Chapter 97: Qi Refinement Stage 4

If she wouldn't let him look, then so be it; Liu Xiaolou didn't take it too much to heart. His convenient wife's cultivation base was too high, far exceeding his own. There were several floors' worth of distance between them; even if he looked a hundred times, it wouldn't be of any benefit to his own cultivation. The only regret was that he could no longer continue to admire that lithe waist.

Reluctantly withdrawing his gaze from Su Wuniang's waist, Liu Xiaolou followed Susu back to the Yiling Hall in the rear. He pondered to himself, he hadn't been such a lecherous person before; why couldn't he stop thinking about it, and why did he always have this restless inner fire? Could it be that his wife's slender waist was different from others? That couldn't be it.

Just as he returned to his room, he felt an uncontrollable inner fire suddenly surge up. Liu Xiaolou grabbed Susu's wrist and stared at her intently.

Susu blinked, confused, and asked, "Young Master?"

Liu Xiaolou pulled her toward the bedroom. Upon reaching the bedside, he released Susu's wrist and waved his hand: "Go out first; I am going into seclusion."

Susu was bewildered but had to hurry out. She lowered the bamboo curtain of the bedroom, closed the door to the outer room, and kept watch in the adjacent study, listening intently to the movements in the bedroom, not daring to be the least bit negligent.

It was just that the inner fire rising in Liu Xiaolou's abdomen had suddenly shifted to his Hand Jueyin Meridian, rampaging through the meridians. Unable to vent it, it began to frantically strike at the final, unblocked Zhongchong acupoint.

The assault on the Zhongchong acupoint had been carried out intermittently several times already, and two spirit stones had been spent, yet there had been no progress. But today, under the impact of this inner fire, there were faint signs of loosening, so Liu Xiaolou had chased Susu out to go all out in unblocking this acupoint.

Cultivation in the Qi Refinement Realm wasn't a matter of unblocking every meridian one by one until everything was naturally completed, followed by a smooth breakthrough. Instead, one was often stuck at the final acupoint, unable to pass without the right opportunity.

Back when he broke through from Stage 2 to Stage 3, it was a stroke of fortune gained after experiencing the terror of life and death while facing the encirclement of three inner-sect disciples of the Dongyang Sect at Jinping Villa. This time, at the threshold of breaking through from Stage 3 to Stage 4, he had also been constantly searching for where that stroke of fortune lay.

He had originally thought it was related to the scene of the jade hairpin falling, but who would have thought it would land on today? The opportunity was actually on his convenient wife's slender waist.

However, after a moment of thought, he felt relieved. The Xuanzhen Scripture cultivation technique he practiced and the Yin-Yin Yin Yang Jing Jing complemented each other. This had already been verified when he previously discussed the Dao of Yin-Yang dual cultivation with Qingniang, and that had only been a theoretical discussion.

His master had said before he died that one must not practice the Yin-Yin Yin Yang Jing Jing until reaching the fourth stage of the Xuanzhen Scripture. Therefore, this inner fire today should be the trigger for the breakthrough, the connection between the preceding and the following, the pivot between the two scriptures.

At this moment, Liu Xiaolou had no time to think further. He threw himself onto the bed, not even having time to take off his shoes, and grabbed a spirit stone to start working.

The spiritual power transformed into wisps of true qi, merging into his meridians and blending with the inner fire. The effect was astonishingly powerful, shaking the acupoint gate, which had originally been as solid as a rock, making it increasingly loose.

Another unexpected surprise was that under the stimulation of this inner fire, the speed of transforming spiritual power had tripled—an experience he had never had before. The more abundant flow of true qi brought a more violent impact; the acupoint gate began to loosen, like a mountain soaked through by heavy rain, revealing signs of imminent collapse.

Liu Xiaolou was completely immersed in the state of breaking through, not distinguishing between morning and night, not counting the hours. When hungry or thirsty, he would take from the table. He didn't remember what he had eaten, only that there was always food and water waiting for him on the table. This was the benefit of cultivating in a high-ranking family; one didn't need to worry about food, drink, or bodily functions, and could focus entirely on cultivation.

