A level 32 NPC, two levels higher than Mixed Yuan Qi’s Duan Yu, but just a librarian, this person must be one of those hidden experts.
However, even though he was an expert, he wasn’t that high and mighty, at least not in the eyes of Xiao Jie, who was well-versed in the ways of the world. For him, level 32 was just alright.
"Excuse me, sir, I hope I’m not imposing, but I have a question to ask. May I trouble you for an answer?"
The old man put down his book, looked at Xiao Jie, and nodded slightly, "Oh, young man, what would you like to ask? Just speak freely, as it’s my duty as the Guardian of the Guardian Room to help with such inquiries."
"I’m looking for some materials about the Ancient Qi Refiners. Do you have any books like that here?"
The old man laughed after hearing the question, "Ah, Ancient Qi Refiners... You’ve certainly come to the right person. I don’t mean to boast, but within the bounds of Fengyin State, there are probably no more than a handful of people who understand the Ancient Qi Refiners, and I am one of them.
However, Qi Refiners are the stuff of legends, what are you asking about them for?"
"Hehe, well then, let me tell you about it. The books do exist, called ’Ancient Legends,’ and span sixteen volumes, which include parts about Qi Refiners. Unfortunately, a fire three years ago destroyed them all. Fortunately, when I was guarding this place, I had read through all sorts of books, including this one.
Let me now tell you about it.
Those Ancient Qi Refiners were something else, I tell you. It’s said they were Immortals from ancient times who absorbed the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth, refined the essence of sun and moon, and grasped the profound mysteries of nature within famous mountains and great rivers, unveiling the magic of the universe.
They say that Qi Refiners could ’dine on the wind and drink the dew,’ be immune to cold and heat, repel all poisons, be bulletproof... truly impressive.
If one mastered the art of Qi Refining to perfection, one could even ascend to immortality, traveling through the vastness...
Transcending mortal life, obtaining eternal life... Ah, it’s indeed very desirable."
Xiao Jie was pleasantly surprised to hear all this, not because he was amazed at how powerful an Immortal’s Inner Strength could be—he had known that for a long time—but because he was thrilled that the old man seemed to know what he was talking about, as he listed several Legendary Traits of Qi Refiners.
’Dining on the wind and drinking dew,’ immune to cold and heat, Poison Immunity—bulletproof. He had already unlocked the first three; perhaps the fourth Legendary Trait was indeed being bulletproof? It probably meant an increase in defensive power or an enhancement in reducing physical damage, which would be quite a nice feature.
He didn’t know if this old man knew even more, but it would be nice to get a head start if possible.
"Apart from dining on the wind and drinking dew, being immune to cold and heat, repelling all poisons, and being bulletproof, are there any other abilities?"
Yuan Tianke thought for a moment, "Ah, of course, there are. Back then, I remember that it seemed like the art of Qi Refining had seven realms in total, and then there was—right, Immortality! I remember that distinctly. What else was there... Ascension to Immortality? Right, right, right, once perfected, one could ascend to Immortality."
Xiao Jie thought to himself that he already knew this, but seven realms? That didn’t seem right, as it should be Ten Layers, according to what he knew; it seemed old man had outdated information.
"Is there anything mentioned about the Golden Core?"
"Yes, yes, yes, now that you mention it, I remember—seems like it was, dine on the wind and drink the dew, be immune to cold and heat, repel all poisons, be bulletproof, obtain immortality, achieve a Golden Core, and then... then Ascend to Immortality!"
Xiao Jie thought there was definitely a problem with that. Ancient sayings were all about proper rhymes; it couldn’t be just seven lines, even if padding the numbers, they would have added four words at the very least.
It seemed either the old man had incomplete records, or he had remembered it incorrectly.
Though skeptical in his mind, Xiao Jie still thanked the man politely, "You’re indeed knowledgeable, sir. Does the book contain any more information?"
"Indeed, I read through that book back and forth several times, but such a pity about the fire...
About those Qi Refiners, they didn’t cultivate Merit, didn’t seek fame and fortune, didn’t lust for women, didn’t own properties, their sole pursuit was the two words ’Eternal Life,’ and they indeed achieved their goal. Many of the world’s first Immortals emerged from them, but later, as Spiritual Energy dispersed from the world, that Ancient Qi Cultivation Technique also ceased to exist.
Later, some combined Qi Refining with Inner Strength to create some Internal Cultivation Methods, but those were relatively normal, with the best outcome being physical strengthening and cultivating one’s morals and nature."
"Because there’s no Spiritual Energy, of course! This art of Qi Refining, what it refines is a pure stream of Spiritual Energy. Without Spiritual Energy, naturally, you can’t cultivate effectively."
Xiao Jie pretended to guess, "Why would the Spiritual Energy vanish? Could it be because of the Immortals? Could it be that the ones ahead drained all the Spiritual Energy, leaving none for those who followed?"
"Haha, not at all, not at all, think about it, this world is so vast, with the Land of Nine States, Si Hai’s waters, the breadth of the Four Extremes, the vastness of the vault of heaven... In ancient times, Spiritual Energy was abundant everywhere, so how could a few hundred Qi Refiners exhaust so much Spiritual Energy."
Xiao Jie was somewhat surprised, as this old man’s words were completely different from those of Red Dust Taoist; he wondered who was right and who was wrong.
"So why did the Spiritual Energy vanish?"
"Because the sky was broken."
"The sky—broken?" Xiao Jie was astonished, this interpretation was indeed intriguing.
"Indeed, as I traveled through the Nine States and perused numerous books, staying in State Mansions’ Guardian Rooms, I came to this conclusion from the collective ancient records.
It is said that during ancient times, Spiritual Energy filled the land, strange flowers were everywhere, Immortal Springs and Sacred Mountains proliferated, dragons and phoenixes roamed the skies, Qilins traversed the valleys, there was no chill of autumn or winter, only an everlasting season of verdant growth, a realm of ultimate bliss."