Breakthrough

At first, Ji Yuan had still been considering whether to buy a few more Green-Yellow Chickens or Half-Spirit Fish to take home.

But now that the thought of breaking through had arisen, he could no longer spare attention for anything else. Everything could wait until after the breakthrough.

When he got home, the neighbors on both sides were quiet. Deng Yunliang had most likely gone to rest, while as for Lin Hu, Ji Yuan had no idea whether he had gone out on his boat or was resting as well.

As long as neither of them was standing around at the door.

After returning home, Ji Yuan first fed the Green-Yellow Chickens and Half-Spirit Fish some food. This breakthrough would take at least a day or two, so the things he raised needed to be looked after.

"It seemed I would have to explore the path of puppetry in the future. Otherwise, if I ever traveled far away or entered seclusion for a long time, there would be no one to care for these things."

As for raising a demonic beast himself, Ji Yuan did not dare to entertain that thought for now.

A demonic beast with such intelligence would at least be a sixth- or seventh-rank great demon. It might even be a legendary shapeshifting great demon.

The path of puppetry was still more reliable.

After finishing up, Ji Yuan returned to his room... no, it was a Talisman Room now.

If it had been before, he would definitely have needed to meditate for quite a while before calming himself down. But now, he casually stuck a Tranquil Heart Talisman onto himself.

Everything was settled.

Once his thoughts had calmed, Ji Yuan took out the seven Spirit Eggs he had obtained today, first using them to warm up for his cultivation breakthrough.

After a while, he finished swallowing the Spirit Eggs.

With a thought, Ji Yuan took Spirit Stones from his storage pouch. He did not stint at all, taking out a full fifty and arranging them around himself.

Looking at the white gleaming ring around him, Ji Yuan felt greatly reassured.

With a casual gesture, he held two Spirit Stones in each hand and activated the Azure Sea Tide Art within his body. At once, an unprecedentedly pure stream of spiritual energy flooded into his meridians.

It was cool, with a hint of watery moisture.

The spiritual energy coursed through his meridians before slowly sinking into his dantian.

Cultivation during the Qi Refining stage had no special trick to it. One simply continuously absorbed the free spiritual energy between heaven and earth, transforming external things into one's own strength.

And compared to advancing from the Third Layer to the Fourth Layer—

Advancing from the Fourth Layer to the Fifth Layer had even less of a threshold. It was all about letting things flow naturally, like water filling a channel.

As four Spirit Stones turned to powder and slipped from Ji Yuan's hands, four more followed, then another four, and another four...

Ji Yuan no longer knew exactly how many Spirit Stones he had absorbed. He only knew that outside the window, light came and went, darkness came and went, and light returned again.

After two days of this repetition, Spirit Stone powder had piled into little mounds on both sides of Ji Yuan.

Finally, on the night of the third day, just as moonlight squeezed through the window and spilled across the edge of the bed, Ji Yuan, who had been sitting as still as an ancient pine, suddenly opened his eyes.

A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes. His aura leaked out, then vanished.

Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement.

He had succeeded!

Ji Yuan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. At last, he understood why those disciples of immortal sects could reach the pinnacle of Qi Refining at such young ages.

The Qi Refining stage was nothing more than a process of accumulating spiritual energy.

With enough Spirit Stones, he himself had broken through twice in just two months. Not to mention those geniuses with dual spiritual roots or single spiritual roots.

The Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement could be considered a pillar of strength even in Zengtou City.

After his brief joy, Ji Yuan looked around. Of the original fifty Spirit Stones, only six remained.

One breakthrough had consumed a full forty-four Spirit Stones.

No wonder there were so few Late Qi Refining cultivators in Zengtou City. Forget the late stage—even breaking through to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement was not something ordinary people could accomplish.

Feeling the abundant spiritual energy within his dantian, Ji Yuan picked up another four Spirit Stones and began stabilizing his Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement cultivation.

By the time he had refined the remaining six Spirit Stones and his cultivation had completely stabilized, the sky outside had brightened as well.

He first washed and changed into clean clothes, then scattered the Spirit Stone powder inside the Pigsty.

After finishing those tasks, he began feeding the fish and chickens again. Along the way, he collected the Spirit Eggs from the past few days. There were twenty-one in total, which meant this seclusion had taken a full three days.

For the moment, Ji Yuan had no desire to eat Spirit Eggs. Instead, he planned to take a walk outside.

But just as he paced back and forth along the shore before his door, he saw a black-robed cultivator with a hooked nose approaching along the path opposite him.

This man... Ji Yuan naturally recognized him.

