Su Jing spent more than a month on Zhulin Peak.

 

Days were peaceful, and she had enough time to study and practice basic cultivation methods. As a result, her daily practice made it possible for her to sense Water Qi.

 

Su Jing could not lie that she was satisfied with her progress. If Feng Zhihao did not have the farming space, she would have had the same speed as Su Jing!

 

Of course, it was just a nice selfish thought Su Jing had. Feng Zhihao, with her plot armour, most probably multiplicated her talent to be around the Third stage of Qi Refinement already.

 

Su Jing was sure of that since in the Medical Contest from the original story, which was in a few days - Feng Zhihao's power came to light. She effortlessly produced high-quality second-class pills, proving that her power surpassed that of a typical Qi Refinement Cultivator.

 

Feng Zhihao's coming was long awaited by Su Jing because of this. She was excited to see these ”miracle” pills.

 

However, there was another reason why Su Jing was eagerly awaiting Feng Zhihao.

 

And that was because of her sister, Feng Huohua.

 

A feeling of dread caught Su Jing as soon as she thought of this name.

 

Although they had not encountered anymore and Yawen had not mentioned her either, Su Jing felt that maybe Feng Huohua was waiting for an opportunity.

 

Feng Huohua couldn't go to Zhulin Peak, and Su Jing never left it.

 

How could she do something?

 

Of course, she wanted Su Jing to leave first!

 

Because of that, Feng Huohua sent numerous talismans to Yawen, inviting them both to the Central Inner Peak.

 

Su Jing's legs got weak just thinking about stepping into that mountain, where the Sect Master and the majority of High Elders and inner disciples were.

 

Zhulin Peak, although still a high place in the sect, was not classified between the main powerful ones - in a few words, it was weak since few disciples were studying with Master He Ning.

 

Excluding Su Jing, who was more like a tourist here, there were only three official disciples, a far cry from the hundreds that High Elders like Master Ming from the Youming Peak had.

 

What could it do against the Sect Master?

 

Thankfully, Yawen did not even give Feng Huohua a chance.

 

He seemed not to forgive the woman who fought with his sister, Yating.

 

That was all the better for Su Jing since that meant Feng Huohua wouldn't have the means to reach her if Yawen was between them. Su Jing just needed to wait for the medicinal competition to end.

 

Feng Huohua could then redirect her attention to Feng Zhihao - the real threat to her reputation in the immortal realm.

 

However, as simple things were with Feng Huohua, another matter appeared to bring problems — related to Master He Ning, Yazhu and Yating.

 

Master He Ning was on hold for a sudden problem at the Tianmei Mortal Gate, where a presumably clash between two mysterious cultivators happened. The teleporting gate malfunctioned, leaving the immortals and mortals no way to travel between the two realms.

 

When Su Jing heard Yawen announce that, she was confused since she did not remember any malfunctioning in the Tianmei Gate. Or probably it was, but Feng Zhihao never noticed from her point of perspective. She, after all, lived alone to train in a forest, away from social news.

 

It still put Su Jing on thought since He Ning was present at the medical contest in the story, as he was the one who praised Feng Zhihao's talent as a doctor.

 

About the girls, Yazhu and Yating did not give any signs of coming, and Yawen lost contact with them. No matter how many messages he sent them, they were not responding. Not to Master He Ning either, showing that there might be a situation where they were unable to contact others.

 

Yawen was constantly verifying their life jades, yet since he had no idea where the two could be, he had his hands tied.

 

At least Yazhu was a strong Peak Foundation Building Cultivator, as Yawen related to Su Jing, and she had the wits to protect Yating in case something happened.

 

Yating was new in cultivation, in the same generation as Bai Xiuying or Zhu Taichang, having powers not passing the Second Stage of Qi Refinement.

 

Where would the two of them be?

 

Su Jing thought that maybe the girls met someone or they had gotten a chance in an adventure. That was what usually happened when cultivators were going missing for a while.

 

In the end, Su Jing could only aid Yawen in his work.

 

She now knew how to read and even write, so a few simple documents were handled by her.

 

Su Jing even helped Yawen with the medicinal herbs soon to be used in the contest, some of which Su Jing recognised to be the same as in the story.

 

Yawen said that she could try cultivating after learning the Earth Qi. However, even at that moment, he recommended her to do that only after she was meditating to ward off the unwelcome Fire and Metal Qi.

