Breakthrough (Please Bookmark)

As Qi Chuan gazed at the words appearing in his field of vision, a hint of delight showed in his eyes.

A Hundredfold Critical Hit truly was effective for breaking through bottlenecks!

At the same time, some new information surfaced in Qi Chuan's mind, including insights into how to break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage.

The so-called Inspiration Opportunity.

However, this Inspiration Opportunity was not particularly substantial.

After all, Qi Chuan had only circulated the Evergreen Art through one Great Heavenly Cycle before. His original Inspiration Opportunity for breaking through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage had been exceedingly, exceedingly slight.

Thus, even after the Seventy-twofold Critical Hit, it remained far from apparent.

It was clearly still insufficient to use this to break through the Mid-stage Bottleneck.

But Qi Chuan believed that as long as he used Hundredfold Critical Hit to continually obtain such Inspiration Opportunities and eventually bring them to Perfection Stage, he would naturally break through when the water flowed and the channel formed.

At that thought, a smile appeared on Qi Chuan's face.

"Next, I'll continue circulating the Evergreen Art, continuously trying to sense that Inspiration Opportunity, then use Hundredfold Critical Hit to amplify the gains."

Thus, Qi Chuan began circulating the Evergreen Art once more, mobilizing all the Spell Power in his body. Yet he did not attempt a breakthrough, merely trying to sense the Inspiration Opportunity for one.

However, gains did not come every time.

You circulated the Evergreen Art through one Great Heavenly Cycle, attempting to capture an Inspiration Opportunity to break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage. Tenfold Critical Hit triggered. You obtained tenfold gains. You gained nothing.

After one Great Heavenly Cycle ended, Qi Chuan opened his Eyes with a somewhat helpless expression.

This time, he had not sensed any Inspiration Opportunity again.

Since there had been no gain to begin with, even after the Tenfold Critical Hit, there was still nothing.

However, Qi Chuan believed it would not always be like this. Though his method of sensing Inspiration Opportunities was simple, he would eventually gain something. After all, it was merely a small bottleneck between the Early Qi Refining Stage and the Mid Qi Refining Stage.

Moreover, he did not need an especially clear sensation. As long as he gained even the slightest trace of insight, after the amplification of Hundredfold Critical Hit, the results would be considerable.

So Qi Chuan closed his Eyes once more and circulated the Evergreen Art.

You circulated the Evergreen Art through one Great Heavenly Cycle, attempting to capture an Inspiration Opportunity to break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage. Twentyfold Critical Hit triggered. You obtained twentyfold gains. You gained nothing.

You circulated the Evergreen Art through one Great Heavenly Cycle, attempting to capture an Inspiration Opportunity to break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage. Thirtyfold Critical Hit triggered. You obtained thirtyfold gains. You successfully captured a trace of Inspiration Opportunity to break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage.

Compared to improving his Cultivation Base and Cultivating Spells, acquiring these Inspiration Opportunities was a deeply mysterious affair.

Sometimes, even after continuously circulating the Evergreen Art through ten Great Heavenly Cycles, he could not trigger anything.

Yet at other times, he could capture a trace of Inspiration Opportunity several times in a row.

Qi Chuan could not determine the odds of such triggers, for the fluctuations were simply too great. However, as he continued striving, his Inspiration Opportunity for a breakthrough grew increasingly abundant and clear.

At this rate, reaching Perfection Stage was only a matter of time.

Yet likewise, this method of comprehension still required circulating the Evergreen Art and mobilizing the Spell Power throughout his body to flow through his Meridians, so there remained a daily limit.

Therefore, after trying for a certain length of time and feeling a faint, subtle stabbing pain from his Meridians, Qi Chuan could only stop comprehending and turn instead to Cultivating Spells.

He practiced the Fireball Technique, Water Arrow Technique, Golden Skin Technique, Earth Wall Technique, and Wood Vine Technique—all of them.

Thus, even while he was making this sprint toward the Mid Qi Refining Stage, his Basic Five Elements Spells continued to improve steadily.

