95: breakthrough

"Third Miss!"

Meeting him head-on, Zhou Luo bowed.

Although he was her Senior Brother and his Pill Refining talent was higher than hers, she was a direct descendant of the Lin Family, while he was just an outsider son-in-law.

If he wanted to continue staying in the Lin Family, he still needed to pay attention to this difference in status.

Lin Xin glanced at him, and thinking of what her good sister had told her last night, infinite curiosity arose in her heart.

However, thinking of Wang Yuwei's instructions, she still held back from asking about the two of them, only asking, "How many types of Pills have you refined?"

"Six types," Zhou Luo lied.

"So many?" Lin Xin's voice rose, a hint of shock flashing across her face.

Today, she hadn't rested for a moment and had only refined four types so far.

As a result, the other party had two more types than her.

Could his talent really be this high?

Zhou Luo lowered his head and remained silent.

She was already so surprised by just six types; if she knew he had finished refining all ten types and even took the Time to refine six Gathering Spirit Pills...

...wouldn't this Third Miss go crazy?

To avoid provoking the other party, Zhou Luo changed the subject and said, "Third Miss, what are you preparing to do now?"

"I'm getting some air."

After Lin Xin finished speaking, she quickly turned around and rushed into the room.

Bang—

The door closed, leaving Zhou Luo looking bewildered.

Just getting some air?

He shook his head and walked towards the room opposite.

Inside the room, the disheartened Lin Xin stood before the Pill Furnace, her proud little face filled with deep unwillingness.

After repeated Pill Refining failures, she originally wanted to go out to ease her mood and relax.

But now, her mood had become even heavier.

Lin Xin tried her best to calm her mood, settle her mind, and continued Pill Refining without daring to be negligent in the slightest.

She certainly didn't want to fail to complete her Pill Refining assignment on the first day.

...

Returning to the room, after Zhou Luo closed the door, he let Bai out.

Although he was worried that people from the Immortal Sect would discover Bai's identity, if it was just inside the room, they certainly wouldn't be so bored as to investigate.

The Bai that ran out obediently lay on Zhou Luo's lap, squinting its eyes and enjoying Zhou Luo's petting.

Zhou Luo took out a Spirit Beast Pill and put it into its mouth.

Meow—

After taking the Spirit Pill, Bai's whole body glowed faintly, then quickly became silent.

At the same Time, its body temperature rose sharply, spiritual energy echoed within its body, emitting a surging aura.

This kind of Spirit Pill could help it grow faster, and Spirit Beasts, unlike humans, didn't need to worry about the issue of taking too many Pills.

Zhou Luo planned to feed Bai a Spirit Pill every day from now on.

After all, this little guy had the potential to advance to the Third-Order.

After eating the Spirit Pill, Bai fell into a deep sleep, slowly absorbing the medicinal effects.

Zhou Luo placed it on the bed and reattached the soundproofing talisman to the wall.

After doing all this, he didn't choose to take the Gathering Spirit Pill now, planning to do so after submitting his assignment.

So he left the room and returned to the Pill Refining Room.

Bored, he picked up the record book and checked it again from beginning to end, making sure there were no flaws.

And he kept all the remaining 'evidence' aside.

As the sun set in the west, everyone walked out of the Pill Refining Room one after another.

Zheng Tingtao arrived gracefully, dressed in a green robe, and began inspecting everyone's results.

Zhou Luo lowered his head, feeling a little uneasy.

He was afraid that the other party would discover that he had secretly taken medicinal ingredients to refine Pills.

Fortunately, the other party had no reaction, so they likely hadn't discovered it.

Only Lin Xin was pitiful.

Because she had only completed the refining of eight types of Pills, she hadn't reached the target.

After the inspection, Zheng Tingtao showed no mercy to this newcomer who was the only one who hadn't completed the task.

He deprived her of the right to eat.

As for the Pills refined by everyone, they were all submitted.

Regarding this point, Zhou Luo couldn't help but inwardly complain about how stingy the Immortal Sect was in this regard.

But thinking carefully, it was also understandable.

Although the Azure Origin Sect was wealthy and powerful, the medicinal ingredients for everyone's refining were supplied in unlimited quantities. If these Pills weren't submitted...

...it would be fine for a day or two, but after a Nian, even the Immortal Sect would feel the pinch, right?

Submitting these Pills was nothing more than recovering some 'blood'.

In the end, the Sect actually didn't profit.

Zheng Tingtao left, and Lin Xin stood still, her lips pursed, her face full of disappointment and unwillingness.

Wang Yuwei was beside her, gently comforting her.

Zhou Luo, on the other hand, quickly fled the scene, afraid of incurring the displeasure of this Third Miss.

Inside the room.

Bai was still asleep, but its body was continuously emitting a soft glow, and there were faint spiritual energy fluctuations on its originally smooth fur.

To prevent others from discovering anything unusual, Zhou Luo quickly put it back into his pet bag.

Immediately, he sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion.

Previously, because he lacked Materials, he had never refined Spirit Pills that could effectively enhance Cultivation.

Now, looking at the Gathering Spirit Pill in his hand, he was in a great mood and decisively swallowed one of them.

The Spirit Pill melted upon entering his mouth and went straight into his body.

Zhou Luo immediately circulated the Gathering Spirit Art, and at the same Time, the Fire Spirit Ring on his left ring finger also emitted a red light.

As the art circulated, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to converge towards him.

At the same Time, the medicinal effects of the Gathering Spirit Pill took effect, and a surging power erupted from within his body, passing through his Meridians and rushing towards his internal organs.

