Chapter 40：First Cultivation Session (1/2)

When Lin Mu woke up, it was already the afternoon. He felt much better as this was the first time he had slept normally in a long time. He stretched to relieve the stiffness and walked out of the hunting shack.

The bright sunlight blinded him for a moment, making him cover his eyes. A moment later, when his eyes got used to the brightness, he was able to see the difference in his vision. Everything he looked at, whether it be trees, clouds, flowers, or the grass, looked vivid to him. Lin Mu also found out that he could look at faraway objects much more clearly now.

”Is this the effect of spirit qi? It enhanced my vision too. Wait, that's not it. My sense of smell is enhanced as well.” Lin Mu spoke out loud.

Lin Mu was able to smell the fragrance of flowers that were far away in the forest. He could even smell the very faint smell of the grass beneath his feet. It was a completely surreal experience for him.

Lin Mu then started his morning routine, but instead of training, he sat down to sense his dantian. He saw that nearly half of his spirit qi has been restored.

'A part of my spirit qi is restored every time I sleep, it seems.' Lin Mu thought.

Lin Mu wanted to restore as much spirit qi as he could before he tested out the second skill he got from the ring. Thus he sat down and chanted the severing heart sutra. The loss of all emotions made Lin Mu feel empty, but it also made his perception sharper.

His consciousness entered his dantian and took control of a wisp of spirit qi. Lin Mu guided it into the meridians and circulated it according to the path he had discovered. The first cycle was completed in two minutes. The single wisp that he had circulated had become more refined, and another wisp of spirit qi had been absorbed from the air and condensed into his dantian.

'So not only does circulating the spirit qi condense more wisps, but it also refines the previously existing spirit qi.' Understood Lin Mu.

In the qi refining realm, a cultivator primarily increases the amount of spirit qi they have and then refine it to make it more pure and condensed. The qi refining realm is divided into four stages- early-stage, mid-stage, late-stage, and peak-stage.

In the early stage of the qi refining realm, a cultivator condenses spirit qi and fills up half of their dantian. In the mid-stage, their entire dantian is filled with wisps of spirit qi. In the late stage, a cultivator starts to refine the spirit qi wisps into liquid form, while in the peak stage they would completely fill their dantian with liquid spirit qi.

Lin Mu completed multiple circulation cycles and found out that the more he circulated, the faster he got. An hour after he started, his efficiency had nearly doubled. He continued cultivating for another hour, after which he had completely recovered his spirit qi and had actually exceeded it by a small amount.