Qi Gathering Pill

As he sat on top of the bed, Quinlan opened the bottle that Xu Mei gave them. Inside it were ten brown, round pills about the size of a pea. Curious about it, Quinlan tried to get a whiff of the bottle's contents but quickly regretted it.

"Ugh! It stinks of herbs!" He groaned as he pinched his nose.

Yes. It didn't "smell" like herbs, but "stink." The scent was so concentrated it managed to make him teary-eyed from just a short whiff of it!

"Am I really going to eat this thing...?" Quinlan at least knew how to use the pill, but he was now hesitating to put it in his mouth.

Just the smell alone was enough for him to imagine its taste vividly!

"..."

Still, the fact that it would help him cultivate faster didn't change. After gathering his will, he popped the pill held between his fingers into his mouth, closing his eyes tight as he swallowed.

"Ugh...!"

But the taste was so strong, his entire mouth felt like it was filled with herbs! He tried to endure the urge to vomit as he felt the pill go down his throat and into his stomach. At that instant, a change quickly occurred.

"The Qi in the surroundings...!" Quinlan could feel the cold Qi in the mountain begins to converge in his location. The effect is, however, weaker than when Xiyadie is cultivating. "With this, I can...!"

Quinlan didn't waste his time and quickly started to cultivate. He closed his eyes and began meditating, taking in the cold Qi through his nose and letting it circulate in his lungs before pushing it down to his lower Dantian.

He was getting so used to this process that each cycle now only takes roughly five seconds! Quinlan continued mindlessly cultivating, letting the cold Qi in the air be infused with his body until the sound of a notification rang loudly in his ears.

[You have gathered a total of 1,000 drops of Qi.]

[Congratulations! You have reached the Qi Refinement 3rd Stage!]

"..."

However, despite receiving the notification, Quinlan could feel that the Qi Gathering pill's effect wasn't over yet. Not wanting to waste such a precious item, he decided to resume cultivating while the effect of the pill lasted.

Time flew by as Quinlan single-mindedly continued to cultivate. Without his notice, it was almost morning already!

Just as he started to feel the effect of the Qi Gathering pill fade, the system's notification rang once more.

[You have gathered a total of 10,000 drops of Qi.]

[Congratulations! You have reached the Qi Refinement 4th Stage!]

[Warning! Cultivating too fast isn't safe!]

"I got warned..." Quinlan whispered as he read the system's notification.

As usual, when he took a deep breath, a white mist spread before him. The cold Qi inside him was literally freezing his lungs, making him feel an intense cold.

Still, the smile on his face was definite proof that he wasn't bothered by it. "With this, I'm at the 4th stage!"

He didn't know how far Yinuo had cultivated already, but he was sure he could speed ahead of her now. She doesn't have Qi Gathering pills, after all!

"Hnnngh!" After a short stretch, Quinlan was about to stand up from his bed, only to catch something from his peripheral. "Xiyadie?"

In the next room, he could see Xiyadie's blurry figure changing clothes. She had already woken up and was now changing into her training clothes.

Quinlan looked down and noticed that he was still wearing the thin dress that Xu Mei had lent them. "Yep, this dress is erotic as hell." He could say that even when he's staring at his own body, seeing all the curves of it fully.

He quickly stood up and carefully took the dress off before changing into their training clothes. Of course, he didn't forget to wear underwear, the thin, small piece of cloth with little surface area.

Every time he wore this, flattening Yinuo's well-endowed breasts was a struggle. Not only did it feel uncomfortable, it was extremely hard to do by himself!

"I should introduce modern underwear to them later and have one custom-made," he noted in a corner of his mind.

Wearing the training clothes was more manageable than wearing a hanfu, making his wardrobe change quick and easy. He even finished faster than Xiyadie, who was still struggling to wear her uniform.

When she was done, Xiyadie went out of her room and entered Quinlan's. After sending him a judging glance, she then nodded in approval. "You can now change clothes without my help, Yinuo. I'm proud of you!"

"..."

Hearing Xiyadie call him just "Yinuo" must've been her reply to his request to drop the "Young Lady" part when addressing him. It felt slightly weird hearing her address him directly like that, but he still smiled sweetly as he greeted her.

"Good morning, Xiyadie. And you looked like you were struggling while changing earlier."

"That..." Xiyadie placed a hand over her chest. "I usually take longer than that, but thinking that we'd be training later, I didn't tighten my Dudou as much as I usually do."

Quinlan's gaze couldn't help but follow her gestures, landing on top of her chest. He did know how big Xiyadie's chest was, having seen it many times while bathing, but somehow it made him feel weird looking at it now.

"A-Ahem. Well, anyway, I think it's almost time for us to gather. Let's go." Quinlan decided to just change topics, leaving the chest talk alone.

Xiyadie had no problems with it either way and nodded. "Yes, I think sunrise would be in a few minutes."

The two started to walk forward. Even without light, the paths were still clearly visible, making it easy for them to return to the pavilion's entrance. After all, the faint light coming from outside was bouncing within the crystal structures, making them release a gentle glow.

Outside, Xu Mei and Lady Moon were already present, talking with each other with light smiles.

"Oh, you're finally here," Lady Moon muttered after seeing the two appear. "Did you sleep well last night?"

Xiyadie already caught on to the proper etiquette when answering, cupping her hands and bowing her head lightly before answering. "Yes, Master. I slept comfortably the entire night."

"Hmm." Lady Moon nodded her head before turning to Yinuo. "And Yinuo... Wait, did you...?"

Lady Moon approached him, staring at his face from up close. Quinlan could see her long eyelashes atop her red eyes, blinking slowly. "You jumped two levels in one night?"

As expected of Yinuo's master, she didn't miss Quinlan's improvement!