Breaking Through to the Middle Stage

A figure appeared out of thin air above Black Soil Fortress.

"Brother Chehou, hurry up!"

Shen Yue shouted and tossed out two fireburst talismans, lighting up the night sky. At the same time, the Nine Heavens Profound Mirror flashed with golden light.

"How dare you!"

Chehou Yan roared in fury.

"Heavenly Tripod Jade Slip, explode!"

He immediately activated the restriction, trying to detonate the jade slip.

"Hm?!"

The jade slip should have exploded with a single thought, but at that moment, he couldn't sense it at all!

"Impossible!"

The restriction inside the jade slip was an exclusive secret art of the Chehou Family. Even from ten thousand miles away, he could still detonate it as long as it was within the Azure Ancient Forest.

But he clearly had no time to think about why. Streams of divine sense shot out from Black Soil Fortress, locking onto him.

"Who dares sneak into my fortress at night? Get out here and die!"

Black Qiu charged out of the fortress with dozens of men, surrounding Chehou Yan in an instant.

"It's you again!"

"Looking for death!"

Black Qiu recognized Chehou Yan and sneered repeatedly.

"You got away last time. This time, I'll make sure your soul is scattered to the winds!"

"My life is over!"

Chehou Yan was a hundred thousand times unwilling to accept it, but he had only one Life-Replacing Golden Cicada. Facing Black Qiu, he had almost no chance of escaping tonight.

"Miss Longyu, save me! I'm Lin Yan..."

"Father, I want him alive." Black Longyu stepped out, her face covered in freckles and her front teeth oversized. She looked at Chehou Yan with great interest.

"It doesn't matter if he's crippled. As long as he's still useful."

Outer Lake of Refining Lake.

Shen Yue rode the Tide Rising Pearl to an island and immediately began circulating the Geng Metal Art.

The Ancient Wei Territory was rich in the spiritual energy of earth and wood, and the spiritual energy in Linjiang Immortal City was even denser. After waiting at the Chehou Yan household for three days, he had brought his Qi Refining cultivation at the third layer to perfection.

The spiritual energy in his dantian was abundant, yet an invisible barrier held it back. He was only one step away from breaking through to the middle stage.

He sat cross-legged on a reef, guiding the spiritual energy to flow slowly through his meridians.

At first, it was like a babbling brook. Then it surged like a great river.

The spiritual energy spun rapidly in his dantian, condensing into a vortex that drew the surrounding energy of heaven and earth into his body.

He sank his divine sense into his dantian and guided the energy within him toward the invisible wall.

"Break!"

A crack opened in the barrier. Spiritual energy burst through like floodwaters breaching a dam, pouring into meridians of a higher level.

A cool sensation instantly spread through his body, washing over every inch of bone and flesh.

He opened his eyes, and a flash of light gleamed in them.

"Success."

The spiritual energy throughout his body now obeyed him like his own limbs. His perception had improved greatly, and he could sense every stir of wind or grass within dozens of zhang.

The fourth layer of Qi Refining was indeed a whole new world.

But Shen Yue only rested briefly before condensing two more golden hands.

[Heaven Origin Golden Light Hand +1]...[Heaven Origin Golden Light Hand +1]...

[Heaven Origin Golden Light Hand (Second Layer → Third Layer)]

The golden hand split into three, reaching perfection.

"Fourth layer of Qi Refining, first layer of Breath Absorption, plus my divine sense, the Tide Rising Pearl, and the perfected Heaven Origin Golden Light Hand. With my current strength, I should be able to hold my own against someone at the sixth layer of Qi Refining."

Shen Yue even vaguely felt he could trade a few blows with someone in the late stage of Qi Refining.

Of course, that was just a lower cultivator's way of thinking. He wouldn't actually try it.

"I've collected some pearls. It's about time to head back."

With his divine sense bolstering him, everything within a hundred meters was clear to him. Shen Yue easily found three Five-Colored Shell Pearls.

He could have found more, but the Outer Lake was dangerous, and even his divine sense couldn't warn him of everything.

A Marsh Water Great Demon, comparable to someone in the late stage of Qi Refining, chased him for more than ten miles. After barely shaking it off, Shen Yue didn't dare linger in the Outer Lake any longer.

He returned to the Inner Lake and turned in the pearls.

"Two?"

Chen Qiaoqian stood where she was, her gaze fixed on the two round, lustrous pearls.

They were crystalline and translucent, with a faint, silvery-pink sheen.

She had thought Shen Yue had grit, so she'd given him the Tide Rising Pearl for protection. But she'd assumed he'd be lucky just to make it back alive. She hadn't expected him to collect pearls—let alone two.

And his cultivation had even broken through to the middle stage.

Chen Qiaoqian accepted the pearls, then flicked her sleeve. Two items appeared before him.

