He took a bowl and portioned some out for Yan Feifan.

As for the rest, Lu Ding waited for it to cool completely. During this time, he sat cross-legged to regulate his condition. When the temperature was just right,

He rolled up his sleeves, picked up the bowl, and began devouring the contents like a whirlwind, shoveling large mouthfuls in rapid succession.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth instantly erupted into chaos at this moment, gathering into an eye of the storm in the sky above. As the medicinal effects spread through Lu Ding's body, a spiritual energy storm resembling a tornado drilled straight into him.

With the protection from the ginseng baby, aged lingzhi, and golden pheasant's medicinal properties safeguarding his meridians,

Lu Ding had no fear of further damage.

With the Heaven-Man Unity skill activated, he went all out.

Absorbing as much as he could, gulping it all down directly into his body.

One empty cavity Qi Cyclone after another was rapidly filled.

In less than half an hour, Lu Ding's cultivation level broke through from Zhaoxuan Sixth Layer to Zhaoxuan Seventh Layer.

Then to Zhaoxuan Eighth Layer.

Zhaoxuan Ninth Layer.

Until the last empty cavity Qi Cyclone was filled.

All the Qi Cyclones began rotating uniformly in one direction.

An overwhelming heat sensation appeared out of nowhere, rising from the Bubbling Spring point, passing through the Great Ravine, crossing the Yang Mound, piercing the Sea of Blood, before finally gathering at the lower dantian.

Simultaneously, a cool sensation descended from the fontanel at the crown of his head, entering the Divine Court, circling the Mud Ball Pill, before heading straight down to the lower dantian where yin and yang converged.

A crisp cracking sound was heard.

A glimmer of light pierced through the darkness of the lower dantian.

Heaven and earth gradually separated.

This was the third realm of cultivation - the Spiritual Sea.

Originally, Lu Ding's cultivation speed with Heaven-Man Unity was already fast, but with the assistance of treasures like the ginseng baby, breaking through to the Spiritual Sea in one go wasn't particularly surprising.

Moreover, at this realm,

True cultivation had only just begun.

If talent was the first watershed for Qi Refiners, then the Spiritual Sea was the second.

The larger and more solid the Spiritual Sea, the more spiritual energy it could store, the higher the quality would be, and the stronger one's foundation would become.

The opposite would result in inferior outcomes.

At the Spiritual Sea realm, talent, resources, and time were all indispensable.

Talent determined the upper limit of the Spiritual Sea's size, while resources determined its lower limit - its solidity and the quality of spiritual energy.

A newly opened Spiritual Sea was like a dried-up small puddle.

Qi Refiners needed to liquefy the spiritual energy from their body's Qi Cyclones and gather it into the Spiritual Sea.

Subsequently, they would continuously use rare treasures to assist in expanding and reinforcing the Spiritual Sea.

Of course, one could choose not to use rare treasures and rely solely on talent, but this would only result in an inferior Spiritual Sea compared to others.

It was like building a house.

Some use three-cent bricks while others use three-dollar ones. Some choose to install underfloor heating and soundproofing, while others think a basic structure is sufficient.

In reality, only the user knows about the applicability, comfort, and longevity.

Lu Ding's talent was unquestionable.

What he lacked were resources - various rare treasures with miraculous effects.

Apart from relying on his own luck to find these, most could only be obtained through the 749 Bureau.

Lu Ding actually had another plan.

Having just met Cao Ying, the treasure hunter, he wondered if he could obtain some good items from him to properly construct his Spiritual Sea.

After all, this man was generous with his spending, clearly someone with substantial wealth.

Lu Ding wouldn't miss out on the 749 Bureau's rare treasures either, but his current contribution points were too few - less than a hundred in total - hardly enough to exchange for anything worthwhile. He needed to think of some solutions.

But these were matters for later.

What he needed to do now was transform qi into liquid to fill his Spiritual Sea, but before that, he had to deliver the portioned chicken soup to Yan Feifan.

Whether it was killing the flying centipede in Baiyao Ancient Town or tearing apart the living corpse in the collapsed zone, Yan Feifan had accompanied him throughout and even contributed strategies. Lu Ding wasn't one to keep all the benefits to himself.

