Cultivation, Organizing Items, and Paying a Visit

Xu Yang left Qin Shuang's cave dwelling without lingering at the camp. Although he had come to terms with the matter regarding Li Qingqing, he had no desire to interact further with Huo Lian. Consequently, Xu Yang directly tracked down a Blood Refining Sect disciple at the seventh level of Qi Refining, slew him, and fulfilled the requirements for the sect's trial.

Afterward, Xu Yang found the sect disciples stationed at the camp to register his completion, confirming that he had finished the mission and was now free to choose whether to remain on the border battlefield.

Xu Yang naturally had no intention of staying there any longer. He walked straight out of the camp, summoned his sword, and flew back toward the sect. The journey was a series of stops and starts, taking three full days before he finally returned. After registering his information at the External Affairs Hall, Xu Yang had officially completed the sect's trial. However, to his disappointment, he did not see Lin Heng and had no idea how he was faring or if he had completed his own trial.

Since Lin Heng was nowhere to be found, Xu Yang did not linger at the External Affairs Hall and quickly returned to his own pavilion. The furnishings inside remained unchanged, as simple and plain as ever, and Xu Yang had no desire to spend effort decorating them.

If he could break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he would naturally head to the back of the sect to find a place for secluded cultivation. If he could not break through, then everything would be for naught, and this place would eventually be occupied by someone else.

Thinking of this, Xu Yang raised his hand to activate the pavilion's restrictions and went to the Lesser Spirit Gathering Array on the second floor. He sat cross-legged and began to slowly circulate the Qi Refining Secret Record. The reason Xu Yang's cultivation had progressed so rapidly was partly due to the large amount of medicinal pills he had consumed, and partly due to the extreme speed at which the Qi Refining Secret Record allowed him to cultivate.

Of course, the key to it all remained the small black sword within his dantian. If not for this small black sword constantly inhaling and exhaling pure Gang Qi, Xu Yang would have long since suffered from cultivation deviation and would never have reached his current level.

Regarding the small black sword, Xu Yang had never had the slightest clue about its origins. It was far too mysterious; no matter how he probed it, it remained indifferent, showing not the slightest change. Perhaps his cultivation was simply too low to meet the requirements to trigger it.

Precisely because of this, Xu Yang grew increasingly curious about the small black sword, hoping to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm as soon as possible so he could uncover its secrets.

For the time that followed, Xu Yang remained in seclusion within his pavilion, consuming Bigu Pills whenever he felt hungry. Bigu Pills were an essential item for Qi Refining cultivators in seclusion, allowing them to cultivate for long periods without the risk of starving to death. These pills were not particularly precious and were easy to refine; one Spirit Stone could purchase three bottles, which was exactly how Xu Yang had acquired them within the sect.

Only after a cultivator breaks through to the Foundation Establishment Realm can they truly achieve Bigu, sustaining themselves by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. As the saying goes, "Those who consume Qi possess a clear spirit and longevity; those who do not, die and lose their spirit." Thus, the lifespan of a Qi Refining cultivator is the same as an ordinary person, at most a hundred years, whereas a Foundation Establishment cultivator enjoys a lifespan of one hundred and fifty years—a full fifty-year increase. If one could break through further to the Golden Core Realm, their lifespan would increase significantly once more, reaching a full five hundred years.

Xu Yang's seclusion lasted for three years. During these three years, his cultivation made another breakthrough, advancing a full major level in Qi Refining to reach the peak of the ninth level. The top-grade Qi Refining Powder was indeed powerful, even surpassing the top-grade Zengyuan Pill.

As for his body refinement, he had reached the peak long ago. However, due to the lack of True Spirit Essence Blood, he was now trapped at a bottleneck, unable to cultivate the Bronze Body chapter of the Indestructible Golden Body Art, which caused Xu Yang great distress.

Beyond that, he had also processed the various treasures he had obtained. First were the two top-grade Dharma Artifacts, a mountain and a mirror, which Xu Yang had already refined: the Emerald Screen Peak and the Heavenly Escape Mirror. The Emerald Screen Peak was only the size of a palm, but once activated, it would instantly transform into a small mountain ten zhang high, capable of suppressing any enemy.

