Sixth Day - Dream Domain
Merin wakes from his six days of practice. Inside his spiritual space now stands a tree shaped exactly like him, formed in black and white. With mental energy, he can observe himself and those around him, but everything appears in black and white.
Yet, the meditation never mentioned that the visualised image needed colour. He completed the visualisation of his entire body, from the outer tree trunk to the Heartwood within. In these six days, he completely cultivated the meditation technique, reaching the peak of the Mortal Realm.
Despite reaching the peak, his strength and energy did not increase, as he realised, he was already at the peak before. Only his control over mental energy improved.
Now, he can form mental threads using his mental energy, but beyond that, there are no other changes. This still does not help him fight the black energy lingering around his taproots, which provide him with energy.
Six days passed, but by opening the dream domain and harvesting the spirits of six people who entered it, he reduced three days from the 22 months he could survive against the black energy, effectively doubling his time.
If he advances to the next realm—the Divine Seal Realm—his body would evolve, possibly increasing his absorption of void energy. However, he does not know the method to advance to the Divine Seal Realm.
He only knows the names of the small realms within it. Yet the names found in the serpent's inherent memory differ from the names Song Qi found at the 1000 Crane Sect. One source is from a demon beast, the other from humans, and he is a tree. He does not even know if either method would work for him.
Still, he needs a method to break through from the Mortal Realm to the Divine Seal Realm.
By obtaining it, he might find a path that suits him better. For that, the strength of the six people must increase. Except for the Shadow Serpent and Talon, who have broken through the first Mortal Realm, the other four are still ordinary people.
The best chance lies with the Shadow Serpent, who possesses inherent memory of the cultivation method up to the first realm of the Divine Core Realm—the next major stage after the Divine Seal Realm.
But the Shadow Serpent must first reach the fourth realm of the Mortal Realm to unlock the method to break through the Divine Seal-Earth Seal stage.
Song Qi, who has entered a large sect, may also obtain a method to break through the Divine Seal-Skin Refinement stage if he shows his talent and advances quickly. Even the other four could potentially find methods.
Thus, Merin must help them grow stronger as quickly as possible. Even if they do not find a breakthrough method soon.
If their strength increased, he would be able to harvest more of their mental energy, greatly benefiting him and prolonging his time against the black energy. To help them grow stronger, he now focuses on methods to boost their combat effectiveness.
Thinking this, his consciousness enters the dream domain, which is currently empty. He begins modifying the combat training room, enlarging the arena and adding a new feature—the clone method. In the arena, clones of Talon and Omar appear and start fighting each other. These clones display the same skills and combat effectiveness that Talon and Omar showed the last time they entered the dream domain.
He also adds a function so that every time the six people leave, their clones update to reflect their latest strength and techniques. Now, the six do not need to wait for others to train together. Sulla, for example, does not need to wait for Omar to finish his training—he can summon Omar's clone and train against it immediately.
The next improvement he plans is to make the dream bodies' structure superficially match their real bodies, not down to the cellular level, but enough to slightly help with practising physical methods. Even if the dream domain cannot provide full physical feedback, moving from 0% to 50% feedback is a huge improvement.
Training inside the dream domain would help them master the movements of physical techniques, though it would not refine their actual bodies. However, if they mastered the methods in the dream domain and got used to the accompanying pain of the movements, they could quickly adapt and master the techniques in the real world.
As he works, he adds the human body data he obtained from Ivy to the dream domain system. At the same time, he also integrates the data on different types of wood he obtained from Song Qi.
As the data of the human body and the data of different types of wood are added into the dream domain, the space around Merin starts to shake violently. A deep fear grips him—he feels the dream domain might collapse at any moment. His heart tightens at the thought that all his effort over the past two months to form the dream domain could be destroyed in an instant.
If the dream domain shattered, not only would his practice of the dream chapter be interrupted, but he would also have to spend another two months forming a new one. Altogether, four months would be wasted—a cost he could not afford in his current situation. Destruction of the dream domain would make resisting the black energy clinging to his roots even more difficult, possibly sealing his fate.
