Qi Refining Seventh Layer

After taking first place in the Sect Minor Competition, Fang Xiao received five thousand Merit Points and won nearly twenty thousand Spirit Stones from bets placed outside the arena. Yet he was not overly delighted. Compared to when he had first entered the sect, his state of mind had improved by leaps and bounds.

His Sword Dao Realm was now on the verge of a breakthrough. As expected, only battle could best temper a Sword Cultivator. The greatest obstacle preventing his breakthrough was his insufficient cultivation. Without cultivation to support him, no matter how many Sword Principles he understood, it would be difficult to wield them.

Thus, his most important task at this stage was to raise his cultivation to the peak of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. He could not rush a breakthrough; forcing it might well have the opposite effect.

He also found time to visit the Scripture Repository, mainly to borrow Sword Cultivator's Insights and, incidentally, see Old Man Fan. From afar, he could see that the old man still looked as slovenly as ever.

"Disciple Fang Xiao greets Elder Fan."

"Oh, brat Fang, you finally came. I thought becoming the champion had made you forget this old man."

"How could that be? I have always kept Elder Fan's grace in teaching me the method close to my heart. It is only that I have been diligently cultivating and had no time to come by. This is wine I brewed myself, brought especially for you to try."

Fang Xiao caught the item Old Man Fan tossed over. It was a wrinkled lump covered in grime. When he unfolded it, it turned out to be a Human Skin Mask.

"This Disguise Artifact is useless sitting with me. Your reputation is soaring now, so it would be best to keep a low profile when you go out. Paired with the Breath Concealment Technique, anyone less than one major realm above you will be unable to see your true face."

"I dare not refuse a gift from an elder. Then this disciple shall shamelessly accept it."

"Cultivate well. You are all the sect's future. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, I'll recommend a good master for you."

"Thank you, Elder Fan. This disciple will certainly not disappoint your expectations."

"Go on."

Fang Xiao left the Scripture Repository with the Sword Cultivator's Insights and the mask artifact.

Three months later, Fang Xiao was attempting to break through the bottleneck of the Qi Refining Late Stage in his residence.

That was right. During this time, aside from occasionally taking on a mission, he had stayed at home, either cultivating or brewing wine. His cultivation had slowly reached its peak.

After making an attempt, he stopped. As expected, since he did not possess a Heavenly Spiritual Root, he still had to break through each bottleneck one by one. The reason he temporarily gave up was that his spiritual power was too strong.

Although the Innate Sword Body provided affinity and tolerance, he had still underestimated the intensity of his spiritual power. If he forcibly broke through the bottleneck, he might damage his meridians. Fortunately, there was a solution: the Meridian Protection Pill. Thus, Fang Xiao needed to make a trip to the Market, and while he was there, he could buy some ingredients for Spirit Wine.

As his spiritual power grew stronger in the future, strengthening his meridians would be unavoidable. Although Spirit Milk Wine could strengthen meridians and consolidate one's foundation, its effects were slow. Spirit Milk was also difficult to gather, with few substitutes available. He would have to find another way to strengthen his meridians.

As soon as he decided, he set out. Fang Xiao left the Outer Court, flew on his sword to an uninhabited place, and put on the disguise mask. After altering his appearance into that of a young man with a sallow complexion, he took out the Jade Boat and headed for the Market.

After arriving at the Market, Fang Xiao did not head straight for Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Instead, he walked toward the Stall Area.

The goods in the Stall Area were generally quite ordinary, but they were cheaper than those sold in shops. So he first replenished some spiritual materials and spiritual herbs, then decided to try his luck and see whether he was fated to pick up a bargain.

"Is this honey?" Arriving at a stall, he saw that the jar on display was rather unusual and leaned closer to sniff it.

"More accurately, it's Spirit Honey. It's excellent for alchemy."

The stall owner was an elderly cultivator with white hair and beard. Seeing someone show interest, he warmly began his introduction.

"What do you think? One jar is only a hundred Spirit Stones."

"For such a tiny amount, you want a hundred Spirit Stones? Why don't you just rob me? Ten."

"You're the truly ruthless one. Is that how you bargain? Even the jar holding this Spirit Honey cost me two Spirit Stones."

The two sent spittle flying as they argued. In the end, Fang Xiao bought the jar of Spirit Honey for forty Spirit Stones. Upon asking, he learned that the old man had also obtained it by chance and only had this small amount. It was somewhat regrettable that there was not much Spirit Honey, but Fang Xiao still intended to try using it to brew Spirit Wine.

After walking through the Stall Area without any further gains, he headed straight for Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Upon entering, the shopkeeper was still the same shopkeeper, and his opening words were still the same.

"I am the shopkeeper of this Myriad Treasures Pavilion. May I ask what this fellow Daoist wishes to purchase?"

"Does your pavilion sell Meridian Protection Pills for the Qi Condensation Stage?"

