Breakthrough and plans

In the mountains, no one counted the passing years; when the cold ended, who knew what year it was? In the blink of an eye, Xu Yan had spent half a year cultivating at Horse Mountain Stronghold.

Ever since leaving Zhuliu City that day, he had remained here, cultivating in seclusion.

Xu Yan sat cross-legged atop Golden Summit Peak, gazing at the snowy scenery before him as he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Golden Summit Peak was the highest of Horse Mountain's many peaks. After a few alterations, it had become his cultivation site.

He had not slaughtered all the bandits in Horse Mountain Stronghold.

Besides Li Tieniu, five other bandits had survived. Naturally, Xu Yan had not spared them out of kindness. He had kept them alive solely to have them do his bidding.

At his command, Li Tieniu had led those five bandits in searching all of Horse Mountain during this period, with the aim of finding medicinal herbs.

These herbs were all intended for practice. According to the alchemy notes Lin Dao had left behind, cultivators just starting to learn alchemy could substitute ordinary medicinal herbs if they had no spirit herbs to practice with. Though the results were somewhat inferior, doing so could save a great many spirit stones.

As a rogue cultivator, Xu Yan naturally did not have many spirit stones, so he planned to use this method and only attempt refining pills with spirit herbs once he had become proficient.

To that end, under Li Tieniu's leadership, the five bandits spent their days roaming the mountains and gathering medicinal herbs. Over half a year, they collected several thousand plants of various kinds. Still feeling that this might not be enough, Xu Yan ordered Li Tieniu to take out the gold and silver the bandits had previously plundered and spend it all on medicinal herbs.

Xu Yan had carved out five stone chambers on Golden Summit Peak, three of which were piled full of these herbs.

The other thing he had done over those six months was cultivate diligently every day without fail. Every few days, he took a drop of the Hundred-Year Earth Spirit Milk, and with the help of Qi Gathering Pills, he had reached the Peak of the Second Layer of Qi Refining half a month earlier. Yet no matter how he cultivated over the following fortnight, he could not break through to the Third Layer of Qi Refining.

It was as though an invisible barrier was blocking his next breakthrough.

Faced with this situation, Xu Yan decided to stop cultivating and come outside to relax.

That was how he came to be sitting atop Golden Summit Peak now.

When he had first climbed the mountain, it had been lush and green, brimming with life. Now snow filled the sky, and the entire world was a boundless expanse of white.

Xu Yan sat cross-legged on a rock at the highest point, where he could take in the scenery of all Horse Mountain.

Looking into the distance, he saw a thousand ravines crisscrossing the land, white mist rolling, birds returning to their nests, and beasts vanishing from sight. Clouds billowed and rosy mists spread as white snow drifted through the air.

As he watched the entire world grow quiet, an inexplicable stirring arose in Xu Yan's heart. His formerly restless mind had become remarkably peaceful.

Without a sound, his Daoist robe stirred despite the lack of wind, shaking off the snow that had settled on him. At the same time, he unwittingly drew a stream of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi toward himself.

The sudden change brought a flicker of delight to his heart. As though inspiration had dawned upon him, he hurriedly circulated the Spirit Guiding Art. As he activated the technique, streams of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi immediately flowed toward him.

The snow fell harder and harder, each flake pure white and translucent, lending the whole world a sacred air. Hazy wisps of mist rose and coiled around Xu Yan, shrouding him in mystery.

Streams of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi descended through the air, finally gathering into a vortex above Xu Yan's head. As he circulated his technique, they transformed into streams of magic power and surged toward his Dantian.

Now is the time to break through!

Xu Yan sat cross-legged at the summit of the main peak. In the center of his Dantian, streams of magic power churned like boiling broth. He had reached the peak of the Second Layer of Qi Refining half a month earlier, and as he cultivated this time, his body seemed to receive some sort of signal. His Dantian could no longer remain calm.

Magic power surged incessantly, as though seeking to shatter its present shackles and enter a vaster world.

He had already fallen into a state of Void Clarity. As his magic power churned, the sounds of wind and thunder arose within his Dantian. The tremendous noise echoed across the mountaintop, and a faint glow shone from his entire body.

As more and more magic power poured in, his whole body grew taut.

"Break through!"

Xu Yan gave a low shout, directing the magic power throughout his limbs and every part of his body toward his Dantian. The immense pressure made his Dantian feel as though it would burst.

Yet his gaze remained firm. He could already see hope.

Rumble!

A thunderous roar erupted within his Dantian, and an even stronger aura rose from his body. Xu Yan's long hair stirred without wind, magic power surged through him, and streams of light flowed over his body.

At the same time, a strand of Divine Sense was born within his Sea of Consciousness. Radiant light blazed in his eyes, shooting out like two bolts of lightning, strikingly vivid against the white expanse of the world.

"I've finally developed Divine Sense!"

The delight Xu Yan felt at that moment went without saying.

Only after acquiring Divine Sense would an immortal cultivator's wondrous abilities gradually reveal themselves. Only then could they truly begin exploring the hundred arts of cultivation and become part of the cultivation world.

Xu Yan rose to his feet and examined himself. His presence now carried a hint of solemn weight. He tried extending his Divine Sense outward and discovered that it could encompass an area several dozen zhang around him.

Within that range, he could perceive every movement.

It was an entirely new experience. Though he was not seeing with his eyes, within the area covered by his Divine Sense, he felt as though everything lay within his grasp.

"So this is Divine Sense. It truly is marvelous."

After experiencing it for a while, Xu Yan hurriedly sat cross-legged again. He had only just broken through and needed to consolidate his cultivation.

The radiance around him now withdrew into his body. As he slowly circulated his technique, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi swarmed toward him. He converted it all into threads of magic power, strengthening his newly advanced Dantian.

This process continued for a full three days.

Only after those three days did Xu Yan completely stabilize his cultivation realm.

The technique I cultivate is the incomplete one Golden Light Daoist possessed. It can only take me to the fifth layer of Qi Refining. Now that I've reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining, and I have a High-Grade Spiritual Root, it's time to prepare to switch to another cultivation technique.

Atop Golden Summit Peak, Xu Yan began making plans in silence.

Now that I've developed Divine Sense, the first thing I need to do is learn to refine pills and obtain cultivation resources through my status as an alchemist.

But I can't show my true face. When the time comes, I'll wear a mask when dealing with others.

I also need to gather information on the two cultivators who ambushed me and tried to kill me. If the right opportunity arises, I'll make them pay.

At this thought, his expression shifted slightly, as though something else had occurred to him.

Right, the most important thing is to figure out the Mysterious Green Pearl between my brows. Now that I've developed Divine Sense, I should see whether I can discover what this Green Pearl does.

As this thought crossed his mind, excitement welled up within him. The Mysterious Green Pearl was arguably his greatest secret. Had it not awakened at that critical moment, he would long since have become another departed soul at Golden Light Daoist's hands.

But the Mysterious Green Pearl was a matter of enormous consequence. If word of it leaked out, it could bring disaster upon him and cost him his life. According to rumor, Nascent Soul cultivators could send their nascent souls out of their bodies and fly ten thousand li in a single day. If studying the Green Pearl caused any unusual disturbance, it could easily attract the attention of such mighty cultivators.

When that happened, Xu Yan would face a deadly calamity.

With that in mind, Xu Yan stood and walked toward the cave dwelling he had carved out.