Houtian Mid Stage

The days quietly slipped by amidst a fulfilling (and busy) "multi-threaded" cultivation.

Xu Qian felt like a precision instrument undergoing a silent upgrade. By day, he played the role of a diligent guard, delivering meals, cleaning, and standing watch, occasionally using a bit of Sword Qi for tidying up or a Cleanliness Talisman to improve favorability. By night, it was his true "evolution" time—absorbing Sha Qi, deducing sword techniques, studying talismans, digesting medical knowledge, and, of course, continuously circulating the Longevity Blood Circulation Method that had already become instinctual.

The Longevity Dao Fruit was like a tireless core engine, steadily providing the basic foundation of automatically increasing cultivation each year.

The dense Yin Sha Qi of the Heavenly Prison became his readily available "low-grade fuel." Although its conversion efficiency wasn't high, it made up for it with sheer volume, continuously injecting extra power into the engine.

Observing the Dao Fruit's slight optimizations from the Mad Old Man's sword intent patterns was like adding a more efficient "turbocharger" to the engine. While each improvement was minuscule, the cumulative effect over time was not to be underestimated.

And the newly acquired Longevity Blood Circulation Method was like optimizing the "intake and fuel injection system," bringing about a small but sustained increase in the efficiency of the entire cultivation process.

These factors combined made Xu Qian's cultivation speed far exceed ordinary imagination. The Longevity True Qi in his dantian grew increasingly abundant and condensed, like trickles converging into a stream, and then streams surging into a river.

He could clearly feel the barrier of the Houtian Early Stage already trembling precariously, just needing that final push.

This night was no different from any other.

Xu Qian finished a failed attempt at a new Cleanliness Talisman (its success rate remained disheartening), rubbed his aching temples, and prepared to begin his routine meditation, absorbing Sha Qi and circulating it through his meridians.

He sat down cross-legged, the Turtle Breath Art naturally activating to conceal his aura to the utmost. His consciousness sank inward, guiding the Longevity True Qi along its familiar path.

The True Qi surged, many times more potent than it had been months ago! With the boost from the Blood Circulation Method, its circulation speed was also faster. Strands of Yin Sha Qi were drawn in, purified by the Dao Fruit's clear light, transforming into pure energy and merging into the river of True Qi.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, a natural progression.

When the True Qi reached a critical point in its cycle and converged into his dantian—

There was no earth-shattering roar, no radiant spectacle, not even a trace of aura leakage.

It was like river water flowing over a dam, or ice and snow melting in the warm sun, everything happening naturally.

Xu Qian only felt an invisible shackle within his body lightly click and then quietly shatter.

His dantian, already filled to the brim, seemed to instantly widen by a sliver! The surging True Qi found a vaster space, flowing with greater joy and smoothness! Both the quality and quantity of his True Qi saw a noticeable increase at this moment!

A sense of power, far stronger and more controllable than in the Houtian Early Stage, arose spontaneously!

Houtian Mid Stage!

He had done it!

Xu Qian slowly opened his eyes, a glint of sharpness contained within them. Feeling the nearly doubled surge of Longevity True Qi within his body and the more refined control over his own strength, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

[That was... a breakthrough?]

It was calm, too calm.

There was no struggle against bottlenecks, no pain of breaking through, not even any external energy fluctuations were triggered. Everything happened silently, as natural as breathing.

This was undoubtedly thanks to the Turtle Breath Art's aura-concealing effect and his own excessively solid foundation. The Longevity True Qi was upright and peaceful, free of impurities. Coupled with his day-after-day meticulous effort, the breakthrough occurred without any obstacles, like dew moistening things silently.

[Perfect! This is exactly the effect I wanted!] Xu Qian was very satisfied with this.

He didn't want to cause any major disturbances and attract unnecessary attention. Achieving advancement so silently, making a fortune in secret, was the true essence of the "Path of the Coward."

He stretched his limbs, and a faint, crackling sound like popping beans echoed within his body. This was the manifestation of his physical fitness being strengthened with his advancement in realm. His senses also seemed to become sharper; he could hear the rustling of rats from further away and smell the faintest scent of dust in the air.

He attempted to mobilize the Sword Intent Seed.

"Buzz..."

A faint cyan sword phantom trembled gently in his dantian, responding to his call. Xu Qian could feel that the "Sword Qi" he could now mobilize (still in a pseudo-externalized state) had significantly improved in both quantity and control precision. If he were to cut bluestone again now, he would likely be able to do it more easily, with a smoother cut surface.

[Good, good. My strength is improving steadily without attracting any trouble. This feeling is reassuring!]

He didn't get carried away and quickly calmed down again. Houtian Mid Stage was still nothing significant in this Heavenly Prison. Zhou Kang was probably beyond this realm, not to mention the prisoners in Block C and potentially more formidable individuals.