Qi Refining Layer 6

Qi Refining Layer 6

After chatting for a while longer, Han Yi and Zheng Hai descended Overseas Peak.

There were nine Inner Peaks, each dozens of times larger than an Outer Peak. Although Overseas Peak ranked near the bottom among the nine Inner Peaks, even its summit was enough to leave any Outer Peak far behind.

At the foot of the mountain, Zheng Hai turned to look at Overseas Peak's summit, shimmering with spiritual light, yearning in his eyes.

"Ah, the Inner Peaks."

"I wonder when I'll be able to join the Inner Peaks and have a courtyard of my own there."

Han Yi's eyes held the same longing, but his was far more tangible than Zheng Hai's.

"Soon. Very soon." Han Yi nodded heavily.

"You may be close, but I'm still far from it." Zheng Hai sighed irritably.

"Say, how is your cultivation progressing so quickly? Could the rumors be true—that you sold your body to please those female cultivators on Little Sea View Peak?"

Han Yi's mouth twitched violently.

He had always kept his pill transactions with the female cultivators of Little Sea View Peak secret, and had not even told Zheng Hai much about them.

After all, once too much profit was involved, sometimes even friends could no longer remain friends.

Han Yi did not answer Zheng Hai, and Zheng Hai did not press further. That had merely been a joke. He knew Han Yi had secrets. Ever since three years ago, his friend had seemed like an entirely new man—one could even say he had shed his mortal shell and remade himself.

That was probably what he meant when he said that an outside assignment had given him many insights.

Should I also take the initiative and apply for an outside assignment?

The thought suddenly surfaced in Zheng Hai's mind. Once born, it spread wildly beyond restraint, consuming all his thoughts.

Han Yi had no idea that his friend's wild thoughts had led him to genuinely consider an outside assignment. His claim of gaining many insights after being sent out had merely been a cover for his proficiency panel.

For ninety-nine percent of disciples assigned outside, it was simply a waste of precious time.

After descending Overseas Peak, they went their separate ways as usual.

The moment Han Yi returned to his courtyard, he activated the formation and entered seclusion.

He had not originally intended to enter seclusion. He had merely planned to let things take their natural course; cultivation required a balance between exertion and relaxation. According to his plan, breaking through to Qi Refining Layer 6 within three months would have been enough.

But after his trip to Overseas Peak and the information Guan Di had revealed, Han Yi was deeply tempted.

If he could enter the Inner Peaks early at Qi Refining Layer 6 and claim a courtyard for himself, the allure was simply too great.

That was why he changed his strategy and entered seclusion solely to break through to Layer 6.

What Han Yi did not know was that after he entered seclusion—

After giving it much thought, Zheng Hai actually decided to apply for an outside assignment.

Although Outer Sect disciples could apply for outside assignments, in truth, unless they had failed to complete their point missions and were passively assigned away, few disciples would genuinely volunteer.

What a joke. No matter how poor an Outer Peak was, it still possessed a first- or second-tier spirit vein. Once one descended the mountain and entered the cities outside, where would one find spirit veins provided free of charge?

This time, Zheng Hai did not tell Guan Di or Han Yi about his application. Instead, he went alone to the sect's Administration Hall to submit it.

The senior brother on duty confirmed it with him again and again. Once Zheng Hai gave his affirmation, the man looked at him strangely.

"One year. Once you descend the mountain, you'll be gone for an entire year. Although your courtyard won't be reclaimed, you'll be strictly forbidden from moving in at will. Have you thought this through?"

"Senior Brother, I've thought it through. I'll take an outside assignment for one year." Zheng Hai nodded heavily.

He refused to believe that Han Yi could undergo such a transformation while he could not change at all.

One month later.

Inside Han Yi's courtyard, a young man pushed open the door to the Meditation Chamber and stepped outside.

He raised his head and gazed toward the central area of Little Spirit Void Peak. Streams of spiritual light were carried from the underground spirit veins through the formation to that central point, then strengthened there before spreading throughout the entire mountain.

This was Little Spirit Void Peak's formation.

