Breakthrough in Cultivation

After sorting through the items in Liu Tianlong's Storage Bag, Song Qingming continued south for several more days and entered a somewhat desolate stretch of hills. Seeing the sun sink westward and darkness gradually fall, Song Qingming stopped walking.

After observing his surroundings, he found a cliff face and released the Blazing Sun Sword, striking the rock repeatedly. After spending some time on it, he finally carved out a small cave. He then set up a simple Five Elements Maze Formation outside the cave, placed a Spirit Stone to activate it, and only then entered the cave with satisfaction.

Ever since he had been hunted by that High-level Demonic Crocodile, he had rather take a longer route these past few days, traveling through barren mountains and open ground as much as possible while avoiding deep mountain marshes where demonic beasts roamed. At night, he also had to find a cave and set up a formation outside before he could sleep.

He lit a campfire and took out some Spirit Rice from his Storage Bag to cook. Qi Refining Cultivators could not yet abstain from food and still needed to eat every few days. Fortunately, he had brought plenty of Spirit Rice, so he did not need to worry about provisions for the time being.

After dinner, Song Qingming rested for a while, then took out a Qi Nurturing Pill and swallowed it. He circulated the Earth Origin Art and slowly refined the pill's medicinal power.

He had been out for nearly a month now. There were no spirit veins in these deep mountains for cultivation, so he could only rely on the Spirit Rice he carried to absorb a little Spiritual Energy. His cultivation had not improved much. Fortunately, today was finally the fixed day of the month when he could take medicinal pills again.

After cultivating for half a cycle, Song Qingming suddenly felt the bottleneck at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining within his body loosen slightly. Perhaps my cultivation has reached the point of breakthrough.

Under normal cultivation speed, Song Qingming would have needed at least another two or three years before he could possibly break through the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.

However, ever since obtaining the Incomplete Map, he had accumulated quite a few Spirit Stones through Talisman Making over the past two years. He had exchanged them with Gao Yuyao for five or six bottles of pills that improved cultivation. Apart from taking two bottles of Qi Nurturing Pills to the family's Treasury Pavilion in exchange for some talisman-making materials, he had kept most of the pills for himself. By continuously taking pills over these past two years, his cultivation had already risen to the peak of the Fourth Level of Qi Refining.

He took out a Calming Heart Talisman and stuck it on himself, then crushed more than a dozen low-grade Spirit Stones in his hand. A great surge of spiritual power instantly filled the cramped cave.

When cultivators broke through in cultivation, they needed to absorb a massive amount of Spiritual Energy. Ideally, the breakthrough location should be a spirit vein rich in Spiritual Energy. Unfortunately, in this wilderness of barren mountains and untamed ridges, Song Qingming could not find a spirit vein at short notice and could only use the Spirit Stones in his hand to provide Spiritual Energy. Though he now possessed quite a few Spirit Stones, such extravagant conduct still made him frown slightly.

Using that surge of spiritual power, Song Qingming accelerated the circulation of his cultivation art. He felt the fifth Spirit Acupoint within his body begin to tremble continuously.

Song Qingming was secretly delighted at this sight. Patiently, he continued absorbing spiritual power and pouring it into his Dantian. Finally, an hour later, the Spiritual Energy within his Meridians flowed like a bend of clear water joining a great river, smoothly breaking open the fifth Spirit Acupoint. His cultivation rose to the Fifth Level of Qi Refining, and the Mana within his Dantian swelled considerably as well.

He had not expected this breakthrough to the Fifth Level of Qi Refining to go so smoothly. Song Qingming was overjoyed. He had cultivated for twelve years, and now, at twenty-two years old, his cultivation had finally caught up with that of most cultivators in the clan.

For Song Qingming, who had walked the path of cultivation for more than a decade, nothing made him happier than a breakthrough in cultivation. Without sufficiently powerful cultivation, no matter how many treasures or Spirit Stones he possessed, he would be unable to protect them. Instead, he would merely be making a wedding dress for someone else. He had always understood this clearly.

Reaching the Fifth Level of Qi Refining at twenty-two made him a cultivator with an exceptionally fast cultivation speed even in Qinghe County. If the items in Liu Tianlong's Storage Bag could be successfully exchanged for cultivation resources, Song Qingming already had a trace of confidence that he could cultivate to the Ninth Level of Qi Refining before sixty years old. With the Water Spirit Fruit in the Storage Bag, he could then take it to the Carefree Sect and exchange it for a Foundation Establishment Pill. His path of cultivation had suddenly become exceedingly bright.

After breaking through, Song Qingming did not immediately leave seclusion. He slowly circulated his Spiritual Energy several dozen more times, nourishing the newly opened Spirit Acupoint. Only after five days, when his cultivation had completely stabilized, did Song Qingming walk out of the cave.

After putting away the formation, Song Qingming continued on his journey. He used the Light Body Technique and felt that his Mana had become much more abundant than before.

