Chapter 123: Spirit Soul Body Refinement: Reversion to the Womb Technique (Requesting Monthly Votes)

"I've been nurturing Jiang Er's Zhongxing Palace for over half a month, but it's not yet complete. You could ask your teacher Ning to help nurture it another half month—it would greatly benefit Jiang Er's star-pointing. Jiang Er has great spiritual sensitivity; I like her very much. You must cultivate her well, or I won't spare you."

These were Qi Shanye's exact words.

To be honest, if Qi hadn't reminded him, Xu Jin would have forgotten this entirely today, preoccupied with Qi's safety.

After thinking it over, Xu Jin decided not to delay.

Chen Guo's autumn star-pointing season is about to begin; Jiang Er will turn fifteen after August.

Where possible, cultivation should begin as early as possible.

After lunch, Xu Jin carried a gift bundle prepared by Jiang Er—mostly snacks, all chosen by her, many of which Xu Jin had never seen before.

Sunflower seeds, candies, fried small fish, fried beans, various nuts, and a basket of fresh fruit.

In the past, these items were rare treasures in the Xu household; even during New Year, they'd buy only one or two kinds.

Now, they were packed in large and small bundles to give as gifts.

Arriving at the Dao Academy, Xu Jin found Ning Yuchan's gate tightly shut; he was just about to send a starlight message to ask—after all, he still had one free use.

Ning Yuchan suddenly appeared behind Xu Jin.

"Why aren't you cultivating at home, preparing for star-casting? What are you doing here with all these packages?"

Even as she spoke, Ning Yuchan opened the gate and let Xu Jin in.

Inside, the courtyard remained as plain as ever, with several wildflowers blooming vividly.

After setting down the gifts, Xu Jin spoke plainly about his purpose.

Hearing this, Ning Yuchan raised her elegant eyebrows. "I didn't realize you, as an older brother, cared so much for Jiang Er."

Ning Yuchan’s words instantly pulled Xu Jin into memory.

He remembered when he first arrived in this world, when he told himself, “Since you’re here, make peace with it.”

But it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

In his past life, modern conveniences were ultimate—lighting a fire required only a lighter or a switch, done in an instant.

Poor family, couldn’t afford fire-starters; he had to use flint. Xu Jin was clumsy, and most of the work fell to Jiang Er.

Especially combing his hair.

His long hair once became his nightmare!

Later, Jiang Er turned hair-combing into a pleasure.

"Just this one sister!" Xu Jin smiled. "Please, Teacher, help me."

"Hmm, it's a small matter. Do you want me to nurture her while she sleeps, or while she's awake?" Ning Yuchan asked.

"Teacher, is there a difference?"

"Of course there is.

While asleep, it’s passive nurturing. But if she’s awake and focuses her intent on her Zhongxing Palace, the effect is far better—this is one reason many elite family prodigies excel.

With devoted nurturing from family elders, even average talent can become excellent, and excellent can become top-tier." Ning Yuchan said.

"Then let it be while she’s awake."

"Fine. I’ll come over tonight."

A few breaths later, Xu Jin left.

The moment Xu Jin departed, Ning Yuchan, who had been sitting upright, cheerfully opened his gifts, sampling each item one by one, her pink lips clicking happily.

"This guy really knows how to pick snacks—why is everything so delicious?"

In the cultivation chamber, Xu Jin stared at the nine top-grade Star-Casting Elixirs and twelve regular ones, then at the three star-lamps on the Candou Platform, calculating.

Three of the elixirs had been placed inside the star-lamps the moment he received them yesterday.

Now, they had been nurtured once.

According to the Headmaster, the second-tier star-domain for star-casting would open in two and a half days.

So Xu Jin had only two and a half days to nurture these elixirs.

There were eighteen elixirs needing nurturing, but the three star-lamps could nurture at most nine at once.

Quickly, Xu Jin devised a plan to maximize nurturing efficiency.

Today, nurture nine regular Star-Casting Elixirs; by noon tomorrow, all will reach one-nurture. Then replace them with nine top-grade ones; after all reach one-nurture, they can still be nurtured for another half day.

This way, the star-lamps will be used to their fullest.

At that point, the potency of twelve one-nurture regular elixirs will equal that of twelve top-grade ones, and the nine top-grade elixirs will have at least double their original potency.

Xu Jin felt confident that under this setup, his Middle and Lower Star Palaces would reliably form top-grade Star Cores.

After making these preparations, Xu Jin took out the Dingshen Golden Elixir that had been nurtured in the star-lamp for over fourteen days.

The round, gleaming Dingshen Golden Elixir, once faintly radiant, now glowed with three distinct layers of star-clouds, starlight swirling around it—clearly no ordinary item.

"One-nurture doubles the original potency, two-nurture triples it. So what is three-nurture? Four times the original?"

As he pondered, Xu Jin swallowed the three-nurture Dingshen Golden Elixir.

The instant it entered his body, a cool sensation surged straight to his skull.

The next instant, his Upper Star Palace’s Spirit Star began spinning faster, absorbing the elixir’s power; the core Chengpo Star Pattern even glowed brightly from the flood of spiritual energy.

