Heavenly Pool

After the Fifth Peak's victory in the direct disciples' grand competition, its atmosphere was utterly different from before.

The disciples coming and going wore more smiles on their faces, and their backs stood straighter as they walked.

Before the peak's Affairs Hall, the line for collecting resources was arranged in perfect order—this year's resource quota had increased drastically, and every disciple received thirty percent more cultivation supplies than in previous years.

"Have you heard? Our Fifth Peak took first place in this grand competition. Our resource quota for the next three years has doubled!"

"More than that! Elder Xu said that an extra bottle of Qi Gathering Pills will be distributed every month from now on!"

"This is all thanks to Senior Brother Qin..."

Amid the discussions, Qin Yuan's name was mentioned again and again. This youth, who had joined the Fifth Peak only a few days ago, had already become the spiritual pillar of the entire peak.

Inside Listening Bamboo Garden, Qin Yuan sat cross-legged in the quiet chamber, seemingly deaf to the praise from the outside world.

Three jade boxes lay open before him. They were the final rewards obtained from the core region of the secret realm: a bottle of Condensing Golden Core Pills, a Breakthrough Talisman, and a Mysterious Grade Low Rank cultivation art, the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art.

The Condensing Golden Core Pill was the finest auxiliary pill for forming a Golden Core. It could raise the chance of success by thirty percent and was worth a fortune.

The Breakthrough Talisman was a one-use consumable. It could forcibly blast through a bottleneck during a breakthrough, but it would cause some damage to one's foundation. It would not be used unless absolutely necessary.

As for the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art... Qin Yuan flipped through it for a moment, surprise flashing through his eyes.

It was actually a cultivation art specializing in Golden Core-stage cultivation. It focused on repeatedly tempering one's spiritual power through nine revolutions during the Golden Core stage. With each revolution, the Golden Core would become more solid. After nine revolutions, the quality of the Golden Core would far surpass those of the same rank.

Though it was only Mysterious Grade Low Rank, its underlying concept was extraordinarily lofty. If the later portions of the art could be completed, it might reach Earth Grade, or even Heaven Grade.

"It suits me well enough." Qin Yuan put away the jade slip.

He did not immediately take the Condensing Golden Core Pill to break through—the Heavenly Pool was about to open, and that would be a better place for a breakthrough.

The system panel floated before his eyes:

[Twenty Years of Cultivation Growth Per Day System]

[Current Level: 2 (2357/5000)]

[Cultivation Storage: 40/60 years]

[Today's cultivation has not been extracted]

Qin Yuan kept some of the resources gained from the grand competition for emergencies and fed all the rest to the system.

His upgrade progress had now reached 2,357 points. There was still quite a distance to the 5,000 points needed for the next upgrade, but hope was already in sight.

More importantly, there was the Cultivation Storage—over the past three days, he had deliberately not extracted the daily twenty years of cultivation, storing it all instead.

He had accumulated forty years by now. Adding the twenty years he could extract today, that made a full sixty years of cultivation!

He planned to extract all sixty years of cultivation at once inside the Heavenly Pool. Combined with the Heavenly Pool's rich Spiritual Energy and the Condensing Golden Core Pill, he would smash through the Golden Core barrier in one stroke!

"Three days..."

Qin Yuan opened his eyes and looked out the window.

Tomorrow would be the day the Heavenly Pool opened.

The Heavenly Pool lay deep in the back mountains of the Xuan Yuan Sect. It was a naturally formed lake of spiritual liquid. Its waters were condensed from the Spiritual Energy of the earth veins and contained pure essence of heaven and earth, providing enormous aid to cultivators breaking through their realms.

Because its resources were limited, the Heavenly Pool opened once every three years, and only ten people were permitted to enter each time.

The quotas were distributed among the Nine Peaks according to their past contributions. This year, because the Fifth Peak had taken first place in the grand competition, it was exceptionally granted two spots—one went to Qin Yuan, while the other went to Zhou De, who had performed outstandingly in the secret realm.

Early in the morning, quite a few people had already gathered at the entrance to the Heavenly Pool.

The elders of each peak had brought over the disciples who had earned quotas. Most of the disciples were between twenty and thirty years old, and without exception, they were at the peak of Foundation Establishment—this was the minimum requirement for entering the Heavenly Pool.

