by Imperfection
Inside a meditation chamber within the cave dwelling.
Lü Yang sat cross-legged and began to make his breakthrough.
With the spirit pills in his belly, combined with the essence he had continuously drained from Yun Miaoqing over the past half-month, his cultivation level quickly approached its limit.
Boom!
The next instant, as though he had ascended a step, Lü Yang felt a surge of tremendous True Qi howling through his body, rushing and churning like a mighty river. His spirits soared.
The second layer of Qi Refinement.
There are no bottlenecks before the fourth layer. As long as the resources are sufficient, you can grind your way there given enough time... but from the looks of things, I'm afraid time is something I don't have.
Fairy Qingchen's existence had ignited Lü Yang's sense of crisis.
He would not forget that in his previous life, Liu Xin had broken into his cave dwelling in broad daylight. If Liu Xin could do it, why couldn't Fairy Qingchen?
The cave dwelling isn't reliable either!
The only thing truly reliable is your own cultivation and strength!
With that thought, Lü Yang gritted his teeth. He took out every last remaining pill and swallowed them all in one go, then called Yun Miaoqing over.
While doing this was somewhat wasteful, at least thirty percent of each pill's efficacy would be lost, it would also allow him to raise his cultivation at the fastest possible speed. And in Lü Yang's view, as long as he could break through to the third layer of Qi Refinement, these pills would have served their purpose and not been bought in vain.
Time flew. Three days and three nights passed in the blink of an eye.
During this period, Lü Yang neither ate nor drank, and he drained Yun Miaoqing until she was as limp as soft mud. Finally, he felt himself push through a thin barrier.
"...I've done it!"
Lü Yang turned his gaze inward. Throughout his meridians flowed a vast river of True Qi. It appeared boundless, yet in truth, it could not advance even a hair's breadth further.
At first glance, it was as if his cultivation had reached a state of perfection.
So this is the bottleneck...
One more step would bring him to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, crossing from early to mid-stage. Within the Saint Sect, that was the level of an outstanding disciple, one qualified to hold a position of some standing.
Lü Yang did not pause, nor did he dare relax. He immediately drew out the Innate Primordial Qi.
Keep going!
The Innate Primordial Qi began to circulate. Lü Yang then directed his own True Qi to swallow it whole, watching as his True Qi surged violently, flooding into his Dantian like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.
As the Innate Primordial Qi was steadily consumed, Lü Yang quickly felt the bottleneck, that immovable mountain that had locked him in place, being worn away bit by bit. By the time the Innate Primordial Qi was completely exhausted, the invisible barrier crumbled like melting ice and snow, collapsing in an instant!
In the dim meditation chamber, Lü Yang's eyes snapped open.
His gaze blazed like twin torches, and the empty room seemed to fill with light.
He blinked, and another day and night had passed. Yet from this moment on, Lü Yang's strength was a world apart from what it had been just days ago!
Mid-stage Qi Refinement is nothing like the early stage. They barely feel like the same realm.
Lü Yang sensed the changes within his body, delight written across his face. If the True Qi at the early stage was a stream, then mid-stage is an ocean! It's multiplied more than tenfold! Only at this level can one truly be called a cultivator...
At the early stage, True Qi was limited. Every spell and divine ability had to be used sparingly.
After advancing to mid-stage, such worries were largely a thing of the past. Ordinary spells could be cast at will, and the True Qi consumed could be replenished in a few breaths.
"Excellent! Excellent!"
Lü Yang stepped out of the meditation chamber and produced his white bone flying sword. With a single thought, the sword instantly split into ten streaks of sword light, blanketing the entire cave dwelling.
Whoosh, whoosh!
In an instant, sword light shrieked and slashed through the air. Lü Yang executed the Divine Firmament Sword Control True Art, merging his body with the sword light. For a moment, he felt a sense of exhilaration beyond anything he had known.
I really have to thank Liu Xin for this!
Without this strand of Innate Primordial Qi, perfectly compatible to me, I could never have broken through. I would have been stuck at the third layer for years at the very least!
No wonder Liu Xin abandoned the Ode to the Great Bliss of Yin and Yang in the Mating of the Dragon and Tiger in favor of cultivating the Innate Dao Scripture.
A pity his intentions were impure. Using people as ingredients, who knows how many lives Liu Xin has taken since obtaining it. All of it stemming from that Innate Dao Scripture.
Such an evil art... it ought to belong to me!
