The appearance of Fine-Grade Beast-Tooth Rice also differed slightly from that of ordinary Beast-Tooth Rice.
Several blood-red veins ran across the surface of the Fine-Grade Beast-Tooth Rice, interweaving red and white hues into quite a mesmerizing sight.
Both the spiritual energy it contained and its effectiveness in boosting vital blood were triple those of ordinary-quality Beast-Tooth Rice.
It could enhance vital blood by a substantial margin.
In a state of excitement, Qin Ming quickly harvested and cleaned up these several hundred stalks of Beast-Tooth Rice.
This wave yielded him six catties [3 kg] of Fine-Grade Beast-Tooth Rice straight away!
Over the following half-month: Following the same recipe, Qin Ming reserved a portion of the Fine-Grade Beast-Tooth Rice as seeds.
He used his remaining four [Ripening] traits to continue ripening the crops in batches.
Ultimately, he harvested a total of thirty catties [15 kg] of Fine-Grade Beast-Tooth Rice, as well as four [Faint Vital Blood] traits.
As of right now, every single [Ripening] trait stored within his sea of consciousness had been completely exhausted.
Going forward, he could only pray that the second quarterly crop in the spirit fields would continue to refresh new [Ripening] traits for him.
Using them up like this was a bit squanderous, but Qin Ming could no longer care about such details.
The top priority was to boost his strength as quickly as possible.
He estimated that if these thirty catties of Fine-Grade Beast-Tooth Rice were placed in Qingyang Marketplace, countless people would fight over them until their heads bled.
Its value went without saying.
Qin Ming knew how to hide his light under a bushel; with his current low strength, it was unwise to show off too much in the cultivation realm.
Keeping everything low-key was best.
Drawing the eyes of those with ulterior motives would be disastrous.
That very evening: Qin Ming cooked a pot of Fine-Grade Beast-Tooth Rice.
When it came out of the pot, an aroma wafted in all directions, the red-and-white spirit rice presenting a captivating array of colors.
It was truly intoxicating.
The key was its property of substantially boosting vital blood.
This was precisely what countless body cultivators dreamed of acquiring.
Placed on a dining table, it could be considered a rare delicacy that only big figures in major sects could afford to consume.
Catching the scent, Qin Ming’s mouth watered uncontrollably.
He carried the bowl of Beast-Tooth Rice to his bedroom and sat down on his bed.
Feasting heartily, he gobbled up the entire pot of Beast-Tooth Rice clean in no time!
Boom!
A scorching torrent of energy erupted inside Qin Ming’s body as the vital blood energy contained within the spirit rice swept through him.
Qin Ming hastily circulated his magic power to channel his vital blood according to the execution method of the Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture.
After the span of an incense stick: Qin Ming’s entire skin grew redder and redder, and a faint mist of red vapor actually rose around his body!
This was the sign of channeling vital blood deep into marrow refining, initiating the process of blood replacement.
After practicing the Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture in person, Qin Ming discovered that this technique did not produce violent body-refining reactions during cultivation; on the contrary, it was exceedingly mild.
His entire body felt warm and cozy, gradually heating up and expanding.
Pairing it with Fine-Grade Beast-Tooth Rice for cultivation truly yielded twice the results with half the effort!
Before long, Qin Ming transformed completely into a glowing red figure.
A layer of blood droplets continuously seeped out from his skin as new blood replaced the old.
Qin Ming gritted his teeth, focused his thoughts on his sea of consciousness, and consumed a [Faint Vital Blood] trait.
Boom!
An immense surge of vital blood surged forth like a rising tide.
Qin Ming felt as though he had been placed inside a steamer, his whole body burning hot.
An endless stream of vital blood began to undergo metamorphosis, surging frantically within his body.
Gradually, the old blood purged from his body began to form a scab, wrapping his entire figure inside.
It looked as though he had turned into a massive blood cocoon.
Thump!
Thump!
Inside the blood cocoon, crimson light flickered in rhythm with Qin Ming’s heartbeat, dimming and glowing repeatedly.
Pfft!
After two full hours had passed: A crack appeared on the blood cocoon.
As more and more cracks spread across it, the entire giant cocoon slowly sloughed off.
Qin Ming broke out of the cocoon!
An entirely new power was born within his body—an even more marvelous force: Vital Blood Energy!
The emergence of vital blood energy also marked Qin Ming’s entry into the First Level of the Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture.
Having completed the metamorphosis of his vital blood and received the reinforcement of vital blood energy, his internal organs, bones, and skin across his entire body had been enhanced to an unprecedented degree!
He now felt filled with endless, boundless strength in every movement he made.
