Cultivation Advancement

Chen Heng had expected Luo Yuyan's cultivation progress.

Although she was two years younger than him, she possessed a high-grade wind spiritual root, was a disciple of a Violet Palace Venerable, and received the sect's full resources for her development. It would have been strange if her cultivation speed wasn't fast.

However, with the cultivation acceleration and improved true essence control brought by his Lu Qi [Water-Fire Harmony], his own cultivation speed was currently no less than hers.

Recalling his thoughts, Chen Heng picked up the jade box.

The moment the lid was opened, a surge of pure, sharp water-element spiritual energy, mixed with the chill of ice crystals, erupted. The temperature in the entire quiet room seemed to drop by several degrees.

Inside the box lay a spirit grass, entirely deep blue, with leaves as slender as swords, covered in frost-white crystals. It was the hundred-year-old Frost Condensing Grass.

He didn't refine it immediately but instead left the lid slightly ajar.

"Haste makes waste," Chen Xingyun's warning before he left echoed in his ears. "True combat power lies in one's own foundation."

Rashly using rare spiritual medicine to force a breakthrough might rapidly increase cultivation, but it could also leave subtle hidden dangers, creating imperceptible cracks in one's foundation.

Nevertheless, Chen Heng's cultivation realm had steadily reached the peak of the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

He calmed his mind and spirit, circulated the Water Fire Defense Scripture, and after several cycles, adjusted his state to its best.

Without further hesitation, he took out the Frost Condensing Grass and began to refine it.

Half a month later, Chen Heng sat with his eyes closed in the quiet cultivation room, his true essence flowing slowly within him.

The pure spiritual energy obtained from refining the Frost Condensing Grass continuously poured into his body, merging into his dantian and transforming into true essence, which nourished his physical body and meridians, increasing his cultivation.

Suddenly.

He abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.

"Fifth Layer of Qi Refining."

Chen Heng rejoiced inwardly, sensing his cultivation had firmly entered the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.

This Frost Condensing Grass was indeed extraordinary and very suitable for his refinement and cultivation.

Now, he had at least kept pace with Luo Yuyan's breakthrough, not falling too far behind her.

However, Luo Yuyan had entered the Azure Profound Sect to cultivate earlier and received guidance from a Violet Palace Venerable. He still needed to cultivate diligently.

His cultivation couldn't lag behind; his spellcasting and artifact refining skills also needed to continue improving.

Thus.

Chen Heng spent this period in secluded cultivation at the Green Bamboo Lodge.

After receiving the Azure Profound Golden Token from Chen Xingyun, not only had his monthly allowance increased, but even the precious materials needed for artifact refining were covered by the family.

Of course, any magical artifacts he refined that he couldn't use himself had to be handed over to the family.

In the quiet room on the second floor of the Green Bamboo Lodge, Chen Heng sat cross-legged, his palm hovering above a dark golden token.

The Azure Profound Golden Token in his hand was not just a pass to the Azure Profound Sect, but also a heavy burden and the focus of many eyes.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo window, falling upon the token inscribed with mysterious Dao patterns, reflecting a restrained yet majestic luster.

His expression remained calm, as if he were holding not a "ladder to heaven" that drove countless disciples of small families to madness, but merely an ordinary magical artifact.

"Two years..."

He put away the token and turned his gaze to the pile of artifact refining materials in the corner of the quiet room.

These were additional resources allocated by the family after he obtained the Golden Token. Among them were several relatively precious gold-element spirit mines that had been difficult for him to acquire in the past.

His cultivation at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining flowed steadily within him, more robust and resilient than before, making him feel secure.

The effects of the Frost Condensing Grass had been fully absorbed, helping him firmly stand at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.

But this was just the beginning.

Luo Yuyan was on Soaring Peak in the Azure Profound Sect, receiving personal guidance from a Violet Palace Venerable and benefiting from the sect's resource allocation. Her cultivation speed would only increase.

Chen Xingyun's warning still echoed in his ears—"No more relying on common methods like the Blade-Hiding Staff! True combat power lies in one's own foundation!"

Chen Heng closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his sea of consciousness.

The incantations of the Water Fire Defense Scripture flowed in his mind. Previously, limited by his cultivation and resources, he hadn't been able to deeply study many of the intricate variations in the upper volume.

