38: Chapter 38: Body Refinement at a Minor Success, Wind Wings Initially Formed, Foundation Establishment Within Reach

The corpse and Yao Beast core of the Wind-Gale Rhinoceros were rapidly decomposed, transformed, and absorbed within the "waste area" of the space.

The immense vitality, pure wind-attribute Yao power, and the "heavy" and "resilient" traits contained within its flesh and bones, like a potent medicine, were injected into the sixty-zhang space.

The gray mist at the edge of the space churned and expanded again, slowly but firmly pushing from sixty zhang to sixty-five zhang. The black soil in the center expanded to twenty-two or twenty-three zhang, the Spiritual Qi mist became even denser, and Spiritual Rain faintly began to fall. The moonlight jade tree shimmered with silver light, its resonance with the "void wind seed" becoming increasingly apparent.

More importantly, the energy fed back by the space was like a released flood, continuous, pure, and vast. It not only instantly replenished the Spiritual Qi and Divine Sense Ye Qing had consumed in battle but also pushed his cultivation steadily toward the Middle Stage of the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

"Sure enough, high-quality energy sources are the root of the space's rapid growth and abundant feedback. Hunting powerful Yao Beasts serves multiple purposes."

Ye Qing realized this in his heart and had a clearer plan for future resource acquisition.

He continued to flee far away, found a new, more secluded cave deep in the mountains, set up a warning Restriction, and began to digest this harvest.

First was the bunch of "wind spirit grass" transplanted into the space.

After taking root in an area with stronger winds within the space, this grass grew excellently. Its pale green leaves unfurled, actively inhaling the wind-attribute Spiritual Qi within the space and the aura dissipated by the "void wind seed," and its quality seemed to be slowly improving.

"The wind spirit grass is just a primer. What's truly important is the trace of 'Wind-Gale' true meaning obtained from the Wind-Gale Rhinoceros, as well as the 'heavy and resilient' traits contained in its flesh."

Ye Qing turned his attention to the special energy within the feedback from the space, which carried the sharpness of "Wind-Gale" and the heavy traits of the "rhinoceros armor."

Using the pure energy fed back by the space as fuel and his own body as a furnace, he began to attempt to slowly refine these traits into himself.

This was not an orthodox Body Refining method, but a gentle, progressive, and energy-feedback-oriented Body Tempering method he created himself, based on his understanding of the Five Elements, the Physical Body, and space energy.

The sharpness of "Wind-Gale" was used to temper his skin and membranes, enhancing defense and improving resistance to wind-attribute attacks, and even attempting to form an extremely faint, flowing "wind membrane" on his skin surface to enhance evasion and force dissipation.

The heaviness and resilience of the "rhinoceros armor" were used to strengthen his muscles and bones, nourish his internal organs, and improve his pure strength and resistance to attacks.

The process was slow, but the pain was continuous. Every time the energy washed over him, it felt like countless tiny wind blades scraping across his skin and flesh, and like heavy iron hammers pounding his muscles and bones.

But Ye Qing had a firm will, and with the "moonlight heart-clearing powder" and the jade tree nourishing his Divine Soul, he alleviated the pain and remained clear-headed.

He could feel that under this dual tempering, his Physical Body was undergoing slow but real changes. His skin became tighter and tougher, with a faint pale green luster flowing over it. His muscles and bones hummed in unison, his Qi and blood were vigorous, his strength had increased a bit, and his recovery ability had also improved.

"I cannot say I have achieved Minor Achievement in Body Refining, but the Foundation of my Physical Body is indeed being steadily solidified. Combined with my cultivation at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, my comprehensive combat power far exceeds that of ordinary Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivators."

He was very satisfied with this. Steady development meant having no shortcomings in any aspect.

Next, he cast his gaze toward the pair of relatively intact, short, fleshy wings stripped from the Wind-Gale Rhinoceros.

Although these fleshy wings were small, they were the key to the Wind-Gale Rhinoceros controlling the Wind-Gale and accelerating in short bursts. They contained pure wind-attribute Yao power and a special flight structure.

"Can I... draw inspiration from their structure, fuse it with my insights into 'wind' and 'space,' as well as the Foundation of the Light Body Technique, and deduce an auxiliary Spell for short-distance bursts or low-altitude gliding?"

Ye Qing became interested. He lacked a decent movement technique; although the Light Body Technique was good, speed and endurance were shortcomings when fleeing or traveling long distances.

