Yang Xingming's Gift

Ning Ri had not been deliberately talking nonsense; he truly had no other options.

But while Ning Ri felt he was making things up, Yang Xingming and Chen Xingfeng did not see it that way.

After their faces filled with question marks, the two fell into silence.

They were both thinking: Had Ning Ri begun to resemble those divine oddities from the Heaven Defying Sect?!

The reason the evil cultivators of the Heaven Defying Sect held such a peculiar and feared position in the Cultivation World was that everyone in their sect was simply too bizarre.

And now, Ning Ri was already showing such signs.

Leaping directly from the Third Stage Qi Refining to the peak of Qi Refining was not especially rare in the Cultivation World. On the contrary, such cases were rather "common," and could be called a delightful sight.

It was just that when others underwent repeated breakthroughs, there were always some signs and explanations.

For example, receiving an inheritance, time flowing backward, receiving an empowerment, suppressing one's realm for too long before breaking free of the shackles and erupting all at once, and so on and so forth.

At worst, they had borrowed cultivation from the Great Mercy Divine Palace.

For those who borrowed cultivation from the Great Mercy Divine Palace, let alone leaping from the Third Stage Qi Refining to the peak of Qi Refining, some had even directly risen from Foundation Establishment to Nascent Soul...

Of course, that depended on whether the Great Mercy Divine Palace approved the cultivation. If the review failed, then it could not be borrowed.

But regardless of whether the cultivation was inherited, borrowed, or gained through arduous cultivation and suppression... no matter how one put it, all such rapid advances and seven-realm breakthroughs in a single breath had warning signs.

But Ning Ri's situation had absolutely nothing to do with any of the above.

An inheritance? Where would Craftsmanship Tower have one?

An empowerment, time reversal? That was even more absurd.

As for the Great Mercy Divine Palace, there was even less to say. Ning Ri had not even left an imprint with the Great Mercy Divine Palace yet.

It was precisely because of this that they truly began to wonder—

Did Ning Ri genuinely believe in his heart that talent in refining and talent in Qi Refining were the same thing?

If that were truly the case, then Ning Ri's sudden breakthrough would not be difficult to understand.

But if so, a new problem arose...

Chen Xingfeng wore a solemn expression as he asked in a low voice, "Ning Ri, do you really think so?"

Ning Ri clenched his hand into a fist and brought it before his lips, coughing lightly before nodding stiffly at Chen Xingfeng. "Mm!"

Yang Xingming pondered. "Then if you think this way, what will you do in the future? It can be understood that talent in refining equals talent in Qi Refining, but what about talent in Foundation Establishment and Golden Core?"

Huh? This could be understood? Ning Ri's eyes widened slightly. Just what ideas had the Heaven Defying Sect spread among these people?

He scratched his head. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For example, one day I might decide that Foundation Establishment is actually foundation forging—building a Dao foundation. That is a refiner's bread and butter, right?"

"And Golden Core, Golden Core... well, Golden Core has gold in it. Gold is also something refiners deal with often, so if I turn gold into a core, I'll have reached Golden Core, right? Hahaha."

After saying that, he truly could not hold it in and laughed twice. It was so absurd that he had amused himself.

But Yang Xingming and Chen Xingfeng did not find it absurd. Instead, they each began seriously considering it...

Ning Ri: "..."

Fine. If you can believe something this ridiculous, then when I break through to Foundation Establishment later, I'll use this as my explanation.

Yang Xingming nodded slightly. "It is not entirely without reason. By your sect's logic, it is enough that you believe it yourself. But I see that you do not seem to believe it very much either. You need to think it through carefully."

Yang Xingming's earnest expression made it impossible for Ning Ri to tell whether he hoped Ning Ri would believe it or not.

Chen Xingfeng still had not abandoned his original goal. "If you cannot firmly believe it, you should leave the Heaven Defying Sect as soon as possible."

Ning Ri gave a dry laugh and touched his nose. "Thank you, Seniors. By the way, what did you come to see this junior about?!"

Only then did Yang Xingming return to the main topic. "Xi Yuan and I are leaving. Before we part, I wanted to give you a gift."

Ning Ri hurriedly waved his hands. "Senior Xingming, I did not do anything. How could I possibly accept your gift?!"

He had not even seen the gift yet, but courtesy demanded that he say those polite words first.

The other party was an important figure. The gift he brought out was likely very valuable.

If the gift was truly valuable, Ning Ri might not be able to bring himself to say polite formalities anymore.

But Yang Xingming shook his head. "You are mistaken. You did a great deed."

"Xi Yuan had already admired you for your skill with the blade. Now, because your refining skill is so miraculous that it borders on the divine, he has developed aspirations toward refining as well. I have reported this to the Household Head, and he is now having a dedicated Refining Room built for Xi Yuan."

