Ninth Layer of Body Forging

Zhao Long!

Hearing this name, Zhou Xuan's eyes turned icy cold.

Is this guy out of his mind?

He first sent two Body Tempering Realm disciples to kill him, and after that failed, he was now actually showing up in person.

Is it really worth it?

Zhou Xuan frowned; he felt that things were likely not that simple.

Judging by the way Zhao Long had sent people to intercept and kill him before, he was certainly not a man of loyalty or righteousness.

His targeting of him must be driven by profit.

But what could he possibly have that would make an inner sect disciple scheme against him like this?

Squeezing out some profit?

What kind of profit could a mere miscellaneous disciple possibly have?

The only possibility was that those two previous assassination attempts were likely linked to this person as well.

But those two attempts were caused by him converting the spiritual energy within the spirit stones Liu Ruyan gave him without that guy knowing? Was he being played?

However, those few spirit stones shouldn't be enough to make an inner sect disciple risk violating sect rules to try and kill him again and again.

Unless...

A thought flashed through Zhou Xuan's mind.

Unless there was someone else behind Zhao Long. Someone with a higher status, an inner sect disciple—or even a core disciple—whose existence he wasn't even aware of?

This thought cast a shadow over Zhou Xuan's heart.

If that were truly the case, then things would be troublesome. He would be like an ant living under a spotlight, his every move watched by others, while the opponent remained hidden in the shadows, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

For a time, Zhou Xuan felt a headache coming on.

He shook his head, temporarily pushing these chaotic thoughts aside.

Forget it, let the soldiers come and the generals block, let the water come and the earth cover. In the face of absolute strength, all schemes and plots are paper tigers.

Thinking more now was useless; the top priority was to improve his own strength.

As long as he could step into the Qi Refining Realm as soon as possible and become an outer sect disciple, the world would be vast and open. It wouldn't be so easy for the other party to use such underhanded methods to deal with him again.

Having figured this out, Zhou Xuan's gaze returned to calmness. He looked at the nervous Zhou Ye beside him and patted his shoulder, signaling him to relax.

"Brother Xuan, should we find a way to hide from that Zhao Long?"

Zhou Ye asked worriedly. In his eyes, inner sect disciples were like the heavens—existences that miscellaneous disciples like them absolutely could not afford to provoke.

"Hide? No need," Zhou Xuan said calmly.

He turned his head, looking at Zhou Ye with a burning gaze, and suddenly asked, "Zhou Ye, do you want to take your aptitude to the next level?"

Hearing this, Zhou Ye was stunned, and his breathing immediately became rapid.

Aptitude!

This was a mountain pressing down on the hearts of all miscellaneous disciples!

Although he had managed to clear his pill poison with Zhou Xuan's help and broken through to the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm, temporarily escaping the crisis of being expelled, he knew very well that his Spirit Root was still the one deemed a trash root with no future.

This meant that his path to immortality might just stop at the Body Tempering Realm.

And now, Zhou Xuan was actually asking him if he wanted to improve his aptitude?

"Brother Xuan, you mean..." Zhou Ye's voice trembled with excitement; he couldn't believe his ears.

"I have my own methods."

Zhou Xuan didn't explain further, just looked at him calmly.

"But I need you to do some things for me, and regarding everything about me, you must keep your mouth shut and bury it in your stomach. If you leak even half a word, you know the consequences."

Zhou Ye's body shuddered. He looked at Zhou Xuan, not doubting the truth of these words for a second.

He immediately thought of the violent explosion that had occurred at the Miscellaneous Affairs Department a few days ago, and a jolt went through his heart.

He quickly straightened his back, his expression solemn as he nodded vigorously: "Don't worry, Brother Xuan! My life was saved by you. From now on, whatever you tell me to do, I will do! I will never have a second heart, and I certainly won't leak a single word!"

At this moment, he truly saw it clearly. The Brother Xuan before him was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

The ability to casually clear away his years of pill poison was truly like that of an immortal. This was absolutely his greatest stroke of fortune!

"Very good." Zhou Xuan nodded with satisfaction.

He lowered his voice and instructed Zhou Ye: "From today on, while you are working at the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, keep an eye out for some things for me."

