Chapter 66: Breaking Through to the Qi Gathering Realm

Chu Xing returned to the quiet courtyard arranged for him by the Pill Hall and closed the courtyard gate, shutting out all the chaos and commotion of the outside world.

He let out a long, stale breath, and his tense nerves finally relaxed completely.

The confrontation in the alchemy room today, though seemingly full of prestige and glory, was actually fraught with danger at every step. Whether it was Elder Chen Xuan's questioning or Pei Linfeng's aggressive pressing, the slightest mistake would have led to a disastrous end from which there was no recovery.

"Strength..."

Chu Xing slowly clenched his fists, feeling the vital energy within his body that still remained at the peak of the ninth stage of Body Tempering, a trace of urgency flashing through his eyes.

Without absolute strength, all scheming and tactics were nothing more than castles in the air.

After some thought, although the Pill Hall courtyard was rich in spiritual energy, it was after all a place with many eyes and ears. What he was going to do next would cause too much of a commotion and must never be spied upon by others.

The secret cave in the back mountain was the safest choice.

Having made up his mind, he quietly left the courtyard and slipped away with familiar ease toward that secluded place in the back mountain.

Inside the familiar secret cave, the spiritual spring trickled and chimed, and the air was filled with a refreshing and invigorating fragrance.

Chu Xing skillfully used a giant boulder to block the cave entrance completely, and only then did he truly set his mind at ease.

Sitting cross-legged in front of the herb garden he had cleared out, he slowly closed his eyes, his mind stirring as he began to take stock of the harvest from this trip.

First was within the chaotic space of his Dantian.

Sinking his consciousness inward, he saw that in the hazy, gray space, a small mountain piled with over three hundred lower-grade spiritual stones was emitting a crystalline glow. These were all looted from Lu Mingchuan and Luo Shouyao back at the Myriad Treasures Market.

Beside the mountain of spiritual stones, several exquisite jade bottles lay quietly, and what they contained were precisely the three bottles of Yellow-tier lower-grade pills won from Pei Linfeng.

With a thought from Chu Xing, one of the jade bottles engraved with the words "Qi Gathering" appeared in his hand. Opening the stopper, a rich medicinal fragrance rushed toward his face, instantly refreshing his spirit.

"Yellow-tier lower-grade Qi Gathering Pills!" Chu Xing's eyes lit up.

This was an absolute treasure to assist in breaking through to the Qi Gathering Realm! Ordinary inner sect disciples had to painstakingly accumulate over a hundred contribution points just to exchange for a single one!

"As expected, alchemists are full of good things!"

He praised inwardly with satisfaction and put the jade bottle away. These pills were the best stepping stones for his current breakthrough to the Qi Gathering Realm!

Having finished tallying the pills, his consciousness drifted toward the center of the space.

Looking at this full pool of precious liquid that he had looted down to the very last drop, the corners of Chu Xing's mouth could not help but curve slightly upward.

This was the accumulation of thirty years of medicinal essence! Not only could it heal injuries and replenish vital energy, but long-term consumption could also improve one's physique, cleanse the marrow, and wash the bones.

"If just a few drops of this thing leaked out, I'm afraid it would be enough to make those inner sect disciples fight tooth and nail for it, wouldn't it?"

Chu Xing thought to himself. This was an entire pool!

This was truly his greatest harvest from this trip!

Finally, Chu Xing's consciousness sank into his own mind.

There, a blood-colored imprint filled with an endless intent of slaughter was quietly lying dormant.

Yellow-tier lower-grade martial skill—Blood-Devouring Strike!

Having tallied all his gains, even with Chu Xing's resilient temperament, his heart still surged with heat at this moment, and his breathing grew rapid.

He had struck it rich!

What he needed to do now was to convert all of this into his own true strength as quickly as possible!

A sharp light flashed in his eyes as he poured out all three bottles of pills in one go. There were a full nine of them, and he swallowed them all into his stomach at once!

