Chapter 79: Qi Refinement Level Nine

With the Two Elements Life and Death Formation at his disposal, Lin Xiao felt slightly more at ease regarding the lingering evil aura. Although he was eager to test the formation's power, the cost of 100 spirit stones held him back. However, he quickly realized that while he couldn't afford to activate it fully, he could practice connecting the formation's nodes with his spiritual energy. This way, when the time came for actual use, he'd be well-prepared and wouldn't be caught off guard.

He placed the formation disk on the ground and began channeling his spiritual energy to connect the nodes. To his surprise, there were 108 nodes in total! When he attempted to connect the first node, he felt his spiritual energy flow into it like a trickling stream, but he also encountered a slight resistance that prevented him from increasing the energy flow.

Lin Xiao realized that this resistance would likely decrease as his cultivation level increased, meaning that higher cultivation would allow him to activate the formation more quickly. After quite some time, he managed to connect the first node and moved on to the next. At this rate, it would take him nearly an hour to fully activate the formation!

Feeling fortunate that he had practiced in advance, Lin Xiao knew that discovering this issue during a real battle would have been disastrous. Despite the time it took, he felt confident that the formation's power would be immense, given the effort required to activate it.

Satisfied with his progress, Lin Xiao stopped and stored the formation disk back in his inventory. Knowing the situation, he decided to save his energy and focus on cultivation.

Quietly, Lin Xiao slipped into the cultivation room and joined the others in meditation. Time flew by, and as the sun dipped below the horizon, a notification from the system echoed in his mind.

[Ding—Congratulations to the host for advancing to Qi Refinement Level Nine]

Having already been on the verge of breaking through, Lin Xiao successfully reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement by the evening of his first day back from the secret realm. Now, the next goal was Foundation Establishment!

Lin Xiao was filled with anticipation. At that moment, the others in the cultivation room also finished their meditation and began to stir. Earlier, when Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao brought Liao Pantu over, it was still cultivation time, so although everyone was curious and had many questions, they had restrained themselves.

Now that the session was over, they gathered around eagerly, bombarding Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao with questions about their adventure in the secret realm. Even Yang Jinshu, who usually kept her composure, couldn't resist standing nearby, listening attentively.

Among the group, only Liao Pantu noticed Lin Xiao's recent breakthrough. He was astonished by the young sect leader's rapid cultivation progress.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao addressed the excited crowd, "Everyone, hold on! We'll have plenty of time to share our tales from the secret realm later. Right now, there's something important I want to show you! Follow me; I've got a surprise for you all."

With that, Lin Xiao led the group out of the cultivation room, and the dozen or so disciples eagerly followed him to the small hill near the sect.

From a distance, they could see the eleven newly constructed houses standing proudly on the hillside. As they approached, Lin Xiao explained that these would be their living quarters within the sect, and the excitement among the group reached a fever pitch.

For the teenage boys, the prospect of having their own rooms was especially thrilling. Having a personal space, away from their families, was a dream come true.

Lin Xiao waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and choose your rooms!"

With that, the disciples sprinted up the hill, rushing to claim a room for themselves. Only Lin Yun, Yang Jinshu, and Sun Yigao remained calmly by Lin Xiao's side.

From atop the hill, the sounds of playful bickering could be heard as the disciples scrambled to choose their rooms.

After the excitement died down, and everyone had selected a room, the group began to make their way back home under the moonlight.

Liao Pantu became the first official resident of the disciples' dormitory. Xiao Luan, however, found Liao's half-black, half-white face a bit intimidating and decided to return to its nest near the entrance of the sect, choosing not to share a room with him.

When Lin Xiao returned home, he once again brought up the topic of cultivation with his father during dinner.

"Dad, even Aunt Yang has started cultivating. How come you're still hesitating?" Lin Xiao teased.

Lin Dayou felt a vein throb on his forehead as he suppressed the urge to smack his son. He took a big bite of his steamed bun and glared at Lin Xiao. "If I go up the mountain to cultivate, who's going to take care of the fields? You think you can handle it?"

Lin Xiao immediately replied, "I can do it! It's just weeding, fertilizing, and watering. I've got it covered!"

Lin Dayou snorted, "You? I'm worried you'll drown my crops with that magic of yours."

Lin Yun chimed in, "Dad, I'll go with him. I'll keep an eye on Second Brother."

Seeing his eldest son so cooperative, Lin Dayou finally relented. "Alright, but remember, you two better not mess up the fields!"

The next day, Lin Dayou made his way up the mountain to begin his cultivation. When he saw the newly constructed dormitory near the main hall, he couldn't help but feel a mix of pride and amazement. Just a month ago, his son had been asking him to build a simple house, and now he had managed to construct an entire hillside of buildings on his own.

For a moment, Lin Dayou considered visiting the ancestral graveyard to share his newfound pride with his late wife.

Upon reaching the sect, Lin Dayou was unsurprisingly handed over to Sun Yigao for instruction. He and Lin Lei joined Sun in learning the basics of reading and practicing the "Peach Blossom Void Technique," just like the others. Although Sun Yigao had since switched to cultivating the "Original Source Scripture," he had once practiced the "Peach Blossom Void Technique" himself and was well-equipped to guide them.