Qi Sea

Fang Che seemed thoughtful as he slowly said, "Brother Xu, how about... you stay in the city for the next few days and lie low for a while?"

"What's there to fear from them?" Tushan Jing snorted coldly, his gaze fierce. "Within this Immortal Treasury, life and death are left to fate. Never mind Nine Star Kui Island—even disciples of ancient clans or the Patriarch's lineage, so what if we kill them?"

"Brother Tushan is right." Yan Qihu echoed, "If anyone is to blame, it is that young master himself for being too weak. If the people of Nine Star Kui Island want to cause trouble, we will keep them company."

Xu Yan said nothing, his gaze darkening.

It was not that he was afraid. It was simply that he had not killed that man, yet the chamber pot of blame had been dumped entirely over his head.

When they had ambushed Huangfu Ziyang, they had all harbored killing intent. If they had truly killed him, so be it. Yet they had failed to kill him and instead gotten themselves covered in filth.

Thoughts whirled through his mind. After a moment, he spoke in a low voice, "Everyone, I will not be leaving the city with you to search for the Teleportation Array."

Everyone was taken aback.

Xu Yan's expression was calm, but his tone allowed no dispute. "I will remain in the city and cultivate in seclusion for a few days. If they want to find me, let them come."

Qin Yiren spoke up as well. "I will not be going with you either. I want to go to the Sky Boat and contend for the Great Teleportation Token."

If Xu Yan and Qin Yiren went along with the others, who knew how much more bloodshed and turmoil they would stir up.

In the open, there were disciples from the aristocratic families of Nine Star Kui Island. In the shadows, there might also be cultivators from Blood-Listening Tower watching them.

Fang Che frowned, seeming to want to speak but stopping himself.

Yan Qihu said, "Brother Xu, if you stay in the city alone, what if..."

"Spirit-Sealing City forbids the use of divine arts and magical power. They would not dare do anything to me. Besides, formations and restrictions have been set up within the cave dwelling." Xu Yan cut him off. "You, on the other hand, must be careful once you leave the city."

Their group was already quite formidable after Tushan Jing had joined them.

Moving together like this, as long as nothing unexpected happened, it would not be difficult for them to leave the Immortal Treasury within a hundred days.

Seeing that Xu Yan had made up his mind, no one said anything more.

They discussed matters for a while longer, deciding to leave the city at dawn the next day to search for the Ancient Teleportation Array.

Xu Yan returned to the cave dwelling alone, shut the door tight, and turned a deaf ear to everything beyond his window.

He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. Before him on the table lay the bottle of Dragon Breath Pills, with four pills remaining inside. Also on the table were the Manifest Sage Method and the Taiyi Alchemy Book, while the Candle Breath Cauldron had been taken out as well.

"There are too many obscure archaic characters in this method. Many of them are unfamiliar to me, making it truly difficult to cultivate." Xu Yan flipped through several pages of the Manifest Sage Method, until his head began to ache, then closed it again.

Once he left the Immortal Treasury and entered the Dao Academy to cultivate, he would need to make up for this knowledge properly.

Then his gaze fell upon the bottle of Dragon Breath Pills.

The last time he had taken one of these pills had been ten days ago. Every medicine carried some poison; even a flawless, peerless medicinal pill could not be eaten like candy every day.

Such domineering medicinal power would make his spirit veins dependent on it.

Huangfu Ziyang was at the seventh level of Pulse Opening, yet his overall bearing and innate bone structure had clearly been inferior to Qin Yiren's.

Xu Yan guessed that this young master had most likely consumed too many heavenly treasures, leaving his magical power exceedingly hollow and unstable.

After using his divine sense to inspect his spirit veins and physical body and finding no residual Dragon Breath Pill power, Xu Yan finally took out a pill. It was small, but within it surged vast Mystic Qi, like a boundless sea.

"The fourth barrier: Qi Sea Pass."

Xu Yan had read through the Pulse Opening manual of the Eight-Nine Profound Art many times in his spare moments and had long since mastered it.

The fourth level was a watershed. It lay at the Qi Sea Pass above the dantian within the spirit veins of the Dao body. If he could break through it, the Mystic Qi within his body would increase enormously.

He did not rush to take the pill.

Xu Yan first circulated the Eight-Nine Profound Art, drawing in the vital energies of heaven and earth from all directions. With his own Primordial Mystic Qi, he first attempted to break through the barrier.

His divine sense looked inward upon his spirit veins. This barrier was like a heavenly chasm, far sturdier than the three barriers he had already broken through.

A sound like great drums resounded within his body. Xu Yan exhausted all his Mystic Qi, then replenished it by swallowing a Primal Qi Pill.