The Heavenly Escape Mirror was also palm-sized and forged from unknown materials; it could emit a five-colored divine light. If other Dharma Artifacts were struck by this light, they would immediately lose all their power. Both of these artifacts were top-tier treasures with immense power, quite rare among top-grade Dharma Artifacts.

Additionally, there were the three curios gifted by Qin Shuang. Xu Yang had examined these as well and found that, just as Qin Shuang had said, the tortoise shell and the red crystal were incredibly hard, showing no damage despite his best efforts to attack them. However, Xu Yang discovered no secrets within them, and could be said to have gained nothing.

As for the two Ice Centipede eggs, Xu Yang could only sense the presence of life within them, but he had no idea how to hatch them; that was a specialty of the Hundred Beasts Sect.

Then there was the Qiankun Bag of Hu Xinrong. At the time, things had been too rushed, and Xu Yang and Ling Feng had merely divided the three men's Qiankun Bags without examining them in detail.

Xu Yang wiped away the imprint on the Qiankun Bag and probed it with his divine sense. To his disappointment, he found nothing of great value. It seemed Hu Xinrong had focused primarily on body refinement techniques; no wonder he hadn't used many Dharma Artifacts, relying only on a small black banner that had been burned away by the Samadhi True Fire. In the end, Xu Yang only obtained a hundred or so Spirit Stones and a copy of the Asura Yin Evil Technique.

Xu Yang did take a look at the Asura Yin Evil Technique, but then tossed it into the corner of his Qiankun Bag with a look of disdain, as it was far inferior to the Indestructible Golden Body Art and held no appeal for him. Objectively speaking, the Asura Yin Evil Technique was decent, and Xu Yang planned to sell it in exchange for Spirit Stones.

As for the other spiritual materials and herbs, Xu Yang simply organized them briefly and stored them in sealed wooden boxes for future use. He did not know how to refine pills or forge artifacts, so his primary task at this stage remained cultivation.

Refining pills and forging artifacts were too time-consuming; usually, cultivators only dabbled in them after reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm. Once they reached that stage, their lifespan increased, allowing them the time to learn. Furthermore, after advancing to the Golden Core Realm, one needed to refine their own life-bound Dharma Treasure. If one did not know how to forge, they would have to find a specialized master, and the cost of hiring one was so astronomical that most ordinary cultivators could not afford it.

Xu Yang also re-refined the remaining high-grade Dharma Artifacts, such as the Sky-Severing Sword. With his Gang Qi cultivation at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, he could manipulate these high-grade artifacts with ease. The Yellow Heaven Bell, which had been dented by Hu Xinrong, had already recovered on its own; this was the reason Xu Yang had chosen it in the first place, as it contained a small amount of Heaven Source Gold, allowing it to repair damage automatically.

Heaven Source Gold was extremely precious and was always a required material for refining Spirit Treasures, as well as essential for life-bound Dharma Treasures. The more Heaven Source Gold infused, the faster the treasure could repair itself—though, of course, if the treasure were completely shattered, it could no longer be repaired.

Finally, there was a Lesser Displacement Talisman and a Blood-Burning Talisman. The Lesser Displacement Talisman had been gifted to him by Su Ru upon their first meeting; once activated, it could instantly displace the user a mile away, making it a great treasure for escaping. Xu Yang had kept it carefully as his final trump card.

The Blood-Burning Talisman had been obtained from the Blood Refining Sect disciple Xue Meng. This talisman could burn the essence blood within one's body to boost strength, and could also be considered a life-saving treasure. However, it had side effects: once the duration of the effect passed, the user would suffer severe damage to their vitality and would be temporarily unable to engage in combat.

At this point, Xu Yang's cultivation had reached a bottleneck, and he had finished organizing his belongings. He had no choice but to leave seclusion to seek opportunities, hoping to find a demonic beast with True Spirit bloodline or perhaps two Foundation Establishment Pills. If he could find either one, the rest would be easier to manage.

Once he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he could solve the other problem. Foundation Establishment Pills were only useful to Qi Refining cultivators and had no effect on those who had already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. While it was not easy for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to find such pills, it was not impossible; it simply came at a high cost.

Similarly, most demonic beasts with True Spirit bloodlines possessed strength at or above the Foundation Establishment Realm. Only by reaching that realm himself would he have the strength to hunt them, and his own safety would be greatly increased.