Then, at a certain moment, the mountain could no longer withstand the surging flood and finally began to collapse, swept away by the surging torrent, merging into the basin below the mountain and gathering into a pool of water.

The Zhongchong acupoint was unblocked, and Liu Xiaolou officially stepped into the fourth stage of Qi Refinement.

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But he did not immediately come out of seclusion. Instead, taking advantage of the fact that the inner fire still existed and had not completely dissipated, he continued to transform the spiritual power within the spirit stones. The origin and destination of this inner fire were unknown, but it could double the efficiency of true qi transformation. If he didn't take this opportunity to transform more, he wouldn't be able to find it again once it was missed.

The fourth stage of the Xuanzhen Scripture cultivates the Hand Shaoyang Meridian. This meridian starts at the ring finger, runs along the outer side of both arms, passes over the shoulders, and reaches the head and face. There are twenty-three acupoints on each side, totaling forty-six. Cultivating this meridian actually refines the eyes, ears, throat, and face. After completion, the demand for drinking water will be greatly reduced, laying the foundation for *bigū* (abstaining from grains) after his cultivation base becomes profound in the future.

Liu Xiaolou continued to take out spirit stones to transform true qi, first striking at the Guanchong acupoint.

There were more acupoints on the Hand Shaoyang Meridian, and compared to the Hand Jueyin Meridian, each acupoint was much easier. Each of the nine major acupoints of the Hand Jueyin Meridian had almost required three to four spirit stones, but when Liu Xiaolou struck the Guanchong acupoint, he only spent two spirit stones to break through it in one go.

These were also the last two spirit stones he had. With this, he could finally come out of seclusion.

He searched the room and found the chamber pot in the corner, discharging the turbid waste accumulated in his intestines and abdomen. He felt his body was three-tenths lighter than before the seclusion.

Just as he finished, Susu lifted the curtain and walked in. She covered the chamber pot and carried it out, making Liu Xiaolou feel very embarrassed. He vaguely remembered that during his seclusion, it seemed Susu had come in every time to take away the chamber pot, wash it clean, and bring it back. He couldn't help but feel very grateful.

Such a beautiful young girl, whose cultivation base was no lower than his own, served his food, drink, and bodily needs without the slightest disdain; it was truly hard to accept. Thinking it over, the only way to repay her was to treat Susu twice as well in the future.

After Susu returned, she brought in a bucket of hot water for Liu Xiaolou to bathe. Liu Xiaolou had previously been so stirred by inner fire that he had wanted to pull her into the bedroom, but now that the inner fire had faded, he felt very embarrassed—he was naked, while the young girl was fully dressed. Anyone would feel embarrassed; unless both were naked, that would be a perfect match.

Susu earnestly scrubbed the dirt off him, applied fragrant soap, wiped him clean hand by hand, and then took out a set of clean new clothes for him to put on, saying, "Young Master, if you didn't change and wash this body, it would all stink."

Liu Xiaolou let her knead him, enjoying this comfort, and said sincerely, "Susu, if this continues, I won't be able to leave you."

Susu smiled, "Serving the Young Master well is this servant's duty. In the future, when the Young Master no longer has this servant, there will be new maids, and you will enjoy blessings for a lifetime."

Liu Xiaolou gave a bitter smile, "I am not a person destined for blessings; in this life, I only seek cultivation."

Susu asked, "The Young Master has been in seclusion for more than half a month this time; it seems your cultivation base has improved a lot?"

"More than half a month? How many days?"

"Twenty-four days."

Six spirit stones only lasted twenty-four days? That's many days fewer than expected. It's a pity that such an opportunity is not common; that inner fire is ethereal and elusive, hard to grasp.

After pondering for a moment, he grabbed Susu's wrist again, wanting to try once more.

Please visit the latest address. ===== CHAPTER 98 =====