Chapter Seventy-One: Eighth Level of Qi Refinement

Within the array hall, a profound silence reigned; save for the occasional crackling from the distant sky, not a trace of life could be found.

Jiang Yan sat cross-legged atop the central platform, striving to guide the slender stream of spiritual energy within him as it flowed slowly through his parched meridians.

One small cycle…

A second…

And so it went.

Gradually, the spiritual energy within Jiang Yan’s body grew abundant, filling his dried meridians once more. The Greenwood Art, being of the wood attribute, naturally carried vibrant vitality. As his meridians were nourished by spiritual energy, they revived, and under his deliberate control, the flow of energy became swifter.

Ten cycles…

Twenty cycles…

Unaware of time passing, Jiang Yan’s spiritual energy was circulating at an astonishing speed. By the time he sensed something was amiss, he could no longer control its pace.

After disaster often comes greater calamity; today, misfortune dogged Jiang Yan relentlessly. First, his spiritual energy was depleted by the array hall, and after painstakingly restoring it, he found himself unable to rein in its rapid flow.

Now, sitting atop the platform, Jiang Yan was enveloped in mist. The accelerated spiritual energy caused his body’s surface temperature to soar; moisture from his skin and surroundings evaporated into white vapor that steamed upward.

A sudden explosion sounded beside his ear—spiritual energy, surging within, broke through a barrier, sending a tremor through his body. Jiang Yan felt weightless, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. The dizziness brought by heat and exhaustion cleared, and a thought surfaced: “I’ve finally advanced.”

Opening his eyes, everything within sight appeared distinct and sharp—his advancement had heightened his vision as well.

He raised his hand, summoning the Greenwood Vine behind him, which soared skyward and swiftly transformed into five greenwood arrows. These emerald arrows glimmered with a cold, sharp light, hovering above his head.

“Swift,” Jiang Yan intoned, his fingers forming a sword. With a sudden gesture, five greenwood arrows shot forth as streaks of light, targeting the array hall’s surrounding walls of colossal green stone.

A series of crisp sounds followed, and as the greenwood arrows attempted to burrow deeper into the stones, a pale azure dome manifested overhead. Faint blue light shimmered along the walls, halting the arrows’ progress.

Jiang Yan was rather pleased that the arrows managed to pierce the array hall’s walls despite their protective wards. Without those safeguards, he was confident the arrows could freely shuttle through the stone, riddling the blocks like a honeycomb.

With a thought, the arrows withdrew from the stone and returned swiftly to the Greenwood Vine at his back, merging into it and vanishing according to his will.

Now, Jiang Yan had advanced to the eighth level of Qi Refinement, and with his grade-one spiritual weapon, the Greenwood Vine, he could conjure up to sixteen arrows at full strength. Combined with his arrow techniques, he could unleash a storm of arrows—enough to dominate others of the same realm.

“Ding. The array hall has acknowledged its master. Reward: a miniature Spirit Gathering formation manual and a Spiritual Weapon Command manual.”

Jiang Yan looked about in puzzlement. He had not expected such generous rewards for the hall’s recognition—a miniature Spirit Gathering formation was valuable enough, but to receive a manual for spiritual weapon command as well was beyond expectation.

Drawing on his experience from games, Jiang Yan knew the miniature Spirit Gathering formation was used to construct grade-two spiritual fields. Unlike other special buildings, spiritual fields did not upgrade automatically; advancing from grade one to grade two required at least ten years, and from grade two to three, the time was incalculable. Thus, grade-two fields were built directly.

By selecting a suitable site and installing the formation, then placing spirit stones in it each month, the surrounding land’s spiritual energy would, within half a month to a month, meet the requirements for a grade-two field, allowing for its immediate opening.

Turning his palm, a white jade talisman appeared—his reward from the sect master system. To his surprise, the Spiritual Weapon Command manual was inscribed within the jade talisman, giving him the sense that all future rewards from the system would likely be delivered in this form.

Placing the talisman to his forehead, information surged into his mind like a tide. The familiar pain accompanied the influx, but Jiang Yan endured and carefully absorbed the torrent of knowledge.

“A spiritual soldier is one who can manipulate spiritual weapons with spiritual energy… To be a soldier…”

Lines of script flickered in his mind, appearing and vanishing in turn.

Exhaling slowly, Jiang Yan finally finished absorbing the talisman’s contents. By his judgment, it had now become an ordinary jade talisman; in future, only those with spiritual sense could read it.

