Cultivation begins with earning spirit stones

Chapter 9 Mid-stage Qi Refining

Instead of taking the main street, Zhang Lin went around into a small alley at the west end of the town.

Qingyun Town is not large, with crisscrossing alleys, but locals who know it well don't find it chaotic.

Zhang Lin wandered through the alley, making several turns, until he arrived at a black lacquered wooden door.

A wooden plaque hangs on the door, engraved with the words "Liu Residence".

He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

A short while later, footsteps came from inside the door, and with a creak, the door opened a crack, revealing half a face.

It was Liu Wenyuan.

Liu Wenyuan was taken aback when he saw that it was Zhang Lin, but then he put on a smile and opened the door: "Fellow Daoist Zhang? Rare guest, rare guest, please come in."

Zhang Lin bowed slightly and stepped across the threshold.

Liu Wenyuan's house is not large. Upon entering the courtyard, there is a blue brick floor and several osmanthus trees. Under the trees, there is a stone table and two stone benches. It is simple but clean.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, what brings you here today?" Liu Wenyuan led Zhang Lin to sit on a stone bench, then went inside to pour tea, presenting it with both hands. "Do you have some good medicine again?"

Zhang Lin took the teacup but didn't drink it immediately. He said calmly, "Fellow Daoist Liu, let's not beat around the bush. I've come today for two reasons: first, to ask if you still accept medicine; and second, to inquire about some things."

Liu Wenyuan's eyes lit up: "Of course I'll take it. I'll take whatever Fellow Daoist Zhang has on hand."

Zhang Lin took out a wooden box from his sleeve, opened the lid, and inside was a sacred orchid.

This was enhanced by him last night with two more spirit stones. It is still twenty years old and its quality is exactly the same as the previous two.

Liu Wenyuan leaned closer for a closer look, his eyes gleaming: "Good medicine, and it's twenty years old again."

He raised his head, his gaze towards Zhang Lin now carrying a deeper meaning: "Fellow Daoist Zhang, the origin of your spirit orchid... is probably not simple, is it?"

Zhang Lin calmly replied, "It was just good luck."

Liu Wenyuan smiled and stopped asking questions. He took out a cloth bag from his sleeve, counted out forty spirit stones, and pushed it over.

Zhang Lin took the spirit stones, counted them, and put them into his pocket.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, I would like to inquire about something." Zhang Lin put down his teacup and looked up at Liu Wenyuan.

Liu Wenyuan said, "Fellow Daoist, please speak."

"That day I was selling medicine in the market when someone started watching me," Zhang Lin said calmly. "I want to know who those people are."

Liu Wenyuan's smile froze for a moment.

He lowered his gaze and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the stone table, as if he were carefully considering his words.

After a moment, he raised his head and lowered his voice, saying, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that... those people are not easy to deal with."

"How so?"

Liu Wenyuan looked around to make sure no one was there before moving closer and speaking in a low voice that was barely audible to the two of them: "Those people are from the Black Wind Society."

"The Black Wind Society?" Zhang Lin frowned slightly.

"Fellow Daoist, you haven't been practicing for long, so you probably haven't heard of this name." Liu Wenyuan sighed. "The Black Wind Society is a group of rogue cultivators in the Qingyun Town area. To put it nicely, it's called a mutual aid society; to put it bluntly, it's a bunch of thugs who gang up to bully the weak."

"The leader is a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator known as Master Xiong. He has seven or eight mid-stage Qi Refining henchmen under his command, and they specifically target rogue cultivators without powerful backers."

"As a disciple of Shangqing Temple, you have no master to protect you outside the temple, and you have good medicine at your disposal. In their eyes, you are a piece of fat meat."

Zhang Lin's expression remained unchanged, but he secretly memorized this information.

"Did they find out anything about me?"

Liu Wenyuan shook his head: "No, we only know that you are a disciple of Shangqing Temple, but there have always been people keeping an eye on you in the town."

Zhang Lin nodded, stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you for telling me, Fellow Daoist Liu."

Liu Wenyuan quickly stood up and returned the greeting: "Fellow Daoist Zhang, you're too kind. If you have any more good medicine in the future, feel free to come to me; the price is negotiable."

Zhang Lin responded and turned to leave the Liu residence.

------

After leaving the alley, Zhang Lin did not rush back to the mountain, but instead strolled around the town.

He deliberately walked down the street with a leisurely pace and a normal expression, occasionally stopping at roadside stalls to look at this and ask that, just like an ordinary Taoist priest going down the mountain to buy things.

On the surface, he appeared to be out shopping.

In reality, he was checking to see if anyone was following him.

After walking for about half an hour, Zhang Lin confirmed that no one was following him before he took a small alleyway out of the town and headed back along the mountain road.

It was already afternoon when we returned to the temple.

------

In the following days, Zhang Lin stayed at home, meditating and cultivating in his room every day, occasionally going to the courtyard to practice his sword, and almost never talking to others.

Qi Yuntian knew he was avoiding trouble, so he didn't bother him. He simply left a bowl of porridge at his door every morning as a gesture of care.

Zhao Yuanqing had come a few times and wanted to invite him to go down the mountain to collect herbs, but Zhang Lin declined each time.

The junior brother was somewhat disappointed, but not angry. He just muttered a few words and left.

Days passed by like this.

Zhang Lin's true energy gradually grew stronger through daily practice. The true energy vortex in his dantian grew from the size of a finger to the size of a walnut, and as it spun, a faint mist rose from it.

He knew this was a sign that he was about to break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining.

In the early stages of Qi cultivation, true Qi is as fine as a thread, barely perceptible.

In the mid-stage of Qi Refining, true Qi transforms into mist, permeating the dantian, and can be released externally to injure others.

Only one last step remains.

Zhang Lin took out the remaining thirty spirit stones to aid his cultivation breakthrough and accelerate the accumulation of true qi.

Five more days passed.

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were few, and a gentle mountain breeze blew.

Zhang Lin sat cross-legged on the futon, circulating his internal energy to its maximum.

The true energy vortex in his dantian spun wildly, like a miniature tornado, and the spirit stones placed beside him were rapidly refined.

The amount of true energy increased rapidly at this moment.

layer.

Two layers.

Three floors.

Finally, at a certain critical point, a slight buzzing sound came from the dantian.

The vortex of true energy, the size of a walnut, suddenly expanded, transforming into a cloud of white mist that permeated the entire dantian.

The mist churned and rolled like a sea of ​​clouds, with a faint glimmer of light within it.

Mid-stage Qi Refining!

Zhang Lin opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with a sharp light that seemed to reach over three feet.

He took a deep breath, feeling the surging power within his body and the misty true energy permeating his dantian, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Finally... I've broken through."

The exhilaration of the breakthrough lingered in my heart for only a moment before receding like the tide.

Zhang Lin did not rush to get up and celebrate, but instead closed his eyes and looked inward, carefully observing the changes in his dantian.

The vast expanse of white true energy mist spread like a sea of ​​clouds, several times larger in quantity and of completely different quality than its previous wispy state.

When true energy is condensed into mist, it can be released outwards to harm people.

This means that he is no longer limited to close combat with his iron sword, but now has the means to attack from a distance.

Of course, the prerequisite is that he must first learn a technique.

Zhang Lin opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the iron sword in the corner of the wall.

The sword was as white as snow, gleaming coldly in the dimly lit room.

A low-grade magic weapon, when combined with the true qi of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, can increase its power to another level.

But he knew that a single iron sword was not enough for him to gain a foothold in this cruel world of cultivation.

Techniques.

He needs magic.