Chapter 24: Cultivating Qi at the Fourth Level

Guan Sheng fell silent, and it took him a long time before he let out a sigh.

"Did I really overthink it?"

"Was that kid really experiencing alchemy enlightenment that day, and not deliberately avoiding me by staying indoors?"

"And he left early without saying goodbye because he felt guilty towards me?"

"Jiang De's matter has nothing to do with him?"

"This?!"

"It seems reasonable, but it also seems somewhat wrong."

Guan Sheng racked his brain but couldn't figure out the truth.

"Never mind, Guan Di doesn't know about my situation, so the content of his letter should be true."

"Regardless of whether the kid's words are true or not, I can only accept it."

"Or rather, for now, I can only treat his words as true."

Guan Sheng put away the pill in front of him and temporarily set aside his intention to kill Han Yi.

There's no need for more trouble.

If there's an opportunity in the future, we'll see then.

…

On the other hand.

About half a month later.

Inside a quiet room within the courtyard where Han Yi resides at Little Lingxu Peak.

The Sword Immortal Sword Control scroll is hanging on the wall.

In the center of the quiet room, a young man in his early twenties sits on a cushion, with shattered spirit stones scattered around him.

At some point, the spirit stones surge and tremble like they're breathing.

Then all the spirit energy is crazily compressed and absorbed into the body of the young man sitting in the center, just like a whale inhaling and gulping water.

Of course, the young man is Han Yi.

He suddenly opens his eyes, and a void with a white light flashes by. The light disappears in an instant as if it was just an illusion.

"Huff!"

Han Yi exhales a long, cloudy breath, which lasts for a long time before it finally stops.

With the release of this cloudy breath, a cultivator's aura unique to the 4th level of Qi Cultivation flows out from him.

This aura might not be stable yet, but there's no doubt that it has reached the standard of the fourth level.

"Fourth level of Qi Cultivation, finally achieved."

A smile of joy spreads across Han Yi's face.

After more than a year of crossing over, he has finally completed the first cultivation threshold, that is, advancing from the Low stage of Qi Cultivation to the Middle stage of Qi Cultivation.

Han Yi doesn't stop there.

He consolidates his cultivation base until he feels that his aura has stabilized, and then stops.

By this time, two months have passed since he closed himself off for cultivation.

Time flies when cultivating.

He's gradually getting used to it.

After consolidating his cultivation base, Han Yi checks the items on his body and sighs.

Cultivation costs too much money.

At this moment, there are only a dozen spirit stones left on his body.

Considering the fortune he had saved up earlier, as well as the spirit stones and spirit sand materials obtained from Jiang De's storage bag, it was only enough to sustain him for such a short period of time.

You have to know, including the spirit stones he had on him, there were nearly two hundred.

Even in Xuandan Sect, only relatively wealthy outer disciples of the fifth or sixth level could accumulate such wealth over a long period of time.

Considering other third and fourth level outer disciples who practice frugally every day, it's no wonder that it's extremely difficult for them to advance in their realms.

Han Yi sighs, not because he's worried about his upcoming cultivation, but because he feels empathy towards the difficulty faced by the outer disciples while cultivating.

However, this is no longer an issue for him.

Before going for the assessment, he had purchased thirty sets of Nurturing Qi Pill materials and twenty sets of exorcise evil spirits pill materials. During the assessment process, he only used one set of Nurturing Qi Pill materials and still had many raw materials available for alchemy.

These are his startup capital.

What he relies on, of course, is his Alchemy Skill.

First, he looks at the Proficiency Panel after breaking through.

[Name: Han Yi]

[Lifespan: 22/93]

[Realm: 4th Layer of Qi Cultivating (1/100)]

[Cultivation Technique: Fire Profound Skill (Proficiency 48/100)]

[Skills:

Alchemy Skill (Enter the Hall 78/100)

Spirit Void Finger (Mastering 1/100)

Sword Control Skill (Peeking Through the Doorway 34/100)]

]

Seeing the [Realm] clearly showing [Qi Cultivating Fourth Layer], his face was filled with relief.

It was truly not easy.

After that.

He looked up.

"My lifespan increased by four years, from 89 to 93."

"And…"

"Unknowingly, a year has already passed. I'm 22 now."

Han Yi suddenly thought of his family in the other world, feeling as if something was stuck in his throat.

