Xu Xianzhong's Cultivation Improvement

Deputy Hall Master Xu glanced at Xu Yang and said, "I am called Xu Xianzhong, the deputy hall master of this External Affairs Hall. You may simply address me as Senior; there is no need for excessive formality. It just so happens that I am on duty today. Lin Heng came to report to me earlier that you discovered a Demon Eye. Is this matter true?"

"Reporting to Senior Xu, it is indeed true. Furthermore, this junior has already collected the Demon Eye, and I ask that you inspect it." As he spoke, Xu Yang produced a Qiankun Bag and handed it to Xu Xianzhong.

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Xianzhong's eyes. He raised his hand, and with a suction force, he took the Qiankun Bag into his hand. His divine sense immediately probed inside. Xu Xianzhong's expression shifted, his face filled with excitement. He looked up at Xu Yang and said, "It is indeed a Demon Eye. Your luck is truly remarkable; you discovered it just as it was forming. Had it been any later, given your cultivation level, it would have been impossible for you to collect it."

Xu Yang replied with a look of lingering fear, "That is indeed the case. It was purely by luck that this junior was able to collect the Demon Eye. Even so, I nearly lost my life in the process."

Xu Xianzhong scanned the Qiankun Bag in his hand, a flash of greed crossing his eyes. He then asked Xu Yang with a kindly expression, "I wonder, which fellow daoist in the sect is your master? Perhaps I am acquainted with them?"

Hearing this, Xu Yang said respectfully, "Reporting to Senior, my master is Elder Qing Yuanzi." Upon hearing Xu Yang's words, Xu Xianzhong's body trembled. He felt a wave of relief, glad that he had temporarily suppressed his greed and inquired about Xu Yang's background first; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Xu Xianzhong's expression became even more amiable, and he asked Xu Yang with a smile, "So you are a high disciple of Elder Qing Yuanzi. How is Elder Qing Yuanzi faring these days? By the way, why have I not seen any sign of fellow daoist Huo Lian lately?"

"Reporting to Senior, both my master and my senior brother have been in closed-door cultivation for some time. This junior has not seen them for half a year," Xu Yang replied.

"Oh! So that is how it is! Elder Qing Yuanzi and fellow daoist Huo Lian are truly devoted to the Dao; I am far behind them," Xu Xianzhong said, shaking his head with a sigh.

He then looked at Xu Yang with a conflicted expression. Seeing this, Xu Yang immediately understood that the "tiger skin" he had draped over himself had worked. He took the initiative and said, "Senior, I wonder how this Demon Eye should be handled? It is of no use to this junior, and keeping it on my person might only invite disaster."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xianzhong was overjoyed. He smiled at Xu Yang and said, "What a coincidence; I happen to need a Demon Eye to trade for a cultivation treasure with a fellow daoist. Since it is of no use to you, why not hand it over to me? Of course, I will not let you suffer a loss."

Xu Yang immediately showed great joy and said to Xu Xianzhong, "Then many thanks, Senior. This Demon Eye is now yours." Hearing Xu Yang say this, a happy smile also appeared on Xu Xianzhong's face.

He casually tucked the Qiankun Bag into his robes, stroked his beard, and pondered for a moment before saying to Xu Yang, "This Demon Eye is of great use to me, and I will not treat you unfairly. I shall give these things to you!" As he spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and a Qiankun Bag flew out, landing in front of Xu Yang.

Xu Yang reached out and took it. Without even looking, he tucked it into his robes and bowed to Xu Xianzhong. He knew exactly what he was doing; with the powerful backing he had revealed, Xu Xianzhong would not dare to swindle him. Offending a Golden Core Realm elder of the sect would be no different from seeking death.

Within Bailian Pavilion, those below the sixth level of Qi Refining are all outer sect disciples, those from the seventh to ninth levels are inner sect disciples, the Foundation Establishment Realm are elite disciples, and the Golden Core Realm are sect elders. As for the Nascent Soul Realm, they are the supreme elders. The sect leader of the pavilion is merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator, acting more as an administrator, while the true power remains in the hands of the elders and supreme elders.

Since Qing Yuanzi is a Golden Core elder, this "tiger skin" was naturally extremely useful. At the very least, no one in the sect dared to pull the tiger's whiskers, and Xu Xianzhong certainly dared not offend a Golden Core cultivator. Of course, if they were outside the sect in a secluded area, it would be a different story, as one might easily be killed for their treasures.

Once the transaction was complete, Xu Yang found an excuse and left Xu Xianzhong's quiet room. Watching Xu Yang walk out, Xu Xianzhong's expression suddenly darkened. He slammed his palm onto the floor beside him, leaving a palm print imprinted upon it.

He said viciously, "Damn it, I never expected this brat to be a disciple of Qing Yuanzi, causing me to suffer a heavy loss. If we were outside the sect, hmph..." At this point, Xu Xianzhong let out a cold snort.

Meanwhile, Xu Yang walked out of the quiet room, greeted Lin Heng in the front hall, and left the External Affairs Hall, heading toward the pavilion where he resided.

Returning to his pavilion, Xu Yang opened the defensive restrictions and sat cross-legged within the Lesser Spirit Gathering Array on the second floor. He took out the Qiankun Bag given to him by Xu Xianzhong and probed it with his divine sense.

Inside the bag were two purple orbs, two bottles of medicinal pills, and a flying dagger. Xu Yang took these items out one by one to examine them. The flying dagger was a high-grade metal-attribute magical tool of excellent quality, which would perfectly enhance Xu Yang's offensive power.

