If true qi were qi, then true essence would be water.
For cultivators, during the Qi Refining realm, it is about fusing and refining internal strength or blood energy, forging the true qi belonging to cultivators.
To put it simply:
If the full force of a Grandmaster martial artist’s strike is 1, then a Heavenly Human martial artist’s attack is 10, and a Qi Refining realm cultivator’s attack is 100.
The strength of cultivators is fundamental, a power that completely overwhelms martial artists.
However, there's another point: the physical bodies of martial artists are significantly stronger than those of cultivators who do not practice martial arts and directly cultivate immortality.
The physique of a Heavenly Human martial artist is definitely stronger than that of a Qi Refining realm cultivator,
unless it's a Body Cultivator who specializes in the physique.
But generally, Body Cultivators will first cultivate their martial arts to the Heavenly Human realm before transitioning to Body Cultivation for immortality.
The Qi Refining realm is a process of continuously cultivating true qi. When a certain level is reached and the true qi is sufficiently dense, one can then attract the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, combine it with their own true qi, and give birth to a spiritual sense.
That is Foundation Establishment.
Of course, Foundation Establishment is not simply about generating a spiritual sense; it also requires tempering the body and true qi.
And the Fusion realm is the process of continuously purifying true qi.
When true qi is repeatedly purified to a certain extent, it can transform into liquid true essence.
Once the first drop of true essence is born, many cultivators will begin to practice Golden Core cultivation techniques, thereby stepping into the Golden Core realm.
From Golden Core to Nascent Soul is also a process of true essence purification. Once solid true essence appears, it is called spiritual power,
and at this point, one can break the core and form a soul.
Therefore, Nascent Soul realm True Persons are often flattered as having boundless spiritual power.
As for the realms beyond that, Yang Hong does not know.
The cultivation notes he obtained only go up to the Nascent Soul realm at the highest.
Of course, those with a system don't need to understand so much; farming is all that matters.
It's just that Yang Hong is not a slacker and has some ambitions.
Dual cultivation of pure true qi is a way to indirectly enhance one's cultivation.
Although he hasn't sparred in fights, he has killed a few Fusion realm cultivators.
His self-assessment is that his true qi is a hundred times purer than that of ordinary cultivators.
Simply put, if he uses the same spell as an ordinary cultivator, the resulting power will be a hundred times stronger.
A hundred times more powerful!
This is his own estimation; the reality remains to be seen in actual combat.
But those are things to consider later. Yang Hong is now looking at the two unconscious women with shining eyes.
He feels a little bit excited.
Cultivating immortality has always been a process of dual cultivation of life and spirit, harmonizing yin and yang.
Ghost cultivators need yang energy to balance their yin energy and death qi;
most cultivators, including humans and demonic beasts, need yin energy to balance the yang energy generated during their cultivation.
There is also the balance of merit and karma, the balance of the five elements, and so on.
Yang Hong's primary cultivation techniques, the Inhalation and Exhalation Art and the Body Tempering Art, are both extremely yang in nature.
This has led to him being a virgin even after being married for so long and having many women since his transmigration.
He has not had a single proper release.
Through comparing various cultivation insights and martial arts insights, he confirmed that this was due to his exceptional physique and excessive yang energy.
In such a situation, harmonizing yin and yang is the best way to progress rapidly and avoid leaving hidden dangers for future cultivation.
This is another reason why he insists on dual cultivation.
Yin and yang harmonization not only purifies true qi but is also a way for many cultivators and even martial artists to increase their power.
Ordinary cultivators dual cultivate for absorption; Yang Hong dual cultivates to consume true qi, to be absorbed from.
He is entirely self-sacrificing for the benefit of others, and he does it proactively.
However, with the assistance of the Profound Yin Body and the Nine Yin Body now, things are a bit different.
The true qi cultivated by the Profound Yin Body is extremely cold, and the true qi cultivated by the Nine Yin Body is very yin-chilling.
These two physiques, when paired with Yang Hong, perfectly balance the terrifying surplus of yang energy within him.
"Huh! They've actually broken through!"
While Yang Hong was lost in thought, the auras of You Daxiang and Wang Xifeng began to strengthen rapidly.
In just half an hour, both of them broke through from third-rate martial artists to second-rate.
Then to first-rate, Innate Grandmaster, and Grandmaster!
Four realms broken through in an hour,
directly reaching the peak of the Grandmaster realm.
Yang Hong believes that if both of them had suitable immortal cultivation techniques, they might have even broken through to the Qi Refining realm directly.
Dual cultivating with Yang Hong usually benefits the female partner,
but the amount of true qi absorbed truly depends on the physique.
Clearly, You Daxiang and Wang Xifeng have excellent physiques; the amount of true qi they can absorb is possibly no less than that of several Foundation Establishment realm concubines.
However, what happened next made Yang Hong somewhat dumbfounded.
"They can even become younger and more beautiful!"
You Daxiang, who was already 38 years old, an ordinary person who didn't practice martial arts, and was showing signs of aging, now saw her skin visibly tightening.
The traces of time slowly faded from her face.
In another half an hour, You Daxiang transformed into a young girl around 25 years old.
Moreover, her features became more refined and beautiful.
She gained a touch of breathtaking beauty.
As for Wang Xifeng, who was less than 25 years old, the change was not as pronounced, though she also appeared younger.
Her appearance didn't change much, as she was already very beautiful; she just became a bit fairer.
She appeared to have a more noble aura.
Yang Hong did not notice his own changes. In fact, due to the feedback of yin energy from the two women, his appearance had also become more handsome.
It was not a feminine handsomeness, but a more virile kind.
Yang Hong was indeed quite handsome before, but due to being confined in the cold palace for a long time, he had a somewhat effeminate beauty.
Although not a sissy, he looked a bit like a pretty boy.
But after this dual cultivation, after being washed by the yin energy impact twice in succession, his virgin body reacted, making his yang energy even purer.
If Yang Hong were to stroll through the streets now, he would definitely captivate a large number of young women and housewives.
It's just that Yang Hong is not aware of it yet.
Seeing that You Daxiang and Wang Xifeng would not wake up anytime soon, Yang Hong sat down on the ground and began to cultivate.
Cultivation is like sailing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall back.
Therefore, Yang Hong never slacks off in his cultivation.
"Gurgle~ gurgle~"
Time passed quickly while cultivating. Before he knew it, it was the time when roosters crowed.
"Crack crack~ crack crack~"
Yang Hong stood up from the ground. As he stretched his body slightly, a popping sound like exploding beans echoed.
"Hoo~ so comfortable, it feels like my body has been cleansed and its marrow purified again."
He walked around a bit and suddenly froze.
"Holy cow! I've actually grown taller."
Looking at the dressing mirror, which should have been at his forehead level, he could now see it directly at eye level.
This definitely meant he had grown taller.
He immediately found a ruler and measured his height.
"1.82 meters!"
"Grown by 6cm."
Looking at the markings on the ruler he specially made, Yang Hong was overjoyed.
His height in his previous life was a tall 1.85 meters. His height of only 1.76 meters in this life had always been a pain for him.
He never expected that one instance of dual cultivation could even fix this deficiency.
"It seems capturing You Daxiang and Wang Xifeng was the right decision."
"I can afford to be a bit kind to them; these two are my lucky stars."
Returning to his room and looking at the two sleeping soundly, Yang Hong did not wake them up.
He went downstairs to prepare breakfast.