But just as panic begins to rise, Merin notices something strange. Instead of sliding into destruction, the dream domain stabilises. Then, to his astonishment, it starts absorbing a vast amount of dream energy from the surroundings. The air hums with power as the dream domain expands before his eyes.
He watches, fascinated, as the dream domain grows. From its original 100-meter radius, it steadily increases, adding 46 more meters to its reach. The space now feels deeper, broader, and somehow more alive. Merin realises that instead of harming it, the new data has triggered an evolution of his dream domain.
As Merin begins to think about the reason for his dream domain's sudden expansion, a memory surfaces in his mind. It is a quote written at the start of the first chapter of the Dream Chapter from the Dream Soul Sutra:
"The ultimate goal of a dream is to turn into reality."
This line lingers in his mind as he reflects further. In the second chapter, it is said that the dream domain, once formed, becomes permanent. In the third chapter, a Dream Source is created inside the dream domain, connecting it to the inner Dream World. The fourth chapter describes how, once a will of the plane is born inside the dream domain, even if the creator dies in the outside world, as long as the enemy cannot destroy the dream domain, the creator will be reborn inside it.
The fifth chapter speaks of a greater miracle—real items and living people can begin to enter the dream domain. The sixth chapter goes even further, stating that the dream domain will evolve into a true small plane where living beings can thrive independently. By the seventh chapter, the dream domain will completely transform into a world indistinguishable from reality, correcting any flaws within itself without needing his intervention and continuing to evolve on its own.
Realisation strikes Merin—starting from the fifth chapter, reality and dreams begin to intertwine. Dreams gradually become real, and in the seventh chapter, they fully merge, completing the transformation.
Understanding this, Merin now sees the expansion of his dream domain not as an accident but as the natural result of inserting real-world data. His dream domain has begun stepping onto the path where dream and reality overlap. So, he finds another way to advance the dream domain further—by gathering more real-world data.
He decides to assign tasks to the six people, and also to those he will summon later. For now, the task is to gather data on the material structures of the realm, from the composition of simple things like sand to complex living beings and spiritual materials.
However, he cannot simply demand it; he must motivate them. To do that, he plans to reward them with points for each contribution of real-world material data. With these points, they can buy techniques and other benefits.
For the rewards, he lists three basic meditation methods he found in the Soul Chapter and some low-level spells. He does not include higher-level methods because, although the names differ, the first realm's practice techniques are similar across many systems.
The second realm—the Yin Spirit Realm—presents more uncertainty. He does not know whether the methods he has would allow them to break through to the Divine Seal Realm of this world. If anything went wrong while they used his provided methods to attempt a breakthrough, his credibility would collapse completely.
Moreover, Merin cannot test these methods himself. He is already practising the Dream Chapter and cannot practice any cultivation method from the Soul Chapter until he completes it. And he cannot teach them the Dream Chapter, or they would learn the truth about the dream domain and might even form their dream domains.
After setting up the reward system, Merin shifts his thoughts to what kind of training assistance would help the six people the most. Looking at the black, Greek-style building floating inside his dream domain, an idea strikes him.
His consciousness divides into a hundred projections outside the black building—fifty on each side. One side starts practising Omar's sword technique, and the other side practices Talon's spear technique.
He reasons that if he masters the techniques first, he can help Omar and Talon quickly master them as well. They could then buy the memory of how he mastered the techniques, drastically speeding up their progress.
He does not form a clone of the Shadow Serpent, knowing that the serpent has very likely ranked in his clan's competition, and for two days he did not enter, and when he will enter again, his current data will be outdated.
As for Sulla, his combat effectiveness is the lowest, and without physical body data from the Light Spirit Clan, Merin cannot help him properly. Song Qi, however, can be helped, so Merin summons more clones to practice the two meditation techniques and the external body refining technique that Song Qi is learning.
Lastly, for Ivy, there is no point in forming clones to practice her meditation technique. Without detailed muscle, bone, and organ data, he cannot assist her training.
With little else to do, Merin joins the clones practising Omar's sword technique himself. He continues until he feels Sulla's consciousness enter the dream domain.
Sulla opens his eyes inside the dream domain and immediately asks the spirit, "Did anybody come before me?"
The spirit's voice answers, "No."
