Chapter 92

Chapter 92: Eighty-One Refinements in Foundation Building Xiao Wan explained, "Have you not read the content behind the cultivation method? The cultivation of a Foundation Building cultivator is to refine their spiritual energy, making it purer. The process of refinement is quite simple. First, fill your dantian with spiritual energy, then refine this full amount into a thread. Then, refill and refine... Xia Changge was astonished, "Isn't this the process of breaking through the Qi Refinement stage to reach the Foundation Building stage?" Xiao Wan nodded and continued, "You could say that, but the difficulty is lower and more tedious. When the spiritual energy in your body has been refined twenty-seven times, it can be considered the mid-stage of Foundation Building. When it has been refined fifty-four times, it can be considered the late stage of Foundation Building. After refining it ninety-nine times, congratulations, you have the basic qualification to break through to the Golden Core stage. Each successful refinement can be considered as one level of achievement." Xia Changge felt his heart tremble upon hearing this, "Eighty-one refinements, is that even possible?" Can a spiritual energy be refined eighty-one times? Xiao Wan smiled, "It can be done, naturally, when one reaches the mid-stage of Foundation Building, the late stage of Foundation Building, or even the Golden Core stage. If it can't be done, one can only remain in the early stage of Foundation Building until death. Our cultivation is like this. After all, our bodies are limited. If we want to unleash more terrifying power, we must find a way to contain more power in our bodies, which means we can only refine. This is also the reason why even a small difference between different stages of Foundation Building is insurmountable. After all, the power unleashed by others' spiritual energy is ten times or even twenty times greater than yours. How much skill and calculation does it require to make up for this gap?" Xiao Wan's explanation gave Xia Changge a rough understanding. He also felt some concerns. After reaching the Foundation Building stage, it wouldn't be so easy for him to continue playing tricks and launching surprise attacks. Moreover, his puppet... it could probably only bully Qi Refinement ninth level cultivators at most. At most, he could fight against someone who had just reached the Foundation Building stage. If he were to encounter someone like Xiao Yun in the late stage of Foundation Building, she could probably crush it with a single slap. "Senior Xiao Yun, how many times have you refined your spiritual energy?" Xia Changge cautiously asked. "My mother has been in the Foundation Building stage for over a hundred years. She has refined her spiritual energy around seventy times or so, but she didn't tell me the specifics." Xiao Yun did not conceal the information. Xia Changge nodded lightly, so Xiao Yun was not far from eighty-one refinements. After returning to Huaying Town, Xia Changge and the Xiao sisters went their separate ways. He casually threw ten pounds of demonic beast meat into the cage where he raised his Wind Manipulating Divine Eagle, feeding it until it was full. "Perhaps in the near future, I'll be feeding you fish." Looking at the Wind Manipulating Divine Eagle, which had grown several inches since he bought it, Xia Changge pondered. The Blue Silk Fish he wanted would probably be bred soon. Feeding the Wind Manipulating Divine Eagle with Blue Silk Fish might yield even better results. He didn't know if the Ren family would release the female Blue Silk Fish for breeding. If they did, he could start breeding them himself. But he felt that the chances were slim. The Ren family probably wouldn't do it in the short term; they would want to enjoy the profits first. With four days of simple cultivation, Xia Changge's disciple An Ruoshui came to find him. "Master, my mother and I are ready. Shall we try refining the Gathering Qi Pill?" An Ruoshui was full of self-confidence. And her mother, Xu Baicha, stood quietly, unable to get a word in. "Okay, since you're so confident, let's begin!" Xia Changge's stable source of income now was the cultivation of Spirit Rice on hundreds of acres of Spirit Fields, bringing in stable income of about two thousand Spirit Stones a year. Since the Ren family wanted to raise Blue Silk Fish, the demand for Spirit Rice would likely increase, so Xia Changge wouldn't have trouble selling his next batch of Spirit Rice. He had also asked Lin Meishan to organize manpower and expand the Spirit Fields, preparing to increase the scale of cultivation. If at this time, the family pill refining hall that Xia Changge established could achieve substantial breakthroughs in pill refining, he wouldn't mind having an additional source of income. With Xia Changge's command, An Ruoshui began to take action. In fact, Xia Changge had a middle-grade spiritual weapon, a pill furnace, left behind by Senior Yang Zhe. Naturally, Xia Changge used it. If this pill furnace was used to refine pills, the success rate would definitely be higher. The agreed-upon props would undoubtedly provide additional assistance in pill refining. But Xu Baicha and An Ruoshui were used to using the low-grade pill furnace that Xia Changge initially purchased. Moreover, their cultivations were low, with one of them having no cultivation at all. Therefore, Xia Changge had no choice but to cooperate with them in refining pills using the low-grade pill furnace he bought initially. An Ruoshui and Xu Baicha handled the initial steps of refining the Gathering Qi Pill: adding medicinal ingredients, controlling the fire, and purifying the materials. Xu Baicha controlled the fire, while An Ruoshui was tasked with her own duties. When refining the medicinal herbs, An Ruoshui indeed had to be more careful. "Ah, if Xu Baicha also had cultivation, the success rate would increase by three points." As Xia Changge looked at the busy scene before him, he couldn't help but sigh. If Xu Baicha had cultivation, controlling the fire would undoubtedly be much simpler. "Master... I'm sorry, I failed on the first attempt. I... I was nervous, and... made a mistake." Twenty minutes later, An Ruoshui's first attempt ended in failure. An Ruoshui felt very sorry and bowed her head to apologize to Xia Changge. Xia Changge patted her little head to comfort her, "When refining pills, it's abnormal to succeed on the first attempt. Let's continue!" Xia Changge certainly didn't mind this small matter and encouraged An Ruoshui. An Ruoshui then regained her spirits and continued to try. The second, third, fourth time... Seven consecutive failures had not yet reached the point where Xia Changge needed to intervene. In the end, theory was still just theory. Only by taking action would one realize how many obstacles there were. "Alright, that's enough. Stop!" Seeing that An Ruoshui still wanted to try, Xia Changge quickly interrupted. An Ruoshui's face turned pale, "I'm... I'm sorry, Master. I... I'm just useless..." This suggestion was made by An Ruoshui, thinking that success was highly likely. But now, she realized how big the problem was when she actually tried to refine the pill. Xia Changge pulled her over, "Alright, rest for today and try again tomorrow. Your mother's health can't take it anymore." After saying that, Xia Changge used his hand to cover An Ruoshui's little head and turned her position so she could see her mother Xu Baicha. Xu Baicha was just a mortal. After a few hours of hard work, especially controlling the fire, she couldn't withstand it anymore. Xia Changge suspected that if this continued, Xu Baicha's once white and tender appearance would age significantly. "Oh, I understand. Master, I... I won't let you down." An Ruoshui also understood that her Master didn't blame her. The pressure in her heart lessened. She quickly asked her mother to go and have a good rest. Acknowledgments: 1500 Spirit Stones from Daoist jaxs, 100 Spirit Stones from Daoist Qiliang Jiangxin, and 100 Spirit Stones from Daoist Dj—Danceman. I request the esteemed readers to kindly support me with votes and monthly tickets to give me a better idea of your preferences. Thank you. (End of Chapter 92)