The Eerie Immortal Path: Begin by Devouring Fairy Flesh

Brandon Jiang fumbled at the back of his head, trying hard to tear at his skin, but he couldn't find a place to rip open.

This gradually calmed his heart, and then he felt a bit self-deprecating.

He was scaring himself. How could the Villain of the Blood Sea possess such heaven-defying methods?

Even if, by some wild chance, his guess was correct, what would be the point of such a powerful entity taking over his body?

He was just at the first level of Qi Refining, the lowest of the low in the Heavenly Lotus Sect, with no value whatsoever.

If that mysterious presence really was lurking inside him, it would have already switched to a more valuable host.

Like his Senior Sister Chu Jun beside him, who was at the peak of Qi Refining, much more useful than his current status.

But since his body showed no signs of any disturbance, it could only mean that there was nothing wrong with him.

This made him breathe a long sigh of relief. He stopped thinking about those wild thoughts and calmed his mind to inspect his Dantian.

The state of his Dantian made him smile bitterly.

He had been so scared by the illusion of the Villain of the Blood Sea that he had used up all the spiritual power he had painstakingly cultivated just to run away.

At this moment, his Dantian was completely empty of spiritual power. Fortunately, he had already reached the first level of Qi Refining, so as long as he continuously absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the consumed spiritual power would replenish itself.

Brandon suddenly realized that cultivators not only needed a sacrificial furnace for cultivation but also for restoring spiritual power, which explained the high demand for mortals.

Luckily, he hadn't used up all the spiritual energy from the Qi Gathering Pill, so he didn't need to consume a sacrificial furnace to recover.

Brandon operated his breathing techniques, continuously converting the spiritual energy from the Qi Gathering Pill in his Dantian into spiritual power. After an hour, his spiritual power was replenished, and his cultivation had slightly improved.

"Strange, I've been cultivating and recovering these past two days, consuming quite a bit of the Qi Gathering Pill's spiritual energy. Why hasn't it decreased?"

During his cultivation, Brandon noticed that the spiritual energy from the Qi Gathering Pill in his Dantian was unusually abundant.

He remembered that when he had just broken through to the first level of Qi Refining, he had clearly felt the spiritual energy thinning out, but for some reason, it had now stabilized again, no matter how much he consumed.

Could the spiritual energy condensed by the Qi Gathering Pill be this durable?

Brandon felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint it. However, having more spiritual energy was not a bad thing, so he didn't dwell on it.

By this time, dawn had broken, and it was almost time for Patricia Qing's morning class.

Brandon and Chu Jun couldn't travel together, so Brandon left first and headed to the cafeteria on Green Leaf Peak.

Although he was much stronger than a mortal at the first level of Qi Refining, he was still far from achieving Inedia.

He took two steamed buns and ate them slowly, listening to the conversations of the senior sisters in the cafeteria.

The news of Jessica Yu's demise had spread throughout Green Leaf Peak, and everyone was talking about it.

From their conversations, Brandon learned that people from the Enforcement Hall had come but left after only an hour of investigation, and the matter was left unresolved.

There was nothing the people of Green Leaf Peak could do about it, so they treated it as a topic for idle chatter.

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Brandon sighed. It seemed that the truth about Jessica Yu's disappearance would never be found by the Heavenly Lotus Sect.@@novelbin@@

And he didn't have the power to investigate it now, so he had to put it aside for the time being.

Besides this news, Brandon also heard someone talking about a ruthless junior sister at the Cultivation Hall yesterday. She was so reluctant to rent a storage bag that she drained the life force and fortune of a hundred mortals on the spot!

And because she was a newcomer and didn't know any Daoist Arts, she had to extract the life force and fortune bit by bit, from morning till night. The scene was spectacular!

Such an outrageous story didn't interest Brandon, so he quickly finished his steamed buns and left the cafeteria, heading to Patricia Qing's Alchemy Hall.

Many people were already in the hall, including Ashley Taibai.

Brandon keenly noticed that Ashley Taibai's entire demeanor had changed significantly!

Her complexion was rosy, her breath long and steady, just like... himself!

He immediately reacted, somewhat surprised:

"Ashley, have you reached the first level of Qi Refining?"

Ashley Taibai turned to look at Brandon. At first, her expression was indifferent, but when she noticed Brandon's change, she became serious and asked sincerely and curiously:

"Unexpectedly, Senior Sister Jiang has also reached Qi Refining. Did you also drain all one hundred mortals from yesterday's B-grade evaluation reward?"

Brandon's expression froze, and he immediately recalled the news he had heard in the cafeteria.

So the newcomer who drained a hundred mortals at the Cultivation Hall's entrance was you, Ashley Taibai?!

Thinking about it carefully, it did seem like something she would do.

Although he had also reached Qi Refining, it was through a shortcut, relying on both the breathing techniques and the Qi Gathering Pill for rapid cultivation.

But Ashley Taibai had relied entirely on her extraordinary talent!

He couldn't compare to her at all.

At the same time, this made Brandon realize a problem.

He wasn't as diligent as Ashley Taibai, nor did he have her talent, yet he had reached the first level of Qi Refining on the same day as her. Without a good reason, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.

Thinking of this, Brandon immediately smiled and said:

"I'm not as good as Junior Sister Taibai. Although I also used the mortals from yesterday's B-grade evaluation reward, the effect wasn't as good as yours. I only managed to break through to the first level of Qi Refining thanks to a Qi Gathering Pill I accidentally obtained before joining the sect."

Ashley Taibai understood but still said:

"Senior Sister Jiang may not have my talent, but your dedication to the Dao is the same as mine."

"I heard that there aren't many newcomers like us who use so many mortals to extract life force and fortune on their first official day."

Brandon forced a smile, about to agree, when suddenly a voice interrupted.

"Indeed, there aren't many."

The two of them instinctively looked at the speaker, who was none other than Senior Sister Patricia Qing.

At this moment, Senior Sister Patricia Qing was looking at Brandon and Ashley Taibai with eyes full of admiration.

She praised:

"I've seen many newcomers, but those with such a firm dedication to the Dao as you two are rare."

"Such newcomers, as long as they don't die prematurely, often reach my level."

"Among the newcomers, only three reached the first level of Qi Refining last night. You two are among them, with top-notch talent and determination. Your future is boundless!"

Brandon was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Senior Sister Patricia Qing to show goodwill towards them.

He quickly understood the reasoning behind it.

Although all Qi Refining disciples were sacrificial furnaces to Foundation Establishment senior sisters, sacrificial furnaces varied in quality. For those of excellent quality, they would be more willing to nurture them, harvesting them at the mid or late stages of Qi Refining for greater benefits.

If such sacrificial furnaces were obedient, loyal, and sensible, the senior sisters might even develop feelings for them and help them achieve Foundation Establishment, treating them as equals.

Brandon and Ashley Taibai were the new targets of Patricia Qing's cultivation.

Before them, perhaps Chu Jun was the most favored by Patricia Qing, but since Chu Jun had reached her peak and it was time to harvest, their relationship had soured.

So, was this a good or bad thing?

It was clearly a good thing. As long as he didn't reach Chu Jun's level, he could gain more benefits and higher evaluations from Senior Sister Patricia Qing!

Of course, the premise was... to win Patricia Qing's favor.

Brandon's mind raced, and he immediately showed an excited expression, saying:

"Senior Sister, you overpraise me. How could I have your talent and wisdom? I would be content just to catch a glimpse of your greatness in this life."

"If it weren't for your guidance yesterday, how could I have broken through to Qi Refining so quickly? It's not my talent; it's your excellent teaching!"