Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms: Sunflower Lord

At the bottom of the dry well, Ji Ruchang finished her meditation, her true essence was full, and her condition returned to its peak.

Instead of taking immediate action, he switched to the perspective of the golden sunflower.

The three-foot-high flowerpot was raised, "looking" towards the gray fog to the east.

The two gloomy auras still lingered about 30 feet away, slowly and aimlessly wandering between them.

Switching back to human form, Ji Ruchang took a deep breath and leaped out of the dry well.

It landed silently.

He pressed himself against the corner of the wall, his gaze peering through the edge of the pale golden light curtain into the depths of the gray fog.

This time, the distance was closer and the view was clearer.

Two zombies.

They were almost identical to the one they had just killed: bluish-black, festering skin, twisted limbs, empty eye sockets, and an aura of decay and chill. They were pacing back and forth about two zhang outside the light barrier, as if blocked by some invisible barrier, afraid to approach but unwilling to leave.

"Two..." Ji Ruchang frowned slightly.

In a one-on-one situation, he was confident he could quickly resolve the situation within the area of ​​his light.

But the situation becomes complicated when facing two zombies at once—even with the light weakened, he could be surrounded and his risk would increase dramatically if he were attacked by two zombies at the same time.

A direct confrontation is not the best strategy.

He needs tactics.

Ji Ruchang's gaze shifted between the two zombies.

One of them was about two zhang away from the edge of the light curtain, while the other was three zhang away, closer to the depths of the courtyard.

The two zombies were about 15 feet apart, forming a horn-like formation.

"Take care of one first, then create a one-on-one opportunity."

Ji Ruchang made a quick decision.

He took three steps back, increasing the distance between himself and the edge of the light barrier, then formed a hand seal, and his true energy rapidly circulated through his meridians along the path of the fireball technique.

Within the dantian, a wisp of true essence was drawn in, compressed, and rubbed together.

"Freeze!"

Above his palm, a fireball the size of a fist instantly took shape.

But unlike previous practice sessions, this time, as soon as the fireball appeared, it seemed to be drawn by something—the pale golden light emitted by the Golden Sunflower merged into the fireball like moths to a flame.

The originally crimson fireball now had fine golden patterns on its surface, its temperature suddenly rose, and its light became dazzling.

"go!"

Ji Ruchang gave a low shout and flicked his wrist.

The fireball transformed into a golden-red streak of light, shooting out swiftly and accurately striking the chest of the zombie that was some distance away!

"boom--!"

The sound of the explosion was particularly jarring in the quiet courtyard.

The blazing flames, mixed with golden sparks, exploded, blasting a hole the size of a bowl through the zombie's chest, sending black, rotting flesh and shattered bones flying everywhere.

The powerful impact sent the zombie flying backward, landing more than ten feet away before crashing heavily to the ground.

"roar--!"

Startled by the explosion, another zombie turned around abruptly, its empty eye sockets "staring" in Ji Ruchang's direction.

However, instead of rushing towards the location where the fireball was launched, it spun around in place somewhat dazedly—the light and heat of the explosion interfered with its perception of the Yin energy target.

It's now!

Ji Ruchang darted out like a cheetah, stepping across the edge of the light curtain and into the gray mist.

A bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped his entire body, but he was prepared, using his true essence to protect his skin and resist the erosion.

Target: The zombie that has been alerted but has not yet locked onto him!

In a single step, he had reached the zombie.

The zombie finally sensed the presence of a living person, let out a hoarse growl, raised its arms, and its black fingernails clawed out like hooks.

But Ji Ruchang was faster.

He pushed off the ground with his right foot, sliding sideways to narrowly avoid the zombie's frontal attack, while simultaneously slashing upwards with his fire copper sword—

It wasn't a chopping motion, but rather a "slicing motion".

Instead of directly colliding with the zombie's hard neck bone, the sword edge brushed against the side of the neck, using the sharpness of the blade and the enhancement of true energy to "saw" across like a saw.

"Sizzle—"

A teeth-grinding scraping sound rang out.

