Chapter Thirty: Spiritual Sense Extended, Advancement to the Third Level

Lu Xin smiled faintly and said, “Why so impatient? Though I am not a virtuous gentleman, I won’t deny you the Foundation Establishment Pill. In two months, when Grandmaster leaves seclusion, I will fetch it for you. Now, get out of my sight!”

Hong Mei, for the sake of the Foundation Establishment Pill, did not wish to quarrel with him. In truth, Lu Xin was not wrong; it was indeed because of the pill that she had agreed to dual cultivate with him. Yet, even if the feelings were false, no woman likes to be discarded. Of course, if she were the one to abandon Lu Xin, perhaps her heart would be less troubled.

Her gaze shifted constantly as she spoke, “Lu Xin, remember this: if you try any tricks, I’ll fight you to the bitter end!”

With that, she stepped onto her sword, turned, and disappeared into the horizon like a gust of wind.

Lu Xin pursed his lips, muttering, “You’re still far from being able to contend with me. If I don’t ditch you, you’ll end up leaving me sooner or later. In two months, I’ll enter seclusion, striving to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Let’s see who you’ll fight to the death then.”

He finished speaking and spurred his flying sword, vanishing from sight.

At this moment, Ge Qian was already settled in his cave abode, concocting the Monster Spirit Pill. He had decided to reward the little white fox first, so she would continue managing the herb garden.

The Monster Spirit Pill was simple to refine, and soon five pills were in his hand. Leaving the cave, he approached the white fox, smiled gently, and said, “Cong Cong, from now on, I’ll rely on you to take care of the herb garden. These five Monster Spirit Pills are your reward.”

The little white fox’s face lit up with delight; she swallowed the pills, storing them in her elixir field, and wrote, “No problem! As long as you can advance to the Foundation Establishment stage soon!”

Ge Qian was moved and replied, “Advancing to Foundation Establishment is no easy feat, but I won’t be discouraged! I’m off to continue refining pills.”

The little white fox nodded and found a quiet spot to cultivate.

Ge Qian returned to his cave and resumed pill refining, working through more than a dozen batches. His skills in furnace control, flame manipulation, pill extraction, and heat regulation improved markedly.

Finally, he took out the white jade pill recipe and studied it carefully. His heart stirred—the Restoration Pill, crafted from eighteen types of spiritual herbs through secret techniques.

The greatest miracle of the Restoration Pill was its ability to rapidly restore spiritual power when depleted, more than ten times faster than holding a spirit stone.

Ge Qian thought to himself that this pill recipe alone was worth a good deal of spirit stones. With the Restoration Pill, he would have the upper hand in any magical duel.

After three days and nights of careful study, he mastered the recipe, clarifying each step.

Reciting the sutra silently, he took out the pill furnace, formed a spell, and the furnace expanded to three feet. He controlled the flames with his technique, gradually increasing the temperature.

After seven days of meticulous refining, the pills were finally complete. The furnace shook and spat out five Restoration Pills, each radiating brilliance and overflowing with spiritual energy.

Ge Qian nodded in satisfaction and put the pills away, relieved to have finally succeeded. Fortunately, he had refined twenty-seven batches of pills beforehand; otherwise, he might not have managed it.

He planned to deliver the pills to Senior Sister Bai when the time was right. Recently, many cultivators had sent in spiritual herbs, and he had collected work for more than a dozen batches, which would take over a month to complete.

But this month was crucial for his own cultivation; pill refining must not hinder his progress.

He decided to spend another month refining pills, then enter seclusion to break through to the third layer of Qi Accumulation.

Thanks to his improved pill techniques, he completed the pill refining in less than twenty days.

He did not hand over the pills immediately, but chose to enter seclusion. If he went out now, he might receive more spiritual herbs, delaying his retreat even further.

With a steady supply of Bone-Washing Pills, after three months Ge Qian smoothly reached the peak of the second layer of Qi Accumulation, mastering the final stage of the Triple Origin Art.

