After the formations class, Aotian and Rihai stood up along with the crowd and left.
Besides the little girl Xiaoxue and Xiao Ling, with whom Aotian and Rihai had spoken last time, the two hadn't made friends or interacted with anyone else.
Aotian understood that this was the cultivation world, and even back on Earth, in his previous life, most people didn't make much effort to engage with strangers selflessly — in this world, where solitude and cultivation were a way of life, it was even harder.
'Cultivators live for hundreds or even thousands of years, and only a few friendships are the norm. Some don't even have real friends, only acquaintances — and that's just because they're forced to interact, like when buying something for cultivation. Luckily, I have Rihai… otherwise, I probably wouldn't be doing so well,' Aotian reflected, relieved by his luck in the end.
Without Rihai, he might've been alone there, friendless and without any real connections in this world, just doing everything he could to return home, with a lonely heart.
Thinking about these things, he returned with Rihai to their cave.
…
At the Heritage Pavilion, Wen Tai, the inner elder, was analyzing one last Refiner-Tier Body Refinement technique, his face focused and eyes closed.
The energy in his dantian flowed in complex patterns, while his mind filled with insights as he read. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and smiled.
'I did it. It would've been faster if these body refinement techniques weren't so disregarded and scattered among the countless regular Refiner-Tier cultivation techniques,' Aotian thought, happy to have finally finished gathering the knowledge to synthesize the technique.
'I understand why these body refinement techniques are dismissed. Some of the herbs required for these medicinal baths are extremely rare. There are even Founder-Tier and Core-Tier herbs among them! Most people wouldn't invest in improving their physique in the Qi Refinement realm using such precious and rare herbs — it's better to focus on regular cultivation,' he analyzed, and didn't blame the cultivators for overlooking those techniques either.
He then controlled Tian Zhu, who at that moment was in his private cave atop the mountain peak.
His synthesis ability began operating at full power as he fed it the accumulated knowledge.
Inside his mind — or rather, in Tian Zhu's mind — Aotian felt the knowledge collide, discarding the unnecessary, reinforcing the core, and finally aligning into something far greater.
At last, a single perfectly connected manual hovered in his mind.
He pulled out a blank jade slip from his pouch and pressed it against his forehead, feeding it the information from the new technique.
Then, at that same moment, a voice came from outside the cave.
"Sect Leader, it's me, Bao Hui," the man's serious voice rang out, and Tian Zhu simply raised his hand, causing the formations to flash before opening to allow his entry.
Tian Zhu stood, walked out of his room, and saw Bao Hui standing at the cave entrance.
Without a word, he tossed the technique, which flashed through the air before stopping right in front of Elder Bao.
Bao Hui raised his hand, took hold of the floating jade slip, and began to analyze it seriously.
[Draconic Body Refinement: Refiner-Tier Body Refinement Technique.
Status: Medium-quality jade slip (150 uses remaining).
Description: An extraordinary body refinement technique. Uses spiritual energy of the five elements to forge the flesh and blood to their peak.
Requirement: Five simultaneous mental processes.
Note: This technique requires high-level spiritual and elemental energy refined by the user for maximum efficiency. Medicinal baths may accelerate cultivation speed, but are not necessary.]
Aotian narrowed his eyes in his main body, now inside his room back at the cave, as he read the technique description — excited, but also contemplating something.
'Could this… be used by beasts to cultivate? Actually, it's very possible. What a beast aims for is to activate its bloodline, and the technique mentions forging the flesh and blood to their peak — isn't that the same goal?' Aotian's eyes lit up, and he immediately had Tian Zhu create single-element versions of the technique.
He realized that a body refinement technique using all five elements simultaneously was more effective and efficient than those using only one — but having separate mental processes was something only he could do, hence the need for single-element techniques.
After Tian Zhu created the other techniques and Bao Hui finished analyzing them, he didn't hesitate and went to Rihai's room. He finally had something that could help her grow stronger, and he didn't want to wait to give it to her.
He stood in front of her door and started knocking.
"Hai'er! Hai'er! Hai'er!" With each double knock, he called her name, mimicking a certain character he had seen on TV back on Earth.
Rihai opened the door, confused.
"What are you—" she began, but before she could finish, Aotian bent down, hugged her thighs, and lifted her up, her dazed face flopping over his shoulder.
"Aotian, what are you doing?" she asked, giving him two pats on the back, trying to understand why he had returned moments after they had parted ways to their rooms and was acting like this.
"Nothing, I'm just happy. I found something that might help improve your strength… and maybe help with your roots too, though I'm not sure," he said, giving two playful smacks to her firm backside over his shoulder, smiling.
On his back, Rihai rolled her eyes, amused at the pats, but couldn't help being curious about what he had found — and a bit hopeful.
Aotian walked toward the bed in her room. He and Rihai had occasionally rolled around on that bed while flirting, so he walked there naturally and tossed her onto it.
