Chapter 562: Five Elements Qi Refining Technique

“Five Elements Qi Refinement Art (Upper Volume)?” Wen Qing’er softly read the name of the cultivation technique, becoming completely absorbed in it.

“How is it?”

“I can understand most of it. It seems to be about using the characteristics of the Five Elements Spirit Root, combined with negative emotions, to break through bottlenecks and reach the fourth layer of Qi Refining?”

“That’s the general idea. Try to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining according to the technique’s description.”

Wen Qing’er was momentarily stunned. When Senior Jiang usually guided her in practicing the Spiritual Energy Diagram, he would always explain why she should do things this way and why she couldn’t do them that way. Why was he saying nothing today?

Wen Qing’er didn’t ask further questions. Following her own understanding of the new technique, she attempted to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Once, twice, three times.

After three attempts, Wen Qing’er was completely exhausted, with no strength left to continue her breakthrough efforts.

“I failed.” Wen Qing’er lowered her head, feeling she had disappointed Jiang Li’s expectations. She had thought that since Senior Jiang asked her to do this, he must have believed she could succeed.

“When you were breaking through the bottleneck just now, you didn’t fully understand the technique. Which parts of the technique are unclear to you? You can tell me.”

“There are probably many small details I don’t quite understand.” Wen Qing’er said cautiously, afraid of making Jiang Li angry.

“Speak freely, there’s no problem.”

Wen Qing’er’s failure was within Jiang Li’s expectations. From Radiant Enlightenment Daoist’s perspective, it naturally wasn’t difficult at all—after all, he was at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.

But Wen Qing’er was different. Her level was that of the most ordinary mortal, even among the common people of the Nine Provinces, she would be among the most average.

Wen Qing’er recalled her failed experience and listed her problems one by one. Jiang Li noted them all down.

“Rest for today. I need to think about how to answer these questions for you. We’ll continue training tomorrow.”

“Don’t dwell on this failure. With me here, are you still worried about not reaching the fourth layer of Qi Refining?”

Only then did Wen Qing’er feel reassured.

The next day, Jiang Li didn’t directly answer the questions but instead handed Wen Qing’er several pages with written answers.

“These pages contain answers to your questions.”

Wen Qing’er spent the entire morning carefully reading and contemplating them.

“So that’s how it is. I had misconceptions about understanding negative emotions from the start.”

By afternoon, Wen Qing’er confidently attempted to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, but failed again. This time, she discovered new problems.

“Tell me where your problems lie?”

Wen Qing’er explained everything in detail.

After listening, Jiang Li continued giving Wen Qing’er several pages for her to comprehend on her own.

The university Wen Quan attended was nearby. Even after the semester started, he chose to continue living at home. For two consecutive days, he returned home to see similar scenes and was very puzzled. He wanted to ask Jiang Li about it, but was stopped by Radiant Enlightenment Daoist.

Radiant Enlightenment Daoist wore an expression of unprecedented gravity, and beneath this seriousness was genuine admiration from the heart.

He roughly understood the significance of Jiang Li’s approach.

Radiant Enlightenment Daoist felt ashamed of his own inadequacy—not just in cultivation level, but even in the depth of his perspective on problems, the other far surpassed him.

“What qualifications do I have to address him as fellow daoist?”

Another half month passed. During this period, Jiang Li and Wen Qing’er repeatedly followed the pattern of Wen Qing’er raising questions, Jiang Li providing written answers, Wen Qing’er having sudden realizations, and then Wen Qing’er encountering new problems.

“Is the technique Senior Jiang wrote really that difficult?” Wen Quan wondered inwardly.

“Not difficult. If you were learning it, you’d grasp it quickly. It’s that your sister’s comprehension is too poor—no, not exactly poor, but too ordinary.”

After half a month, Wen Qing’er finally thoroughly understood the Five Elements Qi Refinement Art (Upper Volume), developed her Five Elements Spirit Root, gathered the negative emotions in her heart, and broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining in one go.

“I succeeded?” Wen Qing’er could hardly believe what was happening. Tears of joy streamed down her face as she happily hugged her younger brother who had been silently supporting her.

