Chapter 44

Cui Dan waited outside the gate for half a day before Qian Chen’s cultivated Yuan Dan finally reached the critical stage of extraction; within the Xuanguan, a thunderclap split the void, and dozens of spiritual energies surged forth, imbuing the Yuan Dan with its profound essence.

The Yuan Dan leapt from the Xuanguan, hovering behind Qian Chen’s head, fused with his true qi like an external dantian.

This single Yuan Dan, once linked to true qi, immediately poured down emerald-colored qi to reinforce Qian Chen’s body.

With every gesture and thought, the power of his spells and magic treasures increased dozens of times over, rivaling even those who had fully completed Core Formation; at this moment, with the external Dan upon him, Qian Chen’s cultivation equaled that of a seventh-rank sect cultivator—truly a master of formidable magic power in this mortal world.

Though this was his first time refining a Dan, he found the art surprisingly effortless; the millennia-spanning trials recorded in the Gengyuanzi Dan Book passed him as if they were nothing.

Thus, the Yuan Dan he refined fully unleashed the essence of the Gangsha Qi, reaching the quality of seventh-rank upper grade.

This Yuan Dan was no ordinary herb or spirit pill—it was the foundational Great Dan of cultivation, the very core of a Daoist’s life and destiny, its rank tied directly to the cultivator’s Core Formation grade, entirely distinct from pills ingested for enhancement.

With the Yuan Dan’s support, Qian Chen’s internal refined energies, gathered in the Xuanguan as his furnace, merged hundreds of different energies; following the Dan formula and their inherent natures, he fused them into groups of several, even dozens, melting them together. His cultivation had advanced so greatly that the step he once thought arduous now passed with ease.

When the energies within the Xuanguan had coalesced into dozens of streams, Qian Chen cried out: “Condense!”

A crackling sound echoed within the Xuanguan; he gestured, and dozens of spirit pills tumbled from the void, each differing in color and size, exuding a captivating, fragrant aroma. Qian Chen pulled out his red-skinned small gourd and swiftly collected most of the pills.

“I’ve first perfected the external Qi Yuan Dan—my cultivation base is no longer what it was. The subsequent single-batch refinement was even smoother than expected, yielding seventeen types of pills, over ninety in total. These pills, refined from pure energy, contain no impurities, making them the finest of all Dan. Originally, refining energy into Dan was hardest due to materials—but I cleverly used the moment of refining the Gangsha Qi into Yuan Dan to transform the impurities into chaos, then separated them out.”

“Are the impurities within Gangsha Qi trivial?”

“Ordinary energies were long since dissolved; the impurities that survive within Gangsha Qi are often more precious than the Gangsha Qi itself—yet they are too scarce and difficult to harness, like gold dust invisible in purple copper…”

“The Supreme Dan Scripture truly is unfathomably profound…”

Qian Chen was first delighted, then quickly recalled every subtle detail of the process—how refining this Yuan Dan mirrored a Daoist’s own Core Formation. This single Dan had, in effect, allowed him to undergo Core Formation himself, granting him boundless insight. He now understood why the Supreme True Transmission never produced a Core Formation below first rank—if one had simulated the process a hundred or more times within the furnace, how could one possibly fail and ruin the Great Medicine?

A disciple of the Supreme Lineage would have to beg the Ancestor for forgiveness with his life!

Other cultivators get only one chance—once the Dan is formed, no regrets… Alas! The Supreme Dao has a hundred years to form a Core, a thousand simulations… while others rely on luck, the Supreme Dao—only practice makes perfect!

“It’s enough to make others hate us!” Qian Chen shook his head. “No wonder we can’t speak of it!”

“Just think about it—I’m angry myself! Did the Ancestors really do something so extraordinary by opening the Golden Core Path? Hiding this trick…”

Qian Chen’s face beamed with a smile, yet his hands never stopped—he familiarized himself with the external Qi Yuan Dan while restoring his true qi. When his mental strength recovered substantially, he released the suppressed aura of the Tianluo Umbrella. Instantly, an indescribably exquisite fragrance drifted from the Dan Chamber. Outside the gate, Cui Dan, tiptoeing to peer into the courtyard, and Wu Bo, desperately holding back his young master to prevent such impropriety, both caught the scent—a fragrance that sharpened the spirit, warmed the true qi, and subtly refined their cultivation.

Cui Dan’s eyes gleamed with wonder. “Truly, a master is refining Dan here… this aroma! Pah! The Sensing Pills the Dao Academy sold me were clearly inferior—I was cheated!”

“Young master, composure… composure!” the old servant pleaded. “Do not disgrace the Cui family’s dignity.”

At that moment, the person Qian Chen had been waiting for arrived—a dark shadow slashed through the air, seven crimson-black rays darting like flying stars trailing fire, like lightning and sparks, rushing toward Qian Chen’s courtyard. Qian Chen suppressed the Tianluo Umbrella’s manifestation, instead unfurling the Seven Fiend Banners to shield himself.