He rubbed his aching head. The talisman contained a vast amount of information, and although he had grown accustomed to receiving manuals and texts this way, the sheer volume nearly left him disoriented.

Stowing the manual away, Jiang Yan turned his wrist and retrieved the basic array-crafting manual from the sect master ring. To become an array master, one must cultivate the foundational art and, through it, awaken spiritual sense—only then could one be considered an apprentice, the lowest rank.

The manual’s cover was deep indigo, the title in white script: “Spirit Refinement Chapter,” with the signature of Master Weng Changling, a sixth-rank array master.

Jiang Yan felt a secret delight; the manual seemed promising, written by a high-ranking master no less.

“Cultivators focus on spiritual energy; spiritual sense is but an aid. When one reaches the pinnacle, spiritual sense can likewise advance, yet compared to us array masters, they are mere chickens and dogs…”

Reading these lines on the title page, Jiang Yan couldn’t help but chuckle at Old Weng Changling’s boasts. Array masters were formidable, but not so much as to dismiss other cultivators altogether. He laughed inwardly at the old man’s arrogance.

Skimming through, Jiang Yan quickly finished the Spirit Refinement Chapter. As expected, despite a cursory read, it was etched clearly in his mind.

The chapter primarily discussed methods for cultivating spiritual sense, its significance for array masters, and expended much ink on distinguishing spiritual sense levels.

Once a cultivator reached the fourth level of Qi Refinement, their spiritual sense could leave the body for extended periods, though only to inspect objects or search for people and creatures. At its peak, it could probe everything within ten meters; this was the limit for Qi Refinement.

Foundation Establishment cultivators saw a marked improvement—their spiritual sense could extend to a hundred meters around them, though further distances strained their abilities.

Yet, regardless of one’s level, spiritual sense could not levitate objects—it was intangible and could not lift anything, no matter its strength.

For array masters, entry required one’s spiritual sense to be capable of lifting a spirit stone. Achieving this signified perfect mastery of transforming spiritual sense from intangible to tangible, enabling it to instantly become a force capable of supporting physical objects. Imagine an apprentice’s spiritual sense sweeping over a cultivator’s body, suddenly turning from intangible to tangible—it would be as a blade plunged into flesh, destroying the body silently and swiftly.

Qi Refinement practitioners’ spiritual sense was weak, relying almost entirely on spiritual energy for protection. However, their energy was limited and could not constantly shield the body. Once outside, it faded quickly, leaving them vulnerable—thus, array masters held an overwhelming advantage at this stage.

Jiang Yan’s greenwood arrows could persist outside the body for extended periods thanks to the technique’s unique properties, condensing spiritual energy into physical arrows. But even so, if left too long, the arrows would eventually dissipate.

Spiritual sense cultivation required reaching the fourth Qi Refinement level for the sense to leave the body, allowing one to create a gathering place within and form a “spiritual sea.” This sea could then nurture and strengthen spiritual sense. Once formed, daily cultivation would enhance the sense until it could lift objects, at which point one could begin practicing with spirit stones.

Jiang Yan was already at the eighth Qi Refinement level, not far from the ninth. This tribulation in the array hall had, in fact, been a blessing in disguise—he broke through his realm and pushed his cultivation nearly to the next level.

Stowing the Spirit Refinement Chapter, Jiang Yan glanced down from the platform at the array hall.

The azure dome had now fully merged with the hall, obscuring the outside world. Yet, when Jiang Yan raised his hand to look skyward, perhaps due to his spiritual energy’s nature, the dome turned colorless, allowing him to see through the faint blue veil and observe the world beyond.

Within the array hall, one side held numerous small array crafting rooms, filled with all manner of spiritual energy, while the other was a spacious testing ground ringed by countless blue stones. The crafting rooms were enveloped by a blue light, making their interiors invisible.

After surveying the hall, Jiang Yan resolved to begin training according to the Spirit Refinement Chapter. Following its instructions, he slowly released his spiritual sense outside his body, letting it circle around him as he searched for the channels through which it could return within.

“One… two… three…” Jiang Yan carefully noted each channel revealed under his spiritual sense.

When he advanced to array master, these channels would serve as passages for his sense to enter and exit the spiritual sea. For now, his sense was not strong enough—he chose the widest channel as his entry point, his stepping stone toward becoming an apprentice.

“Ten… eleven…” More and more channels appeared to his perception.

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