Chapter 5: Upgrade

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  At this time, Lei's eyebrows were slightly raised, and he was overjoyed in his heart. He finally experienced the sensation of Qi for the first time. However, at this moment, he didn't dare to make any slight movement, carefully recalling the wonderful feeling of the Qi gathering in his Dantian earlier. When he couldn't hold his breath anymore, he slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but at this moment, his Dantian felt slightly cool and refreshing, and his spirit was also invigorated.

  Strike while the iron is hot, and Leidong entered the next cycle of exhalation. Time and time again. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, a whole day had passed. Leidong opened his eyes, and there was a hint of excitement in his gaze. Although today's successful attempts at exhalation were less than one or two out of ten, he had finally taken the first step, and as long as he found the sensation of qi, he believed that he would become more skilled at exhalation from now on.

  Lei Dong was once again calm and introspective, after a whole day of accumulation, in his dantian there was already a hint of a faintly cool and almost imperceptible true energy circulating, if not for careful attention, it would be almost impossible to detect its existence. Nevertheless, this tiny bit of coolness was enough to make Lei Dong extremely delighted. After twenty days of hard work, he had finally taken the first step in his cultivation journey.

  Little by little, the true energy is being enhanced. Three months, a whole three months have been spent. Now, even if I don't practice Qigong, there's still a slight swelling sensation in my Dantian. Of course, eight of the ten small Peiyuan Dan pills given as an introductory gift have already been consumed. If not for that, it would take far more than this amount of time to cultivate true energy to this extent. Leidong himself estimated that each small Peiyuan Dan pill is equivalent to about ten days of his own arduous cultivation. His entire being's vitality and spirit are now vigorous and full. Even without internal vision, he can feel that the timing for breaking through the first layer of the Impact Cultivation Period has arrived.

  According to the Xuan Yin Heart Scripture, Lei Dong slowly drove the accumulated true energy in his dantian down along the meridians, progressing slowly and steadily. He only felt a cool and refreshing sensation flowing down from his lower abdomen. The feeling of slight swelling mixed with extreme comfort almost made him moan. However, as someone who had at least read the Xuan Yin Heart Scripture, Lei Dong knew that he absolutely could not be distracted during the breakthrough. Taking a deep breath, he focused his mind, and forcibly concentrated his attention on the flow of true energy.

  It took about a minute, the operation of Xuan Yin's true energy suddenly stagnated, Lei Dong knew that it had finally reached the first critical point. He held his breath and forced the true energy to break through downwards, but a sharp pain like a needle piercing his lower abdomen made him sweat profusely. He hastily stopped the forced breakthrough, and after resting for a short while, the heart-piercing pain subsided somewhat.

  Having suffered, Lei Dong did not dare to act rashly again. Instead, based on his understanding of the Xuan Yin Heart Scripture, he used a subtle method to massage that crucial acupoint in an extremely slow manner. As long as the layer of Qi was slightly relaxed during the massage, the true energy would transform into fine, all-pervading seepage and advance.

  A thousand-mile dike collapses due to an ant hole, and the thunder moves in this way, gradually eroding that layer of barrier blocking the flow of true energy. However, as time flies by quickly, the true energy accumulated in the dantian is also being consumed continuously. Because I felt that the true energy was insufficient before, the last two grains of Peiyuan Dan had already fallen into my belly.

  Sweat as big as beans kept falling from Leidong's forehead. However, his expression was exceptionally firm. Perhaps others didn't know, but Leidong, who had crossed over, knew that in a world of cultivators with against-the-sky powers, only by becoming a true strongman could one control their own destiny. Otherwise, under the law of the jungle where the weak were preyed upon by the strong, they wouldn't even have the power to resist.

  Boom~ Just as the true energy was almost exhausted, Leidong thought that this time he could only gain some experience points for himself. That layer of extremely torturous barrier finally melted like an ice block under the continuous erosion of the true energy. The remaining true energy immediately charged forward with the momentum, rushing into that acupoint, continuously swirling, like a whirlpool, and more like a galaxy spinning in the universe.