His skin, which had previously been weathered by daily sun and rain, had also become noticeably smoother, as if shedding a layer of hide to turn fairer than before.
Crucially, a protective membrane seemed to be plated over the outside of his skin, rendering it far more tough and resilient.
He estimated that ordinary secular weapons could no longer harm him in the slightest.
Qin Ming got up and walked out to the small courtyard, raised his fist, and slammed it straight toward a stone millstone beneath the tree.
Bang!
Shattered rock flew everywhere.
Under his single punch, the stone millstone collapsed into countless fragmented chunks.
So strong!
Qin Ming was overjoyed!
‘This is quite a bit stronger than ordinary First-Layer body cultivators!’ he thought in secret astonishment.
No wonder Daoist Ruan was willing to practice this technique even at the cost of bankrupting his family estate.
Gazing at his hands, Qin Ming felt filled with hope for the future once more.
Perhaps he had found a path to overtake others on a turn.
Over the days that followed: Qin Ming spent his time working hard at farming and cultivating the Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture.
Whenever a [Ripening] trait refreshed, he would immediately use it to ripen Fine-Grade Beast-Tooth Rice.
With a steady, endless supply of Beast-Tooth Rice to reinforce his vital blood, his body-refining progress could be described as advancing by leaps and bounds.
…
Time slipped by.
Half a year later.
Under the forceful piling of massive quantities of Fine-Grade Beast-Tooth Rice and [Faint Vital Blood] traits, Qin Ming had successfully cultivated the Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture to the Third Level.
Had Daoist Ruan known about this, he would likely have been so aggrieved as to vomit blood.
Qin Ming also came to understand why Daoist Ruan’s eyes had beamed with light the moment ‘Beast-Tooth Rice’ was mentioned back then.
As it turned out, among all the spirit materials capable of enhancing vital blood, Beast-Tooth Rice had the highest degree of compatibility with this technique.
This was something Qin Ming had personally experienced firsthand through his cultivation.
However, according to the manual’s records, the body-refining effects of the first five levels of the Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture were merely a margin stronger than conventional body refining.
The real qualitative change would only arrive upon breaking through to the Fifth Level!
Refining one’s entire body’s vital blood until it became as dense as liquid mercury, and condensing the Glazed Treasure Garb using one’s own vital blood energy.
At later realms, it was not something ordinary body cultivators could be mentioned in the same breath with.
Such robust vital blood energy would also be of immense help toward Qin Ming’s future path to Foundation Establishment.
In the cultivation realm, if a cultivator wished to break through to Foundation Establishment, they had to reach the Perfection of Qi Condensation before the age of sixty at the very minimum.
Meanwhile, Foundation Establishment Pills were strategic resources, tightly monopolized and controlled by major factions and grand sects.
For an ordinary rogue cultivator, let alone acquiring a Foundation Establishment Pill, even getting a single glance at one was a distant luxury.
Apart from that, there were Three Major Barriers: First was the Vital Blood Barrier: when breaking through to Foundation Establishment, a cultivator’s vital blood had to be vibrant and flourishing, free of hidden injuries or lingering ailments.
Otherwise, attempting Foundation Establishment with decaying vital blood carried the risk of total collapse at any moment.
Second was the Magic Power Barrier: when attempting Foundation Establishment, one’s magic power had to be profoundly deep and abundant, with strict requirements on both quality and quantity, and meridians durable enough to endure the process.
Lacking even a bit of magic power would prevent the condensation into liquid form.
The final barrier was the Divine Sense Barrier: the spiritual sense of a Qi Condensation cultivator could only perform internal inspection, enhance the five senses, or read jade slips.
Breaking through to Foundation Establishment birthed true divine sense, allowing it to project outward to inspect a range of at least several tens of meters around oneself, granting immense convenience in daily cultivation and battle.
…
Days passed one by one.
Over these six months, something unexpected to Qin Ming also occurred: Alchemist Su had actually paid a personal visit to Qin Ming twice.
This was truly a rare guest among rare guests!
Having not seen Alchemist Su for over half a year, he had already broken through to the Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation.
Qin Ming envied him greatly.
‘Alchemists really advance their cultivation fast!’ Every time Alchemist Su came, he asked to purchase daily-use spirit rice from Qin Ming.
Qin Ming naturally welcomed this with open arms.
Through these interactions, the two gradually became familiar with one another.
After negotiating with Alchemist Su, Qin Ming exchanged 100 catties [50 kg] of Gold Spirit Rice across two transactions for two Qi-Gathering Pills that boosted magic power for Qi Condensation cultivators.
Alchemist Su had readily agreed.