Half a month later, Wind Moon Sect, Inner Sect.
Among the mountains surrounding Wind Moon Lake, on an Inner Sect Spirit Peak, stood a Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion at the edge of a cliff.
Though the Cave Mansion looked generally crude and rough, it had everything it needed and was more than sufficient for ordinary cultivation.
Inside a Stone Chamber, Qi Chuan sat cross-legged on the bed in a cultivation posture. Strands of Spiritual Qi peeled away from the void around him, flowing into his body through his nose, mouth, and pores like streams of mist.
This surge of Spiritual Qi was incomparable to when Qi Chuan had cultivated on his own Independent Peak in Red Maple Valley. Clearly, this was the effect of a Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion.
In the entire Cave Mansion, indeed, throughout this whole Spirit Peak, only this Stone Chamber possessed Spiritual Qi Concentration at the Tier 1 High-grade level.
The vast majority of other places were only Tier 1 Low Grade.
Even so, it still lived up to the name of a Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion.
"Phew..."
A moment later, Qi Chuan opened his eyes and exhaled a white Qi Sword.
You circulated the Evergreen Art, absorbed Spiritual Qi, refined the medicinal power, and transformed it into your own spell power. Eightfold Critical Hit triggered. You gained eightfold returns, and your total mana increased slightly.
When Qi Chuan opened his eyes, a familiar line of text appeared before him.
Watching the text emerge, Qi Chuan smiled faintly, then closed his eyes and used his Spiritual Sense to examine the total mana within his dantian.
"Mm, not bad. Compared with before, this hour of cultivation increased my total mana by quite a bit more. It seems this Gathering Yuan Pill truly is far better than the Lineage's Spirit Quenching Pill."
Qi Chuan opened his eyes and nodded slightly.
Ever since moving into this Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion half a month ago, Qi Chuan had spent several days looking around the area and becoming somewhat familiar with the Inner Sect environment.
After that, he had gone to the Pill Pavilion of the Wind Moon Sect's Inner Sect and exchanged for five Gathering Yuan Pills suitable for those in the Mid Qi Refining Stage. He then cultivated in this Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion with the aid of the Gathering Yuan Pills.
Compared to the Qi Family's Spirit Quenching Pills, these Gathering Yuan Pills were much more expensive. A single pill cost ten Low-grade Spirit Stones. Exchanging for five at once had immediately reduced Qi Chuan's fortune to barely over twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones.
The Qi Family's Spirit Quenching Pills, meanwhile, cost only five Low-grade Spirit Stones each—nearly half as much.
However, the Gathering Yuan Pill had its advantages. Its boost to cultivation speed was nearly one-third greater than that of the Spirit Quenching Pill.
A full one-third increase was nothing short of terrifying. If Wind Moon Sect intended to make it available to outsiders, countless Cultivation Families would likely be willing to trade even more Spirit Stones for a single Gathering Yuan Pill.
Unfortunately, Gathering Yuan Pills could only be exchanged for within the Wind Moon Sect's Inner Sect, and there was a certain quota, cutting off that possibility.
Of course, if an Inner Sect Disciple were willing to slow their own cultivation, save up some Gathering Yuan Pills, and resell them outside, that was not impossible. Very few people did so, however.
"At this rate of mana growth, I'll probably only need another year and a half to enter the Qi Refining Fifth Layer?"
Qi Chuan assessed his cultivation speed.
After entering the Mid Qi Refining Stage, there were no real bottlenecks from the Qi Refining Fourth Layer to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. Once one's total mana met the standard, one could advance.
With the dense Spiritual Qi of this Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion and the assistance of the Gathering Yuan Pills, Qi Chuan's cultivation speed, which should have slowed after entering the Mid Qi Refining Stage, would instead allow him to break through sooner than expected.
A year and a half—even counting from when he had first entered the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, along with the previous few months—would amount to less than two years in total.
Less than two years to go from newly entering the Qi Refining Fourth Layer to advancing into the Qi Refining Fifth Layer?
Such cultivation speed would be enough to leave many people astonished if word spread.
"At this rate, reaching the Late Qi Refining Stage before I turn thirty won't be a problem at all. Even if I can't become a True Disciple then, I can remain in the Inner Sect until I'm fifty."
"Of course, that's only the worst-case scenario. Perhaps I'll pass the True Disciple Selection and become a True Disciple before I turn thirty?"
Qi Chuan thought this to himself.
Whether the best-case scenario or the worst-case scenario came to pass, Qi Chuan was still far better off than ordinary Inner Sect Disciples.
There were many disciples in the Wind Moon Sect's Inner Sect.
It was not merely filled with Cultivation Family disciples like Qi Chuan, who had only recently entered the Inner Sect. There were also many older disciples.
