Chapter Thirty-Eight: Ninth Level of Qi Refinement

Relying on the spiritual sense of the Foundation Establishment stage, Chen Yi’s Long Rainbow Sword pierced unerringly into the eye of the Violet Venom Scorpion, driving deep into its brain. Swiftly, Chen Yi withdrew the sword and leaped backward to avoid the scorpion’s final, desperate retaliation.

The scorpion let out a wretched cry as its eye was stabbed, brandishing its two massive pincers and snapping the surrounding trees in its frenzy. Soon, it quieted, fixing Chen Yi with a venomous glare from its one good eye, while the other bled profusely.

Meeting the gaze of the wounded eye, Chen Yi felt a chill rise in his heart. He realized that blinding the scorpion for the sake of the Golden Leaf Grass was a ruthless act, but such was the law of survival in the world of cultivation—the strong thrive, the weak perish. Chen Yi had no choice but to adapt.

The scorpion charged at him, six razor-sharp legs and two giant pincers moving with terrifying speed. Chen Yi, unflustered, gathered spiritual power into his legs, sprang powerfully, and flipped onto the scorpion’s back.

Enraged, the scorpion shook violently, trying to throw him off, but Chen Yi clung to its carapace as if rooted there. No matter how the scorpion thrashed, he remained immovable.

When the scorpion realized shaking was futile, it arched its gleaming stinger and lashed it toward him. Seeing the attack, Chen Yi knew his chance had come.

As the stinger neared his chest, he activated the Dragon Elephant Art, focusing the force of the dragon and elephant into his right hand, which glowed golden as he seized the scorpion’s tail. At the same instant, his left hand gripped the Long Rainbow Sword, channeling spiritual power, and drove it into the scorpion’s head.

Empowered by spiritual energy, the sword sliced effortlessly through the armored hide. With a harsh screech, a mixture of blood and brain matter sprayed toward Chen Yi’s face. Thankfully, his reflexes were sharp; with an agile roll, he leaped from the scorpion’s back, narrowly avoiding the bloody spray.

Struck fatally in the head, the scorpion howled in agony, rampaged blindly through the forest, snapping every tree in its path, and then, with a thunderous crash, collapsed to the ground in silence.

To ensure the scorpion wasn’t feigning death, Chen Yi waited several minutes before approaching and delivering a final blow. Only then did he draw out the Long Rainbow Sword.

Channeling spiritual power, he willed a stream of water into existence with the Cleansing Water Technique, thoroughly washing the blood and gore from his sword.

Next, Chen Yi used the sword to extract the scorpion’s demon core, a bead the size of a ping-pong ball—more than twice as large as the cores of Qi Refining stage beasts.

It was his first time obtaining a Foundation Establishment stage demon core. Under his spiritual scan, he sensed the vast energy contained within—far surpassing all the spiritual power in his own body.

If he could refine and absorb the core entirely, his cultivation would soar, perhaps breaking through from the Qi Refining stage to Foundation Establishment. But the energy within was too immense and violent; attempting to absorb it now would cause a clash with his own spiritual power, risking inner demons, backlash, and a drop in cultivation—a perilous gamble.

Chen Yi selected the most valuable components from the scorpion and stored them in his spatial ring. Though much of the beast was useful, the ring was too small to hold it all, so he took only the choicest parts.

With the scorpion dealt with, Chen Yi approached the Golden Leaf Grass. The plant had five leaves, each gleaming like gold and swaying in the wind. Retrieving a small spade from his spatial ring, he carefully dug it up.

He placed the freshly unearthed herb in a jade box, then, using the power of the World Core, instantly transported himself to a hidden cave within the central mountain.

Inside, he took the Golden Leaf Grass from his ring, plucked a single golden leaf, and swallowed it. A surge of warmth rose from his dantian, flooding his muscles, bones, and meridians.

Immediately, Chen Yi began circulating the Five Elements Art, drawing the heat into his core. As the technique worked, the warmth gradually faded and his spiritual energy grew.

Having absorbed all the energy, Chen Yi found himself at the peak of Qi Refining Level Eight, just a step away from breaking through to Level Nine.

To speed his progress, he plucked two more golden leaves from the herb and swallowed them. With a thunderous boom, the energy blasted through the barrier at Level Eight, propelling him directly to the ninth stage of Qi Refining.

After breaking through to Level Nine, the energy from the Golden Leaf Grass was not yet depleted. Continuing to circulate his cultivation art, Chen Yi absorbed the remainder, consolidating his new level.

When the energy was finally exhausted, his mastery of Qi Refining Level Nine was not only stabilized but further refined and strengthened.

In the pitch-black cave, two golden rays flashed as Chen Yi opened his eyes, spirit and vigor overflowing and radiating from his form. He rose slowly and walked out of the cave.

Standing atop the highest peak in the miniature world, wind howling and billowing his robes, Chen Yi reflected on his recent gains and losses.

Since awakening memories of his past life a year ago, his fortunes had been extraordinary and his cultivation had soared, transforming every aspect of himself. His strength came from two paths: the Way of Qi Cultivation and the Way of Body Refinement.

In Qi Cultivation, he had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, just a step from Foundation Establishment. With his perfected Wind and Thunder Phantom Sword and the spiritual sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he could match any practitioner of that stage.

In Body Refinement, he cultivated the peerless Dragon Elephant Art. Even at the first stage, with the might of the dragon-elephant physique awakened by his Heavenly Dragon bloodline, his body surpassed even most Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Combining his mastery in both arts, Chen Yi could defeat those at the early Foundation Establishment stage and contend evenly with mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators—at least by his own estimation, for he had yet to truly test his strength against them. Only future battles would reveal his true power.