Apart from the initial shock he went through when he acquired the system, that would be the second time Ye Lingchen was this excited.

What Qi Refinement represented was beyond words!

It was beyond amazing!

Putting down Big Dipper Scriptures, Ye Lingchen quickly picked up True Nanhua Scriptures.

'Self-studying True Nanhua Scriptures, Qi Refinement proficiency +1'

'Self-studying True Nanhua Scriptures, Qi Refinement proficiency +1'

'Self-studying True Nanhua Scriptures, Qi Refinement proficiency +1'

…

This time, Qi Refinement's proficiency merely went from six percent to 11 percent. It seemed that getting Qi Refinement to full proficiency would require a lot of books from the Daoists.

Fortunately, this place was filled with books.

Ye Lingchen smiled gently, then continued to pick up another book of Daoism.

Along with his increasing proficiency, Ye Lingchen's understanding of Qi Refinement grew deeper.

Qi Refinement was not as heaven-defying as Ye Lingchen thought, let alone being able to help him ascend to immortality. Putting it bluntly, it was just an advanced method to temper his Qi.

Qi Refinement helped absorb the spiritual energy in the air and gather them into his body. It did not give him any earth-shattering power, but it would subtly transform a person's physical attributes. For example, it could improve a person's eyesight, hearing, recovery, and even extend one's life.

In ancient times, some people lived over 150 years through Qi Refinement!

Although those functions were quite significant, it was still too far when compared to the cultivation of the mystical arts.

By the time Ye Lingchen was on his 20th book, Qi Refinement's proficiency had finally reached 55 percent. It could be said that this was the hardest skill that he had come across. Daoism was truly profound.

By then, Ye Lingchen was already able to control his Qi Refinement. He did not need to sit down in a specific pose. All he needed was to remain focused to benefit from the effect of Qi Refinement.

Ye Lingchen took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and stood still to experiment.

In an instant, a mysterious feeling came over him. He felt as though he was located in an independent dimension. There was no sky, nor ground. Surrounded by air, his body was levitating.

The next moment, the air flowed through the pores of his skin, diving into his body and collected in his dantian1.

The inner force of a martial artist flowed between the meridians and muscles, while Qi Refinement was located in the dantian. One consisted of destructive and defensive power, while the other would temper the body, supporting it. Both were considered great in their own right.

"Hello, hello…"

Right then, he could hear someone calling out to him, causing him to snap back to attention.

Beside him, a young woman around 30 years old, dressed in a cheongsam was staring at him.

"Hi," Ye Lingchen replied as he woke up. "Is something the matter?"

The young woman shook her head, then answered, "I came to have a look at you as you've been standing here for an hour. If you like to read, there are some seats over there. I can show you the way."

Ye Lingchen was surprised. He did not expect an hour to pass without him noticing. No wonder Daoist claims that time was non-existent in the mountains. That was just scary.

"Oh. Thank you, but that won't be necessary." Ye Lingchen picked up another Daoist scripture after rejecting the young woman's offer.

The young woman stared at Ye Lingchen as her eyes showed a hint of disappointment. However, she kept quiet about it and went off to a corner. Nevertheless, she kept stealing occasional glances at Ye Lingchen.

She felt that Ye Lingchen was emanating a type of unique energy. It felt comfortable as though one was sitting in an air-conditioned room in the Summer. When she was near him, she felt calm and relaxed.

Ye Lingchen naturally noted the young woman's gaze, which gave him a sense of pride for his attractiveness. After that, he continued to immerse himself in the ocean of knowledge.

'Self-studying The Book of Dao, Qi Refinement proficiency +1'

'Self-studying The Book of Dao, Qi Refinement proficiency +1'

'Self-studying The Book of Dao, Qi Refinement proficiency +1'

…

Looking at The Book of Dao in his hands, Ye Lingchen had a look of surprise on his face. That was the book that gave him the best proficiency boost in Qi Refinement. It managed to raise 20 percent of his proficiency! Furthermore, that was during the later stage where proficiency was increasingly difficult to raise.

After finishing the books on the rack on Daoist scriptures, Ye Lingchen's proficiency finally hit a full hundred percent. Right then, even if Ye Lingchen was not actively refining his Qi, the spiritual energy around him would constantly enter his body. In other words, Ye Lingchen was constantly undergoing Qi Refinement.

'Awesome!'

'Since ancient days, few people had managed to reach this stage.'

Ye Lingchen made a faint smile as his heart filled with anticipation. If Qi Refinement were to be upgraded, what would that lead to?

'Books are indeed filled with surprises.' Ye Lingchen continued to wander around in the library, occasionally reading some uncommon books.

"Dear student, are you looking for a book? I'm here often. What genre are you looking for? Perhaps I could be of assistance."

The young woman from earlier came by once more. This time, her body was almost rubbing against Ye Lingchen as she offered to help.

Following that, her eyes narrowed and took a deep breath, secretly feeling accomplished.

In actuality, following Ye Lingchen's learning of Qi Refinement, spiritual energy would naturally gather around him. To put it simply, it was like a magnetic field. The magnetic field around him was a beneficial one. Those exposed to this magnetic field would develop better health.

Humans were born with an instinctive ability to approach benefits and avoid harm. Therefore, the magnetic field around Ye Lingchen would naturally cause others to unwittingly approach him.

Surprised by the young woman's friendliness, Ye Lingchen unwittingly took a step backward. He rubbed his nose and replied, "I'm looking for some special books."

"Special books?" The young woman looked confused.

"Mm, the very special ones." Ye Lingchen nodded.

"I understand." The young woman blushed after a moment's thought. She then glared at Ye Lingchen and spoke softly, "What's the use of reading those books? I can just teach you."

Ye Lingchen was rather confused as the young woman winked at him, showing her charms.

'Er…'

Ye Lingchen was caught totally off guard.

To be honest, that young woman looked wonderful, but it was not his type.

"Cough cough." He coughed lightly, then awkwardly avoided her gaze, rejecting her offer.

Looking at Ye Lingchen's turned back, the young woman could not help but feel a little dejected and angry. Ye Lingchen's aura and the mysterious smell was deeply attracted to her. Unfortunately, the affection was one-sided and would only add on to her regrets.

'Too bad I'm past my prime. Otherwise, I'll make him mine by any means necessary.'

'Sigh, such a nice man. I wonder which vixen would benefit from this…'

Dantian (丹田 dantian) – literally translates as "Cinnabar Field" or "Elixir Field". Refers to the region in the body where a person's Qi is concentrated.