Chapter 1300
Breakthrough in Cultivation Technique, Putting the Cart Before the Horse
Among the dozen or so Nascent Soul elders within the "Free and Unfettered Sect".
In terms of cultivation speed, after Li Xianyun advanced to the Nascent Soul realm, he was second only to Bai Yuxian and Song Qingming.
It is evident that his personal talent for cultivation is significantly better than that of Song Qingyu, Huang Siyuan, and the others.
The reason he was stuck at the peak of the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm for many years was mainly because Li Xianyun carried a lot of hatred, which affected his Dao heart and made it difficult for him to break through his realm.
Upon returning to the "Black Wind Sea," he successively killed several of his former enemies.
It not only allowed him to accumulate a lot of resources to purchase a high-grade fourth-level demon core, but also helped him successfully break through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
However, Li Xianyun had spent a considerable amount of time away from home in order to go into seclusion and break through to a higher realm.
I didn't have time to rush back to "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" to help fight against the monster uprising.
Upon learning that Li Xianyun had successfully broken through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, Song Qingming was overjoyed and led everyone in raising their glasses to celebrate.
Li Xianyun is less than a hundred years older than Song Qingming, and now at over nine hundred years old, he is already close to breaking through to the eighth level of the Nascent Soul stage.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, one can attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm in about two hundred years, which is still quite a bit of time.
For him, his future path might not be impossible to break through to the half-step Nascent Soul realm, or even the Nascent Soul realm, just like Song Qingming.
Li Xianyun's return to the sect brings Song Qingming and the others excellent news.
Even excluding Song Qingming, the half-step Nascent Soul ancestor, the current "Xiaoyao Sect" still has four late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators: Bai Yuxian, Li Xianyun, Song Qingyu, and Huang Siyuan.
If any three of them were to join forces, even a half-step Nascent Soul expert like the "Heavenly Tail Demon Emperor" would find it difficult to defeat them head-on.
In addition, Li Xuanyi, Xu Ziyan, Zhou Ziyang, Song Yuanhao and others have also successfully broken through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
There's also Su Mo, who possesses a Heavenly Spiritual Root in the sect. These people will all have the opportunity to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage in the future.
It should be noted that even the "Formless Sect," which ranks first among the top ten sects and is a major Nascent Soul sect, only has six Nascent Soul late-stage cultivators.
The current Xiaoyao Sect has gradually caught up with its opponent in this regard.
The main reason why he was able to do this was that Song Qingming had brought back a lot of high-level auxiliary spiritual items from outside over the years.
Apart from Li Xianyun, who was breaking through to a higher realm on his own, Bai Yuxian, Song Qingyu, and Huang Siyuan all received support from Song Qingming to varying degrees.
Otherwise, without the help of others, the three of them would most likely still have difficulty advancing to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
Song Qingming was overjoyed that Li Xianyun had returned safely, and after the banquet, he chatted with him for quite a while.
Bai Yuxian, who was far away in "Guyang Mountain", heard the news of Song Qingming's return and brought Su Mo to Qingyun Mountain to join in the fun.
The group gathered for several days before finally getting up and leaving to return to their respective caves.
Seeing that Bai Yuxian, who was standing on one side of the pavilion, was not in a hurry to leave, Song Qingyu quickly stepped forward and asked:
"Senior Sister Bai isn't in a hurry to return to Guyang Mountain this time, and Senior Sister Li happens to be here too. How about I arrange for Chu Ling to come over? We can have a game together then?"
"Qingyu, Junior Sister Li, I still need to consult with Junior Brother Song about some cultivation matters, so I won't be able to keep you company this time."
"If I have some free time another day, I'll invite you to Guyang Mountain again. I'll definitely treat my two junior sisters to a good meal."
"Oh! Since Senior Sister Bai still wants to ask Seventh Brother for advice on cultivation techniques, then we'll go downstairs to play with the jade tokens first, and won't disturb your conversation."
"Don't worry, senior sister, I'll make sure to instruct others not to come up."
After saying that, Song Qingyu winked at Li Xuanyi, who was standing to the side.
Li Xuanyi glanced reluctantly at Song Qingming beside her before turning around and going downstairs with Song Qingyu.
