'll bring my cousin to join the Tianling Gang and live the good life."

The loose cultivators present were all flattering and fawning over Yu Tonghai.

Yu Tonghai looked ahead, a smile appearing in his eyes.

Time flowed, and a few days passed in the blink of an eye.

As Yu Tonghai established a gang on Qingyun Street, Longmen Market never had a moment of peace.

The cultivators of Cross Street also formed a gang, and the two forces fought each other.

One could often see people from the two gangs fighting, and the blood on the street never dried.

Some innocent loose cultivators, let alone going to the market, were terrified and cautious even just stepping out of their doors.

The struggle between the two sides soon reached a conclusion, and in the end, Yu Tonghai gained a slight upper hand and successfully occupied Longmen Market.

At the same time, more and more loose cultivators joined the Tianling Gang, making the Tianling Gang quickly become the local bully of Qingyun Street.

Lou Qinghe continued to cultivate at home, with three bodies: one cultivating the mental method, one refining pills, and the last practicing the Heavenly Intent Sword Controlling Technique.

Buzz buzz!

The pill furnace began to shake violently, and then clusters of medicinal Qi began to fuse.

This time, refining the Spirit Gathering Pill was different because it was only one point of proficiency away from reaching LV4.

The clear pill fire burned, and Lou Qinghe watched the pill furnace before him with full concentration, not distracted in the slightest; the medicinal Qi gradually fused until a faint, lingering fragrance drifted out.

The pill was formed!

Lou Qinghe opened the pill furnace, which contained more than twenty Spirit Gathering Pills, among which four or five were strikingly different from the others.

Second-Grade Spirit Gathering Pill!

Among the four major pills, the Spirit Gathering Pill ranked at the top in price and was also the most profitable pill.

Now that he had this way of making money, Lou Qinghe would have a source of wealth, which would allow him to accumulate Spirit Stones to head to the Outer City.

"Whew!"

Lou Qinghe let out a breath, his mood much improved, and then he pushed open the door and walked out.

He saw that the door to Qiao Li's house was wide open, and Qiao Xiaobao was squatting in the courtyard playing alone.

Lou Qinghe asked, "Xiaobao, where is your mother?"

Qiao Xiaobao looked up, her big eyes looking at Lou Qinghe, "My mother went out this morning and hasn't come back yet."

Ever since the Tianling Gang was established, life had become even harder for loose cultivators.

The hygiene fee had skyrocketed to five Low-grade Spirit Stones, which very few loose cultivators could afford.

Either join the Tianling Gang or leave Qingyun Street and wander outside.

And loose cultivators wandering outside rarely lived for more than three days.

Qiao Li, alone with Qiao Xiaobao, was already under immense pressure, and now the hygiene fee had become the last straw that broke the camel's back.

So she stayed at the Spirit Poultry Workshop every day slaughtering spirit pigs, sometimes working for ten hours without rest.

"Uncle Lou."

Qiao Xiaobao rubbed her little belly somewhat dejectedly and said, "I'm hungry....."

Lou Qinghe rubbed Qiao Xiaobao's head and said, "Let's go, let's go get something to eat."

Afterward, the two came to Pei Siyu's house.

"Haven't eaten yet?"

Hearing that Qiao Xiaobao hadn't eaten, Pei Siyu hurriedly went down to cook.

He saw her thin figure busy back and forth.

Before long, fragrant Spirit Rice and pickled Beast Meat were served.

"Wow! So fragrant!"

Qiao Xiaobao was starving and began to eat from a large bowl of Spirit Rice.

Pei Siyu rubbed Qiao Xiaobao's head, her movements gentle, carrying a hint of tenderness.

Seeing this, Lou Qinghe said on a whim, "Siyu......."

"...... Ah!"

Pei Siyu met those eyes, looking like a startled little white rabbit, somewhat panicked.

Lou Qinghe opened his lips, just about to speak, when a sharp voice came from outside.

"You dead child, where did you run off to?"

Qiao Li ran in, furious, her eye sockets red.

Qiao Xiaobao put down her bowl and chopsticks and said, "Mother, I'm hungry......."

Qiao Li hugged Qiao Xiaobao, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Lou Qinghe stood up and said, "Fellow Daoist Qiao, don't worry, we are here, Xiaobao won't run around."

Qiao Xiaobao hurriedly reached out her little hand to wipe the tears from Qiao Li's eyes and said with childish innocence, "Mother, don't cry, Xiaobao won't run around next time."

Pei Siyu also comforted, "Sister Li, Xiaobao is fine, you sit down and eat something too."

"It's fine, I'm fine."

Qiao Li wiped the tears from her eyes and said to the two, "I've let you two fellow daoists see a joke."

After a brief silence.

Qiao Li said, "I can't work at the Spirit Poultry Workshop anymore."

After saying this, both Lou Qinghe and Pei Siyu were slightly stunned.

Slaughtering pigs at the Spirit Poultry Workshop was Qiao Li's only way to obtain Spirit Stones.

