Chapter Forty-Four: Advancement to the Seventh Level of Qi Refinement

Curious to see how the zombie he had captured inside the gourd was faring, Dao Sansheng opened the gourd and peered inside. The baleful energy within had grown even darker, yet the zombie itself was nowhere to be seen—only a skull floated toward him.

"The zombie has already been refined by me, Master. You see the baleful energy growing ever more dense because it has absorbed fresh corpse qi."

Seeing that the zombie had indeed been refined, Dao Sansheng finally felt at ease. The matter that had troubled him most was now resolved, and he could now focus on refining the ice crystal with peace of mind. As long as he succeeded, the conflicting fire and cold energies within his body would finally reach equilibrium.

He closed his door, assumed a meditative posture, summoned Fat Chirp to guard him, released the gourd and set it aside, then retrieved the ice crystal from his hair clasp. The ice crystal was so bitterly cold that the instant it touched his palm, its chill seeped directly into his hand and flowed into his meridians. Dao Sansheng felt his meridians nearly cease to function.

A surge of fire rose up, pressing back against the chill. This was a yin-cold energy; upon entering his body, it made him shiver to the core, yet did not freeze him solid. It was nothing like ordinary cold, which would freeze the surface; this was far more insidious, difficult to expel from within.

The icy energy within his body reached out from his meridians to his palm, connecting with the ice crystal in his hand. The crystal trembled unceasingly. After a stick of incense’s time in this struggle, a small portion of the cold energy was finally absorbed. Like a stream feeding into a river, the ice crystal gradually diminished in size. The yin-yang fish within Dao Sansheng's body now appeared nearly equal in size, with the white fish clearly more lively.

As time passed, the two fish—one white, one red—grew identical in size, and the ice crystal in his hand nearly vanished. At this moment, his body abruptly began to mature, his height increasing by nearly half in an instant. Previously, he was but a child of ten; now, he looked to be seventeen or eighteen, his features grown much more mature.

A surge of energy surged through his meridians, which could not withstand the pressure. The energy broke through the first barrier in his meridians, a thin membrane shattering beneath its force, and the uncontrollable energy crashed onward, smashing through the next obstruction as well. This time it took half a stick of incense’s time to break through, and when it was done, the mysterious energy was spent.

Dao Sansheng opened his eyes upon the bed and examined his inner meridians. Seeing the freshly cleared pathways, he was overjoyed. He had already broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refinement. Compared to others who had entered the inner sect at the same time, none could have progressed this swiftly.

He felt the spiritual power within him—indeed, he was at the seventh level. After returning from this trial, he could join the inner sect and enter the Book Repository of Heaven-Forging Valley, where he would be able to peruse countless tomes and study artifact forging methods, thus earning his own income.

Meanwhile, a young woman stormed out of the inn, heading straight for the City Lord’s manor. No one dared stop her at the gates, and she made her way directly to the rear gardens. The gardens were vast, filled with rare and precious flowers and spirit herbs. The girl yanked up a stalk of spirit grass and hurled it to the ground.

Still not appeased, she stomped through the gardens, trampling the spiritual herbs underfoot. The nearby servants were terrified, not daring to utter a sound, and she continued this rampage for a full half hour before stopping.

In the courtyard, she shouted, "Li Zigui, if you don't come out right now, I'll trample all your precious alchemy herbs to dust!"

Her shouting had no effect; even the servants ignored her, only watching from the sidelines. The girl pulled out a firestone, striking it and preparing to throw it into the garden.

At that moment, a man appeared, dressed in fine clothes, strolling over at a leisurely pace. The girl clasped her hands behind her back, staring at the man with fierce, predatory eyes, as though she could devour him.

"Li Zihong, didn't you say you were leaving the family and would never contact us again? It's barely been a few days since you left, and here you are. Where is your backbone?" The man's tone was calm as he approached. He had a square face, thick brows, large eyes, and a somewhat prominent nose, though his mouth was a bit too large. He came from the other side of the garden.

Hearing his mockery, the girl fell silent and turned to leave, but the man was relentless, pointing at the trampled herbs.

"Li Zihong, these belong to the City Lord’s manor. You’ll have to pay for the damage. Considering you’re a citizen of Kunling County, I’ll let it go this time. Next time, you won’t be so lucky."

Without looking back, the girl ran out, tears of indignation streaming down her face. She forced herself not to sob, focusing only on fleeing as quickly as possible.

The man turned to the nearby servants and scolded them loudly, "If any of you ever let her in again, you’ll be punished by family law. The magistrate has already declared their bond as father and daughter severed; henceforth, she is no longer a member of the City Lord’s household."

The servants only nodded repeatedly, not daring to utter a word.

The man returned to his room, where a middle-aged man sat upright, sipping tea. The two resembled each other somewhat—both square-faced, with thick brows and bright eyes; the elder had a trace of mustache at the corners of his mouth and a tea leaf clinging to his lip as he grinned at the younger man.

"Zigui, you handled that well. It was your mother who spoiled that girl when she was young. Now that your mother has passed and I’ve remarried, the girl causes trouble every few days. I’ve long wanted to discipline her, but official duties keep me busy. It was her own idea to leave, and I let her go…"

Having nowhere else to go, the young woman wandered the streets. Night had fallen, and the crowd that had gathered to gamble in the inn’s main hall had dispersed. Unconsciously, she found herself once more at the inn’s entrance. Since she hadn't checked out, she simply walked back in and returned to her room. The innkeeper, seeing her enter alone, was relieved—it seemed she wasn't here to cause trouble.

Dao Sansheng had just finished his cultivation and checked his technique, discovering new changes within it.

Three Lives Codex, Earth Chapter
Immortal-Level Technique

Grade: Azure
Tier: Basic
Technique Skills: Devouring Black Hole—based on Yin and Yang, with ice and fire as catalysts, capable of absorbing and dissolving certain energies.
Thousand Shadows, Myriad Forms—enables one to evade a single instance of harm.
Cultivation Requirement: None; chooses master at random.
Cultivation Method: Devouring evolution; requirements: flame, ice crystal. Absorption of flame and ice crystal must be balanced.
Technique Explanation: Can grow to Immortal-level, currently Azure Basic.

What a bizarre skill. Last time, his ability was “Devour All Things,” and now it was “Thousand Shadows, Myriad Forms”—a skill that let him dodge harm once, essentially a fleeing technique. After all this time cultivating this method, he still hadn’t gained a truly useful skill. It was the very definition of a tasteless chicken rib—hard to enjoy, but a pity to discard. If not for the promise of reaching immortal rank, he wouldn’t bother with it at all.

Now, he had no real combat abilities. Who knew what skill he’d gain upon reaching Foundation Establishment?

Suddenly, the sound of objects smashing came from the next room. The innkeeper hurried up the stairs, and the idle guests in the hall gathered to watch. Dao Sansheng happened to be checking the results of his cultivation; had he been in the midst of his breakthrough, it might have failed. Instantly, he was irritated—what was that girl up to now?

Dao Sansheng pushed open his door, only to find the hallway jammed with onlookers from the hall, all craning to see what was happening.

Just as the innkeeper opened the door to the neighboring room, a mirror came flying out. The innkeeper tried to dodge but failed, as the crowd left him no room. The mirror struck his head, leaving a small cut and sending shards of glass flying, injuring several of those nearby.