 

Su Jing did not have a reason to fight off his sayings, so she worked daily to get her body more and more accustomed to Earth Qi.

 

That was why she started gardening.

 

Each day, she started taking care of the soil so she could get a grasp of how the Earth Qi behaved.

 

Li Yuan looked like finding this new type of activity especially boring. He often stayed with her to learn how to read or write, but at rest, he left the bead, staying alone.

 

Su Jing couldn't force him to linger with her so she didn't say anything, however, she advised him to give her some signs if he got himself into trouble or if she was the one unknowingly approaching any.

 

This peak was without an elder so he was free to do as he pleases, but there was no guarantee that someone as powerful as Feng Huohua wouldn't pop again.

 

Chu Bingyu would then have a good reason to arrest her.

 

Su Jing got those worries out of her head as she continued to mend the soil. Her garden had lots of flowers, some of which she received as small gifts from Yawen.

 

She took a pot with soil and brought it into the house, being careful to first wash her hands by controlling some Wood and Water Qis on her palms.

 

This took a lot of effort on her mind, yet, she was happy to have learnt at least this after this month.

 

As she opened the study room, she saw Li Yuan. He looked deeply engrossed in a history book, which was still too complex for Su Jing to attempt to read.

 

Li Yuan glanced slightly at her as she sat beside him, frowning when he saw the soil.

 

"Are you again playing with dirt?”

 

Su Jing ignored him and put herself into a lotus position, seeking to meditate. Her head hurt from pushing herself to wash the soil with Wood Qi, and now she needed to catch up with her forces.

 

Li Yuan stood silent as he saw her close her eyes, returning to his book.

 

He tried to give her a few pointers during this time, but given his low talent in teaching, it was still on Su Jing herself to sense the Qi energy.

 

So Su Jing breathed in and out, relaxing her mind and body.

Li Yuan glanced at her from time to time, meditating too alongside her.

 

When Su Jing woke up from her meditation, it was late afternoon. She looked instinctively out the window, where the windy weather moved the willow branches.

 

”It is so late.” Su Jing said as she noticed a slight chill in the air. Li Yuan's presence was missing.

 

"Li Yuan, did you go back in?" she asked, glancing around the room.

 

Li Yuan didn't respond. Su Jing figured he had retreated into the bead.

 

She let the matter go, aware that even Li Yuan may have gotten tired by staying outside so much.

 

It was still impressive how he could hold on for so much with so little energy.

 

Now that she knew spiritual energies, Li Yuan's lack of depth was more proficient in her view. He was so weak that even she, with a non-complete refined body, could see that. Or maybe it was because she had the bead in her possession?

 

Su Jing did not know but wished Li Yuan to acquire his memories and resolve his situation. How he induced her previous life memories still confused her, but Su Jing hoped that maybe someday she would find the answers with his help.

 

It was also beneficial for her that he remembered.

 

In the end, she looked at the pot of barren soil. It was the same as she took it from outside, although more devoid of water. Su Jing sighed, feeling that the Earth was the hardest to manage, although it was her biggest root.

 

She already stood for so many days trying to grasp it.

 

The wood Qi was the quickest since she had lots of it at this peak. Even though the water Qi wasn't that hard, meditating in Yazhu's pavilion helped her sense it faster than she thought.

 

The Earth Qi, well, although it was somehow still everywhere, it felt the most static and neutral. She had difficulties discerning it.

 

Someone with a Fire Root might have been of help since the fire can create Earth Qi. However, Su Jing wasn't that crazy to go to Zhu Taichang and demand him to be her friend.

 

That guy was crazy.

 

Zhu Taichang hailed from a family renowned as famous demon slayers in the immortal realm. His relative even held the position of Sect Master.

 

Exactly, Zhu Taichang's uncle was the Sect Master of Tianhui Sect.

 

Despite his privileged background, Zhu Taichang was a spoiled, wealthy, and untalented individual, forever destined to be compared to Shen Junwu. Eventually, his character met an unfortunate demise at the very Shen Junwu's hands that he hated.

 

Su Jing didn't harbour much sympathy for his fate, considering him an annoying and unscrupulous character. He was not a good choice for her to befriend. His volcanic temperament was proven at the root selection when he burned almost everyone with his wild Qi.

 

Su Jing brought the pot to her bedroom and placed it on the small table near the window.