"What happened?" Lou Qinghe asked cautiously.

Qiao Li put down her chopsticks, "Yu Tonghai wanted me to join the Tianling Gang, I refused, so he started messing with me behind my back. I didn't get a single Spirit Stone from the Spirit Poultry Workshop last month. How could I work for someone else for free?"

Bottom-tier loose cultivators were mostly very hard-pressed, living from hand to mouth, especially Qiao Li, a widow with a child.

The Spirit Poultry Workshop withholding a month's worth of Spirit Stones was undoubtedly a huge disaster for Qiao Li.

Lou Qinghe remained silent; if he could help for a moment, it would be acceptable, but now that Qiao Li had completely lost her way to earn Spirit Stones, it meant he would have to support this widow and child.

Qiao Li gripped her chopsticks tightly and turned her head away.

"I was practicing with my master, and later I stayed with my master. Besides practicing and slaughtering spirit poultry, I'm not skilled in anything else, especially after my master died, all the pressure fell on me alone."

"I feel like I can't breathe."

Lou Qinghe and Pei Siyu looked at each other and didn't speak.

Everyone has their own worries, and everyone has their own story.

Lou Qinghe has one.

Pei Siyu has one.

Qiao Li has one too.

"Ever since I came into this world, I haven't had a single good day. My father was a gambler since I was young, and everything in the house was mortgaged, including my mother, and he even wanted to sell me. Later, I was spotted by that old thing, and he brought me to the Huangshi Safety Zone to practice. I thought it was a turning point in my life, but I didn't expect that old thing to be a beast......"

As Qiao Li spoke, she choked up.

Tears streamed down her fair cheeks, flowing continuously.

"You say, what's the difference between that Yu Tonghai and that old thing? Isn't it just treating me as a plaything? Should I also be wantonly played with by them? Why!? I slaughter pigs hard, working my life away day after day in a slaughterhouse full of blood and filth, why don't they give me a single Spirit Stone? You tell me, why is living so hard!?"

Qiao Li wiped away her tears and shouted somewhat hysterically.

Tearing away her sharp, shrewish exterior was her womanly, fragile exterior, and that riddled-with-holes heart.

Lou Qinghe let out a breath, "Fellow Daoist Qiao....."

He didn't know how to comfort her; this world itself wasn't that fair.

"Yu Tonghai, wasn't he just a down-and-out loose cultivator before? What's so great about him? Just because of him, he wants to control me in the palm of his hand? Is he worthy?"

Pei Siyu whispered, "Sister Li, Xiaobao is still here."

"I know, she will know the darkness of this world sooner or later, even if I protect her well, it's useless."

Qiao Li clenched her fists, her eyes bloodshot, "This is a man-eating world; if you don't eat people, people will eat you, and they won't even leave your bones. Now I don't see a glimmer of hope for the future, do you know? Not a glimmer of hope. I look up and the sky is black, there's no light at all."

"I don't know how to go on living...... sob sob sob."

Qiao Li buried her head and completely broke down in tears.

Pei Siyu walked up and gently patted Qiao Li's back, "Sister Li....."

After a long time, Qiao Li raised her red, swollen eyes and said seriously, "I hope you two are well, and can live on, live well in this world. Even if you can't achieve success in cultivation, living peacefully is a blessing."

"In this man-eating world, it's not easy for loose cultivators, and it's even harder for bottom-tier loose cultivators. It's not easy for us wandering lonely ghosts to gather together; getting a glimmer of warmth is already a blessing. I truly hope you two can be well."

Lou Qinghe sighed deeply in his heart, wanting to speak but stopping.

Finally, Qiao Li, having adjusted her emotions, took Qiao Xiaobao's hand and left.

Because no matter how difficult it is, life must go on.

Yu Tonghai's residence.

At this moment, loose cultivators were gathered in the front hall, laughter loud and boisterous.

Behind the hall, Yu Tonghai held a cloth bag and a secret letter.

"You say, this was given to Shengkui by Huang Gensheng?"

Yu Zhijing nodded, "That's right, it was sent by a Xu Family Dao Soldier, but that Dao Soldier was timid, and I intercepted it halfway."

Hearing this, Yu Tonghai opened the cloth bag, and saw five bright Middle-grade Spirit Stones lying inside.

Both of their eyes lit up; they didn't expect there to be so many Spirit Stones inside.

Although Yu Tonghai had been continuously scraping oil from the loose cultivators, these five Middle-grade Spirit Stones were not a small amount for him either.

Yu Tonghai narrowed his eyes and said, "Don't tell anyone about this."

Yu Zhijing nodded, then asked, "What about Shengkui?"

A cold light appeared in Yu Tonghai's eyes, "He doesn't know for now, wait a while....."

"Understood."

Yu Zhijing sneered, then turned and walked out of the back hall.

Yu Tonghai held the Spirit Stones in his hand and said gloomily, "As long as I scrape for another month or two, I will have saved enough Spirit Stones, and then I will apply for the Outer City immortal registration....." ===== CHAPTER 35 =====