"You should know that Xi Yuan has dabbled in alchemy, refining, talismans... all sorts of methods, and he has considerable talent in every one of them. Yet he had never become devoted to any particular field. Now, because of you, he has taken an interest in refining and intends to enter seclusion to study it properly. I can finally rest for a while as well. So tell me, did you not do a great deed?"

After hearing this, Ning Ri marveled at how absurdly gifted Xi Yuan was, while laughing awkwardly. "That is because Xi Yuan himself is capable. He already has a diligent and studious heart. I merely served as a spark."

Yang Xingming looked overjoyed and repeatedly waved his hand. "Spark or not, I do not care. I only need to give you what the Household Head asked me to deliver."

With that, a jade bottle appeared in Yang Xingming's hand. The bottle seemed almost transparent, and within it was a brilliantly multicolored liquid.

The instant the liquid appeared, Ning Ri could feel a ceaseless, cyclical vitality enveloping him. Its dense aura stirred the spiritual energy within his body, and even the stones lodged in his acupoints seemed to loosen considerably...

Ning Ri felt as though his entire body had been massaged.

Every part of him felt unblocked!

He could not help but be shocked—

What kind of treasure was this?

Just looking at it felt so comfortable?!

Chen Xingfeng, however, recognized its origins and exclaimed in surprise, "Five Elements Essence?"

"That is right." Yang Xingming nodded. "Five Elements Essence. This is among the finest things one can choose in the Innate Foundation Establishment Method."

Only then did Ning Ri finally realize just what kind of treasure this was.

The Heaven Defying Foundation Establishment Method had introduced it: Five Elements Essence was the most versatile treasure in the Innate Foundation Establishment Method.

It could both make up for the power of the five elements and drive the spiritual energy within the body into a cycle, allowing them to nourish one another.

Cultivators with human-grade or earth-grade spiritual roots could directly achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment through Five Elements Essence, with an extremely high chance of success.

Even heavenly-grade spiritual roots that could use the [Spiritual Root Foundation Establishment Method] would receive tremendous benefits if they could use Five Elements Essence during Foundation Establishment. This thing could ruthlessly reinforce the foundations of an already incomparably powerful Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

Looking at the bottle of Five Elements Essence, Ning Ri hurriedly said, "Senior Xingming, this is far too precious. I cannot accept it."

What he was truly refusing was not the precious gift, but the person giving it.

Xi Yuan's father, the Xi Family's Household Head, a great power of the Lingxi Immortal Sect...

Just thinking about someone like that gave Ning Ri a headache. When such a person gave a gift, Ning Ri always felt there had to be another purpose behind it—perhaps a thousand-year plan, a ten-thousand-year scheme, upheavals in heaven and earth, and so on.

A chosen child like him was merely a chess piece on the board of a great power.

If he accepted the gift, then from this moment onward, he would become that man's chess piece. Once he had cultivated successfully a few centuries later, the man would appear and cackle sinisterly—

"Good. Your cultivation is mine now."

But Yang Xingming laughed speechlessly. "Precious? You are mistaken. Though this is valuable, to the Lingxi Immortal Sect, well..."

He considered his phrasing, seemingly afraid of hurting Ning Ri's pride, yet wanting Ning Ri to understand that this gift did not mean much to the Xi Family.

Thus, he said, "It is actually quite valuable, but not that valuable."

"The Household Head does not lack it either. Xi Yuan bathed in Five Elements Essence once when he was just born, so just treat this as an ordinary gift, understand?"

Ning Ri, who had been imagining himself becoming a great power's chess piece, froze...

Bathing in Five Elements Essence?

A deluxe wash from birth?

Ning Ri thought that if he had received such treatment at birth, he did not dare imagine how delighted he would have been.

Since Yang Xingming had put it that way, Ning Ri finally set down his mental burden. He gave a dry cough. "Then... then in that case, this junior will respectfully accept rather than decline. Still, this junior understands that Five Elements Essence remains very precious."

"After all, when Xi Yuan was born, his body was still extremely fragile. The fact that Five Elements Essence could touch his body is enough to demonstrate just how precious it is."

After all, if one truly had to compare them, Xi Yuan was many, many times more precious than Five Elements Essence.

At those words, Yang Xingming burst into laughter...

Ning Ri added, "Therefore, if there is an opportunity in the future, please allow this junior to repay you."

"No problem." Yang Xingming said solemnly, "If there is an opportunity in the future, come to Lingxi and see Xi Yuan. Since he says he wants to learn refining properly, just like you, then he will certainly do it."

Ning Ri nodded solemnly as well.

Afterward, Yang Xingming left after leaving behind the Five Elements Essence.

The moment Five Elements Essence appeared in Ning Ri's hand, the [Heaven Defying Foundation Establishment Method] on his panel changed.

Choose your Foundation Establishment item.