After cultivating for more than an hour, Qi Sea Pass finally loosened slightly.

After calming his mind and concentrating his spirit for a moment, Xu Yan placed the Dragon Breath Pill on his palm.

The pill was the size of a thumb, its surface ringed with golden patterns. The Mystic Qi contained within churned like a vast ocean. Taking a deep breath, he placed the pill into his mouth.

The moment the pill entered his stomach, it transformed into a vast torrent that exploded through his body.

Boom—

Xu Yan felt as though someone had lit a fire within his spirit veins. That immense wave of heat surged upward from his dantian, charging straight toward Qi Sea Pass!

Xu Yan did not dare let down his guard. He circulated the Eight-Nine Profound Art, merging the Dragon Breath Pill's medicinal power with his own Mystic Qi, turning it into a raging torrent that crashed toward Qi Sea Pass.

Bang!

A muffled boom sounded within his body. Qi Sea Pass loosened several degrees more, while turbid qi turned into countless wisps and was expelled from his spirit veins.

Xu Yan adjusted his breathing briefly. After resting for the time it took an incense stick to burn, he gathered his Mystic Qi once more and circulated the Eight-Nine Profound Art.

This time, the Mystic Qi did not merely crash against the barrier. Instead, it struck Qi Sea Pass at an extremely rapid frequency, smashing through obstruction with force. Every impact against the pass was like an invisible colossal hammer pounding upon it.

Pain!

The pain rose from the depths of his dantian and spread through all four limbs and every bone in his body.

Xu Yan clenched his teeth. Veins bulged on his forehead, and cold sweat rolled down his cheeks.

But he did not stop.

The dense Mystic Qi grew from weak to strong, advancing step by step. Under the impact of the Pulse Opening Pill and Primordial Mystic Qi, Qi Sea Pass began to loosen and crack without end, like solid ice being broken open bit by bit.

And so, the night passed.

The sky had already begun to brighten.

Xu Yan could hear that the others had left the cave dwelling. Knowing that he was cultivating in seclusion, they had not disturbed him.

Before long, Xu Yan was the only one left in the cave dwelling.

"Again..."

After resting, Xu Yan clenched his teeth and absorbed every last trace of medicinal power remaining in his body. Mystic Qi surged like furious waves, galloping through his spirit veins as it slammed fiercely into Qi Sea Pass.

Rumble—

A thunderous roar erupted within his body. Xu Yan's entire body shuddered violently, his mind spinning as he nearly passed out.

The Pulse Opening method of the Eight-Nine Profound Art was truly tyrannical. A cultivator had to endure not only the agony of the physical body, but even divine sense could not escape unscathed. Yet precisely because of this, every spirit vein barrier broken through brought an enormous increase in overall cultivation and strength.

In that instant, Xu Yan felt a gap open in Qi Sea Pass.

Mystic Qi suddenly burst forth from his dantian like water through a shattered dam, passing through Qi Sea Pass and rushing deeper into his spirit veins.

That magical power which had been suppressed for so long had finally found somewhere to pour forth.

Xu Yan did not rush to withdraw his technique. Instead, he continued circulating the cultivation art, allowing Mystic Qi to repeatedly scour the meridians around Qi Sea Pass.

The acquired turbid qi within his Dao body was expelled from his body bit by bit.

This continued for another two hours. Only once the meridians surrounding Qi Sea Pass had become as pure as fine jade did Xu Yan finally stop.

When the last thread of turbid qi left his body, Xu Yan felt a clear emptiness within his dantian. Mystic Qi now circulated without the slightest obstruction.

He opened his eyes and exhaled slowly, a sharp light glinting in his gaze.

"Fourth level of Pulse Opening... achieved."

As he sensed his body, he found that his magical power had increased by nearly twice its former amount. The range his divine sense could cover had expanded from seventy zhang to eighty.

Even more noticeably, his dantian and spirit veins had become increasingly stable, while Mystic Qi circulated much faster than before.

"Just as the Dao scriptures said, Qi Sea Pass truly is a watershed."

Xu Yan thought to himself.

This breakthrough had brought an immense improvement.

He felt aches all over his body. Forcing himself to rise, he washed up.

Then he sat down cross-legged again. He did not rush to leave seclusion, instead closing his eyes to regulate his breathing and consolidate his realm.

Outside the window, noon had already passed.

There were far fewer cultivators on the main roads.

This was because the Mystic Gate Sky Boat had appeared, and many cultivators in the city had already departed.

Xu Yan seemed thoughtful as he slowly rose, intending to go to the Dao Field in the city and practice some divine arts.