Could It Even Count as Cultivation If You Never Skipped a Level?

Penglai, Yuqing Temple, Daozang Pavilion.

Luo Yan lifted his head from the stacks of books, looking somewhat dazed.

He had flipped through hundreds of scriptures and still hadn't found any information about the "Imperial Palace."

The only mention appeared in A General History of the Primordial Chan Sect: "The Celestial Venerable, beset by worries, first built the Imperial Palace."

So who was the Celestial Venerable?

And what were you worried about?

Why did being worried mean you had to build an Imperial Palace? And what was the Imperial Palace, anyway?

Then he checked the author's name. Sure enough, it was a senior from ancient Kunlun.

The scriptures written by the Kunlun Taiqing Sect always had that infuriatingly minimalist style. If something could be described in one character, they'd never use two—as if writing one extra character would somehow lower their prestige.

If you wanted to use fewer words and look impressive, why the hell not make a PowerPoint? Couldn't you add some charts that explained everything at a glance?

Luo Yan showed the passage to Shi Liuli, and even Eldest Young Lady Shi was left scratching her head.

"The Celestial Venerable should refer to the leader of the Chan Sect, the Primordial Celestial Venerable," Shi Liuli speculated. "As for what he was worried about..."

"Hold on!" Luo Yan said with a helpless laugh. "Senior Sister, if the Primordial Celestial Venerable really built it, then the Imperial Palace's status would be terrifyingly high. It shouldn't have anything to do with our Qi Refining Stage."

"You have a point." Shi Liuli said, troubled. "So who exactly is this Celestial Venerable?"

"Let's not worry about who the Celestial Venerable is for now." Luo Yan tried to persuade Eldest Young Lady Shi. "The scriptures in the Daozang Pavilion are as vast as the sea. Finding one specific term in there is like fishing for a needle in the ocean. I think we'd be better off getting the Great Chief Disciple drunk and pumping him for information..."

"You think I haven't tried?" Shi Liuli shot him a sidelong glance. "He's been on guard against me lately. He even carries hangover pills with him now."

"That's strange." Luo Yan mused. "Is this some secret everyone has to keep their mouths shut about?"

"It may not even be a secret," Shi Liuli replied. "It's just that our senior brothers and sisters all listen to Father."

"Father might have casually said something like, 'Don't tell me directly,' and they all refused to say anything after that."

"I see." Luo Yan pondered for a moment, then made up his mind.

Time to phone a friend!

"I'm going to the bathroom," he said, getting to his feet.

"You're not allowed!" Shi Liuli snapped.

"Senior Sister! You won't even let me use the bathroom? That's too tyrannical!" Luo Yan said, pulling a long face.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Shi Liuli said, hands on her hips. "As a Qi Refining Stage cultivator, you've long since gone without food. Why would you need to use the bathroom?"

Luo Yan: ...

Eldest Young Lady Shi had suddenly gotten sharp again!

"See? You were obviously trying to run away!" Shi Liuli shouted angrily.

"Senior Sister," Luo Yan said helplessly, "I've actually had an idea. I was just going to the bathroom to sort it out."

"What kind of idea needs sorting out in the bathroom?" Shi Liuli sneered.

"Mathematics," Luo Yan lied.

"Can't you do math here?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're so beautiful, Senior Sister, you distract me. I can't focus on calculating."

Shi Liuli: ?

"Oh, you're impossible." She smiled and waved a hand. "Why go to the bathroom? Our Heavenly Workshop doesn't have any filthy places like that. There's a quiet room in the Daozang Pavilion. You can go there and do your math, but don't you dare run away!"

"Sure, sure." Luo Yan hurriedly got up.

Once he reached the quiet room and confirmed that no one was around, he called out to the Kunlun Mirror in his heart:

"Yao Yao, I want to load a save!"

The Kunlun Mirror ignored him.

"A Jing?" Luo Yan immediately corrected himself.

"Which save?" the Kunlun Mirror asked.

"Kunlun."

[Location One: Kunlun Taiqing Sect, Jinling Cave Mansion.]

[Character Identity: Qiu Changtian.]

[Mirror Flower Water Moon template overlay in progress. Traveling through time and space.]

His body appeared in Kunlun again. The illusion of Mirror Flower Water Moon, which bestowed an Invincible Persona, was imposed upon him, and he swiftly switched to Qiu Changtian's state of mind. Calm and collected, he left the cave mansion and took flight on his sword.

