Fifth Layer of Qi Refining

Fortunately, the power of low-grade Spirit Talismans wasn't significant to him. If it had been first-grade Spirit Talismans, he would have been annihilated without much time to react if they had all been hurled at him at once.

The Black Robe Old Man was both shocked and enraged. He tried his best to resist, but after casting spells one after another, his Cultivation quickly dropped from Qi Refining Eleventh Layer to Qi Refining Tenth Layer. Meanwhile, the Spirit Talismans in Lu Xiaotian's hand seemed endless. The Black Robe Old Man felt a surge of despair. He knew Lu Xiaotian's aptitude better than anyone; how could a mere kid who had luckily reached Qi Refining Second Layer possess so many Spirit Talismans?

There was no way to obtain so many Spirit Talismans in a remote place like Northern Liang Country. Could this fellow have had some other fortuitous encounter?

This brat had truly hidden his depths, possessing a large number of Spirit Talismans without showing any sign. His panicked appearance earlier was all an act. Having been in the Cultivation World for many years, he hadn't even noticed a single clue. The Black Robe Old Man harbored great hatred in his heart.

Bang!

The Earth Shield conjured by the Black Robe Old Man was pierced through by several Golden Spears, followed closely by several Fire Arrows. The Black Robe Old Man was startled. In the past, he wouldn't have feared them, but his Primordial Spirit was extremely fragile in its current state. Even a touch of Spirit Fire would have severe consequences.

"Ah!"

After scrambling to deal with the Golden Spears and Fire Arrows before him, the Black Robe Old Man's Primordial Spirit couldn't dodge in time and was struck by several Wind Blades that followed. His Primordial Spirit was instantly sliced into several pieces.

Fortunately, being cut by Wind Blades didn't cause the Primordial Spirit to burn like Spirit Fire, or he would have been annihilated by now. However, with such a heavy blow, with each cut, a piece of his Primordial Spirit, devoid of consciousness, would split off. After all, his Spiritual Sense could only attach to one piece; the others became mindless fragments.

Being cut into several pieces initially caused a soul-deep pain that chilled him to the bone. Even more terrifying was that Lu Xiaotian still had Spirit Talismans in his hand. After being cut several times, his Cultivation had plummeted to Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

"Trying to escape? Not so easy." Having severely injured his opponent, Lu Xiaotian was greatly invigorated. Seeing the Black Robe Old Man trying to burrow underground, he realized the old man must have dug pits there over the past year. No wonder the old fellow hadn't returned to Qi Refining Twelfth Layer after absorbing spiritual energy; it had all been consumed here. Truly incredibly cunning.

"Earth Spike Technique!"

Lu Xiaotian slapped out a Spirit Talisman, and several Earth Thorns immediately emerged from the ground, precisely below the Black Robe Old Man's Primordial Spirit, cutting off his escape route.

"Good Disciple, spare, spare my life!"

The Black Robe Old Man cried out in panic. Lu Xiaotian's methods made his heart pound. Apart from his age, this brat's experience and knowledge in the Cultivation World were inferior to his, but his mind was no longer what it used to be.

"Spare my life? Did you ever think of sparing me when you plotted against me?"

Lu Xiaotian snorted and continued to unleash Spirit Talismans, beating a fallen dog. The Black Robe Old Man had lost the will to fight. His soul-like floating Primordial Spirit had been cut into several pieces. Apart from the largest piece that retained its consciousness, the rest had become ownerless. One piece floated towards Lu Xiaotian. Lu Xiaotian felt an inexplicable attraction to this thing separated from the Black Robe Old Man. Without thinking, he opened his mouth and swallowed it.

The moment he swallowed it, Lu Xiaotian felt as if his Primordial Spirit had gained immense Power. Qi Refining Second Layer, Qi Refining Third Layer!

The advancement speed was beyond imagination. What was happening? Lu Xiaotian was suddenly jolted awake by this rapid improvement. Although he hadn't been in Moon Gazing City for long, he had never heard of anyone's Cultivation improving so quickly.

