Breakthrough to Qi Refining Fifth Layer

Less than a quarter of an hour after breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, the Golden Blade Technique had already reached the introductory stage.

Su Yun raised his hand, his fingertips pinching a simple incantation.

The golden spiritual power within his dantian surged rapidly along the meridians of his arm.

The air vibrated slightly.

In front of his palm, tiny golden specks of light gathered rapidly.

The light points condensed, compressed, and refined.

In the blink of an eye, a three-inch-long golden blade hovered in mid-air.

The golden blade was sharp and translucent, its edges shimmering with a cold light.

Faint golden veins flowed across the surface of the blade.

Hum—

The golden blade trembled slightly, emitting a faint, piercing sound as it cut through the air.

Su Yun stared at the hovering golden blade and nodded to himself.

With his current level two Qi Refining spiritual power, he could only condense one golden blade at most.

Once his cultivation improved and the spell reached perfection, he would be able to condense ten golden blades in a single thought, filling the sky with lethal force to strike enemies across a wide area.

The lethality would be doubled.

"Let's test its power."

Against the wall of the cultivation room stood a slab of hard black rock.

The rock was dense, hard, and heavy, specifically used for testing the power of spells.

Su Yun's eyes narrowed, and he tapped his fingertip lightly.

"Go."

The thin golden blade shot out instantly.

It moved so fast that it left a blinding golden streak in its wake; the air was torn apart by the sharp edge, producing a piercing sonic boom.

There was not the slightest resistance.

The golden blade slammed fiercely into the stone wall.

Gravel flew violently as the hard black rock wall was treated like thin, brittle paper.

The three-inch golden blade cut through like a hot knife through butter, piercing straight through the half-meter-thick stone wall.

Its momentum remained undiminished after passing through the rock, and it slammed heavily into the bluestone floor below.

A dull explosion echoed out, shattering the stone floor and carving a half-foot-deep, narrow pit into the ground.

The edges of the hole were charred and rough, still crackling with the residual power of the violent metal-attribute spiritual energy.

Su Yun stood up abruptly, his pupils shrinking as he stared fixedly at the holes in the wall and the floor.

"Holy crap! That's insane!"

He walked up quickly and reached out to touch the smooth hole through the wall, his fingertips still feeling the lingering, scorching sharpness.

My goodness!

That casual strike just now hadn't even used his full spiritual power.

Yet, this destructive force was ridiculously terrifying.

Su Yun estimated that the lethality of this single golden blade, under the Thousandfold Amplification, was definitely no weaker than a full-strength strike from a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator!

"Absurd, simply absurd."

Su Yun swallowed hard.

A moment later, he remembered that he still had a top-grade magical artifact in his storage bag.

Su Yun reached back and pulled out the long sword.

The blade was slender, with a pale golden luster covering its entire body.

The edge was sharp and radiated a biting chill.

The hilt was carved with intricate cloud patterns; it felt heavy and cold to the touch.

He dripped blood to claim ownership.

Su Yun bit his fingertip, and a drop of bright red blood fell onto the blade.

Hum—

The long sword hummed softly, and the bonding was complete.

Su Yun moved his mind.

The Flowing Light Gold-Vein Sword slowly rose into the air, hovering and circling slowly around his body.

Golden light flowed, and the sword hummed crisply.

Su Yun felt a surge of satisfaction in his heart.

"Hahaha, this is truly cool."

He channeled his spiritual power once more, causing the spiritual light on the blade to flare up as the sword body suddenly expanded.

Half a person in length, heavy and sharp, the sound of it cutting through the air grew suddenly louder.

But after only a moment, Su Yun frowned slightly.

The spiritual power within his body was depleting rapidly, and the spiritual energy in his dantian was plummeting.

At the second level of Qi Refining, his spiritual power reserves were simply too meager.

Barely managing to control the flying sword to hover and change shape was already his limit.

Trying to command the flying sword to take flight or travel long distances was completely out of the question.

Su Yun silently calculated.

He needed to reach at least the fifth level of Qi Refining.

His meridians would need to widen, his spiritual power would need to thicken, and his dantian would need to expand.

Only then would his spiritual power consumption be able to support long-term flight on the sword.

"No rush."

Su Yun suppressed the anticipation in his heart.

He put the long sword away, letting it shrink until it rested in his palm.

The golden glow in the room dissipated, and peace returned.

Breath Concealment Art: Minor Accomplishment.

Golden Blade Technique: Entry Level.

Top-grade magical artifact: Master recognized.

In just half a day, his strength had surged significantly.

For the next five full days, Su Yun remained completely secluded, locking himself in the cultivation room of Cloud Abode.

Apart from eating and sleeping, he spent every remaining moment in deep, arduous cultivation.

He ignored the clamor of the outside world, the discussions within the sect, and the curiosity of others.

There was only one thing in his mind—cultivation.

