Sharing a Spirit Gathering Array

There was not a moment of rest while chiseling cold stones.

The spiritual energy within her body churned madly, while she also had to keep her nerves taut and carefully control both her spiritual energy and the strength in her hands.

If she was even the slightest bit careless and the nail struck the cold stone, the surging chill would freeze a person solid.

Painful as it was, Lin Qi was still incredibly thrilled when she saw the results.

At that moment, Lin Qi had only one thought in her mind.

Chisel!

She was going to chisel like her life depended on it!

As long as it did not kill her from exhaustion, she would keep chiseling!

Lin Qi felt that if she stayed in the Lübing Abyss, she would not even need fifteen days to break through to the Third Stage of Qi Refining.

No—the Fourth Stage of Qi Refining was possible too!

Excited as she was, Lin Qi still knew her limits.

She understood her own strength well and would not recklessly charge ahead without pause.

After chiseling for two hours, she found a secluded corner and took out the third-tier Spirit Gathering Array True Monarch Qingyun had given her.

Last time, she had spent thirty Spirit Stones on Luo Ci to help him break through to the First Stage of Qi Refining.

Lin Qi had discussed the Spirit Stones with him, and Luo Ci immediately thumped his chest, putting on the air of a filthy rich tycoon as he gave Lin Qi one hundred low-grade Spirit Stones.

Holding those hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, Lin Qi lavished Luo Ci with praise until his little face turned red.

She then happily hugged the Spirit Stones and went back.

With the hundred Spirit Stones Luo Ci had given her, Lin Qi was no longer so stingy.

Generously, she placed thirty Spirit Stones into the array plate and began cultivating at once.

The array plate had been personally refined by True Monarch Qingyun and had long since been treated against the cold.

Sitting atop it, Lin Qi felt warm all over, with an endless stream of spiritual energy for her to absorb. It felt so comfortable that she did not want to get down.

Unfortunately, the sound of hammers striking nails came from every direction, and Lin Qi's calm little heart gradually grew anxious.

Once her body had fully recovered, she stuffed in another tender Fire Spirit Flower shoot, picked up her hammer and nail, and began feeling her way along the ice wall.

By evening, the sounds of chiseling gradually dwindled, and the Qi Refining cultivators fell asleep one after another.

Still brimming with energy, Lin Qi carried her hammer and nail deeper into the ice tunnels.

After a tiring day, Tan Yueqing put away her hammer and nail. Just as she was about to sit cross-legged and meditate, she heard a rhythmic knocking sound from nearby.

She abruptly opened her eyes and looked toward one of the ice tunnels.

There were many ice tunnels in the cavern, each one stretching deep inside. They branched out one after another like a maze.

Tan Yueqing preferred peace and quiet and disliked staying where there were many people, so as soon as she entered the cavern, she had gone deep inside to find a secluded spot.

During the day, there had still been several chiseling sounds around her. By nightfall, nearly all of them had vanished, leaving only this one, continuing steadily and rhythmically.

That meant this cultivator was not only diligent, but also exceptionally gifted.

Those in the first stretch of ice tunnels were all Qi Refining disciples. No matter how great the gap in their Cultivation Levels, the impact of the ice walls was more or less the same.

Unless this disciple had an extremely strong ability to convert and absorb spiritual energy—able not only to dispel the chill within their body, but also to absorb spiritual energy at great speed.

Only by keeping the spiritual energy entering and leaving the body in balance, along with having a stronger physique, could one persist without stopping.

Tan Yueqing had ranked first on the Immortal Ascension Ladder. Ever since entering the sect, she had always been highly valued, and she had thought her aptitude was already quite good. Yet there was actually someone who could endure longer than she could.

Before she knew it, she was already walking toward the ice tunnel where the sound had come from.

Chiseling ice was a task that consumed both spiritual energy and physical strength, but after doing it often enough, one naturally became skilled at it.

At first, Lin Qi could only chisel out one piece in two hours. Now, she could produce one in less than an hour.

She quickly dealt with the cold stone in front of her, took out the array plate, and sat down to meditate and restore her spiritual energy.

Before long, she sensed footsteps approaching.

