News of the High-Level Storage Stone (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Follow-ups)

After arriving at Jia Nan Academy and joining the Alchemy Department, Xu Haoyu's life became extremely routine: he cultivated Dou Qi at night and improved his alchemy during the day.

His days were full and fulfilling, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye...

Recently, Xu Haoyu had been very satisfied with his progress. After acquiring the Pill Fire Technique, his ability to control flames had increased dramatically, and refining any Rank 4 Pill had become effortless for him.

Not only that, his Dou Qi had improved remarkably as well. In half a year, he had risen another three stars. Now, he was already an Eight Star Da Dou Shi.

With his unique Seven-Colored Dou Qi, which fused seven attributes of Dou Qi, its sheer abundance was no weaker than that of ordinary Dou Ling.

Sitting in his room, Xu Haoyu began planning what to do next:

"Soon. In less than half a month, the Inner Courtyard Selection Competition will begin. This time, I can finally enter the Inner Courtyard."

"However, once I enter the Inner Courtyard, it won't be easy to leave. Gathering medicinal ingredients will become rather troublesome. Perhaps before entering, I should make a trip to the Black-Corner Region and collect all the materials for the Ice Soul Pill."

"But the Black-Corner Region isn't a place where one can survive without sufficient strength. I'd definitely be devoured without even scraps left behind. Before setting out, I need to raise my strength a little more."

With that thought, Xu Haoyu raised a hand and touched his Storage Ring. After rummaging through it, he took out a pile of bottles and jars. They were all Rank 4 Pills that he had refined over this period of time.

"For a Da Dou Shi, the best pill for raising Dou Qi is naturally this—the Purple Heart Breaking Barrier Pill!"

As Xu Haoyu spoke, he picked up a Jade Bottle containing a purple pill. This purple pill was the Purple Heart Breaking Barrier Pill, capable of raising a Da Dou Shi by one star without side effects.

Strictly speaking, the Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill was actually more effective. However, a genuine Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill required three kinds of special flames to refine. The more special the flames, the stronger the medicinal effect. It could even raise the strength of Dou Ling experts to a certain extent.

At present, Xu Haoyu believed that he could refine a Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill, but he did not possess any Heavenly Flames. Rather than taking a low-quality Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill, he might as well take a high-quality Purple Heart Breaking Barrier Pill.

Besides, he had refined all these pills himself, so their quality was absolutely guaranteed. Without hesitation, he poured out the pill from the Jade Bottle and swallowed it.

The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, turning into a mass of purple energy that entered his Meridians through his throat. Following the Meridians, it began spreading through his Four Limbs and Skeletal Structure.

Xu Haoyu closed his eyes and steadied his mind, swiftly entering a cultivation state. As he began circulating his cultivation technique, the complex network of Meridians within his body started greedily competing for the purple energy within them.

Like wolves and jackals, they divided up the purple energy, circulated it through a complete cycle within the Meridians, refined it into pure Dou Qi, and then poured it into the diamond-shaped Dou Crystal in his dantian.

After a while, Xu Haoyu opened his eyes with a blank, bewildered expression. The Purple Heart Breaking Barrier Pill, which should have raised one's Dou Qi by a star, had been completely refined by him, yet it had only increased his Dou Qi somewhat. It had not even reached the threshold for a breakthrough.

After figuring it out, Xu Haoyu did not know whether to laugh or cry. Somewhat speechlessly, he said:

"Looks like my foundation is simply too solid. Eating one pill feels no different from eating nothing. In that case, I'll keep eating until I break through!"

With that thought, Xu Haoyu hurriedly swallowed a second Purple Heart Breaking Barrier Pill, then circulated his cultivation technique and began refining it.

The first pill, the second pill... then soon came the third and fourth. It was not until he had consumed seven Purple Heart Breaking Barrier Pills that Xu Haoyu finally filled his Dou Crystal and officially broke through to a Nine Star Da Dou Shi.

The Seven-Colored Dou Crystal in his dantian bloomed with brilliant light. Even the slightest tremor from it could stir ripples of energy. The Dou Qi it contained was simply immense.

Xu Haoyu opened his eyes and chuckled.

"Seven Purple Heart Breaking Barrier Pills only managed to raise my strength by one star. If this special physique of mine has no limit, I don't even know how strong I could become."

He then stood and stretched his limbs. Every cell in his body seemed to come alive, and he felt as though he had endless strength coursing through him.

Looking out the window, he saw that the sun had risen. Strands of light illuminated the room brightly. A whole night had already passed.

After fetching water and washing up, Xu Haoyu first went to the dining hall for breakfast, then went in turn to see Fire Elder of the Alchemy Department and Hu Qian, the academy's Vice-Dean.

He requested a few days of leave and explained that he intended to go to the Black-Corner Region to purchase a batch of medicinal ingredients. He promised that he would return in time before the Inner Courtyard Selection Competition began.

Fire Elder directly rejected the request. With Xu Haoyu's terrifying talent, any mishap in the Black-Corner Region would be an enormous loss. The Black-Corner Region was no good place; it was a chaotic land utterly devoid of order.

If Xu Haoyu wanted medicinal ingredients, he could simply put up a bounty and have others search for them on his behalf. Surely countless people would willingly gather the pills he needed in order to befriend an alchemist like him.

It was a good suggestion, but Xu Haoyu did not want to wait that long. After discussing it, Hu Qian agreed to grant Xu Haoyu leave, and he would personally accompany Xu Haoyu on a trip to the Black-Corner Region.

The Qi Gathering Powder Xu Haoyu had gifted him back then had allowed Hu Jia, after half a year of cultivation and reaching the ninth stage of Dou Qi, to successfully break through to a 1-Star Dou Zhe.

Hu Qian thus returned the favor by agreeing to Xu Haoyu's leave request and offering to accompany him personally.

With a Nine Star Dou Huang like Hu Qian as his guard, Xu Haoyu could practically swagger through the Black-Corner Region. He could buy medicinal ingredients wherever he wished. In the Black-Corner Region, aside from those old monsters ranked near the top of the Black Ranking, no one was Hu Qian's match.

Not long afterward, two figures left Canaan City, passed through Peace Town, and entered the Black-Corner Region.

They were Xu Haoyu and Hu Qian!

Although the Black-Corner Region was one of the most chaotic places around, it truly had an abundance of good things, with people selling every kind of miscellaneous item imaginable.

As long as one was strong enough, one could thrive there like a fish in water. With Hu Qian personally guarding him, Xu Haoyu visited quite a few cities. Not only did he gather the four materials needed to refine the Ice Soul Pill—the magic core of a Rank 5 Ice-Type Magical Beast, Ice Spirit Grass, Azure Frost Fruit, and Cold Marrow Branch—he even collected three complete sets. That gave him room for error; surely one of the three attempts would succeed.

In addition, on this particular day, they heard some news: an auction would soon be held in Black Seal City, one of the most prosperous cities in the Black-Corner Region.

The organizer was the Eight Gates Sect, which controlled Black Seal City. The sect leader of the Eight Gates Sect, Yuan Yi, was also a renowned expert on the Black Ranking.

That was not the important part. The important part was that, aside from all kinds of treasures, the auction would also feature a fist-sized High-Level Storage Stone. Within such a High-Level Storage Stone, used to forge High-Level Storage Rings, there might be an exceedingly precious Spirit Receptacle hidden within.