Chapter 213: Perfection in the Third Layer of the Refinement God Technique, A New Secret Art

Chapter 213: Perfection in the Third Layer of the Refinement God Technique, A New Secret Art

Within the pill furnace, the Flamewood Spirit Pill was repeatedly refined by Chu Ning's spiritual consciousness.

With each refinement, the fragrance of the pill that permeated from the furnace grew more potent.

Until the ninth time!

"This is probably the limit!" Chu Ning muttered, his spiritual sense intently focused on the pill's transformation within the furnace.

At that moment, a faint spiritual vortex appeared above the pill furnace.

The next instant, it was sucked directly into the pill furnace.

The Flamewood Spirit Pill now hung in the center of the furnace and was instantly enveloped by the vortex.

As Chu Ning executed his incantations, the vortex shrunk, as if drilling its way entirely into the pill.

When the vortex dissipated, the pill within had transformed.

Mystical pill marks appeared on its surface—exactly three of them!

"A high-grade pill!" Chu Ning exclaimed in delight.

He waited until all the pill marks had formed and stabilized before reaching out and plucking the pill out of the furnace, letting it fall into his palm.

Looking at the three pill marks on the pill, signifying its high-grade status, Chu Ning couldn't help but laugh heartily.

Three marks denoted a high-grade low-tier pill, six marks a high-grade middle-tier, and nine marks a high-grade top-tier.

After nine refinements, the Flamewood Spirit Pill had finally entered the ranks of high-grade pills!

This was a pill that only Golden Core cultivators were supposed to be able to refine, yet Chu Ning, a mere mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, had succeeded in its creation!

If this news spread, it would surely astound not just the Nine Lotus Sect, but even pill refiners in the Cloudsoar Alliance and the entire Western Alliance Continent.

However, Chu Ning had no intention of boasting about his achievement. He examined the pill for a while longer before popping it directly into his mouth.

It was the pill's effects that he truly valued.

Three days later, Chu Ning slowly opened his eyes within the pill refining room, a look of joy flashing in his eyes.

【Blazing Divine Wood Art (Mystical Tier High-Grade), Third Layer (2720/20000)】

【Nine Transformations Body Refining Art, First Volume, Undying Golden Body (345/10,000)】

【Refinement God Technique, Third Layer (7887/8000)】

During this period, he had immersed himself in pill refining and barely practiced his cultivation techniques, except for the Refinement God Technique, which had increased due to his repeated use and recovery.

There was no progress made in the Blazing Divine Wood Art or the Nine Transformations Body Refining Art.

But now, just three days after consuming the Flamewood Spirit Pill, his mastery of the third layer of the Blazing Divine Wood Art had increased by 60 points!

"I haven't fully absorbed the effects of the Flamewood Spirit Pill yet. If I absorb it completely, it should increase by around 65 points."

Chu Ning nodded in satisfaction. Such efficacy made his meticulous research and refinement worthwhile.

"Although the ingredients for the Flamewood Spirit Pill are somewhat rare, with my success rate, I should be able to guarantee one pill every ten days without any problems."

Chu Ning made some quick calculations in his head, feeling confident about his estimate.

Subsequently, he placed the remaining pills into the pill furnace to begin the refinement process.

After refining all eleven Flamewood Spirit Pills that he had crafted, Chu Ning didn't leave the pill refining room.

Instead, he spent several more days in the room, tirelessly refining the remaining nine sets of ingredients into high-grade pills.

Only then did he finally exit the pill refining room, content and satisfied.

He had originally planned to research and refine a few other types of pills, but now he felt no urgency.

With the Flamewood Spirit Pill, his focus for the next period would be on cultivation.

Additionally, he wasn't far from perfecting the third layer of the Refinement God Technique.

With the help of the Six Gods Pill and the Iron Soul Flower, he could use this opportunity to break through to the next layer.

However, before leaving the pill refining room, Chu Ning casually refined two batches of Calm Heart Pills.

He would need a substantial amount of spirit herbs during this period, and he ought to contribute to the Pill Refining Pavilion as well.

As Chu Ning strode out of the pill refining room, he headed directly toward the exchange counter on the second floor.

His spiritual sense was powerful, and as he passed through the restriction between the first and second floors, even before ascending the stairs, he could hear the voices of people conversing.

Two people's conversation drifted into Chu Ning's ears.

"Wang Ping, has Chu ShiXiong still not come out of the pill refining room? What kind of pill is he refining?"

The speaker was the Foundation Establishment cultivator who had provided him with spirit herbs before.

