Volume One, Chapter Eight: A Surge in Cultivation

“I don’t know if this will work.” Ji Die took a deep breath, brought the fruit to his lips, and cautiously took a bite.

The sensation was completely different from before; now the fruit melted instantly on his tongue.

Then, a warm current surged wildly through his body—it was spiritual energy!

“It really can enhance cultivation! Could this fruit also be considered a medicinal herb?” Ji Die’s eyes shone with delight, and his fondness for that bronze cauldron grew even deeper.

It was truly a treasure, constantly bringing him new surprises!

But for now, the most pressing task was to refine this surge of spiritual energy, so Ji Die pushed aside his excitement, closed his eyes, and began circulating the “Supreme Mystery Scripture,” drawing the power into himself, letting it stream steadily into his own reserves.

At once, Ji Die felt a soothing warmth spread through every inch of him, as if every pore were opening in blissful comfort.

When the medicinal power was finally absorbed, he opened his eyes, filled with joy, and looked at the fruit he had bitten.

“The effect of this Spirit-Enhancing Fruit is incredible—just a single bite is almost equivalent to absorbing three spirit stones!”

The result made Ji Die’s heart pound with excitement once again.

Spirit stones took him time to absorb, but eating this fruit, the whole process had lasted only a few dozen breaths, yet the effect was at least equal to two or three days’ worth of cultivation. No wonder those disciples were so envious!

This fruit was indeed a precious thing!

And with that bronze cauldron, he could have as many of these fruits as he wanted!

“Let’s break through to the second level of Qi Refinement first!” Ji Die’s eyes sparkled. Excited, he planted a kiss on the cauldron. He already sensed the bottleneck of his cultivation loosening; with just a bit more spiritual power, he could break through to the second level at once!

The Spirit-Enhancing Fruit in his hand had only one bite taken from it. Without wasting any more time, he quickly finished the rest in a few mouthfuls.

Boom! This time, the warm current was even stronger, pouring into his spiritual reservoir under the guidance of the “Supreme Mystery Scripture.”

Suddenly, a rumble echoed within him. Ji Die felt the warmth flood his body, his aura growing significantly more powerful—he had finally crossed into the second level of Qi Refinement, a barrier he had long been unable to breach!

And the momentum didn’t stop there. Without opening his eyes, Ji Die continued to refine the lingering medicinal power.

Only when the stream of spiritual energy, once as thin as a finger, had swelled several times over—expanding to the size of a small channel—did he slowly open his eyes.

“I finally broke through to the second level of Qi Refinement.” Ji Die gazed ahead with clear eyes.

His skin, once dark, had grown noticeably fairer after the breakthrough, and he had grown a bit taller too, looking even more resolute and confident.

“Come to think of it, I owe all this to that woman.” Remembering the malicious woman, Ji Die let out a cold laugh.

If she hadn’t assigned him to the beast pens, he might not have broken through so quickly.

Of course, he had no intention of being grateful to her, nor would he let this make him arrogant!

“The second level of Qi Refinement is far from the end. I can’t get cocky. My strength is still insufficient, and who knows what her cultivation is. Someday, I’ll surpass her…” Ji Die shook his head, silently making up his mind, not forgetting himself just because he had advanced a level.

He planned to go out and pick some more of those fruits, upgrade them in the bronze cauldron, and further his cultivation.

No one paid attention to this—those fruits grew at an astonishing pace and filled the entire garden.

Still, Ji Die never picked too many at once.

For one thing, he couldn’t use them all up quickly; for another, he didn’t want to arouse suspicion.

No one would ever suspect the truth, but it never hurt to be cautious.

Soon, under the cover of night, Ji Die put all the fruit he’d gathered into the bronze cauldron. After refinement, he obtained fifteen Spirit-Enhancing Fruits.

“Fifteen!” Ji Die’s breath quickened.

Earlier that day, Luo Qiang had obtained just one Spirit-Enhancing Fruit and it had made so many disciples envious.

If word got out that he had fifteen, he would surely become the target of countless jealous eyes.

Naturally, Ji Die wasn’t foolish enough to reveal this.

Orphaned young, he had grown up alone and was exceedingly mature—otherwise, he’d have died long ago without ever knowing how.

He stowed away the extra fruits in his storage pouch, then picked up one and began to eat.

According to the manual, breaking through to the third level of Qi Refinement required several times more spiritual energy than the second.

But with the Spirit-Enhancing Fruits, his cultivation progressed rapidly. After consuming about ten, a sudden boom echoed within him.

Not long after breaking through to the second level, he advanced again—

He entered the third level of Qi Refinement!

Now, the spiritual energy within him had grown to the size of a small stream!

If news of this speed got out, it would leave countless people gaping in disbelief!

After all, he had been cultivating for less than half a month!

“I’m at the third level of Qi Refinement.” Ji Die felt little emotion about this and continued eating the remaining five Spirit-Enhancing Fruits, letting the stream of spiritual energy slowly grow toward the scale of a brook.

The next day, Ji Die carried a basket of fruit back to the shed, lost in thought along the way.

“Is it just my imagination, or has the effect of the Spirit-Enhancing Fruits on my cultivation weakened a lot?” Ji Die frowned, pondering the reason.

As he consumed more and more of the fruits, he found their effects gradually diminished.

“I once heard that for minor ailments, it’s best not to take medicine—partly because all medicine has some toxicity, and partly because the body develops resistance if you use too much. Could the same be true for these fruits?” Ji Die mused deeply, thinking his guess was close to the truth, but powerless to change it.

It was simply an inevitable limitation.

“No matter. If the effect weakens, so be it—I have plenty of fruit anyway!” Ji Die laughed easily, not worrying over it, and soon arrived at Stall Eleven.

As usual, he dumped the fruit inside, but his gaze toward the great beast within no longer held any fear.

“This black serpent’s cultivation seems to be at the peak of the third Qi Refinement level. Now that I’m at the same stage, even if I can’t beat it, it’s not nearly as dangerous a threat.” Watching its proud, indifferent demeanor, Ji Die didn’t take offense.

His eyes flickered. After confirming the shed was empty, he took a Spirit-Enhancing Fruit from his storage pouch—the kind refined in the bronze cauldron—and, after a moment’s hesitation, tossed it beside the black serpent.

Ever since he’d discovered so many Spirit-Enhancing Fruits here, he no longer wanted to leave this place.

So of course, he needed to build a good relationship with this formidable creature—otherwise, who knew when it might bite him while he cleaned its stall or gave it a bath?

But Ji Die wasn’t sure if the black serpent would be interested in the fruit.

As it turned out, he needn’t have worried. The black serpent seemed to sense something and, after a moment’s hesitation, opened its eyes and brought its massive head close to the upgraded Spirit-Enhancing Fruit.

A moment later, it swallowed the fruit in one gulp, satisfaction gleaming in its eyes.

“It works!”