Continuous Breakthroughs

The methods of the bandit cultivators were cruel, inciting the wrath of both man and god.

The Qiu Family, under the guise of an ally, issued a stern condemnation, their words righteous and severe, swearing to avenge the Chen Family and wash away their humiliation in blood.

True to their word, they slaughtered a group of bandit cultivators and used their severed heads to set up an altar at the Chen Family estate, offering sacrifices for three months.

Following this, they took the opportunity to settle down in Purple Maple Bay, showing not the slightest intention of leaving.

The Xu Family had originally prepared their forces to go and occupy the territory, but this incident occurred just one step ahead of them.

Furthermore, rumors began to circulate in the outside world, claiming that the Xu Family had wiped out the Chen Family, sparing not even the old or the young.

The upper echelons of the Xu Family gritted their teeth in fury, cursing the Qiu Family roundly.

It was most likely the Qiu Family deliberately guiding public opinion to smear them; after all, the two clans had been at odds for a long time, and it was highly probable that the "bandit cultivators" were actually the Qiu Family themselves, acting as if they were upholding justice while playing the thief.

After some deduction, the Xu Family concluded that this group of bandits was almost certainly the Qiu Family in disguise—a thief crying "stop thief"—using the pretext of revenge to usurp the Chen Family's stronghold.

Former allies turning on each other at a moment's notice; such was the cruel backdrop of the cultivation world.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

The reason the Qiu Family had been moved by the Chen Family in the first place was because the Chen Family had promised to cede seventy percent of their valley's spirit land to them.

Later, when they launched their raid, they encountered the Foundation Establishment Liu Family. After a brief standoff with the two-Foundation Establishment clan, they simply turned and left.

They had intended only to fight a winning battle, a crushing victory; facing a clan with deeper foundations than their own, they didn't even harbor the slightest thought of engaging.

They abandoned their promise and left immediately, sitting back to watch the Chen Family fall.

However, the Qiu Family was extremely displeased internally; after all that preparation and effort, they had gained nothing.

Thus, they set their sights on Purple Maple Bay and directed this little drama themselves.

With the overall situation settled, despite a few minor surprises, the entire Xu Family was still filled with the joy of victory.

Although they had fought the hard battle from start to finish, they had ended up giving away half the profits for nothing.

It was a bitter feeling, but they had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept it.

As a Qi Refining family, their foundations were, after all, a bit lacking.

Next came the period of major development for the valley. However, according to the rules of the superior sect, the Xu Family still had to dispatch cultivators to continue maintaining land reclamation and exploration.

The Xu Family's focus remained on the valley, and their exploration efforts maintained a steady, cautious style.

Lin Changheng couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief; the atmosphere of impending storms had finally calmed.

Just then, feeling a sudden intuition, he hurried back to his room and activated the [Spirit Gathering Array]. Wisps of spiritual energy converged at the center of the array, resembling smoke and mist.

He sat cross-legged in meditation, sensing the opportunity for a breakthrough!

At the same time, he gripped two spirit stones in his hands.

He immediately channeled the Departing Fire Night-Illuminating Guide, which he had advanced from the proficient level to [Mastery]. The dense spiritual energy within the array was drawn into his meridians like a great whale drinking water.

Then, guided by this incomplete high-grade cultivation technique, the spiritual power surged like a river, circulating through his meridians and being refined bit by bit.

This continued until the sun dipped below the horizon.

Lin Changheng exerted force with his hands, shattering the spirit stones. The spiritual power within was rapidly extracted, transforming into two streams of light that dove into his body.

Suddenly, a crisp "crack" echoed within him, as if some sort of shackle had been shattered.

The spiritual energy in the Spirit Gathering Array surged violently, forming a small vortex that enveloped him.

Lin Changheng felt his mind become exceptionally clear. The mana accumulated in his dantian increased significantly, and his five senses became instantly sharp; he could even clearly distinguish the trajectory of falling leaves outside the room.

"It's done!"

Fifth level of Qi Refining!

Lin Changheng was overjoyed, but he still absorbed the spirit stones in his hands until they were completely drained before slowly ending his cultivation and rising to his feet.

