Chapter 1: Li Qing

Haoyuan Sea Area.

Qianyu Archipelago.

The largest island among the archipelago, Qianyu Island.

The Qianshui Yuling Sect is the largest power in the Qianyu Archipelago, possessing Nascent Soul cultivators and a heritage spanning thousands of years.

Qianyu Island is the exclusive stronghold of the Qianshui Yuling Sect.

Most of the spiritual veins of the entire archipelago are concentrated here, making it the immortal blessed land that the hundreds of millions of living beings in the archipelago dream of.

The massive island is divided into two by the sea; the broken island in the front is the outer sect of the Qianshui Yuling Sect, commonly known as the Outer Island.

Within the outer sect, tens of thousands of outer sect disciples struggle forward on the path of longevity.

On a pile of jagged rocks near the sea on the Outer Island.

An outer sect disciple dressed in a cyan robe is sitting quietly on a huge brown rock.

"Manifest."

With a low shout.

Purple electric light began to emanate from the body of this cyan-robed outer sect disciple.

Countless dense arcs of electricity flowed back and forth around his body.

"Crackle, crackle."

Slight sounds echoed in the surroundings.

Immediately after, thunderous light burst forth.

The cyan-robed outer sect disciple suddenly stood up, thrusting his right arm out, and the lightning around his body grew thicker.

"Bang!"

The man struck the jagged rock with a punch.

Instantly, with a "crack," a deep fissure appeared on the hard boulder.

"The Thunder Spirit Technique has finally reached the mid-first stage."

A low voice sounded.

The man raised his head, revealing a delicate face still bearing a hint of childishness.

Li Qing, as an outer sect cultivator who has been practicing in the sect for several years, is sixteen years old.

After his predecessor's parents brought him into the sect, they accidentally perished during an outing.

"That's for the best, otherwise I might have been exposed," Li Qing thought to himself with a calm expression.

The soul inside Li Qing's body was no longer the original one.

Coincidentally, the soul inside was also named Li Qing, but it came from the planet Water Blue.

Under a bolt of lightning, he accidentally arrived in this world of immortal cultivation.

The predecessor of this body had been practicing the Thunder Spirit Technique by force.

He had forcibly drawn the power of lightning from the sky into his body; even though he had made many preparations beforehand, he still underestimated the might of the thunder.

The violent power of the lightning directly scattered his soul, and he died in the accident.

The Li Qing who transmigrated was very lucky; through a twist of fate, this body planted a "Thunder Seed," successfully cultivating the Thunder Spirit Technique.

The Thunder Seed is the foundation for practicing the Thunder Spirit Technique.

Only by gathering the power of thunder within the body to form a Thunder Seed can one open the door to cultivation.

After accepting the scattered memories of his predecessor, Li Qing gained some understanding of this legendary world.

This world is called the Qianling Realm.

Legend has it that it is a spiritual realm space possessing the inheritance of immortals.

However, the vastness of heaven and earth is such that Li Qing cannot know how large this world truly is.

Even the place where Li Qing is located, called the Haoyuan Sea Area, has an immeasurable, infinite area.

There are countless archipelagos, and the islands are as numerous as the stars.

Li Qing's current body possesses spiritual roots.

Only by possessing spiritual roots can one step onto the path of immortality.

However, because Li Qing has a mid-grade Water-Wood-Earth three-element spiritual root, his aptitude is ordinary, and his path to immortality is fraught with difficulties and obstacles.

The number of ordinary mortals in the world is immeasurable, but those with spiritual roots are one in ten thousand.

Mortals without spiritual roots can at most enjoy a hundred years of life before turning into a pile of yellow earth and vanishing like smoke.

Only those with spiritual roots can sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, thereby stepping onto the path of immortality and beginning their journey toward longevity.

Spiritual roots are generally divided into five types: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

There are distinctions among spiritual roots; generally speaking, the more complex the spiritual root and the more attributes it possesses, the more difficult it is to cultivate.

The common classification in the cultivation world is to call five-element spiritual roots "pseudo-spiritual roots," four-element roots "low-grade spiritual roots," three-element roots "mid-grade spiritual roots," and two-element roots "high-grade spiritual roots."

There are also the legendary single-element spiritual roots, commonly known as "Heavenly Spiritual Roots."

In addition to these, there are mutated spiritual roots with extraordinary potential, such as Wind, Thunder, and Ice.

Of course, the Qianling Realm is vast and infinite, and there are some true "children of destiny."

They are born with special spiritual bodies; these beings are the true pride of heaven within their sects from the moment they are born.