"Look, Ye Qingchen of the First Peak is here!"

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A stir ran through the crowd.

Ye Qingchen still wore that thin white robe, barefoot, his expression lazy and relaxed.

Another disciple from the First Peak followed behind him, a cold-faced young man in black. His aura was deep and steady; he was clearly one of the standouts among peak Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Su Xue from the Second Peak has arrived too!"

The woman in white, a sword on her back, walked over slowly. Behind her was another female disciple carrying a sword. The two had similar temperaments, both carrying the sharp edge unique to sword cultivators.

The Third Peak, the Fourth Peak... disciples from every peak arrived one after another.

When Qin Yuan appeared with Zhou Ming, all eyes in the area focused on them at once.

"So he's Qin Yuan? That monster who went from the sixth level of Foundation Establishment to the peak in three days?"

"I heard he instantly killed Xiong Li in the secret realm. Even Ye Qingchen lost to him in a contest of Spiritual Sense..."

"Tsk, tsk. This talent really makes people mad with envy."

Among the discussions were envy, jealousy, and unwillingness to accept it.

The young man in black from the First Peak cast Qin Yuan a cold glance and said quietly to Ye Qingchen, "Senior Brother Ye, that's Qin Yuan? He doesn't look like anything special."

Ye Qingchen smiled. "Junior Brother Li, appearances can be deceiving."

"No matter how impressive he is, he's only at the peak of Foundation Establishment." The young man surnamed Li snorted. "I'm at the peak too, and I've cultivated ten years longer than he has. In the Heavenly Pool, what matters is one's foundation and reserves, not combat ability."

These words represented the thoughts of quite a few people.

Of the ten people present, which one was not a genius of their respective peak? Which one had not cultivated bitterly for years to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment? Though Qin Yuan had risen swiftly, his foundation was surely unstable. In a place like the Heavenly Pool, which tested one's reserves, he might not necessarily hold an advantage.

Even most of the elders leading the teams from each peak shared the same view.

"Elder Xu, your Fifth Peak has produced quite an extraordinary disciple this time." The elder of the Third Peak said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "But cultivation in the Heavenly Pool depends on things falling into place naturally. Junior Nephew Qin rose too quickly, so his foundation is likely... hehe."

Elder Xu replied calmly, "No need for your concern."

As they spoke, ripples like water suddenly spread across the stone gate at the entrance to the Heavenly Pool.

A phantom figure slowly emerged from within the stone gate.

It was a tiny figure no larger than a palm, its entire body formed from pale blue spiritual light. Two pairs of transparent wings grew from its back, and its face was indistinct, with only a pair of clear eyes like spring water visible.

The Heavenly Pool Spirit.

It was the secret realm spirit that governed the Heavenly Pool and presided over every opening.

"The time has come." The Heavenly Pool Spirit's voice was crisp like a child's, yet carried unquestionable authority. "The ten disciples, step forward."

Qin Yuan and the others walked up to the stone gate.

The Heavenly Pool Spirit's gaze swept over the ten of them one by one. It paused briefly on Ye Qingchen and Su Xue, then nodded. When it came to Qin Yuan, it frowned slightly, as though it had sensed something, but then shook its head.

"After entering the Heavenly Pool, find your own places and cultivate with a calm mind. The Heavenly Pool's essence is limited. How much you can absorb depends entirely on your own fortune," the Heavenly Pool Spirit said. "Remember: no fighting, and do not interfere with others. Violators will be expelled."

After saying that, it turned and pointed at the stone gate.

The ripples on the stone gate spread outward, turning into a watery curtain of light.

"Enter."

The ten people stepped through the light gate one after another.

The Heavenly Pool Spirit floated in the air. Only after watching the last person disappear did it mutter softly to itself, "Among this batch, those two little ones from the First Peak and Second Peak have the most solid foundations. They should be able to absorb thirty percent of the essence. As for the others... hmm, that Qin Yuan has a Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root? How could someone with such aptitude reach the peak of Foundation Establishment? He must have used some sort of shortcut. Forget it. Absorbing half a percent would already be decent."

It shook its head, and its figure gradually faded away.

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