"I don't know," replied a simple-minded voice, belonging to Wang Ping.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator asked again, "Didn't you help Chu ShiXiong receive spirit herbs and deliver them to the pill refining room last time? Did ShiXiong refine any Foundation Establishment Pills? If he doesn't come out soon, my doorstep will be worn out from all the visitors."

"I don't know," Wang Ping replied again, his voice still simple and honest.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator laughed and scolded, "You're a bit simple-minded, but you sure know how to keep a secret."

Hearing this, Chu Ning smiled.

Wang Ping had witnessed his pill refining failures before, but it seemed he hadn't mentioned them to others.

Chu Ning paused for a moment before continuing upstairs.

"Chu ShiBo!!!"

As soon as they caught sight of Chu Ning, everyone present immediately bowed in greeting.

The kind-faced Foundation Establishment cultivator beamed with joy and said, "Chu ShiXiong, you've finished refining pills!"

Chu Ning nodded and took out several bottles of pills from his storage bag, handing them over to the cultivator.

"Here are a few bottles of pills I've refined. Please take them."

The cultivator received the bottles and opened one to take a look, his face immediately lighting up with delight.

"Foundation Establishment Pills and Calm Heart Pills, and in such quantities!

ShiXiong, after deducting the contribution points required for the spirit herbs, I'll add all of these to your contribution points."

Chu Ning could also earn contribution points through pill refining and other means.

While he could receive a fixed amount of resources every month, he would need contribution points to exchange for additional resources beyond his allotted quota.

Moreover, these contribution points weren't just for use within the Pill Refining Pavilion; they could also be used to exchange for items like magical artifacts, cultivation techniques, and spells.

Chu Ning was already aware of this, so he nodded in response.

Turning his attention to another type of pill he wanted to refine, he asked, "Do you have ambergris and blue creeper vines?"

The kind-faced Foundation Establishment cultivator pondered for a moment before shaking his head again. "No, we haven't had anyone inquire about those two spirit herbs before, nor has anyone offered them."

"What about black flood dragon blood?" Chu Ning asked further.

Once again, the cultivator shook his head, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

It seemed that these ingredients were not used in any of the pills refined by the Nine Lotus Sect.

Seeing this, Chu Ning didn't press the matter further and turned to leave the Pill Refining Pavilion.

As he was about to walk away, his gaze casually swept over to Wang Ping, who was standing not far away, and he paused.

"Wang Ping, you don't need to stay in the main hall from now on. I could use an extra hand with some tasks. Go back to your residence and cultivate well. I'll call for you if there's anything."

Wang Ping replied with a simple "Oh," then, as always, he bowed respectfully and said, "Yes, Shibo!"

Then he stood there, watching as Chu Ning left.

Only when Chu Ning's figure had disappeared from view did Wang Ping turn and head upstairs.

"Huh!"

The second floor immediately erupted into a buzz of excitement.

One of the Cultivators, who seemed to be on good terms with Wang Ping, pulled him back as he was about to leave and said enviously, "Wang Ping, you've hit the jackpot! To think that Chu Shibo would take a liking to you."

"Hehe, yes, I won't have to work in the main hall anymore, and I'll have more time to cultivate from now on," Wang Ping said, scratching his head with a happy smile on his face.

Although he was simple-minded, he wasn't stupid. Naturally, he understood that being chosen by Chu Ning was a much better opportunity than working in the main hall.

At the very least, he would have more time to cultivate every day.

As for other benefits, Wang Ping didn't think too much about them.

Seeing Wang Ping's expression, several of the cultivators on the second floor couldn't help but find it amusing.

"This kid really does have a fool's luck," one of them remarked.

Even the kind-faced Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn't help but echo the sentiment in his heart.

Wang Ping was happy that he wouldn't have to work in the main hall anymore and that he'd have more time to cultivate.

However, in the eyes of the others, the real benefit for Wang Ping was the opportunity to receive guidance from Chu Ning and perhaps even gain access to some resources.

Take the Foundation Establishment Pill, for example. It was incredibly difficult for others to obtain even a single pill.

But for Chu Ning, was it even a challenge?

"But this silly kid doesn't seem to realize that. Maybe that's why Chu Shixiong took a liking to him."

Chu Ning, however, didn't think that deeply into it.

Taking Wang Ping under his wing was just a minor matter to him.

Although Wang Ping was a bit slow, his simplicity had its advantages. Besides, Chu Ning quite liked the boy.

Now that he was a disciple of the sect and no longer a wandering cultivator, it was only natural that he would need someone to assist him with various tasks.

After leaving the Pill Refining Pavilion, Chu Ning returned to his courtyard residence.

The first thing he did was to check on his spirit herb garden, and seeing that everything was in order, he felt relieved.