The golden light from the tip of the fire copper sword suddenly intensified the moment it touched the zombie's skin, like a red-hot knife cutting into butter.

Black bodily fluids splattered as the sword sliced ​​through the rotting flesh, fascia, and cervical vertebrae without hindrance, leaving only a tiny bit of skin connecting them.

The zombie's movements came to an abrupt halt.

The head and body were partially separated, and the head tilted backward.

Ji Ruchang reached out with his left hand, his palm enveloped in true energy, and grabbed the rolling head. At the same time, his right foot flew up and kicked the headless corpse in the side.

"Go in!"

The head and the corpse flew towards the light screen like cannonballs. The zombie head, in particular, had its connecting skin stretched out as it swung around, and it was pulled into the light circle like a chain ball.

He then used the recoil from the kick to retreat rapidly to the side and backward.

Just then, something unexpected happened!

The zombie that had been blasted away by the fireball had actually gotten back up.

Black smoke billowed from the large hole in its chest, and its movements were slightly stiff, but its ferocity was even greater.

The flames and golden light of the explosion clearly enraged it, and now it roared as it lunged at Ji Ruchang's back!

Too close, too fast!

Ji Ruchang had just kicked the headless corpse away, and with his old strength gone and new strength yet to be generated, he had no time to turn around or dodge.

That's why he used that force to increase the distance he could retreat.

A shadow pounced in front of Ji Ruchang.

He could even smell the strong stench coming from behind him, and feel the eerie wind as the black fingernails sliced ​​through the air.

The monster pounced on the spot where Ji Ruchang had just been standing.

At the critical moment of life and death, Ji Ruchang's pupils suddenly contracted.

He didn't panic; instead, he frantically poured the remaining true energy into his legs—

"Thump!"

A small cloud of dust erupted beneath his feet as he lunged forward like an arrow, using the back of the zombie in the middle for leverage, and awkwardly slipped into the circle of light in the northwest corner of the courtyard.

But he eventually rushed into the area of ​​the light barrier.

"roar!!"

The zombie, which had risen again, charged forward in a rage, but was unable to stop in time, and half of its body crashed into the edge of the light barrier.

"Hiss hiss hiss—"

The pale golden light burned its body like sulfuric acid, black smoke rose, and the rotting flesh carbonized.

The zombie let out a painful roar and instinctively retreated, trying to shrink back into the gray mist.

But how could Ji Ruchang miss this rare opportunity?

Almost the instant the monster tried to retreat, he struck again, his body nearly touching the ground, as his flying sword pierced the zombie's right groin from behind.

Yes, the area behind the knee!

One of the monster's legs fell off and quickly vanished into nothingness.

The monster, having lost its balance, suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Next up is a demonstration of Ji Ruchang's agile movements.

A leftward slash, a rightward hack, a forward thrust, a backward sweep...

They hacked the novice zombie into a corpse club and then killed it.

Ji Ruchang: It's really not easy!

Safe.

Ji Ruchang, exhausted, entered the bottom of the dry well, knelt down, and gasped for breath.

In his dantian, his true essence was almost exhausted, with only a faint aftertaste slowly circulating.

The series of movements just now, though seemingly simple, actually consumed a great deal of his true energy, especially the final explosive strike, which almost drained his remaining strength.

"It was still... too risky," Ji Ruchang said, still shaken.

If that zombie had been even half a fraction faster, or if he had reacted even a second slower, he would probably be injured or even dead by now.

Practical experience is something that theoretical knowledge alone cannot compensate for.

After catching her breath, Ji Ruchang looked into the light screen.

Outside, on the ground, the heads and pieces of the zombies lay beside the dry well, being continuously "purified" by the light of the Golden Sunflower, emitting wisps of black smoke.

A few breaths later, the two severed parts of the body disintegrated simultaneously, turning into two smaller wisps of black mist that surged toward the sunflower head.

The sunflowers swayed gently, and the gold on their flower heads seemed to brighten a little more.