A flash of greed surged through Lü Yang's heart.
Not yet. Be patient... next life. There's plenty of time.
Just as Lü Yang was lost in thought, his eyebrow suddenly twitched. He looked toward the cave dwelling's main entrance. One of the sword lights he had scattered had just been disturbed.
Someone's here?
A cold gleam flashed through Lü Yang's eyes, accompanied by a measure of relief. It was fortunate he had acted decisively, choosing to waste resources for the sake of a swift breakthrough.
Had he not, he would still be in closed-door cultivation right now, completely unaware of the outside world. Wouldn't that have been certain death?
Let this be a lesson...
With that thought, Lü Yang swiftly concealed the aura of his freshly achieved breakthrough. However, the killing intent in his heart grew fiercer by the moment, like a hunter lying in wait for prey to walk through his door.
Click.
With a soft sound, the cave dwelling's main entrance was pried open. Three figures slipped inside, one after another.
All three wore black clothes and had masks on. Their True Qi was perfectly suppressed, not a trace leaking out. Watching from the shadows, Lü Yang clicked his tongue in admiration. Had he not already broken through to a higher cultivation level, he probably would not have been able to see through them at all. He might have mistaken them for three ordinary people. Their ability to conceal their auras was truly exquisite.
"..."
The leader of the three made a hand gesture without speaking. The others understood immediately and fanned out, beginning to search the cave dwelling.
Whoosh!
The next instant, the black-clad figure in front saw a blur before his eyes. Then a brilliant streak of sword light came hurtling toward him with a piercing hum!
"Not good!"
The man's expression changed drastically. There was no time to defend. He could only throw himself to the side in an attempt to dodge, but how could a man ever outrun a flying sword?
The sword light flashed. A pillar of blood erupted skyward!
"Mid-stage Qi Refinement!?"
The leader clearly had a keen eye. From the sword light's power and quality alone, he immediately identified Lü Yang's cultivation level and cried out in shock.
At the same time, he was cursing furiously in his mind.
Damn you, Qingchen!
This is supposed to be a newly inducted disciple? A soft persimmon, easy to crush?
And this Lü Yang, he's clearly at mid-stage Qi Refinement! He could have crushed the three of us head-on! And yet he still chose to deceive and ambush us?
What a dog!
Seeing the sword light bearing down on him, the leader formed a hand seal and released a defensive barrier of dark light to protect himself while shouting, "A misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding..."
Boom!
Lü Yang ignored him. The sword light slashed horizontally, shattering the man's protective barrier to the point of collapse. At the same time, a mass of True Qi unfurled from the darkness like crashing waves, coalescing into a massive hand several meters across, its palm lines clearly visible. It seized the second black-clad figure in its grip.
Splat!
The next instant, the great hand clenched. The second attacker burst apart, tendons snapping and bones shattering, red and white spattering everywhere.
Witnessing this brutal scene, the leader's eyes nearly split with rage.
On the other side, Lü Yang wore a look of satisfaction.
This Innate Primordial Qi Great Seizing Technique really is quite something. It doesn't show much power against opponents of the same level, but it's perfect for crushing those at a lower realm.
Even as he reflected, the sword light did not stop.
More than ten streaks of sword light howled through the cave dwelling. The white bone flying sword teleported and flickered between them, giving the leader no room to breathe.
After just a few breaths, the leader was already exhausted. Lü Yang found an opening, commanded his sword to slash, and another pillar of blood shot toward the ceiling.
"Hah... that was dangerous."
Only after it was all over did Lü Yang finally let out a breath of relief. Looking at the corpses and shattered remains strewn across the floor, he reflected on the fight he had just been through and even felt a lingering trace of fear.
Strictly speaking, this was his first time killing anyone.
Although he had rehearsed that sequence of lurking in the dark and launching surprise attacks countless times in private, this was ultimately his first time using it in actual combat.
Objectively speaking, my combat experience is far inferior to those three. At the same realm, forget three of them, I might not even be able to beat one. But as long as I can manage a surprise attack and seize the initiative, forcing them into a contest of raw power, I can still use my higher realm to suppress them with ease.
This is what they mean when they say that competing in spells is not as good as competing in divine abilities, and competing in divine abilities is not as good as competing in Dao Comprehension...
Lü Yang reviewed the battle, summarizing this precious experience of fighting across realms while considering where he could improve. He was certain it would serve him well in his next life.