One, spiritual root (Foundation Establishment failure predicted)

Two, Heaven and Earth Rare Treasures (Five Elements Essence) (Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment predicted)

Three, acquired item (Disciple Token) (High likelihood of Foundation Establishment failure predicted)

Four, anomaly (none for now) (Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment predicted)

The original second option had been gray.

But after the Five Elements Essence appeared, five colors slowly filled the second option. Then the five colors rolled across it like waves before gradually lighting up the gray option...

Seeing the changes on the panel, Ning Ri's expression did not change at all, but his heart was greatly shaken.

Holy shit!

I can directly achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment?

Was Five Elements Essence really this incredible?!

But after another thought, Ning Ri immediately understood what was happening.

Five Elements Essence was indeed incredible, but if he relied solely on himself to circulate his cultivation method and refine the Five Elements Essence, he would not be able to achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

But with the panel's optimization function, Five Elements Essence could directly help him achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment!

Once he realized this, Ning Ri was wildly excited—

In that case, becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator would truly be a matter of minutes!

"Are you planning to use the Five Elements Essence he gave you for Foundation Establishment?"

At that moment, a sentence interrupted Ning Ri's thoughts.

After Yang Xingming had gone far away, Chen Xingfeng looked at Ning Ri and spoke.

"Master Xingfeng, this junior..." Ning Ri hesitated. "I am not certain yet."

Chen Xingfeng had originally wanted to persuade Ning Ri to take this opportunity to make a clean break with the Heaven Defying Sect's methods. But looking at Ning Ri's peak Qi Refining cultivation, he truly could not bring himself to say it.

After thinking for a moment, he could only say, "Think it over carefully yourself. If you cannot firmly believe that Foundation Establishment is foundation forging, then you should use the Five Elements Essence as soon as possible."

Ning Ri: "...All right. Thank you, Master Xingfeng."

Chen Xingfeng then strode away, leaving Ning Ri free to do as he pleased in Craftsmanship Tower.

Looking at Chen Xingfeng's retreating back, Ning Ri sighed—

Chen Xingfeng was a good man, but unfortunately, he had entered the scene too late.

If you had taken me in when all the major sects were rejecting me one after another, then I would now be a man of Craftsmanship Tower in life and a ghost of Craftsmanship Tower in death.

Unfortunately, all I can do now is bid farewell with regret.

"Brother Ning, you..."

Jiang Wen stared at Ning Ri with widened eyes, his face filled with shock.

Beside him, Jiang Wu, whose mind had been invaded by [Fear Anomaly], wore the same expression.

The brothers stared at Ning Ri with stunned faces.

After bidding Chen Xingfeng farewell, Ning Ri had planned to leave Craftsmanship Tower and return to the Heaven Defying Sect. But just after exiting Craftsmanship Tower, he ran into the brothers outside.

Since they had happened to meet, Ning Ri intended to ask about the Yin De Sect.

Who would have thought that before he could speak, these two looked as though they had seen a ghost...

It was impossible for Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu not to feel as though they had seen a ghost.

Ning Ri had still been at the Third Stage Qi Refining not long ago, but now he was at the peak of Qi Refining!

How was that not terrifying?!

Ning Ri walked up to them and smiled as he cupped his hands. "Brother Wen, Brother Wu!"

Jiang Wen had no mind to exchange greetings. He merely spat out a few shocked words. "Your cultivation..."

Ning Ri laughed awkwardly. "An accident happened. I broke through by chance."

Jiang Wu muttered, "How much of a chance would that take?"

Ning Ri directly skipped over the topic of cultivation. "By the way, you two, when do you plan to return to your sect?"

Seeing that Ning Ri did not intend to explain further, Jiang Wen immediately and tactfully followed Ning Ri's lead in changing the subject. "We are planning to set out now. What about you, Brother Ning?"

Jiang Wu had not witnessed Ning Ri refining firsthand, so he did not yet know how powerful Ning Ri's refining was.

But Jiang Wen had watched Ning Ri refine from start to finish.

To him, Ning Ri was a god.

He had never imagined that a Qi Refining cultivator could refine like this. He dared to assert that Ning Ri would absolutely become one of the greatest refiners in the future.

For that reason, Jiang Wen had resolved to befriend Ning Ri. Naturally, he was willing to take the initiative to follow Ning Ri's pace in conversation.

Ning Ri smiled. "I plan to ask around."

Jiang Wen's heart stirred. "Ask around about what?"

Ning Ri said, "News concerning the [Yin De Sect]."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wen immediately smiled, thinking that he had been worrying about finding a chance to build a connection. Was this not the perfect opportunity?!

He said, "Brother Ning, though I failed to pass through the [Yin De Sect], I happen to know a few things. Why do we not find an inn and sit down first? Then I can explain everything to you in detail."

Ning Ri cupped his hands. "Sorry for the trouble, Brother Wen!"