Chapter 102: Four Years Later

Four years had passed.

At Bamboo Mountain Immortal Workshop.

Inside a quiet chamber.

Countless spirit stones were arranged densely within, and the intense spiritual energy enveloped He Song entirely.

As time progressed, the spiritual power within He Song’s body surged wildly at this moment.

He Song furrowed his brows deeply, circulating his spiritual energy throughout his body. A powerful spiritual pressure immediately radiated from him, engulfing the entire chamber under its immense weight.

Yet, He Song paid no attention to the outside world.

Within his body.

The circulating spiritual energy moved at an extremely rapid pace, rushing ceaselessly through his meridians.

Soon.

A sensation of reaching some kind of bottleneck arose in He Song’s heart.

Half a year ago, He Song’s cultivation had already reached the pinnacle of Qi Refinement Stage Six.

During these past six months, He Song continuously attempted to break through to Qi Refinement Stage Seven, but despite numerous attempts, the bottleneck remained unbroken.

However, through these repeated efforts to break the bottleneck, He Song had benefited greatly.

Moreover, after the last near breakthrough—when he felt the bottleneck loosen—He Song had become certain.

He could rely on himself to break through the late Qi Refinement bottleneck without needing to accumulate spirit stones to purchase breakthrough pills in Qingyuan Immortal City like Meng Guan did.

This was the difference in their innate talents.

Meng Guan possessed only five spiritual roots, whereas He Song had four.

As a result, Meng Guan had been stuck at Qi Refinement Stage Six for over ten years without progress.

In contrast, He Song felt the bottleneck beginning to loosen after just six months of attempts and was confident he would soon break through to Qi Refinement Stage Seven.

Having five spiritual roots was simply insufficient talent; without abundant resources, cultivators rarely broke through to Foundation Establishment.

But with four spiritual roots, even by steady cultivation without ample resources, there was a chance to break through Foundation Establishment before the age of sixty.

Though without breakthrough pills, the chance was slim, there was always that one opportunity.

Perhaps, with good fortune, success would come.

Such lucky few were rare, but they existed.

At the very least, four spiritual roots was far superior to five.

Meng Guan, with his five spiritual roots, had fought desperately for that one chance.

As the spiritual energy inside his body began to circulate at breakneck speed and the overwhelming spiritual pressure enveloped the chamber, He Song faintly sensed the bottleneck loosen.

He took a deep breath, then focused his mind entirely on manipulating the spiritual energy within his body.

Thanks to his study of the Art of Spirit Manipulation, He Song had exceptional control over the spiritual energy in his body.

This skill was vividly demonstrated as he accelerated the flow of spiritual power.

His last breakthrough attempt had failed at the final moment, but it had revealed the bottleneck’s loosening.

This time, he was sure he would succeed!

This thought flashed through his mind, filling him with a surge of confidence.

Circulating spiritual energy, breaking the bottleneck—it was happening now!

Suddenly, in the quiet chamber, He Song’s seated form trembled.

“Late Qi Refinement, achieved!” he exclaimed softly.

Without rising, He Song continued to circulate the Thick Earth Technique, consolidating his cultivation.

Having just broken through to the late Qi Refinement stage, any misstep could cause a regression, so solidifying his foundation was paramount.

As He Song employed the Thick Earth Technique, the dense spiritual energy in the chamber surged toward him, enveloping his entire body.

The numerous spirit stones in the chamber provided abundant spiritual energy for He Song to absorb.

The massive spiritual energy drawn in by the Spirit Gathering Formation flowed rapidly into He Song’s body.

In the blink of an eye, the once-thick spiritual energy in the chamber visibly thinned.

But He Song was prepared for this.

The piles of spirit stones scattered throughout the chamber soon released a tremendous amount of spiritual energy, replenishing the concentration.

Surrounded by a vast ocean of spiritual energy, He Song felt as if he were immersed in it.

By simply circulating the spiritual power within his body, streams of spiritual energy from outside were absorbed and transformed into his own.

With ample spirit stones and enclosed within the Spirit Gathering Formation, He Song need not worry about the external spiritual energy density—he only needed to absorb it.

Thus, the time required to consolidate his cultivation was greatly shortened.

Under normal circumstances, consolidating one’s cultivation after breaking through to Qi Refinement Stage Seven would take a month.

But now, in such rich spiritual energy, He Song needed only ten days to fully stabilize his cultivation, ensuring he would not fall back from late Qi Refinement.

While absorbing spiritual energy and solidifying his cultivation, He Song felt silent joy within.

Late Qi Refinement!

After so many years of cultivation, he had finally reached late Qi Refinement!

From a mere Qi Refinement Stage One cultivator to now Stage Seven, entering late Qi Refinement—the gap in status was enormous.

A Qi Refinement Stage One cultivator stood at the lowest rung of Bamboo Mountain Immortal Workshop, trampled upon by all.

But a Stage Seven cultivator, though still at the bottom in the grand cultivation world, held a vastly different status within this small workshop.

Late Qi Refinement cultivators could be assigned free small courtyards to live in.

They could be given steward positions within the workshop.

They could move safely within both the workshop and the Immortal City, with little worry of danger.

Though both were Qi Refinement cultivators, the disparities in status were immense.

At least now, within this small Bamboo Mountain Immortal Workshop, He Song was among the elite at the pyramid’s apex.

Apart from a single Foundation Establishment Realist above him, there was no one else.

However, after calculating the time carefully, a trace of melancholy flashed in He Song’s eyes.

Five years ago.

He had met Su Yan, and then calculated how long he had been in this world since transmigrating.

At that time, it had already been seventeen years since he had transmigrated and become a Qi Refinement Stage One cultivator.

Now, five more years had passed.

He Song had been in this world for a full twenty-two years!

Twenty-two years—from a lowly Stage One Qi Refinement cultivator to a late Stage Seven Qi Refinement cultivator.

Only He Song truly understood the hardships endured.

From the cautious beginnings when he first transmigrated,

to the confident vigor upon reaching Stage Seven, the emotional journey stirred deep reflection.

“Past events are like drifting smoke; late Qi Refinement is only the beginning of cultivation. I must continue cautiously. With my status, to die inexplicably now would be a great loss.”

Circulating the Thick Earth Technique to consolidate his cultivation, He Song recalled everything and resolved ever more firmly to cultivate prudently.

(The End of this chapter)