Yan Feifan was deeply moved when receiving the chicken soup, vowing to cultivate seriously and break through to the Open Cavity realm in one go.

After offering some words of encouragement, Lu Ding returned to his room to begin transforming qi into liquid.

Time passed minute by minute as the sun rose and set.

At nightfall,

A white SUV with a raised hood crashed into the Baofan District Public Security Bureau, colliding with several properly parked vehicles before coming to a stop.

A woman's figure rushed out from the vehicle.

Her face pale with terror, she ran toward the bureau building while screaming hoarsely: "Help!!!! Help me!!!!"

The guards from the post ran up to restrain her.

Still, the woman kept screaming for help.

Soon, a group of officers rushed out upon hearing the commotion.

Even Gao Zhengliang was drawn out by the disturbance.

He quickly instructed his subordinates to take the woman to an interrogation room. After a doctor administered a sedative, the woman finally calmed down.

Holding a cup of warm water with a blanket draped over her shoulders,

The woman looked at the officers in the room and said tremulously: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble, I'm just so scared. They...they all say I'm crazy, but I'm not."

"I saw it, I saw everything. My child, my husband, my father-in-law, and my mother-in-law - they're not human, they're not human at all wuwuwu......"

The officers exchanged glances before finally looking at Gao Zhengliang.

Before he could speak,

Lu Ding appeared at the door and asked: "What happened?"

His room faced the courtyard on the sunny side.

The loud crash had disturbed Lu Ding while he was refining qi into liquid to fill his Spiritual Sea.

Looking out the window, he saw the bureau's borrowed SUV knocked sideways in its parking spot.

Though not seriously damaged,

The paint was definitely scratched.

Unaware of the situation, Lu Ding was furious and immediately came down to investigate, only to learn that a woman had driven in seeking help and accidentally hit his car.

She was now in the interrogation room with Director Gao and others.

Thus, Lu Ding made his way there.

Seeing him arrive, those at the door quickly made way.

Gao Zhengliang stood up and briefly recounted what the woman had said.

This time, it was Lu Ding who took a seat.

He asked gently: "Can you tell me what happened?"

Though the terrified woman wasn't in any state to appreciate Lu Ding's handsome features, having someone good-looking question her did help ease her emotions slightly.

"I...my wardrobe eats people, no no no, not eats people, it switches them. Everyone in my family has been switched, no one believes me, no one believes what I say...you don't think I'm mentally ill, do you? I'm not mentally ill, it's real, it's real! The Linhua Public Security Station didn't believe me and called my husband to take me home."

"They'll eat me, they'll really eat me, please believe me."

Lu Ding spoke softly: "Don't worry, I believe you. Can you tell me what happened?"

Some of the unease faded from the woman's eyes: "Okay, I'll tell you, I'll tell you."

"My husband and I have been married for ten years. Recently he went on a business trip, and our child wanted to stay with his grandmother during summer vacation, so I sent him there. They were both away from home."

"I was alone at home. That night as I was sleeping, I vaguely saw what looked like eyes on the wardrobe. But the room was too dark, and I thought I might have imagined it. I was too scared to check - you know how in movies,"

"When someone notices something strange and goes to investigate, they always get startled or grabbed by something that suddenly appears."

"So I called my husband. I told him we needed to replace the wardrobe because I saw eyes on it. That wardrobe was bought later because our old one was too small for our clothes."

"My husband agreed, saying he'd replace it when he returned. He comforted me, saying wardrobes don't have eyes. We video called, and he had me put the phone on a selfie stick to extend it toward the wardrobe so he could see. I did as he said."

"My husband said there were no eyes, and that if I was really scared, he'd replace the wardrobe when he got back."

"A few days later, my husband returned. It was too late that day, and we forgot about replacing the wardrobe. That night as I slept, I hazily saw the wardrobe open, and a pair of slender hands reached out from inside."

"Then a bald figure in a black shirt leaned halfway out and dragged my husband from the bed into the wardrobe - just like that, in an instant."

"Then I suddenly woke up to find it was already daytime. I thought it was just a nightmare when I heard my husband calling me for breakfast from outside. I didn't think much of it until I mentioned replacing the wardrobe again later. My husband got so angry he smashed a bowl on the spot, saying we'd grown attached to it and why would we replace it now."