He quieted his mind and focused his spirit.

About a quarter of an hour later, Chu Mu slowly opened his eyes.

He casually picked up one of the Body Refining Techniques. The name on the cover read: Nine-Turn Golden Body Technique.

A rather imposing name.

But in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, the strength of a Cultivation Technique was never determined by its name.

The legacy of the Cultivation Immortal Realm has been passed down for countless years. Innumerable Cultivators have embarked on the Immortal Path, one after another, and who knows how many have altered or created new Cultivation Techniques.

A technique that looked unbelievably powerful might just have been cobbled together by some Loose Cultivator who had languished in the Qi Cultivation Realm for decades.

An ordinary-looking Cultivation Technique, on the other hand, might have been passed down from ancient times.

But one thing was certain: while Cultivation Techniques varied in strength, stronger didn’t always mean better. The most important factor was suitability.

It had to be suitable for one’s Spirit Root Talent, personal Cultivation environment, and even one’s temperament.

If it wasn’t a good fit, it was largely meaningless.

The way Dharma and Body Cultivation, originally a single path, had evolved into the separate disciplines of Qi Cultivation and Body Refining was a clear example of this.

He opened the book. What greeted him were the familiar illustrations and text found in most Cultivation Techniques.

Unlike his first encounter with Qi Cultivation Techniques, these Body Refining Techniques were a direct continuation of Qi and Blood Cultivation, making them not too difficult to grasp.

He flipped through it page by page. Although the technique was indeed quite mediocre—even worse than the run-of-the-mill Body Refining Techniques sold in the Marketplace—Chu Mu read it with extreme care.

A general framework for Body Refining Cultivation slowly began to form in his mind.

About an hour later, he finally set down the Nine-Turn Golden Body Technique.

After a moment of thought, Chu Mu picked up another Body Refining Technique and began to read.

From dusk one day to dusk the next, a full twenty-four hours passed before Chu Mu had completely sorted through all five Body Refining Techniques, including the Wild Bull Technique.

Body Refining Cultivation, much like the Qi and Blood Cultivation of his past, was a process of becoming less and less human.

According to these techniques, the ultimate goal of Body Refining Cultivation—the stage corresponding to the Qi Cultivation Realm—was to forge a Dao Foundation!

Just like in the Qi Cultivation Realm, the goal was Foundation Establishment!

’It’s just that, from what I can guess, Qi Cultivation is perhaps the Foundation Establishment for one’s Magical Power and Divine Soul, while Body Refining Cultivation is the Foundation Establishment for the physical body!’

The techniques described four layers of Body Refining, corresponding to the initial, middle, late, and Perfection stages of Qi Cultivation. The final achievement was the forging of a Dao Foundation.

The most obvious transformations were Yijing Marrow Cleansing and achieving Ice Skin and Jade Bone!

Qi Cultivation was the practice of cultivating Magical Power and nurturing the Divine Soul.

Body Refining, in turn, was the practice of cultivating Qi Blood and nurturing the Divine Soul.

Within the system of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, Body Refining and Qi Cultivation were clearly in a perfectly complementary relationship.

Under the influence of this relationship, combining the two would surely result in a case where one plus one was greater than two!

Likewise, practicing both simultaneously would inevitably consume far more resources than normal.

After all, Body Refining Cultivation was still fundamentally rooted in Spiritual Qi and thus remained inextricably linked to one’s Spirit Root Talent.

After gaining a detailed understanding of Body Refining Cultivation, Chu Mu even began to suspect that the supposed necessity of the Foundation Establishment Pill was likely tied to the general neglect of Body Refining.

After all, Qi Cultivation completely neglected the physical body—the ’Essence’ component of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

And those three—Essence, Qi, and Spirit—were all complementary.

’To be missing one is bound to cause problems.’

Countless thoughts swirled, but Chu Mu didn’t dwell on the issue for too long. Right or wrong, it wasn’t something he needed to worry about at his current level.

Besides, he was now preparing to fill that very gap.

Swallowing a Body Tempering Pill, Chu Mu stood up. With a mere thought, he stored all his belongings into his Storage Talisman.

The cultivation method for the Wild Bull Technique surfaced in his mind.

His previous Qi and Blood Cultivation had been primarily static, focusing on Pile Skill.

The Wild Bull Technique, however, was a combination of motion and stillness.

Its cultivation method didn’t involve meditating like in Qi Cultivation. Instead, it required transitioning between and holding a series of postures, much like the Five Animals Qigong from his past life.

Each movement was a form of cultivation in itself, corresponding to the body’s various internal organs.

Normal Body Refining Cultivation also focused on Breathing Spiritual Qi into the body to strengthen one’s Qi Blood and nourish the internal organs.

But the limitations of his Spirit Root Talent meant that from the very beginning, Chu Mu had never pinned his hopes on this method.

Both his old Qi and Blood Cultivation and his more recent Qi Cultivation after entering the Cultivation Immortal Realm had proven one thing with absolute clarity: his talent was terrible!

External aid was crucial for him. Absolutely crucial!

The medicinal power of the Body Tempering Pill erupted within him. Under its effects, the surging Qi Blood in his body gradually grew stronger.

His body, which had long since stagnated, seemed to break through some kind of barrier under the influence of this Body Refining Cultivation, inching its way toward a greater, unknown strength.

His Cultivation continued for a full half-hour before he stopped.

He exhaled a breath of turbid air, sharp as a sword.

A surging power he hadn’t felt in a long time coursed through his body.

Chu Mu was utterly intoxicated by the sensation.

Compared to the power granted by Magical Power, this strength, originating from his own body, felt far more direct and all the more addicting.

Even if the power of Magical Power was more mysterious and profound!

