Gathering Yuan Pill, Advancement Speed (Please Bookmark)

Half a month later, Wind Moon Sect, inner sect.

Among the mountains surrounding Wind Moon Lake, on a certain inner sect Spirit Peak, stood a Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion by a cliffside.

Though the Cave Mansion looked crude and simple overall, it had basically everything it needed, enough for ordinary cultivation.

Inside a stone chamber, Qi Chuan sat cross-legged on the bed in a cultivation posture. Threads of Spiritual Qi separated from the void around him, then flowed into his body through his nose, mouth, and pores like drifting mist.

The speed at which this Spiritual Qi surged was utterly incomparable to when Qi Chuan had cultivated on his own Independent Peak in Red Maple Valley. This was clearly the effect brought by the Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion.

Moreover, in the entire Cave Mansion, even across this whole Spirit Peak, only this stone chamber possessed Spiritual Qi Concentration at the Tier 1 High-grade level.

The Vast Majority of the other areas were merely 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 rewards. Your Total Mana increased slightly.

When Qi Chuan opened his eyes, a familiar line of text appeared before him.

Watching the words emerge, Qi Chuan smiled faintly. He then closed his eyes and used his Spiritual Sense to examine the Total Mana within his Dantian.

"Mm, not bad. Compared to before, this hour of cultivation increased my Total Mana by quite a bit more. It seems this Gathering Yuan Pill really 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 wandering around 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 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 Pill, the Gathering Yuan Pill was much more expensive. One pill cost a full ten Low-grade Spirit Stones. Exchanging for five at once had left Qi Chuan with only a little over twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

The Qi Family's Spirit Quenching Pill, meanwhile, cost only five Low-grade Spirit Stones, making the Gathering Yuan Pill nearly twice as expensive.

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.

That was a full one-third increase—nothing short of terrifying. If the Wind Moon Sect intended to open it up, countless Cultivation Families outside would likely be willing to pay even more Spirit Stones for a single Gathering Yuan Pill.

Unfortunately, the Gathering Yuan Pill could only be exchanged within the Wind Moon Sect's inner sect, and there was a certain quota, cutting off that possibility.

Still, if an inner sect disciple were willing to slow their own cultivation and save up some Gathering Yuan Pills to resell outside, it could be done. Very few people would choose to do so, however.

"At this rate of Spell Power growth, I'll probably only need another year and a half to advance to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer?"

Qi Chuan gauged his cultivation speed.

After advancing into the Mid Qi Refining Stage, there were no real bottlenecks between the Qi Refining Fourth Layer and Qi Refining Sixth Layer. Once one's Total Mana reached the standard, one could advance.

With the dense Spiritual Qi within this Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion and the support of the Gathering Yuan Pills, Qi Chuan's cultivation speed, which should have slowed after reaching the Mid Qi Refining Stage, was instead set to break through earlier 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 to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer?

If such cultivation speed got out, it would be enough to leave quite a few people in astonishment.

"At this rate, reaching the Late Qi Refining Stage before thirty won't be a problem at all. Even if I can't advance into the true succession 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 to himself.

Whether it was the best-case scenario or the worst-case scenario, Qi Chuan was still far better off than ordinary inner sect disciples.

There were quite a few disciples in the Wind Moon Sect's inner sect.

It was not made up only of Cultivation Family disciples like Qi Chuan who had just 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 the Wind Moon Sect's Disciple Recruitment had completely concluded.

Not only had they recruited some servant disciples and Outer Disciples, they had even taken in several inner sect disciples. All were Rogue Cultivators with decent aptitude, enough to catch the Wind Moon Sect's eye.

It was said that one of them, named Li Qingshan, also possessed a Top Three Grades Spiritual Root. However, he had begun cultivating relatively late. He was already eighteen years old and had a cultivation base at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

Still, his Spiritual Root was right there for all to see, and there was a chance of making an investment, so the Wind Moon Sect had accepted him into the inner sect.

With such aptitude, after entering the inner sect and receiving inner sect resources, he had hope of reaching the Late Qi Refining Stage before thirty. In the future, he might even have a chance to advance into the true succession.

Throughout the 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, whether its situation is complicated or simple, has little to do with me."

"I only need to cultivate diligently as usual. Then, when my cultivation base is sufficient and a true succession slot opens up, I can try to participate."

"If I fail once, I'll join the next selection. One time will succeed eventually. In short, becoming a True Disciple isn't a problem."

Qi Chuan shook his head slightly, dispersing those thoughts. Once his mind settled, he 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 rewards. Your Total Mana increased slightly.

In the blink of an eye, three months passed.

On this day, Qi Chuan emerged from his Tier 1 High-grade Cave Mansion.

After stepping outside, he took out the Cave Mansion Token, injected a strand of Spell Power into it, and gave it a light 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 dwelling 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 other than Qi Chuan could force their way inside.

Of course, thanks to Qi Chuan currently being poor as a church mouse, there was nothing inside the Cave Mansion that had not already been there before he arrived.

"It's about time I went out."

Watching the formation's light rise, Qi Chuan murmured.

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 greatly within the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

Furthermore, 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 missions each year, so 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 located 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 peak of a mountain stood a Tall Building—the Mission Hall. In the surrounding sky, several Glimmering Lights descended, revealing Human Figures who then 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 normal 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 therefore a lively place.

Unlike Qi Chuan, these inner sect disciples did not possess a Hundredfold Critical Hit and could not get by with merely normal Elixir support for cultivation, so their demand for resources was substantial.

Not only did they fulfill the requirement of three Sect Missions each year, but in order to break through faster and strengthen their own methods and abilities, they often competed fiercely, taking on large numbers of missions to earn resources. It was extremely arduous.

Even disciples from Cultivation Families were often the same. Naturally, exceptions existed, such as Ye Liang, whose Lineage wielded great influence and who possessed a Top Three Grades Spiritual Root. The Ye Family might have poured immense resources into him.

Qi Chuan, however, possessed a Golden Finger. Under normal circumstances, merely completing three missions a year was more or less barely enough to support his cultivation.