 

She then took the small book she received from Yawen, reading again to engrave its knowledge better in her head. She had been doing this for longer than a week.

 

That was an absorbing Qi technique. It was the thing needed for her to learn to break through towards the Qi Refinement stage. From what she understood from Yawen, this was the basics of the basics, something that any cultivator knew.

 

She repeated the moves and breathing pattern to enter safely into the meditation.

 

Immediately, blue and green sparkles orbited around her. Su Jing tried to keep her calm and not let herself be hastily agitated. Those things disappeared even at the smallest shake of her mind.

 

Su Jing stood still for a long time like that.

 

After all, she didn't understand the last part of the technique.

 

How did she need to connect to her dantian?

 

As far as she remembered, Feng Zhihao saw her inner dantian like a multicoloured sea vast enough to absorb everything.

 

Su Jing, even though she thought and tried to visualise it, saw nothing.

 

Only a vast black background, shallowing her whole.

 

This time, she wanted to push herself harder to make the breathing patterns more accurate. However, the same thing happened.

 

She oversaw the book once more, looking attentively at its pages. Comparing herself with Feng Zhihao was doing no good.

 

Feng Zhihao already absorbed the Qis before checking her dantian so that meant the Sea of Qi was already formed.

 

Su Jing hadn't absorbed anything so it was understandable for her to not find anything.

 

She closed the book and sighed.

 

Blindly following the technique might not be the solution. Su Jing needed a different approach, a way to understand her own Qi flow and connect with her dantian more intuitively.

 

Taking a deep breath, Su Jing focused on the essence of the Earth Qi. She closed her eyes and envisioned the soil, the roots of the flowers, and the feeling of stability below her feet.

 

As she concentrated on these images, Su Jing could feel a subtle change in the energy around her.

 

It was feeble and timid, escaping her grasp. Su Jing let herself give in and didn't hastily follow after it anymore, letting it come to her instead.

 

She was already tired enough to catch it.

 

The tips of her fingers were warm, as they responded to the vibration of the soil. But Su Jing wanted to sense and see the Qi!

 

As if the Earth responded to her demand, Su Jing saw how timidly some yellow dots followed the trail of her fingers, circulating it. Instead of breaking concentration as she did the last time, Su Jing recited the Qi Absorption Technique in her head, trying to guide the Earth Qi through her meridians and get her body used to it.

 

However, as yellow dots started to appear more and more, Su Jing felt pressure in her chest. Instinctively she slowed down the process, but this almost blocked her meridians.

 

Fast was not always the best method. She could gravely hurt herself because of greediness.

 

With the help of some Wood Qi that destroyed a part of the numerous Earth Qi, Su Jing breathed in, attempting to break in her dantian.

 

Her first try did not go well, and as the Wood Qi needed to be nourished, Su Jing tried to cultivate with the Water Qi too, although it was risky and difficult to take on them all at once.

 

It is not clear how much it took, but once the three Qis harmonised between themselves, Su Jing felt how the flow was moving without as much effort from her. It became natural like she always knew to do that.

 

Once again the black nothingness materialised in front of her. Su Jing saw it light up with different colours, almost reminiscing her to a beautiful night sky.

 

She stretched her hand and a few lights approached her. Su Jing concentrated and made the lights connect themselves, making sure to distinguish between each of its types of Qi.

 

Soon, only three spheres remained - a yellow, a green and a bluish one. Su Jing approached them to her body and mistakenly put them too close, making them vibrate and play around her spiritual body as if being aware and running from each other.

 

This quickness felt uncomfortable to her mind so Su Jing tried quickly to be back in control. She recited the technique again, and when she least expected it, the three spheres of light hit her in her chest.

 

Su Jing immediately opened her eyes at the impact, taking air in repeatedly.

 

”Ow...” she grumbled in pain.

 

Her body trembled, still stimulated after the cultivation technique she tried to do. She put her hands through her hair and calmed down.

 

Su Jing verified her meridians and when she entered the nothingness, she now saw three ellipses circulating her.

 

The largest one is yellow, the blue is medium size, and the smallest is the green one.

 

As she moved, the ellipses had a freeway rotating, getting more distanced as Su Jing opened her eyes.

 

She clenched her hands and smiled.

 

She saw clearer, she heard clearer, she smelt clearer.

 

That was the First Stage of Qi Refinement!