In the blink of an eye, three months passed.

You circulated the Evergreen Art through one Great Heavenly Cycle, attempting to capture an Inspiration Opportunity to break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage. Hundredfold Critical Hit triggered. You obtained hundredfold gains. You successfully captured a trace of Inspiration Opportunity to break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage. Your Inspiration Opportunity for breaking through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage has reached Perfection Stage.

That day, after Qi Chuan circulated the Evergreen Art through another Great Heavenly Cycle and opened his Eyes, he saw this line of text.

Then, another trace of insight into breaking through the bottleneck appeared in his mind.

With this final trace of insight, it was as though a perfect circle had been drawn. At once, Qi Chuan could clearly sense an unusual fluctuation faintly rising from the Spell Power in his Dantian, while a sudden intuition welled up within his heart.

Sensing his current state, Qi Chuan smiled slightly. He knew that as long as he wished it, he could attempt a breakthrough at any moment—and he would certainly succeed in advancing to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

But in truth, Qi Chuan had long possessed opportunities to break through.

After all, over the past three months of effort, his understanding of the Inspiration Opportunity for a breakthrough had grown deeper and deeper. Though it had not reached Perfection Stage, the feeling of an imminent breakthrough had become increasingly clear.

During this process, an impulse had surfaced in Qi Chuan's heart many times. Should he try to break through immediately? Perhaps he would succeed?

But in the end, Qi Chuan restrained that impulse within his heart.

Because he knew that before the Inspiration Opportunity for a breakthrough reached Perfection Stage, attempting one directly could still fail. It was merely that as the Inspiration Opportunity increased, the chance of failure grew lower and lower.

And as long as he persevered until this Inspiration Opportunity reached Perfection Stage before attempting the breakthrough, he would succeed one hundred percent of the time. Why not wait a little longer?

Thus, Qi Chuan waited until now.

"Since the work is complete, I'll break through directly."

Feeling that incomparably intense sensation, Qi Chuan smiled faintly. Then he circulated the Evergreen Art, drawing out all the Spell Power in his Dantian and sending it flowing through his Meridians.

This time, however, although the circulation route was generally similar to his usual one, there were subtle differences. Spell Power even entered some Meridians that had never before been traversed by it.

Three months ago, Qi Chuan would never have dared attempt such a highly dangerous course of action. A single mistake could have led to grave consequences.

But now, as his Spell Power circulated, not only did no adverse abnormalities arise, Qi Chuan's aura instead grew stronger and stronger.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Strands of Spiritual Qi emerged from the void around him, pouring in through Qi Chuan's mouth, nose, and acupoints across his body. They circulated continuously within him and were rapidly refined, while drop after drop of Spell Power ultimately entered his Dantian.

His Dantian, which at the Qi Refining Third Layer Peak had reached its limit no matter how he cultivated and could no longer increase its Spell Power, was now steadily accumulating more.

Only after a full hour did this increase gradually cease.

When the final Great Heavenly Cycle of the Evergreen Art ended and all the Spell Power returned to his Dantian, Qi Chuan concluded his cultivation. After a moment of silence, he slowly opened his eyes.

Swish.

A sharp gleam flashed through his Eyes and vanished, while an indescribable majesty radiated from him.

His body seemed to emit an aura it had never possessed before, distinct from his previous state. This was the stronger Spiritual Pressure brought by his increased Spell Power.

Sensing the faint yet powerful feeling rising within his body, Qi Chuan smiled slightly. Then he half-closed his Eyes and turned his consciousness inward. His internal organs, every bone in his body, every muscle, every blood vessel... all appeared in perfect clarity.

This was the Spiritual Sense only cultivators of the Mid Qi Refining Stage possessed. Only with Spiritual Sense could one observe one's own body from within.

And when his Spiritual Sense swept over his Dantian, Qi Chuan finally, for the first time, clearly sensed exactly how much Total Mana he possessed, rather than merely relying on the vague sensations and impressions of before.