Ling City, mortal Inn. Mysterious space.

In the dark void, the space crackled with a pulsating energy as the final wisp of glowing Qi was absorbed into the seed.

The mysterious patterns etched on the lone seed pulsed with a vibrant dance of light that seemed to possess a life of its own.

Yet, unlike previous occurrences, this time, the radiant patterns persisted, casting an eerie glow into the dark space.

Badump. A resonant thud echoed in the stillness, reverberating through the space like a distant drum.

Bubai’s senses was fixed upon the now-pulsating seed that had an inexplicable connection with him. His heart seemed to resonate with the mysterious beat, a long and deliberate rhythm that seemed to echo through the very fabric of his being.

Tension seized his body, his blood coursing through his veins in an abnormal rhythm, yet Bubai was entranced, trapped in the mysterious space and oblivious to the peculiarities of his own physical state outside.

Badump. With another resounding heartbeat, the runic symbols on the seed erupted outward, spreading like roots in the empty void of darkness!

Eventually, the expansion came to a halt, the radiant symbols interweaving, constructing an unknown, barrier-like formation that outlined a small spherical subspace in the darkness.

The glow from the runic symbols bathed the interiors of the new shell, and an oppressive silence descended, as if the newly born formation sought to strangle Bubai's senses.

Suffocation gripped him, a phantom vice closing in on his consciousness. It felt as though the very air was being siphoned away, leaving him gasping for breath in the void...

Wait- how does one even breath in the void?! Never mind that- how to survive?!

Panic surged through Bubai, a realization that he was teetering on the brink of something unknown and perilous. If this continues, he might suffocate and die!

Yet, his focus remained stuck on the pulsating seed, unable to resolve the urgency of his own struggle!

As the suffocating silence tightened its grip, Bubai's instincts surged forth, a primal call to break free from the oppressive void. “Break free for me!”

As if responding to him, a crack appeared on the shell of the seed, a hairline fracture that held the promise of liberation.

As if seeing hope, desperation fueled his struggle, his every thought aimed at widening the crack that offered a glimmer of escape.

Break! Break! Come out! Don’t stop!

The crack expanded agonizingly slowly, each moment feeling like an eternity. The pain of suffocation coursed through Bubai as he fought against the unseen force that sought to bind him.

It might have been a moment or an eon, but when the crack finally gave way, a small green sprout emerged, breaking through the confines of the seed.

And at this moment, relief flooded Bubai as the weight lifted, and a sense of relaxation washed over him.

Simultaneously, the runic symbols forming the walls of the space blazed with an intensity that bordered on blinding. The chamber was soon engulfed in radiant light, a dazzling transition that defied his mortal comprehension.

When Bubai returned to his senses, he found himself back on the wooden bed, a turbid breath escaping his lips. A profound realization dawned upon him. "I broke through to Qi Refining level 1?!"

Slowly raising his arm and clenching his fist, Bubai reveled in the strange strength coursing through his limbs. The sensation was exhilarating, an unmistakable manifestation of the reward from the years of forbearance.

Bubai’s whisper echoed in the room, filled with a mix of disbelief and triumph, "8 years… 8 years! Finally! Everything was worth it!"

The memories of hardships, the suffering he had endured, and the bitterness of being ousted from the sect faded into insignificance compared to the rush of power he now felt. His patience was all for this moment!

Now, he was no longer a mortal, but a cultivator! The average life span of a mortal no longer applies to him!

With the nourishment of Qi and the rise of his cultivation, his life span will gradually move towards the peak life span of mortals of 100 years!

“Hello, world! Grandpa Fang has finally arrived!” A source of profound joy sprung up in Bubai’s heart.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

What brought an even wider grin to Bubai's face was his discovery that the nearby Qi was being drawn to him at an unexpectedly rapid pace and entering his body!

"This... is many times faster than my normal cultivation through the basic Qi refinement technique! At this rate, I might hit Qi Refining level two in a couple of hours…"

This speed... it won’t lose out to those prodigious talents in the Cloud Sword Sect, and the best part was the fact that all of this was passive!

Naturally, all of this was thanks to the small green sprout born from the seed in his mysterious space!

“But… strange…” Bubai discovered an abnormality with his Qi.

He could sense his Qi, though not abundant, resonating within him, but their location wasn’t stored in his dantian. Instead...

With a mere thought, Bubai delved back into the mysterious space through his now solidly established connection with the unknown seed.

His senses were drawn to a small, dark sea that cradled the sprouting seed, dimly lit by the flowing wisps of Qi in conjunction with the faint glow radiating off from the pulsating runes forming the shell of this space.

Strands of Qi seamlessly filtered in from the encapsulating walls of mysterious formation, as if the very structure was autonomously gathering Qi to nourish the sprout.

