Half a Year of Change!

Great Bamboo Peak.

Shou Jing Hall.

Time flies like an arrow, and a white steed flashes past a crack.

For Tian Buyi and his wife, these past six months felt like a dream.

No.

It was a fright!

Tian Buyi held the teacup lid in his hand, his knuckles turning slightly white.

The tea had long gone cold, but he was completely unaware.

"Buyi."

"Still thinking about Seventh's matter?"

Su Ru's gentle voice sounded beside him.

She was still holding a Daoist robe she was mending.

"How can I not think about it?"

Tian Buyi slammed the teacup onto the table, his brows furrowed into the shape of the character "川".

He stood up, hands behind his back, pacing back and forth in the hall. His short, stout figure appeared somewhat agitated.

"Junior Sister, you know this too."

"Four months!"

"Only four months!"

"That kid broke through to the fourth layer of the Yuqing Realm!"

Tian Buyi extended four fingers, as thick as carrots, and gestured fiercely in the air.

Speaking of which.

The muscles on Tian Buyi's chubby face twitched involuntarily.

Back then.

Ancestor Qingye, who was hailed as the Qingyun Sect's once-in-a-millennium prodigy, wasn't this terrifying, right?

Originally.

This was a cause for great celebration!

Great Bamboo Peak was going to make a comeback!

He, Tian Buyi, could finally mock that old fellow Cang Song fiercely!

But unfortunately.

The problem lay here too.

"Two months."

"Seventh has been in seclusion for two months."

"This brat hasn't come to ask me for a Magic Treasure, nor has he mentioned going down the mountain."

"He's been holed up in the Scripture Depository all day, poring over those..."

"Poring over those introductory spell explanations that only newly initiated disciples read!"

"And those mortal martial arts manuals!"

Tian Buyi stopped pacing.

His gaze drifted towards the Scripture Depository behind the mountain, his tone becoming somewhat peculiar.

"Seventh is a thoughtful child with firm resolve."

"Perhaps... he feels his foundation is unstable?"

Hearing this.

Su Ru could only offer a helpless smile and put down her needlework.

"Foundation unstable?"

"Four months to reach the fourth layer of Yuqing!"

"The purity of his Spiritual Energy is even more substantial than Daren and the others combined, how else could it be stable?"

"I think he's just gone silly from reading too many idle books!"

Tian Buyi let out a cold snort, as if he had heard a joke.

"No!"

The more Tian Buyi thought about it, the more something felt wrong.

The twitch in his right eyelid grew even more vigorous.

It felt like something beyond control was about to happen.

"I have to go see."

"Don't tell me this kid messed up his training and is just toughing it out!"

Just as Tian Buyi was about to step outside.

Suddenly.

A surge of immense Spiritual Energy from heaven and earth exploded in the direction of the back mountain without any warning!

BOOM!

The doors and windows of Shou Jing Hall rattled violently from the blast wave.

The previously calm night sky above Great Bamboo Peak was instantly engulfed by surging winds and clouds.

The surrounding Spiritual Energy, as if drawn by some force, madly converged towards the location of the Scripture Depository!

The Spiritual Energy swirled in mid-air, forming a small, funnel-shaped vortex!

"This commotion..."

Su Ru suddenly stood up, her beautiful eyes wide open.

Tian Buyi's face changed drastically. His normally small eyes were now as wide as copper bells.

He was far too familiar with this aura.

Although it wasn't completely stable yet, the spiritual pressure emanating from within, the seamless connection with heaven and earth.

This was definitely not something from the fourth layer, the Object Moving Realm!

"Yuqing Realm... the fifth layer?"

"How is that possible!"

"Wasn't this kid just reading random books?"

"You can break through just by reading?"

Tian Buyi exclaimed in disbelief, his voice cracking.

Before he finished speaking.

His short, stout figure had already transformed into a streak of crimson light, shooting towards the Scripture Depository.

Su Ru didn't dare to delay either, and also vanished from Shou Jing Hall.

