CHAPTER 43: 43. WHEN WATER FLOWS, A CHANNEL IS FORMED, NINTH LAYER OF REFINING PROFOUND

In the Shu Land, Profound Qi is scarce, and there’s even less around Celestial Cloud City, but... that "Snake Corpse Market" is like an oasis in the desert of Profound Qi.

Song Yan’s breakthrough could be achieved in just a few breaths, so naturally, after leaving the market’s gate, he quickly stopped behind an old hidden tree nearby, focusing his attention on "[Cultivation Technique]".

’Invest 10 years of life force, taking the Refining Organ Pill as an opportunity to cultivate the "Profound Qi Guiding Technique".’

Life force began to change immediately.

[You invested ten years of life to cultivate the "Profound Qi Guiding Technique". In the first year, you cautiously absorbed the medicinal power of the Refining Organ Pill, but this pill seemed to have been made long ago, with its efficacy barely effective at first, but it quickly showed signs of insufficient potency. You continued to cultivate, and in the third year, due to a mistake, your lung exploded, you died, and the ten years of life were returned.]

Song Yan: ...

’Continue.’

[You invested ten years of life, and your heart exploded...]

[Your liver exploded...]

[Your liver exploded again...]

Song Yan: ...

’Continue.’

This is the benefit of the simulation system.

After so many simulations, Song Yan has roughly figured out the system.

The system seems to lock you in a "closed little black room," with only "the surrounding environment," "the Profound Qi in the environment," and "the elixirs available for your breakthrough," while everything else does not exist.

To attempt to reach the peak with just one cultivation technique or by blindly pondering is akin to "being locked in an empty little room, trying to create a nuclear bomb out of nothing." Before transmigration, humans on Blue Star relied on external objects, accumulation, and research to eventually make nuclear bombs, but...there were various factors like clashes of knowledge and historical opportunities influencing this. Creating something from nothing is impossible. The way of cultivating Profound is similar.

However, this system has another hidden benefit: ’No matter how many times you fail, it will return your life force and resources, allowing you to restart.’

For instance, now, the chance of this outdated Refining Organ Pill "aiding in breaking through to the Seventh Layer of Refining Profound" is pitifully small.

Insufficient medicinal power results in not enough "protection of the organs."

When absorbing Profound Qi, if done too violently, it will cause "internal organs to explode."

Within just over ten breaths, Song Yan had already failed more than ten times in the "simulation."

However, for him, it’s only a matter of restarting once more.

In the blink of an eye, there were more failures.

Finally...

[You invested ten years of life to cultivate the "Profound Qi Guiding Technique". In the first year, you cautiously absorbed the medicinal power of the Refining Organ Pill. Although this pill has been made long ago and its potency is insufficient, your luck was exceptionally good. You successfully guided Profound Qi to initially cover your internal organs. In the tenth year, you absorbed 150 strands of Profound Qi, feeling that the remaining task was just accumulation.]

...

[In the sixty-seventh year, a thousand strands of Profound Qi merged into your organs. You broke through the Seventh Layer of Refining Profound. Your entire body, from hair to fingers, was filled with Profound Qi, rendering you nearly impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire to ordinary people.]

...

[You invested ten years of life to continue cultivating the "Profound Qi Guiding Technique", but your body was already full of Profound Qi, and you did not experience any enhancement. But you did not entirely gain nothing, as you began to realize that the eighth layer of Refining Profound might be a process of further controlling the Profound Qi throughout your body.]

[You invested ten years to meditate, gaining nothing.]

[You invested ten years to meditate, starting to attempt things randomly. In the third year, you entered a state of madness, died, and the ten years of life were returned.]

[You died...]

[You died again...]

Song Yan came back to reality, and since this step was unrelated to Profound Qi, he decided to return to Celestial Cloud City to try again.

The impact of the environment is indeed enormous. Near the Puppet Sect, it would take him 334 years to climb one layer, whereas in this market it only took 67 years.

However, these scenarios included not taking any elixirs. If he added elixirs, along with Profound Jade, scattered resources from the Furnace and chose a place with Evil Qi, it would surely be much faster.

...

...

Time slipped by, and four months had passed.

The cicadas of midsummer were overwhelmingly noisy.

Celestial Cloud City, ten steps away from a luxurious sedan chair, where a man in blue was pinned to the ground by a long sword, with blood gushing out, staining his back crimson.

But the man looked at the distant sedan chair with eyes full of hatred, shouting, "Hua Linglong, return the lives of the thirteen Zhang Family members to me!"

The Black Sparrow, one of the "Four Sparrows", twisted his longsword, causing the man’s body to twitch and fall silent.

Black Sparrow gave a brief examination, quickly approached the sedan chair, and said, "Caretaker, it should be someone from the Zhang Family that previously supported the Lone Bamboo Gang. At that time, Protector Si Tu made an example by killing them to quickly suppress the Lone Bamboo Gang..."

"There’s no need to say more. Jianghu grudges are precisely like this. Bury him, no need to provoke new animosities."

Hua Linglong said no more, putting down the curtain, and gazed at the man opposite her, "Hua Rong, I feel that I understand you less and less... You’ve changed so much in these few months."

Song Yan looked through the gap in the curtain at the bloody corpse being dragged away, then turned his gaze back, "It’s nothing, just a deeper understanding of martial arts."

This "point" is the transition from the Seventh Layer of Refining Profound to the Ninth Layer.

Indeed, with the Seventh Layer of Refining Profound, Profound Qi permeates the whole body.

