Immortal Refiner

The courtyard was sparsely furnished, but as Li Qing felt the dense spiritual energy permeating the air, his spirits soared.

After two and a half years of living like a wild man on Small Jade Ridge, his efforts had finally paid off.

Not only had he entered the world of cultivation, but he had also obtained a cultivation ground that could sustain his practice for a long time!

”Right, no time to waste. Let’s start Qi Refining right away!” Li Qing paced around his private courtyard, then retrieved the wooden token. He prepared to activate the courtyard’s protective barrier to prevent disturbances during his cultivation.

With a slight infusion of mana into the token, the barrier around the courtyard faintly glowed.

It wasn’t a powerful barrier, merely a warning system, but that was sufficient.

The Liu Clan’s clan rules were strict, forbidding private conflicts within their territory.

After all, the cultivation world had only recently emerged from a major war fifteen years ago, leaving them short-handed.

Now, laborers like Li Qing, who served the Liu Clan, were walking treasures. The clan naturally wouldn’t want to see these assets diminished through internal strife.

Furthermore, unauthorized entry into another person’s cultivation courtyard was a serious offense, strictly enforced by the Liu Clan.

Therefore, once the barrier was activated, Li Qing had no need to worry about intruders.

”In any case, as a newcomer to the cultivation world, it’s best to be friendly and avoid making enemies whenever possible.”

With that, Li Qing eagerly sat down cross-legged, preparing to absorb the dense spiritual energy of the area.

Meanwhile, Fan Tong’s spirits were exceptionally high. The moment he entered the courtyard, he became unusually energetic and lively.

”This brute,” Li Qing shook his head, then closed his eyes and began meditating, circulating the Fire Origin Art!

As the cultivation manual operated, heaven and earth spiritual energy began to flow into Li Qing’s body. Within his meridians, it transformed into pure spiritual energy, which then settled in his dantian qi sea, gradually accumulating into mana.

This process repeated itself, with several small cycles followed by a major cycle, as time slipped away unnoticed.

After reaching the second layer of Qi Refining, Li Qing’s cultivation on Small Jade Ridge had become increasingly ineffective, and his mana cultivation had become extremely difficult.

Finally, within the Liu Clan’s Spirit Vein Land, the effects of his cultivation gradually began to show promising results.

Feeling the progress in his mana cultivation, Li Qing was overjoyed, almost becoming lost in his training.

This feeling of growing stronger is truly wonderful!

In this way, three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Grumble, grumble...

Li Qing was, after all, only an Early Qi Refining Realm cultivator. No matter how focused he was, he couldn’t go without food or water.

A pang of hunger jolted him out of his deep cultivation.

Meanwhile, Fan Tong had long since grown unbearable. It paced in circles, its pitiful eyes fixed on Li Qing. It knew better than to disturb Li Qing while he was cultivating.

Seeing Fan Tong’s gaze, Li Qing felt a pang of guilt.

”Cough, cough... I almost forgot about you,” he said, pulling out all the meat from his storage pouch.

This was the game he had hunted on Small Jade Ridge earlier. Since he couldn’t finish it all at once, he had stored it in the pouch.

The storage pouch was a remarkable thing. The meat inside wouldn’t spoil, remaining exactly as it was when he put it in.

The only drawback was that it couldn’t hold living creatures. For Demon beasts like Fan Tong, it was best to keep them in a spirit beast pouch.

Li Qing started a campfire and skewered a whole section of snow-white, delicate snake meat, roasting it near the flames.

The intense heat quickly caused the snake meat to sizzle, with droplets of oil dripping into the fire, releasing an enticing aroma.

Just the scent alone made Li Qing’s mouth water, his fingers twitching with the urge to grab a piece and devour it immediately.

Swallowing his saliva, Li Qing stared blankly at the campfire.

”Food is plentiful now, but it won’t last forever. I can’t keep going out hunting every day.”

”The Liu Clan should sell these things, similar to those spirit rice and spirit fish. I’ll probably need spirit stones to buy them.”