The Thousandfold Amplification entry was passively active at all times, the Heavenly Spirit Root provided a constant supply of pure spiritual energy, and with a large stash of spirit stones and Body Tempering Pills for support, his cultivation base skyrocketed as if riding a rocket.

The first day:

He began meditating at dawn, circulating the Golden Spirit Art to absorb spiritual energy frantically.

His dantian filled rapidly with spiritual power, and his meridians were widened and nourished by the energy over and over again.

Before noon, his cultivation broke through its shackles, stepping firmly into the third level of Qi Refining.

At the same time, under the influence of the Thousandfold Amplification, the Dark Iron Bone Tempering Art advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching Minor Accomplishment.

His muscles and bones became several times harder, his skin grew taut, and his vitality surged.

The Golden Blade Technique also improved steadily from its entry level; he became incredibly proficient, condensing golden blades with greater ease and speed.

The second day:

Su Yun refined spirit stones without pause, spiritual energy surging into his body like a tide.

His Heavenly Spirit Root was devoid of impurities, resulting in zero loss during energy conversion, while the Thousandfold Amplification magnified every effect.

By evening, he broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

The Dark Iron Bone Tempering Art was polished steadily, his physical strength continuing to soar until ordinary weapons could hardly pierce his skin.

The Golden Blade Technique became increasingly refined; he could now condense two golden blades simultaneously, controlling them at will and striking exactly where he pointed.

The third day:

He cast aside all distracting thoughts, becoming completely immersed in his cultivation.

With the massive influx of spiritual energy, his control over the Breath Concealment Art became increasingly subtle, allowing him to retract or release his presence at will.

The circulation of the Golden Spirit Art became smoother, with his internal cycles flowing without the slightest obstruction.

The thickness of his spiritual power grew by leaps and bounds, firmly consolidating his foundation at the fourth level of Qi Refining without a hint of instability.

The fourth day:

Su Yun swallowed the final batch of Body Tempering Pills, the medicinal power fully dissolving to temper his entire body's bones, muscles, and flesh.

His physical body and spiritual power surged in tandem, his foundation becoming incomparably solid.

The Dark Iron Bone Tempering Art approached perfection, his body becoming as hard as iron, capable of shattering stone with a single punch.

The Breath Concealment Art stepped steadily from minor completion toward the edge of major completion, his aura becoming increasingly perfectly masked.

The fifth day.

Early morning.

Within his dantian, the thick spiritual power suddenly contracted, then erupted.

A far more tyrannical force swept through his entire body, expanding his meridians and enlarging his dantian.

The bottleneck was shattered with ease!

Fifth level of Qi Refining!

At the same time, the Dark Iron Bone Tempering Art reached full perfection, his body becoming indestructible.

The Golden Blade Technique was thoroughly perfected; with a single thought, he could condense ten golden blades.

The Breath Concealment Art reached major completion, and the Golden Spirit Art surged directly to the third level.

Five days of closed-door cultivation, completed in one go.

Su Yun slowly withdrew his power, exhaling a breath of stale air.

Golden spiritual power flowed around his body, only to be forcibly suppressed by the Breath Concealment Art, leaving his outward aura appearing as only the first level of Qi Refining.

He clenched his fists, feeling the surging spiritual power, the formidable body, and the skyrocketing strength within him.

His bones, meridians, dantian, and flesh had all been enhanced in every aspect.

His face blossomed into a smile, unable to hide his wild joy.

Less than a week.

From a mortal with no strength to truss a chicken.

He had soared all the way, becoming a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator.

This speed was simply absurd.

Satisfying, truly satisfying.

Su Yun felt a thousand emotions in his heart.

The Heavenly Spirit Root was truly incredible; breaking through without bottlenecks, and when stacked with the Thousandfold Amplification, everything was a natural progression, logical and expected.

He stood up and stretched his body, his bones popping and cracking.

Five days of high-intensity closed-door cultivation had not left him tired; instead, he felt refreshed and full of vigor.

But following this, a realistic problem lay before him.

His cultivation had broken through rapidly over these five days, but the consumption had been equally terrifying.

All the Body Tempering Pills in his storage bag were gone, and his low-grade spirit stones had been squandered.

As a personal disciple, he had a fixed monthly quota of spirit stones, but he had burned through this month's share in five days.

If he wanted to continue high-speed cultivation, he had to acquire new resources.

The most direct method was to ask his master for spirit stones and pills.

A glint of light flashed in Su Yun's eyes.

Just burying his head in cultivation wouldn't work.

If he kept his edge hidden forever, others would never know his value.

It was time to go out and show off a little.

To give the entire Azure Cloud Sect a small shock.

To put on a show and reveal a bit of his talent.

Firstly, it would allow the sect's higher-ups to value him more and tilt more resources his way.

Secondly, by appropriately revealing a portion of his strength, he could reasonably craft the persona of a monstrous genius.

He had to strike the right balance between high-profile and low-profile.

Reveal a portion of his talent in front of others, and continue to crazily cheat and soar behind the scenes.