I’m going to be rich!
Li Shangyan was trembling with excitement.
He had a full ton of gold stored in his brain space!
A ton of gold was worth at least five hundred million RMB!
And for that, he had only given away a coin-sized piece of average-quality jade!
One mid-grade Spirit Stone in exchange for two thousand jin of gold.
Zhou Yang and Su Dekuai felt like they had made a killing.
Li Shangyan was almost laughing himself insane.
In short, this was a win-win situation.
This sudden windfall stirred up quite a few emotions in Li Shangyan.
At this point, he was no longer suited to keep cultivating in the Cultivation world; it was easy to develop a heart demon.
So he simply withdrew his consciousness back to the urban world.
He glanced at his Rolex watch. It showed 4:04.
The sky outside was still dark. He was about to wash up when he suddenly thought of something.
A thought flashed through his mind, and an elixir appeared in his hand.
This was the Body Training Pill he had traded for from Su Dekuai.
This body in the urban world was not particularly strong. It was not fat, but it had no real muscle either.
Overall, it was rather thin and looked somewhat frail.
The Body Training Pill was meant to strengthen the body and improve physical fitness in every way.
Li Shangyan stuffed the elixir into his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.
In an instant, the pill’s effects began to show.
A wave of heat exploded from his stomach, then surged violently toward his internal organs, limbs, and finally through his entire body.
That surging heat was like an iron hammer, constantly pounding every part of his body.
That feeling was painful.
Li Shangyan gritted his teeth and endured it, using his clear consciousness to continuously absorb the spiritual energy from the Spirit Stone in his hand.
Absorbing spiritual energy while taking the Body Training Pill produced even better results.
Finally, after about half an hour, the heat gradually faded.
And Li Shangyan felt incredibly refreshed.
It was like the light, relieved feeling that comes after intense exercise.
When Li Shangyan used his spiritual sense to look into his sea of consciousness, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he had already reached the 2nd layer of Qi Refining.
The spiritual energy in his dantian had become about as thick as a thumb.
By now, Li Shangyan already understood the signs of advancement in each realm.
For example, drawing spiritual energy into the body and storing it in the dantian officially meant entering Qi Refining Layer 1.
After that, each time it doubled in size, it counted as advancing one layer, until the entire dantian was filled with spiritual energy.
To advance to the Foundation Establishment stage, one had to build a spiritual platform in the dantian and liquefy the spiritual energy within the body.
Advancing through the Foundation Establishment stage required the spiritual liquid on that platform to keep increasing until it reached full capacity.
After that, the liquefied spiritual energy would be compressed and solidified into a Core Formation, thereby reaching the Core Formation stage.
Feeling the spiritual energy in his dantian, he clenched his fist and swung it hard.
At this moment, his whole body was filled with strength; with a casual punch, he could easily kill an ox.
“Heh heh, I guess this means I’ve reached the level of a martial arts master!”
“I should find a boxing gym sometime and see how much force one punch of mine has.”
“Holy crap… that stinks so bad!”
Just as Li Shangyan was admiring himself, he suddenly noticed that his body felt sticky, and a foul odor was coming off him.
It turned out that after he used the Body Training Pill, his body had been tempered and expelled some impurities.
Li Shangyan could not take it anymore and immediately rushed into the restroom.
He stood under the shower head, letting the warm water wash over his entire body and cleanse away all the filth and impurities expelled by the Body Training Pill.
He closed his eyes and enjoyed this unprecedented feeling of freshness and comfort, as if even his soul had been washed clean.
After showering, he changed into clean clothes.
In the mirror, he did not look much different overall, but his skin had become fairer, and the lines of his muscles were clearly defined.
They were not bulging, exaggerated muscles, but the proportions were very attractive, and his figure looked increasingly perfect.
Li Shangyan could not help but praise his current self.
“If I were a woman, I would fall in love with myself too.”
After admiring himself for a while, Li Shangyan put on his clothes and went downstairs.
Mainly because his transformed body was more sensitive to smells.
The room still carried the lingering odor from before, and he could not stand it.
Li Shangyan ran toward a forest park several kilometers away.
At that time, the streets were empty, and only the occasional birdcall from afar broke the morning silence.
Li Shangyan’s steps were light yet powerful. Every step felt as if he were treading on clouds, without the slightest sense of fatigue.
He secretly marveled at the miraculous effect of the Body Training Pill.
The mountain in this forest park was not very high, only three to four hundred meters, but it was the tallest mountain nearby.
By the time Li Shangyan reached the summit, sunrise was just about to begin.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. He found a flat stone platform, sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began circulating the Qi Refining Art.
Earlier, in the hotel, he had not sensed the existence of spiritual energy in heaven and earth.
But now, at this moment when heaven and earth resonated with one another, he finally discovered the faint traces of spiritual energy between heaven and earth.
So this world did have spiritual energy after all; it was just far too thin.
Especially in big cities, where the air was filled entirely with turbid energy.
No wonder that after staying in a city for a long time, the body would grow weaker and the mood more irritable.
In the mountains and wilderness, however, both body and mind would feel joyful.
That was because of the nourishment of spiritual energy.
Li Shangyan adjusted his breathing, letting himself sink into a state of emptiness, and his body began continuously absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
This feeling was different from directly absorbing spiritual energy from a Spirit Stone. It made him feel quieter and more peaceful.
As his awareness deepened, he could clearly feel the spiritual energy in his body flowing slowly, like a gentle stream nourishing every inch of his skin and every meridian.
He tried guiding that spiritual energy through circulation inside his body. With each cycle, he felt his strength increasing, and the spiritual energy in his dantian also gradually increased.
Finally, after completing thirty-six major cultivation cycles, he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
After this round of cultivation, although he had not advanced to Qi Refining Layer 3, the spiritual energy in his body had become even more refined.
Just then, a voice came from beside his ear.
“Heh heh, young man, what kind of skill are you practicing?”
Li Shangyan looked up and saw an elderly man with an energetic appearance, a resolute expression, and a trace of iron-blooded aura.
Yet his aged face still could not hide a hint of illness. He was sitting on a stone not far away, curiously observing Li Shangyan.
When he saw Li Shangyan looking at him, the old man hurriedly added, “Sorry, once people get old, they like asking about everything. It’s fine if you don’t want to say.”
Li Shangyan smiled and said, “Hello, sir. There’s nothing inconvenient about it. I’m just practicing some rather superficial cultivation techniques for self-cultivation.”
The old man chuckled. “You’re being modest, young man. I do have some knowledge of martial arts, even if I can’t understand what you’re cultivating.”
“But from the calm and harmonious aura you gave off just now, I can tell you’re definitely no ordinary person.”
The old man studied Li Shangyan carefully and could not help praising him again.
“What a handsome young man.”
Li Shangyan smiled awkwardly and said, “Sir, you flatter me. But your eye for people is truly incredible!”
“My cultivation techniques do have some special effects, but my cultivation level is still shallow, so the effects can’t even reach one ten-thousandth of their full potential.”
The old man was somewhat unconvinced and said in surprise, “Such extraordinary effects, and you’re saying it’s only one ten-thousandth of its power? Could it be that you’re an ancient martial artist?”
“Ancient martial artist?”
For the first time, Li Shangyan had heard this term in the real world, and he was guessing whether it referred to the kind of secret family clans often written about in novels.
And at that very moment!