Soon, only Song Qingming and Bai Yuxian remained on the third floor of the attic.
"Junior Brother Song, I have recently encountered some problems in my cultivation. I wonder if you have some time now?"
"Okay! Senior Sister Bai, please wait a moment."
It's a bit noisy here, let's find somewhere else to talk properly!
Upon hearing Song Qingming's suggestion, Bai Yuxian remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly.
The two quickly disappeared from the spot.
At this moment, in a private room downstairs, Song Qingyu and Li Xuanyi looked at the two people who had disappeared from the mirror in their hands, and their faces showed a little surprise.
"Huh! I clearly hid this magical artifact very well, how come it was discovered so quickly?"
Seventh Brother's current cultivation level is truly unfathomable!
"Alright, they've all gone back to their caves, what are you still looking at?"
Let's just do our own thing!
".
Inside the cave at the top of the mountain.
Upon smelling the aroma of tea wafting from in front of him, the "Ice-Fire Dragon" showed a hint of satisfaction and hurriedly and carefully presented the brewed spiritual tea to Bai Yuxian.
"This is spiritual tea brewed by Xiao Jin. Please, Madam, have a taste!"
"Hmm! This tea tastes good. I didn't realize you had such tea-brewing skills before. You're much better than Su Mo and the others."
"Hehe! Little Jin has only learned a few days of rudimentary tea ceremony by chance. Compared with the ladies, I am far inferior. How dare I take such praise from you?"
"It's rare that you don't mind, Madam. You must visit Qingyun Mountain more often in the future, so you can give Xiao Jin some guidance."
"It's kind of you to do this; I'll definitely come often when I have time."
After transforming into human form over the years, "Ice and Fire Dragon" has become increasingly smooth in its speech, and its flattering words make Bai Yuxian, who is standing to the side, unable to help but smile.
Song Qingming, who was sitting to the side, couldn't help but wave his hand at him.
"We still have something to say, you can leave now!"
"Master, mistress, just let me know if you need anything. I won't bother you any longer."
"Ice and Fire Dragon" smiled and poured the two of them another cup of spiritual tea before carefully retreating back to its secluded stone chamber for cultivation.
Only after the "Ice and Fire Dragon" left did Song Qingming turn to look at Bai Yuxian beside him and sigh slightly.
"This guy's cultivation hasn't improved lately, but he's become more and more adept at winning people's favor."
"Being good at pleasing people isn't necessarily a bad thing. It can learn these skills, and they might come in handy in the future. Junior brother, why should you worry about this too much?"
In the world of cultivation, most cultivators have little control over their own life, death, and fate.
It's perfectly normal for lower-level cultivators to fawn over and flatter higher-level cultivators.
As someone who rose from the bottom of the cultivation world to where he is now, Song Qingming naturally has a deep understanding of this.
Even though Song Qingming disliked the "Icefire Dragon's" fawning manner, he was still somewhat annoyed.
But after hearing Bai Yuxian's explanation, he could only smile slightly and did not refute her.
"Senior Sister, did you come to see me this time to seek my experience in advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, or is there some problem with your cultivation technique?"
Since Bai Yuxian broke through to the late Nascent Soul stage two hundred years ago and switched to cultivating the "Purple Sun Divine Light Technique," her cultivation has been relatively smooth.
Twenty years ago, his cultivation had already successfully advanced to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm, and he could begin preparing to break through to the Divine Transformation realm.
The reason she's coming to see Song Qingming now is most likely because of this matter.
Faced with Song Qingming's question, Bai Yuxian remained silent for a moment before nodding and saying:
"Junior Brother Song guessed correctly. I did come here to discuss the matter of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage with you."
Ever since you gave me the notes on comprehending the primordial energy of heaven and earth last time, I have been trying to grasp them over the years, but I have found that I am still unable to understand their profound meaning, which has made me quite distressed.
Now that you have some free time, why not give me some pointers so I can avoid making some mistakes?
Yu Xian thanked her junior brother first.
After speaking, Bai Yuxian put down her teacup, stood up respectfully, and bowed.
Seeing this, Song Qingming quickly reached out to stop the other party.
"There's no need for such formality between us."
".