Sulla nods. Among them, only Talon would normally come before him, but last time, Talon was still present when Sulla left. Now that Talon has broken through the first realm of the mortal realm, there might be a celebration for him in his tribe.
Then he hears the spirit's voice again, informing him that the great being has made improvements in the combat training room and assigned a task to everyone entering the dream domain: they must provide material structure data of everything in the world. Every contribution would earn points, and these points could be used to buy rewards from the reward list.
Sulla quickly checks his points and finds that it is zero. Enviously, he browses through the rewards and sees three meditation techniques costing 100 points each and about twenty spells costing from 30 to 200 points. But with his zero points, he cannot afford anything. He sighs in disappointment.
At that moment, Omar appears. Sulla greets him and quickly explains the new changes in the dream domain.
Omar does not care much about the rewards, as he follows the path of the body, not the mind. For him, the changes in the combat training room are a big advantage. He feels an urge to rush into the training room and start practising against his clone, but decides to wait for the others to arrive first.
Meanwhile, he starts a casual conversation with Sulla, asking how his training and studies are progressing. He shares proudly that he killed another enemy today and was praised by his captain. If he manages to obtain two more body refining pills, he will be able to perfectly practice all ten body movements without feeling any pain.
As they are having a conversation, Song Qi appears with a bad face, different from his usual cheerful look over the past two days. Among them, Sulla is more familiar with Song Qi and asks, "What happened?"
Song Qi replies, "I was robbed."
Sulla looks puzzled and asks, "You are inside the Thousand Crane Sect. How can you be robbed?"
Song Qi explains, "Today, after completing my quota of cutting the Golden Leaf Tree, I was given a reward of three spirit fragments, which are given to menial disciples based on their work so they can buy resources for their practice. But as I was returning to my room, three senior menial disciples blocked my way and robbed me of all three spirit fragments."
Omar asks, "Yesterday, you also received a reward. Why didn't they rob you then?"
Song Qi says, "I think because the deacon was present yesterday, the one who taught the body refining method and how to cut the Golden Leaf Tree."
Sulla says, "Then did you not complain to the deacon?"
Song Qi shakes his head. "I am not the only one. Those who entered the sect at the same time as menial disciples were also robbed. Some of them went to complain, but they were scolded because they had no proof."
Sulla asks, "Then what are you going to do?"
Song Qi answers, "I learned that rewards can be stored and collected at a later date. So, before I awaken my mental energy or form my inner energy, I will not collect any reward."
Sulla nods, "It is a good decision. And the improvements in the dream domain may help you reach that point faster."
Hearing this, Song Qi wonders about the dream domain's improvements, and then he receives the spirit's message explaining the changes. He realises that the improvements might indeed help him quickly form inner energy. It would be better for his situation to form the energy first, as at the start, the body cultivation path's combat effectiveness is higher than the mind cultivation path.
Song Qi is deep in thought when he suddenly hears Ivy's voice, "Is everyone here?"
Merin's attention focuses on Ivy as soon as she enters his dream domain. He feels Ivy's consciousness has grown stronger, even surpassing the Shadow Serpent's. Merin murmurs, "She may have broken through the first realm of the mortal realm, and since her consciousness is stronger than the Shadow Serpent's, it is very likely because she is cultivating the mind cultivation path." He then remains hidden, listening to their conversation.
Ivy, looking at the three, says, "Oh! Talon and the Serpent did not come." Then she continues, "Talon was still present when I left last time. Looks like he will come later."
Song Qi says, "You are brimming with joy. Looks like something good happened to you."
Ivy, excitedly, says, "I broke through the first realm of the mortal realm and received much important information about our world from my teacher."
Sulla, Song Qi, and Omar congratulate her. After the congratulations finish, Ivy says, "You all don't know what happened when I went to meet my teacher before falling asleep."
She then narrates everything up to the revelations about the realms. The three are surprised hearing about the innumerable Mortal, Spiritual, and Divine realms.
Song Qi says, "Oh! Then you are going to the Azure Spiritual realm."
Ivy says, "Yes, my parents agreed, and I cannot lose this opportunity."
Sulla says, "Is your teacher not a spiritual doctor? What is a mage?"
