Immortality and Cultivation: I can extract entries from all things.

Two days have passed.

Fang He saved every penny and sold a batch of spirit grains he had harvested to the market. With the spirit stone fragments he had saved up, he finally managed to collect three pieces.

He set off just as dawn was breaking.

The market is still the same market, and the stalls are still the same stalls.

Fang He walked straight to the corner stall selling miscellaneous goods.

The stall owner was packing up his things when he saw Fang He and vaguely remembered him.

"It's you again?"

"Are the fragments of the alchemy furnace still there?"

The stall owner pointed to the corner: "Over there."

Fang He picked up the dark metal fragment, pretended to examine it carefully, and frowned, saying:

"This is so badly rusted, who knows what's inside? Three spirit stones are too expensive, one each."

The stall owner curled his lip: "One piece? Are you trying to fob me off? I had someone examine it; it's a genuine fragment of a pill furnace, and it might even be able to be refined into pill energy."

"One and a half yuan."

Fang He took out the spirit stone and weighed it in his hand. "Take it or leave it. If you don't want to sell, I'll go look around somewhere else."

He then made a move to leave.

The stall owner hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, fine, one and a half yuan it is, take it!"

Fang He handed over the spirit stone and put the fragments of the alchemy furnace into his pocket.

He found a secluded corner where no one was around, concentrated, and the panel appeared:

[Retrievable historical traces detected]

[Item: Fragment of a Broken Alchemy Furnace]

[Historical Imprint: The Alchemist's Refinement Insights (White)]

Fang He was overjoyed.

White markings! A grade higher than gray, the effect of the attribute will be much stronger.

"extract."

An image flashed through my mind.

In a dimly lit alchemy room, the furnace fire flickered.

An elderly man with white hair sat cross-legged, his hands forming a mudra, and a faint spiritual light emanated from his dantian.

He was nurturing his dantian, making his spiritual energy more condensed, in preparation for breaking through to a higher realm.

The secrets to nurturing, the pathways of spiritual energy circulation, the rhythm of breathing...

These experiences flashed through my mind; they were the culmination of decades of alchemy and spiritual practice.

The image fades, and the light spots coalesce:

Extraction successful

[Acquired entry: Dantian Nourishment (White)]

[Affix Effect: Dantian Nourishment (White), Dantian spiritual energy storage limit +5%, True Qi solidification increased]

Activate?

"activation."

In an instant, a warm current rose from his dantian, flowing like spring water and slowly spreading to his limbs and bones.

Fang He closed her eyes and carefully sensed the changes within her body.

Deep within the dantian, the originally cramped spiritual energy storage space seemed to have been expanded.

The spiritual energy that used to dissipate is now able to settle more steadily, no longer as fleeting as before.

Even more noticeable is the change in true qi.

In the past, when practicing the Green Wood Technique, the true energy always seemed somewhat unstable as it circulated through the meridians, like water flowing over a dry riverbed, with losses always occurring at the edges.

But now, the true energy has become much more condensed and flows more smoothly, with more spiritual energy remaining after each cycle.

Fang He continued to circulate his cultivation technique, feeling the spiritual energy constantly flowing into his body.

One week.

Two weeks.

Three cycles.

Previously, after circulating the energy three times, the spiritual energy in the dantian would only increase by two or three points at most, and it would easily dissipate.

This time, however, after three cycles, the spiritual energy in his dantian increased by nearly 10%, and it became solid and stable, no longer floating.

That's the power of white entries.

Fang He opened her eyes, a slight smile playing on her lips.

With this entry, cultivation speed has at least doubled.

At this rate, there's a good chance he'll break through to the third level of Qi Refining within twenty days.

He got up and left the market, returning to Lingtian along the path.

Throughout the journey, he kept reliving the feeling of his earlier cultivation.

The effects of white and gray entries are indeed vastly different.

Those few grayed-out terms, while useful, were only slightly helpful and merely icing on the cake.

But this white entry represents a real qualitative change.

If we could find a few more entries like this...

Hope was rekindled in Fang He's heart.

Back in his hut, just as he was about to continue his cultivation, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.

"Fang He, are you home?"

It was Old Wang's voice.

Fang He got up and opened the door, only to see Old Wang standing outside with a bundle on his shoulder and a gloomy expression.

Old Wang was a freelance cultivator in his forties who rented spiritual fields nearby. He was an honest and upright person.

Fang He wasn't exactly close to him, but they had interacted a few times.

The two were of similar cultivation level, both at the second level of Qi Refining, and they would occasionally exchange cultivation experiences.

"Old Wang, are you going on a long trip?"

Old Wang gave a bitter laugh: "Fang He... I've been drafted."

Fang He was taken aback: "Conscription?"

"We'll be setting sail in two days."

Old Wang sighed, "The Zhou family's recruitment this time includes everyone below the third level of Qi Refining. I've been stuck at the second level for years and haven't been able to break through. I can't avoid it this time."

Fang He's heart stirred.

Those below the third level of Qi Refining were recruited.

In other words, as long as you break through to the third level, you can apply for an extension.

"Old Wang, you... haven't made a breakthrough yet?"

Old Wang shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I have poor aptitude and no good cultivation techniques, so I've been stuck at the second level for five years. This recruitment came too suddenly, and I didn't have any time to prepare."

He paused, then glanced at Fang He again: "How's your cultivation going lately? Is there any hope of a breakthrough?"

Fang He was silent for a moment, then nodded: "There is a glimmer of hope."

A hint of envy flashed in Old Wang's eyes, which then turned into relief.

"That's good. You have hope, so seize it. Being drafted to sea is almost certain death, and I don't want to see you suffer the same fate..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Fang He understood what he meant.

Old Wang lifted the bundle higher and glanced around at his few acres of fertile fields.

"Fang He, please keep an eye on the spirit field for me... although I might not need it anymore."

"……good."

Old Wang nodded and turned to walk towards the dock.

Fang He stood at the door, watching Old Wang's hunched back gradually disappear into the distance.

Old Wang is also at the second level of Qi Refining, and he has been stuck for five years without being able to break through.

Now, the conscription order has been issued, and everyone below the third floor is on the list.

If he can break through to the third level within twenty days, he can apply for an extension.

But Lao Wang doesn't have that time.

The joy I felt during my practice has now turned into a deeper sense of urgency.

While white entries are powerful, time is still of the essence.

He must seize every minute and every second.

Fang He turned around and went back into the house, sat cross-legged, and began to circulate the Green Wood Technique.

The spiritual energy enters the body and flows through the meridians.

The combined effect of several keywords is immediate.

The vital energy circulates within the body, allowing one to absorb more spiritual energy with each breath.

The spiritual energy in his dantian was accumulating steadily, bringing him one step closer to a breakthrough.

As night deepened, Fang He opened her eyes and let out a long breath.

Improved cultivation efficiency is a good thing, but more accumulation is needed to reach the third level of Qi Refining.

He lay in bed, his mind replaying the day's events.

After nurturing his dantian, Old Wang was summoned to the Qi Refining Realm below Level Three...

Joy and sorrow are intertwined.