The time required for cultivators to comprehend the primordial energy of heaven and earth varies, and personal opportunity and comprehension play a more significant role.
It took Song Qingming nearly fifty years to comprehend the primordial energy of heaven and earth, which was considered quite fast by outsiders.
Hearing that Bai Yuxian was experiencing obstacles in comprehending the primordial energy of heaven and earth, Song Qingming was not too surprised.
After all, it had only been a little over twenty years since the other party broke through to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
Even if Bai Yuxian is talented and insightful, it is not easy for her to comprehend the primordial energy of heaven and earth so quickly.
Seeing Bai Yuxian raise her doubts, Song Qingming's expression also became serious, and he patiently recounted his experience of comprehending the primordial energy of heaven and earth.
Although Song Qingming had long ago recorded these experiences in a notebook and given it to Bai Yuxian.
However, there is still a significant difference between writing things down and asking each other questions face-to-face.
Upon hearing Song Qingming explain it again, Bai Yuxian quickly gained many new insights, which made her fall into deep thought.
Both of them were very patient when I asked them for advice in person.
Having spent several days in the cave and gained much from the experience, Bai Yuxian finally took her leave and departed from "Qingyun Mountain".
After seeing Bai Yuxian off, Song Qingming quickly returned to his secluded cultivation cave.
After sitting cross-legged for a while, Song Qingming raised his hand and took out a golden pagoda. Then, he transformed into a ray of light and disappeared into the pagoda.
In the center of the "Nine-Layer Golden Pagoda" there is also a jade bed in emerald green.
As soon as Song Qingming sat on the "Mysterious Jade Bed", a piece of gray animal hide appeared in his hand. It was the True Spirit Disintegration Technique that he had previously seized from Zhang Ruiqing.
Currently, I am unable to comprehend my state of mind and find the opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.
Even though he had a top-grade spirit stone, Song Qingming did not choose to go into seclusion rashly.
I plan to take this opportunity to practice this body-refining technique and thereby strengthen my physical body.
When a cultivator transforms into a Nascent Soul and ascends to godhood, they need to regulate a large amount of the primordial energy of heaven and earth within their body. Strengthening their physical body can certainly provide some assistance in their future attempts to break through to higher realms.
Although Song Qingming did not cultivate this body-refining technique when he was in the "Thunder Origin Sea" cultivation world, he had already studied it thoroughly.
Having returned to Qingyun Mountain, he was already very familiar with the basic techniques of the martial arts.
Opening a bottle of "demon beast essence blood" that he had prepared, Song Qingming slowly cast a spell to activate the internal magic, and soon extracted the essence blood and absorbed it directly into his body.
Next, Song Qingming activated the "True Spirit Disintegration" technique within his body, and began to rapidly refine the essence and blood within his body.
"Demon beast essence blood" naturally contains the powerful bloodline of the demon race, which is far more domineering and violent than the essence blood of human cultivators.
Having only refined a small portion of the essence blood, Song Qingming was quickly overcome by a surge of heat, which gave him a strong, bloody aura.
Immediately afterwards, a crimson aura enveloped his body, and Song Qingming's eyes also turned blood red, making him look extremely eerie.
At that moment, it was as if a voice had appeared in his mind, constantly reminding him to vent his anger.
Faced with the frenzied and violent crimson aura within his body, Song Qingming immediately cast a spell to circulate his internal magic power, firmly suppressing the "demon beast essence blood" that he had just refined.
This kept him conscious and prevented the violent aura from affecting his mind.
After several hours, Song Qingming finally refined all the essence blood in his body. At this moment, a beast-shaped tattoo had appeared on his right arm, shining brightly.
After glancing at the tattoo on his right arm, Song Qingming took a breath and once again activated the "True Spirit Disintegration" incantation within his body.
Soon, a crimson spiritual light enveloped him once more, and a powerful burst of blood energy erupted from the tattoo on Song Qingming's right arm, directly merging into his body.
At this moment, it was as if a hard armor had appeared inside his body, making him grow two or three inches taller and his physique become incredibly robust.
By refining just a drop of the essence blood of a level-three demon beast, Song Qingming had already successfully entered the realm of cultivation and could use the "True Spirit Disintegration" technique to enhance his physical strength.
