Ling City Outskirts. Manager Qin’s Spirit Farm. Small Forest. Late Afternoon.

With his eyes shut tight, Bubai sat in the secluded havens of the forest, a place cloaked in shadows, adjacent to the crystalline spring.

The slightly undulating spring water sparkled with a mesmerizing dance of light as it mirrored the brilliance of the noonday sun.

Some of the light penetrated into the clear water, gracing the rocky bed in the shallow edges of the spring.

The rest of the sunlight rolled off the steep inner ring of the rocky bed, adventuring into the unknown, dark recesses of the deep blue, central part of the spring.

Though the scene exuded an air of tranquil serenity, any observer that could sense the currents of Qi would recoil in horror. Every strand of Qi in his vicinity had been ruthlessly devoured by Bubai, creating an ominous vacuum eagerly filled by a ceaseless influx of additional Qi from the surrounding forest!

Fortunately, unless a formidable cultivator, possessing the ability to perceive the disturbance in Qi flow, happens to appear nearby to peek, no one would be able to perceive this horrifying sight. For others, at most, they would sense the slight, abnormal breeze in the air.

Even Bubai himself was blissfully ignorant of the sight shielded from prying eyes. Although he can sense the wood-attribute Qi flowing towards him, but he can’t sense the other Qi his cheat was externally gathering for him.

That’s right. It was his mysterious Qi gathering formation that is gathering all nearby Qi, regardless of attributes!

This was the reason for his insane cultivation speed, his growth in the short few months outpacing what others could achieve in years! No genius could compete with his speed… except the rich ones.

Ahem. With the unparalleled speed of his growth, he was definitely not that far behind those affluent prodigies.

Plus, with generous resources sponsored by Manager Qin in heaven, his growth within a week completely dwarfed his previous accomplishments thus far.

And now, Bubai was on the verge of breakthrough!

Hu… Breathing in… Ha… Breathing out. Hu… Ha. Hu…

In the midst of his breathing, Bubai suddenly felt an abrupt tug on his senses. In an instant, he found himself drawn into the confines of his mysterious space!

Unlike his normal entry, he found himself seemingly ensnared in an otherworldly perspective, surrounded by an ethereal fog that tinged the darkness embracing him. Simultaneously, he experienced a familiar suffocation - akin to the sensation he first encountered upon unlocking his golden finger.

This time, however, his instincts did not perceive it as life threatening. Instead, the feeling bore more semblance to a desire… as if he wanted to stretch and take a deep breath of fresh air. So he did.

As Bubai followed his instincts, it prompted the runes on the mysterious space's formation to shimmer.

Dense wisps of green Qi were drawn towards the central sprout, as if the seed itself was inhaling the surrounding air!

A while later, a vibrant green strand of Qi slowly drilled out from the seed, and as soon as it emerged, it swiftly disappeared from the mysterious space.

Subsequently, the sprout within the space absorbed the newly delivered strands of mixed Qi, hastening the replenishment of lost green wisps.

As the moments passed, Bubai eventually returned to his senses, gazing in a daze at his mysterious space. "What happened?"

Shrugging off the confusion, Bubai began scanning the space for discernible changes.

Seemingly detecting none, he scrutinized the sprout, expecting some changes. "Maybe the sprout got a bit taller? The storage space got a little bigger? Or is it just my imagination?"

With a shake of his head, prepared to depart the mysterious space.

Just as he considered leaving, he noticed the sprout consuming a dense portion of his green wisps. The fragments of his past eight years of toiling shadowed his mind, anxiety creeping in. "No way! Is it back to being a bottomless pit for my Qi again?!"

However, before panic could fully set in, a new strand of vibrant green Qi emerged from the sprout, mingling with the existing wisps.

"Huh? There’s a change? Longer, thicker... is this a Qi strand?" Bubai exclaimed, a realization soon hitting him. "I've broken through to the fourth level of Qi refining?!"

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It was a cause for celebration! If Bubai could, he would throw a banquet in his mysterious space!

And soon, the initial thrill gave way to another revelation as he observed the process of a second Qi strand slowly forming after the sprout replenished some green wisps.

While others manually condensed their Qi, Bubai enjoyed the luxury of automatic condensation!

"So fast?! At this rate, I'll break through-"

Bubai’s excitement halted as he glanced at the size of his mysterious space, acknowledging the time it would take. "Er... maybe not.”

Without rice, even his golden finger can’t cook.

A strand of Qi is basically a compressed version of wisps, taking less space. But in order to condense these strands, the basic wisps of Qi are still required. In his case, it will be an exorbitant amount of basic green Qi wisps.

“It seems the breakthrough to the next level won't happen unless I acquire sufficient resources. With the size of my dantian… Spirit rice alone may no longer be efficient enough."

Observing the sprout alternating to transforming external Qi into green wisps, Bubai reaffirmed that his cultivation journey was far from its end. There was no time to become complacent.

