Chapter 19

With Ling Chengye no longer prohibiting the clan members from visiting the Medicine Mountain caves, the stone caves on Medicine Mountain suddenly became bustling with activity.

Every day, many members of the Ling family, filled with confidence and hope, would go in to explore, but the result was always the same—returning empty-handed.

Even those who had reached the Kaiyuan Realm, like Ling Chengye and Du Qishan, could not navigate the strange array without getting lost. It was even more impossible for the others to successfully enter the depths of the stone caves.

As failures piled up, many people gradually changed their strategy, focusing on Qin Lie as the breakthrough point.

Then, many members of the Ling family would wait for Qin Lie early in the morning, entering Medicine Mountain with him and rushing into the caves, hoping to follow his steps and successfully penetrate the depths of the caves.

Unfortunately, every time they entered the stone caves, they would suddenly get lost, unable to see Qin Lie's whereabouts. It was clear that there were illusionary and fog arrays in the caves, making it impossible for those who entered to see the people around them.

After several attempts, some people gradually gave up, although they were still curious about Qin Lie. After failing to succeed through him, they slowly abandoned their efforts.

Knowing that Du Jiaolan had a narrow mind, Ling Chengye was afraid she would secretly harm Qin Lie. He instructed Ling Feng and Ling Ying to accompany Qin Lie in and out of Medicine Mountain every day to prevent him from being attacked on the way.

Ling Chengye's arrangement made it impossible for Du Jiaolan to find an opportunity, which only increased her hatred towards the Ling family and made Qin Lie a thorn in her side.

After the engagement ceremony, Ling Yushi came to see Qin Lie more frequently. Sometimes, she would bring food early in the morning, so Qin Lie didn't have to go to the Ling family dining hall for meals.

In the evening, when Qin Lie returned, he often found that she had already arrived.

Ling Yushi became more and more proficient in household chores such as fetching water, making the bed, and cleaning. Her constant chatter also continued, making Qin Lie well-informed about all the trivial matters in Ling Family Town.

Sometimes, Ling Yushi would suddenly fall silent, propping her chin with her hands, her beautiful eyes shining as if trying to see through the secrets hidden in his heart.

At such moments, Qin Lie would suddenly feel nervous, maintaining a wooden expression.

Ling Yushi would sometimes sigh in disappointment, and sometimes shake her head and laugh, making it impossible for Qin Lie to guess what she was thinking.

Qin Lie's daily cultivation did not change due to the bustling activity in the Medicine Mountain mine. He continued to work hard, never slacking off.

Another day.

In a spacious cave deep in Medicine Mountain, Qin Lie sat leaning against a stone pillar, holding his breath and focusing his mind, cultivating with the beast core of a Shadow Lightning Carving Beast.

Beside him, the ground was covered with gray powder, the remnants of the beast cores whose power had been completely absorbed and then exploded.

Unconsciously, the more than forty beast cores he had hunted from the Tranquil Ridge were almost gone, and the Ice Stem Grass he had picked had already been used up.

After an unknown amount of time, another beast core in his hand shattered into dust. His expression was solemn as he silently circulated his power.

Strands of spiritual energy were mobilized from his dantian spirit sea, slowly flowing through his meridians like a trickle, gradually converging towards his left arm. Suddenly, the spiritual energy accelerated within his meridians, surging towards his left index finger like a raging tide!

"Zzzt!"

A strange electric sound came from the fleshy part of his index finger, which was painfully swollen and turned a bright red, as if burned by fire.

"Bang!"

The surging spiritual energy, like a wave crashing against an invisible barrier, could not break through the fleshy part of his finger and suddenly recoiled back to his palm, making his left hand extremely numb and losing all sensation.

"It's still not working..."

Qin Lie slowly opened his eyes, shaking his left hand. His handsome face was filled with anxiety and helplessness.

Recently, he had used the beast cores to fill his dantian spirit sea with spiritual energy, preparing to break through to the Seventh Level of the Body Refinement Realm. Unfortunately, after several attempts, he had failed each time.

The Body Refinement Realm was divided into nine levels. The first six levels were relatively easy to cultivate, mainly focusing on gathering spiritual energy, expanding the spirit sea, and continuously nurturing the flesh and blood with spiritual energy to make the meridians gradually tougher. Breaking through the first six levels was relatively easy.

During this period, when martial artists engaged in battles, they mainly relied on the strength of their bodies. They could not use spiritual techniques or burst out spiritual energy to injure or kill others.

The reason for this was that martial artists at this level could not release spiritual energy from their bodies, achieving "spiritual energy overflow."

Without the ability to release spiritual energy, it had no killing power and could not be infused into spirit weapons to significantly enhance the martial artist's combat strength.

Only by breaking through to the Seventh Level of the Body Refinement Realm could martial artists burst out their spiritual energy from their bodies, using it to injure or kill enemies through various body parts or infusing it into spirit weapons to unleash their terrifying power.

At this level, martial artists could also use spiritual energy to refine their bones, bone marrow, and organs, further enhancing their physical strength.

Therefore, the Sixth and Seventh Levels of the Body Refinement Realm were a watershed. Although they differed by only one level, the gap was like a chasm.

