Qi Refining Fifth Layer

Fortunately, the power of low-grade spirit talismans did not pose much of a threat to him. If they had been first-grade talismans raining down on him all at once, he probably would not have lasted long before being reduced to ashes.

The black-robed old man was shocked and furious as he struggled to defend himself. Yet after casting spells in succession, his cultivation soon fell from the Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining to the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining. Meanwhile, the spirit talismans in Lu Xiaotian's hand seemed inexhaustible. Despair welled up in the black-robed old man's heart. He knew Lu Xiaotian's aptitude better than anyone—how could a little brat who had luckily cultivated to the Second Layer of Qi Refining possess so many spirit talismans?

There was nowhere in the remote North Liang Kingdom to obtain so many spirit talismans. Could this fellow have encountered another stroke of fortune?

This brat had hidden himself deeply indeed. He had concealed a vast number of spirit talismans on him without showing a trace, and that panicked appearance earlier had merely been an act for him to see. The black-robed old man had wandered the cultivation world for years, yet he had failed to notice anything amiss. Hatred surged within him.

Bang!

The earth shield condensed by the black-robed old man was pierced through by several golden spears, followed closely by several fire arrows. The black-robed old man jumped in fright. In the past, he naturally would not have feared them, but his Primordial Spirit was incomparably fragile now. Even being brushed by spirit fire would bring grave consequences.

"Ah!"

Having barely dealt with the golden spears and fire arrows before him in a frantic scramble, the black-robed old man's Primordial Spirit could not evade the several wind blades that followed. It was immediately sliced into several pieces.

Fortunately, wind blades did not burn into the Primordial Spirit as spirit fire did, or he would already have been reduced to ashes. Still, after suffering such a heavy blow, every cut to his Primordial Spirit separated off a fragment devoid of consciousness. After all, his divine sense could only attach itself to one fragment; those severed became mindless shards.

The moment he was sliced into several pieces, the pain that sank deep into his soul filled him with terror. Even more frightening, Lu Xiaotian still had spirit talismans, while after being cut several times, his cultivation had already plummeted to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining.

"Trying to flee? It won't be that easy." Having heavily wounded his opponent in one stroke, Lu Xiaotian was greatly invigorated. Seeing the black-robed old man trying to burrow underground, he realized there must be tunnels the old man had dug over the past year or so. No wonder the old fellow had not recovered to the Twelfth Layer of Qi Refining despite absorbing spiritual energy—it had all been spent on this. Truly crafty beyond measure.

"Earth Spike Technique!"

Lu Xiaotian slapped out a spirit talisman. Several earth spikes immediately burst from the ground, blocking the path beneath the black-robed old man's Primordial Spirit and cutting off his retreat.

"Good disciple, spare... spare my life!"

The black-robed old man cried out in panic. Lu Xiaotian's methods made his heart pound with fear. Other than his cultivation-world experience and worldly knowledge still falling short due to his age, this boy's mentality was no longer what it had once been.

"Spare your life? When you plotted against me, did you ever think of sparing mine?"

Lu Xiaotian snorted and continued deploying spirit talismans, beating the dog that had fallen into the water. The black-robed old man had lost all will to fight. His floating, soul-like Primordial Spirit had been carved into several pieces. Other than the largest fragment, which retained its own consciousness, the rest had become ownerless objects. One floated to Lu Xiaotian's side. He felt an inexplicable attraction from this thing severed from the black-robed old man, and before he knew it, he opened his mouth and swallowed it.

The instant he swallowed it, Lu Xiaotian felt as though his Primordial Spirit had suddenly gained an immense surge of power. Second Layer of Qi Refining, Third Layer of Qi Refining!

The speed of advancement was beyond imagination. What was happening? Lu Xiaotian was abruptly startled awake by this rapid rise. Although he had not been in Moonwatch City for long, he had never heard of anyone's cultivation improving this quickly.

