Fulfillment

Unlike the many realms of the Qi Refinement Path.

The realms of Qi-Absorption Path cultivation were few, but every one of them was like an impassable chasm.

Qi Assimilation, Dao Foundation...

Qi Nourishment could only be considered "basic training." Only Qi-Consuming Initiation counted as becoming a true cultivator.

Jiang Ran was also very curious about what mysterious realms lay beyond Dao Foundation.

Unfortunately, even Sun Jianghan did not know any more.

Perhaps those transcendent existences were already beyond the reach of ordinary people...

Jiang Ran did not know how far he would go in the future.

But without a doubt, he would never be content to remain in the Qi-Ingesting Realm for his entire life.

Therefore, both "Autumn-Grass Frost-Condensing Qi" and "Ice-Lake Spirit-Water Qi" could be discarded outright.

Middle three-order True Qi was the basic requirement for reaching the Dao Foundation Realm.

In other words, Jiang Ran needed to assimilate at least sixth-order True Qi before he could hope to raise his upper limit.

Even sixth-order True Qi might not be enough.

After all, the gap between the middle three orders of True Qi was even greater. With only sixth-order True Qi, advancing to Dao Foundation would likely still be extremely difficult.

Fifth-order True Qi, Fourth-Order True Qi... or, better yet, upper three-order True Qi—those would be the best possible starting points!

Two names drifted through Jiang Ran's mind.

"Great Sun Golden Crow Qi," "Taiyin Subtle Nether Qi."

If he could enter the Dao with that kind of peak True Qi, then the immortal path ahead would truly shine so brightly that he could not even open his eyes.

At present, Jiang Ran did not have many options.

Around Black Dragon Mountain, the Hundred Yue Sect was the only ruler.

If he wanted high-order True Qi, he had almost no other choice. He had to enter the sect!

Fortunately for Jiang Ran, there was already a ready-made path before him.

By reaching the top of the Mining Leaderboard, he would automatically gain the opportunity to become an official disciple of the Hundred Yue Sect.

The top of the Mining Leaderboard... was not difficult.

Two months had already passed. Zhuang Beiluo, Li Yi, and Qin Shuang had long since secured the top three spots.

Each of them had contributed more than four thousand jin of ore in total.

Zhuang Beiluo, who ranked first, had accumulated nearly six thousand jin of ore. It was practically impossible for anyone to shake his position.

So far, Jiang Ran had submitted only a little over five hundred jin of ore. If he had not handed in an extra three hundred and fifty jin last time, that number would have been even more pitifully low.

No one could have predicted that a bottom-ranker who had handed in just over five hundred jin of ore was actually plotting how to push Zhuang Beiluo off his pedestal and seize first place...

Jiang Ran was in no hurry. There was still plenty of time.

With a professional Dexi-brand impact drill in hand, his mining efficiency was astonishing, making him practically a humanoid tunneling machine.

With just one low-grade Spirit Stone, he could dig out more than ten pieces of ore.

If he truly went all out, three days—three days at most.

Jiang Ran was absolutely certain that he could surpass Zhuang Beiluo within three days.

Of course, he did not choose such a frenzied approach.

The amount of ore in every mine shaft was limited. Digging through an entire mine shaft was not a good thing; it would be the same as directly telling everyone that he possessed some special method.

For that reason, Jiang Ran remained very restrained and spent only one day in each mine shaft.

He mined for two hours every day and stopped as soon as time was up. He still used the rest of the day for cultivation.

Were two hours a lot? Not at all. He treated it as physical training, while also practicing Vajra Fist.

There was still plenty of time. What he needed now was not greater mining efficiency, but to quietly wait for the day the Mining Leaderboard closed.

Time passed swiftly.

Another month went by in the blink of an eye.

In the front section of the mining grounds, the easiest ore had long since been mined out.

During the past two ore submissions, quite a few more people had lost their lives.

Jiang Ran had seen with his own eyes as those people turned into bloody mist, their True Qi taken away as well.

He could not help but sigh. The Hundred Yue Sect had actually paid nothing at all.

Cultivation methods had no cost, while True Qi had some value, but it could be reclaimed at any time.