  Those true energies, with continuous rotation, slowly became more refined. The remaining true energy waste was re-entered into the dantian and then expelled from the body through breathing exercises.

  Lei Dong was overjoyed, the capacity of the dantian is actually limited. The more condensed and pure the true energy is, the greater the energy that can be burst out under the same unit. Taking advantage of the situation, Lei Dong began to practice breathing exercises again, and with each breath, the true energy absorbed into his body was further purified. However, the efficiency of the first layer of the refining period far exceeded before. In just a few hours of meditation and breathing exercises, the true energy in his body had recovered to its peak state. Moreover, the true energy in his dantian was now several times more pure than before.

  At this point, Lei Dong slowly opened his eyes. What entered his eyes were those clear and distinct scenes. In the simply decorated cultivation room, the light was not bright. When he looked at the stone wall before, there was a feeling of being somewhat blurry. However, now, even the fine particles on the stone wall could be seen clearly. Standing up, stepping forward, the whole person became light and floating, as if there was an illusion of riding the wind. With a burst of force, he stepped forward, and his entire body actually floated three or four meters away.

  Cultivating immortality is indeed the best way to develop human potential. Lei Dong's heart couldn't help but feel a few sentimental words. After calming down, he discovered that his increasingly sensitive nose had picked up an indescribable stench on himself. He hastily called over the maid, set out a bathtub and washed three buckets of water before his body became clean and refreshed. His whole person felt invigorated and refreshed, as if floating on air like an immortal.

  After asking the maid about the time, Leidong only then realized that he had unknowingly been in seclusion for almost four months without taking a single step out of the door. After being stunned for half a day, Leidong let out a sigh and understood what it meant to cultivate immortality without regard for time. Looking at his reflection in the copper mirror in the bathroom, his skin was whiter than before, but more pale, as if he had not seen the sun for a long time. In his heart, he knew that he had already reached the first level of the Qi Refining stage and could be considered to have barely entered the door of cultivation. Not only had his physique undergone tremendous improvement, but he could also formally learn some spell techniques. Moreover, after being a shut-in for four months, it was time for him to go out and get some sun.

  After slowly savoring a delicious meal, I walked out of my room and felt somewhat unfamiliar. Looking around, I didn't know where to go. So I called over another middle-aged servant and asked him carefully, especially about where to go to learn magic and such things.

  Jian Pu also knew that the new disciple in front of him had already reached the first layer of Qi Refining. Not daring to be slow, he hastily took him to see Tang Qian, who was in charge of the secret books of spell cultivation.

  That Tang Qian, judging from his appearance, was already in his sixties or seventies. However, the impression he gave to Lei Dong was one of profound mystery. Knowing that Lei Dong was a man of great knowledge and courtesy, he treated him with utmost respect and humility. After verifying Lei Dong's identity, Tang Qian was also somewhat surprised: "Lei Dong, according to your pre-entry test results, you should be ranked in the middle position, neither good nor bad. Originally, based on experience, those with your level of talent usually take more than eight months to reach the first layer of Qi Refining. I didn't expect that after only four months since entering...

  "Tang Zongguan, for four months now, I haven't stepped out of the house even once." Lei Dong deliberately let out a couple of bitter laughs: "That one bottle of Xiao Pei Yuan Dan was also completely consumed."

  "Call me Tang Shixiong, I'm only at the 9th level of Qi Refining. All my Qi Refining disciples are called third-generation disciples and address each other as brothers based on their cultivation levels."

  After learning that Leidong's innate talent was ordinary but he had achieved small success in just four months, Tang Qian's attitude towards him also improved a lot, with a smiling face: "It seems that your comprehension is very good, otherwise, it would be impossible to achieve this with just ten Small Pei Yuan Dan."

  "Tang Shixiong is being polite." Lei Dong also smiled along with him: "I don't know how many people had already reached the first layer of Qi Refining before I did?"

  ……