Scripture Depository.

The windows were wide open, and a strong wind carrying bamboo leaves howled into the room.

The ancient books on the shelves rustled loudly, as if cheering for this moment.

Ye Xuan sat cross-legged amidst a pile of scattered books.

Introduction to Five Elements Sorcery, General Theory of Mortal Martial Arts, Introduction to Qimen Dunjia, 300 Examples of Spiritual Energy Micro-Control...

"Hoo~"

A moment later.

Ye Xuan slowly opened his eyes.

In that instant.

Deep within his dark pupils, two streaks of green light flashed and disappeared.

They were like two newly unsheathed swords, so sharp they dared not be looked at directly.

The Tai Chi Vital Energy within his body surged like a raging river, frantically scouring his meridians.

His already wide and tough meridians became even more indestructible under these repeated scourings.

The fifth layer!

It was a natural progression!

Without the slightest obstruction, without any forced effort.

Ye Xuan looked down at his palms.

Slender, fair, with no visible calluses.

His mind stirred.

He didn't form any hand seals, just a thought.

"Whoosh!"

A fist-sized ball of crimson fire appeared out of thin air, three inches above his palm.

Then.

The fireball did not fly out directly like a normal Fireball Technique.

It was instead compressing and spinning wildly in Ye Xuan's palm.

The original orange-red flame gradually turned into a dazzling cyan-white due to extreme compression.

"Zzzt zzzt~"

The air was scorched by the high temperature, emitting a grating sound.

Ye Xuan flipped his wrist.

The terrifying cyan-white fireball instantly extinguished, dissipating into nothingness as if it had never existed.

Controlled at will.

Effortless.

"This is the power of the basics..."

Ye Xuan muttered to himself, a satisfied curve lifting the corner of his mouth.

For the past two months, Old Tian thought he was neglecting his duties.

Little did he know.

He was reinforcing the foundation of this skyscraper called cultivation by another hundred meters!

Ordinary Qingyun Sect disciples, upon reaching the fourth level, couldn't wait to learn sword control and grand techniques like the Divine Sword Thunder Control True Art.

As for the Fireball Technique?

That was for beginners to start fires and cook.

But Ye Xuan didn't think that way.

He not only possessed the Innate Dao Body but also God-tier Comprehension.

Through his God-tier Comprehension, he could optimize these basic skills and cultivate them to a higher level.

Take this most basic Fireball Technique, for example!

In Ye Xuan's hands, it was no longer a simple basic spell!

"Bang!"

Just then.

The thick wooden door of the Scripture Depository was violently pushed open from the outside.

No, it was blown open by a palm strike.

Tian Buyi's signature short and stout figure rushed in.

"Seventh!"

Tian Buyi hadn't even steadied himself.

His sharp gaze had already swept over Ye Xuan three times.

It was as if he were looking at a monster just unearthed.

Su Ru followed closely behind, her expression of shock equally difficult to conceal.

"Master, Mistress."

"It's so late at night, aren't you two still resting?"

Ye Xuan patted the non-existent dust off his Daoist robe and cupped his hands with a smile.

Tian Buyi ignored his flippant greeting.

He strode to Ye Xuan, extended a chubby hand, and without a word, grasped Ye Xuan's wrist.

A gentle and pure spiritual energy probed into his body.

One second.

Two seconds.

Tian Buyi's chubby face twitched, then twitched again.

Finally.

He released his hand as if he had been electrocuted, staring at Ye Xuan with the eyes one would use to look at a Yao.

"Really... the fifth level?"

Tian Buyi's voice was somewhat hoarse.

He had cultivated for hundreds of years; what kind of geniuses hadn't he seen?

But he had truly never seen such a freak who treated cultivation as easily as drinking water!

Six months!

From an ordinary child to the fifth level of the Yuqing Realm!

If this were to get out!

The Sect Leader Senior Brother on Heaven-Piercing Peak would probably be so shocked he'd knock over the ancestral tablets in the Ancestral Hall!