Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

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[Void Moon Jar (Third Order/Incomplete): Drinking utensil that once held a pool of Spirit Brew. When filled, a bright moon appears within it, capable of autonomously absorbing Spiritual Energy. The longer it is stored, the richer the Spirit Brew becomes, can be repaired (0/80).]

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[Nine Thunder Jade Talisman (Third Order/Incomplete): Crafted by a master of the Talismans Path, capable of severely wounding or even killing Third Order beings. It was smashed before it could be used, can be repaired (0/50).]

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[Canglan Star Map (Fourth Order/Incomplete): A star map of the Canglan Star Domain, essential for navigating the universe. It does not belong to this realm, can be repaired (0/400).]

Second Order items could now be directly repaired by Chu Zheng; only those of the Third Order and above were worth his careful attention.

The Canglan Star Map had become a piece of tattered cloth resembling silk, torn with three large holes, its stars faintly outlining a starry sky.

This was the first time the panel indicated an item not of this world. Chu Zheng pondered for a moment before putting away the star map.

The vastness of the universe, measured in light-years, makes direction impossible to discern without a map, with the risk of getting lost being too great.

In this universe, there existed beings that could traverse the starry sky with their fleshly bodies. How strong they must be, Chu Zheng could not yet fathom.

The alien passages that suddenly appeared tens of thousands of years ago obviously connected to another cultivation world, just one different from the Cangyun Realm.

Underneath this starry sky, who knows how many worlds like the Cangyun Realm exist.

All beings must eventually die, even worlds themselves will one day perish.

A stir touched Chu Zheng's heart, and he fell into contemplation. Those beings who have transcended their worlds and still seek along the path of Dao, what exactly are they pursuing in their lifetimes?

Perhaps, only when he reaches that step will he truly understand.

After strolling through the marketplace for a while, Chu Zheng finally found a piece of Earth Spirit Warm Jade over four feet in length and as thick as an adult's thigh.

[Earth Spirit Warm Jade (Second Order): A jade stone nurtured by the earth's vein magma over the years, continuously worn, has the effect of soothing and warming the veins. Having been separated from the earth's veins for a long time, nearly thirty percent of its Spiritual Energy has dissipated, can be repaired.]

This piece of Earth Spirit Warm Jade had been mined hundreds of years ago and changed hands several times. It was still priced at five hundred Middle Quality Spirit Stones.

Its size was somewhat awkward—too small for making jade beds or couches, yet too costly for making weapons or magic treasures. There were many better options at the same rank, which is why it had remained unsold.

For Chu Zheng, although not a perfect choice, the warm jade was suitable enough.

After paying the Spirit Stones, Chu Zheng put away the warm jade and continued deeper into the marketplace.

Song Lingqing had been following behind Chu Zheng all along, watching him buy a bunch of seemingly useless antiques without asking any questions.

Seeing Chu Zheng head deeper into the marketplace, she couldn't help but feel puzzled, "Where to next?"

"Looking for a secret chamber to go into seclusion, until the magic treasures are forged, then we can hit the roads."

Currently, both Chu Zheng and Song Lingqing had no fixed caves and had to rent secret chambers with Spirit Stones.

Song Lingqing quickened her pace to catch up to Chu Zheng and reminded, "There is no Fire Seed here; if you want to forge magic treasures, you have to go to 'Barren Flame Island'."

With many waterways, the Giant Marsh was a difficult place to find a Fire Seed; only Barren Flame Island had a few Fire Seeds suitable for alchemy and weapon forging.

"No need to make it so troublesome."

Chu Zheng went straight to the resident area of the Water Sword Sect, as the marketplace belonged to them.

In the marketplace, no fighting was allowed, and order was maintained by the Water Sword Sect.

Two secret chambers for four Middle Quality Spirit Stones a day—the price was far from cheap.

Back then, at Illusory Spirit City, right under the feet of the Phantom Spirit Sect and adjacent to the Phantom Spirit Mountain Range, staying for a day only cost one Lower Quality Spirit Stone, and the rest of the areas didn't require any fee at all.

"One chamber will suffice; I won't disturb you," Song Lingqing objected with some reluctance.

As a Loose Cultivator, Spirit Stones were forever in short supply; the ones she had saved were hard-earned and truly difficult to come by.

"Then just one it is."

Chu Zheng did not dwell on it too much, as Song Lingqing was not an outsider after all.

