Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology
Chapter 46: Qi Refinement Breakthrough, Taoist Identity (Please Follow)

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Qi Refinement Breakthrough, Taoist Identity (Please Follow)

Wude Taoist transformed into Yin Wind and vanished.

Song Lin had a nonchalant expression. He was not the type to become arrogantly proud when victorious, but having already offended Wude, offending him a bit more made no difference.

The foremost priority was to enter the Qi Refinement Realm.

Once he entered Qi Refinement, he would be granted the Grand Commissioner Talisman and thereby attain a status equal to Wude.

No one would be able to touch him.

Song Lin strolled around the alley several times, then donned a cloak and quickly disappeared from the spot.

Moon Bricks are composed of Seven Treasures such as gold, silver, tridacna, and agate, containing abundant Moonlight Power.

The method of refinement is not difficult—it simply requires gathering Moonlight Power into the bricks using a special technique.

Just as Song Lin headed to the Ghost Market to make purchases—

To the warehouse—a grand Taoist Temple combined with enclosed storage facilities.

This location served as the warehouse for one of Xuanke Temple’s eight departments, the site for categorizing and storing all resources, second only to the authority of the Three Capitals.

At this moment, within the restricted area of the warehouse—

A red-haired young man and Wude stood in front of the heavy stone door.

The red-haired man was none other than Chi Yang.

He was downtrodden; ever since being completely defeated by Song Lin, Chi Yang had fallen into despair, living every day in a haze.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t accept failure—he could lose to Shi Yinhua—but he couldn’t reconcile being defeated by a nobody.

Crack!

At this moment, the stone door slowly opened.

"The Lord has come out of seclusion!" Wude exclaimed, his face filled with excitement.

Bang, bang, bang!

The ground trembled, as though an ancient ferocious beast was approaching.

A shadow engulfed the two men.

They looked up and saw a corpulent man before them.

The man stood two zhang tall, his head nearly touching the eaves of the building. His body was bulky, equally two zhang wide, and with every step he took, his fat jiggled visibly. His weight alone must have been tens of thousands of pounds.

This man was none other than Wuj Ji, the warehouse manager, who possessed the Zhengyi Alliance Life-Saving Talisman, half a tier higher in rank than the Dianzao Copper Head.

He had a signature corpulent appearance; in the entire Taoist Temple, no one didn’t recognize him. As a disciple of the Temple’s "Xing" generation, his unique name prevented anyone from calling him by his Taoist title.

"Congratulations, Master, on achieving mastery of Divine Skill!" Chi Yang offered his felicitations.

Wuj Ji’s fat was not an illness; it was his cultivation technique and Divine Skill.

During the Qi Refinement Realm, one must purify True Qi with other energies.

When he was younger, Wuj Ji had ventured overseas and discovered the ancient Heavenly Demon’s skeletal remains. Using those bones, he refined his True Qi, thus obtaining Heavenly Demon True Qi and awakening the Heavenly Demon Swallowing All Divine Skill.

"What’s with that expression?" Wuj Ji noticed his disciple’s odd demeanor.

"Lord, here’s what happened..." Wude began recounting the matter in detail.

"You’re telling me an ordinary Taoist disciple managed to defeat Chi Yang? What’s that person’s background?"

"No background. His parents were common folk from Shanyin County, long ago killed by demons. When he first joined the sect, he showed no talent at all; he only suddenly rose to prominence in the past year."

"Oh? Clearly, he has encountered an opportunity." Wuj Ji’s eyes glimmered with interest as he turned his gaze to his disciple.

"You need not be overly discouraged. This person merely relied on the advantage of spells. After you undergo secluded cultivation for a period and enter the Qi Refinement Realm, he will still remain where he is."

Having seen it all, Wuj Ji was long accustomed to such occurrences.

In his over one hundred years of life, he had encountered countless formidable enemies, yet he alone had succeeded in reaching his current station.

The path of Taoist cultivation requires luck, opportunity, talent, and hard work—all four are indispensable.

Song Lin has a stroke of luck and opportunity, while Chi Yang possesses some talent. If he adds diligence to the mix, he’ll quickly catch up.

Natural talent determines one’s future potential. If left unused, that is truly wasted.

Upon hearing his master’s words, Chi Yang’s eyes sparkled with newfound hope, his spirits lifted considerably.

Yes, what does it matter if Song Lin is currently the leader? It’s merely the plaything of a mere Taoist disciple.

