Chapter 31

Returning to the outer courtyard, Seventh Brother thought for a moment and said to Luo Li:

"Luo Li, today during cultivation, don't absorb spirit stones or swallow Qi Refinement Pills. The spirit meat we ate last night still has remnants in our bodies. If you use spirit stones now, it would be a complete waste. Today, slowly absorb the spirit energy; it will be enough."

This was a small trick in cultivation, summarized from their own experiences. Luo Li nodded repeatedly, firmly remembering it.

Seventh Brother continued, "Also, pay attention. Take the Qi Refinement Pills a few days later. Remember, you are only at the first level of Qi Refinement. It's best to only take one pill every three months. As the old saying goes, all medicine is three parts poison. Your bodies have not yet been fully transformed by true qi. If you can avoid taking them, do so. When you break through to a higher realm, taking a Qi Refinement Pill will have an excellent effect. Good steel must be used on the blade! This isn't because the Qi Refinement Pills are expensive, but for our future cultivation."

Luo Li also firmly remembered these words. Suddenly, he remembered something, reached out, and handed three Qi Refinement Pills to Seventh Brother.

Seventh Brother was taken aback and immediately became angry, saying, "Do you think I'm asking you for pills? What are you doing? I don't want them!"

Seeing Seventh Brother's anger, Luo Li hurriedly said, "Wait, Seventh Brother, you misunderstood! These pills are not for you, but I'm lending them to you, and it's a high-interest loan."

Hearing this, Seventh Brother was a bit stunned. Luo Li continued:

"I can only refine one Qi Refinement Pill. The remaining three would be a waste if I kept them, so I'm lending them to you. In the future, you'll need to return four! This is a high-interest loan, Seventh Brother, please help me!"

Looking at Luo Li, Seventh Brother took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, I appreciate it!"

Hearing this, Lao Sha and Xuan Shui also breathed a sigh of relief. Seventh Brother was indeed short of Qi Refinement Pills. With these pills, he could break through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement!

Luo Li guessed that when he first met them, Xuan Shui was extorting Gao Peng for three Qi Refinement Pills. Xuan Shui and Hanzi were only at the first level of Qi Refinement, so the pills were useless to them. It seemed that Seventh Brother, who had reached the third level of Qi Refinement, was about to break through to the fourth level, which required the support of pills.

The third level of Qi Refinement is called the early stage, while the fourth level is called the middle stage. The difference in one word means a tenfold difference in cultivation realm, treatment in the sect, and personal strength.

In the Lingdie Sect, only those who reach the fourth level of Qi Refinement are considered to have truly entered the path of cultivation. They can then refine their life-bound spirit butterflies, achieving a unity of human and butterfly, and practice magic.

So, the Qi Refinement Pills were very useful for Seventh Brother. However, now that Luo Li and Gao Peng had become friends, there was no way to extort them. Just as they were at a loss, Luo Li gave him three pills, and the talk of a high-interest loan was just a way to give him a step down. Seventh Brother was filled with gratitude.

Luo Li immediately received this favor, feeling a smile in his heart. Mentioning the high-interest loan, with Seventh Brother's character, he would definitely return the pills, and they would also become friends. Helping him and gaining favor, it was truly a win-win situation.

Everyone returned to the outer courtyard, exchanged their camels, and Seventh Brother suddenly said to the servants:

"This is my junior brother, Luo Li. He is coming to borrow the camels. It's as if I'm borrowing them. If anyone tries to stop him, it's as if they're not giving me face. Don't blame me for being unrighteous!"

The servants immediately bowed and said, "Yes, yes, we understand!"

"Senior Brother Luo Li, if you need to use the camels, just come. No need to apply, you can borrow them freely!"

Luo Li gained another benefit: free use of the camels!

Everyone returned to the outer courtyard, chatted for a bit, and then dispersed. Each had to return to their own quarters, rest for half a day, and then continue cultivating, refining the spirit energy from the spirit meat they had eaten yesterday.

Luo Li also returned to his residence, rested for a moment, and began to calculate:

"July 7th, the Tianzhu Sect market, Tianxingjian Sect's inter-regional flying boat, travel expenses of 3,000 spirit stones! That's too much! I only get four spirit stones a month, so it would take 800 months to save up for the travel expenses!"

"It seems relying on the sect's benefits won't work. I must find a way to earn more. I must rely on the resources around me, and the dormitory is my path to wealth!"

"However, looking at Seventh Brother and Lao Sha, it seems the dormitory doesn't offer much in terms of wealth. They are all struggling. I need to slowly find a way to open up a path to wealth and earn more spirit stones!"

After resting for half a day, his meridians returned to normal, and Luo Li began to continue his cultivation, refining spirit energy.

Inhale, exhale, breathe, inhale, exhale, exhale, inhale, inhale, exhale, inhale...

