After stepping into the third layer of the Qi Refining Realm, the Qi cyclones rotating slowly around the yellow sprout Dao Foundation inside her dantian increased to over thirty. They rose and fell, breathing in and out ceaselessly in a slow, deep rhythm like respiration.
Crimson spiritual Qi, like mist and sunset clouds, diffused into a brilliant radiance. The spiritual Qi circulating through her body became significantly more refined, her spiritual sense expanded, and her perception grew far sharper—it felt as though every flutter of a flower or leaf in the courtyard was entirely within her grasp.
Shi Yu closed her eyes to regulate her breathing for a moment. Only after the restless, floating sensation from her recent breakthrough faded did she slowly open her eyes.
Her previous attempts at refining artifacts had also produced treasure Qi, but this time there was more than before, yielding naturally greater benefits.
The spiritual materials she had used to refine this brocade robe—such as the Golden-Winged Bird Feathers, Soul Frost Jade, and Reverse-Backed Bear-Rhino hide—were top-notch among spiritual materials of the same rank. Furthermore, the restriction Shi Yu carved onto it, which circulated in harmony with the heavens, perfectly matched the properties of those materials, maximizing their effectiveness.
Consequently, the completed brocade robe was of remarkable quality, nearly touching the threshold of a Tier-2 artifact. Naturally, the treasure Qi generated upon its completion far exceeded what she had gained from Chen Er's soft armor, her previous pill furnace, or her talisman pen.
“The amount of treasure Qi generated depends on the rank of the spiritual materials used and the quality of the finished artifact.”
This treasure Qi required no refining; upon entering her body, it immediately converted into her own cultivation without any side effects, offering immense benefits.
The help it provided was already quite pronounced. In the future, as her cultivation advanced further and she became capable of refining higher-tier artifacts, the treasure Qi she obtained would be even more abundant.
Satisfied, Shi Yu looked at the freshly refined Fire Feather Brocade Robe.
Although this brocade robe carried only a single restriction, it was far more difficult and demanding to carve than the three restrictions on Chen Er's soft armor, taking her a full ten days to complete.
This heavenly circulation restriction functioned like a small array formation, continuously absorbing surrounding fire spiritual Qi and using it to nourish her body—a truly subtle and effective function.
Among the low-grade restrictions Shi Yu knew, the heavenly circulation restriction was one of the most useful. Naturally, its difficulty was considerably higher than basic restrictions like Impact Dissipation or Speed Augmentation.
Although she had not carved additional defensive restrictions, the Reverse-Backed Bear-Rhino hide itself was exceptionally tough, and having been processed with custom medicinal solutions using the medicinal tanning method, its innate defense was already quite formidable.
Shi Yu put on the brocade robe as an inner garment. Instantly, a comforting warmth spread through her as her entire body bathed in gentle fire spiritual Qi, noticeably boosting the efficiency of her spiritual Qi circulation.
The result matched her expectations quite well.
Once she got used to the robe, Shi Yu immersed her spiritual sense into the Fate-Tapping Bell to take a look inside.
To her slight disappointment, the space within the bell had not changed in size, remaining ten feet square, and the two springs were just as before.
“Perhaps the bell only changes when I break through a major realm?”
The last time the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell upgraded was when she established her Dao Foundation and stepped into the first layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
Afterward, entering the second layer and now the third layer of the Qi Refining Realm had brought no movement whatsoever.
“Layers one through three of Qi Refining are the early stage, while four through six are the mid stage. I'll check again when I reach the fourth layer and enter the mid Qi Refining Realm.”
If the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell still remained unchanged then, she would likely have to wait until Foundation Establishment to see.
Withdrawing her spiritual sense from the bell, Shi Yu turned her inner vision toward her newly grown spiritual meridian.
Thanks to her daily consumption of Life Spring water, this spiritual meridian was no longer as dim as a dying candle flame or firefly. It looked slightly wider, finally taking proper shape.
“Why not refine a spirit-measuring ruler to test it and see how many fractions it has reached?”
Acting on the sudden whim, Shi Yu set to work immediately.
Refining a spirit-measuring ruler took little effort and required low-grade materials; the leftovers from her previous purchases were just enough.
She casually grabbed a handful of leftover materials, pulled out a dozen spirit stones—the primary ingredient for a spirit-measuring ruler—and began refining.