"Spirit stones or pills. Choose one."

According to the Chen Clan's rules, two Five-Colored Shell Pearls earned a reward of ten spirit stones.

"If not for your Tide Rising Pearl, I wouldn't even have been qualified to go to the Outer Lake. I can't possibly accept another reward."

Shen Yue took out the Tide Rising Pearl and returned it. He didn't take the spirit stones or the pills.

Chen Qiaoqian gazed at the Tide Rising Pearl and paused.

People who returned the pearl of their own accord and refused a reward were a rare sight.

"Train well."

She gently swept her sleeve, and the Tide Rising Pearl, the pills, the spirit stones, and Shen Yue himself were all sent out the door.

Refining Lake, courtyard.

"Five spirit stones, two Spirit Gathering Pills, one Tide Rising Pearl, and one Five-Colored Shell Pearl..."

Sitting inside the room, Shen Yue could barely hide his delight.

Spirit Gathering Pills were used to improve the cultivation of those in the middle stage of Qi Refining. Each one cost seven or eight spirit stones, and a Five-Colored Shell Pearl was worth about the same. The Tide Rising Pearl was a mid-grade first-rank spiritual artifact.

Not to mention what he'd gained in the Ancient Wei Territory, he'd already made quite a haul just from his trip to the Outer Lake.

Chen Qiaoqian really was generous.

"General Shen!"

Changqin Wuming's voice came from outside.

Shen Yue put away his treasures and stepped out.

Changqin Wuming stood tall, his chest puffed out, and declared with boundless confidence, "In a couple of days, I'll give you a Breakthrough Pill!"

"Your Highness found something?"

"Of course. When I make a move, I always return with a full haul."

"The five of us collected six Five-Colored Shell Pearls altogether, and I claimed one for myself..."

Changqin Wuming boasted on and on about how amazing he was, claiming he'd fought two Marsh Water beasts at once without falling behind.

Shen Yue listened in silence. He couldn't help recalling how, at the Outer Lake, his divine sense had caught Changqin Wuming being chased by two water beasts and using every trick he had to escape...

"Emperor Ming is so highly cultivated that the Five-Colored Shell Pearls in Refining Lake must have been hiding from him. Otherwise, he'd surely have collected even more."

Zhou Chongwen arrived midway through Changqin Wuming's boasting and chimed in with a few flattering remarks.

"Once I reach Foundation Establishment, I'll make every water beast in all of Refining Lake submit to me!"

Zhou Chongwen shook his head lightly, thinking how good it was to be young, daring to dream of anything—just like he'd been back then... Hm?

"You broke through?" Zhou Chongwen suddenly turned to Shen Yue.

"Broke through?" Changqin Wuming asked, perplexed.

"Mm. I'm in the middle stage now." Shen Yue nodded.

"Middle stage?!" Changqin Wuming's eyes went wide. "I haven't even bought you a Breakthrough Pill yet. How did you break through already?"

"I tried it during a period of seclusion, and broke through." Shen Yue replied mildly.

Zhou Chongwen pondered for a moment, then said, "General Shen, you haven't been on the lake these past few days, have you?"

He'd come here yesterday, but hadn't seen Shen Yue.

Changqin Wuming caught the key point and immediately pressed him. "Did Miss Chen give you special treatment?"

Neither of them knew Shen Yue had gone to the Outer Lake. They thought he'd gone to see Chen Qiaoqian again.

Shen Yue smiled without explaining further.

The more he explained, the more suspicious it would sound.

"I once heard of a dual-cultivation technique that could use a person as a furnace. Their entire cultivation would be..."

Zhou Chongwen stroked his beard and spoke with the air of an experienced man.

It wasn't a dual-cultivation technique; he couldn't think of any other way for a man and a woman to quickly break through a bottleneck.

"Dual cultivation?" Changqin Wuming stared hard at Shen Yue. "General Shen, you'd better stop going to see Chen Qiaoqian. You're the commander of my three armies. How could you become a human furnace? If word got out, how would I face my countless subjects..."

"Miss Chen seems quite interested in Your Highness."

"Now that you mention it, we'll have to take down the Chen Clan sooner or later. Let me become the human furnace and face my countless subjects in your place!" Changqin Wuming declared righteously.

"Ahem... General Shen, you see, if I shaved my beard and tidied myself up, I'd actually be quite presentable..." Zhou Chongwen was about to shave and make himself look good on the spot.

"Brother Zhou, can you help me buy some basic materials for refining artifacts?" Shen Yue interrupted their spellcasting and got to the point.

"Materials for refining artifacts?" Zhou Chongwen raised an eyebrow. "You want to refine an artifact?"

"Are you feeling all right?" Changqin Wuming also looked doubtful.