Today was the day He Song decided to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement!
Having already received advice from Lin Cong, who had mentioned that breaking through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement was not particularly difficult for someone with a four-element roots aptitude, He Song made no additional preparations. He simply placed a dozen spirit stones around him and decisively began his breakthrough.
Transitioning from the peak of the third level of Qi Refinement to the fourth level wasn't actually that hard.
Of course, this "not hard" was relative to He Song's talent as a cultivator with four-element roots.
The difference between four and five-element roots was quite significant.
For someone with five-element roots, breaking through from the Peak third level of Qi Refinement to the fourth level would present a considerable bottleneck.
Take Meng Guan, for example.
Meng Guan was a cultivator with five-element roots.
When breaking through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, Meng Guan faced significantly more challenges compared to a cultivator with four-element roots.
Later, when he tried to advance to the late stage of Qi Refinement, he found himself completely stuck at a bottleneck, feeling as though he were caught between life and death.
In desperation, he left the Immortal Market to work in a mine and had yet to return to this day.
Interestingly, about a month after the return of True Master Chengshan to the Immortal Market, both He Song and Wei Fan received transmission paper cranes from Meng Guan.
In the message, Meng Guan described surviving a major crisis. When disaster struck, he happened to be in the mining tunnels and used the Aura Concealment Technique to hide in a secluded area of the mine for several days, narrowly escaping death.
Through this, He Song and Wei Fan also learned what had happened at the Crimson Spirit Gold Mine during those days.
The Crimson Spirit Gold Mine had been attacked by several Foundation Establishment cultivators and dozens of late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.
Many of the wandering cultivators recruited to mine were slaughtered on the spot.
Even the four Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Vast Earth Sect who were guarding the mine suffered losses, with one of them killed in a sneak attack.
Fortunately, one of the remaining three turned out to be a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in hiding. They barely managed to hold the line and sent out a distress signal.
The signal brought reinforcements from several nearby Immortal Markets. The two sides fought for days without any resolution.
It wasn't until Foundation Establishment cultivators from Azure Cliff Immortal City arrived to provide support that the attackers finally withdrew.
At the same time, the cultivators guarding the nearby markets also returned to their posts.
What Meng Guan didn't know was that every nearby Immortal Market had also been attacked by evil cultivators.
It was only after the events that He Song and Wei Fan learned not only Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market but several others without Foundation Establishment cultivators had been attacked.
After the chaos outside subsided for a few days, Meng Guan cautiously emerged from the mine and rejoined the mining team.
Having survived the ordeal, Meng Guan sighed deeply, remarking on his good fortune while also expressing gratitude to He Song and Wei Fan for their earlier advice.
But due to his urgent need for spirit stones, he had no choice but to continue mining, eventually staying at the Crimson Spirit Gold Mine.
Now guarded by additional Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Crimson Spirit Gold Mine was safer than before.
With no other options, Meng Guan continued to work in the mine.
Three years had passed since, and He Song only knew that Meng Guan was still mining, with no further updates.
As for four-element roots...
Take Lin Cong, for instance. When breaking through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, he encountered no bottlenecks at all.
The moment he decided to break through, the spiritual energy in his body surged.
And then the bottleneck was shattered.
It was that simple.
Channeling the Thick Earth Technique, the spiritual energy surrounding He Song continuously poured into his body.
As the spiritual energy flowed in, the spiritual energy within He Song's body began to grow.
When the spiritual energy in his body reached its peak...
As He Song continued channeling the Thick Earth Technique, a sense of profound comfort washed over him, as if his entire being had expanded and relaxed. An indescribable surge of satisfaction from breaking through his cultivation bottleneck overwhelmed him.
In the blink of an eye, he successfully advanced to the fourth level of Qi Refinement.
Sensing the rapid increase in spiritual energy within his body and the improved efficiency of converting external spiritual energy into his own, He Song couldn't help but smile in delight.
It's done!
Simply by circulating the Thick Earth Technique, he had naturally and effortlessly broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement.
After savoring the exhilarating feeling of his breakthrough, He Song focused on stabilizing his new level.
Freshly attained advancements were fragile; any unexpected disturbances could potentially knock him back to his previous level. Only by thoroughly solidifying his cultivation could he fully utilize his abilities without mishaps.
This was precisely why Lin Cong had promptly decided to leave after receiving He Song's transmission crane. At that time, Lin Cong had just broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement and needed to stabilize his foundation. Remaining in the market, where unforeseen troubles could arise, would have been risky.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, He Song maintained a consistent routine. He spent half an hour each day casting Spirit Rain Technique on the spirit farmlands he managed, devoting the rest of his time to consolidating his cultivation at home.
Now, after a month, his fourth-level Qi Refinement cultivation had been fully stabilized.
At this point, no matter how casually he cast spells, his cultivation level would no longer regress.
Only now did He Song feel completely at ease, finally freeing himself from the single-minded focus on stabilization.
With his cultivation now at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, it was time for He Song to visit the Spirit Herb Pavilion and apply for more spirit farmlands under his management.
In the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market, reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refinement marked a significant upgrade in status and privileges.
Take Spirit Planter as an example.
In the early stage of Qi Refinement, a Spirit Planter could generally manage up to five acres of spirit farmlands. At that stage, their spiritual energy was limited, and the Spirit Rain Technique couldn't cover larger areas.
Assuming each acre of spirit farmlands yielded 30 spirit stones per year, managing five acres would provide a total income of 150 spirit stones annually.
However, for a Spirit Planter who advanced to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, their capacity increased to managing seven acres of spirit farmlands.
Although the increase from five to seven acres might seem modest, the actual annual income rose significantly.
Using the same calculation—30 spirit stones per acre per year—seven acres would generate 210 spirit stones annually.
After deducting the mandatory rent of 120 spirit stones, the freely usable portion of income increased from 30 spirit stones at five acres to 90 spirit stones at seven acres!
The difference between 30 and 90 spirit stones per year was substantial.
This increase in spirit stone management highlighted the stark improvement in the quality of life for mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators compared to their early-stage counterparts.
However, to officially take on the additional two acres of spirit farmlands, He Song first needed to report his breakthrough to the Spirit Herb Pavilion.
Fortunately, the connections Meng Guan had previously introduced to He Song were still intact.
Zhao Lin, who had succeeded Meng Guan as a manager in the Spirit Herb Pavilion, had survived the recent chaos.
Moreover, the sudden decrease in wandering cultivators at the market had left those who survived feeling a strong sense of solidarity. Whenever they encountered familiar faces, it became common to stop and reminisce.
This camaraderie would surely ease He Song's request for the additional spirit farmlands.
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