The sixteenth day of seclusion.
The cultivation room was carpeted with a thick layer of shattered spirit stones.
The spiritual energy still lingering in the air was dense and viscous, refusing to dissipate.
Su Yun sat cross-legged on his cushion, eyes closed, his breathing as steady as a mountain.
For ten whole days, he had cultivated at full capacity without pause.
Day after day, a vast flood of spiritual energy had coursed through his meridians, filled his dantian, and tempered his body.
At this moment, the spiritual power within him had already reached its absolute limit.
His dantian qi sea had expanded as far as it could, the golden spiritual power inside nearly tangible.
He had firmly reached the threshold of the tenth Qi Refining layer.
From the ninth layer to the tenth.
It seemed like only one minor realm separated them.
But the difficulty involved was beyond what outsiders could imagine.
In the understanding of ordinary cultivators, the ninth Qi Refining layer was the end.
Anything beyond the ninth layer was cultivation that transcended the ordinary limits.
The barrier at this level was terrifyingly difficult.
The difficulty, the amount of spiritual energy required, and the demands placed on the body.
None of it was any less than breaking through to Foundation Establishment from the ninth layer.
Su Yun took out twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones and stacked them neatly around himself.
A great heap of spirit stones rose up, their radiance soaring and illuminating the entire chamber.
Everything was ready.
"I can begin."
Su Yun steadied his mind and no longer hesitated.
In an instant, the Golden Spirit Art surged to its limit.
Humm—!
A muffled tremor erupted from within Su Yun.
The air around him was instantly sucked dry.
A massive vortex of spiritual energy formed with his body at its center.
Countless torrents of spiritual energy surged into him from every direction.
The low-grade spirit stones stacked nearby dimmed at a visible speed.
One.
Ten.
A hundred.
The spiritual energy inside the stones was instantly drained.
The spirit stones, originally translucent and glistening white, turned ashen in a second, then crumbled with a crash.
The rate of spiritual energy consumption was utterly terrifying.
This wasn't cultivation. It was plunder.
It was a whale swallowing the sea!
Ordinary cultivators absorbed one or two spirit stones at a time at most.
At this moment, a hundred spirit stones were drying up simultaneously around Su Yun.
A vast amount of pure spiritual energy rushed violently into his incomparably broad meridians.
Golden spiritual power raced through them, crashing, grinding, and scouring its way forward.
The twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones continued to be consumed at a frenzied pace.
Most of the spiritual power gathered together and slammed relentlessly into the barrier between the ninth and tenth layers.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Faint cracking sounds continued to ring out from deep within him.
The thick barrier, comparable to the bottleneck of Foundation Establishment, was bombarded by the vast torrent of spiritual energy.
It cracked bit by bit, then crumbled and collapsed.
The flood of spiritual energy repeatedly broke through the obstructions, carving out new meridian pathways and expanding his dantian.
His flesh, bones, and skin continued to transform, strengthen, and ascend as they were tempered by the extreme spiritual energy.
Rumble—!
The final barrier inside him shattered completely!
Golden spiritual power, as vast as the sea, instantly flooded his entire dantian!
The tenth Qi Refining layer! Success!
Su Yun slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
His eyes snapped open, a flash of golden light vanishing from their depths.
He had reached perfection the moment he broke through, his foundation as steady as bedrock.
He examined himself inwardly, his heart filled with shock.
After breaking through to the tenth layer, his body had undergone a complete transformation. His meridians had expanded by almost another half.
He was even stronger than the vast majority of early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
His dantian qi sea had expanded several times over, and the total spiritual power it could store had multiplied several times as well.
Su Yun estimated that his pure reserves of spiritual power now completely overwhelmed those of an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
They were on par with a middle-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!
Azure Cloud Hall.
At dusk.
Li Mofan had finished handling every matter, large and small, concerning the sect.
The hall fell quiet again.
Seated in the main chair, he rubbed the space between his brows and relaxed his mind a little.
Suddenly, a figure flashed through his thoughts.
Su Yun.
Ever since this disciple had joined the sect and become his apprentice, he had only visited once—after receiving his cultivation art and resources and moving into Cloud Abode. He hadn't come again in over a month.
Li Mofan felt a little puzzled.
