Chapter 159: Chapter 153: Aptitude Enhancement! A Miraculous Bloodline

His Heart and Spirit returned to his physical body. Qi Yun slowly opened his eyes, a brilliant light swirling deep within them, as if a Star River turned in their depths.

In the next instant, an unprecedented sense of openness and fullness from within his body flooded his mind.

With a flicker of his thoughts, he looked inward.

He saw that the Hundred Acupoints throughout his body, which once would have required him to painstakingly seek out Earth Fiend and laboriously open them one by one, were now all wide open.

The one hundred and eight acupoints were like brilliant stars in the night sky, tracing a profound pattern within his body. Their energies were interconnected, forming a single, seamless whole.

Vast and pure True Essence surged and flowed through them.

It circulated endlessly, without the slightest hint of stagnation.

This was the Qi Refining Eighth Layer—Hundred Acupoints Spirit Communication!

’So this... is the wonder of the Qi Refining Eighth Layer?’

Qi Yun could clearly sense that the connection between himself and Heaven and Earth had become incredibly tight.

The Spiritual Qi flowing in the surrounding air and the Earth Fiend hidden within the Earth Veins were both as clear and distinct to him as the lines on his own palm.

This sensory enhancement offered indescribable benefits for Magical Combat, treasure hunting, and even breaking through bottlenecks.

But the most direct change was in the recovery speed of his True Essence.

Previously, if he depleted his True Essence, he would have to meditate for a long time to recover most of it, even with the aid of Elixirs.

But now, with just a single Heart Thought, the Hundred Acupoints all over his body acted like hundreds of tiny vortexes, spontaneously and greedily devouring the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and converting it into pure True Essence to replenish his reserves.

If his previous recovery speed was a "one," then now it was a "one hundred"!

This nearly inexhaustible stamina was enough to give him an absolute advantage in Magical Combat against cultivators of the same realm.

He even had more confidence to contend with higher-level opponents.

’Indeed, it is as they say about the Nine Layers of Qi Refining. Each step reveals a new mystery...’ Qi Yun praised inwardly.

Then, he turned his attention to the change in his innate aptitude.

Just as Qian Xin Master had said, the baptism of the Merit Buddha Light was not limited to merely opening his acupoints.

The most essential effect was the improvement of his innate aptitude and constitution!

Although this improvement wasn’t as immediately obvious as a Realm breakthrough, he could clearly feel his mind working faster, his thoughts becoming clearer and more profound.

Even the Circulation of his Innate Qi Heart Method was noticeably smoother and faster than before.

Moreover, his very flesh and meridians now faintly emanated a Divine Rhyme that calmed the spirit, quieted the mind, and deterred external demons.

The baptism of the Merit Buddha Light seemed to have produced a trace of miraculous power within his very bloodline, one that protected his Heart and Spirit.

’I suppose I’ve finally caught up to those so-called direct descendants of Masters.’ Feeling the miraculous power that had manifested in his bloodline, Qi Yun nodded in satisfaction.

The long-term value of such an improvement in aptitude was even greater than that of a Realm breakthrough.

Setting aside the physical enhancements for a moment, his gaze fell to his wrist.

The string of Platinum Buddha Beads, condensed from the lingering will of Little Monk Ming Xin and the Buddha Source, had manifested from his Sea of Consciousness and quietly appeared on his wrist.

There were twelve beads in total, each one perfectly round and flawless. They were warm to the touch and exuded a restrained yet pure Buddhist aura.

It was completely at odds with the fierce, sinister aura of his Demon Technique, yet the two coexisted in a strange harmony.

His gaze shifted. Qi Yun extended an extremely cautious wisp of his Divine Sense, slowly probing one of the Buddha Beads.

The instant his Divine Sense made contact—

BOOM!

Qi Yun’s vision was suddenly filled with an endless golden light!

It wasn’t an attack, but a vast, boundless scene projected directly into his perception.

It was a golden pond in the truest sense of the word!

No, perhaps "lake" was a more fitting term!

It was boundless and magnificent, composed of the purest, gentlest, and most majestic Divine Rhyme. The golden "lake water" was calm and still, yet it radiated a brilliant light that made one’s very Divine Soul tremble.

Even though Qi Yun had been mentally prepared, knowing that an item formed from the lingering will of a Master would be anything but simple, his Heart and Spirit was utterly shaken by the sight before him.

’This... this is all... ownerless Divine Rhyme?!’ Qi Yun’s eyes widened in shock.

He could clearly feel that this ocean of golden energy, though fundamentally a Buddhist Power, was exceptionally pure and gentle.

It had been thoroughly refined by Qian Xin Master using some supreme method.

All personal imprints and Buddhist doctrine had been excised.

All that remained was the most fundamental, easily absorbable, and untainted Divine Rhyme.

Its sheer volume was immense, and its quality was superb.

It far surpassed the sum total of all the Spiritual Rhyme he had previously absorbed from Divine Souls using his Devouring Essence ability!

This seemingly unremarkable string of Buddha Beads actually contained twelve "Lakes of Divine Rhyme"—enough to drive any Qi Refining Cultivator insane with greed!

’Calm down, calm down. It’s not time to pop the champagne just yet.’

Qi Yun took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions that arose from surveying his immense gains.

The Qi Refining Ninth Layer was the final, substantial barrier in the Qi Refining Stage, fundamentally different from the previous eight layers.

As for the Qi Refining Great Perfection...

...it was, in reality, a state with one foot already through the door of Foundation Establishment. Its many mysteries were beyond the reach of a pure Qi Refining Cultivator.

To be precise, it should be called the Quasi Foundation Establishment Realm.

The core of cultivation for the Qi Refining Ninth Layer lay in the tempering of the "spirit."

One must gather and condense the body’s Three Souls and Seven Spirits, sublimating the scattered soul into a complete and unified Divine Soul.

The process was not only perilous, requiring one to vigilantly guard their mind...

...but more critically, it required a massive amount of Divine Rhyme as Resources to nourish and condense the soul to succeed. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

’With this string of Buddha Beads and the ’Sea of Divine Rhyme’ it contains... I am fifty percent certain I can break through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.’ Qi Yun slowly caressed the warm Platinum Buddha Beads on his wrist, a sharp glint flickering deep in his eyes.

A fifty percent certainty of breaking through to a crucial Realm like the Qi Refining Ninth Layer was already an astonishingly high probability!