With a decisive thought, he temporarily stopped the Qi gathering formation and withdrew his senses from the mysterious space.

Returning to reality, Bubai slowly opened his eyes, a faint stiffness lingering in his limbs. His gaze turned skyward, where the sun seemed to have shifted slightly. "Probably been almost an hour?"

But, it’s too difficult to tell. Bubai definitely acknowledged the inadequacy of using the sun alone as a reliable timepiece. For once, he actually missed his alarm clock.

However, thoughts regarding the time became a secondary concern as he soon discovered a peculiar black sludge coating his arm. "What's this?"

He swiped some off, giving it a curious sniff. “Oh my gosh, it smells-”

Uh, well… now that he thinks about it, it didn't differ much from his usual earthy, dirty odor.

"Dirt? Or perhaps the cliché plot of impurities in my body being expelled?" Bubai pondered, unsure.

He never heard of anyone being in the same situation as him after breaking through to the middle stage of Qi-refinement. “I guess no ones want to mention their embarrassed dirty state? Or is this only my unique experience?”

Well, not like he was going to tell anyone about it.

Standing up, he walked toward the nearby spring, only realizing the extent of the black sludge coating his entire body upon catching a glimpse of his vague reflection. "Well, it seems it's about time I take a bath."

Discarding his soiled ragged outfit with a casual toss, Bubai rushed forward along the shallow rocky bed, soon plunging into the deeper water, instantly transforming his vicinity into a murky pool reminiscent of a squid spraying black ink.

After a thorough scrubbing, Bubai’s head emerged from the water, spitting out a string of water before releasing a satisfied sigh. "Huh, it feels good to take a bath after a long time."

Swimming ashore, a faint trail of darkness wafting behind him, Bubai arrived next to his bucket filled with water, examining his reflection.

Running his fingers across his soft, baby-face visage, he raised a brow. "Strange... Did I get younger and more handsome?"

Dismissing it as a mere trick of his own ego and complacency, Bubai chose not to dwell on the matter any longer. He shook off some water before leaping onto the dirt ground, rolling around in to his heart’s content.

Lying flat, he scooped handfuls of dirt, smudging it across his face. Crawling over to the bucket, he inspected his muddy, wet countenance, nodding in satisfaction. "Just gotta wait a bit and let it dry."

Getting up, he donned his soiled rags, displaying indifference to the remnants of black smudge on the inner layers. To him, it was just another layer of dirtiness.

Gazing down at his body, Bubai couldn't help but shake his head. "How does she deal with this? Doesn't she find it disgusting? Even I do."

A fleeting moment of pity for the succubus crossed his mind, only to dissipate as quickly as it appeared.

Feeling the new surge of strength coursing through him, Fang Bubai clenched his fist, his sharp eyes sweeping across the forest on the opposite side of the spring. He easily discerned the figures of workers fetching water, their forms etched clearly in his enhanced perception.

"Stronger again," he murmured, savoring his enhanced power.

The temptation to test his abilities, to circulate his fresh strands of Qi through the Woodland Spirit technique and testing the basic Qi Sensing Eye technique he had memorized long ago, flickered in his mind. However, in the end, Bubai decided to restrain the impulse.

While a subtle wisp of Qi within his dantian might go unnoticed, circulating a strand through the meridians of his body would be far more conspicuous to those with acute senses. "I have plenty of time. I can wait... for now. Let's head back and see the changes."

His breakthrough seem to be a big deal for himself, a significant mark on his journey of growth, but in truth, he remained a virtually unnoticed, small ant in the grand scheme of the world, his achievements inconsequential and even dwarfed by the current events.

For example, the hyped battle between the two foundation establishment geniuses.

"Mo Tianren should have arrived. So, they should start their fight soon, maybe in these next couple of days? Or week?” It was at these times that Bubai missed the little beggar.

Bubai didn’t dwell on the issue for long. “Regardless, their fight has nothing to do with me.”

The imminent clash between the two foundation establishment geniuses intrigued him only momentarily before he shelved the thought of joining the fun. While the battle between foundation establishment cultivators held a certain allure, Bubai saw no benefit in participating.

What purpose would watching others flaunt themselves serve him? He preferred to invest his time in cultivation, inching closer to the league of those too preoccupied with self-aggrandizement.

He was definitely not going to provoke others like the other Fang Bubai. Reputation, conflicts… it’s just a waste of time. As long as his strength is strong enough, all of these are just trifles when he directly bulldozes over everything.

Perhaps the only reason he entertained the idea of going was to see if it could be used as an opportunity to escape.

“Well, even if I want to go…” Convincing the demoness to let him go would be a challenge.

At this point, it seemed she had no desire to go anywhere beyond going to suck him dry daily.

Of course, Bubai wasn't merely a passive participant. Who said he wasn’t sucking her dry of resources?

They were using each other, and both were fully aware of this.

And each were waiting for the golden opportunity - one to unveil the secrets of the other, and the other to seize a chance to fly away.