If he remained at the Qi Refining level, not only would he be unable to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills, but hunting such beasts would be extremely dangerous; one slip-up could lead to his death at their hands. Previously, even with a Talisman Treasure in hand, Xu Yang had only been able to escape in a sorry state, and now he had lost that Talisman Treasure as well.

Although Talisman Treasures were not restricted by cultivation level and could be used by anyone, the power unleashed by cultivators of different realms varied greatly. The power of a Talisman Treasure used by a Foundation Establishment cultivator compared to one used by a Qi Refining cultivator was like heaven and earth; they were simply not on the same level.

If Xu Yang advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm and then scraped together every last coin to buy a Talisman Treasure from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, he would have a much better chance of hunting demonic beasts. That would allow his body refinement to break through its bottleneck, but the prerequisite was that Xu Yang had to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and have enough Spirit Stones to purchase the treasure.

The current Xu Yang was no longer a novice in the cultivation world; he knew the true price of Talisman Treasures. Elder Ren of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion had been very generous back then, asking for only six hundred Spirit Stones. The true price of a Talisman Treasure far exceeded that.

Even the worst Talisman Treasure cost around eight hundred Spirit Stones, and a powerful one would require at least a thousand. At auctions in the marketplace, they could even fetch up to twelve hundred Spirit Stones. Such an exorbitant price was not something Xu Yang could afford.

As for why Elder Ren had treated him that way, he did not know, but Xu Yang had decided not to see Elder Ren again until he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. When all was said and done, everything depended on strength! If he could break through, these difficulties would be resolved, and no matter what schemes Elder Ren might have, he would have the confidence to face him.

After leaving seclusion, Xu Yang did not head toward the External Affairs Hall but instead went to Li Qingqing's pavilion. Li Qingqing happened to be inside, and upon seeing Xu Yang visit, her cold expression softened slightly. She brought Wu Yuan with her and welcomed Xu Yang into the pavilion.

After both sides were seated, Xu Yang looked up at Li Qingqing and smiled, cupping his hands in a salute: "Junior Brother wishes to congratulate Senior Sister on advancing to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Looking at you, it seems you have already broken through for some time."

Li Qingqing looked at Xu Yang in surprise, not expecting him to discern her cultivation level. The reason Xu Yang could tell was thanks to the Detection Technique Qin Shuang had taught him; as long as the person was not a cultivator above the Golden Core Realm, he could see some clues.

Li Qingqing nodded at Xu Yang and said, "A year ago, my foster father gave me a Foundation Establishment Pill, and I was lucky enough to break through. It is a pity he only gave me one; if there were more, I would have given it to you."

Xu Yang's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He looked at Li Qingqing carefully, firmly etching her image into his mind, and said with a moved expression, "Senior Sister's kindness is something Junior Brother is deeply grateful for. I will find a way to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Li Qingqing looked deeply at Xu Yang, a hint of expectation in her eyes. No one knew what she was truly thinking, not even she herself—why she felt so uniquely toward Xu Yang, a mix of expectation, fear, shyness, and resistance, all tangled together.

Shaking her head, Li Qingqing suppressed her complex emotions and said to Xu Yang seriously, "You came at the right time. I was just about to go looking for you! This saves me the trouble of going out."

Hearing this, Xu Yang looked at Li Qingqing in surprise and asked, "Senior Sister was looking for me? I wonder what instructions you have; Junior Brother will certainly give his all."

Li Qingqing shook her head and said, "It is not I who is looking for you, but my foster father. He has something he needs you to do and asked me to notify you to go to his cave dwelling at the back of the mountain tomorrow to pay him a visit."

Xu Yang asked Li Qingqing with a serious expression, "Senior Sister, do you know what Master wants with me? Could you reveal a little?"

"I am sorry, Junior Brother, I do not know what he wants with you either. He only instructed me to tell you to go and pay your respects; he did not mention any specifics. However, you need not worry. Based on my understanding of him, it should be a good thing. After all, ever since you brought Wu Yuan back, he has yet to give you a reward." Having said this, Li Qingqing reached out and patted Wu Yuan, who was sitting beside her.