If any alchemist were to see this scene, they would probably drop their jaws in shock on the spot! Consuming Yellow-tier pills of different medicinal properties mixed together, the violent medicinal force would be enough to blow up the meridians of even a Qi Gathering Realm cultivator!

Boom!

A majestic torrent of medicinal force erupted in his stomach like a volcanic explosion!

"Refine for me!"

Chu Xing let out a low roar, and the cultivation technique within his body circulated frantically!

Before that violent torrent of medicinal force could run amok, it was locked down tightly by the giant whirlpool formed by his cultivation technique!

The pure medicinal force was rapidly absorbed, turning into streams of warm current that scoured his meridians, pushing his cultivation—which had long reached its peak—toward an unprecedented apex!

An hour later, when the medicinal power of the dozen or so pills had been completely absorbed, Chu Xing slowly opened his eyes.

The vital energy within his Dantian became increasingly condensed and solid. Under the impact of the vital energy, that sturdy barrier leading to the Qi Gathering Realm had begun to shake violently, ready to shatter at any moment!

"Still a bit lacking! Just this final push is missing!"

An unprecedented brilliance erupted in Chu Xing's eyes!

With a thought, the Myriad Pill Spirit Liquid appeared out of thin air, hanging quietly in front of him.

Advancing from Body Tempering to Qi Gathering was the first major transformation in one's martial arts career, and it had to be built on the most solid foundation using the best resources!

Taking a deep breath, he calmed his churning emotions and cautiously guided a hair-thin stream of liquid from that mass of Myriad Pill Spirit Liquid.

As soon as the liquid stream touched his hand, it turned into a majestic, warm, yet extremely difficult-to-control torrent of energy, rushing fiercely along his arm and into his meridians!

"Such overbearing medicinal power!"

Chu Xing's heart tightened; he hurriedly reined in his focus and pushed his cultivation technique to its absolute limit!

That violent torrent of energy roared and surged within the newly opened meridian channels of his body, frantically assaulting every corner of him.

If it were any ordinary Body Tempering disciple who dared to consume it so directly and boldly, they probably would have had their meridians burst by this force and died on the spot!

However, Chu Xing's physique—which had been tempered a thousand times over by the gray medicinal mist—exhibited astonishing resilience! Though his meridians ached faintly from being stretched, they never showed any signs of collapse; instead, under the scouring of this majestic energy, they became even wider!

Daring not to harbor the slightest carelessness, he ran through full cultivation cycles over and over again according to the trajectory of the technique, attempting to completely tame this violent beast.

This was an immensely difficult process of exploration.

The energy level of the Myriad Pill Spirit Liquid was far too high; even though it was gentle, it was not something his current realm could easily control. Several times, that energy almost broke free of his control, rampaging wildly through his meridians and causing him to break out in cold sweats from the pain.

During this process, the Source-Devouring Bead in his Dantian also played a huge role. Whenever the energy was about to spin out of control, the Source-Devouring Bead would spontaneously emit a gentle suction force to forcefully stabilize it.

As the energy circulated, wisps of gray mist were also stripped away from the pure Myriad Pill Spirit Liquid.

"Body Tempering!"

A thought stirred in Chu Xing, and without wasting a shred, he immediately split off a portion of his consciousness to guide this medicinal mist, blending it into his tendons, bones, flesh, and blood!

Hiss!

An excruciating pain, akin to ten thousand ants devouring one's bones, erupted simultaneously with the bloating pain of energy scouring!

Chu Xing gritted his teeth hard, his body trembling violently and uncontrollably. He could clearly feel his bones crying out, only to be rapidly reorganized under that majestic vitality, becoming even denser!

Time slowly slipped away in this dry and painful cultivation.

I know not how much time had passed, but when Chu Xing had completely refined the energy of that thread of Myriad Pill Spirit Liquid, the vital energy in his Dantian had already filled to an unprecedented apex!

That sturdy barrier leading to the Qi Gathering Realm, which had troubled him for so long, now felt as thin as a cicada's wing in his perception, tottering on the verge of collapse.