There weren't any particularly demanding spirit herbs in the garden, and since he hadn't used any special techniques to accelerate their growth recently, they were growing at a slower pace.

Nevertheless, there weren't any issues, and that was what mattered.

Moreover, for the spirit herbs that he valued highly, like the Iron Soul Flowers, he had Ling Xiaobai to hasten their maturation every day.

"Little one, you haven't caused any trouble, have you?" Chu Ning asked as he squatted down and patted Ling Xiaobai on the head.

"Whine!" The little creature shook its head.

Chu Ning smiled. Ever since Ling Xiaobai had been injured and formed a contract with him, his control over it had strengthened significantly.

Otherwise, he would have had to keep it in the spirit beast bag and take it with him during these past few days.

Then, he went to check on the Iron Rock Beast in the adjacent room.

The Iron Rock Beast was lying in its chamber, looking like a massive boulder.

After several years in Yan Peak, it had grown to the size of the adult Iron Rock Beast that Chu Ning had encountered outside Qingxi Sect back then.

However, its aura was far more powerful than the one he had defeated.

Chu Ning had noticed that it had reached adulthood, so soon after arriving at the Nine Lotus Sect, he had fed it a Beast Core Pill, the formula for which he had obtained from Liu Yishan.

He had refined a batch of those pills to collect the essence and demon fire from the Red-eyed Demon Tigers, and he had given two pills to the tiger demons.

Now, he was using them to help the Iron Rock Beast break through to the second-rank, and it was working without a hitch.

However, it seemed that the pill's effects hadn't fully taken hold yet.

As for Ling Xiaobai, it had already advanced to the third-rank half a year ago, making it comparable to a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

This little guy's cultivation progressed as easily as drinking water.

After checking on the Iron Rock Beast and seeing that it was doing fine, Chu Ning returned to his cultivation room.

He took out the Flamewood Spirit Pills and Iron Soul Flowers and began his cultivation.

As for the Nine Transformations Body Refining Art, he had intended to find some spirit herbs to see if he could refine a body-refining pill, but he hadn't been successful.

So, he decided to put that idea on hold for the time being.

Now, he had the Flamewood Spirit Pills to aid his qi cultivation and the Iron Soul Flowers to complement the Six Gods Pill for his spiritual cultivation. These two methods would bring him the most significant benefits.

Moreover, he was close to breaking through to the next layer in the Refinement God Technique, so he naturally wanted to dedicate more time and energy to it.

After consuming a Flamewood Spirit Pill, Chu Ning began cultivating the Blazing Divine Wood Art.

This time, he cultivated for three and a half days straight.

Then, after taking a half-day break, he switched to cultivating the Refinement God Technique.

Time passed as Chu Ning alternated between cultivating these two techniques.

A month later...

【Blazing Divine Wood Art (Mystical Tier High-Grade), Third Layer (2950/20000)】

【Nine Transformations Body Refining Art, First Volume, Undying Golden Body (345/10,000)】

【Refinement God Technique, Third Layer (7999/8000)】

In his cultivation room, Chu Ning looked at the proficiency levels in his mind and then took out another Iron Soul Flower.

He extended his spiritual sense into the flower and began absorbing the strand of wood elemental essence within.

His spiritual sense in his sea of consciousness spontaneously extended outward.

One hundred zhang, one thousand, one thousand five hundred, two thousand, three thousand, three thousand two hundred!

His spiritual sense extended outward for a full three thousand two hundred zhang before it finally stopped!

After emerging from the remains of Lei Huo Sect in Qian Hu Qian Dao Island, Chu Ning's spiritual sense projection had already reached a distance of one thousand five hundred zhang.

And in the eight to nine months since then, Chu Ning's spiritual sense projection distance had increased once more, reaching one thousand six hundred zhang.

Now that the third layer of the Refinement God Technique had been perfected, his spiritual sense had doubled, causing his spiritual sense projection distance to reach an astonishing three thousand two hundred zhang!

A spiritual sense range of over twenty li was truly terrifying, encompassing several peaks near Ling Yan Peak.

At this moment, on Moony Shadow Peak, located to the east of Ling Yan Peak, Su Yuqing's figure suddenly paused as she flew out of her cave abode.

"Hmm? Why did Elder suddenly use his spiritual sense to probe our Moony Shadow Peak? Could something have happened?"

Su Yuqing was just about to sense carefully when, the next moment, she realized that the spiritual sense had merely swept past and then disappeared without a trace.

"Perhaps it was just an Elder whose spiritual sense happened to sweep by."

Su Yuqing shook her head and continued flying out.

Just now, she had felt that exceptionally powerful spiritual sense and subconsciously thought that it belonged to a Golden Core Elder.