He carefully probed every part of the structure of the fleshy wings with his Divine Sense, felt the circulation path of the wind-attribute Yao power within them, combined it with the sense of spatial elusiveness from the "void wind seed," as well as the flow of the gale he personally felt in "Wind-Roar Ravine," and began to deduce.

Under the enhancement of his space-based Comprehension Ability, countless ideas emerged, collided, combined, and were optimized.

Three days later, he opened his eyes, a flash of cyan light passing through them.

He tried to mobilize the Spiritual Qi in his body, circulating it according to the new path he had deduced, while visualizing the swiftness of "wind" and the elusiveness of "space."

At his shoulder blades, a faint numbness and warmth spread, and two pale green, thin-as-cicada-wings phantom wings, condensed entirely from Spiritual Qi and wind-attribute true meaning, slowly emerged.

The light wings were only three feet long. With a slight flap, they brought up gusts of wind, giving his body a feeling of being light enough to fly.

"Wind Spirit Wings, prototype."

With a thought, the light wings flapped violently!

Whoosh!

A gale rose in the cave, and Ye Qing's figure moved like lightning, instantly appearing three zhang away. His speed was nearly double what it was when he exerted the Light Body Technique at full power before! Moreover, his turning and maneuvering were more flexible, and he could even glide in the air for a few breaths.

"It worked! Although it can currently only be used for short-distance bursts and consumes quite a lot of energy, making it unsustainable, its effect is excellent when used for surprise attacks, evasion, pursuit, and escaping at critical moments. In the future, as my understanding of the true meaning of wind and space deepens and my cultivation improves, I might truly be able to condense physical wind wings and soar into the sky."

Ye Qing dispersed the light wings, feeling happy in his heart. He had gained another trump card for self-preservation and adaptability.

Cultivation, Body Refining, and Spells were all steadily improving. The space continued to grow, and resources were obtained stably.

The threshold of the Foundation Establishment Stage was already in sight.

According to common knowledge in cultivation, after reaching Perfection in Qi Refining, one needs to compress and solidify Spiritual Qi to establish the Dao Foundation before one can step into the Foundation Establishment Stage. This process is arduous, requiring great perseverance and great Opportunity, and the risk of failure is not small.

But Ye Qing felt no anxiety in his heart.

He had the space. The energy fed back by the space was incomparably pure, which could help him easily polish his Spiritual Qi to Perfection. The moonlight jade tree nourished his Divine Soul, which could ensure his mind remained clear during Foundation Establishment and help him resist the Heart Demon. The "void wind seed" contained a trace of the true meaning of space and wind, which might allow his Dao Foundation to possess special attributes.

More importantly, he had polished every Realm to the limit, his Foundation was perfect, the Five Elements circulated, and his Essence, Qi, and Spirit were cultivated together, so his potential for Foundation Establishment far exceeded that of others.

"Once I reach the Perfection of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, I can attempt Foundation Establishment. However, I still need to prepare a little. I don't need external objects like Foundation Establishment Pills, but I need to find a place that is absolutely safe and rich in Spiritual Qi for seclusion. In addition, the commotion during Foundation Establishment will likely be quite large, so I need a Formation to cover it."

He began to plan the Foundation Establishment matters in his heart.

Location: deep in this Black Water Swamp is obviously not good, not safe enough. Perhaps, I could consider staying away from the battlefield between humans and Yao Beasts and find a truly wild and desolate mountain to seclude myself?

Formation: he only has a superficial understanding of Formation Dao at present, so he needs to find a way to obtain a decent Legacy of concealment and defensive Formations.

"It seems that in addition to continuing to improve my cultivation and collecting resources, I also need to pay attention to information about Formation Legacies and start looking for a suitable place for seclusion."

Ye Qing set his subsequent plans.

He left this temporary cave and set foot on the path of training and collecting resources again.

Only now his goals were clearer; he was no longer hunting purely for the sake of hunting, but selectively looking for Yao Beasts, Spiritual Plants, and Ore that might contain special energy, or be useful for his deduction of Spells, Body Refining, or even future Formation setup.

At the same time, he also paid more attention to information about Formation Legacies and special locations within the Black Water Swamp.

The path of steady development for the Loose Cultivator Ye Qing continued to move forward solidly and steadily at the level of the Late Stage of Qi Refining.

Inside his body, the sixty-five zhang space had moonlight flowing, wind swirls faintly visible, and it was full of vitality, quietly evolving toward a higher level.