26: Chapter 26 Qi Refining Level Nine

Patriarch Li Huaping and the Foundation Establishment Stage clan elder Li Xuanji both nodded, and Li Huaping's gaze fell upon an elderly man sitting at his lower right.

This elderly man was named Li Xuanjie; his Lifespan had already exceeded two cycles of sixty years, and he possessed a cultivation of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, his gaze deep, his every gesture exuding composure and restraint.

"Fourth Uncle, in your early years, you frequently ventured deep into the Huangfeng Sea Area on expeditions to hunt Yao Beasts, and you have considerable understanding of sea conditions, Yao Beast habits, and even some abnormal celestial phenomena and Spiritual Veins. I would like you to lead the investigation into the news of Li Huayong and the others. Please also select some treasures from the Family treasury to defend yourself. What do you think?"

"Whatever the Clan Chief arranges is fine. This old bag of bones can still contribute to the Family; I will not hesitate!"

"Good. I hereby decide that Fourth Uncle will lead the team, drawing four Qi Refining Middle Stage Cultivators to ride the Family's Second-Order Middle Stage Spirit Beast, the Golden Feather Eagle, carrying enhanced sensing Talismans, healing Medicinal Pills, and defensive Magical Artifacts. They are to immediately head to the area where the soul lamp signals last disappeared to conduct a search, focusing on finding the whereabouts of Li Huayong and Li Hualei, and attempting to recover the Magical Artifacts, robes, and identity tokens left behind by the fallen clansmen."

"Additionally, comfort the immediate Family members of the fallen Cultivators and distribute compensation according to Family rules. Notify all clansmen at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer and above about this incident, and remind everyone to be vigilant. The Beast Tide is approaching, and the thousand-year protection order granted to our Family by the Tianxuan Sect is about to expire. From today on, clansmen must be more cautious when going out and pay attention to their own safety. Dismissed!"

After the meeting concluded, everyone acknowledged their orders and quickly departed.

The Li Family currently faces two crises: first, preparing to deal with the arrival of the Beast Tide, and second, preparing to deal with the covetousness of various parties toward the Li Family's territory after the Beast Tide.

Over nine hundred years ago, the Li Family's Old Ancestor Li Anping followed the Tianxuan Sect to expand territory and establish military exploits; not only did he obtain the land of Anping County, but he was also bestowed a thousand-year protection token by the Tianxuan Sect, which stipulated that no one could arbitrarily occupy any territory within the Anping County borders for a thousand years.

Therefore, for these hundreds of years, even if there were some Cultivators who coveted the Li Family's wealth, they could only play dirty tricks in the shadows and dared not infringe upon the land of Anping County openly.

Now, as the thousand-year period is about to pass, the Li Family's exclusive possession of an entire county border will surely attract the covetousness of some Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators or forces, and the Li Family must be prepared in advance to face any difficulties!

In a secret chamber on Xuanling Island, the blue-grey rock walls gleamed with a cold luster under the soft halo of a Night Pearl. The secret chamber was silent, and Li Changqing sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, his eyes slightly closed, his breathing long and steady.

The Qi Refining Eighth Layer mana flowed steadily in his Meridians like a stream. Within his Dantian Qi Sea, eight solid vortices of Qi slowly rotated, echoing each other, forming a relatively stable balance that vaguely yearned for a Breakthrough.

He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. His Divine Sense penetrated into his Dantian. Under internal inspection, the eight vortices of Qi were clearly visible, their edges beginning to tremble slightly—a sign that his mana was extremely full and a Breakthrough was imminent.

With a movement of his mind, the "Spirit Gathering Ginseng" placed in the jade box beside him was lifted by an invisible force and floated before him. The Spirit Medicine had already been divided into three portions in advance.

For a Qi Refining Eighth Layer Cultivator, a First-Order Peak Grade Spirit Medicine was already a precious item to assist in a Breakthrough. The Spirit Gathering Ginseng was light cyan in color, with cloud patterns on its surface, emitting a medicinal fragrance that calmed the mind.