The thought of this gave Li Qing a headache. He was completely broke, not even possessing a single spirit stone.

When he had retrieved the storage pouch from Xiang Fa in the World of Eternal Night, he had only found a dozen spirit stones drained of their spiritual energy. Even after bringing them back, they had failed to recover their potency.

After a long while, once the snake meat was thoroughly roasted, Li Qing ate while making a decision.

”I still need to socialize a bit, figure out the current situation, and gather more information.”

”I wonder how many spirit stones that Mountain Bear King hide I got half a year ago will fetch. But I’ll keep the bear’s claws and teeth; they should be good materials for artifact refinement.”

”Also, I heard the Heavenly River Sect has a marketplace. If I want to refine artifacts, whether buying raw materials or selling finished products, I’ll have to check it out. That’s essential.”

With that, Li Qing quickly finished the large skewer of roasted snake meat, wiped the grease from his mouth, left Fan Tong to continue eating in the courtyard, and went outside.

This entire area was provided by the Liu Clan for their laborers to live in. Everyone here was a cultivator willing to earn their keep through honest labor, so at least their character was unlikely to be utterly wicked.

Li Qing decided to befriend his neighbors, make himself familiar, and gather information.

For example, he’d been intensely curious about the Great War in the cultivation world that had ended just fifteen years ago, ever since Liu Sheng had mentioned it.

Unfortunately, he’d been too busy later on and never had a chance to ask about it.

Not long after leaving his courtyard, he spotted a cultivator returning, carrying a Low-Grade Magic Tool spirit hoe on his back. It was clear he’d been assigned a spirit field cultivation task.

The cultivator appeared to be about Li Qing’s age, a young man with his sleeves rolled up. His eyes held a hint of fatigue, making him look almost indistinguishable from a mortal farmer.

Seeing this, Li Qing immediately transformed into his old, honest blacksmith apprentice persona, greeting the cultivator with a friendly smile.

”Greetings, fellow cultivator. I am Li Qing, the one who moved into Courtyard No. 49 three days ago.”

The young man carrying the spirit hoe immediately recognized Li Qing. ”Oh! You’re the cultivator who arrived riding a Demon Tiger?”

”I’ve heard other spirit farmers mention you these past few days. I never expected it was you!”

Li Qing felt embarrassed. He hadn’t realized the news of his arrival on Fan Tong’s back had already spread. He immediately berated himself inwardly. He needed to be less conspicuous in the future!

In truth, many of the lower-level cultivators here had never seen a Demon beast before and were deeply wary of such creatures.

It was strange, really. Why were Demon beasts so rare on Small Jade Ridge? He’d been wandering around for two and a half years and had only encountered the Mountain Bear King.

”Ah, hehe, the one I raise is just a mongrel tiger, nothing worth mentioning, nothing at all.”

The young spirit farmer chuckled. ”Normally, when a newcomer like you arrives, people would naturally come to greet you and show you around our C-district.”

”But you made such a grand entrance that day, it intimidated everyone. No one dared approach your door without permission, fearing they might offend you.”

”Besides, you’ve been secluded in your courtyard for three days straight without leaving. Everyone assumed you were the type who didn’t enjoy socializing, so they didn’t bother you.”

Hearing this, Li Qing couldn’t help but chuckle wryly, realizing he’d been completely oblivious.

So, in the eyes of his neighbors, he’d become that eccentric recluse.

”That’s not quite it. I’m new to the Spirit Vein Land and got completely absorbed in my cultivation. That’s why...”

”Hahaha! So that’s it! No wonder!” The young spirit farmer laughed heartily, clearly a cheerful man.

Li Qing scratched his head and said, ”Being new here, I still have a lot to learn. I’d like to ask Brother Li for some advice!”

At this point, the spirit farmer had already figured out that Li Qing was a newcomer to the cultivation world with a very low cultivation level.

However, he showed no disdain. Instead, he replied warmly, ”Of course. Ask me anything you’d like, Brother Li. Why don’t we head over to my courtyard for a chat?”

(End of the Chapter)

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