After crossing a high mountain, Song Qingming suddenly spotted several figures in a valley at the foot of the mountain in the distance. From time to time, the roars of demonic beasts drifted over. A delighted smile immediately appeared on his face. Ever since the Black Feathered Python had swept him into that pool, he had traveled alone through these dangerous mountains for nearly ten days. At last, people had appeared before his eyes, and he could not help feeling somewhat excited as he hurried down the mountain.

Once he drew closer, he found that several cultivators were besieging a giant bear. The burly man leading them had considerable cultivation and was already at the Late Qi Refining Stage. He had been the main force of the battle. The other three assisting with attacks were all at the Mid Qi Refining Stage, while a woman at only the Qi Refining Third Layer did not participate in the fight and stood some distance away, constantly watching the surroundings of the battlefield.

Seeing this, Song Qingming did not reveal himself at once. He stopped in a nearby tree and watched from afar. Only after the high-level giant bear had been brought down by the group did he jump from the branch and walk toward them.

"Stop. Who are you?"

Song Qingming had only approached within a dozen or so zhang when the burly man with the highest cultivation noticed him first and shouted loudly, his tone carrying a hint of hostility.

The others had still been gathering materials from the giant bear. Upon hearing that someone had arrived, they hurriedly released their magic artifacts and guarded their surroundings, afraid that Song Qingming had come with ill intent and had other companions nearby.

Seeing how wary they were of him, Song Qingming quickly stopped and spread his hands in explanation.

"Fellow Daoists, do not misunderstand. I am a Rogue Cultivator from Qinghe County and came here to hunt demonic beasts as well. A few days ago, my luck was poor. Our demon-hunting team encountered a Level 2 Demonic Beast, and while fleeing for our lives, I was accidentally separated from my companions. I did not bring a map, and after wandering in these mountains for several days, I still have not found them. I only happened to encounter you all today. May I ask in which direction Pingyang County lies, and how far away it is?"

"So you are a fellow Rogue Cultivator. You gave me quite a fright, Fellow Daoist. Do not take offense. I thought you were one of those bastards from the Fire Wolf Gang." Seeing that Song Qingming was indeed alone, the leading man lowered his guard and had his companions put away their magic artifacts.

This burly man was clearly someone straightforward and blunt. Song Qingming had spent two years at Caolu Mountain and rather enjoyed dealing with such people.

"This place is still some distance from Pingyang County. It is roughly another five or six days' journey southeast. If you have no map, I fear the road will be difficult. Why not wait for us at the mountain pass behind us for one day? We will also be returning to Guiyun Marketplace tomorrow, and we can take you along on the way."

The speaker was one of the Middle-aged Scholars. His scholar's robe fluttered in the wind, and he held a green jade sword in his hand. He was at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining, with a face full of scholarly refinement. He spoke unhurriedly, and one look showed that he was a man of substance.

"Very well. Then I thank you all in advance, Fellow Daoists." Song Qingming nodded. As long as he could leave the dangerous Floating Cloud Mountain Range sooner, waiting one more day was no concern to him.

The others, including the burly man with the highest cultivation, voiced no objection when they heard that the Middle-aged Scholar intended to bring Song Qingming along. Clearly, though the scholar's cultivation was not high, he was the one among the five whose words carried weight.

After parting from them, Song Qingming headed east out of the valley for about the time it took to eat a meal. He saw a red tree more than a dozen zhang tall appear ahead, the very meeting place he had agreed upon with the scholar for the next day.

Song Qingming found several pieces of Withered Wood nearby and borrowed some branches and leaves from the great tree, then simply built a small hut beneath it.

Early the next morning, Song Qingming was meditating and cultivating inside the hut when he suddenly heard a wave of spiritual power from the formation outside. When he went out to look, he saw a green-clad young woman ahead, wielding her flying sword and hacking wildly through the mist of the formation while occasionally releasing several low-level spells.

The woman was around twenty years old. A Green Jade Hairpin was tucked into her hair, which was braided into two black plaits that hung down her back. She wore a green dress and was precisely the young woman at the Qi Refining Third Layer from the group of Rogue Cultivators he had encountered in the valley yesterday.

At this moment, however, the woman seemed to have lost her sense of direction within the formation, and panic showed on her face. Her companions stood not far outside the formation, seemingly discussing how to rescue her.

Song Qingming could only smile wryly at the sight. He had set up this formation to guard against harassment from mountain demonic beasts. Who would have thought that this woman would be so careless as to plunge headfirst into it and be trapped at once? For someone like her, who knew nothing of formations, it would be difficult to escape on her own without two or three hours.

Song Qingming quickly formed several hand seals and withdrew the formation. The mist enveloping several zhang around the base of the tree instantly dispersed into heaven and earth, revealing the red tree within the formation and Song Qingming standing beneath it.