Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 14: Stepping into the Qi Refining Stage

"Well, it's about time to break through."

Returning to his small dwelling, Gu Mo took a deep breath. The meridian-cleansing and marrow-refining effects brought by the perfected-level Cleaning Technique had been weakening over time.

Of course, the main reason was that he had run out of spirit stones. Over this period, Gu Mo had replaced the spirit stones in the flowerpot growing his Sunflower three times, exhausting all nine of his spirit stones.

If he delayed any longer and the spirit stones in the flowerpot were completely depleted, he would essentially be cut off from his energy source.

Adjusting his state of mind, Gu Mo slowly activated the Qi Gathering Technique, guiding the pure spiritual energy within his body to break through the first minor circulation cycle.

With his precise control over spiritual energy and the purity of his qi, the meridians were easily opened. In just a few hours, he successfully connected his first minor circulation cycle. As expected, there was no obstacle for Gu Mo in stepping into the Qi Refining Stage.

As the minor circulation cycle connected, the previously stagnant spiritual energy in his dantian began to flow. Like a rushing river, the circulating qi flushed through his body, initiating the meridian-cleansing and marrow-refining process that accompanied a breakthrough.

"Three hours!"

Gu Mo slowly opened his eyes, calculated the time, and felt a slight shock in his heart. His breakthrough had granted him a full three hours of meridian-cleansing and marrow-refining.

According to the information he had gathered, this process usually lasted around one hour for most cultivators breaking into the Qi Refining Stage. His duration was three times that, proving that his prior use of the perfected-level Cleaning Technique to preemptively cleanse his meridians had indeed been effective.

This extended refinement time resulted in wider and more resilient meridians, allowing him to store and circulate more spiritual energy at a faster rate.

A cultivator's spiritual energy originates from their dantian, but since it is constantly circulating, additional energy can also be stored in the meridians. This stored energy represents a cultivator's true foundation.

At this moment, Gu Mo's total spiritual energy was three times that of an ordinary beginner at the Qi Refining Stage.

Beyond the increase in qi reserves, his physical body had also significantly strengthened. Clenching his fists, Gu Mo could feel a powerful force surging within him—roughly three times stronger than that of an average Qi Refining cultivator at the same stage.

It was no exaggeration to say that although he had just stepped into the first level of the Qi Refining Stage, he was already on par with someone at the second level.

This was crucial for Gu Mo because he was about to shift his focus to accumulating Sun Essence. His cultivation would temporarily stagnate, but with the qi and physique of a second-level Qi Refining cultivator, he had the confidence to put his advancement on hold.

Once he had gathered enough Sunflowers, his cultivation would quickly surpass others.

After familiarizing himself with his newfound strength, Gu Mo casually cast a perfected-level Cleaning Technique on himself to clear away the impurities expelled during the refinement process.

However, the moment the technique took effect, he was taken aback. The meridian-cleansing and marrow-refining effect, which had weakened considerably before, had suddenly become stronger again.

Logically, upon entering the Qi Refining Stage, the refinement benefits of the Cleaning Technique should have disappeared. Yet, the result was the opposite.

After a brief moment of surprise, Gu Mo quickly realized the reason: previously, his spiritual energy reserves were too low to fully unleash the power of the perfected-level Cleaning Technique.

Now, with his breakthrough, his qi had vastly surpassed the Foundation Establishment Stage. Moreover, his reserves were three times greater than usual, meaning he had an exponentially larger pool of energy to draw from.

With an abundance of qi, the power of the Cleaning Technique was fully unleashed, naturally enhancing the refinement process.

This discovery thrilled Gu Mo. Meridian-cleansing and marrow-refining typically occurred only during breakthroughs, with Qi Refining cultivators experiencing this effect a total of nine times—once per level.

Each refinement provided a significant boost to a cultivator's strength. However, Gu Mo could now enjoy this effect at will through the perfected Cleaning Technique. This meant that when he eventually broke through to the second level of Qi Refining, he would gain even greater benefits—just like this time.

"All that extra effort was well worth it!"

Gu Mo exhaled deeply. His dedication to mastering the Cleaning Technique and delaying his breakthrough had resulted in tremendous rewards.

After spending a few days stabilizing his cultivation, Gu Mo left his small dwelling. It was time to move on.

Thanks to the Black Mist Space, all his important belongings had been safely stored away, so there was no need for extensive preparations. He headed directly eastward—toward the Personnel Hall.

This was where outer disciples of the Qinglu Sect could choose which peak to join. The various peaks had already stationed their representatives there, waiting to recruit newly ascended Qi Refining disciples.

Upon entering the Personnel Hall, Gu Mo noticed a sizable crowd gathered around four tables, which represented the four most popular peaks: Alchemy, Weapon Refining, Formation, and Talisman Crafting.

After a quick glance, Gu Mo shifted his focus toward a lone table in the corner—that was his true destination.

"Greetings, Senior Brother."

Gu Mo approached the table representing the Spiritual Herb Hall and bowed to the dazed-looking young man seated behind it.

"Oh! Oh!"

Hearing someone call out to him, Mai Yunfa snapped back to reality. He looked at the boy in front of him, puzzled. "What do you need?"

"Senior Brother, is this the Spiritual Herb Hall?" Gu Mo hesitated for a moment, suddenly doubting whether he had come to the right place.

"Ah, yes! Yes, it is!"

Realizing Gu Mo's intention, Mai Yunfa's eyes suddenly reddened with emotion. Finally, after so many years, someone was willing to join the Spiritual Herb Hall voluntarily!

No one understood the struggles of the Spiritual Herb Hall better than Mai Yunfa. Year after year, he was responsible for recruiting new disciples, but not once had anyone signed up of their own accord.

Everyone flocked to the neighboring Alchemy, Weapon Refining, Formation, and Talisman peaks. Even those rejected by these peaks would try their luck with Beast Taming, Puppetry, or Feng Shui.

The Spiritual Herb Hall was essentially a last resort, where the rejected, unwanted outer disciples were forcibly assigned once all other options were exhausted.

One could imagine the quality of these recruits. Managing a spiritual field was no simple task, and the hall had to invest even more effort into training these reluctant disciples—often with unsatisfactory results.

Since the outer disciples were incompetent, the burden of managing the fields fell onto the inner disciples, significantly hindering their cultivation progress.

To improve this situation, the Spiritual Herb Hall had attempted various strategies, such as offering better benefits to attract talent. However, the incentives were never enough to compete with the more prestigious peaks.

Increasing benefits too much was also impossible, as it would require reallocating resources from the inner disciples, the overseers, or even the hall master himself.

Yet, they couldn't simply give up either. Instead, they introduced some minor policy advantages that didn't require additional resources.

But the results?

Well, Mai Yunfa's teary-eyed reaction said it all—no one had ever taken them seriously.

"Junior Brother, joining the Spiritual Herb Hall is absolutely the right choice! Let me tell you about all the benefits we offer!"

Overjoyed, Mai Yunfa eagerly began explaining the hall's special privileges to Gu Mo.