Ivy says, "Mage is the cultivation path, and spiritual doctor is a skill in the mage cultivation path. It is like the mage is the tree, and the spiritual doctor is one of the branches."
Song Qi says, "Similar to me, I am called a spiritual cultivator, and the spiritual carpenter would be a skill."
Merin, listening to their conversation, thinks about where he stands now—a mortal, a spiritual, or a divine realm. But he cannot find the answer yet. Outside the building, he continues practising the sword and spear techniques, keeping one of his consciousnesses watching over the four people.
After an hour, the others arrive. He lifts the restriction, and the dream domain's speed accelerates—now the time inside the dream domain is three times faster than the real world. He always matches the real-world time when one of them enters his dream domain and keeps it the same for an hour.
21st day- Dream Domain
Song Qi
Song Qi opens his eyes with a smile because today, after completing his work, he will break through the first realm of the mortal realm.
Two weeks have passed since the great being improved the dream domain, helping him master the first stage of the Evergreen Pine breathing exercise and the Bull Body Refining Technique. He has been practising these two techniques over the past week, both in reality and inside the dream domain. He did not touch the inner breathing exercise he received upon joining the sect or practice his woodworking skills. For now, his priority is to gain enough strength to stand up to the bullies and use the spirit fragments that have been stored.
If he had been able to use the spirit fragments earlier, he would have reached this point much sooner. Yet the confidence to face the bullies does not simply come from breaking through the first realm of the mortal realm. The bullies had already broken through months or even years ago. In terms of raw strength, he would not be able to match them. To defeat them, or at least show he is not easy to bully, he must rely on superior skill.
In that, he is confident. He has mastered the boxing technique that comes with the Bull Body Refining Technique, thanks to the dream domain's help.
A week ago, more rewards were added to the reward list, including the martial skills each of the six practised. His Bull Boxing technique was among them, directly available at the mastered realm. It cost 70 points, but at that time, he had only 50 points from providing the structure of different woods. He earned another 10 points by submitting the structure of the Golden Leaf Tree and had to borrow 10 points from Ivy, who had the most points among them. Ivy had no urgent use for her points, so she lent them to him.
After purchasing the Bull Boxing mastery memory, he had felt as if something was forcefully stuffed into his mind, causing him to awaken from the pain in the real world.
The memory did not instantly grant mastery, but showed him the accurate steps to master the technique.
In five days, while fighting against a white figure in the combat arena using the full Bull Boxing technique, he completely mastered it.
Tomorrow, even if he cannot defeat the bullies, he is confident he will show them he is not someone to mess with.
He stops his wandering thoughts as he hears the sound of a bell. The bell signals the menial disciples to wake up and eat their morning meal within an hour; otherwise, they will go hungry until lunch.
He quickly gets up, wears the grey robe given to the menial disciples by the sect, and leaves his small room, which is even smaller than the one he had back in his home village.
After a few hours, he stands before 100 pieces of golden leaf wood, each cut to a similar length. Today, he completed the task of cutting 10 golden leaf tree trunks into ten equal parts, finishing a few hours before sundown.
He shouts, "Deacon Ji, my work is finished," toward an old man roaming around the worksites where more than twenty menial disciples are working.
Deacon Ji walks up to him and glances at the 100 small pieces of golden wood neatly stacked together. He does not need to count them; with a glance, he can tell there are ninety pieces stacked and ten scattered around Song Qi's feet.
He looks carefully at Song Qi and feels that within a week or two, Song Qi will have fully practised the first step of the Bull Body Refining Technique and advance to the first realm of the mortal realm. So, he does not make things difficult for Song Qi and says, "Good, you can go."
Song Qi nods and leaves.
What Song Qi does not notice is a boy around his age, standing nearby, who keeps glancing at him.
After washing himself, Song Qi enters his room, sits on the bed, and starts breathing according to the method of the Evergreen Pine exercise. He feels something churning inside his body, as if something is about to form, but after a few minutes, it stops because his body does not have enough energy.
If he had some pills that provided energy, he would have been able to form his internal energy right now. But without spirit fragments, he cannot buy them. His only option is food.
Thinking he will stuff himself until he is full and even bring some food back, he quickly gets up from his bed and leaves his room.
Outside, he sees shacks like his all around, with disciples returning from their work, dead tired and hunched over. Some of the older ones have despair in their eyes, knowing this is their last year. If they do not get promoted to outer disciples by the end of the year, they will be expelled.
There are three ways for menial disciples to be promoted to outer disciples:
1. Break through to the second realm of the mortal realm.
2. Master a skill, such as becoming a Tier-1 Spiritual Carpenter, Talisman Drawer, Formation Master, Potionist—there are hundreds of such skills.
3. Win first place in the yearly competition.
But all must be achieved within three years of joining the sect. If not, they are sent out.
Song Qi stops walking as he spots the three bullies—Chen Hai, Li Fu, and Zhou Gou.
Song Qi asks, "What do you want?"
Chen Hai, smirking, says, "Come with us to the deacon's office to collect your reward."
Song Qi says, "No."
Li Fu says, "Are you really saying no to us?"
Song Qi replies, "Yes."
Zhou Gou says, "He must be feeling confident because of his talent. Didn't you hear Old Ji mention that in one or two weeks, he will break through to the inner energy realm?"
Chen Hai says, "Then let's beat him so badly he won't be able to move for one or two weeks."
As soon as he finishes speaking, he punches toward Song Qi, who, frightened, dodges at the last moment.
Chen Hai did not think much of it and thought of it as a lucky dodge. He again raises his fist to punch Song Qi.
Chen Hai punches continuously at Song Qi, who, though frightened, finds his body reacting on its own, dodging the attacks. At first, Song Qi barely avoids the punches, his heart pounding in his chest. But as Chen Hai keeps striking at him, Song Qi starts to feel a strange calmness settling in.
His movements become smoother, his reactions sharper. Slowly, he begins dodging each punch more easily, his fear fading away.
Seeing an opening, Song Qi clenches his fist tightly and, without hesitation, punches at Chen Hai's face. His fist lands squarely on Chen Hai's nose with a sharp crack, breaking it.
Chen Hai stumbles back, clutching his face in pain, blood flowing from his broken nose. Zhou Gou and Li Fu rush to his side, supporting him as they say, "Brother, are you okay?"
Chen Hai does not answer, too focused on trying to stop the bleeding.
Li Fu turns to Song Qi, his face twisted with anger, and snarls, "You're finished. I'll break all your bones so you can't get out of bed for at least six months."
But Song Qi, far from being afraid, feels excitement rising within him. He grins and says, "Come on," ready for the fight.
In his battle with Chen Hai, Song Qi realised that even though Chen Hai was twice as strong as him in physical strength and endurance, his skills were crude.
Most menial disciples, including Chen Hai, only practised the Bull Body Refining Technique and not the boxing techniques that accompanied it. Because of his mastery of the Bull Boxing technique, Song Qi could predict Chen Hai's punches before they even landed, seeing the direction, preparation, and strength behind every attack.
With that confidence, he ignores Li Fu's threat and gets into position.
Li Fu charges at him, but instead of a punch, he strikes out with his palm.
Chen Hai stumbles back, clutching his face in pain, blood flowing from his broken nose. Zhou Gou and Li Fu rush to his side, supporting him as they say, "Brother, are you okay?"
Chen Hai does not answer, too focused on trying to stop the bleeding.
Li Fu turns to Song Qi, his face twisted with anger, and snarls, "You're finished. I'll break all your bones so you can't get out of bed for at least six months."
But Song Qi, far from being afraid, feels excitement rising within him. He grins and says, "Come on," ready for the fight.
In his battle with Chen Hai, Song Qi realised that even though Chen Hai was twice as strong as him in physical strength and endurance, his skills were crude.
Most menial disciples, including Chen Hai, only practised the Bull Body Refining Technique and not the boxing techniques that accompanied it. Because of his mastery of the Bull Boxing technique, Song Qi could predict Chen Hai's punches before they even landed, seeing the direction, preparation, and strength behind every attack.
With that confidence, he ignores Li Fu's threat and gets into position.
Li Fu charges at him, but instead of a punch, he strikes out with his palm.
