Second-Layer Qi Refining.
Jiang Zhaoye froze for a long moment, looking down at his hand. The spiritual power circulating through his fingertips was nearly twice as abundant as before.
His eyes lit up. He guessed it was because he hadn't undergone his official psionic awakening on Blue Star yet; thus, he could only alter his psionic stats and engage in Body Refining, but couldn't truly step onto the path of Blue Star's psionic cultivation system.
Furthermore, because he had continuously practiced the 《Psionic Guiding Technique》 to absorb psionic energy—or rather, spiritual energy—most of the spiritual energy entering his meridians was consumed by the 《Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art》 and improving his spirit root, but the residual spiritual energy in his body had actually been slowly increasing and accumulating all along.
On top of that, after cultivating day and night without rest during this period, the residual medicinal potency of the Marrow Cleansing Pill had gradually improved his physique, and the quality of his spirit root had risen along with his psionic stats...
Had he actually satisfied the conditions to break through to Second-Layer Qi Refining long ago?
It was merely that he hadn't been practicing a technique corresponding to the cultivation system of the world where Perfected Hanyu's cave abode was located. As a result, that barrier had remained stuck there, unnoticed.
Thus, the moment he switched to practicing the 《Mystic Ice Mirror》, which matched this world's cultivation system, he immediately broke through to Second-Layer Qi Refining. The lingering sense of frustration that had been clogging his chest vanished in the instant of breakthrough.
Student Jiang had a sudden realization. He could actually feel that although the cultivation paths of Blue Star and this world shared some overlap, they were fundamentally two distinct cultivation systems overall.
This was entirely different from how psionic energy and spiritual energy—or psionic stats and spirit roots—were essentially identical in nature; this felt like a difference in theoretical foundation.
Jiang Zhaoye didn't know whether practicing both would lead to contradictions down the line, but he didn't care. At least so far, they weren't contradictory at all—in fact, they complemented each other quite well in his body.
Black cat or white cat, as long as it caught mice, it was a good cat.
He would cross future bridges when he came to them; for now, student Jiang only wanted to clear the upcoming hurdle of advancing to high school.
On present-day Blue Star, the two most critical turning points in a person's life were entering high school from middle school and entering university from high school. Jiang Zhaoye was sick and tired of working himself to the bone only to fall short of even the awakening threshold. Ever since gaining the miraculous opportunity to travel between two worlds, he only wanted to be a genius!
...
Reining in his thoughts, an idea suddenly sparked in Jiang Zhaoye's mind.
Clenching his fists with a tinge of excitement, his eyes lit up.
Third-Layer Qi Refining... seemed to be enough to undo the array and exit this ice cave.
Jiang Zhaoye had been hopping back and forth between the two worlds for so long, yet he had never once stepped outside the cave abode on this side.
Student Jiang lowered his head to look at his watch.
[Psionic Energy: Metal 13, Water 38, Ice 51]
Ice attribute 51, Water attribute 38.
He thought for a moment, his eyes darting around. He retrieved the bottle of Marrow Cleansing Pills from his spatial button, poured out one pill, and swallowed it without hesitation. Sitting cross-legged back at the center of the spirit-gathering array, he swiftly began executing the familiar combination of the 《Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art》 and the 《Psionic Guiding Technique》 with practiced ease.
The familiar, massive, boiling, and intense medicinal potency dissolved inside his body as a scalding, spicy stream of magma spread rapidly along his meridians.
This time, he clearly felt the difference compared to his first time swallowing a Marrow Cleansing Pill.
Likely because his spirit root had upgraded, his physique and meridians had strengthened after practicing the 《Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art》 for a while, and his Second-Layer Qi Refining realm had also quickened his spiritual power absorption speed, the medicinal potency was no longer as excruciatingly painful as sulfuric acid like before.
Although it remained scalding hot, it didn't cause him that agonizing pain of being suspended between life and death like last time. Instead, it was like pouring water into a dried-up riverbed; spiritual power mixed with medicinal energy, surging through his meridians with exceptional vitality and vigor.
With multiple factors combined, he felt his Ice attribute growing noticeably faster than before.