He was going to visit Xu Changqing, the Great Chief Disciple of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Xu Changqing came from the Xu Family of Tiannan. He was the two hundred and seventy-sixth generation chief disciple of Kunlun and the current Great Chief Disciple of the Foundation Establishment Realm—the "strongest person below the Golden Core Realm" of the Kunlun Taiqing Sect.

Incidentally, the "strongest person below the Golden Core Realm" of the Shangqing Sect of Shu Mountain was Senior Sister An Zhisu.

There was no need to explain Ling Yunpo's relationship with An Zhisu. As for Qiu Changtian and Xu Changqing, their relationship wasn't much different.

The reason was simple: according to the Xu Family of Tiannan's genealogy, Xu Changqing was Xu Yinglian's great-granduncle—the younger brother of her grandfather.

In other words, according to the Dao Companion engagement already arranged, Qiu Changtian was Xu Changqing's future great-grandniece's husband.

The title was a bit of a mouthful, but because of that connection, Xu Changqing really did treat Qiu Changtian like a younger member of the family.

"Changtian?" When Xu Changqing saw Qiu Changtian come to visit, he rose from his meditation to greet him.

He looked to be around thirty, with neither the youthful air of a young man nor the weathered feel of a middle-aged man. His appearance could only be called unremarkable.

He was also very low-key in his daily conduct, which made Qiu Changtian envious. Hadn't he wanted to be like that, too? His persona simply wouldn't allow it.

"Senior Brother Changqing." Qiu Changtian bowed respectfully, then got straight to the point. "I've come to ask you about a place."

"What place?" Xu Changqing asked, a little surprised.

"The Imperial Palace," Qiu Changtian said gravely.

Xu Changqing blinked, then smiled.

"I see. I didn't expect you to hear about it so early."

Qiu Changtian: ?

What, did the Imperial Palace have something to do with him, Qiu Changtian?

Seeing that his expression hadn't changed, Xu Changqing thought for a moment, then explained the whole matter to him:

"Changtian, as you know, the main purpose of cultivation in the Qi Refining Stage is to draw Qi into the body and fill the sea of Qi."

"During the Marrow Washing Stage, tempering the bones, purging the marrow, and expanding the meridians require a great deal of True Qi. For that, you need a full sea of Qi."

"Generally speaking, depending on a cultivator's aptitude and the quality of their Qi Refining Technique, it takes somewhere between thirty and sixty years to fill the sea of Qi."

"During that time, without external aids like flying swords and Magic Treasures, a Qi Refining Stage cultivator's combat ability is very weak."

"In ancient times, the Chan Sect faced a problem: it had far fewer low-level disciples than the Jie Sect."

"Though their average aptitude was higher, their cultivation realms were lower, so they couldn't establish a clear advantage over the Jie Sect's disciples."

"So a powerful being of the ancient Chan Sect used an unparalleled divine ability to harness the tremendous Spiritual Power of the Earth Vein Volcano beneath the Eastern Sea and build the Imperial Palace Secret Realm."

"The Imperial Palace Secret Realm was designed specifically as a trial ground for the Chan Sect's Foundation Establishment Stage disciples."

"If you pass the trial, you'll not only have a chance to obtain flying swords, Magic Treasures, Spiritual Medicines, and Daoist Magic, but you can also steadily advance your cultivation by one realm."

"From Qi Refining to Marrow Washing, from Marrow Washing to Transformation Palace, and even from the very beginning of Transformation Palace straight to its great completion—half a step from the Golden Core Realm—all of it can be achieved through the Imperial Palace Secret Realm."

Qiu Changtian suddenly understood.

"I see. Then the Imperial Palace..."

"We can't predict when the Imperial Palace will open or close," Xu Changqing said with a smile. "But according to our honored master, the next opening should be soon."

"The reason the sect hasn't told you all is that they're afraid you'll learn the Imperial Palace Secret Realm guarantees advancement and become lax in your cultivation."

"Since you've already heard about it, though, I won't keep it from you."

Qiu Changtian understood what he meant and nodded solemnly.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother. I won't tell my junior brothers or sisters a word about this—not even Junior Sister Xu."

But what should I say to Eldest Young Lady Shi?