UGB Chapter 54 The Determination to Go All In
Chapter 54 The Determination to Go All In
Although Shen Qing's cultivation level reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, it was after failing to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage that he recovered.
Now that his lifespan is almost over, and considering Shen Qing's question and the existence of the Huang family, Li You naturally understands that Shen Qing asked this question simply because he wanted to make one last gamble before he dies.
Li You considered for a moment and answered truthfully: "Sect Master Shen, as far as I know, within the Heavenly God Sect, disciples are provided with Foundation Establishment Pills every time they reach the Foundation Establishment stage, and there is almost no situation where a Foundation Establishment is achieved without using Foundation Establishment Pills."
"Even when there are occasional attempts, they are mostly desperate gambles by disciples with extremely poor aptitude, and nine times out of ten they end in failure."
"The risk of attempting to establish a foundation without using Foundation Establishment Pills is extremely high. If one has a master to protect them and spirit stones and veins to assist them, the success rate may increase by one or two points. Without these conditions, if one tries to force an attempt based solely on their own spiritual energy, they probably won't even have a 50% chance of success."
"Moreover, the cost of failure is extremely high. At best, it will severely damage the meridians and cause a decline in cultivation; at worst, it will cause the dantian to collapse and the person to die on the spot."
"Half a percent".
Shen Qing smiled and said, "Thank you for your frankness, Inspector Li."
Looking at Shen Qing's smile, Li You felt that something was off.
He didn't ask any further questions, then clasped his hands in farewell and took his leave.
After Li You had taken a few steps, Shen Qing seemed to remember something and said, "By the way, Inspector Li, I plan to go into seclusion for the next few days to adjust my condition and make final preparations for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage."
"Mr. Sun and the others are at the academy, so there's no need to worry. Zhong Xiu and the others are still young and timid, so I'll trouble Inspector Li to look after them a little."
Li You turned around and nodded, saying, "Sect Leader Shen, rest assured, the County Magistrate has instructed that I will take full responsibility for the safety of the academy's teachers and students."
"Those three instructors are also teachers at the academy, so they are naturally included in the protection."
His last sentence emphasized the word "sir" slightly, making a kind of promise.
Shen Qing smiled at him, then got up and walked towards Qingyun Sect.
Back in the quiet room, Shen Qing sat cross-legged on the futon and began to reflect on his actions that day.
Li You is Zhao Yuanlang's disciple, and what he said and the questions he asked today will reach Zhao Yuanlang's ears within the next day at the earliest.
Shen Qing could roughly guess Zhao Yuanlang's reaction after hearing this. A dying, useless sect leader, under the pressure of the Huang family patriarch's return, had no choice but to gamble and try to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage again.
This desperate gamble might be insignificant in Zhao Yuanlang's eyes, but it at least convinced Zhao Yuanlang of one thing: Shen Qing had reached a dead end and had no other options but to gamble with his life.
And this was exactly the effect Shen Qing wanted.
He didn't need Zhao Yuanlang's help; he just needed Zhao Yuanlang to continue to think he was harmless.
Shen Qing snapped out of his thoughts and opened the system panel.
Nearly 30% of the spiritual mist in his dantian had liquefied. Fortunately, the disciples left Qingyun Sect and the situation of losing loyalty on a large scale, which Shen Qing was most worried about, did not occur. Now, the system can extract more than seventy strands of spiritual energy every day.
With the help of mid-grade spirit stones and premium Qi Gathering Pills, he was able to compress spirit mist into spirit liquid much faster than before.
However, it will still take quite some time before the dantian is completely filled and the twelfth level of Qi Refining is reached.
Shen Qing timed it precisely until the system drew spiritual energy at midnight.
Pure spiritual energy continuously flowed into the dantian, and a mid-grade spirit stone emitted a soft light in the palm of the hand. After swallowing a high-quality Qi Gathering Pill, it transformed into a surging heat.
The three streams of spiritual energy merged into one in the meridians, continuously compressing and transforming into spiritual liquid.