Just as described on the animal hide, this body-refining technique is not difficult to cultivate in the early stages.
Once you reach the Nascent Soul stage, you can generally cultivate the first level to perfection.
If we classify his physical body according to the realm of body-refining cultivators, he should have already broken through to the early stage of the Golden Core realm, which is equivalent to a third-level low-grade demon king.
This is only the refinement of a drop of level three "demonic beast blood essence." If he successfully refines more blood essence and cultivates the technique to the second level, then Song Qingming's physical body should be no weaker than Zhang Ruiqing's back then, equivalent to a Nascent Soul stage demon emperor.
Thinking of this, Song Qingming did not stop and took out another bottle of "demon beast essence blood" from his body.
Compared to other cultivators, who might have already exhausted most of their mana after successfully refining just a drop of essence blood and need to rest for a while.
Because Song Qingming possessed the incomplete map, refining the "demon beast blood essence" obviously didn't require much effort.
In just a short while, the magical power within his body was fully restored, allowing him to continue casting spells and cultivating the "True Spirit Disintegration" incantation.
In this way, it can save him a lot of time in practicing his cultivation techniques.
".
Time flies, and two and a half years have passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, Song Qingming, who was in his cave, was enveloped in crimson spiritual light, and crimson blood light was surging around his body.
However, these crimson lights, though seemingly extremely fierce, had no effect on Song Qingming.
He remained seated cross-legged, casting the "True Spirit Disintegration" incantation. Before long, he had refined and absorbed all the violent spiritual energy within his body.
At this time, he had not only his right arm, but also many red tattoos on his chest.
These tattoos, featuring dragons, snakes, tigers, leopards, cranes, and various other shapes, were gleaming and exuding an eerie, bloody aura.
Among them, a three-inch-long "golden dragon" located on the left shoulder seemed to be alive, constantly struggling and swimming around on his skin.
On the other hand, Song Qingming's expression was solemn and serious as he used his internal magic to suppress the raging "golden dragon" within his body.
After an unknown amount of time, the "golden dragon" finally quieted down, resting motionless on Song Qingming's left shoulder and transforming into a golden tattoo.
Before long, as the crimson aura on his body slowly dissipated, the many tattoos on Song Qingming's body also quickly quieted down.
It all disappeared quickly into the skin, as if it had never existed.
Only when Song Qingming slowly opened his eyes did his tense expression relax a little, and he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
After getting up, Song Qingming stretched his limbs slightly, and his gaze immediately locked onto the golden bronze mirror not far in front of him.
Suddenly, a burst of crimson light erupted from his body, and his entire figure grew considerably larger, with numerous beast-shaped tattoos reappearing on his body.
The next moment, Song Qingming flashed away from his original spot, then raised his right arm and threw a punch forward with all his might.
After a loud bang, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" was actually smashed away by itself. The power of this attack was no weaker than that of those late-stage Nascent Soul Great Demon Emperors.
After two and a half years of hard work, I finally succeeded in mastering the "True Spirit Disintegration" technique and broke through to the second level.
Seeing the significant changes in his physical body, Song Qingming's face showed a hint of satisfaction.
The crimson light on his body dissipated, and he quickly returned to his original appearance.
Even in his normal state, Song Qingming's physical body is already almost indistinguishable from that of an ordinary demon emperor.
When facing an enemy, one can use a secret technique to enter a disintegration state, where one's physical body and speed can be comparable to a late-stage Nascent Soul Great Demon Emperor.
However, activating the secret technique would also consume a great deal of one's own magical power, so Song Qingming would not easily use it in front of others on ordinary days.
For the past two and a half years, Song Qingming has spent almost all his time cultivating the "True Spirit Disintegration" technique.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruiqing had left him a lot of high-level "demon beast essence blood" in his storage artifact, which saved Song Qingming a lot of effort in cultivating this technique.
I just helped him so quickly cultivate the "True Spirit Disintegration" technique to the second level.
Although his current skill level is not quite as high as Zhang Ruiqing's back then, it is not far behind.
Seeing that he had used up all the high-level "demon beast blood essence" in his hands, Song Qingming put away the "Ninefold Golden Pagoda" beside him.