Thirty-six years old, nearly thirty-seven, and only just breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Overall, his speed was far too slow, but in terms of the breakthrough speed for a single realm, it was not considered sluggish.

It was just that the first thirty years of his life had been squandered due to various reasons like aptitude, spiritual roots, and the depletion of vital essence.

But it was not too late!

Although he could not break through to the late stage of Qi Refining by the optimal age of forty, Lin Changheng remained unperturbed.

On one hand, panic was useless;

On the other hand, once he mastered the [Life Extension Talent] of a certain tortoise-type demonic beast, his lifespan would increase to a certain extent...

The lengthening of one's lifespan, in a sense, also represented a reverse growth of age.

Can the middle-aged phase at one hundred years old be compared to the middle-aged phase at two hundred years old?

While that was the theory, it still required practical verification.

Lin Changheng had always been steady.

In truth, the fact that the Departing Fire Night-Illuminating Guide had broken through the proficiency realm that had stalled him for so long to enter the mastery realm was entirely thanks to the enlightenment boost from the Origin Treasure Seed: Second Layer.

About three months ago, the Origin Treasure Seed that Lin Changheng had been anticipating for so long finally succeeded in its Spirit Snatch once more.

Origin Treasure Seed: Second Layer

Spirit Snatch: 6/100

Furthermore, it had accumulated six new points of progress.

Its utility had transformed as a result.

Already Refined: Enlightenment Boost: Heavenly Gift of Spiritual Light

Utility: Occasionally enter a state of epiphany, gaining insight into primary-level spell techniques.

He did not even need to deliberately test it; the effects had already manifested.

The difficult bottlenecks that had kept the Departing Fire Night-Illuminating Guide from reaching the mastery realm—

As he simply contemplated the original text of the cultivation method from start to finish and smoothed out his thoughts, they were all resolved with ease. It was a marvelous feeling of "understanding without being taught."

"Indeed, the gap in comprehension between people is even greater than the gap between humans and beasts."

"No wonder some exhaust their entire lives in study yet fail to glimpse the path, while others reach the inner sanctum in a single flash of inspiration."

With a sigh of emotion, As he removed the jade slip from his forehead, the withered leaves of the old tree in the courtyard were rustling in the night wind, sounding like a clear melody ringing out to mark his ascent.

Not only that, but while attempting to refine the mid-grade Water Ganoderma Pill once more, Lin Changheng suddenly entered a wondrous state, and it was only when a strange fragrance wafted from the furnace that he abruptly snapped back to reality...

The pill that had always been difficult to refine was now complete.

"Could this be the 'epiphany' mentioned in the utility?"

Lin Changheng quickly understood.

He immediately sank his heart into capturing that feeling, that state, committing it to memory, then analyzing, attempting to understand, and finally reproducing it.

Five days later.

The pill was formed once again.

This meant that Lin Changheng had thoroughly mastered the refining method for the Water Ganoderma Pill, stepping into the realm of a first-tier mid-grade alchemist.

"It is a pity that I wasted over twenty sets of ingredients for the Water Ganoderma Pill..."

The most crucial point was that the recipe for this Water Ganoderma Pill did not involve the essence blood of demonic beasts, which was why he had been able to do this.

Otherwise, he could have added a new type of treasure seed.

Moreover, within the Secret Notes of Taihe Alchemy, this was the only recipe recorded.

"I really must head out."

Lin Changheng sighed.

He truly did not want to leave, but he had to—he needed to put his mid-grade alchemy to use while avoiding exposure.

On top of that, he needed to sell the accumulated pills in his possession, acquire new mid-grade pill recipes, and obtain new demonic beast essence blood...

Everything, all in all, needed to be dealt with.

Fortunately, his cultivation had now reached the fifth layer, and he possessed many high-quality talismans, mid-grade magical artifacts for self-defense, the Fire Control Art: Mastery to augment his Fire Bullet Art, two low-grade offensive magical artifacts, and the Earth Escape Art: Path Glimpse for escaping.

The outside world had also become slightly more stable, without powerful enemies like the Chen Family lurking about.

He could attempt to follow the Xu Family's merchant caravan when they departed.

The risks were still manageable.