Fourth Layer of Qi Refining

Little Red-maned Horse stamped its front hooves, licked its lips, and snorted at Wei Zonghao, showing no objection to the two approaching.

Delight flashed across Wei Yunxi's face. She felt there was hope, so she said to the little chubby boy:

"It probably likes candy. We can use candy as payment—try negotiating with it."

Wei Zonghao immediately covered his Storage Pouch with his hand. He was rather reluctant; his stash was running low.

Rubbing her chubby baby-fat cheeks, Wei Yunxi said:

"Brother Zonghao, I'll pay you back with a bag of candy later."

First, write the blank check—everything else could wait until they passed the assessment.

In the end, Wei Zonghao still failed to protect his candy and struck a deal with Little Red-maned Horse.

Once the two of them were seated on Little Red-maned Horse's back, they felt those candies had been well spent.

Though Little Red-maned Horse had not yet reached adulthood, its running speed was no less than that of the finest mortal steeds. It was also strong, carrying the two little beans without slowing in the slightest. The foal was clearly familiar with the mountain terrain as well, swiftly bearing them toward the Haoran Sect's mountain gate.

Whenever the horse slowed, Wei Yunxi would direct Wei Zonghao to feed it candy. After eating a piece, Little Red-maned Horse would happily race ahead for another stretch, making True Lord Yufeng, who watched from the shadows, twitch at the corners of his mouth.

By sunset that day, the two finally reached the Haoran Sect's mountain gate. At this moment, no one stood before it.

After Little Red-maned Horse stopped, Wei Yunxi and Wei Zonghao jumped down from its back one after the other. Their transaction was thus complete. Reluctantly, Wei Zonghao fed the last piece of candy to Little Red-maned Horse, muttering as he did so:

"Horsey, I gave you every bit of candy in my Storage Pouch. Thank you for bringing us to the sect ahead of time. Once I become a Haoran Sect disciple, I'll come visit you whenever I have time."

Just then, a sect disciple descended before them on a Flying Sword.

Song Ke, dressed in an azure robe, looked at the two little ones and smiled.

"Are you disciples participating in this round of assessments?"

"Yes, Senior. My name is Wei Yunxi."

"My name is Wei Zonghao. We are both from the Wei Family of Kunyu City."

The little chubby boy added.

"Mm. You performed very well. I have recorded your names and rankings. You may rest before the mountain gate. Once the three-day deadline is up, you may enter the next round of assessments."

Wei Yunxi and Wei Zonghao immediately cupped their hands in thanks.

Song Ke walked over and patted Little Red-maned Horse on the head.

"You were lucky this time, meeting disciples willing to help you. Let's see whether you still dare to run off alone to play next time."

Hearing this, the little chubby boy immediately stepped forward. Only after cupping his hands in salute did he explain:

"Senior, the little horse was trapped in Iron Thorns. My sister and I heard it crying out, so we rescued it. To thank us, it carried us for part of the way."

Song Ke smiled.

"No matter. That was your own capability, and it was fortunate as well. I'll take it back to Spirit Beast Peak first. Meditate and rest on your own. It is very safe here."

"Yes, Senior!"

Song Ke pulled Little Red-maned Horse onto his Flying Sword, then turned into a streak of light and vanished before the two.

Wei Zonghao's eyes were full of envy.

"When will we be able to fly on swords?"

Looking in the direction Song Ke had departed, Wei Yunxi said:

"I know that. To fly on a sword, you must cultivate to at least the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"Ah, then that'll take a long time!"

"Then we'll start working hard now. One day, we'll be able to fly on swords too."

Wei Yunxi clenched her fist, cheering herself on.

The two then found a spot sheltered from the wind. Without any particular fuss, they sat directly on the ground and began meditating.

After Wei Yunxi entered a cultivation state, she felt the surrounding Spiritual Qi burrowing furiously into her body. The Spiritual Qi here was denser than in the Wei Family's Cultivation Hall. She could not help sighing that this truly was the second-ranked major sect in the western region.

Seeing his sister begin cultivating, Wei Zonghao promptly followed suit, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed in meditation. Though they had passed the first round of the test, further trials still awaited them.

At this time, Wei Yunting's group was struggling through the forest. Since every unexpected mishap had been triggered by Wei Yunqing, everyone discussed it and ultimately decided not to let Wei Yunqing do anything at all. She only needed to stay close to the group.

With that, the group actually moved faster. Yet Wei Yunqing was not happy over being given special treatment. She could clearly sense everyone's rejection of her, which only made her more miserable.

On the final day of the deadline, the groups that had previously scattered reunited. With more people, everyone felt safer, though the total number had shrunk somewhat.

When the Feng Family group did not see Wei Yunxi, they asked Wei Zonghan about her.

What could Wei Zonghan say? He could only say that his sister had fallen behind, though she had fallen behind together with another child from the Wei Family. He also explained:

"The two of them are very clever. Perhaps they reached the sect ahead of us. We'll probably see them once we get there."

Those words were merely to comfort himself and deal with the Feng Family. Everyone knew that the Feng Family was Wei Yunxi's maternal family and took excellent care of this niece of theirs. Yet he had never expected his words of comfort to come true.

At this moment, Wei Yunxi was attempting to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining. The Spiritual Qi here was simply too dense, and she did not want to miss such a good opportunity.

With the Immortal Artifact as her foundation, she was not afraid of exposing her Spiritual Root attributes. Moreover, breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining did not require much Spiritual Qi. She was currently an inconspicuous nobody, so she had to keep a low profile and grow slowly.

Wei Yunxi cultivated throughout the night, continuously absorbing the Spiritual Qi from the outside world, cycling it through her body, then returning the refined Spiritual Qi to her Dantian. When the sun rose on the third day, she finally broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining with the aid of that wisp of Purple Qi.

Her Meridians were forcibly stretched open by the surging Spiritual Qi, producing faint waves of swelling pain. Then, guided by Wei Yunxi's powerful divine sense, the Spiritual Qi circulated through her body once before obediently entering her Dantian. At this moment, one-quarter of her Dantian had been filled with Spiritual Qi.

The Flower Diadem Immortal Artifact automatically lowered Wei Yunxi's cultivation to the first layer of Qi Refining, preventing her from giving herself away.

Wei Yunxi's breakthrough disturbed Wei Zonghao beside her. Once Yunxi opened her eyes, he said in delighted surprise:

"Sister Yunxi, you broke through?"

"Mm. I'm at the first layer of Qi Refining now too."

"Wow, you're amazing. Your cultivation is the same as mine now."

Wei Zonghao said with feeling.

"The Spiritual Qi here is much denser than at home. If you work a little harder, you should be able to break through to the second layer of Qi Refining as well."

Wei Zonghao immediately nodded.

"Definitely, definitely. When I meditated last night, I already showed signs of breaking through. But then I fell asleep."

After saying that, he gave an embarrassed smile.

In high spirits, Wei Yunxi said:

"Brother Zonghao, I'll stand guard for you. You'll definitely break through today."

"Mm, definitely! Let's eat something first. I'm hungry."

As he spoke, he rubbed his growling stomach.

Generously, Wei Yunxi took out Bigu pills, giving one to herself and one to the little chubby boy.

That afternoon, Wei Yunting's group finally arrived at the square before the sect. Quite a few children who had already arrived had gathered there. They were not the last to arrive, but neither were they the first.

"Look, who's that!"