The Terrifying Path of Immortal Cultivation

"Rumor has it that it takes at least three years for others to achieve complete Essence Qi."

"I have a body size over twenty times theirs. Simply by eating, I can reach the peak of Essence Refinement in just two or three years."

He shook his head slightly, "But it's still too slow. I must find some weak monsters to eliminate them, and obtain a large amount of Essence Qi stones."

Li Qing seemed to have a realization in his heart, with a hint of contemplation on his face.

The Pujiang River is vast, nearly ten miles wide, with misty waves and rolling currents.

Fishing boats travel down the river, which flows smoothly without any problems for the boats.

The sun rose in the daytime, brightening the whole world.

Everything appeared extremely beautiful. Li Qing and Zhou Qingming sat on the deck of the fishing boat, enjoying the beauty of the river.

Along the way, there were primitive forests and wide canyons.

Although the fishing boat was small, it cut through the river at an astonishing speed.

As time passed slowly, night fell once again.

The boat docked by the river, and the fisherman tied the rope to a tree on the riverbank. They would rest here tonight.

This place was in the wilderness, with dense forests on the riverbank, and an endless primitive forest in sight.

Li Qing sat on the deck, admiring the natural scenery. After a day of observation, he didn't feel tired at all.

He carefully observed and found that there was also Essence Qi in the primitive forest. However, this Essence Qi was relatively faint, blending in with the colors of the entire forest, requiring careful observation to detect.

"It seems that plants and animals do emit Essence Qi."

"What would happen if a cultivator absorbed this kind of Essence Qi? Would they turn into trees?"

Li Qing's expression was slightly strange. The Immortal Dao of this world was indeed peculiar.

"If the Immortal Dao of this world relies on the Essence Qi of all living beings, what would happen if all living beings were destroyed and there was no source of Essence Qi?"

"Would cultivators die? Would those who have achieved immortality still be immortal?"

Various questions flashed in Li Qing's mind, rising to a philosophical level.

Zhou Qingming, who was beside him, was a quiet person. In the morning, he enthusiastically enjoyed the scenery, and in the afternoon, he began to recite scriptures.

It seemed like he was reciting some kind of classic, and Li Qing glanced at him without disturbing him.

After all, this guy still had to take the imperial examination in the future.

At night, there was only the sound of water on the lake.

Throughout the day, they only ate rice, fish, and pickles, without anything else.

Li Qing didn't think there was anything wrong, but Zhou Qingming seemed a bit uncomfortable.

Looking at the dinner in front of him, he frowned.

"Fish again. I've had it for three meals."

Li Qing smiled at him, "It seems like your family is doing well, without experiencing the hardships of the common people."

"When the country flourishes, the people suffer; when the country perishes, the people suffer."

"This has been the case from ancient times to the present. If you want to be a good official, you must deeply understand the suffering of the people."

"If you don't even know what suffering is, you won't be able to be a good official in the future."

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed across Zhou Qingming's face.

"When the country flourishes, the people suffer; when the country perishes, the people suffer. What a great saying."

"Brother Qingshan, you are truly talented."

Li Qing gave him a look, "Let's eat."

...

At night, Li Qing still sat on the deck.

He gently circulated the Myriad Laws Essence Qi, permeating through all his meridians and countless body tissues, forming a huge network throughout his body.

All the excess energy in his body was completely drained and transformed into pure Essence Qi.

During this process, there was a slight qualitative change in the Essence Qi, which Li Qing discovered during his cultivation.

His cultivation relied entirely on his own Essence Qi. Although the daily refinement of his bodily Essence Qi and the increase in the upper limit of Essence Qi were limited, he could continue to refine his Essence Qi, making it more agile and pure.

He felt that this was an endless path, as if Essence Qi could become infinitely pure.

Although he didn't know its purpose, he continued to cultivate.

This kind of tempering allowed his spirit to enter a very comfortable state.

With the Hidden Qi Bead in his body, there would be no leakage of his cultivation, and he would be like a wisp of air.

Splash.

A figure suddenly appeared underwater, a strange creature.

It looked like a human, but with an octopus-like head and numerous tentacles, moving gently in the water.

The creature, using both its hands and feet, was approaching their boat.

When it entered the three-zhang range centered on Li Qing, the spell - Sensing Myriad Paths quietly activated.

This was a spell that existed passively and actively at the same time.

Li Qing sensed something dangerous approaching from underwater.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he thought to himself, "This is a good opportunity to test it out, heh."

He waited quietly, and soon the creature reached below him.

Slowly emerging from the water, at least eight tentacles suddenly swept towards Li Qing on the deck.

Splash.

A sword light flashed as the creature was split in half from head to toe.

The water surface within a three-zhang range in front of Li Qing was also split in half by the sword light, stopping only when it reached three zhang below.

The creature fell weakly, and a wisp of sword light flew back into Li Qing's abdomen.

In an instant, a wheel of life and death fire descended, completely engulfing the creature's body.

Even in the water, the fire had no effect and continued to burn.

The creature turned into ashes, and an Essence Qi stone emerged in the fire.

The fire turned, and the Essence Qi within the stone was absorbed into Li Qing's body, increasing his Essence Qi by 1%.

He shook his head slightly, "I still need at least 89 more Essence Qi stones to completely fill my body."

"Having such a solid foundation is also troublesome."

With a somewhat helpless expression, Li Qing turned and returned to the cabin.

The splashes just now didn't attract any attention. On this river, the sound of splashing water was too common.

Early the next morning, the boatman had already paddled the small boat and brought them to the pier of Sanchuan City.

Finally stepping onto the pier, Zhou Qingming felt relieved all over, with his hands on his hips, almost wanting to shout to the sky, "Finally home!"

"Brother Qingshan, are you going to Longdao City now?"

Li Qing shook his head, "I might buy some dry rations."

"How about resting at my place for a night?"