Heavenly Pool

After the Grand Competition, the atmosphere on Fifth Peak was completely different from usual.

The disciples walking around had brighter smiles and walked with straighter backs.

In front of the Peak's Affairs Hall, the queue for resources was orderly—this year's resource quota had increased significantly, and each disciple would receive thirty percent more cultivation supplies than in previous years.

"Did you hear? Our Fifth Peak took first place in this Grand Competition, and our resource quota for the next three years has doubled!"

"That's not all! Elder Xu said that an extra bottle of Qi Gathering Pill will be distributed every month from now on!"

"This is all thanks to Senior Brother Qin Yuan's efforts..."

Amidst the discussions, Qin Yuan's name was mentioned repeatedly. This young man, who had only joined Fifth Peak 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 meditation room, seemingly oblivious to the praise from the outside world.

Three jade boxes lay open before him, the final rewards obtained from the core area of the secret realm: a bottle of Condensing Golden Core Pill, a Breakthrough Talisman, and a Profound-grade low-tier cultivation art, Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art.

The Condensing Golden Core Pill was the best auxiliary medicine for condensing a Golden Core, increasing the success rate by thirty percent, and was priceless.

The Breakthrough Talisman was a one-time consumable that could forcefully break through bottlenecks during a breakthrough, but it caused some damage to one's foundation. It would only be used in dire circumstances.

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

This was actually a cultivation art specifically for Golden Core stage cultivation, which emphasized tempering spiritual energy nine times within the Golden Core stage. Each tempering would solidify the Golden Core further. After nine revolutions, the Golden Core's quality would far surpass that of peers at the same level.

Although it was only Profound-grade low-tier, its concept was extremely high. If the subsequent cultivation art could be completed, it might even reach Earth-grade or Heaven-grade.

"It suits me," 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 it was a better place for breakthroughs.

The System panel floated before his eyes:

[System of Gaining Twenty Years of Cultivation Per Day]

[Current Level: 2 (2357/5000)]

[Cultivation Storage: 40/60 years]

[Today's Cultivation Not Extracted]

Qin Yuan kept a portion of the resources obtained from the Grand Competition for emergencies, and the rest were fed to the System.

The upgrade progress had reached 2357 points, still a considerable distance from the 5000 points for the next upgrade, but hope was in sight.

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

Now, forty years had accumulated, and with the twenty years that could be extracted today, that made a total of sixty years of cultivation!

He planned to extract these sixty years of cultivation all at once in the Heavenly Pool, combined with the dense Spiritual Energy of the Heavenly Pool and the Condensing Golden Core Pill, to break through the Golden Core barrier in one go!

"Three days..."

Qin Yuan opened his eyes and looked out the window.

Tomorrow was the day the Heavenly Pool would open.

The Heavenly Pool was located deep in the back mountains of Xuan Yuan Sect, a naturally formed lake of spiritual liquid. The lake water was condensed from the Spiritual Energy of the earth's veins, containing pure essence of heaven and earth, which greatly aided cultivators in breaking through realms.

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

The spots were allocated by the Nine Peaks based on their contributions over the years. This year, Fifth Peak, due to its first place in the Grand Competition, was granted two spots as an exception—one was given to Qin Yuan, and the other to Zhou De, who had performed outstandingly in the secret realm.

Early in the morning, many people had already gathered at the entrance of the Heavenly Pool.

Elders from each peak brought the disciples who had obtained spots. Most of the disciples were between twenty and thirty years old, and their cultivation levels were all at the peak of Foundation Establishment—this was the minimum requirement to enter the Heavenly Pool.

"Look, Ye Qingchen from First Peak is here!"

If you find this book to be good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

A commotion rippled through the crowd.

Ye Qingchen was still wearing his usual thin white clothes, barefoot, with a lazy expression.

Behind him followed another disciple from First Peak, a stern-looking young man in black, with a deep and steady aura, clearly a top-tier cultivator among the Foundation Establishment peaks.

"Su Xue from Second Peak has also arrived!"

A woman in white, carrying a sword, walked slowly. Behind her followed a female disciple who also carried a sword. The two had similar temperaments, both possessing the sharpness characteristic of sword cultivators.

Third Peak, Fourth Peak... disciples from various peaks arrived one after another.

When Qin Yuan appeared with Zhou Ming, all eyes in the venue snapped towards them.

"He's Qin Yuan? The prodigy 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, and even Ye Qingchen lost to him in a Spiritual Sense contest..."

"Tsk tsk, this talent, it's truly a case of comparing people driving you to death."

Amidst the discussions, there was admiration, jealousy, and also unwillingness.

The stern-looking young man from First Peak glanced coldly at Qin Yuan and whispered to Ye Qingchen, "Senior Brother Ye, is that Qin Yuan? He doesn't look particularly special."

Ye Qingchen smiled, "Junior Brother Li, you can't judge a book by its cover."

"No matter how powerful he is, he's still at the peak of Foundation Establishment," the young man surnamed Li snorted. "I'm also at the peak, and I've been cultivating for ten years longer than him. In the Heavenly Pool, it's about foundation and depth, not combat ability."

These words represented the thoughts of many people.

Among the ten people present, weren't they all geniuses from their respective peaks? Hadn't they all cultivated for many years to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment? Although Qin Yuan had risen rapidly, his foundation was bound to be unstable. In a place like the Heavenly Pool, which tested one's foundation, he might not have the advantage.

Even most of the elders leading the disciples from each peak held the same view.

"Elder Xu, your Fifth Peak has produced an extraordinary disciple this time," the elder from Third Peak said with a forced smile, "but cultivating in the Heavenly Pool requires things to happen naturally. Junior Nephew Qin's rise has been too fast; his foundation is probably... hehe."

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

As they were speaking, the stone gate at the entrance of the Heavenly Pool suddenly rippled like water.

A translucent figure slowly emerged from the stone gate.

It was a palm-sized figure, condensed from pale blue spiritual light, with two pairs of transparent wings on its back. Its features were blurred, and only a pair of eyes, as clear as a spring, could be seen.

The Heavenly Pool Spirit.

It was the spirit of the secret realm that managed the Heavenly Pool, and it presided over its opening every time.

"The time has come," the Heavenly Pool Spirit's voice was as crisp as a child's, yet carried an undeniable authority. "Ten disciples, step forward."

Qin Yuan and the others walked to the stone gate.

The Heavenly Pool Spirit's gaze swept over the ten people one by one, pausing briefly on Ye Qingchen and Su Xue before nodding. When it came to Qin Yuan, it frowned slightly, as if sensing something, but then shook its head.

"After entering the Heavenly Pool, find your own spot and cultivate in peace. The essence of the Heavenly Pool is limited; how much you can absorb depends entirely on your own fortune," the Heavenly Pool Spirit said. "Remember, no fighting, no disturbing others. Those who violate this will be expelled."

After speaking, it turned and pointed at the stone gate.

The ripples on the stone gate spread out, transforming into a water curtain of light.

"Enter."

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

The Heavenly Pool Spirit hovered in the air, watching until the last person disappeared before murmuring softly, "This batch, the two little fellows from First Peak and Second Peak have the most solid foundations; they should be able to absorb thirty percent of the essence. The others... hmm, that one named Qin Yuan, a Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root? Someone with such talent could reach the peak of Foundation Establishment? He probably used some shortcut. Oh well, it would be good if he could absorb half."

It shook its head, and its figure gradually faded.