Lu Xiaotian naturally didn't know this was because the Black Robe Old Man had consumed a Soul Condensing Fruit to successfully achieve Body Seizure and integrate as much as possible with Lu Xiaotian's body, thereby increasing his Strength. The Soul Condensing Fruit was a rare and elusive treasure in the Cultivation World, not obtainable merely by Strength but by fate. However, the effect of the Soul Condensing Fruit was mutual. Just as the Black Robe Old Man could utilize it, so could Lu Xiaotian. When the Black Robe Old Man consumed this fruit, he never imagined he would meet such an end.

Lu Xiaotian didn't notice at this moment that some spiritual energy, which had dispersed into the air before it could be consumed, was flying everywhere due to the two of them fighting. A few wisps of spiritual energy touched a few grass seeds on the ground. After absorbing the spiritual energy, the seeds broke open at a visible speed, growing into small purple sprouts. As spiritual energy occasionally drifted over, the purple sprouts would grow a segment after absorbing it, and then stop once the supply of spiritual energy ceased.

"Bastard, that's mine." The Black Robe Old Man roared in anger, but he was surrounded by several Spirit Talismans and couldn't spare any effort to stop Lu Xiaotian.

"It's mine now." Lu Xiaotian chuckled, not forgetting his objective because of the dispersed spiritual energy in the air.

"Wind Blade Talisman!"

Several swooshing Wind Blades shot out from behind the small Fireball, arriving later but striking first, slicing off several more pieces from the Black Robe Old Man's soul-like Primordial Spirit.

The Black Robe Old Man screamed, and his Cultivation once again dropped to Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

"Brat, I'll fight you to the death!" Although his escape speed wasn't slower than Lu Xiaotian's, the attack speed of the Spirit Talismans surpassed his escape speed.

In despair, the Black Robe Old Man didn't retreat but charged forward towards Lu Xiaotian.

"Damn it, the Wind Blade Talismans are all used up. I should have bought more Wind Blade Talismans."

Lu Xiaotian was quite annoyed. Using other Spirit Talismans would destroy a lot of spiritual energy even if they could destroy the Black Robe Old Man. If he had more Wind Blade Talismans, he could have sliced off more pieces from the Black Robe Old Man's Primordial Spirit orb.

At this moment, the color of the Black Robe Old Man's Primordial Spirit was extremely thin compared to its solid and dense state when he was at Qi Refining Great Perfection.

However, it still appeared much denser than Lu Xiaotian's Primordial Spirit.

Lu Xiaotian narrowed his eyes, cast an Earth Shield on himself for defense, and then unleashed several more Spirit Talismans.

"Fire Net Talisman!"

"Golden Spear Technique!"

The Black Robe Old Man roared, and several Golden Short Spears appeared out of thin air, shooting towards Lu Xiaotian's Primordial Spirit in front of him. He was originally a master at Qi Refining Great Perfection. Even though he had fallen to Qi Refining Fifth Layer, his Cultivation was still far superior to Lu Xiaotian's, and his understanding and comprehension of spells were far beyond Lu Xiaotian's, who had only been cultivating for one or two years. The same spells cast by him were much more powerful than low-grade Spirit Talismans.

He had been caught off guard by Lu Xiaotian earlier. Now, in his death throes, his counterattack was exceptionally fierce. The Golden Short Spears directly poked several holes in the Fire Net that covered the front. They continued to pierce through the Earth Shield that was blocking Lu Xiaotian.

Lu Xiaotian was startled by the ferocity of the Black Robe Old Man's dying counterattack. He hastily dodged the few Golden Short Spears, which were already at the end of their strength. He quickly cast two more Earth Shield Talismans to guard against the unexpected. Fortunately, he knew the Black Robe Old Man's power and had many Spirit Talismans for self-protection.

"Vine Talisman!" "Earth Armor Talisman!"

"Golden Hammer Technique!"

"Water Whip Talisman!"

"Fire Snake Technique!"

Spirit Talismans and spells flew back and forth between the two. Both were now fighting with red eyes. Lu Xiaotian was determined to destroy the Black Robe Old Man, while the Black Robe Old Man desperately maintained his Fire Net, hoping to hold out until Lu Xiaotian's Spirit Talismans were depleted.

With the booming collision of spells and Spirit Talismans, destructive magical power scattered everywhere. The Black Robe Old Man's mastery of spells and combat experience were ultimately no match for Lu Xiaotian.

In the middle, Lu Xiaotian was hit by a Golden Arrow from the Black Robe Old Man, causing him to tremble all over. However, he gritted his teeth and continued to fight back.