Without hesitation, Li Changqing used his spiritual power to wrap one portion of the Spirit Gathering Ginseng and sent it into his mouth. The Spirit Medicine melted upon entry, and a warm yet majestic torrent of medicinal power erupted instantly. It did not violently crash through his Meridians but, in a guiding and nourishing manner, quickly merged into the circulation of his Meridians throughout his body.

He operated his Cultivation Technique, "Five Elements Spirit Profound Art," to quickly harmonize this external medicinal power with his own spiritual power. He felt his Meridians heating up slightly, and the stream of spiritual power that had originally flowed steadily within his body began to surge, its flow rate increasing, while it continuously absorbed external Spiritual Qi gathered from the surrounding Spiritual Veins and Spirit Stones through the pores of his body.

It is unknown how much time passed, but a faint yet incredibly clear "crack" sound came from within his body, as if some invisible barrier had finally shattered.

Immediately after, the aura around his body began to soar uncontrollably, his Dantian vibrated violently, and the originally gaseous spiritual power began to collapse and condense inward, its texture becoming denser.

The Spiritual Qi within the Immortal Cave was crazily drawn over, forming a vortex visible to the naked eye, which surged into Li Changqing's body.

When the last trace of overflowing aura was collected into his body, Li Changqing slowly opened his eyes.

A flash of brilliance flickered in his eyes and vanished, replaced by an introverted depth.

He gently clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within his body—his spiritual power had increased by about thirty percent.

The speed and purity of his spiritual power's operation had also improved by a notch; the movement of the wind and grass outside the secret chamber pavilion, and the textures of the rock walls, were all clearly discernible.

Sure enough, after breaking through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, his Divine Sense was already a few points stronger than that of a Qi Refining Tenth Layer Cultivator.

With a slight movement of his Divine Thought, this power spread in all directions like spilled mercury. Within a radius of sixty zhang, the trajectory of water droplets falling by the pool, the trembling of insect antennae in the grass, and even the most subtle texture changes when a breeze brushed against leaves were "reflected" in his heart as if seen in person; its meticulousness far exceeded what the naked eye could see.

Usually, the Divine Sense of a Qi Refining Tenth Layer Cultivator has a range of about fifty zhang. There is a world of difference between what a Cultivator's Divine Sense sees and what a Mortal's naked eye sees; within the range covered by a Cultivator's Divine Sense, even an ant is clearly visible.

By this time, half a year had passed since the opening of the Myriad Spirit Secret Realm. During this half-year, although the Li Family had not found the few missing clansmen, through recent patrols and inquiries from various sources, they had roughly figured out which faction the culprit belonged to.

However, hindered by the lack of direct evidence, and given that this period was a time of trouble, this hatred could only be temporarily buried in his heart, waiting for the day when the opportunity arose to settle the score.

Li Changqing stood up and walked out of the secret chamber, heading to the room next to the secret chamber to wash up simply and change into a clean robe.

Feeling the mana that had surged within his body and the lightness and sense of fulfillment after breaking through the shackles, a faint yet heartfelt smile appeared on Li Changqing's face.

The Qi Refining Ninth Layer meant he was one step closer to the Peak of the Qi Refining Stage (Qi Refining Tenth Layer), and the distance to the incomparably longed-for Foundation Establishment Realm had also shortened by a fraction.

He tidied up his Immortal Cave and summarized his gains during this period. Among them, three Psychic Dogs and four Yellow Spirit Chickens had broken through their Bloodline shackles to become First-Order Spirit Beasts. Now, the pups bred from the Psychic Dogs, the offspring of the Yellow Spirit Chickens, and the Spirit Eggs could provide him with a fixed income of about six Low-Grade Spirit Stones every month. Li Changqing was already pondering how to further expand the scale of raising Spirit Beasts.

In these six months, he had used his spare time to make Talismans and earned nearly forty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones. In the last half-year, a total of eighty-one Low-Grade Spirit Stones had been added to his Storage Pouch. Now, there were a total of nine hundred and fifty-three Low-Grade Spirit Stones and one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone in his Storage Pouch.

It could be said that even the net worth of some Foundation Establishment Initial Stage Cultivators might not be as substantial as his.