Chapter Thirty-Five: Accomplished in a Single Breath

Breathing slowly, regulating his energy, and focusing his mind, Yingchen devoted two or three whole hours to this process, adjusting himself to the optimal state before finally raising his hand.

With a sweep of his sleeve before him, a white jade pill bottle appeared out of thin air. Yingchen flicked his finger, breaking the wax seal on the bottle. A faint, delicate fragrance wafted forth, instantly invigorating his spirit.

“What an excellent pill,” Yingchen steadied his breath. “Truly extraordinary.”

The bottle contained none other than the Violet Ganoderma Pill.

Since he had resolved to reserve the Violet Ganoderma Pill for breaking through, taking it out early to admire was merely a wavering of his own resolve.

Thus, although the first Violet Ganoderma Pill had been in his possession for more than two months, he had never once broken the seal to take a look.

Now that he saw it, he confirmed that it was vastly different from spiritual medicines like the Three-Ganoderma Moonlight Powder. The pill’s fragrance seemed to purify the very air, and even the spiritual energy within the refining chamber became noticeably more abundant.

“If even a lower-grade pill is like this, what must the higher grades be like?”

Yingchen had heard that pills were divided into three grades, but it was not simply based on the strength of their medicinal properties. For instance, the Violet Ganoderma Pill was classified as a lower-grade pill, not because it was only useful to Qi Refining cultivators—even the Foundation Establishment cultivators used it commonly to enhance their strength, yet it still belonged to the lower grade.

Pharmacopoeias recorded that upper-grade pills each possessed unique, extraordinary effects: reversing life and death, inverting yin and yang, enhancing one’s innate talent, forging a Dao body… Every one of their kind that appeared in the world became renowned, and ordinary cultivators might never see one in their entire lives.

“No more idle thoughts.”

Yingchen shook his head, tipped the white jade bottle, and poured a Violet Ganoderma Pill into his palm.

The pill was perfectly round and flawless, a deep violet hue, with faint lines resembling talismanic script upon its surface—whether by nature or by artifice, it was hard to say.

Squeezing it between two fingers, he found it as hard as metal; even scratching it with a fingernail yielded not a speck of powder.

He examined it for a moment, knowing that with his current knowledge of alchemy, he could not discern any deeper mysteries, and so decisively placed it into his mouth.

Refining pills and ingesting elixirs was an essential aspect of cultivation. Refining was one skill, and ingestion another. Even medicines like the Three-Ganoderma Moonlight Powder had their dos and don’ts regarding consumption; for pills of this grade, each had its unique method of use.

The method for the Violet Ganoderma Pill was to hold it in the mouth without swallowing, and to draw out and refine its medicinal power through the circulation of one’s energy.

Thus, as far as Yingchen knew, there were even so-called “depleted” Violet Ganoderma Pills being sold in the marketplace—no one knew who had already extracted their medicinal power and then resold them…

Holding the Violet Ganoderma Pill in his mouth, Yingchen swallowed his saliva in slow sips. It was like tasting celestial dew, warming him inside and out, though the true power of the pill had not yet been released. As he began circulating his cultivation technique, drawing upon his spiritual power—

In an instant, a thick layer of violet aura seemed to cover Yingchen’s face, and his entire body’s energy surged upward in wave after wave.

Suddenly, it seemed as though a wind had arisen within the confines of the refining chamber, swirling and whistling ceaselessly.

After a time, the violet aura upon his face faded, and the ever-rising energy began to ebb away like a retreating tide.

Yet Yingchen did not emerge from his trance; instead, he activated his cultivation technique once more, drawing more of the pill’s spiritual energy—

Thus, the violet aura returned to his face, his energy surged again, climbing to a new peak.

Each time the energy fell, he would once again circulate his technique and draw in the medicinal qi, his strength rising higher with every swell and fall, until it felt as though he was about to ascend to the very clouds.

Suddenly, the medicinal energy he extracted from the Violet Ganoderma Pill began to wane; this surge failed to reach a new height and instead began to falter.

Yingchen spat the pill from his mouth into his palm. Sure enough, its color had faded greatly.

His expression did not change, but inwardly he sighed, put away the now “depleted” pill, and tipped the white jade bottle to pour out a fresh one into his hand.

Staring at this new pill, a flicker of hesitation flashed in his eyes.

He was not loath to use the pill, but the repeated attempts to break through had taken a toll on him—should he continue now?

Perhaps it would be better to adjust his state once more, to wait until his essence, spirit, and energy were again full and abundant, before using this next Violet Ganoderma Pill…

“No,” Yingchen’s expression suddenly hardened at this thought.

Strike while the iron is hot; to falter or hesitate is to sap one’s momentum. With such a mindset, breaking through would only become more and more difficult. Even though the seventh level of Qi Refining was but a minor hurdle, there were still cultivators who found themselves forever stymied by it.

Yingchen was not worried he would fall into that trap, but the principle of seizing the moment was always sound.

Clearing his mind of all distractions, he placed the Violet Ganoderma Pill in his mouth once again and resolutely activated his cultivation technique.

This time, his energy soared to its peak faster than ever before, and the subsequent decline came just as swiftly.

Yingchen paid it no heed, focusing solely on breaking through, his energy rising and falling like the tide—so much so that it seemed to affect the world outside.

The candles in the refining chamber began to flicker; under the wavering light, Yingchen’s form alternated between clarity and obscurity, his shadow behind him growing and shrinking, growing and shrinking—until suddenly, the light was snuffed out!

Yingchen’s entire body trembled, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his lips.

Yet as his eyes snapped open, there was no pain in his expression—only a long, booming laugh, as his energy burst forth like a great river breaking through its banks.

He had overexerted himself, suffering minor internal damage, but he had succeeded in one fell swoop, breaking through the gate to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Whoosh—!

With a mere thought, a formless whirlwind was conjured in the training chamber, howling and raging, shaking the cauldron used to brew the Five Poisons Decoction until it clanged and rattled, as though it might be sent flying at any moment.

This was the mark of reaching the seventh level of Qi Refining!

Of the twelve levels of Qi Refining, passing this threshold was not simply a matter of being halfway done. It was said that one could attempt Foundation Establishment as early as the tenth level, but the more complete the Qi Refining, the higher the chance of success, and the greater the power and potential after the breakthrough.

Thus, cultivation at the seventh level was already considered the late stage.

Crossing this barrier brought more advancement in strength than the combined progress from the fourth to the sixth levels.

Now, even without using any spells, Yingchen’s spiritual power alone could move heavy objects, shatter stone, topple forests, and uproot trees with ease.

And this was merely the initial entry to the seventh level; with further seclusion to consolidate his cultivation and temper his power, he could surely improve even more.

Yingchen withdrew his power, the whirlwind subsided, and the cauldron—half-lifted from the ground—settled back with a solid thud.

Fortunately, the chamber was protected by seals, so the disturbance did not travel far, and peace quickly returned.

Only then, in the darkness, did Yingchen slowly close his eyes.