You're Already at the Late Qi Refining Stage-Didn't You Know?

Gu Yuan divided the energy fed back by the Cangyuan World into two parts.

One part was used to raise cultivation realms, while the other was used to activate abilities.

Even if the entire Cangyuan Palace cultivated according to the Azure Origin Patriarch's instructions, the energy was still insufficient.

Time slowly passed.

A month went by.

Over that month, Lin Hao cultivated day and night without rest.

From time to time, outer disciples hoping to curry favor with Yi Changge of the inner sect came looking for trouble, and there were also some so-called outer sect missions he had to complete.

It was just that he had no idea what his childhood sweetheart had been doing lately.

He felt that this single month of life had already been more exciting than the past twenty years.

This world of cultivation was pretty interesting.

Lin Hao found it interesting, but the viewers did not.

Who would watch a livestream every day just to see someone cultivate routinely and listen to others give lectures?

The occasional troublemaker was entertaining enough, but seeing this every day was simply boring.

Yet a script needed time to build up. There would be climaxes and slow periods alike. Seeing the barrage of complaints about the production crew, the crew was quite troubled as well.

Their salaries and performance bonuses were tied to viewer numbers.

What could they do?

Then they would get the plot moving!

Forget all that buildup. Since the viewers wanted a fast pace, they would give them a fast pace.

The screenwriters would have to work a little harder, and so would the extras.

"WHAT? An outer sect tournament?"

"Yeah. I heard the winners can enter a mystic realm. What was it called again...?"

"The Green Willow Mystic Realm! They say it contains plenty of natural treasures and inheritances."

"Apparently, that mystic realm doesn't belong to one sect alone. It's jointly owned by the five major sects."

"That's right. When the time comes, the Azure Heaven Sect, Azure Earth Sect, Azure Human Sect, and Azure Water Sect will all send people into the mystic realm."

"If the mystic realm didn't prohibit anyone above Foundation Establishment from entering, it probably wouldn't be our outer sect's turn."

Lin Hao had just stepped outside and bought a flatbread from the roadside when he heard passing disciples discussing something.

An outer sect tournament?

And the Green Willow Mystic Realm?

He had only just reached the early Qi Refining stage. He wondered whether he was even qualified to compete.

As a "transmigrator," Lin Hao understood the significance of mystic realms to cultivators.

In novels, the protagonist would generally obtain enormous amounts of treasure from such places.

Naturally, he could not miss such a good opportunity.

"Excuse me, when will the outer sect tournament be held?"

Lin Hao stopped a disciple and asked for the details.

He was definitely going to participate.

It was just that being at the early Qi Refining stage made him seem a little like cannon fodder.

When would it begin?

Over at the production crew, they were in the middle of a discussion.

"I don't care! If the viewers aren't happy, then it has to start immediately, right now!"

The director made the call. The others could not say much and could only agree.

Thus, the disciple replied, "It starts in one hour. Didn't you know?"

Well then.

Their execution was pretty efficient.

Though it was somewhat hard on the extras.

"Just a little more, and I'll be able to pass on the Qi Refining Formula again."

Gu Yuan sat in an unknown location, watching the busy people below.

During this month, he had not been idle either.

Using Liu Erdan, he had approached the so-called first and second grand elders of the Azure Mountain Sect's inner sect, as well as the so-called sect master of the Azure Mountain Sect, and successfully imparted the Qi Refining Formula to them.

Of course, on the villain side, Yi Changge had also earned Gu Yuan's favor.

This way, the Azure Mountain Sect they were portraying could barely be considered a genuine cultivation sect.

The others were not like Lin Hao, forced to go through boring plotlines every day.

Their screen time was limited. Aside from resting and acting out the scenes they appeared in, they could spend all their remaining time cultivating.

Their cultivation speed was much faster than Lin Hao's.

The sect master never showed himself and cultivated every day. He had been at the late Qi Refining stage for quite some time already.

The others appeared occasionally and had ample cultivation time. Even the weakest among them had just entered the middle Qi Refining stage.

Sure enough, having less screen time had its benefits.

Some of them had originally asked for more scenes, but now they did not dare utter a word.

Getting paid to slack off while cultivating immortality, and even being able to claim it was special effects if they were exposed—life could not get any better.

[The outer sect tournament is about to begin. All outer disciples, please proceed to the arena area.]

A voice pierced through the buildings and echoed throughout the Azure Mountain Sect. Everyone received the news.

Lin Hao looked up, estimating when he would be able to do something like that.

One hour was not much time.

By the time Lin Hao had finished preparing and reached the arena area, many people were already standing there.

Given that five hundred disciples were recruited every five years, while outer disciples over fifty were sent away, the entire outer sect should have numbered three or four thousand people.

At the very front were five seats, presumably reserved for the leaders.

Since this concerned the candidates for the Green Willow Mystic Realm, the sect would certainly attach great importance to it.

Even the sect master might come.

He just wondered how those leaders would arrive later.

Would they fly over?

Or directly tear through space?

Just thinking about it made him a little excited.

Among the crowd, two people were especially excited.

Shen Yunfei and Lin Hao.

Shen Yunfei had always had a weak sense of presence. It felt like his transmigration had been completely pointless.

He could not even sense his own cultivation, yet the elder had said he was a once-in-ten-thousand genius.

The elder said he had already activated his cultivation technique.

But he felt nothing at all and had not cultivated either.

Then the elder told him he had already broken through to the late Qi Refining stage.

It was strange.

If the elder had not said it himself, Shen Yunfei would have thought someone was deliberately deceiving him.

Late Qi Refining stage?

It had only been a month. Could he really be a genius?

After waiting for quite a while, several figures finally appeared at the front, shrouded in thick white mist that obscured their features.

The figures stood upon flying swords and arrived from the horizon, streaks of light trailing from the swords' tails.

Five elderly men with immortal bearing stood on the flying swords. They swept their gazes over the crowd below and nodded slightly.

Then they descended onto their seats, while the flying swords turned into rainbows and vanished without a trace.

Yeah, the technology was a little lousy.

Gu Yuan saw everything clearly. The flying swords had some kind of remote-control device, and the men were suspended by wires behind them.

With the white mist added in, the ropes were impossible to see.

Those five old men did not look familiar at all. He had no idea where they had been recruited from at the last minute.

Still, that display alone was enough to shock Lin Hao, who had only just entered the early Qi Refining stage.

Shen Yunfei was even more impressed. Even now, he did not know how to use "spiritual power."

[I am the outer sect's first grand elder. I shall personally preside over this tournament... I hope everyone will achieve good results.]

This first grand elder was no ordinary man. He could talk endlessly. If the production crew had not reminded him, he probably would have continued for another hour.

[Ahem. Without further nonsense, I hereby announce that the outer sect tournament has begun!]

The moment the first grand elder finished speaking—

Endless multicolored clouds rose up, illuminating the area.

There were fifty arenas, and forty-eight of them already had competing disciples standing upon them.

No one was going up?

Lin Hao looked around and found everyone remarkably calm, simply standing where they were.