During the battle with the Ice Shatter Manor martial artists, he appeared to be surrounded by lightning, but that was not true "spiritual energy overflow." The lightning from the sky had struck him, guiding his spiritual energy, and most of it was natural power.

Without the lightning, he could not achieve this. In future battles, he could not always rely on stormy weather, so he had to break through to the Seventh Level of the Body Refinement Realm as soon as possible.

The Seventh Level of the Body Refinement Realm would also allow him to penetrate his bones, bone marrow, and organs with spiritual energy, aiding his cultivation of the Heavenly Thunder Punishment.

In the eyes of many, only martial artists who had reached the Seventh Level of the Body Refinement Realm could be considered true martial artists. Those below the Sixth Level were only referred to as martial people.

Ling Ying admired Ling Feng because he had broken through to the Seventh Level of the Body Refinement Realm, making him one of the few true martial artists among the young generation of the Ling family.

"I must break through this barrier as soon as possible!" After resting for a while, when the numbness in his left hand had slightly subsided, Qin Lie took out another beast core of a Shadow Lightning Carving Beast. "There are only three left. I must break through soon. The remaining spirit medicines and spirit stones brought back from the Extreme Cold Mountains can only be used at the Seventh Level."

The spirit pills and spirit stones obtained from the Ice Shatter Manor martial artists, he had only taken a portion as the engagement gift. Some were still left in the cave, which he had kept for himself.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

After a while, his fingers made a crisp sound, as if about to break, but the spiritual energy flowing in was like being blocked by a valve, unable to break through the fleshy part of his finger and release.

In the cave, Qin Lie tried again and again, failing each time.

"The efficiency is too low. This won't work. There must be a better method." Narrowing his eyes, Qin Lie frowned in deep thought. Suddenly, his mind stirred, and he shouted, "Soul Suppressing Pearl! No Mind, No Thought!"

Without caring whether he would remain in this state for a long time, he took a deep breath, concentrating his mental awareness. Gradually, he felt a thread of his soul floating out of his mind, flying into the Soul Suppressing Pearl.

Time passed, and he gathered more and more of his soul awareness, continuously converging it into the Soul Suppressing Pearl.

The Soul Suppressing Pearl, hidden in his forehead, gradually glowed faintly, like a black eyeball.

In the cave, the Soul Suppressing Pearl, emitting a dark glow, flickered mysteriously and eerily.

Slowly, the feeling of his soul leaving his body returned. His soul seemed to be in a chaotic space within the Soul Suppressing Pearl, where he could see every movement of his body and even control it instinctively, allowing it to cultivate...

In that wondrous space, he could clearly see the天地灵气 (heavenly and earthly spiritual energy) in the cave converging towards him at a rapid speed, and the thin, mist-like spiritual energy entering his body through the fine pores of his skin.

The fine pores, which he could not see even with his eyes wide open, were magnified many times in this state, incredibly clear!

In the mysterious and unfathomable state of No Mind, No Thought, his soul was in a detached state, but his understanding of his body was profound beyond imagination!

In this state, he felt as if he was in harmony with the heavens and earth, attracting more spiritual energy to converge towards him during cultivation...

With his soul hidden in the Soul Suppressing Pearl, Qin Lie watched his body, seeing it instinctively cultivating, the spiritual energy flowing through his meridians, accelerating, and repeatedly surging towards his fingertips!

He noticed that as the cultivation time increased, the barrier preventing him from reaching the Seventh Level of the Body Refinement Realm seemed to become thinner and thinner.

He realized that in the state of No Mind, No Thought, the spiritual energy gathered faster and flowed through his meridians at a much higher speed.

This instinctive cultivation allowed his body to constantly adjust itself to the optimal state, so miraculous that he felt his soul's existence was superfluous.

It was an indescribable wonder!

"Zzzt!"

After an unknown amount of time, a greenish-blue lightning bolt suddenly shot out from his finger, the electric light flashing and shattering a piece of rock on the cave wall.

The floating soul, seeing the lightning, was overjoyed and struggled desperately, using the excitement and agitation in his heart to continuously impact the pearl.

"Boom!"

His mind suddenly jolted, and the feeling of his soul returning to his body flooded his heart.

Qin Lie instantly woke up.

In the past five years, this was the first time he had managed to break free from the state of No Mind, No Thought without external stimulation, relying solely on his willpower!

"Ha ha ha." Qin Lie opened his mouth and sat there, laughing foolishly.

With the help of the state of No Mind, No Thought, he not only successfully broke through to the Seventh Level of the Body Refinement Realm but also gained a deeper understanding of the wondrous nature of this state. Moreover, he discovered that he could now break free from it, which greatly boosted his confidence and gave him a glimpse of a grand and magnificent future.

"Rumble, rumble."

The sound of his hungry stomach woke him from his excitement. He realized his body was almost emaciated, and he had no idea how long he had been hungry.

Having gone too long without food, his steps were unsteady. Supporting himself against the cave wall, his face pale, he slowly walked out of the cave.

At the cave entrance, Ling Yushi looked haggard, her eyes filled with deep worry, staring blankly into the distance, leaning against the wall, having waited for a long time.

...ps: I humbly request your support with recommendations. Thank you all!