Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Breakthrough, Late-Stage Qi Cultivation!
This time Ji Yuan didn’t rent a lakeside cottage; instead, he chose a courtyard within the Jingde Square’s market.
Houses in Cloud Rain Marsh aren’t worth much, nor is the land, but safety is valuable.
So naturally, courtyards in this market are quite a bit more expensive.
Even though Ji Yuan only rented it for one month, it still cost him a full 5 Spirit Stones.
After the two settled in for half a day, they sat together in the main hall to discuss. Qiu Qianhai thought for a moment and said, "You break through first."
"Time is tight. If anything unexpected happens, as long as you have late-stage Qi Cultivation strength, you’ll have nothing to fear from anyone."
"But if I break through first, even if I reach the sixth layer of Qi Cultivation, it won’t make a difference."
That’s exactly how it was, so Ji Yuan didn’t argue any further.
"Alright, I’ll be counting on you."
With that, he got up and walked into the adjacent room, then drew out several sheets of white paper from his Storage Bag labeled [Enlightenment Room], [Talisman Room], and [Pigsty].
He stuck the [Talisman Room] sheet on the wall; with the effect amplified, he first drew more than a dozen first-tier low-grade Calm Heart Talismans.
After putting away the white papers, he stuck a Silence Charm on the wall, and another Calm Heart Talisman on himself.
With his mind settled, he activated the effect of [Cave Mansion].
Soon after, he took out six low-grade Spirit Stones from the Storage Bag.
This breakthrough to late-stage Qi refining was going to need a lot of Spirit Stones; he didn’t even bother with his Spirit Eggs anymore.
For someone already at the sixth layer of Qi Cultivation, the Spiritual Qi provided by the Green-Yellow Chicken Spirit Pig just wasn’t enough.
He first held three Spirit Stones in each hand. With six Spirit Stones clearing the way, once his meridians and Dantian were enlivened, Ji Yuan drew out six more low-grade Spirit Stones.
Continuing like this, after absorbing thirty low-grade Spirit Stones in a row, Ji Yuan felt he was thoroughly warmed up.
He then pulled out two mid-grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag.
These mid-grade Spirit Stones were also milky white, but compared to the low-grade ones, they had far fewer impurities and a much purer kind of milkiness.
When these mid-grade Spirit Stones are taken from the Hundred Treasures Tower, they’re always kept in Jade Boxes.
This is to prevent their Spiritual Qi from leaking away.
Now, just holding them in his hands, Ji Yuan could feel the surge of pure Spiritual Qi.
Without another word, he immediately started circulating the Jade Sea Tide Generation Skill. As pure Spiritual Qi rushed into his meridians, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but let out a satisfied moan.
For Ji Yuan, who’d always been absorbing low-grade Spirit Stones—even starting with eating eggshells—this was his first time drawing in mid-grade Spirit Stones.
It was just like a car that’s always been filled with 92-octane gas, suddenly being fueled with 98... utterly refreshing.
Truly, absolutely refreshing.
And these mid-grade Spirit Stones held a vast amount of Spiritual Qi—even after half a day of Ji Yuan working hard to absorb them, they hardly seemed diminished at all.
He was doing his utmost to break through.
Outside, Qiu Qianhai was cultivating too, but after every round, he’d get up to walk around and check things out.
But the more he cultivated, the more often he got up; and he kept frowning, as if he was struggling with something.
Later on, he simply stopped staying inside, instead heading to the front gate.
The two had come to Jingde Square to break through mostly on a whim; they hadn’t made much preparation, let alone anyone else.
So, guardian duties were actually pretty uneventful.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Taian Square, Shop Number Jia-18.
Yao Jingfeng and Du Wanyi sat facing each other.
"There’s no problem inviting Ji Yuan. With his array, even while at sixth-layer Qi Cultivation, he can fight with late-stage Qis. Now he’s about to break through too."
Yao Jingfeng tapped his fingers lightly on the table as he spoke.
"Three years... Next time the Water Dragon Sect selects, it’ll be our turn. I’m guessing Ji Yuan will join too. By then, the three of us will be fellow disciples in the Mutual Aid Association."