Ten days ago, Shen Qing had already stopped the extravagant practice of using spiritual energy to temper his body.
Since he stopped using spiritual energy to temper his body, he has used all the spiritual energy extracted by the system to compress spiritual mist, and his progress has indeed accelerated.
After all the spiritual energy had been refined, Shen Qing opened his eyes and gently exhaled.
Now that Qingyun Mountain is empty, Shen Qing has nothing to do during the day. Without the spiritual energy provided by the system, it would be of little use for Shen Qing to cultivate alone, given his aptitude.
Of course, Shen Qing wouldn't be idle either.
Shen Qing took out the blueprints of "The Method of Opening Up Spiritual Fields" and repeatedly examined the dense array patterns.
The core principle of the Spirit Field Development Method is to use array formations to mobilize the earth's vein energy and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to gather in ordinary fields. With long-term immersion, ordinary fields can gradually be upgraded to spirit fields.
In this process, the formation itself is both a tool for gathering spiritual energy and a constraint. It uses the earth's energy to lock in the spiritual energy and prevent it from leaking out. With the formation as its framework, it allows the mortal field to complete its transformation in an orderly manner.
Shen Qing pondered this principle repeatedly, and that strange thought resurfaced in his mind.
If we compare the human body to a field, the meridians are the earth's veins, and the dantian is the key point of the formation.
Can this logic of locking in spiritual energy with the earth's vein energy and using formations as the framework to complete the transformation be applied to oneself?
It's not used for "opening the spirit," but for "locking the spirit."
He actively suppressed the circulation of spiritual energy in his dantian, used the earth vein method to restrain his meridians, and completely locked his cultivation aura at an extremely low level, rendering external detection methods completely ineffective.
Once the thought popped into his head, he couldn't suppress it anymore. In the following days, Shen Qing spent his days deducing the feasibility and risks of the formation, and his nights frantically compressing spiritual mist to break through to the twelfth level of Qi Refining.
Meanwhile, Huang Yuanji and his son were also busy at the Huang Family Ancestral Hall in the south of Qingyun County.
The Huang Family Ancestral Hall is located in the deepest courtyard of the Huang Family Mansion. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary family temple with blue bricks and gray tiles, and the four characters "Huang Family Ancestral Hall" are hung on the lintel.
Even the core members of the Huang family were unaware that the key to the Huang family's rise to power was hidden inside the Huang ancestral hall.
This place possesses a spiritual eye formed by the convergence of tiny spiritual veins. One hundred and thirty years ago, after Huang Gongwang established his foundation, he accidentally discovered the spiritual potential here and thus abandoned the opportunity to seek the opportunity from the Heavenly God Sect to establish a lineage temple on an unclaimed mountain.
They then established the Huang family in this place. Several years later, they spent a great deal of effort to purchase a concealment array from Fenglin County City, which completely concealed the existence of the Spirit Eye.
Afterwards, the Huang family built their ancestral hall here, and successive generations of Foundation Establishment cultivators all secluded themselves here to break through to the next level.
That formation is still in operation, firmly locking the spiritual energy emanating from the Spirit Eye in the secret chamber beneath the ancestral hall, and it can still condense several low-grade spirit stones every month.
At this moment, Huang Dehou was sitting cross-legged in the secret room, using the spiritual energy in the spiritual vein to regulate his own condition.
His father, Huang Yuanji, sat cross-legged beside him, his aged voice slowly echoing in the secret room.
"Dehou, do you know what spiritual practice is?"
"I don't quite understand, please enlighten me, Father."
"Cultivators practice by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, consuming food and breathing exercises, and using spiritual energy to cleanse themselves of acquired impurities, gradually returning to their innate state."
"This process is called Qi Refining. The purer the spiritual root, the higher the efficiency. Therefore, those with high aptitude cultivate faster. When the physical body reaches its peak, Qi Refining is perfected, and there is no further progress, one must embark on the most crucial step on the path of cultivation—Foundation Building."