Radiant Enlightenment Daoist had never imagined that for ordinary people, breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining could be such a cause for celebration.

“Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Jiang Li. Only now do I understand your purpose. With this technique, the common people of the Nine Provinces can collectively break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.”

Jiang Li also breathed a sigh of relief. He had expended tremendous energy during this period.

“If I only wanted Wen Qing’er alone to cultivate, I could have written a technique tailored to her constitution. But I wanted to pursue difficulty, to create something that even ordinary mortals could practice.”

“For mortal cultivation, the difficulty lies in universality—what is most suitable for ordinary mortals to practice. I pondered this for a long time before finally finding the answer.”

“The answer lies in the Five Elements Spirit Root and negative emotions.”

“I once traveled for a time in a world that used superpowers. I discovered their superpowers originated from the Five Elements Spirit Root, using the Five Elements Spirit Root to align with the Five Elements Creation Theory, creating various miraculous skills.”

“Then I obtained the Melancholy Lamenting Heaven Technique from your world, learning that negative emotions could also aid cultivation.”

“I combined these two elements into one technique, using the simplest and most understandable way for mortals to comprehend.”

“Probably because my perspective is too elevated, I forgot how ordinary mortals think, which is why Wen Qing’er couldn’t understand the new technique immediately.”

“I realized that even if I brought this new technique back to the Nine Provinces, it would be difficult to promote.”

“Therefore, I had Wen Qing’er point out what she couldn’t understand, and I tried to put myself in her position, writing answers from an ordinary mortal’s perspective.”

“The results prove I was somewhat successful. Wen Qing’er could understand what I wrote.”

Jiang Li shook a stack of papers: “These papers can serve as annotations for the new technique.”

“Fellow Daoist Jiang Li, why don’t you go to the Nine Provinces and personally explain to all living beings, instead of taking all this trouble to write down various questions and answers?”

“Verbal transmission wears down information. Only by putting it on paper and establishing standard answers can we achieve large-scale dissemination, allowing all living beings to correctly understand this technique.”

“This technique can elevate both ordinary mortals and Qi Refining Stage cultivators in the Nine Provinces by one level. Mortals can enter the mid-stage of Qi Refining, mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators can advance to late-stage Qi Refining, and late-stage Qi Refining cultivators can reach Foundation Establishment.”

“Foundation Establishment cultivators can no longer improve with this technique. This technique is only suitable for those at the Qi Refining Stage.”

“Fellow Daoist, what is the meaning of calling this technique the Upper Volume?”

Jiang Li smiled: “Because I’m very ambitious. I want mortals to reach mid-stage Qi Refining through the Upper Volume, late-stage Qi Refining through the Middle Volume, and Foundation Establishment through the Lower Volume.”

As long as one could cultivate to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, reaching the fifth and sixth layers was merely a matter of time. The seventh layer of Qi Refining would be the next bottleneck ordinary mortals would encounter.

“According to my estimation, the Middle Volume requires me to find the method of severing the Good Corpse among the three corpses, and the Lower Volume requires the method of severing the Self Corpse.”

Radiant Enlightenment Daoist fell silent. The method of severing the three corpses was used by beings above the Golden Immortal level to break through. Yet here was Jiang Li using it as a breakthrough method for the common people. The disparity was so vast it felt unreal.

Knock knock knock—

Polite knocking sounded at the door. Wen Qing’er opened it and nearly fainted. She actually saw the person most frequently seen on television—the Highest Ruler of this nation.

“Hello, is this the home of Comrade Wen Quan and Comrade Wen Qing’er?” Just like on television, the Highest Ruler’s manner of dealing with people made everyone feel comfortable. He was truly a leader who cared for the people.

Jiang Li glanced over and recognized the visitors: the Highest Ruler, the President of the Mutual Aid Society, and the elderly man in traditional Chinese clothing they had met in the park.

This level of delegation could be considered top-tier.

Jiang Li and Radiant Enlightenment Daoist showed no surprise at these people’s arrival. As early as half a month ago, this nation’s security agencies had been arranging covert surveillance, clearing unrelated personnel, and controlling the flow of people.

These operations were extremely discreet, but no matter how covert they were, they couldn’t escape the notice of the two men.