Other disciples, even inner-sect geniuses, would come to their masters every so often to seek guidance, refine their cultivation arts, and correct the flow of spiritual energy through their meridians.
They were afraid of losing control and making mistakes in their cultivation.
Su Yun alone never showed his face.
"Could it be that this kid's cultivation has gone smoothly, without a single bottleneck?"
"Or is he slacking off in the courtyard, neglecting his cultivation?"
Li Mofan wasn't sure.
He pondered for a moment, then turned to look outside the hall.
"Chu Fan."
A figure immediately entered the hall and bowed.
"Sect Master."
Li Mofan asked, "In the past month or so, has Su Yun come to you for advice about cultivation?"
Chu Fan shook his head slightly and answered truthfully, "No, Sect Master."
Li Mofan was even more curious.
"Go to Cloud Abode."
"Bring him to the hall. I'll ask him myself."
"I want to see what that brat is doing, cooped up in his courtyard all day."
"Yes, Master."
Chu Fan accepted the order and quickly left.
Outside Cloud Abode.
Two servant disciples stood guard at the entrance.
When they saw Chu Fan approach, they hurriedly bowed.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Chu."
Chu Fan nodded and asked casually, "Is Senior Brother Su in the courtyard? The Sect Master has summoned him."
The servant disciple hurriedly replied, "Senior Brother Su has been in seclusion the whole time."
Chu Fan nodded and walked to the door of the cultivation chamber. Raising his voice, he called out:
"Senior Brother Su, please come out of seclusion. The Sect Master wishes to see you."
Inside the chamber.
Su Yun had been about to regulate his breathing and continue breaking through to the eleventh layer, but he stopped when he heard the call.
With a single thought, he activated the Breath Concealment Art to its fullest.
His aura plummeted.
The ninth layer, the eighth, the seventh...
It finally settled at the fifth Qi Refining layer.
Once he was done, Su Yun rose and lifted a hand, dispelling the chamber's restriction.
The stone door slowly opened.
He strode out.
Chu Fan instinctively swept Su Yun with his divine sense.
The next moment.
His entire body stiffened, his pupils wide with shock.
The fifth layer of Qi Refining?!
Had he seen that right?!
How long had it been since Su Yun joined the sect?
In less than two months, he had gone straight from an ordinary person to the fifth Qi Refining layer!
That speed... was outrageous!
Monstrous!
Simply inhuman!
An ordinary genius.
One layer a month was already enough to sweep the entire younger generation of the Azure Cloud Sect.
And this guy.
He was advancing by more than two layers a month!
Chu Fan drew a sharp breath.
"At this rate... he might really reach the ninth Qi Refining layer in less than half a year."
Though he was still shocked inside, Chu Fan's expression quickly returned to normal.
"Senior Brother, your cultivation has advanced at astonishing speed. Congratulations. The Sect Master is waiting in the hall. Come with me."
"Sorry for the trouble, Junior Brother."
They said nothing more. One walked ahead of the other as they hurried toward the main peak's hall.
Even as they went, Chu Fan couldn't calm his thoughts.
Geniuses and monsters really were two different species.
Azure Cloud Hall.
The two entered the hall.
Su Yun bowed. "This disciple, Su Yun, pays his respects to Master."
"So you do know how to show up?"
"I haven't seen you for over a month."
"You haven't come to ask about cultivation, seek guidance, or pay your respects."
"I thought you were slacking off in your courtyard, neglecting your cultivation."
He had only meant it as a casual joke.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he instinctively released his divine sense and gave Su Yun a light sweep.
The next second.
Li Mofan jolted violently.
He sprang straight up from his chair!
His expression shifted from relaxed to stunned in an instant!
"You... you're at the fifth Qi Refining layer?!"
Su Yun nodded calmly.
"Reporting to you, Master, this disciple has spent the past month and more in closed-door cultivation, training diligently without slacking off. By sheer luck, I've broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refining."
"Good! Good! Good!"
Li Mofan repeated the word three times, unable to hide the joy on his face.
His heart brimmed with delight, and he was over the moon.
"Truly worthy of a Heavenly Spirit Root! Truly worthy of being my disciple!"
"At this rate, you'll steadily reach the ninth level of Qi Refining within six months. There's no doubt about it!"