Cultivation knew no passage of years, and three years slowly slipped by.
After three years, Liu Yu's appearance had hardly changed. He still looked like a youth.
His build, however, had become considerably leaner and stronger.
His cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching the peak of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. He was only one step away from late Qi Refining.
In fact, with the support of pills, he had reached the peak of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer eight months earlier.
But he had encountered a bottleneck and had been unable to advance an inch since.
He could only hone his magical power, making it purer. During that time, he had attempted to break through the bottleneck several times, but every attempt had ended in failure.
With Liu Yu's three spiritual roots, encountering a bottleneck before late Qi Refining was somewhat unlucky, but hardly surprising.
They say those with a heavenly spiritual root encounter no bottlenecks all the way to the Golden Core Stage.
They truly are heaven's favored children, blessed by the powers above!
Inside his cave abode, Liu Yu had once again failed to break through the bottleneck and thought this with some frustration.
With his three spiritual roots, there was no telling how long it would take to break through naturally through cultivation alone.
But time waited for no one. He decided he could not continue like this and had to set about resolving the bottleneck immediately.
According to the information Liu Yu had read in the Scripture Pavilion, he currently had three ways to break through his bottleneck:
The first was to stimulate a breakthrough through combat on the brink of life and death.
Between life and death lay great terror!
But it could also unleash tremendous potential, sharply increasing the chances of breaking through a bottleneck.
Not everyone could calmly face the terror between life and death, however, so few cultivators chose such an "extreme" method.
The second was to purchase a Bottleneck-Breaking Elixir and use its medicinal power to dissolve the bottleneck.
However, Bottleneck-Breaking Elixirs had always been in short supply. Whenever one appeared, numerous cultivators would scramble for it, and the price was often exceedingly high.
An ordinary cultivator could not afford that many spirit stones.
The third was to carefully hone his magical power and repeatedly attempt to break through the bottleneck.
Dripping water could wear through stone. As the days and months accumulated, his magical power would grow increasingly pure, and perhaps he would succeed one day.
The time required varied, however, and the outcome was full of uncertainty.
This was the method most cultivators commonly used.
After all, Bottleneck-Breaking Elixirs were expensive, costing at least five hundred spirit stones, leaving countless ordinary cultivators gazing at them with helpless sighs.
Life-and-death combat was even more fraught with danger. The slightest oversight could leave one dead before the campaign had even begun.
I'll first look around the markets inside and outside the sect and see whether I can buy a Bottleneck-Breaking Elixir.
In his heart, Liu Yu still favored the second method.
At the same time, he would not give up honing his magical power. Perhaps the bottleneck would loosen one day.
If both methods failed, then for the sake of the immortal path to longevity, Liu Yu would undertake dangerous missions and seek an opportunity to break through amid trials of life and death!
Wealth and honor were sought amid danger; opportunities on the Dao were seized amid peril!
Over those three years, Liu Yu had gained an initial mastery of the Spirit-Concealing Art, reaching its first level.
It could deceive cultivators one minor stage above him, provided they were still within the same major realm.
He was currently at middle Qi Refining. Even cultivators at late Qi Refining could not see through his cultivation, unless they had reached the peak of Qi Refining.
Activating the Spirit-Concealing Art, Liu Yu concealed his magical power and the fluctuations of his Spirit Pressure.
He scanned himself several times with his spiritual sense. Only after finding that even he could barely detect the concealed aura of magical power did he relax.
Even his spiritual sense, which was slightly stronger than that of a late Qi Refining cultivator, could not see through the concealment. Ordinary Qi Refining cultivators should therefore be unable to detect it.
Within the sect, however, the Qi Refining Sixth Layer was quite common, so there was no need to conceal his cultivation.
If he went outside the sect, he could use a disguise method recorded in the Essentials of Demonic Cultivation to alter his appearance.
That way, even fellow disciples who knew him would not recognize him.
After considerable thought, Liu Yu still decided to ask Senior Sister Jiang Qiushui whether she had any news of Bottleneck-Breaking Elixirs.
This senior sister was adept at navigating social circles and had extensive connections within the sect. Of the fellow disciples he knew, she was the best informed.
Thus, after completing his daily cultivation, Liu Yu rose and left his cave abode.
Once outside, he formed hand seals with both hands and cast the Wind-Riding Technique on himself, bounding lightly through the mountain forest.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, he arrived outside Jiang Qiushui's cave abode.
Taking a Voice-Transmitting Talisman from his storage pouch, Liu Yu murmured a few words and gently tossed it. It turned into a streak of white light and flew into the cave abode.
The Voice-Transmitting Talisman was not stopped by the restrictions. Seeing this, he waited patiently.
Rumble.