Lin Qi opened her eyes and met Tan Yueqing's puzzled gaze.

"It's you..."

Tan Yueqing pondered for a moment. Her gaze swept over the third-tier array plate on the ground, and she quickly guessed Lin Qi's identity.

"You're the new personal disciple True Monarch Qingyun has taken in?"

Lin Qi froze. "You've heard of me?"

True Monarch Tinghan looked like such a taciturn person. Could he actually be a blabbermouth?

Tan Yueqing shook her head, her voice as calm as still water.

"I guessed."

"Senior Sister Yuan Xi is True Monarch Qingyun's personal disciple. At your age, you can enter the Lübing Abyss, and Senior Sister Yuan Xi is even looking after you. Your status on Zonglei Peak must be far from ordinary."

As she spoke, she paused for a long moment before adding one more sentence.

"True Monarch Qingyun only accepted disciples based on fate; she never took disciples at the disciple recruitment assembly."

Tan Yueqing had climbed all the way up the Immortal Ascension Ladder, and she knew perfectly well who the top ten were.

She was certain she had never seen Lin Qi on the Immortal Ascension Ladder.

That meant she could only be True Monarch Qingyun's "fated disciple."

Lin Qi turned those words over in her mind and found something off about them. "How do you know so much about Zonglei Peak?"

That was as good as admitting Tan Yueqing's guess.

Tan Yueqing looked quietly at her with clear black-and-white eyes, making no attempt to hide it.

"I originally wanted to enter Zonglei Peak's tutelage, but unfortunately, I had no fate with True Monarch Qingyun."

Lin Qi gave an awkward laugh.

Who knew what True Monarch Xiuyue and True Monarch Tinghan would think upon hearing that?

They had fought so fiercely over her, while her heart had long since settled on True Monarch Qingyun.

Alas, King Xiang had feelings, but the goddess had none.

As True Monarch Qingyun's disciple, Lin Qi felt rather proud that her master was so popular.

Once her mood improved, she became especially warm and hospitable.

Right in front of Tan Yueqing, Lin Qi patted the ground and smiled with innocent enthusiasm. "How about... together?"

Tan Yueqing raised an eyebrow, only to hear Lin Qi add—

"You only need to provide half the Spirit Stones to enjoy a third-tier Spirit Gathering Array. That's quite a bargain."

Tan Yueqing: ...

Though she found Lin Qi's "generosity" and lack of guardedness unbelievable, Tan Yueqing was still shamefully tempted.

A third-tier Spirit Gathering Array...

Even if one had Spirit Stones in ordinary times, there was nowhere to use them.

Much less in a place like the Lübing Abyss.

Lin Qi gazed at Tan Yueqing with harmless eyes and a faint smile, as though extending a silent invitation.

Her so-called hospitality was really just because she was short on Spirit Stones!

The third-tier Spirit Gathering Array was indeed irresistible, but it burned through Spirit Stones at no slow pace.

After a single day, one hundred Spirit Stones would be gone.

When Lin Qi realized this, her heart ached as though it were bleeding.

Seeing Tan Yueqing at a time like this, she immediately came up with the idea of pooling together to use the array disk.

The Spirit Gathering Array lasted for so long anyway. Having one more person cultivate alongside her might siphon away some spiritual energy, but it would not affect the array's acceleration time.

Most importantly, she would only need to pay half the Spirit Stones!

Looking at Tan Yueqing's impassive face, Lin Qi had assumed she would refuse without hesitation.

Who knew that after a few breaths of silence, Tan Yueqing silently took fifteen low-grade Spirit Stones from her storage space and held them out before Lin Qi.

"It's a deal!"

Lin Qi looked at the Spirit Stones gleaming with eye-catching light and nodded while suppressing her delight. "Lin Qi of Zonglei Peak always keeps her word!"

After handing over the Spirit Stones, Tan Yueqing was just about to sit down and meditate atop the Spirit Gathering Array Disk.

Then she suddenly heard Lin Qi ask softly beside her, "Do you have any friends who also want to use the Spirit Gathering Array Disk? Preferably ones with Spirit Stones."

There was still one slot left; it would probably be filled in the afternoon.