Information update in mind:

[Tier 1 Sunflower: Golden Sunflower (Growth: 9/100)]

[Status: Recognized as Lord (Satisfied)]

[Requirement: Defeat demons and monsters, and devour their bodies to grow stronger]

[Ability: Absorbs turbid and malevolent energy and transforms it into the power of the sun's essence (weak)]

[Current daily energy reserve: 0.9 units (each unit can accelerate cultivation for one hour)]

The growth rate increased by 6 points, and the daily essence reserve also increased from 0.3 to 0.9.

"As expected, killing a beginner-level zombie grants a fixed 3 growth points and 0.3 units of daily essence," Ji Ruchang thought to herself.

He looked out of the light screen.

There are no monsters in the immediate vicinity to the east. Should we continue exploring forward?

Or should we explore new routes to the south?

However, these are not the most pressing issues.

Restoring one's true essence and magical power is the most urgent matter at present.

However, the recovery of true essence takes time, and even with the acceleration under the sunflower's light, it still takes nearly half an hour to fully recover.

Ji Ruchang's gaze fell on "Daily Essence Reserve: 0.9 units".

"Give it a try."

With a thought, select "Use".

[Use 0.9 units of daily essence to accelerate cultivation? Yes/No]

"Yes."

In an instant, a strange change occurred!

The sunflower at the bottom of the dry well suddenly trembled, and a golden light, several times brighter than usual, burst forth from the center of its flower head.

These points of light, as if they were alive, converged into a thin stream of golden light, which went straight into Ji Ruchang's brow!

Ji Ruchang was startled.

A gentle yet powerful "warm current" surged into my body. It was not true essence, but a purer and more essential energy.

It quickly spreads to all parts of the body, integrating into the meridians, flesh, and bones, and finally flows into the dantian.

Within the dantian, the four strands of true essence that were originally nearly depleted grew stronger and fuller at a visible speed, like rain after a long drought!

Moreover, the "texture" of the true essence itself is also changing.

As the essence of the sun permeated the golden-blue true energy, the blue color gradually faded and the gold color gradually intensified.

When the true essence circulates, it becomes more solid and agile, carrying a faint warmth, which is completely different from the previous neutral and peaceful state.

"This is... purified true essence?" Ji Ruchang was shocked.

The effect of the essence of the sun is not only to "accelerate cultivation", but also to "improve quality"!

He immediately activated the "Longevity Formula," guiding the essence of the sun to circulate in his meridians.

One cycle, two cycles, three cycles...

The progress that would normally take dozens of cycles to barely notice becomes significantly improved with each cycle, thanks to the blessing of the Sun Essence.

The total amount of True Essence is increasing.

The meridians are being widened and strengthened.

Even the strength of the physical body has been slightly improved.

After an unknown period of time, the sun's energy was completely depleted.

Ji Ruchang opened her eyes, a flash of golden light disappearing from them.

He looked inward at himself—

Within his dantian, the four strands of true essence had transformed into five, and had completely turned into a pale gold color, becoming more condensed and pure.

However, the five true essences do not mean that Ji Ruchang has advanced to the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage.

He is currently at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

In the early stages of Qi Refining, from the first to the third level, you only need to add one unit of True Essence Power to each level.

In the mid-stage of Qi Refining, from the fourth to the sixth level, each level requires the addition of three strands of True Essence Power, which must be nurtured and strengthened before further advancement can be achieved.

In the later stages of Qi Refining, from the seventh to the ninth level, each level requires an additional nine strands of True Essence Power.

The Foundation Establishment stage involves refining and unifying these individual streams of true essence and magical power into a continuous "spiritual river"!

Although Ji Ruchang did not reach the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage, his total amount of true essence increased significantly compared to before.

More importantly, he felt much lighter and more agile, and his control over his true energy became more refined.

"0.9 units of daily essence, and the effect is so remarkable... If I can accumulate enough daily essence, my cultivation speed will far surpass my peers!" Ji Ruchang's heart was burning with excitement.

He glanced at the zombie lingering outside the light screen, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"We need more...more!"