A thick, pitch-black mist descended, engulfing the small house, swirling with seven streams of fiendish energy.

A single strike from the seven rays shattered every other building in the courtyard, scattering the surrounding spirits—only Qian Chen’s inner chamber remained shielded by the dark mist.

A voice laughed from afar: “You’re the one who killed my junior brother, aren’t you? Given your skill in refining Dan, I’ll spare you—if you surrender your spirit pills and bind yourself in apology. Otherwise, the Mei Mountain Sect does not suffer fools lightly—you’ll lose your head!”

“So the fellow waving that tiger-head banner, neither Buddhist nor Daoist, was your junior brother?” Qian Chen sneered. “He was fool enough to die—so are you. Let me kill you both at once, so he won’t be lonely on the path to the Yellow Springs.”

Qian Chen flipped his right hand—the Long Que Ring shot out with blinding speed, snatching up the seven points of fire in one motion.

Then he retracted the Tianluo Umbrella; a pure qi net instantly expanded over several li, then collapsed downward, enclosing the entire area. As Qian Chen drew the umbrella shut, Cui Dan and Wu Bo felt their bodies grow light—the pure qi flowed past them—but a nearby dark shadow was forced out by the net, offering no resistance, instantly swallowed into Qian Chen’s Tianluo Umbrella.

Qian Chen shook the Tianluo Umbrella once—the man within was instantly reduced to ash.

“Just a Tongfa cultivator—never even refined an internal Dan of the left path… how dare he come after me?”

Cui Dan and Wu Bo watched it all unfold in an instant—two sentences, and a formidable left-path demon was captured and dissolved, offering not the slightest resistance. They could not help but wonder: how could the Mei Mountain left path be so foolish? How could they dare approach without knowing the true cultivation level of the master within?

Heaven had mercy—this man had first gone to the Fox Grave, deduced from traces that Qian Chen’s cultivation could not exceed Tongfa, and further divined that his enemy was expending mental energy refining Dan. He believed it a once-in-a-millennium opportunity, expecting to claim a whole furnace of spirit pills for free. He never imagined that in just two months, Qian Chen’s power had surged to Core Formation level.

Wu Bo stared blankly, muttering inwardly: “Is Guangling Commandery really this deep?”

“How could the young master simply stroll about and encounter such a master? His cultivation rivals even the true transmissions of the Dao Sects. We waited outside with improper manners—if he holds a grudge, how can I protect the young master? I pray my lord still holds some influence…”

Cui Dan, overwhelmed with pure joy at meeting a master, straightened his robes and bowed respectfully: “Your humble servant, Cui Dan of the Qinghe Cui Clan, greets the Elder.”

Qian Chen cleared his throat, lowered his voice to mask his youthful tone, and said: “Ah, the Cui Clan’s young master—indeed, refined and handsome. Forgive my poor hospitality—please, come in!”

Cui Dan was overjoyed, immediately carrying his gift forward to pay his respects.

As he entered, he saw Qian Chen’s unusually youthful face and was not surprised—but when he saw the two dozen spirit pills floating before Qian Chen, suspended by a cloud of qi, his eyes widened in shock.

“These pills… why are they so pure?”

“They show not a trace of agitation…”

The old servant quietly tugged Cui Dan’s sleeve: “Young master, these are energy pills—refined by the master from the primordial energies of heaven and earth, utterly pure, exceedingly rare, and free of poison. Only a Core Formation master can refine them thus. They are not the herb or spirit medicines you’re used to…”

The aura of the pills formed into lingzhi mushrooms beneath them, their roots anchored in auspicious clouds—something Cui Dan had never seen in his life.

Qian Chen sat cross-legged, each side of him supported by a cloud of auspicious qi; before him, the spirit pills floated—some carried by lingzhi, some spinning with vitality, some glowing like light, some still as jade, some cradled by a stream of clear qi…

Qian Chen casually plucked up a pill as pure as jade and crushed it in his fingers, letting the fragments fall to the ground.

Cui Dan gasped—yet in his eyes, the lecherous minor demon, the ear-spirit, the gold-and-silver children who had fled but lingered nearby, the Zhang Liu Spirit, the Flower Maiden, the white-furred mouse, the magpie bearing a twig—all surged forward, rushing to Qian Chen’s feet to devour the jade dust.

Qian Chen smiled: “I drained the fiendish energy from this courtyard to refine my Dan—this robbed you of your chance. I offer this as repayment.”

The spirits bowed respectfully; the strange beasts stood on hind legs, clasping their hands in salute… Cui Dan and Wu Bo suddenly understood: “No wonder the master chose this abandoned house to refine Dan—beneath it lies a Yin Sha!”