Just as Chu Mu had expected, a single session of Body Refining Cultivation left him feeling as if he hadn’t bathed in over ten days. He was covered in a layer of grime and felt extremely uncomfortable.

Although a simple Cleaning Spell could have washed away the filth, old habits from his past life were perhaps still at play. In his current, stable environment, Chu Mu much preferred to wash with clean water.

The water in the cistern was already a bit murky, but for a Cultivator, that was hardly a problem.

He cast a Cleaning Spell, and the murkiness vanished.

He scooped up a bucket of fresh water and poured it over his head. As it washed away the grime, it felt as though it was also cleansing him of the bloodstains from his trip to the Black Market.

After changing into a fresh set of clothes, Chu Mu leaned against the headboard, his eyes half-closed. Drifting in a state between sleep and wakefulness, he began to mentally review his first Body Refining Cultivation session.

’My guess was correct.’

The long-term use of Elixirs for Qi Cultivation had indeed caused Erysipelas to accumulate in his body.

And the process of strengthening the body through Body Refining Cultivation would, in fact, expel those impurities.

And those impurities would inevitably include the Erysipelas he suspected.

He was so certain because after this single session of Body Refining Cultivation, he could clearly feel the bottleneck at the Peak of Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer—that intangible, unseen barrier—had weakened slightly.

The change was subtle, but because he had been specifically looking for it, the difference was unmistakable.

In other words, as long as his Body Refining Cultivation continued to advance and his physical functions grew stronger, any Erysipelas left behind in his body—whether from Elixirs for Body Refining or Qi Cultivation—would be gradually expelled in the process.

’After all, my Body Refining Cultivation has only just begun.’

With the answer confirmed and the hidden danger manageable, Chu Mu felt a great sense of relief. He let out a long breath and opened his eyes.

At that moment, the Jade Scroll containing the Artifact Refining Manual appeared in his hand.

For a moment, the image of the Bright Moon Battle Armor—a masterpiece of violent aesthetics—seemed to flash before his eyes again.

Chu Mu felt that calling it the Bright Moon Mecha would be more fitting.

With a flicker of his thoughts, the Spiritual Bomb—a product of Artifact Creation—appeared in his hand.

The art of Artifact Refining... or rather, the romance of Artifact Refining and Puppetry, seemed to lie in this.

That Bright Moon Battle Armor, that sky-blotting Longevity Flying Boat, those terrifying Spiritual Energy Cannons, that tiny Flying Insect Spiritual Artifact, and the Spiritual Bomb now in his hand...

This, it seemed, was the romance born from violent aesthetics... the romance of imagination pushed to its absolute limit!

He remained in a daze for a long time, lost in his fantasies.

After who knows how long, Chu Mu finally roused himself from his daydreams and slowly enveloped the Jade Scroll with his Divine Sense.

The moment his Divine Sense made contact with the Jade Scroll, a staggeringly vast system of knowledge flooded his perception.

’Artifact Refining Basics... but what did "basics" even entail?’

’How many different fields did it cover?’

Even just the introductory basics constituted an enormous body of knowledge.

It was vast enough to be intimidating!

Chu Mu had known it would be difficult and was mentally prepared.

But the time it took still far exceeded his expectations.

It took him nearly a month just to sort through the information within the Jade Scroll.

There was a lot of knowledge, and even more that he needed to organize!

The structure of any body of knowledge, no matter how basic, inevitably progresses from the simple and common to the profound.

The basics of the Artifact Refining Skill were no exception.

At first, the information was simple and easy to understand. But as he progressed, the concepts became increasingly difficult for him to grasp.

And this was only after a single pass to organize the so-called Artifact Refining Basics, which merely gave him a true understanding of the system’s overall structure.

As for the specifics, he would have to study diligently, understand the knowledge progressively, and then learn to apply it.

He would have to rely on himself for this entire process, teaching himself from the knowledge provided.

No one would teach him, nor did he have any way to find a mentor.

For the next several months, Chu Mu’s life seemed to revert to how it was back in Nanshan Town.

Except back then, his life had been a simple line between two points: his home and Elder Li’s Medicine Hall.

Now, however, he was a recluse, cooped up in his room, studying hard. He would only occasionally step out the door to wander the town and relax.

As time passed, his interactions with the neighbors naturally grew more frequent. The door that had once been constantly shut was now opened more and more often.

Time trickled by. Bit by bit, Chu Mu continued to understand and absorb the vast system of knowledge recorded in the Jade Scroll.

As time flowed on, the ordinary Yuning Town didn’t seem to change much, especially when compared to the ever-evolving Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace or the bloody jungle of the outside world.

The most common sight was the old leaving and the new arriving.

Some would save up enough Spirit Stones, or perhaps achieve a breakthrough in their Cultivation, find a way to earn even more, and then move into the Marketplace.

Others, perhaps realizing their Immortal Path was a hopeless endeavor, would leave this town of languishing souls alone in the dead of night, disappearing to an unknown fate. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

And there were always new Cultivators, fresh on the Path to Immortality and from places unknown, who would move into a room that had become vacant for some reason or another, beginning their own day-after-day of languishing.

Old Chen continued to push his dung cart day after day. The Female Cultivator across the way also continued her daily routine of providing a temporary, gentle respite for the town’s languishing Cultivators.

At some point, Li Changping had even found himself a Dao Companion, and the elder of the Niu Family Brothers was also newly married.

Next door, an old Cultivator moved in. Though his body was old, his heart was not. He had already become the Courtyard Lady Cultivator’s primary client, visiting her day after day, tirelessly.

Amidst this leisurely life, several months slipped by quietly.

「Another early spring arrived unnoticed.」

...