Naturally, Lu Xiaotian did not know that this was because the black-robed old man had consumed a Soulbinding Fruit in order to successfully possess him and make his Primordial Spirit fit Lu Xiaotian's body as closely as possible. It allowed one to devour and make use of another's Primordial Spirit and flesh to the greatest extent, thereby increasing one's strength. The Soulbinding Fruit was a rare fruit of the cultivation world, something one could only encounter by chance and never seek out. It was not something strength alone could obtain; it depended on fortune. Yet the fruit's effects worked both ways. The black-robed old man could make use of it, and naturally Lu Xiaotian could as well. When the black-robed old man consumed the fruit, he had never imagined he would meet such an end.

At this moment, Lu Xiaotian did not notice that the spiritual energy scattered through the air before he could consume it was drifting everywhere from their battle. Several wisps touched a few grass seeds on the ground. After absorbing the spiritual energy, the seeds cracked open at a visible rate and sprouted tiny purple shoots. Whenever more spiritual energy drifted over, the little purple shoots would absorb it and grow for a while. Once the supply stopped, their growth ceased again.

"Bastard, that's mine!" the black-robed old man shouted furiously. But he was under siege from several spirit talismans and had no chance to stop Lu Xiaotian.

"It's mine now." Lu Xiaotian gave a dark chuckle, not forgetting his purpose because of the spiritual energy scattered in the air.

"Wind Blade Talisman!"

Several wind blades shot out from behind the small fireballs with sharp whooshes, launched later yet arriving first. They sliced several more chunks from the black-robed old man's soul-like Primordial Spirit.

The black-robed old man screamed as his cultivation fell once more to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.

"Brat, I'll fight you to the death!" Though he was no slower than Lu Xiaotian when fleeing, the talismans' attacks were faster than his escape.

In his despair, the black-robed old man advanced instead of retreating, ramming toward Lu Xiaotian.

Damn it, the Wind Blade Talismans are actually used up. I should have bought a few more.

Lu Xiaotian felt quite annoyed. If he used other talismans and destroyed the black-robed old man, he would also destroy large amounts of spiritual energy. If he had more Wind Blade Talismans, he could have sliced a few more pieces from the black-robed old man's Primordial Spirit orb.

At this point, the black-robed old man's Primordial Spirit was already incomparably thin compared to its former solidity and density at Qi Refining Great Perfection.

Still, it appeared much more substantial than Lu Xiaotian's Primordial Spirit.

Lu Xiaotian narrowed his eyes, added an earth shield for defense, then deployed several more spirit talismans.

"Fire Net Talisman!"

"Golden Spear Technique!"

The black-robed old man shouted fiercely. Several short golden spears appeared from thin air and shot toward Lu Xiaotian's Primordial Spirit. He had originally been an expert at Qi Refining Great Perfection. Even though he had now fallen to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, his cultivation was still far above Lu Xiaotian's. Moreover, his understanding and mastery of spells were far beyond what Lu Xiaotian, who had cultivated for only one or two years, could compare to. The same spell cast from his hands was considerably more powerful than a low-grade spirit talisman.

Lu Xiaotian had caught him off guard earlier. Now, in his death throes, the old man's counterattack was especially savage. The short golden spears punched several holes through the fire net sweeping toward him, then continued on to pierce the earth shield before Lu Xiaotian.

Lu Xiaotian had not expected the black-robed old man's final counterattack to be so fierce. Startled, he hurriedly dodged the several short golden spears that were already at the end of their strength, then deployed two Earth Shield Talismans in succession against any contingency. Fortunately, knowing how formidable the black-robed old man was, he had kept quite a few talismans for self-defense.

"Vine Talisman!" "Earth Armor Talisman!"

"Golden Hammer Technique!"

"Water Whip Talisman!"

"Fire Serpent Technique!"

Spirit talismans and spells flew back and forth between them. Both had gone red-eyed. Lu Xiaotian swore to destroy the black-robed old man, while the black-robed old man desperately maintained a curtain of fire, hoping to hold out until Lu Xiaotian exhausted his spirit talismans.

Spells and talismans collided with booming explosions, their destructive power shooting wildly in every direction. In the end, the black-robed old man's attainments in spells and combat experience were not something Lu Xiaotian could match.

At one point, Lu Xiaotian was grazed by one of the black-robed old man's golden arrows. The pain made his entire body shudder, yet he still endured it and continued his counterattack.

