Chapter 22: One Step Closer to the Great Cause of Longevity

Six months later.

During these six months, Cheng Buzheng went to the Sutra Pagoda every morning. He would often chat with Senior Brother Niu or Senior Brother Dai for a while before heading to the first floor of the pagoda to read, absorbing new knowledge continuously like a sponge.

In the afternoons, he would occasionally exchange information with his teammates or simply enter seclusion to cultivate.

Six days ago, Cheng Buzheng had stopped going to the Sutra Pagoda altogether. He had finished reading every book on the first floor, yet he still had not encountered any hidden opportunities.

At this moment, he was at the peak of the first layer of Qi Refinement, poised to advance to the second layer at any time.

Inside his room, Cheng Buzheng sat cross-legged on his bed with his eyes slightly closed. Fine beads of sweat continuously seeped from his forehead, and the surrounding spiritual energy surged frantically, rushing into his body like moths to a flame.

Facing the swarming spiritual energy, Cheng Buzheng could only desperately circulate his micro-orbits to reduce the pressure on his meridians.

At this moment, the meridians within his body, following the paths of the micro-orbits, glowed with spiritual light, appearing like vast rivers of stars manifesting their presence within a boundless cosmos.

The meridians of the micro-orbits shimmered faintly, working at full capacity just to avoid being burst open by the surging spiritual energy.

The Red Fire Technique circulated along the micro-orbits, and wisps of refined spiritual power fell into the Dantian space, only to be forcibly absorbed by the pale red vortex at the center of the Dantian.

In the blink of an eye, another wisp of heavy, textured red cloud drifted beneath the pale red vortex.

Cheng Buzheng did not relax; he operated the micro-orbits time and again, like a tireless robot.

In a flash, black turned to white, the Golden Crow rose, and the Jade Rabbit retreated.

Suddenly, a clear smile appeared on Cheng Buzheng's face.

He sensed that his magic power had reached its limit and could not absorb even a single shred more.

At this moment, a few wisps of refined spiritual power drifted within the Dantian space, and the red vortex had ceased its rotation, standing silently in the center of the Dantian as if it had never possessed that terrifying suction power.

Beneath the vortex, a heavy, textured red cloud floated, unable to contain even a single drop more of magic power.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng let out a soft breath.

"Phew!"

Suddenly, the Red Fire Technique stopped following the micro-orbits and instead began to operate the Great Orbit. This was the core cultivation route map of every technique, and it was the path required for every breakthrough.

The core cultivation route map of every technique and every level was different; the core maps of different techniques were not interchangeable.

The core cultivation route map was designed to match the micro-orbit and the standard orbit routes.

A single mistake could destroy the meridians entirely, or in severe cases, damage the Dantian, bringing one's journey toward immortality to a permanent halt.

It was like three gears of different sizes; the middle gear acted as the core route, governing the rotation of the two sides. If it were slightly larger or smaller, the operating machine would suffer severe damage or total destruction.

Cheng Buzheng slowly operated the Great Orbit route. As time passed, the heavy, textured red cloud floating beneath the vortex in his Dantian suddenly began to move.

Countless strands of magic power coalesced into a massive red dragon. Like a dragon ascending to the heavens, it surged out of the Dantian space with an incomparable momentum, circulating through the glowing meridians along the Great Orbit.

The red dragon of magic power accelerated through the Great Orbit route. Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng knew that his momentum was sufficient; he could now strike at the bottleneck of the second layer of Qi Refinement.

Carrying the aura of a sovereign ruling the world, the red dragon of magic power slammed into the barrier within his body.

*Pop!*

A soft sound echoed from within Cheng Buzheng. Though the sound was faint, it was clearly audible in the silent room.

The invisible barrier at the bottleneck shattered like a pebble dropped into a pond, and the red dragon of magic power returned once more to the Dantian space, merging into the red cloud beneath the vortex.

Instantly, the spiritual energy from the outside world swarmed toward him. Visible wisps of spiritual energy poured into Cheng Buzheng's body.

Cheng Buzheng knew this was the effect of his body's urgent need for spiritual energy following his breakthrough to the second layer of Qi Refinement. He did not waste this rare opportunity and immediately began operating the micro-orbit route for the second layer.

The Red Fire Technique circulated along the micro-orbits, refining wisps of spiritual energy that fell into the Dantian. The vortex, which had previously stopped spinning, began to rotate frantically once more, its terrifying suction instantly pulling the energy in.

In an instant, the heavy, textured red cloud beneath the vortex gained another wisp of magic power.

Cheng Buzheng did not end his cultivation for the day just because he had reached the second layer. He knew that his foundation was currently weak and unstable, and there was a risk of regressing at any moment.

He did not dare to be careless, diligently operating the micro-orbits over and over again.

In a flash, black turned to white, and the sun and moon cycled through their changes. Seven days and seven nights had passed.

At this moment, Cheng Buzheng was still sitting cross-legged on his bed cultivating, as the surrounding spiritual energy slowly dissipated.

He opened his clear, bright eyes, a glint of light flashing within them, and a prominent smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"It has been over half a year since I entered the immortal sect. Today, I have finally reached the second layer of Qi Refinement. I have taken another solid step in my great undertaking of longevity!

Truly worth celebrating!

The preliminary preparations are all complete. If I weren't about to break through to the second layer, I would already be executing missions. I cannot afford any more delays."

Then, he sank his consciousness into his sea of knowledge. At the moment he broke through to the second layer, he had sensed a change in his panel, but he had not checked it immediately, choosing instead to silently consolidate his cultivation...

[Master of the Jade Disk of the Heavens: Cheng Buzheng] [Realm: Second Layer of Qi Refinement] [Cultivation Technique: Tier 1 Mid-grade (Common) Red Fire Technique (Entry-level)] [Spells: Tier 1 Low-grade (Exquisite) Amethyst Polishing, Tier 1 Low-grade (Exquisite) Earth Escape Technique (Mastery)] [Spiritual Power Value: 0]

Seeing the spiritual power value on the panel was a big zero, Cheng Buzheng's desire to complete tasks grew more urgent.

Thinking of the mission he was about to undertake, he knew that after this task, the Little Disk would not lack spiritual power for a short while.

Without hesitation, Cheng Buzheng stood up, closed his door, and walked through the outer disciple residential area in the canyon. With a sudden push of his feet, the air exploded, and ripples of shockwaves radiated from his body.

Where he had stood, no one remained, leaving only a long trail of air, like the straight wake left by a motorboat on the sea.

Half an hour later.

Cheng Buzheng arrived outside the gates of the Command Talisman Pavilion. He continued to walk along the roadside, showing no signs of arrogance despite his advancement to the second layer of Qi Refinement.

Many cultivators' travelogues recorded various tragic ends for those who became conceited in the cultivation world.

Of course, there were those who rose steadily all the way to the Golden Core stage, but such examples were exceedingly rare, and he could not guarantee that he was one of those special cases.

Though it might seem like making a mountain out of a molehill, he knew the importance of being prepared for danger in times of peace. He hadn't quite mastered the art of self-reflection three times a day, but he was working toward it.

This wasn't like his previous world, where safety was a cornerstone and even a fight could lead to being questioned by authorities.

In the cultivation world, killing, arson, and scattering ashes were considered normal operations; he didn't want to find himself being scattered one day.

The law of the jungle was constantly playing out in the cultivation world, with countless examples of the weak being devoured by the strong.

Therefore, one had to be "steady" for the great undertaking of longevity to be realized.