Chapter 105: Chapter 14: Refining Essence and Transforming Qi
Taibai Volcano—or more accurately, the Taibai Volcano Group. Aside from the great crater where Taibai Mountain’s Celestial Pool once lay, a hundred-odd smaller volcanoes were scattered about like stars, forming a vast, continuous volcanic zone of snowfields and hot springs.
Taibai Fortress was built on the main path to the great volcanic crater. A secret passage ran straight through the mountain’s core, leading directly to the area around the Molten Rock Pool.
"Holy crap, the Spiritual Power is practically tangible."
As Su Zhou drew near, he felt a virtually endless heat emanating from the volcanic crater. If he listened closely, he could hear the sound of the Fire Spirit Power surging with joy.
Fortunately, although the volcano was active, it was far from erupting. With his superhuman affinity for Spiritual Power and his superior Perception, Su Zhou could tell the Taibai Volcano Group wouldn’t erupt for at least several decades. The current situation was precarious, but not yet dangerous.
"Still, to come all the way to a volcanic crater to forge Divine Soldiers... that takes some serious guts."
Despite Su Zhou’s comment, he was still stunned when Zhou Buyi finally led him into the forging base deep within the volcano.
What appeared before him was not the simple workbench he had imagined, but an entire, incredibly precise, steam-powered foundry!
——HISS!!
He could see, illuminated by the golden-red glow of a nearby Molten Rock Pool, enormous machines of fine steel running with shrieks of venting steam as busy Master Artisans operated them. They continuously siphoned molten iron, gathering it in a large pool at the center. The Fire Spirit Power here was so intense it was nearly boiling, almost condensing into a visible form. A crimson, veil-like light floated like an aurora above this great pool of molten iron.
At the very center of this pool of molten iron, resting on a tungsten-gold dais inscribed with Dao Patterns, was a dazzling, crystalline metal. It was the color of molten iron itself, a brilliant golden-red, and it was ceaselessly absorbing the intense heat from the adjacent Molten Rock Pool and the surrounding molten iron, gathering the essence of metal and the fiery energy of the Earth Vein into its core.
’They’ve actually developed steam machinery? And is that the Earth Vein Flame Iron?’
When Mo Ganxiu had taken out the Vermilion Bird Box to incinerate those Demon Soldiers, Su Zhou knew this world’s technology wasn’t as ancient as he’d thought. After all, purely by the timeline, the Anx Dynasty should be approaching its modern age. But he really hadn’t expected the world’s whole aesthetic to be steampunk martial arts!
"You’ve never seen a True Qi Furnace before, Brother Su? Right, you used to live near Kunlun Mountain." Zhou Buyi noticed Su Zhou’s astonishment and explained with a smile, "The Anx Dynasty Demon Emperor may be vicious, but the world prospered during the eras of Emperor Xiao and Emperor Xuan. This True Qi Furnace was a joint creation of our Daoist School’s predecessors and a master from the Craftsman’s School. It was originally intended to be a more efficient Alchemy Furnace, but they discovered that when powered by various Spiritual Object Crystals, it could unleash power far beyond what any person could!"
"It’s just a shame that this True Qi Equipment, which runs on a mixture of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and steam, requires an Inner Power Martial Artist to operate. It can’t be used for the benefit of the common people."
Just then, a tall man with bronze skin and gnarled muscles emerged from the core control area of the True Qi Furnace, having seen Su Zhou and Zhou Buyi arrive. The muscles on his wrists and shoulders were abnormally swollen, his bluish-purple veins bulging and twisting as scorching blood flowed through them.
His Inner Strength Cultivation was about the same as Zhou Buyi’s, having broken through to Postnatal Second Rank, but it was clear the two were on completely different levels when it came to the tempering of their physical bodies.
When the tall man reached them, he didn’t speak. Instead, a voice formed by vibrating his Inner Strength emanated from his abdomen. "Little Zhou? New Grandmaster?"
"The Grand Master was born unable to speak, so he communicates using his abdomen. His speech might be a bit terse," Zhou Buyi explained to Su Zhou, before proceeding to explain Su Zhou’s purpose and intentions.
Su Zhou nonchalantly took out his Cross Spear, along with the Dark Spiritual Qi Crystal he had been saving for a long time.
"Reforge... this spear? No. Problem. Oh, a Spirit Crystal!"
At first, upon seeing the Wood Centipede Cross Spear, the Grand Master looked rather unimpressed, as if it was nothing special. But when he saw the dark crystal, his eyes instantly lit up. "Purity... extremely high! A pity. Incomplete."
He could tell that this Dark Spiritual Power Crystal could eventually evolve into an Earth Vein Core and hadn’t yet reached its final form.
"Really... want to use it?"
The Grand Master looked up, his eyes filled with doubt, but Su Zhou just nodded. "Of course!"
Though the Grand Master’s speech was disjointed, as the one providing the service, he didn’t need to say much. After Su Zhou had stated his requirements, he just said, "Good," and, "Busy... today. Come back... tomorrow." Then he turned and went back to operating the True Qi Equipment.
Back at the fortress camp, the Rebel Army had intended to arrange lodging for Su Zhou. But after one look at the overly simplistic, drafty wooden hut they offered, he shook his head, opened his backpack, and pitched his own tent nearby.
