The crowd dispersed!
He Pingsheng returned to his room.
He had intended to strengthen the formation with the Treasure-Gathering Basin, but now he no longer dared.
Why?
Because if he strengthened it into a formation of too high a grade and someone recognized it at a glance, he would only invite trouble.
I'll make do with it for now.
So He Pingsheng spent a day setting up the formation.
In truth, a low-grade formation like this was simple to set up, with few complicated steps.
All he had to do was place the Formation Flags and Formation Plates in their designated positions.
The final step was to fit the spirit stones into place as a power source, then activate it.
"Activate..." He Pingsheng called softly.
Hummm...
An earthen-yellow membrane of formation light immediately rose, enveloping He Pingsheng's house and half the small courtyard.
"Deactivate!" He swiped the formation control, and the formation immediately shut down.
Once inside, he swiped the Formation Talisman again. "Activate!"
The formation rumbled to life once more.
This thing drew its power from spirit stones.
One Low-Grade Spirit Stone could keep the formation running for roughly two months.
The expense was neither great nor small, and every Inner Disciple could afford it.
Stepping into the formation, He Pingsheng took out a supreme-grade Qi-Gathering Pill and exposed it to the air.
A familiar, rich fragrance immediately wafted out.
He Pingsheng even went outside the formation to test it. Sure enough, he could not smell the slightest trace of fragrance out there.
Excellent!
Now he no longer had to worry about anyone discovering that he cultivated with supreme-grade pills.
Then I'll just settle down and cultivate.
One day, two days, three days!
He Pingsheng spent the next three months swallowing pills and cultivating.
During that time, he set aside some time each month to refine pills and deliver them to Zhao Ling'er. How she distributed them was none of his concern.
Naturally, his sect provided the ingredients needed for alchemy.
For each five batches of pills he refined, they supplied fifty portions of ingredients.
He Pingsheng did not waste a single bit.
He gave the successful pills to the sect, while strengthening the failed pills into supreme-grade Qi-Gathering Pills and keeping them for himself.
One day, three months later, a faint pop suddenly sounded from He Pingsheng's room.
He had broken through.
Sixth Layer of Qi Refining Stage.
When he had first become her disciple, he had told his master, Yu Ning, that he was about to break through, so this breakthrough would not seem too abrupt.
But from now on, he would have to be careful.
He Pingsheng took out the Cultivation Miscellany and leafed through it again.
He soon found the information he wanted: in the Cultivation World, cultivation speed depended on a cultivator's talent. During the middle and late phases of the Qi Refining Stage, cultivators with a single Spirit Root generally advanced one level each year, while ordinary cultivators with two or three Spirit Roots needed two years or even longer.
Whew...
He Pingsheng let out a deep breath. Two years.
I've got five damned Spirit Roots. Even with pills, I shouldn't take less than two years.
One level every two years might not arouse suspicion.
But I absolutely can't go any faster.
Then another problem arose.
He Pingsheng normally consumed supreme-grade pills, so he could advance one level in six months at most.
What would he do with the remaining time?
"Divine refinement, then!" He Pingsheng found himself an excuse. "Besides divine refinement, I can also cultivate my Wood Attribute dantian and raise its cultivation!"
If that was still too fast, he would continue opening up his other dantians and cultivate the remaining three elements-metal, water, and earth-as well.
That way, his progress would not seem too abrupt.
Spring passed, and winter came!
In the blink of an eye, it was once again the season of drifting snow.
He Pingsheng had reached the sixth level of the Qi Refining Stage—not in just one dantian, but in both his fire-element and Wood Attribute dantians.
Naturally, no one else could tell.
He had also cultivated the Mysterious Gate Tranquil Mind True Formula to its sixth level.
He could take it no further.
The crucial point was that less than a year had passed.
There was still more than a year to go before the date He Pingsheng had set for his next breakthrough!
What should I do?
I can't just squander my time, can I?
Standing in his house, He Pingsheng looked at the spirit stones in his hand. Only seven remained.
These spirit stones would only be enough to power the formation for a year.
It was time to go out and take a look.
He planned to sell a few things at the market on Horsehead Mountain for some spirit stones.
Before leaving, however, He Pingsheng put away the formation.
He tossed all four components-the Formation Plates, Formation Flags, Formation Talismans, and Formation Diagram-into the Treasure-Gathering Basin.
After one night, the strengthening was complete.
He had strengthened one set of materials for the Seclusion Formation into two sets, and their grade had risen as well.
Previously, it had been a low-grade Seclusion Formation. Now, these components could construct a supreme-grade Seclusion Formation.
What was the difference?
First, its defensive power had increased.
Second, its defensive range had also increased. This supreme-grade formation's coverage had expanded from a radius of ten zhang to a radius of a hundred zhang.
Forget He Pingsheng's little courtyard-if fully extended, it could cover several neighboring courtyards as well.
Naturally, a supreme-grade formation had its own flexibility. Although it could cover a hundred zhang, it could also contract to cover only ten.
"I wonder how much this thing will sell for."
He Pingsheng stored everything in his dantian before going out to see his senior sister, Zhao Ling'er.
"You're going down the mountain?" Zhao Ling'er looked at He Pingsheng in surprise. "For how long?"
He Pingsheng said, "I'm just going to take care of something at the foot of the mountain. About... a day!"
"Oh!" Zhao Ling'er nodded. "If it's only one day, you don't need to notify Master. But if you're going out for more than three days, you must tell her!"
"All right!"
He Pingsheng nodded, then headed down the mountain.
Only after reaching a secluded spot did he take out the Paper Crane and activate it. With a whoosh, he flew high into the sky and headed toward Horsehead Mountain.
This was He Pingsheng's third trip to Horsehead Mountain Market.
The first time, he had gone with Wang Dun to sell Blazing Sun Flower pollen.
The second time, he had slipped over on his own to sell Blazing Sun Flower pollen.
This time, He Pingsheng's main purpose was to sell off his magical artifacts one by one.
If possible, he would also buy a Storage Bag.
Not having a Storage Bag was truly inconvenient.
Riding on the yellow crane, He Pingsheng took the items out of his dantian one by one and placed them in his Treasure Bag.
One supreme-grade magical artifact: a Flying Sword!
One supreme-grade magical artifact: a Vine Armor Shield.
One supreme-grade magical artifact: an Alchemy Furnace.
One complete set of materials for the supreme-grade Seclusion Formation.
Once he reached the market, it would be inconvenient to move these things in and out of the Treasure-Gathering Basin, so he had to prepare them beforehand to avoid unnecessary trouble.
As for how much these things could actually sell for?
He Pingsheng had no idea either.
I'll take it one step at a time. I'll have someone appraise them first, then decide what to do.
Once that was done, He Pingsheng changed his clothes, replacing his Inner Disciple attire with an ordinary Daoist Robe bearing no insignia.
Why?
To avoid running into fellow disciples.
Whoosh...
A little over two hours later, He Pingsheng landed at the entrance to Horsehead Mountain Market on his Paper Crane.
With a wave of his hand, the Paper Crane returned to his palm.
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