Now that his Mid Qi Refining realm was stable, and with the residual cool energy of the Frost Condensing Grass aiding his mental clarity, it was the perfect time for deep comprehension.

"Water and fire are not absolutely opposed; the Scripture seeks mutual stimulation and generation, a cycle of repetition..."

The profound meaning of [Water-Fire Harmony] gathered by the Lu seal in his sea of consciousness reappeared, elevating his control over the flow of true essence to a new level.

He attempted to activate his true essence, no longer confined to distinct streams of water and fire, but instead drawing upon the subtle explosions at their points of contact and fusion, transforming them into a more explosive propulsive force.

His meridians felt a slight swelling pain, but they gradually adapted under the repeated scouring of his true essence.

"A drop of water holds the sea, a spark ignites a prairie. Its use in defense lies in the subtle ripples..."

Time flowed by in silent contemplation and internal cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, over a month had passed.

When Chen Heng opened his eyes again, the sharp light within them had receded, and his aura was more harmonious than before.

He had thoroughly grasped the core cultivation method of the upper volume of the Water Fire Defense Scripture, allowing him to manipulate his true essence with greater speed and dexterity. His foundation had also become more solid through repeated tempering.

At the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, he had begun to glimpse the threshold of the peak.

However, improving his cultivation was not his only focus.

He left his cultivation chamber and headed to the artifact refining room.

Beside the refining furnace, fire crystals were ignited by his true essence, and pure flames licked at the bottom of the furnace.

Chen Heng did not rush to refine the precious metal ores he had on hand. Instead, he took out several ordinary black iron ingots.

In the path of artifact refining, practice makes perfect, and a solid foundation is equally important.

He closed his eyes, recalling the essence of the Water Fire Heaven-Reaching Staff Technique—its ferocity intertwined with a sticky, continuous flow, its explosive force imbued with the resilience of water. In his mind, the true essence circulation method of the Water Fire Defense Scripture and the spirit of the staff technique quietly merged.

"Ding!"

As the hammer fell, it didn't aim for extreme hardness. Instead, it guided the impurities within the iron ingot to be stripped away according to a unique vibrational rhythm, while simultaneously imbuing the material with a subtle, almost imperceptible, unyielding toughness akin to flowing water.

Purifying precious materials was, in itself, a form of cultivation.

It required more refined control of true essence, more precise mastery of heat, and a deep understanding of the material's inherent properties.

One hammer blow after another, the sound of forging echoed in the quiet room with a peculiar rhythm, as if simulating some profound breathing technique.

The black iron ingots were repeatedly folded and hammered under the flames and heavy blows, sparks of impurities flying and then extinguishing.

After an unknown amount of time, a seemingly ordinary, yet subtly lustrous and remarkably tough and elastic iron ingot appeared in his hand.

Although not a finished magical artifact, this understanding of materials and the preliminary forging foundation that integrated the essence of water and fire were clear proof of his quiet progress in artifact refining techniques.

Only by solidifying his foundation and perfecting his skills could he, in the future, use those precious materials to refine magical artifacts that truly suited his cultivation method and carried his own great path.

Finishing the forging, Chen Heng walked out of the artifact refining room and came to the window.

Jade Spring Mountain remained tranquil. The clan settlement below seemed to have been bustling for a while after he obtained the Golden Token, but that noise had been isolated outside the Green Bamboo Lodge.

He knew that below the mountain was not entirely peaceful. Envy, anticipation, and scrutinizing gazes had never disappeared. Chen Minghao, despite having a servant quota, his state of mind was still unknown.

And further away, the Luo Family's covetousness had likely never ceased. That three-year battle declaration, unpublicized yet known to both sides, was a silent spur.

The mountain wind brushed through the green bamboo forest, bringing a fresh scent and the roar of the waterfall.

Chen Heng took a deep breath.

The calm before the storm was especially precious.

He needed to accumulate strength within this precious "stillness"—strength sufficient to cleave open the path ahead and fear no "difficulties and dangers"—whether it was the tempest before the Azure Profound Sect in two years, or that ice-like, wind-swift silhouette on the Duelling Stage.

He turned back towards the furnace, reignited the flames, and picked up another piece of material.

Neither cultivation nor artifact refining could afford a moment of slack.

The green bamboo of Jade Spring Mountain swayed gently in the wind, deeply rooted in the rocks, resilient and unbending.

Still waters run deep, revealing their power.