"Yes. Fellow Daoist, please follow me. This Purple Qi Meridian Protection Pill was personally refined by an alchemy master of our pavilion. Its effects are more than twice as good as ordinary Meridian Protection Pills on the market, and it can even strengthen the meridians. It costs only five hundred Spirit Stones."

An ordinary Meridian Protection Pill cost only a hundred Spirit Stones. Good heavens, he had raised the price fivefold outright; even a High-grade magic tool was not as expensive as this. But after considering it for a moment, Fang Xiao still decided to buy it. Myriad Treasures Pavilion's reputation stood behind it—if they dared charge this price, it had to be worth it.

"Fine. In addition, I need these items."

He handed the list in his hand to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper was highly efficient. In only a short while, he had prepared everything.

"Fellow Daoist, the total is nine hundred Spirit Stones."

"Fine." Fang Xiao paid the Spirit Stones and prepared to leave.

"Please wait, fellow Daoist. I have one more piece of news to inform you of."

"What news?" Fang Xiao asked in surprise.

"In a year and a half, our Myriad Treasures Merchant Association will hold Auctions in the various Immortal Cities. The closest Market to this place is Wuji Immortal City. At that time, all kinds of heavenly treasures and earthly rarities that are usually nowhere to be found may appear. If fellow Daoist is interested, be sure not to miss it."

"An Auction? All right, I understand."

Wuji Immortal City, where this Auction would be held, had been built by Wuji Sect, located five hundred thousand li from Mingxuan Outer Court. Wuji Sect was a Nascent Soul Sect renowned for its arrays. Its sect-protecting grand array, the Four Symbols Wuji Array, was said to be capable of withstanding a Spirit Transformation cultivator for a time. There were even rumors that the Four Symbols Wuji Array had evolved from one of the ten great ancient immortal arrays—the Two Forms Micro Dust Array—and that a fragmentary diagram of the Two Forms Micro Dust Array was very likely hidden within Wuji Sect.

Fang Xiao pondered as he walked. He could participate in this Auction. Aside from needing a Supreme Flying Sword, he also needed to see whether there were materials suitable for protecting and nourishing the divine soul. Once he had cultivated the Upper Elixir Condensing Spirit Refining Method, he could refine them into the transformed Soul Nurturing Gourd.

"With the Meridian Protection Pill in hand, I can return to the Outer Court and break through the bottleneck."

Fang Xiao could hardly wait to return to the Outer Court. Only by reaching the Qi Refining Late Stage as soon as possible could he begin cultivating the transformation of the Soul Nurturing Gourd. His Sword Dao Realm also had hope of breaking through into the next realm. The Jade Boat whistled through the air toward the Outer Court.

Nothing happened along the way. When he returned to his residence, he happened to run into Li Jun. The Golden Corn had ripened again. The previous harvest had been nearly two months ago. The effects of Golden Corn truly far surpassed those of Green Jade Corn, and it also had a slight Body Tempering effect. After being brewed into wine, its Body Tempering effect increased by a small amount as well. Its greatest advantage, however, was its abundant quantity. These days, Spirit Wine brewed from Golden Corn could basically be drunk anytime and anywhere. He could consider selling some outside.

He then took out ten Spirit Stones and gave them to Li Jun. The two of them had been conscientious in their daily work and deserved a reward. After giving some instructions concerning the spiritual rice, he dismissed him.

After reading the Sword Cultivator's Insights for a while, Fang Xiao sat upon a Meditation Cushion and regulated his breathing. By dusk, when he felt he was about ready, he took the Purple Qi Meridian Protection Pill from his Storage Bag. After turning it over briefly in his hand, he tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it, beginning to refine it.

The medicinal effect gradually arose. Streams of purple spiritual qi filled his meridians without affecting the circulation of his spiritual power. Seeing this, Fang Xiao did not dare delay. He immediately circulated his cultivation method, mobilizing the spiritual power in his Dantian to begin striking the bottleneck.

The Purple Qi Meridian Protection Pill's effects were indeed extraordinary. Each time he struck at the bottleneck, the violent spiritual qi rushing through his meridians failed to harm them in the slightest. Moreover, the pressure from his spiritual power forced part of the purple qi to merge into his meridians. Fang Xiao could clearly feel that the strength of his meridians had noticeably improved. It truly was worth every Spirit Stone.

The bottleneck of the Qi Refining Late Stage could not block Fang Xiao's path. With repeated impacts, the bottleneck gradually crumbled away, and his spiritual power flowed through without obstruction. With no bottleneck to bar its path, vast amounts of surrounding spiritual qi began pouring into his body. His fleshly body was like a sponge parched for water, absorbing however much spiritual qi came. Both the quality and quantity of his spiritual power clearly crossed their limits, reaching a new height. His divine soul also grew stronger with the breakthrough, while the Spiritual Sense dispersed throughout his sea of consciousness gradually increased.

Qi Refining Late Stage, Qi Refining Seventh Layer.