Having fallen back to the Third Layer of Qi Refining, the black-robed old man's spells grew weaker and weaker. He was now only at Qi Refining Early Stage, and the spells he cast were merely a hair stronger than low-grade spirit talismans.

With a ripping crack, a pillar of lightning struck, followed by exploding fireballs that completely enveloped the black-robed old man's Primordial Spirit. His shrill screams rang out from within.

Lu Xiaotian still controlled several spirit talismans as he searched the surrounding area once over, but he found no trace of the black-robed old man's Primordial Spirit. He finally let out a great sigh of relief. On second thought, he could not help laughing at his own timidity. It seemed the black-robed old man had cast quite a psychological shadow over him for far too long.

A great many Primordial Spirit fragments now drifted within the barrier, all cut from the black-robed old man's Primordial Spirit by wind blades before scattering away. For more than a year, the black-robed old man had been Lu Xiaotian's nightmare.

Now that the sword hanging over his neck had been removed, Lu Xiaotian felt a relaxation welling up from the depths of his heart. Greedily, he absorbed the mindless Primordial Spirit fragments scattered throughout the barrier. His cultivation rapidly broke through the Third Layer of Qi Refining and the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining. By the time the wandering spiritual energy within the barrier was nearly exhausted, he had reached the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.

As expected, surviving a great calamity brought blessings afterward. He had cultivated painstakingly for nearly two years, only struggling from the First Layer of Qi Refining to the Second Layer. Yet now, in a single day, he had not only advanced three layers in succession, but also completed the immense transformation from Qi Refining Early Stage to Qi Refining Middle Stage.

"Hm?" While pursuing one last Primordial Spirit fragment along the direction in which the spiritual energy drifted, Lu Xiaotian suddenly spotted a clump of pale purple grass at the edge of the barrier. It was Purple Spirit Grass, and there were more than ten stalks in the clump. When that wisp of spiritual energy touched the Purple Spirit Grass, it vanished. One stalk, however, dropped several seeds, and several tiny purple shoots sprang from the ground.

So after Purple Spirit Grass absorbs spiritual energy, it automatically drops seeds and sprouts again. But where did this clump of Purple Spirit Grass come from?

Lu Xiaotian was filled with questions. He searched the surroundings again but found no trace of spirit plants elsewhere. It must have grown recently. Otherwise, if there truly had been a large number of spirit plants, the black-robed old man would have reached the Twelfth Layer of Qi Refining long ago.

Could it be that the last time he had experimented to see whether spirit plants could be brought into this mysterious space, he had accidentally dropped seeds from a stalk of Purple Spirit Grass when he brought it in? Then, because he had not finished absorbing spiritual energy today, the seeds had absorbed it, taken root, and sprouted?

The Purple Spirit Grass he had consumed today had no seeds on it. To verify his conclusion, Lu Xiaotian deliberately left the space and checked the remaining Purple Spirit Grass in another jade box. He found that only one seed remained on it. Sure enough, several were missing.

So spirit herbs could actually be planted in this space. Moreover, as long as there was a supply of spiritual energy, the herbs could rapidly mature from sprouts. Such a growth rate was simply unheard of.

Purple Spirit Grass was the main ingredient for refining Qi-Gathering Pills. It would have been immensely useful to him before, but unfortunately, he was now already at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. Even if he refined the pills, their effects would be limited. Qi-Gathering Pills only worked quite well for cultivators at Qi Refining Early Stage. At Qi Refining Middle Stage, he would need higher-grade pills.

Later, I'll have to spend spirit stones to buy pill formulas for Qi Refining Middle Stage. Lu Xiaotian gave a bitter smile. Other than spirit talismans, he had very few spirit stones left. It seemed he would need to earn more spirit stones later, while also asking around for pill formulas suitable for Qi Refining Middle Stage.

Right, there's still one storage bag I haven't opened. Lu Xiaotian suddenly recalled that among the several storage bags, the one that should belong to the black-robed old man had always been impossible to open. He had coveted the old man's golden flying sword for a long time. Besides, since the black-robed old man had killed the other three, the items in his storage bag were surely anything but ordinary.