“This Azure Dragon Battle Technique feels like it was tailored just for me.”
Qin Xiu was filled with emotion. In all these years, the Great Li Empire had only ever produced one top-tier spirit body. And as for a peak-grade Profound-rank cultivation technique—such things were virtually unheard of.
“If I manage to cultivate ten, eleven… or even all eighteen strands of dragon force, how powerful would I become?”
“This must have been handpicked by Father.”
Qin Xiu grew even more curious. If his father could obtain such a cultivation method, just how much had he kept hidden all these years?
“No matter—first I’ll focus on cultivation.”
However, his brows quickly furrowed.
“To refine dragon Qi, one must use a medicinal bath composed of Dragon Saliva Fruit, Blazing Sun Spirit Flower, Heavenly Flame Grass, and many other spirit herbs.”
“The medicinal bath tempers the body. Only after absorbing it fully can one open the first strand of dragon Qi within the dantian.”
“If one can’t endure the pain of the medicinal bath, then their body is too weak, and they are unworthy of cultivating this technique. Better not to torture yourself.”
Qin Xiu wasn’t afraid of pain. The issue was…
“Things like Heavenly Flame Grass are common, but the Dragon Saliva Fruit and Blazing Sun Spirit Flower… I’m pretty sure those were inside Father’s Universe Ring.”
Clearly, his father had left in such a hurry that he didn’t even manage to leave everything behind.
Spirit herbs, spirit pills, and even medicinal liquids were all ranked from 1st to 9th grade—1st being the lowest, 9th the highest.
“The Blazing Sun Spirit Flower is a 2nd-grade spirit herb worth at least several thousand taels of silver. Fortunately, Father left me enough banknotes. But the Dragon Saliva Fruit…”
That was a 3rd-grade spirit herb—and the most valuable component in the entire medicinal bath. Qin Xiu remembered the last time it appeared in Lingqu City was five years ago.
And it was one of those priceless treasures that couldn’t be bought with money—only traded for other rare items.
“What kind of urgent situation did Father encounter, that he couldn’t even leave these behind?”
Now, he could only rely on himself.
“But even if Lingqu City has one, what could I offer in exchange?”
The cultivation technique was absolutely out of the question, and the Qi Refining Pills were nearly gone after his breakthrough.
As he hesitated, Qin Xiu was suddenly drawn to the Chaotic Divine Tree within him.
The tree shimmered brilliantly, its sacred light naturally divine. On one of the glowing branches of the three-inch-tall tree, a fruit had formed.
Qin Xiu had noticed it before—when he first awakened, it was nearly ripe. After absorbing the majority of ten Qi Refining Pills’ spiritual energy, it had finally matured.
The fruit was encased in a misty glow like a bubble, radiant and beautiful. Qin Xiu’s instincts told him that this contained an extraordinary opportunity.
He summoned his spiritual Qi and pierced the bubble. In an instant, the fruit transformed into a stream of radiant light that condensed into an ancient rune in his palm.
Buzz…
As the rune trembled, it formed four ancient, dignified characters:
Dream-Refining Divine Mechanism
Immediately after, a stream of information surged into Qin Xiu’s mind. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
BOOM!
A few breaths later, Qin Xiu shot to his feet.
Even having seen the power of the Azure Dragon Battle Technique, he was still deeply shaken by what he had just sensed.
“The souls of all living beings are dim and unfocused, incapable of merging body and soul.”
“Yet they know not—dreams hold the greatest power for soul nourishment and focus.”
“This divine technique draws upon dreams to guide the soul, forging divine comprehension and shaping 3,000 pathways of cultivation!”
Qin Xiu muttered blankly, “Refining… the soul?!”
“If I’m not mistaken, this technique teaches how to strengthen the soul itself.”
He could hardly believe it!
The soul and spiritual will were the foundation of an alchemist’s power—and also the reason alchemists were held in such high regard.
But true alchemists were exceedingly rare. Most were just apprentices who could only refine medicinal liquids.
In the cultivation world, there was an iron law: the soul cannot be cultivated.
Cultivation methods that strengthened the soul—Qin Xiu had not only never seen one… he’d never even heard rumors of one.
Suppressing the tidal wave in his heart, he flipped through a few more pages. Finally, he confirmed it: Dream-Refining Divine Mechanism was indeed a soul-refining technique!
This rune had shattered his entire understanding, making him question reality.
“I wasn’t wrong—everyone is born with a different level of soul strength. Only those with strong souls can become true alchemists.”
But one’s soul strength was set from birth.
Alchemists could train to increase their soul’s quantity and usage techniques—but the soul’s innate strength never changed.
It was like the difference between ordinary and special physiques—both could cultivate, but the physique itself never transformed.
“If someone is born with an ordinary soul, even a city lord can never become an alchemist.”
“But Dream-Refining Divine Mechanism breaks this rule? It lets me cultivate soul strength directly?”
Qin Xiu immediately wanted to try it.
“If I become an alchemist, getting my hands on a Dragon Saliva Fruit will be easy.”
Following the instructions in the rune, he closed his eyes and focused. Before long, he felt himself sinking into slumber.
In the dream, everything was a pale white.
A mountain path appeared before his eyes—not tall, only ten stone steps.
“Is this… asking me to climb the mountain?”
“This Dream-Refining Divine Mechanism really is extraordinary.”
Then, he felt something even more strange—he could clearly sense the feeling of his own body.
In ordinary dreams, the logic was chaotic and out of control. But here, his bodily perception was just as sharp as in the waking world.
“But climbing stairs to strengthen the soul? Isn’t that a little too easy?”
With that curiosity, he took a step forward… and immediately felt the world spinning.
BAM!
His foot twisted beneath him, and his body crashed onto the cold white ground. His forehead throbbed painfully.
“What the hell?”
He tried to push up with one leg—but no matter how hard he tried, it was like his legs weren’t under his control.
“No… not uncontrollable.”
It was a strange feeling—like a stumbling baby suddenly placed inside a teenager’s body.
Even walking became so difficult that he faceplanted.
And it hurt—deeply and sharply, all the way to his soul.
“With my divine body, falling like this shouldn’t hurt at all. This place really does refine the soul!”
Lying on the ground, Qin Xiu stared up at the small mountain. Just ten steps… and yet he no longer dared to underestimate it.
“This technique is truly bizarre. But if it can really make me an alchemist, this pain is nothing.”
It could be the only technique in the world capable of refining the soul. If revealed, it would overturn the entire field of alchemy.
Qin Xiu kept pushing his legs forward. He had no idea how long he struggled before he finally managed to walk in a mostly straight line.
As soon as he stepped onto the first stair, he felt a massive weight slam onto him. Gritting his teeth, he forced his trembling left leg to rise again.
BAM!
The moment his toe touched the second step, it was like a colossal cauldron rolled down from the mountaintop and crushed him, flinging him several meters away.
“Hiss… is soul cultivation really this hard? Or is my soul just that weak?”
Though the pain was intense, Qin Xiu still pressed his palms to the ground and forced himself up.
This was the greatest opportunity he had ever encountered in his life. If he slacked off now, it would be a waste of the divine fruit the tree had nurtured for eighteen years.
Again and again, he took heavy steps, only to be smashed down over and over.
In the end, Qin Xiu was lying sprawled on the ground. Fortunately, the soul had no flesh or blood—otherwise, he would’ve been a bloody mess by now.