The fourth layer

"I understand what you mean, Brother Ma. If I need anything, I'll be sure to ask for your help."

"You do me far too much honor, Fairy. Being of use to you would be my good fortune..."

After watching the thoroughly excited Ma Zhuo leave, Lu Mingyue closed the courtyard gate and went back inside to begin her day's cultivation.

Although dealing with those corpses earlier had cost her considerable effort, Lu Mingyue had not come away empty-handed.

She had discovered that after being depleted and restored, her cultivation had actually become considerably more substantial. This repeated process of depletion and recovery had also improved her control over her own cultivation.

Even if I can't collect my monthly pay from the City Patrol Office for now, as long as I keep at it every day, perhaps I can break through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining within six months!

Sitting cross-legged on her bed, Lu Mingyue thought this to herself, greatly treasuring the rich Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi that wreathed Taiping City.

And so Lu Mingyue's first day in Taiping City passed in a flurry of activity.

What Lu Mingyue had not expected, however, was that ten days later, Deng Yuan would hand her a white medicine bottle.

"Normally, the City Patrol Office pays its monthly wages once a month. But since you've only just joined us, and your cultivation is too low, I've decided to distribute this month's pay to you in three installments."

At this point, Deng Yuan pointed at the medicine bottle Lu Mingyue had accepted and explained with a smile:

"Your monthly pay consists of Origin Condensation Pills. These can help you rapidly improve your cultivation during the Qi Refining Stage. You receive three a month. I've given you one now, and I'll issue the remaining two Origin Condensation Pills to you after twenty and thirty days."

Lu Mingyue was both surprised and delighted.

She was surprised that she had already received her monthly pay from the City Patrol Office after arriving only ten days ago. Although it was only a third of the total, any Origin Condensation Pill that earned the approval of someone as powerful as Deng Yuan was clearly an exceptionally good cultivation pill!

Her delight naturally came from the fact that, over these ten days, she had spent her days handling cultivators' corpses, repeatedly depleting her cultivation and recovering it. Combined with her diligent cultivation at night, this had brought her within a single step of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.

Now that she had obtained this Origin Condensation Pill, didn't that mean she had a chance to attempt a breakthrough to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining tonight?

"Thank you for looking after me, Steward Deng!"

At this thought, Lu Mingyue could not help excitedly tightening her grip on the medicine bottle and bowing solemnly to Deng Yuan.

"Go on. If you can break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining sooner, that will be a good thing for our City Patrol Office as well."

Deng Yuan waved with a smile, turned, and returned to the City Patrol Office's main hall, sitting down in that chair again.

Over the past few days, Lu Mingyue had already observed that the chair possessed some sort of formation capable of gathering Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Any cultivator who sat in that chair could refine Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi at all times, which spoke volumes about Deng Yuan's standing in the City Patrol Office!

Tonight, I'll ride this momentum straight through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining!

Since the City Patrol Office provided three meals a day, Lu Mingyue had already eaten her fill. After returning to her rented courtyard residence, she sat cross-legged on the bed and quickly emptied her mind.

"Pop~"

She pulled out the stopper, revealing a lustrous white pill the size of a soybean. Lu Mingyue immediately felt a slight fluctuation in the Origin Power within her.

"So this is an Origin Condensation Pill... it really does have something marvelous about it!"

After carefully examining the pill and confirming that there was no danger, Lu Mingyue tipped back her head and swallowed it.

"Mm!"

In an instant, a strange, wondrous fluctuation spread from Lu Mingyue's abdomen.

"Whoosh~ whoosh~ whoosh~"

Under its influence, Lu Mingyue immediately felt as though a formation had appeared in her abdomen, actually increasing the speed at which she absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi by about fivefold!

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within Taiping City had already been about five times as rich as that in mortal cities.

Now, after Lu Mingyue swallowed the Origin Condensation Pill, the speed at which she absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi increased another fivefold. Taken together, this meant that her cultivation speed was now at least twenty-five times faster than before she came to Taiping City!

What a powerful pill! No wonder Steward Deng only gave me one Origin Condensation Pill. It seems he'd already determined that this single pill would be enough for me to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining!

Utterly astonished, Lu Mingyue dared not waste any more time, racing against every passing second to refine the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi pouring toward her Spirit Mansion.

This was the marvel of the Origin Condensation Pill.

The Origin Condensation Pill seemed to have placed a Spirit Gathering Grand Formation in Lu Mingyue's abdomen. Normally, her Spirit Mansion would not have been able to refine all the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi flooding into her body.

But that single Origin Condensation Pill had also increased Lu Mingyue's Spirit Mansion's refining capacity!

Thus, as the seconds ticked by, the Origin Power within Lu Mingyue's Spirit Mansion grew rapidly.

If the Origin Power in Lu Mingyue's Spirit Mansion had previously been mere wisps of cloud, then, after a certain point, it gradually gathered together and became a mass of cloud.

Although this cloud mass was still somewhat thin, it had coalesced into a whole, becoming several times more substantial than the wisps previously scattered throughout her Spirit Mansion!

"Rustle~"

After an hour had passed, the paper covering the window suddenly rattled under the buffeting of a strong wind, while the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surging toward Lu Mingyue gradually dispersed.

The Origin Condensation Pill's effects had worn off!

Yet at that very moment, Lu Mingyue's cultivation rose to a new level, breaking through from the third layer of Qi Refining to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining!

"Whew~"

Lu Mingyue opened her eyes, and a glint of light flickered deep within them. It was several breaths before her eyes returned to normal.

Lu Mingyue opened her eyes. A faint gleam flashed in their depths, only returning to normal after several breaths.

"The fourth layer of Qi Refining... I've finally broken through!"

"Now I can cast spells more than ten times!"

Previously, Lu Mingyue had possessed only a vague notion of the gap between different cultivation levels.

But after personally breaking through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, she gained a clear understanding.

The simplest and most direct measure was the amount of Origin Power stored in her Spirit Mansion.

At the third layer of the Qi Refining Stage, even with all her strength, Lu Mingyue could only cast spells about five times.

But after reaching the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, Lu Mingyue was certain she could cast spells about ten times!

That twofold difference meant that Lu Mingyue's overall strength had doubled!

"If I break through to the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Stage and encounter Guo Yang and his wife again, it won't be like last time, when I needed Escort Chief Meng and the others to help, and so many people still died... hm?"

As Lu Mingyue was feeling the changes in her cultivation, her delicate brows suddenly furrowed, and she rolled off the bed, landing beside it.

Bang!

The next instant, the tightly closed door abruptly shattered, and a tall figure wielding twin axes charged in from outside.

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