"That was fast."

The young man who had emerged from the room was none other than Han Yi.

He extended a hand and gave it a light sweep forward. The three daggers at his waist leaped lightly into the air and hovered before him.

With a slight movement of his mind, the three daggers transformed into three darting streaks of light, weaving through an area ten meters wide.

A moment later.

The daggers returned to his waist, and a satisfied expression appeared on Han Yi's face.

"Not bad. At Qi Refining Layer 6, my spiritual power has more than doubled. It's enough to sustain the Sword Control Technique for extended use."

"Still, my cultivation was built entirely by piling up Spirit Stones."

"This damned aptitude."

"Ah."

Behind Han Yi, the Meditation Chamber was filled with a thick layer of dust.

If others had seen it, they would truly have taken it for dust. Only Han Yi knew that it was all the shattered residue of Spirit Stones he had consumed.

Three thousand Spirit Stones.

A full three thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Seventy percent of his entire fortune.

To break through quickly this time, he had directly used an insane quantity of Spirit Stones to make the sealed Meditation Chamber resemble a third-tier—or even fourth-tier—spirit vein in effectiveness.

The cost had been enormous.

But the results had been equally remarkable.

In just one short month, his cultivation had climbed another step. He had advanced to Qi Refining Layer 6 and was now only one step away from the Qi Refining Late Stage.

"It wasn't easy."

"But it was all worth it. If I can use this opportunity to enter the Inner Peaks, then I'll have struck it rich."

Han Yi knew that there was an enormous threshold between Qi Refining Layer 6 and Qi Refining Layer 7.

Although he had taken only six or seven years to break through from Qi Refining Layer 3 to Qi Refining Layer 6, if he continued cultivating at his current speed, he estimated that he would need at least eight years to advance to Qi Refining Layer 7.

If he could join the Inner Peaks, it would certainly shorten the time needed for his advancement.

Beyond the spirit veins, there were also expanded privileges and the selection of cultivation arts. The resources and treatment given to Inner Peak disciples and Outer Peak disciples were clearly separated by a gulf of rank.

Han Yi looked at the proficiency panel, which had changed once more.

Lifespan: 28/118

Realm: Qi Refining Layer 6 (1/100)

Cultivation Art: Fire Pill Profound Art (Proficient 93/100)

Skills:

Alchemy Technique (Peak Mastery 8/100)

Spirit Void Finger (Peak Mastery 4/100)

Sword Control Technique (Peak Mastery 2/100)

Body Lightening Technique (Peak Mastery 2/100)

There had not been much change in his skills. Once every skill reached Peak Mastery, progress became extraordinarily slow. Even if he kept grinding for an entire month, the progress bar would advance only a few points.

For the short term, Peak Mastery was his limit.

Next, he would need to spend a long time before advancing to the next level.

This so-called long time was compared to before. Going from Peak Mastery to the next level might take even longer than the total time from Novice Practice to Peak Mastery.

Next.

Han Yi planned to broaden the range of his skills. Since he could no longer dig deeper, he would expand outward instead. This was his strategy going forward.

Quality had already reached a bottleneck. It was time to make up for it with quantity.

The greatest change from advancing to Layer 6 should have been his lifespan.

His lifespan had changed from 99 to 118.

This also meant that, barring illness or disaster, Han Yi could live to one hundred and eighteen. In his previous life, that would have been considered longevity, but in this life, Han Yi felt that this was merely the starting stage of cultivating immortality.

No matter what, living longer always meant having more possibilities.

Han Yi was delighted. He ended this month-long seclusion.

When he stepped out of his courtyard, he saw people streaming across Little Spirit Void Peak, all converging toward the main building where the Peak Master resided.

Stopping a familiar junior brother, Han Yi asked what had happened.

"Senior Brother Han, have you been in seclusion for a long time?"

"Today is the last day to register for Inner Peak slots."

"Oh, you haven't registered yet, have you? Hurry and sign up."

"This time, anyone at Qi Refining Layer 5 or above can register, and there are quite a few slots. Many senior brothers signed up long ago."