Cultivation: I have an omnipotent land

Chapter 40 Breakthrough, Late Stage of Qi Refining

The old man steered the small boat toward the center. After passing through a thick fog, a river island suddenly appeared ahead. The island was brightly lit, and people were seen flying away into the sky, while spirit boats sailed in from afar, creating a lively scene.

The two successfully landed on the island. Xiao Ming curiously observed everything around him. Wuyifang, where he used to live, was an undeveloped and desolate area, far less prosperous than this place.

Bai Changnian saw all this and finally felt more confident. It seemed that this young man had never been out before.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, this Qingzhuo Market is a market mainly for cultivators. Even a few mortals are direct descendants of cultivators. On weekdays, cultivators from hundreds of miles around come here to exchange goods. Not only Qi Refining cultivators, but Foundation Establishment cultivators are also frequently seen. There are even rumors that Golden Core experts appear here."

Xiao Ming didn't say anything, but simply kept what he said in mind.

"Given Fellow Daoist Xiao's cultivation level, he must be preparing for the sect selection in a few days."

"Is there some trick to this?" Xiao Ming asked.

"To participate in the selection for the upper sect, one must have an Ascension Certificate. I wonder if you have one?"

"Of course there are."

"Then we should prepare more Qi-restoring pills and talismans. As far as I know, the selection process for the upper sect requires three consecutive rounds of competition to qualify for advancement. Therefore, reducing the consumption of mana is very important," Bai Changnian said after a moment of contemplation.

"You need not worry about this, fellow Daoist; leave it to me."

"In that case, I thank you again, fellow Daoist." Xiao Ming nodded.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, you probably don't have a place to stay yet. Let me recommend a suitable inn to you. The owner and my family have been friends for generations, so you can just pay the fee through my Bai family."

Led by Bai Changnian, Xiao Ming arrived at an inn called Shangkexuan and stayed in the best room.

Bai Changnian then rushed back to report that he was safe and sound, and assured that the promised items would be delivered soon.

After closing the door, Xiao Ming began to observe the room. The room was very luxurious, with all the furniture made of precious wood. There were also some spiritual teas and medicines in the cabinets, but they were charged separately.

Of course, what attracted Xiao Ming's attention the most was the large bed made of white jade. There was also a futon on the bed. Xiao Ming could feel that when he sat on the bed, the spiritual energy around him suddenly became much more abundant. The bed was engraved with a spirit-gathering array.

Xiao Ming sighed inwardly, the conditions here were much better than those in Wuyifang. Sensing the rich spiritual energy around him, he suddenly had an idea.

"There is still a month before the sect entry trial, and the spiritual energy here is so abundant, and I have enough pills and supplies, so why not try to break through here?"

With the combined benefits of elixirs and the water of spiritual eyes, he has now begun to vaguely grasp the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining.

The next battle will be more than one; every bit of strength brings a greater chance of success.

"With ample elixirs and the support of the spirit-gathering array, breaking through shouldn't be a problem."

After swallowing a Spirit Gathering Pill and feeling its effects taking hold in his body, Xiao Ming immediately seized the opportunity to begin meditative cultivation.

As we all know, advancing from the third to the fourth level of Qi Refining and from the sixth to the seventh level of Qi Refining are significant hurdles, which is why Qi Refining is divided into three realms: early, middle, and late stages.

Using his spiritual sense, Xiao Ming looked at the spiritual energy vortex in his dantian. It was as dazzling as a galaxy, and the spiritual energy in the center of the sphere was so dense that it was almost liquefied. At the edge, there were two thick spiritual energy arms that strongly bound the spiritual energy.

Now at the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining, the spiritual energy vortex within my body has reached its limit, and it is impossible to compress it to achieve a new balance.

Under Xiao Ming's control, the spiritual energy within his body was mobilized. Under the control of his spiritual sense, he carefully exerted influence on the spiritual energy vortex. The two spiritual energy arms that were originally suspended became unstable and gradually showed signs of splitting.

Xiao Ming was extremely cautious with this step. Once the spiritual energy in the hanging arm dissipated and turned into turbulence, then forget about breaking through; if his foundation was damaged, it would be good if he could just keep his realm from regressing.

After a long time, just when Xiao Ming felt his spiritual energy was almost exhausted, the two spiritual energy arms finally split into four spiritual energy arms.

In an instant, the suction of the spiritual energy vortex suddenly intensified, and a new spiritual energy vortex with four cantilevered arms appeared, achieving a new balance.

From this moment on, Xiao Ming broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, and was already a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining.

The Spirit Gathering Array continuously supplied spiritual energy, helping Xiao Ming to nurture and consolidate his current realm.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Ming finally opened his eyes and felt the surging magical power within his body, which made him smile with joy.

"The breakthrough went more smoothly than I expected; this spirit-gathering array is indeed powerful."

After ending his seclusion, Xiao Ming patted his stomach, but instead of taking the fasting pill, he went out of his room and ordered a table full of delicious food downstairs to celebrate.

As an inn frequented by cultivators, the food made with spiritual ingredients is naturally incomparable to mortal cuisine.

He devoured the food in a flash, and just as he was enjoying his meal, a voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"May I ask if you are the tenant of room number three in Jiazi?" A servant boy approached at that moment.

"Yes, is there something you need?"

"These were sent by my young master. When he came, he saw a sign on your room saying you were in seclusion, so he left these things behind and asked me to wait here for you during this time," the servant said, bringing out several wooden boxes.

So that's how it is; it was Bai Changnian who sent it.

Xiao Ming opened the wooden box, inside which was a bottle of pills, a stack of talismans, and a jade slip.

Xiao Ming opened the pill and smelled it. A fragrant aroma wafted into his nostrils, and he immediately felt his spiritual energy recover faster.

This is a bottle of excellent Qi-restoring pills.

As for the stack of talismans, Xiao Ming picked up the top cyan talisman to examine it.

"The Wind-Splitting Blade is actually a rare wind-element talisman." Xiao Ming was somewhat surprised.

Although this is only a mid-level talisman, wind magic is a rare spell outside the five elements. If used properly, its power is no less than that of a high-level talisman.

Xiao Ming spread out all the talismans and found that the top three were Wind-Splitting Blade talismans, while the ones below were ordinary fireball talismans.

Clearly, Bai Changnian wasn't generous enough to compensate him with a stack of mid-level talismans, but fortunately, Xiao Ming had more talismans than he could use, so he didn't mind.

What truly interested him was the information contained in the jade slip.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, regarding the selection of the upper sect, I have used some connections privately and also found out some information about the opponents. I hope it will be of use to you."

"May you, fellow Daoist, rise like an ant climbing a ladder, leap over the dragon gate like a fish, and soon become a disciple of the immortal sect."

'This Bai Changnian is really thoughtful.'

Xiao Ming scanned the information with his spiritual sense, memorizing the important details and gaining a better understanding of the situation.

After putting away the jade slip, Xiao Ming touched his storage bag and was about to take out spirit stones.

But the servant immediately took a step back upon seeing this.

"Young master, you mustn't! The young master already instructed me that this is the promised payment. If you pay the money, the young master will skin me alive when he finds out."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ming simply smiled and shook his head.

"It's alright, this is a reward for you. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting these past few days."

After saying this, Xiao Ming tossed two spirit stones to the servant.

"Thank you, young master." Holding two spirit stones in his hands, the servant thanked him repeatedly.