This item merely needed to be functional, so there was no need to waste Slaughter Spring water on quenching it.
Within less than an hour, a crystal-clear, exquisitely compact spirit-measuring ruler was finished.
She had refined this spirit-measuring ruler casually, so it could only measure Low-grade spiritual meridians, but for Shi Yu, that was sufficient for the time being.
She gripped the base of the ruler and injected a stream of spiritual Qi into it.
She watched a red line rise slowly, passing the marks for Low-grade One-fraction, Two-fractions, and Three-fractions, before finally stopping at Low-grade Five-fractions.
“Low-grade Five-fractions.”
Compared to the Low-grade One-fraction measured by the spirit-measuring ruler back at the Immortal Destiny Gathering in the Mortal Realm, this was a massive change.
Shi Yu put away the spirit-measuring ruler and teased herself, “It's enough to reach the threshold for the Yuxu Sect to recruit handyman disciples. One step further to Low-grade Six-fractions, and I could even get the status of an outer disciple.”
Low-grade Five-fractions was hardly impressive aptitude—it might barely cross the threshold to enter the Yuxu Sect, but what was the Yuxu Sect, really?
Here, disciples of the Yuxu Sect were feared and respected by most, but looking at the bigger picture—let alone the entire Origin Realm, even within this small Changyuan Prefecture in East Continent—the Yuxu Sect was merely an obscure, minor sect.
Thus, taking the whole Origin Realm as a scale, her current cultivation talent remained at the absolute bottom. She could not afford to relax, nor could she grow complacent.
Though spiritual meridian growth was slow, she was fortunate compared to others whose spiritual meridian talent was fixed from birth.
With the trump card of the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell in her hands, her spiritual meridian would one day grow back to what it was before it was extracted.
...
At noon, Chen Er came over as usual to handle mundane chores for her, bringing back the spirit stones earned from selling spirit talismans.
During this period, Shi Yu had never stopped drawing talismans. She would craft a few during breaks in her cultivation, alchemy, or artifact refining, and once she accumulated a decent pile, she would hand them to Chen Er to sell at Tongyi Pavilion.
Knowing that Chen Er was working for Shi Yu, Manager Jiang offered the same fair prices as always, occasionally asking Chen Er to convey news about spiritual plants or materials to her.
“I took one hundred and twenty-five spirit talismans this time, totaling seven hundred and fifty spirit stones. Please take them, Young Master.”
Placing the heavy bag of spirit stones on the table, Chen Er picked up the bucket Shi Yu had prepared—diluted with a bit of Life Spring water—and methodically watered the White Jade Rice.
Shi Yu nodded and said, “From now on, whenever you return from selling spirit stones, take ten for yourself.”
Chen Er complied without declining.
In the past, addressing her as "Young Master" was out of respect, but now it came from a genuine desire to be loyal to her. Thus, he naturally would not refuse what Shi Yu bestowed upon him.
“By the way,” Chen Er recalled something and hesitated before saying, “these talismans sell extremely well. Manager Jiang sets a daily limit, and the moment they are put out, they are completely snapped up...”
Hearing this, Shi Yu raised her eyes, waiting for Chen Er to continue.
“Manager Yan from Duize Tower must have found out that I'm the one selling these talismans. He approached me privately, expressing his desire to buy them as well, offering an extra two spirit stones per talisman.”
After listening, Shi Yu's expression remained completely unruffled. “Pay him no mind.”
To a certain extent, she was quite a petty person.
Manager Yan from Duize Tower had displeased her before. Now that he wanted to buy her talismans, there was not a chance; she was not so desperate for an extra spirit stone or two.
Chen Er pressed no further.
He held no fondness for Manager Yan of Duize Tower, who was snobbish and sycophantic. Moreover, Lu Yujiao was close with Manager Yan, so Chen Er had no desire to speak with him unless necessary.
Still, since these were the Young Master's talismans, he needed to inform her so she was aware of the matter.
After Chen Er finished his chores around the courtyard and was about to leave, Shi Yu instructed, “Inquire for me about how to obtain cultivation techniques and secret manuals.”
She had already reached the third layer of the Qi Refining Realm, yet she still possessed no divine abilities or spells to rely on.
She needed to figure out a way as soon as possible.
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