She never expected that this spiritual sense actually belonged to Chu Ning, who was located across two peaks from her on Ling Yan Peak.

At this moment, on Ling Yan Peak...

Chu Ning opened his eyes and swiftly retracted his spiritual sense, a hint of delight flashing in his eyes.

"What a tremendous boost in the strength of my spiritual sense!"

After being reinforced by the golden light in Lei Huo Sect, and now with the doubling effect of the perfected third layer of the Refinement God Technique...

Chu Ning was extremely confident that his spiritual sense was powerful enough to rival that of a Golden Core cultivator.

After all, when Golden Core cultivators condense their Golden Core, there is a qualitative improvement in their spiritual sense.

Yet now, Chu Ning, who was merely at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, had already reached this level of spiritual sense strength, which was truly frightening.

"The third layer of the Refinement God Technique is already perfected, and the secret art should have been refreshed as well."

With that in mind, Chu Ning quickly checked the proficiency levels in his mind.

Indeed, he saw...

【Refinement God Technique, Third Layer (8000/8000)】

【Talent Divine Ability Refreshed, Reward Divine Ability Secret Art "Illusion God Technique"】

"The secret art for the first layer was the Restrain God Technique, the second layer was the Divide God Technique, and now the third layer is the Illusion God Technique!"

Chu Ning silently recited to himself as he quickly browsed through the contents of the Illusion God Technique in his mind.

"One, it can prevent confusion from illusion techniques, and two, it can create illusions?"

When Chu Ning understood the effects of the Illusion God Technique, he was immediately intrigued.

In Shen Meng Shang Ren's Recurrence Divine Palace, Chu Ning had once experienced the recurrence illusion, which was extremely dangerous.

And now, this Illusion God Technique secret art could prevent him from being confused by illusions.

Moreover, if Chu Ning were to deploy this secret art, he could also create illusions within the range of his spiritual sense projection.

Of course, both preventing confusion from illusions and creating illusions had certain level restrictions.

If the illusion technique user's spiritual sense was far superior to Chu Ning's, his Illusion God Technique could only have a weakening effect and might not completely prevent confusion.

As for creating illusions, the smaller the range, the more realistic the illusion.

Chu Ning understood this as well. After all, illusions were created using spiritual sense, and the more condensed the spiritual sense, the more powerful the illusion.

Similarly, if an opponent's spiritual sense was exceptionally strong or they possessed related treasures, Chu Ning's illusions might not be able to confuse them.

Of course, with Chu Ning's current spiritual sense, even an ordinary Golden Core cultivator in the early stages couldn't be sure of suppressing him.

Thus, this secret art was naturally extremely useful.

The divine ability secret arts rewarded by the system could be used directly by Chu Ning without the need for cultivation or learning.

Chu Ning's heart stirred, and he released his spiritual sense.

At this moment, Ling Xiaobai, who had been sleeping outside the spirit herb garden, suddenly heard a familiar call.

"Little White, come eat spirit fruit!"

Ling Xiaobai immediately stood up, looked at Chu Ning, and then whined affectionately.

Then, it pounced on the spirit fruit that Chu Ning had thrown in front of him.

It took a bite, and—

"Crack!"

The next moment, a sound rang out.

Ling Xiaobai paused, seemingly surprised that the spirit fruit was so hard, but it immediately bit down again.

A series of cracking sounds followed as the spirit fruit was bitten into pieces by Ling Xiaobai.

Just as Ling Xiaobai was about to swallow the pieces...

"Little White, what are you eating?"

Ling Xiaobai suddenly heard a voice and subconsciously shook its head.

Then, it spat out the contents in its mouth, but instead of spirit fruit, it was a pile of spirit stone shards.

Ling Xiaobai's eyes widened in bewilderment.

"Whine!"

At this moment, seeing Chu Ning emerge from the cultivation room with a smile on his face, the little creature whined.

Chu Ning laughed heartily.

"I just deployed a small illusion. How was it? Did it feel real?"

"Illusion?" Ling Xiaobai's voice echoed in Chu Ning's mind, filled with astonishment.

The next moment, Ling Xiaobai whined plaintively.

It was expressing its displeasure at Chu Ning's prank.

Chu Ning laughed again.

This Illusion God Technique was indeed quite useful. Although Ling Xiaobai's spiritual sense wasn't weak...

It was still unable to resist Chu Ning's Illusion God Technique at all.

"This Refinement God Technique becomes more and more miraculous the more I cultivate it."

With that thought, Chu Ning returned to his cultivation room and took out the book on the Refinement God Technique from a jade box in his storage bag.

Previously, he had been unable to open and view the fourth layer, but now he should be able to.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end