Song Qi is surprised when Li Fu attacks using a palm technique instead of a punch. However, he quickly adjusts. Even though the form is different, it still involves the movement of the hand and body, and the patterns are somewhat similar to punches. Because of his mastery of the Bull Boxing technique, Song Qi can read the movements and dodge in time.
As the fight drags on, Song Qi keeps dodging, but he finds himself unable to counterattack. Li Fu's palm strikes are like surging waves, coming one after another without pause, leaving no opening for Song Qi to retaliate.
The longer it continues, the more Song Qi realises that while he can avoid getting hit, breaking through Li Fu's overwhelming assault will not be easy.
But Song Qi knows he cannot take the risk of counterattacking. He is still an ordinary person without any cultivation, while Li Fu has already stepped into the first realm of the mortal realm.
The only reason he can dodge both Li Fu and Chen Hai is that he is just one step away from breaking through himself, and his skill level is much higher than theirs. His mastery of the Bull Boxing technique gives him the edge in reading their movements.
He managed to counterattack Chen Hai earlier because Chen Hai had underestimated him, attacking carelessly. But Li Fu is cautious and determined, giving him no opening. Realising this, Song Qi focuses entirely on dodging, not daring to waste any chance or make a mistake.
Making a mistake would mean the end of the fight.
With his current strength, even if he found a weakness and attacked, he might only be able to injure Li Fu slightly. But if even one of Li Fu's palms landed on him, the power behind it would defeat him instantly—his body simply could not endure it.
So, he continues to dodge without pause, staying cautious.
At the start of the fight, Li Fu remains calm, a smirk on his face as he attacks, confident in his advantage. But as time passes, Song Qi begins to feel waves of tiredness flooding his body. His breathing grows heavier, and his steps slower.
If the fight continues like this, Song Qi wonders helplessly—what can he do?
What can he do, except use the move he mastered at the same time he mastered the Bull Boxing technique?
That move would double his punching strength, enough to seriously injure Li Fu. But after using it, he would be so weak he might not even be able to lift a finger. Worse, Zhou Gou would still be left, and even Chen Hai, despite his broken nose, had already stood up, glaring at him with hatred.
Song Qi isn't sure how badly Li Fu would be hurt by the punch. If the damage is serious enough, Zhou Gou and Chen Hai might fear him and back off.
But as the fight drags on, Song Qi knows he has no choice.
Resolve hardens in his eyes as he locks gazes with Li Fu, who still wears a confident smirk, thinking he holds the advantage.
Just as Song Qi begins to gather strength to launch his decisive move, a loud shout cuts through the air—one both of them immediately recognise.
Hearing it, both Song Qi and Li Fu instinctively step back and lower their heads in apology.
"Deacon Ji."
Those around them who were watching also bowed respectfully to the old man.
Song Qi watches as Deacon Ji walks toward them. Now, he looks at the old man with a sense of gratitude. If Deacon Ji hadn't stopped the fight, it would have been risky for him, as he was gambling everything on one move.
Deacon Ji says, "What are you two doing?"
Before either Song Qi or Li Fu can answer, a voice sounds, "Deacon Ji, why are you getting involved in this?"
The crowd parts, and Song Qi sees a man with a scholarly air, long hair flowing behind him, and a paper held casually in his hand.
The three bullies—Chen Hai, Zhou Gou, and Li Fu—immediately bow in respect, "Big Brother Kui."
From their posture, Song Qi can tell the three respect this "Big Brother Kui" more than Deacon Ji, even though Kui, like them, is just a menial disciple.
Deacon Ji says coldly, "Lui Kui, you think just because your elder brother is ranked second among the outer disciples, you can do whatever you want? Remember, this is the Thousand Crane Sect. Many here have backgrounds far stronger than yours."
Lui Kui frowns, but Song Qi's eyes flash with understanding. Now he knows why the old man helped him. Deacon Ji must have discovered that Song Qi had entered the Thousand Crane Sect through an inner disciple's quota.
Lui Kui asks, "What do you mean?"
He clearly doesn't understand, but he feels it must be related to Song Qi, and he stares coldly at him.
Deacon Ji says, "You don't need to know," then turns to Song Qi. "Boy, come with me."
Without waiting, Deacon Ji turns and walks away. Song Qi immediately follows behind him.