A person's spiritual root often determines their path.

Spiritual roots represent the absorption and refinement of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and the gap between different grades of spiritual roots is enormous.

Originally, Li Qing could be considered an ordinary disciple with his mid-grade spiritual root, but since the great changes in heaven and earth decades ago, various top-tier talented spiritual roots have emerged one after another.

Li Qing's mid-grade spiritual root aptitude began to appear increasingly unremarkable.

The buried predecessor, Li Qing, began to feel increasingly unwilling.

To become stronger, the predecessor decided to take a risk.

He took out the items left behind by his parents.

It was a body-refining technique left by his parents when they left home.

The Thunder Spirit Technique!

This body-refining technique is undoubtedly very precious because it is a complete technique said to be able to reach the Nascent Soul stage.

It is not at all the kind of incomplete body-refining technique seen on the market.

Even though the path of body refining has declined, being able to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage means he possesses a complete and unobstructed Great Dao.

The prosperous period for body-refining cultivators began in the ancient era.

At that time, because spiritual energy was abundant and various heavenly treasures appeared frequently, body refiners became very popular.

Later, the spiritual energy of the space began to decline.

Heavenly treasures became hard to find, which led to the gradual loss of the body-refining inheritance.

Relatively speaking, body refiners advance faster in the early stages.

It is just that later improvements often require more heavenly treasures to assist.

Li Qing was stuck at the third level of Qi Refining and could not advance, and he had no spirit stones to buy medicinal pills; this was a desperate choice made under no other options.

The cultivation realms are divided into four stages: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul.

It is said that there are even more terrifying existences in the depths of the endless sea.

Li Qing's parents were originally inner sect disciples of the Qianshui Yuling Sect, but they unfortunately perished during an outing, and the sudden accident meant they left no resources for Li Qing.

The only things left were this technique and a Foundation Establishment Pill exchanged within the sect.

The Foundation Establishment Pill is a powerful aid for cultivators entering the Foundation Establishment stage, and for those with poor talent, it is sometimes the only way.

That Foundation Establishment Pill was exchanged by Li Qing's predecessor's parents using their contribution points before they passed away.

This could be considered planning ahead; after all, with the cruelty of the cultivation world, no one can predict the future.

However, before his cultivation reaches the peak of Qi Refining, the Foundation Establishment Pill is of little use to him.

Li Qing stood up and cast his gaze toward an island shining with spiritual light in the depths of the sea.

Blue spiritual clouds circled the island.

Several tall spiritual mountains pierced the clouds, surrounded by immortal mist, with spiritual light flickering.

The spiritual mountains, towering into the clouds, revealed a terrifying pressure, as if they were stabilizing the area like a needle in the sea.

That direction is the inner island of the Qianshui Yuling Sect, and it is also the true core of the sect.

Most of the spiritual veins in the Qianyu Archipelago are concentrated on the inner island.

That is the foundation of the sect.

If Li Qing were cultivating on the inner island, he would not be stuck at the bottleneck of the third level of Qi Refining.

He restrained the thunder power on the surface of his body and then continued to sit cross-legged on the boulder.

As the water spiritual energy in the surroundings trembled, several strands of blue mana began to appear on the surface of Li Qing's body.

Mana began to circulate continuously around his body.

As Li Qing operated his technique, the surrounding spiritual energy quickly surged toward his body.

This is the Water Control Technique that Li Qing had been practicing all along.

Outer sect disciples with water-type spiritual roots can all practice this water-type technique.

The Water Control Technique is a Yellow-grade mid-tier technique, which can at most be cultivated to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Cultivation techniques are divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow; the Yellow grade is the lowest grade of technique.

Because the mana cultivated by the Water Control Technique is stable and gentle, it is very suitable for building a foundation in the early stages.

Therefore, it is the choice of most ordinary outer sect disciples with water-type spiritual roots.

After becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator, one can switch to other techniques, choosing a suitable one based on one's own situation at that time.

"Still stuck at the third level of Qi Refining," Li Qing frowned.

Qi Refining has ten levels in total; levels one to three are the early stage of Qi Refining, levels four to six are the mid-stage, levels seven to nine are the late stage, and level ten is the peak of Qi Refining.

He knew clearly in his heart that it seemed he was stuck at the bottleneck of the early stage of Qi Refining.

After all, without the support of medicinal pill resources, cultivation is very difficult.

Li Qing stood up and scanned the surroundings with a vigilant gaze.

Although this place was a rarely visited spot he had deliberately chosen, he still carefully investigated it.

(End of chapter)