Ge Qian slowly opened his eyes and activated his Heavenly Eye, observing that the vortex in his elixir field was larger and spinning faster than before.

It was time to break through. Ge Qian swallowed two Bone-Washing Pills at once, circulated the Triple Origin Art, and began to cultivate. The tender sprout absorbed the medicine and immediately exuded spiritual liquid, which was absorbed by the vortex.

The vortex sped up, accelerating until it finally collapsed. His elixir field shook and doubled in size; the vortex slowly rose again from within.

His sea of consciousness exploded, as if night had been pierced by dawn, and even with his eyes closed, everything in the cave was vividly clear in his mind.

Ge Qian slowly tempered his divine sense, sweeping it over the stone walls again and again until his primordial spirit grew weary and he finally withdrew it.

The outward projection of divine sense was a hallmark of the third layer of Qi Accumulation. Only with divine sense can one ride a sword in flight and command objects with the mind, seeing everything within ten meters even without the eyes.

But Ge Qian’s divine sense had refined two strands of primordial spirit, and the Triple Origin Art also reinforced his mind. Whereas ordinary cultivators at the third layer could project their divine sense up to ten zhang, Ge Qian reached more than twenty.

It had taken Ge Qian only a year to progress from the second to the third layer, whereas before three years had not brought him up a single level. Beyond joy, he now felt gratitude rather than fear for the sprout in his elixir field.

Thinking it over, he realized there is no such thing as a free lunch; someday it would come to collect its dues.

This realization brought a vague sense of crisis. He must strengthen himself and eventually uncover the truth about the sprout.

Advancing to the third layer of Qi Accumulation, he could now refine flying swords, ride them through the air, and wield them in battle.

Ge Qian took out a common flying sword, formed several spells, and the sword began to glow.

He slowly extended his divine sense into the sword, infused it with spiritual power, and the sword trembled, rising in the air and quivering slightly.

With a thought, Ge Qian sent the sword darting into the stone wall. Another spell withdrew the blade, which then danced around him, soaring up and down, flitting east and west.

Sword techniques—using a sword against foes required corresponding skills. Ge Qian practiced his three magical forms, manipulating the sword with his divine sense.

After half an hour, his spiritual power and divine sense became strained.

At the third layer, projecting divine sense barely allowed him to use magical weapons; the demands on both spiritual power and mind were immense. Only at the fourth layer could he truly ride the sword in flight.

Ge Qian had only just reached the third layer and had not yet cultivated the first expansion of the meridians, so his power was insufficient.

He sat cross-legged, consumed pills, and meditated to consolidate his cultivation. After half a month, his progress was fully stabilized.

He stepped out of the cave, tossed the flying sword, stepped onto it, and urged it forward. The sword wobbled erratically, and before long Ge Qian was thrown off.

He landed hard, leaving a human-shaped pit in the grass. Standing up, he realized that flying with magical implements truly required skill. The little white fox approached, and judging by her fluctuating demonic energy, she had reached the mid-stage of the first tier.

She scribbled on the ground, “You’ve advanced to the third layer—congratulations! I’ve been helping you all this time. You should reward me with Monster Spirit Pills, right?”

Ge Qian thought it over; indeed, he ought to give her the pills. Her demonic energy was nearing the late stage of the first tier. Once her strength grew, he might not be able to control her. With this in mind, he smiled and said, “Give me a month. I’ll see if I can get the ingredients for Monster Spirit Pills. If not, I’ll take the risk and gather some myself. Don’t worry.”

Mei Die was a fox with a thousand years of life experience, immediately seeing through Ge Qian’s intent. Her main goal was the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain, and she hoped even more for Ge Qian to reach the peak of Qi Accumulation. She nodded and went off to manage the herb garden.

The Mortal Path to Immortality, Chapter 30: Outward Projection of Divine Sense, Advancement to the Third Layer—update complete!