Cultivators who had not undergone Qi-Consuming Initiation could not cause the slightest loss to True Qi.

Under the pressure, more and more people chose to venture deeper into the mountains.

There was no choice. Failing to mine enough ore meant only death, so they might as well take a gamble.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the atmosphere among everyone in and around the mining grounds—including the Hundred Yue Sect disciples stationed outside the formation...

had grown somewhat tense.

There were visibly fewer Hundred Yue Sect disciples stationed at the mining grounds, as though something major had happened.

Jiang Ran had no time to concern himself with too much, nor did he worry much.

He had long prepared himself. Should danger arise, he would leave the Great Ruins at once.

Over this past month, his improvement had been enormous.

The facts proved that spending over two million Tianlu Coins to buy a Spirit Root had absolutely been a wise choice.

Thanks to the newly transplanted Middle-Grade Water Spirit Root, both his Qi Refinement Path and Qi-Absorption Path cultivation had benefited tremendously.

After refining another two strands of Ice-Lake Spirit-Water Qi, Jiang Ran's True Origin Formula cultivation improved once more. He was at Qi Refinement Level Two, with two hundred and fifty-two strands of spiritual power.

If he wished, reaching Qi Refinement Level Three would be almost effortless.

His spells had improved even more. His Spirit-Control Technique had become increasingly proficient and was gradually being integrated into all kinds of spells.

"Torrent Technique," "Flame-Raising Technique," "Stone-Splitting Technique"...

Jiang Ran had mastered every one of these advanced five-element spells.

Though he had not reached any particularly profound level yet, he could basically cast them successfully in the shortest possible time.

His Qi-Absorption Path cultivation had also reached its most critical juncture.

Soul Nourishment had progressed very smoothly. With the nourishment of his Spirit Root and the powerful medicinal effect of the Kehua Level-One Mental Replenishment Supplement, his soul had rapidly grown stronger in merely one month. Only the final step remained before it reached fulfillment.

"Time to go back..." Jiang Ran opened his eyes.

Everything was developing in a positive direction.

It was not that he lacked the patience to continue cultivating in seclusion. The time had simply come.

In a few days, it would be the National Middle School Magic Exchange Competition.

The month before last, his magic teacher, Zhou Tianfang, had personally named Jiang Ran and insisted that he sign up.

Though he was not particularly interested, he still had to go.

Several days later.

Pingjiang No. 1 High School.

A large Feitong Passenger Coach carrying more than five hundred teachers and students drove out of the school.

Though it was called a passenger coach, it was actually a large flying artifact, the newest unmanned flying artifact produced by Feitong Company.

Its advantage was that it did not require anyone to supply spiritual power to drive it and could fly automatically.

Its drawback was... it consumed a considerable number of Spirit Stones, something ordinary people could not afford.

Jiang Ran sat in his seat with his eyes closed, resting.

"Jiang Ran, let me tell you, I learned another new spell these past two days. I'll show it to you when we get off..."

The little fat boy beside him chattered nonstop, as though he had not spoken to anyone for several lifetimes.

That was right, Tao Dapeng had returned, bringing his Spirit Root with him.

Jiang Ran knew Tao Dapeng's family was wealthy, but he had not expected them to be this wealthy.

Da Peng's transplanted Spirit Root was indeed a Superior Spirit Root, but it was no ordinary Superior Spirit Root.

Rumor had it that Da Peng's father had called in countless favors and spent a vast fortune to buy a special Spirit Root. It ranked as a Superior Spirit Root, but was stronger than ordinary Superior Spirit Roots and perfectly suited Tao Dapeng's physique.

Comparisons really could drive people mad...

After merely two months apart, Tao Dapeng had already broken through to Qi Refinement Level Two.

"Huh..." Da Peng's expression suddenly turned strange.

"Zhang Jingjing. It's Zhang Jingjing. She seems to be looking for you."

Jiang Ran did not answer, his eyes still tightly shut.

No one knew that he was currently going through an extremely important moment.

"Soul and body draw near, divine light overflows. My Qi Nourishment Realm is about to reach fulfillment."