Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

In the new village behind Wild Fox Ridge, inside a stone house built of bluestone, a charcoal brazier emitted a faint red glow.

Li Ping sat cross-legged on the stone couch, with ten dark blue spirit sands neatly arranged in front of him.

These spirit sands were a size larger than usual, with a faint mist swirling around their surface.

It was a top-quality item that Tie Tou dug out from deep within that abandoned immortal sect mine.

"My lord, are you sure you don't need me to stand guard outside the door?"

Shi Gan stood at the doorway; although the wound on his back had scabbed over, his movements were still somewhat stiff.

"No need, you take Dazhuang and the others to inspect the mountain stronghold."

"The commotion in the mountains has been getting louder these past few days. We must prevent any stray animals from sneaking into the village."

Li Ping waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

"Yes, sir. If you make any unusual movements, just call out loudly."

Shi Gan clasped his hands in a fist salute, then withdrew, closing the heavy wooden door behind him.

The stone house fell silent, save for the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire.

Li Ping took a deep breath, unfolded the incomplete scroll of the Earthly Origin Qi Guiding Technique, and laid it flat on his lap.

"The Qi-cultivation process is complete; today is the day to achieve it."

He closed his eyes, holding a top-grade spirit sand in each hand, and the spiritual energy vortex within his body began to slowly rotate.

As he circulated the Earthly Qi-Inducing Technique, the spiritual sand in his palm suddenly lit up. Two streams of turbulent yet pure blue spiritual energy, like two small snakes, burrowed into his meridians from his palm.

"hiss--"

Li Ping gasped, feeling as if the veins in his arms had been branded with a hot iron, burning with pain.

This Earthly Qi-Inducing Technique truly lives up to its reputation as an ancient immortal sect's cultivation method.

The speed of absorbing spiritual energy is several times faster than the Small Heavenly Circuit Qi Induction Technique, but the burden on the meridians is also astonishingly large.

If it were an ordinary mortal, such violent spiritual energy entering the body would likely shatter their meridians instantly.

But Li Ping is different.

He is a time traveler, having lived two lives, and his soul is exceptionally resilient.

Whenever his meridians were on the verge of collapse due to excruciating pain, his consciousness acted like a pair of invisible hands.

He firmly suppressed the turbulent spiritual energy, forcibly smoothing it out and integrating it into the vortex of energy within his body.

Time passed little by little

One by one, the spirit sand grains beside the stone bed lost their luster, turning into grayish-white powder and scattering away.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Li Ping's forehead, and his clothes were soaked through.

The spiritual energy vortex within his body had expanded to its limit; the originally gaseous spiritual energy began to gradually condense, showing a faint tendency to transform into a liquid state.

"Almost there"

Li Ping gritted his teeth and held the last two top-grade spirit sands in his hand.

boom!

A massive surge of spiritual energy rushed in instantly, like a torrent, directly attacking the spiritual barrier in his mind.

The intense pain caused Li Ping's body to tremble slightly.

He felt as if countless steel needles were piercing his brain, and his vision began to blur.

"Break it!"

Li Ping roared inwardly, his resilient soul unleashing a terrifying willpower that forcefully suppressed the pain.

hum!

A soft sound, audible only to him, exploded in his mind.

The vortex of spiritual energy within the body stopped spinning at that instant.

Then it suddenly collapsed inward, transforming into a solid blue vortex, no bigger than a soybean.

The vortex slowly rotated, and strands of pure spiritual energy flowed through the meridians to the limbs and bones.

The previously sore muscles and tired meridians recovered rapidly under the nourishment of this spiritual energy, becoming even more resilient than before.

Li Ping opened his eyes, and two streaks of blue light flashed and disappeared in the darkness.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling a sense of lightness throughout his body. He could even see the finest dust particles drifting down in the air clearly.

"Qi Refining stage, achieved."

Li Ping stood up and stretched his somewhat stiff joints.

He walked to a corner of the stone house and looked at the several talismans piled there.

He casually picked up a flaming talisman, and with a slight movement of his spiritual energy, channeled it into the talisman through his fingertips.

"go"

The talisman flew out of his hand, transforming into a fireball the size of a human head in mid-air.

It crashed against the stone wall with a loud bang, scorching a patch of blackened stone.

"This power is more than twice as great as before."

Li Ping looked at the scorch marks on the stone wall and smiled with satisfaction.

In the past, when he used talismans, he had to prepare them in advance and rely on the underhanded tricks of modern people.

Now that he has broken through to the Qi Refining stage, the spiritual power within his body is sufficient to support him in continuously controlling several talismans.

It can even barely set up some simple rune arrays.

If he were to encounter a heretical cultivator like Miao Jun again, he was confident he could kill him with talismans within three moves.

"My lord! You've emerged from seclusion?"

The wooden door was pushed open, and Shi Gan hurriedly walked in. Upon seeing the imposing aura emanating from Li Ping, he couldn't help but pause in surprise.

Although he wasn't a cultivator, he had followed Hu Guan for many years and had witnessed the methods of cultivators.

At this moment, Li Ping, though still appearing harmless, exuded a subtle spiritual pressure that sent a chill down his spine.

"My lord, you've broken through to a higher level?"

Shi Gan asked, somewhat excitedly.

"Hmm, a lucky breakthrough."

Li Ping patted the dust off his sleeves.

"What's been happening in the city these past few days?"

"Qian Duo brought back news from the city that the Bai family is currently mobilizing manpower, seemingly preparing to enter the mountains."

"In addition, at the county government, Magistrate Chen approved the plaque for the 'Xiyun Anti-Beast Militia Camp'."

Shi Gan took out an iron plaque from his pocket and handed it to Li Ping.

The iron plaque is engraved with the four large characters "Xi Yun Min Zhuang" and bears the official seal of the county government along its edge.

"That old bastard Chen Rang, he's quick on his feet."

Li Ping took the iron plaque and sneered.

"He's seeing the commotion in the mountains getting bigger and bigger, and he wants me to be his shield."

"Sir, what should we do?"

"What to do? We've already got the license, so it's a legitimate way to recruit."

Li Ping put the iron plate back into his pocket, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Since the Bai family wants to enter the mountains, then let them."

"The seal in these mountains has been broken, and the demonic beasts don't recognize the Bai or Hei families anymore."

He walked to the window and looked at the sky outside, which was gradually darkening.

Breakthrough to Qi Refining Stage

The Bai family, the county government office, and the impending beast tide...