C14 Qi Refining Stage Level One

Inside the cave, Wei Lulin sat cross-legged on the ground, his breathing becoming steadier and his heartbeat slowing to a tranquil pace. The cave was enveloped in an eerie silence, where even the whisper of the cold wind was distinctly audible.

Sensing the Qi was simple, yet guiding it into his body proved to be a formidable challenge. Wei Lulin spent merely an hour to sense the spiritual energy, but it took him almost an entire day to barely control it. As for channeling the spiritual energy into his physical strength, that would likely require even more time.

Content with the opportunity to cultivate once more, Wei Lulin was satisfied. He was not bothered by the additional days it would take to reach the Qi Refining Stage. Patience was his companion.

The day flew by, and Wei Lulin ceased his cultivation. The effort to draw the Spiritual Qi into his body was immensely draining, leaving him exceptionally weary. Persisting in cultivation would be futile and could even risk damaging his consciousness. Furthermore, his supply of stored fruits had been completely depleted, necessitating a replenishment.

With caution, Wei Lulin ventured out of the cave. Relying on his memory, he located a fruit-laden tree not far away, swiftly harvested dozens of fruits, and returned to his sanctuary.

Devouring over ten fruits in one sitting, he alleviated his hunger and then collapsed onto the ground, falling into a deep slumber.

Over the following days, Wei Lulin devoted himself to the practice of guiding the Qi. He would rest when fatigued, sleep on the ground when sleepiness overtook him, and eat a few fruits when hunger struck.

After four days of relentless focus and effort, the strand of Qi he had been working with could finally graze the surface of his body.

On the dawn of the fifth day, under his deliberate control, the strand of Qi seamlessly integrated into his body and vanished within his meridians.

A sharp pain followed, coursing through his meridians and leaving him with a tingling sensation all over. Simultaneously, a surge of vigor flowed from his meridians, revitalizing his exhausted spirit.

"I've finally reached Qi Refining Stage Level One!" Overwhelmed with the newfound power coursing through his meridians, Wei Lulin exclaimed with tears of elation.

After enduring so many hardships, it was truly a feat for him to reach Qi Refining Stage Level One.

Although he was thrilled and felt an urge to shout his joy to the heavens, he refrained. Instead, he composed himself and continued to channel the Qi into his body.

By channeling the spiritual energy into his body, he could utilize the Spirit Locking Stone for his cultivation, but the spiritual energy within him had to reach a certain threshold. If insufficient, he would be unable to draw the spiritual energy from the Spirit Locking Stone. Wei Lulin was still slightly short of this level.

Once the initial wisp of Spiritual Force entered his body, guiding the Spiritual Force became much easier. He forwent rest and sustenance from fruits in the afternoon, dedicating himself entirely to his cultivation practice.

A full day passed, and he had managed to guide roughly twenty strands of Qi into his body. Only then was he able to make marginal use of the Spirit Locking Stone.

Choosing not to proceed with his cultivation for the moment, he consumed over a dozen fruits in one sitting. Exhausted, Wei Lulin collapsed to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

The following morning, Wei Lulin awoke promptly. He did not rush into his cultivation exercises but instead rose to his feet and began to stroll around the cave.

While walking, he focused on regulating his breath, striving to bring his mental state to its peak.

Once he felt mentally prepared, he sat down cross-legged, took out a Spirit Locking Stone with a slightly lower concentration of Qi, and held it in his hand. He then commenced the Grand Profound Heart Sutra, drawing the Qi from the Spirit Locking Stone into himself.

The Qi within the Spirit Locking Stone was far more abundant than the Heaven Earth Spiritual Energy dispersed in the air. If the latter could be likened to a single drop of water, then the Qi from the Spirit Locking Stone would be comparable to a full cup.

The impact of absorbing the Qi was remarkably clear.

He siphoned the Qi from the Spirit Locking Stone into his body, and the twelve meridians swiftly assimilated the Qi. Before long, nearly one percent of the Qi filled one of the meridians.

The goal of Qi Refining Stage Level One is to saturate all the body's meridians with Spiritual Qi. Once the meridians are brimming with Spiritual Qi, the Cultivation Method will transform this energy, eventually creating Spiritual Force. At this juncture, the martial artist officially advances to Qi Refining Stage Level Two.

A warrior's strength only sees significant enhancement when Spiritual Energy is transformed into Spiritual Force. Moreover, warriors endowed with Spiritual Force can practice a selection of lower-tier martial skills.

It is the synergy of Spiritual Force and martial skills that unleashes a warrior's true power.

Perhaps Wei Lulin's High Level Grade Eight talent was exceptionally remarkable, or maybe the Grand Profound Heart Sutra he practiced was extraordinarily potent. It could also be due to his incredible potential that a Spirit Locking Stone was reduced to dust in less than a day.

Currently, nearly one-third of the Spiritual Energy was stored within one of his body's meridians.

Upon comparing the amount of Spiritual Energy required by other warriors for cultivation, Wei Lulin realized he absorbed three to five times more than the average warrior.

Where an ordinary warrior could fill a meridian with the energy from a single Spirit Locking Stone, he needed three. This meant that the Spiritual Energy in his meridians was at least triple that of an ordinary warrior, if not more.

The Spirit Locking Stone he was currently using was particularly potent compared to the standard ones. After some calculations, he concluded that the Spiritual Energy in his meridians might even be four times that of an ordinary warrior.

Despite absorbing more Spiritual Energy, Wei Lulin's cultivation pace hadn't slowed. An average warrior would take at least three days to absorb a Spirit Locking Stone, but he required only one day. This efficiency was the advantage of having superior Cultivation Talent and practicing an effective Cultivation Method.

This led Wei Lulin to ponder about martial artists with even higher Cultivation Talents. For someone with a Grade One Cultivation Talent, would it take mere minutes to absorb a Spirit Locking Stone?

And if one with a Grade One Cultivation Talent were to practice a High Rank Heaven Level technique, could they deplete a Spirit Locking Stone in just a few breaths?

The thought was terrifying!

A chill ran through Wei Lulin. He quickly shook his head, casting the daunting idea out of his mind, not wanting to dampen his spirits.

He then took stock of his remaining Spirit Locking Stones.

With twelve meridians in the human body and each requiring three Spirit Locking Stones, he calculated that he would need a total of 36 Spirit Locking Stones for all twelve meridians.

Wei Lulin currently possessed 17 Spirit Locking Stones and a Grade Ten Low Grade Spirit Stone. These were sufficient for his breakthrough to Level Two of the Qi Refining Stage. Once he achieved this, the Spiritual Qi within him would transform into Spiritual Force, and he could then practice a new set of martial techniques before devising a plan to escape the Endless Forest.

Having subsisted solely on fruits for over two weeks, his body was beginning to feel the strain. He needed to introduce a variety of nutrients into his diet. Furthermore, as he advanced to Level Two of the Body Refining Stage, his need for Spirit Stones grew. With no Spirit Stones to be found in the Endless Forest, he had to find a way to acquire them elsewhere.

Setting his worries aside for the moment, Lulin chose not to sleep as he typically would. Instead, he took out a Spirit Locking Stone and resumed his cultivation.

One Spirit Locking Stone.

Two Spirit Locking Stones.

Five Spirit Locking Stones.

Ten Spirit Locking Stones.

With his cultivation strength increasing, he absorbed Spiritual Qi at an ever-accelerating rate. Initially, he could only use up one Spirit Locking Stone per day, but now he was able to consume two, or even three, Spirit Locking Stones daily.