Secretly, Chi Yang resolved to return to secluded cultivation and charge into the Qi Refinement Realm. Once he emerged, he’d be a true Taoist.

Meanwhile, Song Lin would still be struggling in the realm of Taoist disciples. A minor setback was but ephemeral smoke.

Seeing his disciple invigorated, Wuj Ji subtly nodded in approval. Turning his massive head toward Wude, he commanded:

"This person’s rise must stem from some fortuitous encounter. Go capture him and bring him to me for questioning."

Wuj Ji expressed his intrigue. It wasn’t greed driving him but pure curiosity—who wouldn’t want to learn more about the unexpected rise of a mere Taoist disciple?

Of course, Wuj Ji didn’t care overly much about the so-called opportunity of a disciple; it was insignificant. His aim in doing so was merely to boost his own disciple’s confidence.

"Lord, I fear that may not be feasible. The temple master reportedly has a favorable view of him. Doing so openly might invite criticism," Wude shifted his tone. "However, this person frequently ventures outside. Once I uncover his patterns, I’ll probe him carefully."

"Very well."

...

Oblivious to the surveillance targeting him, Song Lin was bustling about in the Ghost Market, purchasing pills and medicinal herbs in large quantities.

Refining pills also consumed fire resources. Combined with the Taoist Merit distributed monthly to Inner Sect disciples, it amounted to ten Taoist Merit.

He converted all his funds into materials for Qi Nourishing Pills and Mica Pills. If he successfully refined them, their value would increase seven- or eightfold.

After storing the items in his Qiankun Cloth Bag, just as he was about to leave, someone intercepted him.

Song Lin turned his head. It was the vendor who frequently procured Mica Pills.

Though enshrouded in a misty haze, his silhouette was unmistakable.

"What is it?"

"Do you have more Mica Pills? I need twenty—usual terms, ten Taoist Merit per pill."

"I don’t have time right now; perhaps a month later." Song Lin intended to go into secluded cultivation and wouldn’t have time to fiddle around with such matters.

"That’s fine. Let’s agree on next month then."

Unable to decline further, Song Lin reluctantly agreed.

In the Ghost Market, contracts were not binding. If he lacked time when the day came, he could always renege on the promise.

Inside the secret chamber—

The Alchemy Furnace ignited, melting the Seven Treasures into liquid.

Song Lin opened the window, allowing the moonlight to stream in and gather above the Alchemy Furnace.

He was about to commence his breakthrough into Qi Refinement.

For now, the Moon Cultivation World could wait; his current priority was overcoming Qi Refinement, acquiring higher-grade talismans, and commanding more Rampant Soldiers and ghosts to aid in Moon Cultivation.

He formed various hand gestures and chanted incantations: "Sincerely beseech and bow; request the talisman’s transmission. The Immortal Palace lies silent, the cave mansion flows with moonlight, the quintessence of the five true treasures descends to the mortal realm, riding cranes to Qingyun, falling upon clear springs..."

Simultaneously, black smoke seeped from the Black Altar behind him, condensing into sinister Rampant Soldiers.

He instructed the Rampant Soldiers to pour the liquid into pre-prepared molds.

The moonlight was cool, cascading onto the liquid.

The fluid solidified into Moon Bricks resembling white jade, radiating faint luminescence and brimming with Taiyin Power.

A total of twenty one-foot Moon Bricks were crafted, covering most of the secret chamber. Song Lin sat cross-legged atop them.

But he wasn’t finished yet—he further instructed ghosts and gods to melt copper and gold into fluid. Bit by bit, they etched intricate lines to form an elaborate talisman.

This was none other than the Qi Gathering Formation, constructed using golden threads and copper lines to draw in the essence of heaven and earth.

Once all preparations were complete, Song Lin formally entered seclusion. He took a brief moment to return to the Moon Cultivation World to conceal his ethereal form.

He slightly closed his eyes, visualizing a pure, tranquil moon and imagining himself ascending to the Moon Palace and channeling Taiyin Power.

This was the Chasing Moon Reappearance Technique.

Before him, the Bone-shining Mirror vividly reflected the checkpoints of his governor and conception vessels.

After his trial and error in the story world, Song Lin was entirely confident he would achieve Qi Refinement.

Once he emerged from seclusion, he would finally shed the status of a Taoist disciple and become a true Taoist.