He tried trading the gemstones, spices, and other small, modern trinkets he’d brought with him for some local specialties. The results were quite gratifying: he obtained a good number of products unique to the Taibai Mountain Area—five old mountain ginseng roots, all steeped in Spiritual Qi.
’Although these ginseng roots haven’t yet become Spirit Plants, they contain a significant amount of Spiritual Qi. Back on Earth, they’d be considered minor Treasures of Heaven and Earth. Eating them strengthens the body and invigorates the spirit. The Spiritual Qi from all five combined is comparable to a true Spirit Plant. I can’t imagine how much they would cost.’
’But here in the Divine Wood World, while rare, they aren’t considered that precious. From the looks of those Martial Artists, they actually think they got a great deal. A win-win for everyone, I suppose.’
As Su Zhou sat in his tent, weighing the clean, white, Spiritual Qi-infused ginseng in his hand and feeling quite pleased with himself, Yara chimed in. "That’s not the only reason, you know. The Immortal Banyan Tree’s existence affects all plant life in this world. This ginseng may have Spiritual Qi, but its Wood Qi is too dense, and it contains too many impurities. If one eats too much of it, the transformation into a Beloved speeds up. The locals probably wouldn’t dare eat this unless it was a life-or-death situation."
"But you’re different. You’re my Beloved, so you have nothing to fear from a little erosion and some impurities. This is the perfect time to try the ’Refining Essence and Transforming Qi’ I taught you."
Refining Essence and Transforming Qi was one of the three universal techniques Yara had taught him. Unlike the other two, which were meant for combat, Su Zhou, with his naturally prodigious appetite, had never truly needed to use it.
Until now. The timing was perfect.
Sitting cross-legged in his tent, Su Zhou closed his eyes and began to use Gathering Qi in the Body to fine-tune the Spiritual Qi structure within him. He focused a large amount of Spiritual Power into his digestive organs, including his stomach and intestines. Under layer upon layer of subtle stimulation, despite having just eaten enough food for more than ten people, he felt a sudden, ravenous hunger surge from deep within him!
CRUNCH!
Without a moment’s hesitation, Su Zhou snatched one of the ginseng roots and took a large bite. The initial taste was incredibly bitter, but a sweet, refreshing flavor soon permeated his senses. A clear stream of spiritual energy rushed through his eyes, ears, and nose, shooting straight into his mind!
CRUNCH, CRUNCH. With a few quick bites, he devoured the entire child-arm-sized ginseng in less than two seconds!
WHOOSH— The moment the Spiritual Qi-filled food entered his digestive tract, Su Zhou felt a powerful surge of Spiritual Power, dense with Wood Qi, burst from his stomach. It flowed through the channels he had just prepared, spreading throughout his entire body. It felt like soaking in a hot spring; a pleasant, toasty warmth instantly suffused him, raising the temperature inside the entire tent.
’My body is being enhanced—right down to the smallest detail!’
Su Zhou could feel every cell, every muscle fiber in his body crying out for nourishment. After being bathed in that warm Spiritual Qi, they grew tougher and more vibrant with Life Force at a visible rate.
After a few seconds and several full Circulations, the Spiritual Qi dissipated. The amount of Spiritual Qi in the old ginseng wasn’t much—far less than the Wood Centipede Crystal or the Dusk True Demon Crystal—but its strength lay in its numbers.
CRUNCH, CRUNCH! Su Zhou took big bites out of two more roots and once again focused his mind. He used his own Fire Spiritual Power to shatter the Wood Qi within the ginseng, converting it into ordinary Spiritual Qi he could use. Even the minuscule amount of Wood Qi residue was ground down and eliminated by his own powerful constitution.
Yin and Yang interchanging, the Five Elements in reincarnation, the Four Symbols alternating, the Eight Directions shifting—this method of Refining Essence and Transforming Qi, despite its simple name, was in essence an all-encompassing "Heaven and Earth Eating Skill" that could break down, digest, and devour practically any Spiritual Mechanism!
If an ordinary person were to directly consume a Spirit Medicine or Spirit Plant, they’d be lucky to absorb even ten or twenty percent of its effects; getting almost nothing was the norm. It was far more likely they’d simply overload and die from the potency, or suffer a Qi deviation from the overwhelming power.
To absorb the energy safely, one had to process it into gentler forms with higher absorption efficiency, like pills, Magic Potions, or Spiritual Food.
But Refining Essence and Transforming Qi was different. It couldn’t quite match High-grade Pills or Magic Potions, which could use various techniques and ingredients to boost an item’s original efficacy to 120% or even double it. Still, it was comparable to a medium-grade pill, with a conversion rate of seventy to eighty percent.
And when it came to the speed of absorption, Refining Essence and Transforming Qi held an absolute advantage over the various Spirit Medicines that required lengthy refinement processes.
It was only because Su Zhou’s current strength was not yet high enough that the scope of his Refining Essence and Transforming Qi was limited to ordinary Spiritual Objects and Spirit Plants. If he took another step forward in his cultivation, he could probably even eat Spirit Stones and Spirit Iron.
’Awesome! This Otherworld’s resources are truly abundant. This unexpected harvest alone is so bountiful!’
A dozen seconds later, Su Zhou opened his eyes, which now shone with a bright light. The hunger in his body had temporarily vanished, but his reserves of Spiritual Power had grown significantly—by at least as much as several hundred Resentful Soul Fragments!
This was as much progress in his Cultivation as would have taken him over ten days to achieve and stabilize back on Earth!