"Mm."
Du Wanyi nodded gently. "So when the time comes, we might as well come clean with him, and keep our walks and contacts frequent."
"Good idea. Don’t forget Luo Tian. As for the others... we’ll see. Without real luck or strength, forget it."
"Alright. Only thing is, Ji Yuan already offended the Qin Family. What about Blind Qin?"
Du Wanyi wasn’t worried about the Qin Family, but Blind Qin at peak Qi refining... Especially since he only had a few years left to live. That made it tricky.
When this type loses it, who’d dare go all out with him?
"It’s fine."
Yao Jingfeng smiled. "That old blind man doesn’t want his branch to die off either—he knows the score."
"Worst case, I can ask Han Feiyu to come back."
"That works."
...
Meanwhile—
Zengtou City, in the Qin Family main hall.
Qin Long, at late-stage Qi Cultivation, and Blind Qin’s adopted son He Laosan, listened quietly as Qin Wei described Ji Yuan.
"So now Zengtou City has a guy like Ji Yuan rising up, and we didn’t know a thing beforehand."
Qin Long frowned and spoke in a low voice.
"That’s not quite true. Back when the Water Dragon Sect was recruiting, there were rumors that Ji Yuan caught the eye of two Water Dragon disciples at once, but you were recuperating then, so maybe you missed it."
He Laosan explained, "But the word going around was just that he was picked by two Water Dragon Sect disciples; no mention of his ties with Qiu Qianhai."
"Plus, the Wu Family even went out of their way to bond with him."
"Wu Family?"
Qin Wei seemed to recall something and turned to Qin Long. "Dad, should I call Lu Wan over and ask? She should know about the Wu Family, and I think she knows Ji Yuan personally too."
He Laosan quickly turned to look at Qin Wei; clearly, that could be a lead.
But Qin Long shook his head, voice sinking. "Ji Yuan managed to kill both Huda and Zhang Kai, and the Liu Brothers from Qingbo Pond probably fell to him too... That means he most likely has late-stage Qi Cultivation strength."
"If that’s so, the Mutual Aid group probably already contacted him—like Du Wanyi."
"Mutual Aid Association?!"
Qin Wei’s eyes lit up at once. Outsiders may not know about the Association, but as direct Qin lineage, of course he did.
The Mutual Aid Association! If you’re invited, it means you must have late-stage Qi Cultivation power.
Ji Yuan is only sixth-layer but could be invited—doesn’t that mean he’s assured a spot in the Water Dragon Sect?
"Then this isn’t something we can decide anymore." He Laosan said slowly.
Qin Long immediately stood up. "Yeah, I’ll go ask Dad what to do. If Ji Yuan breaks through to late-stage, we’ll have trouble even touching Qiu Qianhai."
Afterwards, about a stick of incense’s time passed.
Qin Long returned; Qin Wei hurried over to ask, "Dad, what did Grandpa say?"
Not just him—even He Laosan pricked up his ears.
"Ji Yuan’s wings have spread; we’re out of options now. Let him be. As for Qiu Qianhai... Dad said he’ll handle it himself."
Before long Qin Wei left. When Qin Long was also about to go, He Laosan seized a moment to ask, "Second Brother, you mean Dad will personally deal with Qiu Qianhai?"
Qin Long paused. "Mm."
"You’re wondering if Dad is the sort who takes revenge for his grandson, huh?"
Qin Long turned and smiled.
He Laosan hurried to deny it, "Dad’s definitely that sort! It’s just... I keep feeling like there’s more to it."
"I’ve wondered about it too, even asked Dad, but he wouldn’t say."
Qin Long walked back to the table, then softly asked, "Third Brother, do you know something?"
He Laosan was silent for a while, then finally said, "It might have to do with that heritage years ago—and Eldest Brother’s death."
"What?!"
"..."
Half a month flew by in a blink.
On this day, Qiu Qianhai, meditating in the courtyard, suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked towards the house, brimming with delight.
Because from inside, he sensed an aura that made even him nervous.
Late-stage Qi refining!
That’s... Ji Yuan has broken through!
——
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