Half a Year of Growth

Su Changqing returned to Little Bamboo Peak and entered Quiet Heart Cave to begin his secluded cultivation.

Time flies like an arrow, and the sun and moon shuttle like a loom.

Immersed in his cultivation, Su Changqing felt time passing by like a galloping white horse. Soon, half a year had gone by.

In a small room on Little Bamboo Peak, Su Changqing, clad in snow-white robes with his hair unbound, found the entire room filled with various ancient-looking scrolls. He flipped through them one by one.

He propped his chin with one hand, while the other flipped through a sword manual titled "Clear Wind Sword Dao," reading with great interest. He was so engrossed that the slightest rustle of wind or grass around him couldn't break his concentration.

In just half an hour, he had finished reading the entire "Clear Wind Sword Dao." He then immediately grabbed another scroll and began to read.

[You have comprehended "Clear Wind Sword Dao." With your Unrivaled Insight, "Clear Wind Sword Dao" has been successfully evolved into "Gale Sword Dao."]

[Gale Sword Dao: The saying goes that all martial arts are invincible when fast enough. This sword dao focuses on swiftness like the wind, with sword strikes that are like flying immortals, defeating enemies with unseen, instantaneous attacks.]

[You have comprehended "Turtle Breath Technique." With your Unrivaled Insight, "Turtle Breath Technique" has been successfully evolved into "Heaven Concealment Method."]

[Heaven Concealment Method: Conceal the heavens and cross the sea, hiding your aura and masking your presence from the heavens. Even powerful cultivators cannot see through your cultivation, making it a top-tier technique for concealing one's vital energy.]

[You have perused the "Compendium of Basic Formations." With your Unrivaled Insight, you have successfully created the "Nine Star Immortal Slaying Formation."]

[Nine Star Immortal Slaying Formation: This formation uses the vastness of the nine stars as its foundation, with mountains, rivers, sun, and moon as its core. It condenses the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to power the formation. Once formed, it can overturn mountains and seas, possessing destructive power far beyond ordinary formations.]

[You have perused "Gu Yizi's Alchemy Notes." With your Unrivaled Insight, you have successfully created the "Spirit Fire Gathering Pill Technique."]

As Su Changqing comprehended each book, notifications of upgrades continuously sounded in his mind.

As evening approached.

Su Changqing put down the last book, rubbed his slightly sore wrist, and said with a faint smile, "With this, I have finally finished comprehending all the technique books on the first floor of the Qingyun Sect's library."

Over the past six months, Su Changqing's youthful face had gradually developed sharper features. His once cute and obedient appearance had transformed into a handsome and elegant demeanor. Standing there in his white robes, he looked like an immortal who had descended to the mortal realm.

Besides his appearance, his cultivation had also advanced by leaps and bounds during this period. Last week, he had reached the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining, just a step away from Foundation Establishment.

His current cultivation level was already catching up to Lu Xueqi, the Senior Sister most valued by his Master.

He heard that Lu Xueqi had only recently broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm a few months ago!

To go from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment in half a year—he had subtly asked Shui Yue who could be compared to such a cultivation speed.

Shui Yue merely smiled enigmatically and replied.

"According to ancient texts, our Patriarch Qingye took a full ten months to go from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, and he became a figure who reversed an era. If someone truly could go from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment in half a year, they would undoubtedly be destined for the Great Dao. However, I have never heard of such a person."

Su Changqing nodded in agreement.

So my current cultivation speed is even faster than Patriarch Qingye's.

If this were to get out, it would be astonishing and shocking. It might even attract some powerful cultivators to capture me for research.

Fortunately, he had been staying on Great Bamboo Peak all this time and had learned some techniques to conceal his aura, hiding his cultivation level.

Whenever anyone asked, he would simply say he had just begun his cultivation journey, never revealing that he was already close to Foundation Establishment.

In addition to this, during his cultivation breaks over the past six months, he had borrowed many cultivation manuals and scriptures from the Qingyun Sect's library, learning about formations, alchemy, body refinement, sword dao, and more.

With his Unrivaled Insight, all these formations, alchemy techniques, and other scriptures he had comprehended had evolved into even more powerful forms.

As such, his combat strength could not be compared to others at the same level.

Furthermore, he was practicing the Wuji Xuanqing Dao, which was even more profound and mysterious than the Taiji Xuanqing Dao. Even though Su Changqing was currently only at the tenth level of Qi Refining, he might still be able to contend with some Foundation Establishment cultivators.

However, none of this could make Su Changqing stop. The most important thing now was to break through from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment.

"If I want to break through to Foundation Establishment, simply meditating in seclusion probably won't be enough in a short time. I need to find a way to speed up the process."

Su Changqing stood up, his eyes flashing with thought.

The Wuji Xuanqing Dao was far more profound and powerful than the Taiji Xuanqing Dao, but its cultivation difficulty was also significantly greater. To break through to each major realm, he either needed to spend more time allowing his cultivation to naturally overcome bottlenecks, or he needed to use a breakthrough item to directly advance his cultivation.

Currently, if he wanted to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

One option was to wait for another month for his cultivation to naturally break through the bottleneck. The other was to find a rare heavenly treasure called the Desolate Immortal Orchid to use as a medicinal ingredient to refine a Foundation Establishment pill.

Su Changqing had indeed seen a description of the Desolate Immortal Orchid in the Qingyun Sect's library. The texts described it as an extremely precious and rare medicinal herb.

Moreover, it only existed on Nine Yin Mountain, which was about a hundred miles from the Qingyun Sect. Even reaching Nine Yin Mountain and finding it required a certain degree of luck; those without fate might search for half a year or even ten months without finding a single plant.

"I've been on the mountain for half a year now. It's time for me to go out and gain some experience."

With that thought, Su Changqing had made up his mind.

Currently, apart from his cultivation level, he had almost reached the peak of his abilities in all other aspects. Rather than being stuck in the Qi Refining Realm unable to break through, it would be better to descend the mountain and gain some experience.

The next day.

Su Changqing changed into a new set of clothes. He looked handsome and elegant, with determination in his eyes and a confident, mature, and steady expression.

He first went to the small hall of Little Bamboo Peak to find his Master, Shui Yue, intending to request permission to go down the mountain for training.

Upon entering the hall, Su Changqing only saw a group of fellow disciples practicing. He didn't see his Master, Shui Yue, anywhere. Unsure of where she had gone, Su Changqing walked up to Wen Min and asked, "Senior Sister, why don't I see Master?"

"Junior Brother, Master went to the Sect Main Hall today on some urgent business. If you need to find Master, you can go to the Sect Main Hall," Wen Min replied to Su Changqing after a moment of surprise.

She always felt that her Junior Brother, who usually stayed in Quiet Heart Cave or his room cultivating, seemed to change every time she saw him.

"Oh, thank you, Senior Sister Wen Min. I have something urgent to attend to and need to find Master. I won't disturb you any further."

Having received his answer, Su Changqing quickly left. Seizing the opportunity when no one was around, he took out a flying sword and flew towards the Sect Main Hall.