Pang Zhiyuan, a Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement cultivator who specialized in handling matters for the Water Dragon Sect. He could be considered half an official. The Immortal Residence Fees for Ji Yuan's area were usually collected by him.

He was also the man who had pressured Ji Yuan for his Immortal Residence Fee back then.

But why had he come now? It did not seem to be time to collect the Immortal Residence Fee yet... Ji Yuan muttered inwardly as he watched the man pass before him.

"Chief Pang."

Ji Yuan greeted him.

The other man nodded, giving Ji Yuan another look. Then a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

"Middle Qi Refining Stage?"

Ji Yuan was now at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement, and his aura was naturally much deeper. Even though he deliberately restrained it, the aura of the Middle Qi Refining Stage was still obvious.

"Just luck."

Ji Yuan gave a slight cupped-fist salute.

At this distance, if I unleashed the Deathbringer Needle, a sneak attack should be enough to kill him instantly... Ji Yuan thought idly.

"Not bad. You did not disgrace your father."

Pang Zhiyuan nodded, then walked to the entrance of the neighboring Lin Family home and heavily knocked on the door.

A jumble of sounds came from inside. Soon, the door opened.

Lin Hu opened it. The moment he saw who stood outside, his face went deathly pale. "C-Chief Pang."

"The Immortal Residence Fee you owed last month is due. If you still cannot pay it today, then get out of Zengtou City."

Hearing those familiar words, Ji Yuan fell slightly into a daze.

"N-No, Chief Pang, according to the rules, wasn't it possible to delay payment for one month? I can definitely make it up next month. Please give me a few more days. I'm about to take my boat out."

Lin Hu clutched Pang Zhiyuan's sleeve and begged bitterly, nearly dropping to his knees.

"The rules have changed. Immortal Residence Fees may no longer be overdue."

Pang Zhiyuan said coldly, "Hurry up. If you do not pay, pack your things and get out."

Hearing the commotion, Deng Yunliang from next door came out as well. With both hands tucked into his sleeves, he wore the look of someone enjoying a spectacle.

After all, he had paid his Immortal Residence Fee in full last month.

It had nothing to do with him.

"T-There's one here."

Wu Qin's weak voice came from behind the door.

Pang Zhiyuan casually snatched it over. "You still owe two."

Lin Hu shifted his gaze to Ji Yuan. After a brief hesitation, he still looked toward Deng Yunliang.

"Old Deng, lend me some... just two Spirit Stones for now. I'll definitely return them next month."

Deng Yunliang sneered. "Where would I get any Spirit Stones? I don't have any."

"No, didn't you win a few last night?" Despair showed in Lin Hu's eyes.

"I'm saving those to win my money back tonight. Give up on that idea."

Deng Yunliang waved a hand. He no longer intended to watch the show and prepared to go back for some sleep.

Ji Yuan watched coldly from the side. Once upon a time, he had faced the same life-or-death choice as Lin Hu... and, at the end, long-forgotten memories instinctively surfaced in his mind.

That had been when Ji Qingyun was still alive, when the Ji Household and the Lin Family had shared a good relationship.

They often visited one another. If one household made something to eat, they would share it with the other. When Ji Qingyun took his boat out, he would even call Lin Youwei along.

Ji Yuan, who remained at home, would play with Lin Hu. Lin Hu had always been simple and honest, constantly following behind Ji Yuan and calling him "Brother Ji."

Thinking of this, Ji Yuan could not help but sigh inwardly.

"I'll pay for him."

Ji Yuan took two Spirit Stones from his sleeve and handed them over.

"You?"

Pang Zhiyuan glanced at him and said nothing more. Using the Object Manipulation Technique, he took the Spirit Stones and left.

He did not care who paid, so long as someone did.

After Pang Zhiyuan left, Lin Hu looked at Ji Yuan standing in the doorway with his back to the morning sun. He felt that Brother Ji was very close, yet also impossibly far away.

But without question, he stood beneath the sunlight.

Lin Hu opened his mouth, and a trembling sound escaped his throat.

"B-Brother Ji."

"Stop gambling. Live your life properly." Ji Yuan sighed. Without mentioning whether the Spirit Stones needed to be repaid, he went back inside on his own.

"Alright, Brother Ji, don't worry!"

"I, Lin Hu, will never gamble again for the rest of my life!"

Lin Hu shouted. Then, toward Ji Yuan's door, he bowed deeply.

He wiped his face, went back to gather a few things, then poled his black-canopied little boat toward Cloud-Rain Marsh.

As for the original blackwood dharma boat... do not ask. If you asked, the answer was that he had gambled it away.

On the other side, Deng Yunliang watched this scene, wanting to speak but stopping himself.