The following two layers require no external objects but are purely reliant on cultivation.

Or perhaps external objects are needed, but in any case... Song Yan, in his muddled state, managed to break through these two realms by himself.

Ninth Layer of Refining Profound.

First Layer, a hundred strands of Profound Qi form a flow, connecting the main meridian, nurturing the body.

Second Layer, all ten meridians are connected.

Third Layer, Profound Qi attaches to the skin.

Fourth Layer, Profound Qi enters the bone marrow, enriching Qi and blood, thus enabling mastery over yin-infested objects like "Puppet, Shadow Puppet, Paper Figurine."

Fifth Layer, blood exchange.

Sixth Layer, another blood exchange.

Seventh Layer, enters the organs.

Eighth Layer... Profound Qi converges around the body, effortlessly taking form like a Flood Dragon, winding around the body, expanding the meridians, gradually opening the Dantian.

Ninth Layer... Tens of thousands of strands of Profound Qi converge in the Dantian, forming a vast sea, with Profound Qi surging like a tidal wave, allowing the Flood Dragon to ride the tide into the Vast Sea, with no obstruction throughout the body.

At the Eighth Layer, Song Yan spent a full fifty years deducing, finally finding the method of convergence after numerous failures, and then spending 2 years successfully converging.

This step, for others, undoubtedly requires a cultivation technique, as well as understanding and practice, along with external aids to prevent Qi deviation and chaotic Profound Qi.

At the Ninth Layer, Song Yan again spent fifty years deducing, and upon discovering the method, quietly ran to the "Snake Corpse Marketplace" and spent a total of 667 years to fully fill his Dantian, then spent 2 years successfully converging the Profound Qi Flood Dragon into the Dantian.

Thus... the Ninth Layer of Refining Profound, reached the pinnacle.

...

After reaching the pinnacle, Song Yan slightly sensed his various spells.

Overall, all spells have strengthened with his enhancement of realm.

Not only that, even more absurdly, almost all spells were suddenly elevated to the level of the "Ninth Layer of Refining Profound" without seeming out of sync with the realm due to their "initial cultivation threshold only being the Third or Fourth Layer."

"Hundred Forms Demon Body," after swallowing a Shadow Puppet, also strengthened, but the number and strength of Shadow Puppets that can be swallowed increased significantly... Unfortunately, Song Yan only had "nine types of low-level Demon Beast Shadow Puppets" in his possession. Obviously, he is currently unable to unleash the full power of the "Hundred Forms Demon Body."

"Skin Painting Deformity Technique," "Ten-Finger Illusion Skin Technique," "Ghost Slayer Soul Revival Technique," "Evil Tide Skill," and "Condensing Evil and Controlling Profound Technique," these spells that underwent secondary perfect mutation, also all became stronger.

"Five Elements Hand," however, showed no change.

Yet, various spells brought many new detailed changes during the casting process.

For example, the "Condensing Evil and Controlling Profound Technique," this spell was derived from the most basic "Qi Concealment Technique," and the "Qi" in "Qi Concealment Technique" refers merely to the Qi of "one meridian."

This resulted in the conceptual level of "Qi Concealment Technique" not being high, therefore, when Song Yan’s realm was lower, he could instantly utilize the "Condensing Evil and Controlling Profound Technique" to hide his aura. But now... he needs to spend nearly a stick of incense’s time in advance to gather all the Profound Qi around his body.

Even so, in terms of concealment, it’s significantly worse than before. After all, with so much Profound Qi... relying solely on Evil Qi to swallow it and completely hide it is pure fantasy.

Thus, while the power of "Condensing Evil and Controlling Profound Technique" has increased, the "casting animation" has lengthened greatly, and its "concealment" has drastically declined.

...

The same issue exists with the "Torrential Rain Evil."

If the past "Torrential Rain Evil" was like firing a shot...

Then the current "Torrential Rain Evil" is like "charging and lasering."

Similarly, while the power has increased, the "casting animation" has also lengthened.

...

As for "Skin Painting Deformity Technique," "Ten-Finger Illusion Skin Technique," and "Ghost Slayer Soul Revival Technique," they purely strengthened...

For instance, Song Yan can swallow the soul of an entity of a stronger realm, imbue it with Evil Qi, and then release it back.

For example, the Shadow Puppet manipulated by ten fingers has also increased, and he can even manipulate regular advanced Demon Beast Shadow Puppets.

...

Song Yan carefully contemplated the changes brought to him by the realm elevation.

Due to the initial investment, all his identities in the place he currently resides are very secure.

Therefore, his breakthrough in realm and spell testing proceeded so smoothly to an absurd extent, encountering no enemies, nor was he inexplicably targeted by anyone, thus narrowly breaking through in a dire situation.

Glancing at "[Life Span: 25/1817]," Song Yan carefully pondered again, deciding he still needs to go to "Snake Corpse Marketplace" to procure a spell "higher tier than ’Qi Concealment Technique,’" then use the remaining lifespan to conduct a mutation deducing, ensuring that if he needs to return to Puppet Sect, his powers that "require dissection research" won’t be detected.

A month ago, the "Demon Swamp Restriction" at "Snake Corpse Marketplace" was activated. According to the middle-aged loose cultivator Dan Lazi who sold him the "Refining Organ Pill," "a month" is the duration of the "Demon Swamp" being active.

If he goes in these days, he will surely see many new goods.

Likewise, he can also verify the mortality rate of the "Demon Swamp," to see how many people have died.