A moment later, he adjusted his mindset and looked at the panel again.

"The [Enter the Hall]of my Alchemy Skill has progressed to 78/100 proficiency."

"If this skill advanced to the [Mastering] level like the Spirit Void Finger, would it mean that the pills I refine would always be of standard quality or above?"

Upon thinking this, Han Yi's heart raced.

Keep in mind.

In the Xuandan Sect, only the most outstanding disciples of the Inner Peak were generally able to refine standard-quality pills.

Furthermore.

Not every furnace could produce standard-quality pills.

When that time came, it would mean that apart from his cultivation base, Han Yi's pill refining skills would be more than enough to join the Inner Peak.

He wouldn't go to Little Dragon Whisker Peak, Little Green Cloud Peak or Little Raging Fire Peak, as they were all Outer Peaks.

But if there was an opportunity to enter the Inner Peak, he would strive for it with all his might.

Of course.

This would require him to guarantee his own safety and not expose his terrifying alchemy skills prematurely.

Otherwise, his cultivation base of the fourth layer of Qi Cultivating would be like a sheep entering a wolf pack when going to the Inner Peak where the majority had at least the seventh layer of Qi Cultivating. He might even be completely devoured, leaving behind nothing.

For now, it's best to lay low.

Han Yi thought.

With the help of the Proficiency Panel, he had a comprehensive understanding of his current situation.

As a result, he was very satisfied.

Afterward, Han Yi began refining pills, benefiting from his [Enter the Hall]-level Alchemy Skill. He now succeeded in refining Nurturing Qi Pills 80% of the time, occasionally producing some standard-quality Nurturing Qi Pills.

Additionally, his success rate for refining Exorcise Evil Spirits Pill had reached 30%.

This time, in good condition, he successfully refined seven of the twenty Exorcise Evil Spirits Pills, two more than when he was in Mengshan City.

In part, it was due to his increased power and improved pill-refining skills. The other reason was because, upon returning to Little Lingxu Peak, he felt as comfortable as being home, and his performance was at its best.

Using less than half a month's time, he had refined all the pills. During this process, whenever his spiritual power was depleted, he quickly recovered using the remaining spirit stones.

Half a month later.

The final Spirit Stone on Han Yi crumbled to dust, and before him lay twenty-three bottles of Nurturing Qi Pills and seven bottles of Exorcise Evil Spirits Pills, among which there were three bottles of standard-quality pills.

This was his current net worth.

After organizing his things, he left the courtyard, only to meet Zheng Hai looking for him.

"Well, Han Yi, I heard that you passed the assessment and returned to the sect. How did you do it?"

Zheng Hai's face was as dark as ever.

Instead of directly answering, Han Yi took a good look at Zheng Hai, smiling, "Not bad, you've reached Qi Cultivating Third Layer."

Zheng Hai's aura had reached the Third Layer of Qi Cultivating, and it seemed that he had broken through for about half a year now.

When Han Yi left the mountain back then, Zheng Hai was at the peak of the Second Layer of Qi Cultivating, preparing to break through to the third layer.

Seeing his breakthrough now, Han Yi was naturally happy for him.

Speaking of which.

In his past life, Han Yi probably had only one and a half friends in this world, Zheng Hai being one and Guan Di half.

"Of course, it took me all my effort to break through to the Third Layer."

"But Han Yi, what's up with your aura?"

Zheng Hai frowned. The aura on Han Yi was similar to that of the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivating disciples he had seen from the Outer Peaks.

But how could that be possible?

It had only been a year, and it seemed like he had become a completely different person.

Han Yi grinned. In front of his friends, he absolutely enjoyed flaunting himself.

"You're not mistaken, I'm at the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivating."

"And not only that, my Alchemy Skill has also broken through. Now, I can easily refine Nurturing Qi Pills."

"Don't even mention a hundred points. Right now, several high-ranking Outer Peak Qi Cultivating senior brothers have invited me to live with them, and I've rejected them all."

"In the future, not only the Outer Peaks but even the Inner Peaks will have a place for me."

"What is the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivating? Achieving the High Qi Cultivation is just a matter of time. Immortal Path Foundation Building is no longer a dream."

"Don't worry, I'll take you to fly in the future."

These words from Han Yi sent waves of shock through Zheng Hai's heart.