The secret chamber was very spacious, with comprehensive facilities. It was divided into three small rooms and even equipped with a Jade Pool, from which warm water flowed continuously for twelve hours.

Without wasting time, Chu Zheng entered one of the secret chambers, sat down cross-legged, first repaired the Earth Spirit Warm Jade completely, and then directly stimulated the Heavenly Star Flame within his body.

Hum—

In an instant, the temperature within the secret chamber skyrocketed, and the surrounding stone walls turned a glowing red from the searing heat.

Standing outside the secret chamber, Song Lingqing, despite the barrier of the stone walls, felt a scorching wave of heat assault her, and her body, normally indifferent to extreme temperatures, found this intense heat unbearable.

Within the chamber, under the scorching of Heavenly Star Flame, Earth Spirit Warm Jade gradually melted into a pool of Jade Liquid, which began to boil and emit wisps of blue smoke—the impurities contained within.

As a Qi Cultivator, one inherently possesses the Divine Skills of Fire Control, yet Chu Zheng at the moment could only manipulate Mundane Fire, making the refining of such quality spiritual materials extremely strenuous.

And the great Divine Skill of Samadhi True Fire, its rank far too high, requires polishing one's Vitality, Qi, and Spirit to perfection before it can be practiced.

This is a secret technique that can only be fully mastered in the Refine Spirit Realm, far beyond what Chu Zheng's present cultivation could ignite within him, leaving him no choice but to use Heavenly Star Flame in its stead.

Only when the impurities within the Warm Jade were completely cleansed, did Chu Zheng who starts to manipulate the Primordial Qi within his body to begin shaping the Jade Mace.

Having burned away the impurities, the volume of the Warm Jade had reduced significantly, to less than a third of its original size.

Under Chu Zheng's control, the Jade Liquid slowly took the shape of a Jade Mace, about four feet long, and divided into ten sections.

An hour and a half later, the Jade Mace, fully solidified into shape, Chu Zheng started on the next step, imprinting talismanic patterns onto the Jade Mace.

The most crucial aspect of crafting magic treasures lies in the talismanic patterns imprinted within, similar to the formations inscribed upon Immortal Path magic artifacts.

Talismanic patterns are the manifestations of the operation pattern of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, capable of activating the Powers of the Five Elements and Yin and Yang, serving as an amplification for the power of a Qi Cultivator.

The talisman pattern that Chu Zheng wished to inscribe, was a symbol he had created based on his own understanding of the mana structure of Immortal Path Cultivators.

He wanted to try reversing mana, deconstructing it directly to revert it to its original state as nature's spiritual energy.

The operation of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi follows its own laws, and attempting to forge a new pathway, to create a new talisman pattern, is an endeavor thought to be near impossible.

As for the path of Qi Cultivators, Chu Zheng has always been exploring on his own, not knowing that what he was doing now, is an act against the heavens.

Chu Zheng was stuck at this step.

This attempt consumed over half a month.

Chu Zheng did not give up easily and kept making minute adjustments.

After tens of thousands of simulated adjustments, Chu Zheng finally succeeded in imprinting an unprecedented talismanic pattern onto the Jade Mace.

Although the traces of the pattern were shallow and seemed barely sustainable, his first Life-bound Magic Treasure was ultimately forged.

Upon completion of the weapon, Chu Zheng named the Jade Mace, 'Town Immortal'.

A Divine Weapon crafted solely for the Immortal Path.

Having finished crafting the magic treasure, Chu Zheng couldn't wait to test it and impatiently took Song Lingqing out of seclusion, heading straight out of the marketplace.

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No sooner had the two left the secret chamber than three gazes swept over them.

Three figures stood on the street not far away, assessing Chu Zheng and his companion.

A man dressed in a brocade robe scrutinized Song Lingqing for a moment before speaking softly, "That day, it must have been her who sold the sword."

Standing in the center, a tall and robust middle-aged man, his cultivation aura apparent, already on the Entry Path, heard the brocade-robed man and with an indifferent expression, looked to Wu Taiyun for affirmation,

"Is it her?"

"It's her."

Wu Taiyun confirmed with a careful glance and nod.

"One cannot take action within the marketplace, we'll wait for her to leave the island," the robust man whispered and slowly followed them.

"However, she didn't have that man with her before," Wu Taiyun said, hesitating.

"Late Spirit Spring Realm, not worth concern."

Having been on the Entry Path for decades, cultivators at the Spirit Spring Realm seemed insignificant to him, easily killed with a flick of his wrist, not deserving his attention.