Eyes closed, he circulated his spiritual power over and over, feeling his skin, flesh, and bones become denser and firmer under the tempering of spiritual power.
Time lost all meaning while cultivating in the ice cave. He had no idea how long had passed, but when Jiang Zhaoye finished his session and opened his eyes again, the data on his watch had already changed.
[Psionic Energy: Metal 13, Water 40, Ice 54]
He froze for a second, then checked again. His Ice attribute had increased from 51 to 54, while his Water attribute had risen from 38 to 40.
It had actually gained three points in Ice attribute and two points in Water attribute!
Considering the snail's pace of taking fourteen to fifteen hours to gain a single point once his Ice attribute reached fifty, this boost in efficiency was a massive leap—a pleasant surprise worthy of setting off fireworks to celebrate.
Stretching his body, he suddenly felt his skin sticky. Looking down, he saw a thin layer of gray filth coating his arms, emitting a faint odor. These were impurities expelled during Body Refining; while this had also happened during his previous Body Refining session with the Marrow Cleansing Pill, it hadn't been nearly as pronounced as this time.
Rising to his feet, he walked to the corner of the stone chamber, over to the basin he had specially brought from home, cupped some water to wash his face, and wiped his arms.
The water's surface reflected his face.
His skin was even fairer than before, and his facial features were more defined and refined. Those ice-blue eyes looked exceptionally bright in the dim light.
He paused in surprise, then pulled out a small mirror to inspect his face closely.
There was indeed another change, though not overly exaggerated. It was more like he had matured a bit. His brows and eyes seemed to have grown somewhat colder due to long-term practice with ice-attribute spiritual energy, while his skin had shifted from ordinary fair to acquiring the texture of white jade. His entire demeanor looked increasingly handsome and ethereal.
Withdrawing his gaze, Jiang Zhaoye picked up the jade slip for the 《Mystic Ice Mirror》 once more and pressed it against his forehead.
Wasting no words, he began circulating the cultivation pathway of the 《Mystic Ice Mirror》 again.
Spiritual power circulated through his meridians, flowing as smoothly as a stream entering a river, free of its former stumbling obstacles. He guided the spiritual power round after round, battering against the barrier to Third-Layer Qi Refining.
Under the impact of his spiritual power, the barrier gradually loosened, like an earthen wall soaked and washed by rainwater, peeling away layer by layer in a mixture of mud and dirt.
Before he knew how much time had passed, he felt the barrier finally break open. Spiritual power surged wildly into a vaster expanse, causing all the meridians in his body to shudder.
Third-Layer Qi Refining.
Jiang Zhaoye comfortably exhaled a breath of turbid air, opened a pair of shining eyes, and stood up.
Almost unable to wait, he dashed into the ice-bound passage, squatted down before the massive stone door, and stared intently at the circular groove at its center.
Student Jiang had tried several times before, but channeling spiritual power into it had yielded no reaction.
But things were different now.
Jiang Zhaoye raised his palm and slowly funneled spiritual power into the groove.
The patterns along the edge of the groove lit up sequentially like lights flicking on, spreading from the inside out like a miniature, exquisitely crafted light show.
The stone door emitted a low vibration, then slowly slid open to both sides, revealing a gloomy passage.
A cold wind blew in from the passage, carrying a damp, earthy smell.
Standing at the entrance of this heavy stone door, fourteen-year-old Jiang Zhaoye gazed into the passage leading into the unknown, his heart beating a little faster.
Yet he didn't head out right away.
Instead, the young boy stepped back, closed the stone door again, verified that the array had returned to its original state, and teleported back to Blue Star without a word.
That evening, he registered an alternate account on a second-hand marketplace app and listed a spirit stone for sale.
A medium-grade spirit stone.
It was one he had brought out of the ice cave and hadn't touched until now.
Jiang Zhaoye took photos and videos of this noble stone from the front, back, left, and right, priced it at a mid-range rate based on price ranges he found online, and prepared himself for a long wait.
Who would have thought that less than half an hour after posting it, someone bought it up.
Rate on N.U.