A few days ago, while Qi Chuan had gone out to clear his mind, he had happened to hear that Wind Moon Sect's Disciple Recruitment had completely concluded.
Besides accepting some servant disciples and Outer Disciples, the sect had even recruited several Inner Sect Disciples. They were Rogue Cultivators with decent aptitude, enough to catch Wind Moon Sect's eye.
It was said that one of them, Li Qingshan, possessed a Top Three Grades Spiritual Root as well. However, he had begun cultivating relatively late and was already eighteen years old, with a Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivation base.
Still, his Spiritual Root was there for all to see, and since he was worth investing in, Wind Moon Sect had accepted him into the Inner Sect.
With such aptitude, and Inner Sect resources after entering the Inner Sect, he had hope of reaching the Late Qi Refining Stage before thirty. He might even have a chance to become a True Disciple in the future.
Throughout Wind Moon Sect's history, there had been no shortage of Rogue Cultivators who had luckily joined the sect and ultimately climbed all the way to become True Disciples.
"But when all is said and done, whether the Inner Sect's new disciples, old disciples, Family Disciples, or Rogue Cultivators are crouching tigers and hidden dragons, and whether the situation is complex or simple, has little to do with me."
"I only need to cultivate diligently as usual. When my cultivation base is sufficient in the future and a True Disciple position becomes vacant, I can try to participate."
"If one attempt fails, I'll join the next selection. One of them will succeed eventually. In short, becoming a True Disciple isn't a problem."
Shaking his head slightly to dispel these thoughts, Qi Chuan calmed his mind and circulated the Evergreen Art once more.
You circulated the Evergreen Art, absorbed Spiritual Qi, refined the medicinal power, and transformed it into your own spell power. Sevenfold Critical Hit triggered. You gained sevenfold returns, and your total mana increased slightly.
In the blink of an eye, another three months passed.
That day, Qi Chuan emerged from his Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion.
After coming out, he took out his Cave Mansion Token, injected a stream of spell power into it, and gave it a slight flick. A ray of light immediately lit up and shot into the Cave Mansion.
At once, formation light patterns rose around the Cave Mansion, enveloping the entire Cave Mansion and half the cliff.
This was the Cave Mansion's built-in protective formation. It could even block Spiritual Sense. With it activated, no one besides Qi Chuan could force their way inside.
Though, thanks to Qi Chuan currently being poor as a church mouse, there was nothing in the Cave Mansion that had not already been there before his arrival.
"It's about time I went out."
Watching the formation's light rise, Qi Chuan murmured.
Ever since entering the Wind Moon Sect's Inner Sect, he had devoted himself to cultivation for several months. His total mana had increased considerably, and he had also progressed significantly within the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
Moreover, by taking time to practice spells during this period, all of his Basic Five Elements Spells—including the Golden Skin Technique, Earth Wall Technique, and Wood Vine Technique—had reached the Perfected Stage. It was no longer like before, when only the Fireball Technique and Water Arrow Technique had reached the Perfected Stage.
However, the Wind Moon Sect's Inner Sect required three Sect Missions each year. Thus, he had no choice but to go out and complete one.
Qi Chuan then turned and left his Cave Mansion, heading for the Mission Hall within the Inner Sect.
The Mission Hall was not far from Qi Chuan's Cave Mansion, only several peaks away. At Qi Chuan's current pace, he arrived quickly.
At the mountaintop stood a tall building—the Mission Hall. Glimmering Light descended through the air around it, revealing human figures before they entered the Mission Hall. These were the relatively few Inner Sect disciples who possessed Flying Magic Tools.
Most were disciples without Flying Magic Tools, walking here on foot just like Qi Chuan.
Though Qi Refining cultivators could use the Levitation Technique to fly briefly, it consumed too much spell power. Under ordinary circumstances, cultivators at this stage would conserve their spell power rather than waste it casually.
There were many disciples in the Inner Sect, though they were somewhat scattered. The Mission Hall was quite a bustling place.
That was because these Inner Sect Disciples did not possess Qi Chuan's Hundredfold Critical Hit. For them, ordinary elixir assistance alone was not enough, and their demand for resources was substantial.
Not only did they complete the requirement of three Sect Missions a year, but in order to break through their cultivation base faster and strengthen their own methods and abilities, they often competed fiercely, accepting large numbers of missions and earning resources through great hardship.
Even disciples from Cultivation Families were often the same. Naturally, those like Ye Liang, whose Lineage was powerful and who possessed a Top Three Grades Spiritual Root, were exceptions. The Ye Family might pour enormous resources into him.
Qi Chuan, however, possessed the Golden Finger. Under normal circumstances, merely completing three missions a year was more or less barely enough for his cultivation.
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