Chapter 8: Opportunity

In addition to the Thunder Spirit Technique, Li Qing had another significant advantage: his soul had been innately powerful since he transmigrated.

An average fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator’s divine sense range is no more than thirty or forty zhang, yet his had already reached over sixty zhang—a powerful divine sense typically possessed only by those in the late stages of Qi Refining.

A powerful divine sense has many wonderful uses in cultivation.

Those with a strong divine sense can control the mana within their bodies more perfectly, allowing them to exert greater strength should a battle arise.

The only pity was that Li Qing currently lacked a secret technique for soul cultivation.

Otherwise, he could have made better use of his advantage.

Of course, for Li Qing at his current stage, this thought was undoubtedly a fantasy.

Secret techniques for soul cultivation are often of extraordinary value in the cultivation world.

Let alone a low-level Qi Refining cultivator like Li Qing, even Golden Core cultivators of some small sects rarely possess soul-cultivation secret techniques.

——

After returning to the outer island of Qianyu Island, Li Qing did not go back to his cave dwelling, but instead came once again to the place where he had last made his breakthrough.

Finding a random boulder, he began his experiment.

"Appear."

One hundred spirit fish fry appeared in mid-air.

Li Qing pointed a finger, and several streams of water wrapped around them.

To test the conditions inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl, Li Qing decided to put a few spirit fish in first to see how they fared.

Then, Li Qing controlled the Sea-Suppressing Pearl within his body to draw them inside.

Inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl.

Li Qing observed the scene within the pearl with his divine sense.

After the spirit fish fry entered the sea area inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl, they appeared exceptionally active.

The dense seaweed within the sea area had become quite rich in spiritual energy after being nourished by the Sea-Suppressing Pearl.

This seaweed would serve as the best food for the spirit fish fry.

In no time at all, a patch of the previously dense seaweed had been cleared away.

Li Qing had purchased two types of spirit fish fry: one was the Profound Water Spirit Fish, and the other was the Blood Spirit Fish.

He had bought fifty of the Blood Spirit Fish, and the remaining one hundred and fifty were Profound Water Spirit Fish.

For now, both types of spirit fish had direct uses for Li Qing.

One could purify the mana within his body, while the other could nourish his physical body.

After purchasing them, Li Qing had specifically asked Liu Yuling for a jade slip that distinguished the age of spirit fish, which he used to observe the changes in the spirit fish inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl.

Taking this opportunity, Li Qing began a long wait for his experiment.

The spiritual energy inherent in the Sea-Suppressing Pearl was enough for Li Qing to engage in bitter cultivation here.

Time flew by, and more than half a month passed.

Beneath the boulder, Li Qing opened his eyes once again.

In half a month, Li Qing was still at the fourth level of Qi Refining; his cultivation progress was negligible. Without the support of resources, relying solely on bitter cultivation was too slow.

Suddenly, Li Qing’s eyes widened, revealing an expression of disbelief.

Just moments ago, he had used his divine sense to observe the situation inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl and was shocked to discover that the spirit fish inside had already grown a spirit pattern.

According to the records in the jade slip Li Qing had obtained, spirit patterns were an important basis for judging the growth age of spirit fish.

Each spirit pattern grown by a spirit fish was equivalent to ten years of age.

One had to realize that he had only put the spirit fish fry in for a little over ten days.

Li Qing immediately took the black jade slip gifted by Liu Yuling from his storage bag and confirmed the information inside once again.

"It really is," Li Qing said joyfully.

The information recorded inside was the same as what he understood: the spirit patterns represented the age of the spirit fish fry.

The maturation period for Profound Water Spirit Fish and Blood Spirit Fish requires over a hundred years, though some forces possess special means to accelerate their cultivation.

For ordinary forces, these low-level spirit fish are a decent way to earn spirit stones.

The main thing is that they require no special cultivation methods, just time.

Although it was hard to believe, the fact was right before his eyes.

One day in the sky, one year on the ground.

The space inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl was truly miraculous; this was likely a power that only the legendary means of immortals could possess.

"Hahahaha!"

Li Qing could no longer suppress the ecstasy in his heart.

The existence of the Sea-Suppressing Pearl meant that his future path to immortality had a massive pillar of support.

This secret could not be known by anyone.

To lose the secret meant to lose his life.

Li Qing was very clear: the existence of the Sea-Suppressing Pearl was an irresistible temptation for any cultivator.

His previous plans could now finally begin step by step.

Now, he could embark on the path of dual cultivation of both magic and body.

Moonlight arrived quietly.

Li Qing sat cross-legged on the boulder.

At this moment, his eyes were resolute.

The path of immortality is harder than ascending to heaven, yet countless cultivators are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river, coming in an endless stream. Starting today, he too would step onto this endless path of seeking immortality.

At the very least, he finally had the qualifications.

Good fortune is an indispensable part of the path to longevity, and now he had finally encountered his own opportunity.

The immortal path is long, and the most stable foundation had already been laid.

As the moonlight spilled down, in the quiet, deserted place, he changed to a more comfortable position and lay quietly on the boulder.

A month later, Li Qing quietly returned to his cave dwelling.

At this moment, his face was full of excitement.

After nearly a month of testing, Li Qing had finally figured out the secret of the sea area inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl.

Now, the spirit fish in the Sea-Suppressing Pearl’s sea area had grown for thirty years. At this rate, in just two more months, he would be able to harvest a considerable amount of spirit stones.

The only thing he found a bit regrettable was that the Sea-Suppressing Pearl at this stage was not omnipotent.

As the spirit fish grew, the amount of spiritual energy they absorbed began to become much larger.

The spiritual energy inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl available for Li Qing’s cultivation began to slowly decrease.

To ensure his current cultivation speed, Li Qing eventually found a balance.

Only when the number of spirit fish inside was kept at around one hundred would it not affect Li Qing’s absorption of the spiritual energy for cultivation.

Of course, he could also invest spirit stones into it to increase the concentration of spiritual energy inside.

However, what Li Qing lacked most at this stage were spirit stones, so this idea was definitely impossible to realize in the short term.

Li Qing’s purpose in raising spirit fish was to obtain resources for cultivation; he could not delay his already slow cultivation speed just to raise spirit fish.

He directly consumed the Blood Spirit Fish that had not yet reached the desired age to accelerate his body cultivation.

Although they were not old enough, they were still of great help to his cultivation.

The thunder power nurtured by practicing the Thunder Spirit Technique was inherently violent and thus caused great damage to the body; the existence of the Blood Spirit Fish was a huge nourishment for Li Qing’s body.

Li Qing’s Thunder Spirit Technique was still at the low-level mid-stage, but compared to before, his physical blood and energy had increased significantly. He could clearly feel the blood and energy contained within his body becoming vast.

This was his first time cultivating with the support of resources.

Feeling the spiritual energy fluctuations around him, he calmed his mind once again and began to cultivate.

With the surrounding spiritual energy combined with the effect of the Sea-Suppressing Pearl, Li Qing was effectively cultivating at the core of a first-rank spirit vein.

(End of chapter)