“A Qi gathering formation? This is something that I’ve only heard of, only available in cultivation abodes. This formation... I wonder what level it is…”

Regardless, it wasn’t something he comprehend at his level, nor could he ask others about it.

Turning his focus to the sprout at the center of the space, Bubai observed it devouring Qi as before.

But now, after the sprout absorbed the abundant incoming Qi, not long later, an ethereal wisp of vibrant green energy emerged, departing from the small newborn plant and drifting around in the dark space, joining the other green wisps accumulated thus far.

This sea of Qi was one of the evidences of his achievement of Qi refinement level one!

“But externally… it seems I am still level zero because my dantian is empty?”

Despite a bit confused, with a thought from Bubai, he instinctively acquired control over a wisp of this green Qi, drawing it out from this mysterious space.

The entire process flowed naturally, as if engraved in his very soul.

Soon, he sensed it appearing in his dantian like normal qi.

“Phew. This meant there would be no problems with my application of cultivator techniques in the future.”

However, when Bubai released his control over the Qi, the wisp of green Qi almost instantly blended seamlessly with his dantian, arousing a refreshing sensation as if nourishing it.

This mysterious Qi, of an unknown origin, seemed to be extremely pure as it seem to have brought about inexplicable yet beneficial changes to his dantian, and perhaps even himself.

As for what changes, this still required some time to analyze because the change was rather subtle.

“Green… could this be wood attribute Qi? But… I don’t recall learning that wood attribute Qi had this unique effect? It doesn’t seem like there is any problems now, but I’ll have to verify this in the future...”

But for now, knowing there was no problem with his Qi was enough. Who cares where the Qi is stored.

Perhaps, this would be for the better as he could hide his cultivation.

If there is a story about his life, the new title would probably be: I’m always Level 0, but with this unique skill, I am pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger…

As for the losing the wisp of Qi after drawing it out, Bubai didn’t mind because he knew the Qi was still passively gathering at a rapid pace, eventually recovering the lost wisp.

Opening his eyes, Bubai licked his lips, savoring the sweet taste of success. "With this, even if I sleep, I will get stronger?"

Wow! Idle cultivation - this was the dream! And if he actively cultivates on top of this, he could probably achieve double the results!

But Bubai knew this was only in theory. After all, he understood that the ease of his progress was a fleeting luxury, and the road of cultivation would only become steeper the further he went.

As the initial euphoria over the discovery of the benefits granted by his golden finger settled, Bubai couldn't ignore the practicalities that lay ahead.

"Even if I can cultivate both actively and passively, there's only so much Qi I can absorb from the atmosphere around me. The sparse Qi roaming the outside world is simply not enough for most cultivators, especially with most of it being sucked away by Qi gathering formations to serve the rich and powerful."

Leaning back, Bubai contemplated the limitations of his current situation. "If I want to increase my pace, I'll need to rent a cultivation cave or consume resources like spirit rice... But I can’t afford any of these.”

In the end, he was still too poor.

A wry smile played on his lips as he gazed at his practically empty sack on the table, now left with only a few copper coins.

“Oof, I didn’t expect the expenses to exceed my initial estimate...”

The cost of his breakthrough had been heavy, and the reality of his financial situation slapped him on the face.

Cultivating in the wild had originally crossed Bubai’s mind, but practical considerations quickly dismissed the idea.

He lacked the strength to carve out a cave for cultivation, and even if he stumbled upon one, there was the formidable challenge of overcoming any beast that might have claimed it as its den.

The beasts in this world weren’t as cute as the alligators in his previous world. Pitting his mortal body against them? Yeah... no.

Adding onto this, meeting a cultivator or bandit in the wild may also spell doom.

Similarly, the streets were not safer. Bubai knew better than to underestimate the cruelty of those mortals seeking immortality. Cultivating on the streets is just asking for trouble.

The risk of being ambushed while cultivating was too great... He might close his eyes one moment, and wake up the next moment being tied to a chair in a dimly lit room, a fate he'd rather avoid.

Thus, forced to choose the lesser evil, Bubai had honestly paid up, settling in this mortal inn.

He had devoured his last portion of spirit rice, hoping for a quicker success, but it only seemed to put him on the brink, instead of the completion as he hoped.

So, in the end, it still took many days of active Qi gathering through the basic Qi refining technique.

With his meager remaining funds, he gritted his teeth as he paid the inn waiter day by day, enduring many days of cultivation, even skipping meals, before finally reaching his current breakthrough.

"Had it took longer, I would not have been able to afford staying any longer… Even so, now, my meal money is still running out."

The weight of the harsh reality pressed upon him like an impending storm, prompting him to mull over his next move.

How to make a living? Honest work with a high probability of being exploited… or robbery?