Brilliantly bright.

Simultaneously, Xu Jin sank his intent into the Spirit Star, pushing it fully to absorb every bit of spiritual power, avoiding even the slightest waste.

After his Spirit Star had been refined by the Headmaster and Ning Yuchan together, then again by Old Qi, the three star-rings previously formed had reached perfection; a faint outline of a fourth ring had just begun to appear.

He had just reached Star Refinement Level Four.

Now, with the Dingshen Golden Elixir’s power entering his body, the fourth star-ring on his Spirit Star expanded visibly.

Within mere breaths, the fourth ring fully formed, then solidified and grew steadily.

This surprised Xu Jin—the potency of the three-nurture Dingshen Golden Elixir was slightly stronger than he’d expected.

Previously, both Ning Yuchan and Old Qi had told him the Dingshen Golden Elixir could only slightly enhance spiritual power.

How much was “slightly”?

Old Qi had once given Xu Jin an approximate ratio.

He said: ignoring diminishing returns from consecutive doses, taking three Dingshen Golden Elixirs in a row would grant Xu Jin one additional star-ring—meaning one level of cultivation increase.

In other words, one Dingshen Golden Elixir could strengthen one star-ring by one-third.

"So my Spirit Star should at least break through to Star Refinement Level Five?"

In fact, only five minutes after swallowing the Dingshen Golden Elixir, Xu Jin’s Spirit Star reached perfect Level Four, then immediately began forming the outline of a fifth ring.

His Spirit Star broke through to Star Refinement Level Five.

And the potency of the three-nurture Dingshen Golden Elixir had not yet diminished.

"Could my Spirit Star break through to early or even mid-Level Six?"

But the final result left Xu Jin utterly stunned.

The potency of the three-nurture elixir wasn’t four times—it was six times.

One-nurture and two-nurture increased potency cumulatively from the original, but three-nurture doubled the potency of two-nurture.

Two-nurture was three times; doubled again, it became six times.

Fifteen minutes later, when the last trace of the Dingshen Golden Elixir’s power was absorbed, Xu Jin’s Spirit Star’s fifth ring reached perfection, and faint traces of a sixth ring began to form.

Spirit Star: Star Refinement Level Six.

A single three-nurture Dingshen Golden Elixir had directly propelled Xu Jin’s Spirit Star up two levels.

This instantly made Xu Jin think of the Lianshen Golden Elixir.

The even rarer Lianshen Golden Elixir was said to strengthen spiritual power three times more than the Dingshen Golden Elixir.

If he obtained one and nurtured it to three-nurture, how great a boost would his Spirit Star receive? At that point, breaking through to Star Refinement Level Nine might even be possible.

Thinking of this, Xu Jin felt a pang of regret.

Too bad Chen Guo’s Dao Academy’s second-tier star-domain would open in two and a half days—giving him little time.

If it opened in half a month, he could nurture all nine top-grade Star-Casting Elixirs to three-nurture—their potency would multiply sixfold.

Not only could he form top-grade Star Cores in both the Middle and Lower Star Palaces—he might even form supreme-grade Star Cores in both.

Too bad, only two and a half days remained.

Then, Xu Jin tested the base star-art’s power.

After firing a Star Arrow, he himself was startled.

Twenty-five chi!

Previously, after eight refinements, his Star Arrow’s range was twenty-one chi; now, after his Spirit Star’s cultivation rose two levels, the range surged by four chi to twenty-five chi.

Most ordinary disciples’ Star Arrow range was only nine or ten chi.

Even prodigies like Wang Weisheng and Lu Xianbing had ranges of only twelve to thirteen chi.

As for the Dao Academy’s senior sister Meng Qingqiu, Xu Jin had observed her earlier that morning during their sparring.

Meng Qingqiu’s Star Arrow range was about fifteen chi, no more than seventeen chi.

Meaning, Xu Jin’s base star-art power was now double—or nearly double— theirs.

In fact, many disciples’ Star Arrow range didn’t even match Xu Jin’s star-ring sweep radius.

Now, facing Meng Qingqiu, Yan Chen, and others, he could kill them far more easily.

Previously, defeating Yan Chen took four Star Arrows; now, at most three—or even two—would suffice.

Even if Yan Chen defended at full strength.

Besides, the distance of Flying Star Step also surged.

Previously, its maximum range was just over sixty meters; now, it instantly leapt to seventy-five meters.

However, Xu Jin believed the greatest change was actually the full-output state.

Previously, if Xu Jin frantically pushed his Soul-Star to its limit without regard for cost, he could channel forty percent of his star power into a single Star Arrow and launch it.

That attack’s destructive power would certainly be immense, roughly ten times stronger than his current Star Arrow.

But after reaching the sixth level of Soul-Star cultivation, Xu Jin could now expel sixty percent of his star power in one continuous burst.

Xu Jin understood this was undoubtedly his ultimate trump card.

A weapon capable of slaying enemies of higher realms!

The method Qi Shanye had found for Xu Jin to achieve nine rounds of blood-and-bone purification was called the Soul-Star Body Reversion Technique.