Lui Kui keeps staring at Song Qi's back, his expression dark.
Chen Hai steps closer and says, "Brother Kui, are we just going to let him go like this?"
Lui Kui says coldly, "Who said I'm letting him go? Beating my men is the same as disrespecting me. But now the boy has the background of an inner disciple."
Li Fu gasps, "Inner disciple!"
Chen Hai also looks shocked. "Brother, then we should let him go..."
Lui Kui snorts, "What does it matter if he's related to an inner disciple? In two weeks, the sect's annual competition will be held. My brother will surely become an inner disciple then, and I will rise to outer disciple. After that, I'll have plenty of chances to teach that boy a lesson."
With a flick of his sleeves, Lui Kui walks away, and the three bullies quickly follow behind him.
Following Deacon Ji, Song Qi collects his stored reward of 42 spirit fragments.
Deacon Ji says, "You should go and buy some Golden Bead Pills. They would help you form your inner energy quickly."
Then Deacon Ji suddenly touches Song Qi's body, checking his muscles before Song Qi can even react.
Deacon Ji nods slightly and says, "With those pills, in under a week, you would be able to master the first stage of the Bull Body Refining Technique and enter the inner energy realm."
But Song Qi has a different plan. He wants to enter the inner energy realm using the Evergreen Pine Breathing Exercise. With it, and some pills, he believes he can break through tonight.
Knowing that Deacon Ji, as someone in the third realm of the mortal realm, might have valuable knowledge, Song Qi decides to ask.
"Deacon Ji, I want to enter the inner energy realm with an inner breathing exercise called Evergreen Pine," Song Qi says.
Deacon Ji frowns and says, "Why are you practicing that? It's a technique for old men. You should break through using the Bull Body Refining Technique."
Song Qi insists, "I feel I can enter the inner energy realm with this technique tonight. Should I not?"
Deacon Ji looks at him thoughtfully and says, "If you can break through with it tonight, then you should. Afterward, you can still use the Evergreen Pine to continue cultivating."
Song Qi asks, "It won't cause any problems in the future?"
Deacon Ji says, "If it were any other technique, I would say yes, there would be problems. But the Evergreen Pine's inner energy is mild and easy to transform into other types of energy."
Song Qi nods. "Then, what pill would I need?"
Deacon Ji says, "The Golden Bead Pill is fine."
Song Qi says, "Thank you," and turns around to leave.
As he walks away, he hears Deacon Ji's voice behind him, "You should know I didn't help you because of you."
Without looking back, Song Qi replies, "I know," and continues walking away.
After walking for a few minutes, Song Qi stands in front of a building bustling with people going in and coming out as the sun has completely set. This building is where disciples of the sect exchange resources, and this is only the second time Song Qi has come here. The first time was when he earned his first pay, but with only three spirit fragments, he had been unable to buy anything and left disappointed.
He walks inside and notices some white-robed outer disciples taking the stairs to the first floor, but he does not spot any blue-robed inner disciples. Menial disciples like him can only exchange resources on the ground floor.
Most of the counters are busy, with disciples exchanging spirit fragments for goods. Song Qi waits patiently, and when a counter becomes free, he walks forward and stands before it, facing a female disciple wearing the same grey robe as him.
The female disciple asks, "What do you need?"
Song Qi says, "Is there any Golden Bead Pill?"
The female disciple replies, "Yes. They cost 10 spirit fragments each."
Song Qi, unaware of the usual price of pills, does not argue. He immediately takes out 40 spirit fragments, pushes them across the counter, and says, "I need four."
The female disciple quickly counts the spirit fragments, puts them into a box beside her, and shouts back, "Bring four Golden Bead Pills here!"
A minute later, another female disciple appears, carrying a small wooden pill bottle marked with the sect's insignia. She hands it to the first female disciple, who opens it, checks the contents—four golden pills the size of beads—and shows them to Song Qi before closing the bottle and handing it over.
Song Qi quickly hides the bottle inside his robe and, forgetting completely about getting food, slips away like a thief back to his room. Without wasting any time, he sits cross-legged on his bed, takes out a pill, swallows it, and starts breathing according to the Evergreen Pine Exercise.