Time lost all meaning within the mountains.

The meditation room in Courtyard D-7 seemed to have transformed into an isolated island, cut off from the rest of the world.

Su Ming was completely immersed in cultivating the Like Water Art.

Thanks to the assistance of that “Water Refinement Spirit Gathering Plate,” coupled with the wondrous mutual generation cycle of Water and Wood within his body, his cultivation progress advanced by leaps and bounds each day.

Unlike the forced, “pulling up seedlings to help them grow” feeling he experienced when cultivating wood-element techniques in the past, this breakthrough came naturally and effortlessly.

He felt as if he had become an inexhaustible water-absorbing sponge.

The gentle, moist water spiritual energy around him continuously seeped into his body through his pores and breath. It was neither rushed nor impatient, neither striving nor competing, simply filling Su Ming’s meridians, Dantian, and every inch of his flesh and blood bit by bit.

Second-stage Qi Refining, perfected…

Third-stage Qi Refining…

Third-stage Qi Refining, peak…

If it were anyone else, when impacting the small bottleneck of the fourth stage of Qi Refining—the transition from early to mid-stage—they would often need to accumulate power to make a fierce charge, to break through the shackles of their meridians.

But Su Ming did not “charge.”

He simply “waited.”

He waited for the water spiritual energy within his body to accumulate to its limit, for that feeling of overflowing to flow naturally.

When a vessel is full, it overflows. This is the way of heaven.

Late at night on the seventh day.

Just as a dewdrop outside the window slid down a bamboo leaf and fell onto a stone step with a soft *plink*.

A nearly imperceptible *pop* also sounded from within Su Ming’s body.

It was like the final drop of water entering an already brimming cup.

There was no violent tremor, nor any painful tearing.

That originally resilient bottleneck, faced with the vast and mighty water spiritual energy, dissolved silently and without a trace, like a piece of paper soaked through.

Boom!

The Qihai within his Dantian suddenly expanded twofold.

The spiritual energy that was once like a meandering stream instantly transformed into a surging river.

An unprecedented sense of fullness and control instantly spread throughout his entire body.

Fourth-stage Qi Refining!

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes.

For an instant, a deep, tranquil pool seemed to flash within the depths of his pupils.

He raised his hand and looked at his fingertips. Without deliberately circulating his cultivation method, the moisture in the surrounding air automatically gathered at his fingertips, condensing into a crystal-clear water droplet that changed shape according to his will—sometimes transforming into a sharp ice needle, sometimes into a flexible water shield, and sometimes into a harmless puff of mist.

Moistening, permeating, enduring.

This was the true essence of water spiritual energy.

“Congratulations, disciple. Your Dao foundation has taken its initial form, and your realm is stable.” Lin Yu’s voice sounded at the perfect moment, carrying a note of gratification. “This breakthrough was smooth and flawless, with a solid foundation. Your future prospects are promising.”

A slight smile touched the corner of Su Ming’s mouth. He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within his body.

“So this is the mid-stage of Qi Refining…”

Even though it was only an increase of one stage, he felt that his current self could defeat ten of his former selves.

That power was no longer something borrowed, a violent force that could go berserk at any moment. It was now completely his own, an extension of his will as natural as moving his own arm.

“Master, how are things on your end?” Su Ming did not forget to inquire about the one inside the ring.

These past few days, his cultivation had progressed smoothly, but he could occasionally sense extremely obscure fluctuations emanating from the Xuantian ring. Clearly, Lin Yu hadn’t been idle either.

“Me?”

Lin Yu sighed, his tone carrying a hint of trouble. “It’s hard to explain in a few words. Your teacher here has encountered some difficulties regarding the compatibility of a cultivation method.”

Inside the Xuantian ring.

Although Lin Yu’s ethereal form was now much more solid than before—even the helpless expression on his face was clearly visible—he was scratching his head in frustration before a suspended piece of golden scripture.

It was precisely that Spirit Nourishing True Explanation.

“Disciple, isn’t this strange?” Lin Yu pointed at the scripture. “The effects of this cultivation method are outstanding. After cultivating it for these past few days, my soul body has become more solid, and my mind feels clear and refreshed. But upon carefully contemplating its crucial points, I find them all exceedingly bizarre.”

“Bizarre?” Su Ming was puzzled.

“Exactly! Many of its descriptions defy common sense!” Lin Yu spoke as if facing an incomprehensible text. “Look at this line—’Draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, transform it into intangible touch, use the soul as skin, and thought as bone.’ What does this mean? How can a soul body serve as skin? How can thought act as bone?”

“And this line—’Scatter to become qi, gather to become form, without fixed momentum, without constant shape, moving according to the heart.’ This is simply impossible for a human body’s structure to achieve! Humans have physical bodies; the soul is locked within the flesh. If one truly practiced according to its instructions, ‘scattering’ the soul into qi, wouldn’t that turn one into a wandering ghost?”

Lin Yu grew more agitated as he spoke. “I am increasingly convinced that this method was not designed for the human race at all! Its presumed cultivation foundation is a type of being without a substantial physical form, one composed purely of spiritual mechanisms!”

Su Ming’s heart stirred.

Without a physical body… a pure energy form…

“Master, are you saying…”

“Correct.” Lin Yu’s voice grew solemn. “I suspect this Spirit Nourishing True Explanation was prepared for those naturally born ‘spirit races,’ or perhaps some kind of energy-based life form!”

Su Ming fell silent.

No wonder the old man guarding the pavilion had said those words back then.

The path of the soul was mysterious and profoundly difficult. If Lin Yu weren’t already in a soul body state, he would have likely deviated from the proper path and gone berserk long ago.

“However…” Lin Yu suddenly changed the subject, his tone becoming somewhat strange. “Even though it’s illogical, I just tried forcibly operating the ‘Spirit Communication’ chapter within it, and as a result… something strange happened.”

“What strange thing?” Su Ming immediately became alert.

“I felt… emotions.”

Lin Yu’s voice became somewhat distant, as if recalling an indescribable experience. “Not my emotions, nor yours. But… this ring’s.”

Su Ming instinctively lowered his head to look at the Xuantian ring on his hand.

This ancient, simple ring had been on his finger for so long. Apart from storing items and housing his master, it had always seemed like an inanimate object.

“The ring… also has emotions?”

“It didn’t before, or perhaps they were sealed. But as my soul power strengthened, especially just now when I tried to touch it using that ‘non-human’ logic…”

Lin Yu took a deep breath. “Disciple, prepare yourself. I’m going to take you… to witness a grand spectacle.”

Before his words faded.

Su Ming felt a sudden, intense heat at the base of his finger.

This time, it wasn’t the gentle, auxiliary perspective from before. Instead, it was an overwhelmingly domineering suction force that directly yanked his divine sense and violently slammed it toward the depths of the ring!

“Master!” Su Ming cried out in alarm.

“Don’t resist! Follow my guidance! Use the ‘permeation’ concept of the Like Water Art, imagine yourself as a drop of water!” Lin Yu’s shout exploded within his Consciousness Sea.

Su Ming immediately abandoned all resistance. Instinctively, he activated his cultivation method, transforming his divine sense into a gentle stream of water, and followed that suction force, drilling inward.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep