Returning Immortal

Chapter 49 : Reaching the Third Stage of Qi Refinement

Gwi Seongjin, who had stabilized his realm by circulating his qi for three days, took out the Thunder Cloud Sword from his waist.

And when he operated his spirit energy, something that had never happened before occurred.

When the spirit energy flowed into the Thunder Cloud Sword, a blue radiance was faintly cast on the blade.

Especially, the sword tip had grown longer by two chi.

As Gwi Seongjin continued to inject his spirit energy, the length of the sword continued to increase.

Three chi, four chi.

In the end, the sword qi alone became the length of a zhang.

Swish.

A smile naturally formed on Gwi Seongjin's lips as he confirmed that the sword qi was stable even when he swung the sword in that state.

It wasn't just the Thunder Cloud Sword whose power had increased.

When Gwi Seongjin clenched his fist and attempted to manifest his spirit energy, a faint radiance was cast around his fist.

It was the fist radiance he had only heard of in words.

Gwi Seongjin, who had shot up his body, composed his breathing and then manifested his spirit energy and performed the Black Tortoise's Form.

Gugung. Gugung.

Between the heavy footsteps, two blue flood dragons suddenly raised their heads.

Then they roared fiercely and began to violently ravage the surrounding space.

Swish!

Gwi Seongjin, who had twisted his waist and had flipped his body, stood up as if bouncing and created a palm shadow that filled the space.

At that, the following hand escaped the palm shadow and sharply cut the air with its sharp claws.

Rip!

The sound of space being torn was heard in the air.

Not stopping there, Gwi Seongjin's foot moved half a step to the side heavily.

Next, when he crossed his two palms like blades, a blue radiance flashed like lightning.

The flash disappeared in an instant.

Still, the radiance that seemed to sting the eyes pierced the sky and remained for a while like an afterimage.

Gugung. Gugung.

Swish!

Gwi Seongjin, who had finished his training of the Black Tortoise's Form, moved to the center of the training room with a satisfied face.

Then, without even a moment's rest, he immediately performed the White Tiger's Form.

Before performing the movement technique, Gwi Seongjin operated his spirit energy to the extreme.

It was to test his own limits this time.

Swish.

When Gwi Seongjin performed the White Tiger's Form, his body became blurry and disappeared like a phantom.

And it faintly revealed its form at the end of the stone chamber.

Swish.

Gwi Seongjin, who had appeared at the entrance of the stone chamber again, wandered around the cave for a while like a ghost.

The reason he had so passionately performed the White Tiger's Form was because there had been a great progress in his movement technique.

Although he had also performed the White Tiger's Form in the absolute forbidden zone, at that time, he had lacked spirit energy and could only perform the basic stage, the Shifting Form Steps.

But the movement technique he was performing now was an almost perfect Shifting Form Transposition.

It was a tremendous achievement in just one month.

Slap.

Gwi Seongjin, who had performed the Shifting Form Transposition and had attached his body to the ceiling of the stone chamber, spun his body in the air and slowly fell to the floor.

It was a graceful and leisurely movement like a butterfly.

Gwi Seongjin, who had walked to the center of the training room and had sat cross-legged, controlled his breathing and quietly reflected on his own level.

The third stage of Qi Refinement.

Compared to a master of the Spirit Condensation stage, it was a realm comparable to the extreme demonic (Transformation) realm.

Perhaps because of that, Gwi Seongjin didn't think he would lose even if he fought the dead Raging Fire Divine Lord.

The same went for the Blood Scorpion Demoness.

Even if she was in an uninjured state, he was confident he could face her.

And even if he lost, he was confident he could get his body out.

Thinking like that, he somehow felt a sense of confidence.

It was then.

A crunching sound was heard from somewhere.

What sound is that?

The startled Gwi Seongjin looked at the entrance of the cave.

Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with the restriction.

Gwi Seongjin, who had confirmed that even the barrier spread on its outskirts was fine by extending his spiritual sense, was relieved for now.

If someone hadn't invaded, the cause was inside the cave.

'In that case...'

Gwi Seongjin, who had stood up and had moved to the stone chamber where the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation was spread, widened his eyes as he was about to deploy his spiritual sense.

It wasn't just because the inside of the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation was clearly visible.

It was because the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions had come out of their cocoons, and a pair of wings was attached to their backs.

The transparent wings were chillingly beautiful.

Flutter.

The Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions, which were tearing and eating the cocoon shells, saw Gwi Seongjin and shook the wings on their backs.

Then their two eyes flashed, and their gaze was extremely ferocious.

Gwi Seongjin, who was looking at the scorpions with a startled heart, discovered that the red ghost pattern engraved on their carapaces had become much clearer than before.

It looked as if it would break through the carapace at any moment.

Screech. Screech!

The Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions, which had finished tearing and eating the cocoons, bared their hideous teeth and roared, and this time they began to gnaw at the barrier.

Then, when it had no effect, they spread their wings and flew into the air.

Flutter!

It seemed the wings were vibrating, and the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions crashed their bodies against the interface of the barrier.

Thud!

But the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation did not even budge.

Rather, it spewed out flames and attacked the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions.

The Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions, which had dodged the flame attack by flashing their bodies, attacked the barrier several more times.

Then they stopped their movements, but it didn't seem they had given up on escaping.

The Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions, which had come down to the floor and had folded their wings and had put them into their carapaces, this time dug into the ground.

They had exerted their specialty, the Earth Escape Technique.

But this time too, they could not achieve their goal.

The Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation was also defended with an iron wall even underground.

The Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions, which had no choice but to crawl onto the ground, looked at Gwi Seongjin with a pitiful expression.

Screech. Screech!

One of them even cried out pitifully.

"You must be hungry."

Only after hearing the cry of the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions did Gwi Seongjin recall that he had not fed them for dozens of days.

'What should I feed them?'

Gwi Seongjin had almost no knowledge about the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions.

All he knew was that they were called the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions.

Other than that, it was to the extent that they were poisonous insect-type demonic beasts, were skilled in Earth Escape Technique, and could see through the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation.

If he didn't use his spiritual sense, Gwi Seongjin could not see through the inside of the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation.

But the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions were now staring at his Qiankun Pouch.

"Shall I give you this?"

Gwi Seongjin took out a grain-abstaining pill from his Qiankun Pouch and showed it to them.

But the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions showed no interest at all.

It was a look that said, 'You eat that kind of thing'.

When the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions even turned away from the jerky, Gwi Seongjin made a look of dismay.

It was because he had nothing else to give them.

But he couldn't just give them the Kongqing Stone Milk.

Gwi Seongjin, who was looking at the Three-Eyed Toad's inner core with his spiritual sense, took out a large wooden box next to it.

It was a box containing the only mushroom that had been stored in the Qiankun Pouch without rotting.

The black and hideous-looking mushroom was as hard as a stone.

But when Gwi Seongjin opened the wooden box and took out the mushroom, the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions inside the barrier formation went crazy.

Screech. Screech!

As if it were resentful that they couldn't come out, they stuck close to the wall and let out a strange cry.

"You want this?"

When Gwi Seongjin held out the mushroom, the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions even nodded their heads.

Perhaps because they were old demonic beasts, their perception was not ordinary.

"Hmm. Wait a moment."

Although he had risen to the third stage of Qi Refinement, Gwi Seongjin was not conceited.

Without rashly dismantling the barrier, he used the flags he had bought at the underground market to create a small space on the upper part of the barrier.

This was possible because Gwi Seongjin was well-versed in the principles of the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation.

The experience he had researched in the Ghost Valley Sect in the past was of great help.

Gwi Seongjin, who had divided the mushroom into two pieces and had pushed them into the newly created hole, blew his spirit energy into the barrier banners of the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation.

At that, the space installed on the upper part opened, and the two pieces of mushroom inside fell to the floor.

Screech!

The mushroom didn't even touch the ground.

The waiting Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions flew like an arrow, then each took a mushroom and began to tear and eat it greedily.

Crunch, crunch.

Although the mushroom was several times larger than their own bodies, their appetite was endless.

"Eat a lot. By the way, the future is the problem..."

Gwi Seongjin, who had been watching the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions eating for a long time, muttered in a low voice.

Although he had been lucky to find something to eat this time, the future was the problem.

Even Gwi Seongjin didn't even know the name of the mushroom he had just given them.

Not only its use and efficacy, but also any information about its habitat.

* * *

What Gwi Seongjin had wanted to confirm first after rising to the realm of the third stage of Qi Refinement was the purple ring made of Kunlun jade.

This was a legal tool he had discovered in the Qiankun Pouch along with the Chasing and Capturing Net.

Gwi Seongjin, who had blown his spiritual sense with anticipation, let out a low sigh.

It was because the ring-shaped legal tool had repelled his spiritual sense.

The same went for the jade plaque he had obtained from the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion.

The disappointed Gwi Seongjin this time took out the parchment he had obtained from the Blood Scorpion Demoness.

When Gwi Seongjin held the parchment in his hand, chilling ghost qis came up his fingers.

The fingers contaminated by the ghost qi instantly turned black and ghostly, and the excited black energies came up his wrist and flickered their black tongues like a snake.

And they crawled up Gwi Seongjin's wrist as if competing.

Hmph!

Gwi Seongjin, who had let out a snort, blew his spirit energy into the arm that was holding the parchment.

At that, the ghost qis that had come up his wrist instantly retreated and retreated into the parchment.

Gwi Seongjin's fingers, which had turned black and ghostly, had also returned to their original state at some point...

Still, feeling somehow uncomfortable, Gwi Seongjin continued to operate his spirit energy in the hand that was holding the parchment.

And he looked at the parchment, which was overflowing with an ominous ghost qi, with his eyes wide open.

The five ghosts drawn under the ancient characters were rolling their hideous eyeballs up and down and were looking at him as if he were ridiculous.

Among them, the one that looked the most hideous was the first ghost drawn.

The ghost with a yellow face and a long nose like a mole was holding a weapon that looked like a pitchfork and was spewing a ghost-ridden radiance with its large pupils.

Zap!

A single strand of ghost qi as sharp as a needle dug into Gwi Seongjin's gaze.

But Gwi Seongjin did not even flinch.

Like a high monk who had attained enlightenment, he looked straight into the ghost's eyes without wavering.

When the enraged ghost shot out a murderous, ominous light, tears flowed from Gwi Seongjin's eyes.

Even so, Gwi Seongjin did not move.

He just looked straight at the ghost with a benevolent gaze, with a smile on his face.

Perhaps because that was more unpleasant, the ghost spewed a yellow radiance from its pupils and made Gwi Seongjin's eyes blurry.

Still, when he maintained a clear gaze, the ghost showed a look of surprise.

That too was only for a moment.

Hideous ghost qis flowed out like a swarm of bees, pierced Gwi Seongjin's pupils, and pulled his eyelids down.

Gwi Seongjin's vision, whose pupils had turned red, became blurry, and his eyelids became as heavy as a thousand catties.

Even so, Gwi Seongjin did not close his eyes.

As if to say, 'Try me if you can', he rather opened his eyes even wider and looked at the ghost.

"..."

The ghost's temper was also not ordinary.

It spewed out all the ghost qi it could muster and violently attacked Gwi Seongjin's consciousness.

In response, Gwi Seongjin also resisted with all his strength.

This was not a life-and-death battle.

But if he averted his gaze, the ghost would look down on him and would not lend him its power.

Even if it did, it would only lend a part of it.

Gwi Seongjin, who did not want that, defended against the ghost's attack with all his might.

The breathless confrontation eventually ended in Gwi Seongjin's victory.

The ghost, which had realized that Gwi Seongjin's will was stronger than it had thought, this time changed its strategy.

The ghost that had come out of the talisman raised its legal body and pushed its head directly in front of Gwi Seongjin's eyes.

Even so, when Gwi Seongjin did not lose his composure, the ghost changed its legal body into a hideous evil spirit.

And it increased its size by dozens of times, held a pitchfork, and struck Gwi Seongjin's head with the momentum of a single decisive blow.

But Gwi Seongjin had no agitation at all.

It was because he knew that the ghost's current appearance was an illusion.

Swoosh.

In the end, the ghost, which could not break Gwi Seongjin's will, went into the talisman and quietly waited for his disposal.

At some point, its ominous gaze had also become much softer.

[What is your name?]

Gwi Seongjin, who had discovered a look of submission from the ghost, asked with his spiritual sense.

But no answer was heard.

However, its gaze became distant, and a single streak of silver radiance was faintly flowing in the yellow gaze.

Gwi Seongjin, who couldn't understand the meaning, exerted his spiritual sense, and a faint smile formed on his lips.

It was because very small characters were floating in the silver radiance.

Fortunately, they were characters he knew, and the content was the method of controlling the ghost he had just subjugated.

The name of the ghost he had subjugated was the Earth Ghost.

The Earth Ghost was a ghost that controlled the earth among the five elements, and it could perform not only Earth Escape Technique, but also a stone attribute secret art called Stealth Art and Petrification Art.

But the method of performing the secret art was rather strange.

It was a method of borrowing its ability after lending a part of one's body to the Earth Ghost.

In a way, it was a dangerous secret art.

Even so, this legal art was like a welcome rain in a drought for Gwi Seongjin.

Although he had risen to the third stage of Qi Refinement, he had too few legal arts to protect his body.

Among them, the Stealth Art was the best gift.

If he went deep into the ground and performed the Stealth Art when he was in danger, he would not be easily discovered...

It was as if he had obtained an extra life.

Although he was so happy that he wanted to perform the legal art right away, now was not a good time.

To do that, he had to completely subjugate the Earth Ghost, and there was still a ritual to be performed.

Drip.

Gwi Seongjin, who was examining his qi and blood with his spiritual sense while sitting, cut his finger with his Thunder Cloud Sword.

And he drew out a drop of essence blood in the shape of a lotus flower and dropped it into the Earth Ghost's mouth.

The Earth Ghost's eyes widened when it saw Gwi Seongjin's essence blood.

Essence blood was a mysterious spirit liquid in which the genetic characteristics, Dao root, and even the cultivation realm of a human or a spiritual beast were melted.

Gwi Seongjin's essence blood was so profound in its color and fragrance that it had recognized at once that it was a world of difference from the Blood Scorpion Demoness's.

Slurp.

The Earth Ghost, which had greedily drunk Gwi Seongjin's essence blood, smiled with satisfaction as if its cultivation had increased in a short time.

Even so, it was hideous, but now it was a completely submissive expression.

Gwi Seongjin also smiled with a happy heart.

Glance.

Gwi Seongjin, who had glanced at the second ghost on the parchment, immediately turned his gaze.

His body was tired, and his consciousness consumption was not small, so it seemed he would have to try subjugating the second ghost in the future.

(End of Chapter)