Rihai lay there, flat on her back with her hair spread out behind her, looking at him curiously.
Aotian climbed on top of her and kissed her deeply for a few minutes before pulling away and taking a deep breath.
"What got you so excited?" With her face flushed from the intense kiss, Rihai, still beneath Aotian, teased him, smiling.
"You get me excited. Look." He raised his body slightly, letting her see the tent that had risen at his waist.
"No need to show me, I've seen it plenty of times," she teased, pushing his forehead with her pale finger, amusement in her eyes.
Aotian smiled at her.
"And you'll see it plenty more," he joked.
"No doubt about that." She winked back at him, laughing.
Aotian looked at her with warmth, but eventually restrained himself and got off her, sitting beside her as she also sat up.
"Hai'er, I've got something that can help you. It was given to me by the sect leader, and I came here right away when I received it," he explained, pulling out a jade slip he had previously prepared for her.
Rihai looked at the long rectangular jade slip in his hand but didn't take it.
"Tian'er, that shouldn't be given to me. It's something the sect gave to you, and it's wrong for you to pass it on to someone unauthorized." Rihai shook her head firmly at him.
But Aotian rolled his eyes.
"What are you talking about? I'm the absolute authority here. If I say it's for you, you don't need to hesitate or worry," Aotian said firmly, with an imposing seriousness in his gaze.
"But—" she tried to object, but was interrupted.
"No buts. And this is your version of the technique, oriented toward the fire element. Mine is for other elements. So don't worry and take it." Aotian said firmly, pulling her hand and placing the jade slip in it. "Hai'er, you gave me your family's inheritance, a taboo technique. Even if you say it had no value, it means a lot to me. These little things mean nothing by comparison. Besides, the sect is aware that I'm giving you this technique," he said with firmness, before softening his tone and looking at her with affection.
And technically, he wasn't lying — the sect did know… the sect was him.
Rihai looked at him helplessly, but with affection, and then looked down at the slip in her hand.
"Use it now. Tell me if it needs any adjustments or specific changes. We have different types that may suit you better," he said, looking at her.
Well, he had indeed synthesized different types, but in truth, he intended to synthesize a new one for her if needed.
She thought for a moment, then stopped hesitating and tapped the jade slip against her forehead, receiving its contents.
Her eyes opened wide after processing the information. There was some surprise — but also a hint of disappointment.
"Tian'er, body refinement techniques require a lot of resources, especially one of this high quality. Even with medicinal baths, my roots are too weak and would suffer if I tried to refine my body." She shook her head at him.
But then she smiled and placed her hand on his thigh, rubbing it gently, not wanting to make him feel bad.
Just as she was about to speak, to console him, Aotian shook his head.
"Hai'er, what you're holding isn't a common body refinement technique — it's one that approaches perfection. Medicinal baths aren't necessary, and the technique ensures your roots won't be harmed during cultivation. I don't know if your condition changes that reality, but I don't believe it does." Aotian smiled confidently, catching her off guard.
'A technique that approaches perfection?!' She looked at him, stunned. It was the first time she'd ever seen Aotian — or anyone — say something like that about a technique.
If it were someone else, she wouldn't care. But Aotian and his mysterious sect were anything but ordinary.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to try and put her faith in Aotian's words.
Memorizing the entire technique and reviewing its key points, she closed her eyes as she prepared herself.
Aotian, seeing her enter a state of focus and cultivation, got up and moved away from her, going to the stone platform, preparing to cultivate in the same room as her.
Normally, he wouldn't do that, since sharing spiritual and elemental energy in the same space could interfere with each other's cultivation — so it was usually done separately.
But body refinement used the energy in one's own dantian to strengthen the body, rather than external energy, so there was no issue cultivating in the same room.
He was also confident that Rihai wouldn't be harmed by the technique. When he synthesized a technique, he basically gained mastery over it, and he understood how it truly worked.
Aotian then sat cross-legged and took a deep breath.
Before starting, he looked at his status.
[Host: Long Aotian
Cultivation: 2nd Level of Foundation Establishment.
Physique: Mortal
Qualifications: Low-Grade Five Element Spiritual Root (Low Qualification)]
[Wúji Dào Zōng (Meaning: Infinite Dao Sect)
Rank: 7 – Golden Core]
Aotian looked at his panel and couldn't help but once again be impressed by how much longer it took to cultivate Foundation Establishment compared to Qi Refinement.
Even though his cultivation progressed at a speed equivalent to that of a medium-quality root due to the buff of using powerful minds to cultivate, he still hadn't reached the third level, despite having spent more time cultivating than he actually did in the entire Qi Refining realm.
But he wasn't complaining — his cultivation was incredibly fast, after all. He was simply amazed by the differences between the realms.
Closing the system screen, he stopped procrastinating and shut his eyes, focusing.
It was time for Body Refinement.