Crow Immortal
Chapter 30: Refining Fire for Advancement

Steward Lu's statement left all the disciples bewildered.

An inner sect disciple asked, "Steward Lu, what's this person's background?"

"Those divination-obsessed mystics from the Minor Heavenly Net Sect!" Steward Lu replied. "The place you searched—was it completely empty?"

"That's correct."

Steward Lu snorted coldly. "Exactly as expected—that's the Minor Heavenly Net Sect's signature style. This person must have foreseen misfortune today and simply left, returning to his sect. There's no need to search his residence."

After speaking, he summoned a flower-shaped magical tool. "We'll stop here today. I must report to the sect master. You all focus on your cultivation and tend the Spirit Fields properly—no more trouble!"

Without waiting for responses, he soared into the sky carrying a silver spindle-shaped object. The inner and outer sect disciples followed closely, leaving only Steward Wang and two outer sect disciples in blue robes—one surnamed Ji and the other Hua.

The disciple surnamed Ji dismissed the servant disciples with a laugh before approaching Steward Wang, watching the portly steward vigorously discipline the self-indulgent servant disciple.

"This kid's quite a character..."

"Making us lose face before the steward—he deserves proper punishment," Steward Wang growled, gripping the offender's neck. "Shameless thing! Will you stop now?"

The servant disciple whimpered, "Then I'll limit myself to twice daily from now on."

"What?!"

Steward Wang and the two outer sect disciples stared in disbelief. Was this man born for breeding? How could anyone have such insatiable urges?

Meanwhile, the other servant disciples dispersed. Liu Lan, still unclear about the situation, spoke tearfully to familiar faces like Wei Kunyi, Sun Kang, Old Daoist Li, and Han Yu.

"What trouble did Senior Brother Zhang stir up to warrant a steward's intervention? I got implicated without knowing anything! Had I known, I'd never have accepted his gifts!"

"Bit late for regrets now," Wei Kunyi said with a smile. "Fortunately, our Wangu Valley is lenient—some sects execute disciples at the slightest suspicion. That's true tyranny."

Seeing Liu Lan's teary eyes, Wei Kunyi added, "I'll inquire about Zhang Shan's offense in a couple days—find out what shocked the entire sect."

"Can you really find out?" Sun Kang asked honestly.

Wei Kunyi smiled mysteriously. "Of course. Some secrets in Wangu Valley can't stay hidden."

As the group dispersed toward the Spirit Fields, Han Yu paused, glancing at the white-haired Old Daoist Li. Noticing the gaze, Old Li hesitated momentarily before hastening to his stone hut.

Taking the hint, Han Yu didn't press further. Returning to his hut, he immersed himself in cultivation.

Wangu Valley's leniency—searching only a few suspects' dwellings while leaving other servant disciples untouched—relieved Han Yu, given his own secrets. Yet such lax oversight likely harbored more schemers like Old Li and Zhang Shan among the disciples. Henceforth, Han Yu resolved to stay vigilant in interactions—friendly but guarded.

After consuming the Mystic Heart Fruit and converting its medicinal power into spiritual energy, Han Yu practiced the Blood Refinement Technique, using essence blood to enhance vitality and complete its circulation cycle.

When the spiritual seed in his dantian fully sprouted, he'd reach Qi Refining Third Layer. When the second crimson pattern on his Danzhong acupoint blood sigil fully condensed, he'd achieve Blood Refinement Second Layer.

At his current pace, reaching Qi Refining Third Layer would take six months due to daily absorption limits. But by continuously replicating essence blood to increase vitality, Blood Refinement Second Layer was achievable within a month, with Third Layer following in two or three months.

Perhaps Old Li was right—the Demon Blood Sect's essence-blood cultivation could rapidly advance Han Yu's progress. He might genuinely be a "genius" for their techniques.

"Did I truly join the wrong sect?"

Han Yu dismissed the thought immediately. The Demon Blood Sect's notorious reputation for selfishness and deceit meant perpetual danger if he solely practiced their methods. Wangu Valley's Spirit Fields at least offered peaceful cultivation.

After practicing both the Green Sprout Qi Cultivation Technique and Blood Refinement Technique, Han Yu steadied his breathing and carefully restudied the Spirit Refining Technique jade slip until memorized perfectly. Now came today's main cultivation focus—the Spirit Refining Technique to refine spiritual roots!

Channeling spiritual energy throughout his body, Han Yu slowly activated the technique, forcing his four spiritual roots to manifest. Just this initial step made his body tense with dull pain.

Spiritual roots—the foundation of cultivation aptitude—weren't localized but distributed throughout one's being. This explained why practicing the Spirit Refining Technique without body tempering methods caused chronic weakness and shortened lifespans—it essentially consumed one's entire constitution for advancement.

After a full half-hour, Han Yu finally visualized his spiritual roots:

Pale gold—Metal. Greenish-blue—Wood.

Dark blue—Water. Pure red—Fire.

Han Yu already knew people inherently possessed all five elements with varying aptitudes. Now he confirmed his lack of Earth roots, possessing only Metal, Wood, Water, and Fire. By refining one root to strengthen the others, his cultivation speed would increase dramatically.

His focus settled on the Fire root—Metal aided sword control and offense, while Wood and Water were particularly useful in Wangu Valley. Fire became the logical sacrifice.

Once visualized and selected, Han Yu activated the Spirit Refining Technique for his first root refinement.

Immediately, excruciating needle-like pain erupted throughout his body. Gritting his teeth, Han Yu completed one cycle before stopping, drenched in sweat with beaded forehead.

The agony—omnipresent stabbing that nearly made him quit—was unbearable. Yet he persevered.

Inspecting his Fire root revealed only an imperceptibly tiny portion refined, while his body already felt noticeably weaker.

Han Yu was shocked—the technique's difficulty far exceeded expectations!

But upon reactivating the Green Sprout Technique, he discovered his medicinal energy absorption limit had slightly increased. The Spirit Refining Technique's effects were immediate—his daily cultivation ceiling had risen!

The previous pain and struggle instantly transformed into joyous reward. No matter the hardship, he would master this technique.