"What kind of things?"

"Waste pills, broken dharma artifacts, shattered spirit tools, contaminated materials..."

Zhou Xuan paused and summarized.

"Simply put, it's the trash that looks dangerous, that no one dares to touch, or that is considered completely useless."

"Once you find it, don't make a scene. Collect it secretly, hide it in a secluded place, and then tell me."

Although Zhou Ye didn't understand what Zhou Xuan wanted with these dangerous scraps, he didn't ask a single question. He now had a near-blind trust in Zhou Xuan.

"Yes! Brother Xuan! I understand!"

Zhou Ye didn't dare to be the least bit negligent. He agreed firmly, then turned around, filled with renewed energy, and headed deep into the Miscellaneous Affairs Department to start searching for treasures for Zhou Xuan.

Time flew by, and soon three days had passed.

In these three days, Zhao Long did not appear again, and Fairy Danhuo Zhang Ling did not blow up her furnace every day as she had threatened.

The entire Chore Servant Courtyard seemed to have returned to its former tranquility.

As for Zhou Xuan, he had poured all his energy into his cultivation.

He had only one goal: to break through to the Qi Refining Realm!

Only by stepping into the Qi Refining Realm could one truly embark on the immortal path and possess the basic ability to protect oneself within this sect.

Therefore, this matter brooked no delay!

Fortunately, Zhang Ling's last furnace explosion had contributed a large number of Second-Rank Waste Pills to him. Although these waste pills were damaged, their quality was extremely high.

After returning to his thatched hut, Zhou Xuan activated the system.

He discovered that the system could not only absorb the energy of waste pills, but for some waste pills that were not too severely damaged, he could even consume a small amount of Gold Touch Value to directly transmute them into perfect pills!

This discovery made Zhou Xuan ecstatic.

After some operations, he spent nearly a hundred Gold Touch Value and successfully restored five complete Qi Gathering Pills.

Relying on these five pills with pure medicinal power, his cultivation began to advance by leaps and bounds.

Body Forging Level 8!

Body Forging Level 9!

In just three days, his cultivation had surged like a bamboo being split, reaching the peak of Body Forging Level 9!

At this moment, he felt his entire body filled with explosive power, his vitality far exceeding what it had been three days ago.

He was only one final step away from the threshold of Qi Induction and stepping into the Qi Refining Realm.

However, this final step was like a natural chasm, trapping him firmly in place.

He could clearly feel that his body was like a sieve; the trace of heaven and earth spiritual energy he had managed to draw in from the outside world would dissipate by more than half before it could even complete a single cycle through his meridians.

"A Wasted Four Elements Spirit Root is, after all, still a wasted spirit root."

In the thatched hut, Zhou Xuan slowly opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and his face was full of helplessness.

Improving from five elements to four had increased his cultivation speed significantly, but the essence of his spirit root had not changed.

With such aptitude, when attempting a major barrier like the Qi Refining Realm, the disadvantages were infinitely magnified.

Zhou Xuan felt that in his current state, without other opportunities, he would likely be stuck here for half a year before he could possibly succeed in breaking through.

Half a year? He couldn't wait that long.

Long nights bring many dreams; whether it was the enemy hidden in the shadows or the crisis of competing for resources within the sect, both were like swords hanging over his head.

He had to find another way!

Zhou Xuan's gaze involuntarily fell upon his Universe Bag.

His mind sank into it, and among the pile of miscellaneous items, an inconspicuous piece of Green Copper lay quietly.

It was the fragment he had obtained from the household trash heap, the one made of the same material as the mysterious copper piece.

He focused his attention on the system panel.

[Gold Touch Value Balance: 1027 points!]

Having absorbed Zhang Ling's waste pills and converted quite a bit from the trash Zhou Ye had collected, his Gold Touch Value had once again surpassed the thousand-point mark without him realizing it.

Looking at this number, a flash of determination crossed Zhou Xuan's eyes.

He reached into his robe, took out the cold piece of Green Copper, and gripped it tightly in his palm.

"Perfect, I have enough Gold Touch Value again."

"This time, let me see exactly what you are!"