One key to achieving the ninth round of blood-and-bone purification and forging the flawless primordial star body: a powerful Soul-Star.

At minimum, one must have forged a Soul-Star to activate the Soul-Star Body Reversion Technique.

It must be combined with a high-grade Transformation Elixir, using the Soul-Star’s immense power to blend into the elixir’s essence, purifying the body and refining the marrow, penetrating deep into the body’s hidden reserves beyond the reach of star power—only then might the ninth round of blood-and-bone purification be completed and the flawless primordial star body forged.

The secret technique stated: the stronger the Soul-Star power, and the higher the quality of the high-grade Transformation Elixir, the greater the chance of completing the ninth round of blood-and-bone purification.

Generally, after forging a Soul-Star, using a high-grade Transformation Elixir to practice the Soul-Star Body Reversion Technique gives about a thirty percent chance of completing the ninth round of blood-and-bone purification.

“My Soul-Star is now at the sixth level of cultivation, and I possess three three-vein high-grade Transformation Elixirs—what’s my chance of completing the ninth round? At least fifty percent, right?”

Xu Jin then thought of the Soul-Refining Golden Core.

If he obtained the Soul-Refining Golden Core, wouldn’t the probability be even higher?

Unfortunately, time didn’t allow it.

Only by achieving nine rounds of blood-and-bone purification before forging the Soul-Star would it have any effect!

Otherwise, it was useless!

There were only two and a half days left.

Xu Jin wasted not a single moment.

The next instant, he took out one of his three-vein high-grade Transformation Elixirs, swallowed it, and as the medicinal power dissolved, he instantly unleashed his torrential Soul-Star power, merging it with the elixir’s energy as it surged back and forth within his body.

Simultaneously, following the secret technique’s instructions, he guided the Soul-Star power to carry the medicinal energy into every corner the elixir alone could not reach—including the depths of his five viscera and six bowels, and the core of his spine.

Previously, during body cultivation, star power merely circulated endlessly within his body.

Now, with the addition of Soul-Star power, the process became precise and refined.

His spine, long numb and unresponsive, now tingled with a prickling itch.

Half an hour later, a thin layer of pale white grime seeped from Xu Jin’s skin.

Xu Jin frowned.

It wasn’t complete yet.

According to the Soul-Star Body Reversion Technique, one sign of the ninth round of blood-and-bone purification was called Blood Grime.

This Blood Grime was the final layer of impurities remaining within the body; once removed, the ninth round of blood-and-bone purification would be complete, and the flawless primordial star body forged.

As for the characteristics of the flawless primordial star body, the secret technique recorded nothing.

It only said four words: Those who attain it, know it.

Upon inner observation, Xu Jin found his Soul-Star, now at the sixth level of cultivation, retained less than twenty percent of its power.

For the first time, his Soul-Star power had been drained so severely.

He swallowed a single one-vein high-grade Revitalizing Elixir and fell into deep sleep.

The fastest way to restore Soul-Star power was still sleep.

That night, Xu Jin was jolted awake by the Mingji Star Mark.

In his sleep, he sensed a powerful aura approaching—he snapped upright in an instant.

He felt the Mingji Star Mark on his Lower Star Palace flickering faintly.

“Is this the enhancement from my Soul-Star reaching the sixth level of cultivation?”

The Mingji Star Mark’s function had clearly improved.

It had never been this alert before.

According to Old Qi, only after forging the Lower Star Palace could the Mingji Star Mark’s power be partially unleashed.

“Brother, Miss Ning is here—where are you?” His sister Jiang Er’s voice rang out.

The powerful aura the Mingji Star Mark had sensed was, in fact, Ning Yuchan’s.

Xu Jin hurried off the bed, opened the door, and saw his sister Jiang Er guiding Ning Yuchan into the back courtyard—barely ten meters from his meditation chamber.

If the warning had triggered during those two breaths, had the Mingji Star Mark’s alert range expanded to twenty meters?

Xu Jin had already told his sister Ning Yuchan was coming.

Jiang Er had long arranged dinner.

At the table, their father Xu Dajiang quickly ate a few bites and left.

He had long realized his presence made everyone uncomfortable.

Xu Jin couldn’t help but admire his father Xu Dajiang—barely literate, with little education, yet his emotional intelligence was truly high!

With only Xu Jin, Jiang Er, and Ning Yuchan left, the meal was filled with laughter.

Especially Jiang Er and Ning Yuchan, who got along perfectly.

Now that they were closer, Xu Jin noticed Ning Yuchan wasn’t as cold and aloof as she appeared at the Dao Academy.

When chatting with Jiang Er, her occasional smile bloomed like a rose—delightful to behold.

After dinner, Ning Yuchan directly took Jiang Er to nurture her Middle Star Palace.

Xu Jin, however, gripped the Star-Picking Token and entered the Star-Picking Tower alone.

As soon as he stepped inside, a starlight message arrived!

Xu Jin’s heart leapt—he opened it at top speed, then his expression darkened.

It wasn’t a message from Old Qi!

(End of Chapter)