Zhou Luo only felt endless spiritual energy appearing out of thin air, like a breached river, surging out along his Meridians, completely without needing his guidance, it could circulate through his body on its own.

At the same Time, this portion of spiritual energy also drove the spiritual energy of heaven and earth absorbed by the Gathering Spirit Art and the Fire Spirit Ring.

The benefit of this was that the speed at which his body circulated spiritual energy and absorbed it into his Qi Sea Dantian reached a terrifying level.

As for the drawback, his thin Meridians couldn't withstand so much spiritual energy for a Time and began to swell violently.

On Zhou Luo's fair skin, veins bulged, and the originally inconspicuous blood vessels also became visible, looking somewhat hideous and terrifying.

He let out a painful groan, feeling as if turbulent waves were surging in, and his internal organs were about to explode. The widened Qi Sea and Meridians caused him immense pain.

The pale-faced Zhou Luo could only repeatedly circulate the Gathering Spirit Art to quickly consume the vast spiritual energy within his body.

Time passed minute by minute. Having gone through the most painful moment, Zhou Luo kept gasping for breath, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Fortunately, with the help of the Gathering Spirit Art, he digested the absorbed spiritual energy without mishap.

And he, who was originally only at the Qi Training Third Layer mid-stage, actually broke through easily, reaching the Late Stage Realm.

Zhou Luo suddenly opened his eyes, his chest heaving unevenly, and the intense pain throughout his body had not yet dissipated.

He looked at the remaining Gathering Spirit Pill with lingering fear.

He hadn't expected that with the combined help of Pills, Cultivation Methods, and Magic Treasures, it would bring such terrifying results.

He wasn't prepared at all.

Fortunately, everything was within the range of tolerance, but the feeling was truly unpleasant.

"When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility upon a one, it must first embitter their will..."

Zhou Luo couldn't help but recall an ancient saying from his previous life.

He lowered his head and looked at the purple-gold magic robe he had pulled open. The white shirt underneath was already covered in blood, a truly tragic sight.

Taking out a cleansing talisman, Zhou Luo removed the dirt from his entire body, and he was refreshed once again.

Hoo—

He exhaled a mouthful of stale air, put away the remaining Gathering Spirit Pill, stretched his body, stood up from the meditation cushion, walked to the table, and brewed himself a cup of spiritual tea.

Cultivation emphasizes gradual progress, accumulating insights and magic power, and then achieving a Breakthrough through accumulation is the right path.

Blindly relying on Pills, although it can rapidly increase strength in a short Time, will also damage the Foundation and harm the root of Cultivation.

Therefore, Pills are only auxiliary and cannot be used frequently.

Tasting the spiritual tea, Zhou Luo felt the pain in his body gradually dissipating.

It was just a pity that although the medicinal ingredients here were complete, he was still missing several rare treasures needed for the second stage of the Giant Bear Body Refining Art. Otherwise, he could have used this Nian's Time to break through the second stage.

Currently, he had completed the tempering of the first stage of the Giant Bear Body Refining Art, and his Physical Body could already withstand the attacks of a Qi Refining Fifth Layer Cultivator.

But it was far from enough.

Ever since he saw that the Immortal Sect had such complete medicinal ingredients.

Zhou Luo felt that if he could find all the rare Materials for the later stages of the Body Refining Art here, he would make a fortune.

After all, several of the Materials inside were very scarce on the market and often out of stock.

Unfortunately, he couldn't leave here.

If only he could entrust someone to go out and buy these Materials for him.

Zhou Luo pondered whether he should try to make friends with the Sect Disciples in the front courtyard...

But soon, he decisively gave up this idea.

They were Immortal Sect Disciples, while he was an outsider. Their status was vastly different.

If he really went to make friends, the other party would definitely look down on him.

It would be awkward if he ended up with a 'warm face against a cold butt'.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Zhou Luo continued Cultivation.

This Time, his Cultivation wasn't as intense as it was at the beginning. He still needed to slowly digest the remaining spiritual energy.

This was a long-term process.

...

In the days that followed.

Everyone had to go to the area next to the Cultivation area every day to receive their 'assignment' and submit the Spirit Pills they refined before the sun set.

This was a huge challenge for Lin Xin, who hadn't completed her assignment on the first day.

Fortunately, under Wang Yuwei's guidance, her Pill Refining also gradually got on track.

As for the other one of the only two newcomers, Zhou Luo felt no pressure at all.

He could basically complete the Immortal Sect's task in roughly one morning, but unfortunately, he couldn't refine Pills as freely as on the first day.

However, he would still skim off some medicinal ingredients while refining these Pills.

He even became bolder after realizing that the Immortal Sect hadn't discovered it.

He didn't even pretend to fail the refining at the beginning anymore; he would directly write down 'Pill failure' in the record book and then pocket all the medicinal ingredients.

During this Time, with the help of the Spirit Pills, Bai had grown bigger than when it first arrived, and its abilities had also increased significantly.

Once, Zhou Luo tested the illusion it created and was trapped for half an hour.

This was even when he was prepared.

For Zhou Luo, the days of Pill Refining were always dry and long. The only comfort was that his pet and his Realm were getting better day by day.

On this day, Zhou Luo finally welcomed the most exciting event of this Time.

The monthly assessment was coming!

That's right, unknowingly, he had already been in the Immortal Sect for a month.

According to the Immortal Sect's arrangements, everyone would have an 'exam' at the end of each month. Those with excellent results could receive rewards and could also enter the third and fourth floors of the library to study.

Zhou Luo had always remembered Wang Yuwei saying that the fourth floor was where clues to various rare treasures could be found.

If he could go there and uncover some important clues, it would be of great help to himself.

This 'exam', he must take first place!