The pills were high-grade Zengyuan Pills, twenty in total. The Zengyuan Pill is an advanced version of the Peiyuan Pill and is the best medicine for Qi Refining cultivators to improve their cultivation. Its efficacy far exceeds that of the Peiyuan Pill. These two bottles of high-grade Zengyuan Pills were of immense value and were enough to help Xu Yang advance to the eighth level of Qi Refining, which naturally made him very happy.

As for the two purple orbs, they were actually Demon-Slaying Thunder Pearls. Upon recognizing the origin of the two orbs, Xu Yang was shocked. The so-called Demon-Slaying Thunder Pearls are created by Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators with a lightning spirit root, who mix their own true essence with the lightning energy of heaven and earth.

Once a Demon-Slaying Thunder Pearl is activated, the area within a five-meter radius is instantly filled with lightning. The violent power of the lightning will tear everything within those five meters into shreds. Its power is so great that even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators must retreat, not daring to withstand its might.

These two Demon-Slaying Thunder Pearls were of immense value, comparable to top-grade magical tools, and were life-saving treasures for critical moments. It was no wonder that Xu Xianzhong, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, felt such a sting in his heart and claimed to have suffered a "heavy loss."

Xu Yang was filled with excitement. He looked at the treasures before him again and again before finally storing them in his own Qiankun Bag. Afterward, he forcibly suppressed his joy, sat cross-legged within the Lesser Spirit Gathering Array, and circulated his cultivation technique to absorb the spiritual energy within the array.

From that day on, Xu Yang entered a state of closed-door cultivation once more. Under the powerful efficacy of the high-grade Zengyuan Pills, Xu Yang's cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. At the same time, he took out the Millennial Ice Soul Pearl again to temper his body, and his physical cultivation also improved rapidly.

In his spare time, Xu Yang began to learn some basic spells, such as Fire Arrow, Ice Bolt, and other low-level techniques. He dabbled in them all, but Xu Yang helplessly discovered that the Void Spirit Root was indeed too poor; the power of the spells he cast was only about half that of other cultivators, which was truly unsightly.

Time slipped away slowly as Xu Yang focused entirely on his cultivation. In the blink of an eye, a year and a half passed. One day, while Xu Yang was cultivating in his pavilion, the restrictions outside were suddenly triggered. He immediately ceased his cultivation, rose, and walked to the window on the second floor to look outside.

Coming into view, he saw Huo Lian and a man in his early thirties standing before the pavilion door. He immediately went downstairs to greet them.

Stepping outside the pavilion, Xu Yang walked up to Huo Lian. Before Xu Yang could speak, Huo Lian burst into laughter. He smiled at Xu Yang and said, "Junior Brother Xu, it has been over two years. Your cultivation has improved very rapidly! You have already broken through to the late stage of the seventh level of Qi Refining."

Hearing Huo Lian's praise, Xu Yang said modestly, "Not at all. This junior's meager cultivation is hardly worth mentioning to a senior brother like you. Please, Senior Brother, do not flatter me."

Huo Lian said with a smile, "Junior Brother is too modest. Given your Void Spirit Root aptitude, this speed of cultivation is already extremely fast. It seems you have been cultivating very diligently!"

Having said this, he turned and pointed to the man standing to the side, saying to Xu Yang, "By the way, let me introduce you. This is your Fifth Senior Brother, Xu Shaoyang. You two should get to know each other well in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang immediately said to the man with a serious expression, "Junior Brother Xu Yang greets Fifth Senior Brother. I hope for your guidance in the future." As he spoke, he sized up his Fifth Senior Brother, Xu Shaoyang.

The man appeared to be in his thirties, wearing a yellow cloth robe. He had a square face and large ears, giving him an honest and simple appearance. However, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes from time to time, clearly indicating that this Fifth Senior Brother was not as honest and simple as he appeared.

Hearing Xu Yang's words, Xu Shaoyang chuckled and said, "This senior brother greets Junior Brother Xu. Junior Brother is being too formal; we shall simply look out for one another in the future." The reason Xu Shaoyang said this was because his own cultivation was only at the mid-stage of the eighth level of Qi Refining, merely one major realm higher than Xu Yang.

The two had only exchanged a few pleasantries when Huo Lian interrupted them, saying, "Alright, you can talk later. For now, let us hurry to pay our respects to Master; he is waiting for us in his cave dwelling!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang and the other immediately changed their expressions. Without another word, they followed Huo Lian toward Qing Yuanzi's cave dwelling. A short while later, the three left the sect on their flying swords, and under Huo Lian's lead, flew toward the back mountains of the sect.

According to what Xu Yang knew, cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm and above all practiced in the back mountains of the sect. The sect had carved out many cultivation cave dwellings there, and only Foundation Establishment cultivators were qualified to possess one.

Huo Lian was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and naturally had his own cave dwelling in the back mountains, so he was quite familiar with the area. Under his guidance, Xu Yang and the others soon arrived at Qing Yuanzi's cave dwelling.

Landing, Xu Yang looked up to survey his surroundings and discovered that this was the mountainside of a large mountain, and Qing Yuanzi's cave dwelling was situated on the sunny side of the slope.

At this moment, two maidservants, aged seventeen or eighteen, walked out of the cave dwelling. One of them said to the three, "The True Person has been waiting in the cave for some time. Please, the three high disciples, enter quickly to see the True Person."

Hearing this, the three of them immediately responded and stepped into the cave dwelling.