He then opened the protective array at the entrance and emerged from his secluded cave.
"Master, you...you've emerged from seclusion!"
"Yes! You've had a hard time these past few days."
As soon as they arrived at the main hall of the cave, they saw the "Ice and Fire Dragon" looking at them with a wronged expression and a hint of fear in its eyes.
Seeing this, Song Qingming quickly smiled and said something to comfort the other party.
To cultivate the "True Spirit Disintegration" technique, one needs to refine high-level "demon beast essence blood." The purer the essence blood, the greater its benefit to the cultivator's practice.
Previously, when Song Qingming had cultivated his technique to the first level of perfection, he was unable to successfully break through to the next level.
A sudden idea struck him, and he quickly set his sights on his spirit beast, the "Icefire Dragon".
The "Icefire Flood Dragon" had already cultivated to the mid-Nascent Soul stage. Back in the Northern Frontier, it had even devoured a trace of the Heavenly Python's true essence, and its bloodline surpassed that of some other demonic beasts of the same level.
So Song Qingming tried to take a few drops of the "Ice and Fire Dragon's" essence blood to help him cultivate the "True Spirit Disintegration" technique.
The result did not disappoint him; the essence blood within the "Ice-Fire Dragon" was far more effective than any of the ones Song Qingming had refined before.
Just a drop of essence blood had an effect equivalent to five or six times that of the essence blood that Song Qingming had refined before.
It was thanks to the Ice-Fire Dragon's voluntary sacrifice of a significant amount of its essence that Song Qingming was able to successfully cultivate the "True Spirit Disintegration" technique to the second level.
Otherwise, even if Song Qingming refined all the high-level "demonic beast essence blood" in his hands, he would probably still be in a very difficult situation.
There's still a distance to go before advancing to the second level.
As for the "Ice and Fire Dragon," due to the loss of a significant amount of its essence and blood, its overall condition has been noticeably worse than before, which has also affected its cultivation speed.
At this moment, seeing its master Song Qingming emerge from seclusion, it was not as excited as before, but instead was so frightened that it lowered its head.
"Take these pills first, and I will have someone send you some spiritual items to replenish your essence and blood later."
Don't worry, it's just a loss of some vital essence; it won't hinder your cultivation too much.
"Little Jin, thank you, Master."
Looking at the high-grade elixir he had just obtained, and hearing Song Qingming's words of comfort, the grievance and fear on the "Icefire Dragon's" face slowly dissipated.
It quickly turned its worry into joy and hurriedly served tea and water, resuming its former attentive manner.
"Has Qingyu emerged from seclusion recently? And has Siyuan returned yet?"
“Master, Qingyu seems to still be in seclusion. I haven’t seen her come to see you, and Mistress Siyuan hasn’t returned either.”
However, a few days ago, Mistress Xuanyi sent a message to you again, saying that she had something to tell you and asked you to tell her immediately after you finished your seclusion.
"Oh! You keep an eye on the cave, I'm going out for a walk."
After nodding slightly in agreement, Song Qingming immediately got up and left the cave.
".
The market town is located at the foot of Qingyun Mountain.
A figure crossed the street and soon appeared in front of a teahouse in a relatively secluded location on the west side.
Looking up at the sign above, Song Qingming smiled slightly and quickly strode inside.
The teahouse had only a few tables of customers scattered around, and business wasn't booming.
A waiter who was busy on one side of the hall saw Song Qingming walk in.
Thinking it was a guest, he was about to go forward to greet him, but when he saw who it was, his expression instantly froze and he stood there dumbfounded.
"Grandmaster!"
"Junior Bai Yueqian pays his respects."
"Alright, no need for formalities here."
Before the waiter could even bow in greeting, Song Qingming immediately used his magic to stop him and helped him up.
"Your surname is Bai. Could you be a descendant of Lin Yu? You do have some talent."
“Ancestor, you are wise. I am the great-great-grandson of Lin Yu’s grandmother. I came to Qingyun Mountain two years ago to cultivate under my grandfather’s tutelage.”
Although the person in front of me was only at the late stage of Qi Refining, he was a rare cultivator with a unique spiritual root.
Seeing that among Bai Jingyun and Song Linyu's descendants there was actually such a talented descendant, Song Qingming felt a sense of relief.