The stone doors slowly slid apart. Jiang Qiushui deactivated her abode's restrictions and appeared before him.
Perhaps because she was in her own cave abode, she was dressed very casually.
A thin white gauze robe covered her exquisitely curved figure, while her long black hair lay loose over her shoulders.
Perhaps it was the fabric of the robe, or perhaps a cultivator's eyesight was simply too keen, but through that thin layer of gauze, he could faintly make out the "steep peaks" beneath.
For an instant, Liu Yu's gaze sharpened, and he instinctively looked her up and down.
Then he looked away as though nothing had happened, forcibly suppressing the restlessness within him.
Jiang Qiushui was actually rather surprised by Liu Yu's arrival.
This junior brother's performance in recent years had certainly drawn attention.
In just three short years, he had advanced two levels in cultivation, and he was also an alchemist.
Rumor had it that he had already attracted the attention of key figures in the branch courtyard faction.
She already regarded Liu Yu as a cultivator with a bright future, so she did not slight him.
"Junior Brother Liu, what a rare visitor you are. Come inside and sit down!"
Jiang Qiushui chuckled softly and led Liu Yu into her cave abode.
Perhaps she had just finished cultivating. There was a languid air about her, without her usual haughtiness, and her voice carried a trace of gentleness.
Liu Yu followed closely behind, glancing around to observe the furnishings.
Neat, clean, and carefully arranged-that was his first impression.
Several pots of attractive flowers and plants stood in the corners of the cave abode, pleasing to the eye.
She also seemed to have burned some kind of incense, for a pleasant fragrance filled the air.
They entered the main hall and sat opposite each other at a wooden table.
Gently smoothing back a few strands of hair from her forehead and tucking them behind her ear, Jiang Qiushui poured Liu Yu a cup of spirit tea before asking why he had come.
"To be frank, I have already reached the peak of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer."
"But because of a bottleneck, my cultivation has not advanced an inch for three months."
"I apologize for this uninvited visit, but I came to seek your advice. Senior Sister, do you have any news of Bottleneck-Breaking Elixirs, or any information that might help me break through?"
Liu Yu took a small sip of spirit tea, savoring the fragrance lingering on his lips and tongue. He deliberately paused before delivering the words he had prepared.
He concealed the fact that he had been stuck at the bottleneck for eight months, changing it to three.
Hearing this, Jiang Qiushui rolled her bright eyes at him and said irritably:
"Bottleneck-Breaking Elixirs are extremely rare. Even those on the Sect Exchange List were claimed long ago."
She paused, then patiently explained:
"As soon as these elixirs are refined, most have already been reserved by fellow disciples with the right connections."
"If I had any news of a Bottleneck-Breaking Elixir, I would have bought it myself long ago instead of being stuck at a bottleneck for two years. How would you ever get a turn?"
"There are still some pills on the exchange list whose bottleneck-breaking effects are practically nonexistent, but I wouldn't recommend exchanging for them."
"Those pills would only waste your Sect Contribution Points. They offer far too little help in breaking through a bottleneck."
Sect Contribution Points were a special currency of the Primordial Yang Sect, with many uses within the sect.
For example, they could be exchanged for treasures on the Sect Exchange List.
The Sect Exchange List offered many Magical Artifacts, pills, and other items that were difficult to find outside. It even included Foundation Establishment Pills, all of which could only be acquired with Sect Contribution Points.
It was worth mentioning, however, that Sect Contribution Points could be earned through missions or obtained by trading spirit stones with other disciples.
Of course, certain restrictions applied when exchanging for strategic resources, and approval was required before such exchanges could be made.
"Rest assured, Senior Sister. I understand the pros and cons."
Liu Yu nodded, but inwardly he felt disappointed. He had still underestimated how scarce Bottleneck-Breaking Elixirs were.
He had obtained no useful information from Jiang Qiushui. The other few fellow disciples he knew had lower cultivation than hers, so asking them would likely be futile as well.
He could only find another way and consider his next steps carefully.
At this thought, Liu Yu's interest waned considerably, and he no longer wished to stay.
After making an effort to chat with Jiang Qiushui for a while, Liu Yu drained his cup of spirit tea and praised it loudly:
"Excellent tea!"
"This tea is indeed fine, but your skill in brewing it is finer still, Senior Sister."
"Its fragrance lingers on the lips and tongue, leaving an endlessly delightful aftertaste."
"Unfortunately, I still have important matters to attend to today and cannot stay long."
"I'll come taste your spirit tea again another time, Senior Sister. Farewell!"
With that, Liu Yu rose, cupped his hands, and took his leave.
"Hmph!"
Jiang Qiushui gave a delicate snort and looked somewhat displeased, but she did not ask him to stay.
How could she fail to understand what this junior brother meant?
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