After 100 breaths, he entered the Immortal Platform, absorbing spirit energy. This time, he absorbed the residual spirit energy from the spirit meat he had eaten yesterday. Indeed, there was still some left, appearing in thin streams, entering his dantian, and transforming into a vortex of qi!

This feeling was too pleasant, too comfortable. Like a miser, Luo Li checked each vortex, over and over again!

Inhale, exhale, exhale, inhale, inhale, exhale, inhale...

In a blink, six hours passed, and Luo Li's entire body's meridians ached, forcing him to end his cultivation.

In six hours of cultivation, he refined 172 breaths of spirit energy. However, in the end, only 105 breaths remained in his dantian, transforming into his true qi. The three-element spirit root wasted 40%, and with the 260 breaths from before, Luo Li's true qi reached 365 breaths.

Luo Li calculated the capacity of his dantian and concluded that if he continued like this, in two to three months, he could enter the second level of Qi Refinement. Unfortunately, the roasted meat was really expensive, and he couldn't afford it!

Luo Li couldn't help but sigh, ending his cultivation and taking a short nap. The next morning, Luo Li got up, and it was time for his second shift.

On the way, he met Gao Peng and came to the slaughterhouse, waiting for Overseer Yongchuan to assign tasks.

Looking at Luo Li, Overseer Yongchuan frowned and had a cold expression.

Luo Li knew that due to the incident on Kongyuan Peak three years ago, which affected everyone, Overseer Yongchuan had no good feelings towards him.

Sure enough, Yongchuan looked at him, pointed at Gao Peng, and said, "You, go to the storage area to work!"

This was a normal task, and every new arrival would be assigned this task.

Just then, a group of people came from a distance. They were disciples of the Qingjing Pavilion, responsible for delivering goods.

They drove the camels forward, and behind the camels were over 300 various spirit beasts. These spirit beasts came in all shapes and sizes, some like fat pigs, some like wild bulls, some like rabbits, and some like pythons. They were all fat and had excellent fur!

As they approached, they couldn't help but wail. They were spirit beasts with simple intelligence, knowing what this place was and that they were about to die, so they all cried and wailed. However, under the control of secret techniques, they could only walk into the slaughterhouse!

Seeing these spirit beasts, Yongchuan explained, "Over 300, today's task is very heavy!"

Then he pointed at Luo Li and said, "You, aren't you quite capable of causing trouble? Fine, today you'll work in the slaughterhouse!"

Hearing this, everyone was stunned. New arrivals usually worked in the storage area first, gradually moving forward, and only after a while would they reach the slaughterhouse.

This was the sect's work process, and each task was a form of cultivation, progressing step by step. The work in the slaughterhouse wasn't something just anyone could do, and new arrivals wouldn't be given this task. Everyone immediately knew that Yongchuan had a grudge against Luo Li and was deliberately making things difficult for him, wanting to see him fail!

Lao Sha, who had eaten Luo Li's skewers yesterday, felt he had to help Luo Li today. He said, "Senior Brother Yongchuan, he is a new arrival, and he might..."

Yongchuan directly interrupted his plea, saying, "Lao Sha, shut up. I'm the overseer, not you. Give him the three-edged bone-breaking knife! You, kill the pigs here!"

Hearing this, Lao Sha's face turned red!

Everyone was speechless, looking at Luo Li with pity. Killing these pigs wasn't like killing ordinary pigs; they were spirit beasts, requiring high skill and a strong mind. This was the hardest task in the slaughterhouse!

It seemed that Yongchuan was determined to make Luo Li suffer!

Luo Li, being a capable person, immediately sensed everyone's strange looks and, with a bit of thought, understood the situation.

Luo Li said nothing, reached out, and took the three-edged bone-breaking knife from Lao Sha. The knife was like ice, long and slender, like a willow leaf, with a blade a foot long, covered in strange runes. A cold force flowed through it, making it a magical tool!

Luo Li smiled and said, "Senior Brothers, I'm new here. If I do anything wrong, please bear with me!"

No one spoke, avoiding Luo Li's gaze. Everyone knew he had offended Yongchuan and didn't dare to acknowledge him.

Lao Sha said, "Luo Li, let's go, and we'll catch the pigs together!"

At this moment, the disciples of the Qingjing Pavilion had already delivered over 300 spirit beasts to the courtyard. After unloading, they immediately left, as the smell here was unbearable.

Luo Li looked over and saw six types of animals: pigs, bulls, snakes, rabbits, insects, and chickens! However, these animals were not ordinary. For example, the pigs had no fur, only scales like a snake, emitting a faint light, looking like iron or gold. They had a pair of sharp tusks and a tail that was a venomous snake, with the snake's head constantly moving.

"Damn, what kind of pig is this? It looks so scary!"

Lao Sha answered, "This is called a Ninglei Tiejia Mo. It looks like a pig but isn't one. This beast has three layers of fat, which is the best fat. The oil we used for the roasted meat yesterday was from this fat."

Luo Li said, "Ninglei Tiejia Mo?!"

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