After nodding and greeting the other party, Song Qingming, led by Bai Yueqian, quickly arrived at a storeroom in the backyard of the teahouse, where he met Li Xuanyi, who was arranging spirit tea.
At this moment, Li Xuanyi, who was busy, was unusually not wearing gorgeous and dazzling clothes, but dressed in ordinary mortal attire.
If the two hadn't known each other for many years, Song Qingming would have almost thought he had misjudged the person in front of him.
Seeing another figure appear at the door, Li Xuanyi put down the bamboo basket in her hand, stood up, and walked over to Song Qingming with a smile.
The two went to the outer courtyard and sat facing each other. Li Xuanyi quickly brought a pot of brewed spiritual tea from the teahouse.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Don't you really recognize me, or do you think I'm too ugly to embarrass you?"
"I almost didn't recognize you. I went to your cave just now and didn't see you. I only found out that you've been living down the mountain all these years."
"Is it because of your cultivation that you're in a bad mood and want to stay down the mountain?"
Upon hearing Song Qingming's words, Li Xuanyi did not rush to answer. Instead, she picked up the spiritual tea on the table, took a sip, and slowly leaned back on the bamboo chair beside her.
"My husband, do you remember how long it has been since you last engaged in worldly cultivation?"
"Entering the world to cultivate oneself!"
Why bring this up again? Weren't you cultivating spiritual herbs and tea on the mountain all along? Shouldn't that be considered worldly cultivation?
When Song Qingming first joined the "Tai Xu Sect", he would choose to return to the sect every few decades to experience a few years of worldly cultivation.
However, after their master, Daoist Lingxu, ascended to the upper realm, the Taixu Sect closed its doors to the world and went into seclusion, and they never returned to the island.
Without any sect's mandatory requirement, Song Qingming and Li Xuanyi could only grow some spiritual herbs and tea near their mountain cave, which served as a substitute for worldly cultivation.
Upon hearing Li Xuanyi suddenly inquire about this matter, Song Qingming pondered for a moment before answering her.
Upon hearing this, Li Xuanyi, who was lying on the bamboo chair, smiled and shook her head at Song Qingming.
“My husband, you used to think that I was always lacking in mental state. Over the years, I have repeatedly and seriously thought about this matter.”
I think you're right. Over the years, we've been so focused on spiritual practice that we seem to have forgotten many things around us.
Back then, our master told us to enter the world regularly to cultivate ourselves and experience the myriad aspects of life.
We hid in the mountains, far from the world, seemingly forgetting the original intention of our master in having us cultivate ourselves.
How can such a topsy-turvy approach to spiritual practice lead to any worldly experience or any real gain?
"Since returning to the teahouse these past two years, I've found that my state of mind has improved considerably, which I suppose is what I've been missing."
My husband might as well try it with me.
Put aside your cultivation practice and focus on worldly cultivation; you might unexpectedly gain something from it!
"Enter the world to cultivate oneself, and experience all aspects of life!"
Back then, my master, the Taoist Lingxu, often personally experienced worldly cultivation, which greatly helped his own cultivation of the Tao.
However, Song Qingming himself had gradually neglected this matter over the years as his cultivation level had improved.
Upon hearing Li Xuanyi's suggestion, Song Qingming was slightly moved and couldn't help but smile.
“Over the years we have been focused on spiritual practice and have forgotten our master’s instructions. I am so grateful that you reminded me.”
“You’re right. Since our mental state is somewhat lacking right now, we might as well put aside cultivation and experience worldly cultivation.”
However, since I intend to focus on worldly cultivation, I've thought of a better place.
"Oh! Where does my husband wish to go to cultivate? Why don't you tell me!"
Seeing that Song Qingming seemed to have gained some insight and thought of a place that was more suitable for him, Li Xuanyi asked him a question out of curiosity.
Song Qingming did not answer directly.
Instead, he reached out and pulled Li Xuanyi up from the bamboo chair, and then they walked out of the teahouse together.
(I wrote 7,000 words today, but that's not considered an extra chapter. It's Xiaomeng making up for what she owed before, so I'm not asking for monthly votes.) (End of Chapter)