The Black Robe Old Man, having fallen back to Qi Refining Third Layer, wielded progressively weaker magical power. He was now at the Qi Refining early stage, and the spells he cast were only slightly more powerful than low-grade Spirit Talismans.

Chirp, a Lightning Pillar, followed by an exploding Fireball, completely engulfed the Black Robe Old Man's Primordial Spirit. The Black Robe Old Man's shrill screams could be heard from within.

Lu Xiaotian still controlled several Spirit Talismans, searching around. When he found no trace of the Black Robe Old Man's Primordial Spirit, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Lu Xiaotian couldn't help but find his own timidity amusing. It seemed the Black Robe Old Man had left a psychological shadow on him over the long period.

At this moment, there were numerous Primordial Spirit fragments wandering within the Barrier, all sliced from the Black Robe Old Man's Primordial Spirit by Wind Blades and then scattered. For the past year, the Black Robe Old Man had been his nightmare.

Now that this sword hanging over his head had been removed, Lu Xiaotian felt a sense of relief from the bottom of his heart. He greedily absorbed the scattered, mindless Primordial Spirit fragments within the Barrier. His own Cultivation rapidly broke through Qi Refining Third Layer and Qi Refining Fourth Layer. By the time there was little spiritual energy left wandering in the Barrier, he had reached the realm of Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

Indeed, surviving a great calamity brings future blessings. He had cultivated diligently for nearly two years, only managing to advance with great difficulty from the Qi Refining First Layer to the second. Yet, in a single day, he not only consecutively broke through three layers but also completed a massive transformation from the early Qi Refining stage to the mid Qi Refining stage.

"Huh?" Lu Xiaotian was chasing the last remaining fragment of his Primordial Spirit, following the direction where the spiritual energy drifted. Suddenly, at the edge of the Barrier, he spotted a patch of pale purple grass – Purple Spirit Grass, and there were over ten stalks. When this wisp of spiritual energy touched the Purple Spirit Grass, it vanished. However, one stalk of Purple Spirit Grass shed a few seeds, and several small purple sprouts emerged from the ground.

"So, after absorbing spiritual energy, the Purple Spirit Grass automatically drops seeds and sprouts. But where did this patch of Purple Spirit Grass come from?"

Lu Xiaotian was full of questions. He searched the surroundings again but found no trace of other Spiritual Materials. It must have grown recently. Otherwise, if there were truly a large amount of Spiritual Material, the Black Robe Old Man would have already reached the Qi Refining Twelfth Layer.

Could it be that last time he was experimenting to see if he could bring Spiritual Materials into this mysterious Space, he accidentally dropped seeds from a Purple Spirit Grass when he brought one in? And because the spiritual energy hadn't been fully absorbed today, it absorbed the spiritual energy, rooted, and sprouted?

The Purple Spirit Grass he consumed today had no seeds. To verify this conclusion, Lu Xiaotian specifically left the Space to check the remaining Purple Spirit Grass in another Jade Box. He found only one seed on it, confirming that a few were indeed missing.

So, it turns out this Space can even be used to plant Spiritual Grass. And as long as there's a supply of spiritual energy, Spiritual Grass can rapidly grow from a sprout to maturity. This growth speed is simply unheard of.

Purple Spirit Grass is the main ingredient for refining the Qi Gathering Pill. If it were before, it would have been very useful to him. But unfortunately, he was already at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. Even if he refined it into a pill, its efficacy wouldn't be great. The Qi Gathering Pill only has a good effect on Qi Refining Early Stage cultivators. By the mid Qi Refining stage, he would need more advanced Pills.

"Later, I'll have to spend Spirit Stones to buy the Pill Recipes for the mid Qi Refining stage," Lu Xiaotian gave a wry smile. However, besides Spirit Talismans, he had very few Spirit Stones left. It seemed he needed to earn more Spirit Stones later, and perhaps inquire about mid Qi Refining Pill recipes.

"Right, there's still one Storage Bag I haven't opened." Lu Xiaotian suddenly remembered that among the several Storage Bags, the one belonging to the Black Robe Old Man couldn't be opened. He had been coveting the Black Robe Old Man's Golden Flying Sword for a long time. Moreover, since the Black Robe Old Man could kill the other three, the contents of his Storage Bag must be extraordinary.