11: You don't want to be forever stuck in the Qi Refining Realm, do you?

After Lu Yang returned home.

He took out the Pill Furnace, intending to refine the Spiritual Plants collected in his Storage Pouch into Medicinal Pills.

But helping Liu Yan remove the fire poison earlier had consumed a large amount of Spiritual Qi.

At this moment, Lu Yang had not yet recovered, so he sat cross-legged on the ground and circulated his Spiritual Qi to adjust his breathing.

Meanwhile.

After Elder Chi Rong in the External Affairs Hall purchased Lu Yang's 15 flawless Quality Medicinal Pills.

She sold them to other Disciples after increasing the price by another ten percent.

These people benefited greatly after taking them and all came to find Chi Rong to ask if there were any more.

Seeing this, Chi Rong asked the Disciples about the effects after taking them.

As a result, some Disciples even described it by saying that one flawless Quality rejuvenation pill was worth ten Superior Quality rejuvenation pills.

And most importantly, there was absolutely no Pill Poison.

In other words, they could be taken without limit without any side effects.

In a battle between Cultivators, this could play a decisive role.

After this incident, Chi Rong realized just how high Lu Yang's Alchemy talent was.

She immediately began to doubt whether Lu Yang really bought the third-rank elixir to prepare in advance.

Furthermore, Lu Yang had bought the Pill Formulas for third-rank Spirit Pills of all five attributes at once.

Even if an Alchemist was wealthy, they wouldn't spend it like that.

Lu Yang could have just bought one; after all, the Pill Formula for the third-rank Spirit Pill was right there, and since he had Spirit Stones, the External Affairs Hall couldn't possibly refuse to sell it to him.

Either he could already refine third-rank elixirs now, or a Breakthrough was imminent; there was absolutely no third possibility!

Immense regret followed by a surge of ecstasy hit her.

The dawn of repairing her damaged Spiritual Root and re-treading the path of Foundation Establishment might lie with this elderly Disciple at the Qi Refining Third Layer!

Chi Rong could no longer hold back. She immediately summoned a Disciple to take over her duty and inquired all the way to Lu Yang's residence.

If Lu Yang could really refine third-rank Low Grade Medicinal Pills, she believed that with such talent, he would soon be able to refine third-rank Advanced Medicinal Pills.

At that time, he could help her refine the Medicinal Pill to repair her Spiritual Root.

On Lu Yang's side, after two hours of meditation, his physical strength and Spiritual Qi were fully restored.

Lu Yang began Alchemy.

Lu Yang first refined two batches of flawless Quality rejuvenation pills to warm up.

Then he took out the Cold Spirit Grass collected from the Small World, intending to refine a third-rank Low Grade water spirit pill.

To prepare for finding a suitable female Cultivator target with a Water Spirit Root in the future.

With the previous experience of refining the azure spirit pill, Lu Yang was very familiar with refining the water spirit pill.

But familiarity aside, the Spiritual Qi required to refine a third-rank elixir was still enormous.

Lu Yang had no choice but to crazily pop pills again as before, while simultaneously pushing the Dragon Phoenix Yin-Yang Art to its limit to absorb Spiritual Qi.

As time passed minute by minute, Lu Yang was also sweating profusely from the refining.

However, what Lu Yang didn't know.

Elder Chi Rong had arrived outside his room at some point.

She witnessed the entire process of him refining a third-rank elixir.

As Lu Yang's Alchemy concluded.

A delicate shout rang out.

“Audacious Lu Yang! Why did you hide from me that you could refine third-rank elixirs!”

The door burst open with a bang.

Elder Chi Rong walked in with a face full of anger.

Lu Yang was shocked and hurriedly put away the Medicinal Pills and Pill Furnace, attempting to destroy the evidence.

“No need to pretend, I saw everything just now!”

“You, Outer Sect Disciple Lu Yang, at the Qi Refining Third Layer, can actually refine third-rank Low Grade Medicinal Pills.”

“And you seem to possess a Spirit Treasure that has the effect of absorbing surrounding Spiritual Qi.”

“Is that so?”

Chi Rong questioned with a cold face.

The fear of his secret being exposed gripped Lu Yang's heart, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

If a wicked person knew his secret, he would surely end up having his Soul Refined and his soul searched.

Lu Yang began to secretly regret that he had actually forgotten to set up anti-peeping measures.

“Scared?” Chi Rong's tone softened slightly, but carried an unquestionable pressure. “Rest assured, I won't spread this matter. But in exchange...” Her voice lowered, carrying a hint of threat.

“That is, you must help me refine the spirit replenishing pill!”

“spirit replenishing pill?!” Lu Yang cried out, the color draining from his face. “Elder! That is a third-rank Advanced Medicinal Pill! It cannot be refined without a Foundation Establishment cultivation! I'm only at the Qi Refining Third Layer...”

third-rank elixirs were different from first and second-rank ones.

Every small Realm was a huge leap.

The difficulty was equivalent to a major Realm jump like from first-rank to second-rank.

Similarly, the required cultivation would also double.

Although Lu Yang was only at the Qi Refining Third Layer, his Fire Spirit Root had actually reached the eighth layer of Qi Refining.

Combined with the continuous endurance of the Dragon Phoenix Yin-Yang Art, his Realm should be roughly between the eighth and ninth layers of Qi Refining.

Plus his 20 points of mastery in the Dao of Alchemy, he was barely able to refine third-rank Low Grade elixirs.

Now she wanted him to refine a third-rank Advanced one; wasn't this making things difficult for him?

“I'm not asking you to refine it now!” Chi Rong interrupted him, her eyes fixed intently on Lu Yang. “I only want a promise from you! When you have the ability to refine it, you must refine it for me!”

So it wasn't for immediate fulfillment... The huge stone in Lu Yang's heart dropped slightly, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief:

“If it is only this, this Disciple shall agree.”

“Only...” He shifted the topic, a bitter smile appearing on his face. “Elder, you also know that I have the Five Wastes Physique and have been stuck at the Qi Refining Third Layer for many years. My end is near.”

“I'm really afraid... I will fail your trust.”

“Unless...” Lu Yang deliberately left her hanging.

“Unless what?” Chi Rong asked as expected, her tone carrying a hint of impatience.

“In recent years, this Disciple discovered a Dual Cultivation secret technique that is of great benefit to one's cultivation.”

“At the same time, I have admired Elder Chi for many years.”

“If the Elder is willing to condescend and Cultivate with me once, I guarantee that within my lifetime, I will help the Elder refine the Medicinal Pill to repair your Spiritual Root.”

“You—!” Chi Rong's eyes widened, a surge of humiliated rage rushing to her head!

Clang!

A bone-chilling flash of light! The cold tip of a sword instantly pressed against Lu Yang's fragile throat, the chilling Sword Qi making his hair stand on end!

“Audacious dog! A mere Qi Refining Third Layer, and you dare to dream of making me your Cauldron?!” Chi Rong's voice was distorted by rage, and the killing intent in her eyes almost solidified.

“To dare to insult me like this, believe it or not, I'll slay you right now! Even the Law Enforcement Hall won't say anything!”

The aura of death instantly enveloped him.

Lu Yang's heart pounded wildly, but he forced himself to put on a rogue-like expression of a dead pig not fearing boiling water: “If the Elder wants to strike... then please go ahead.”

“To die under the sword of the ‘Ice Beauty’ who is famous in the Outer Sect, this Disciple's life is worth it.”

Chi Rong was one of the Ten Excellencies of the Outer Sect, possessing beauty no less than that of the recovered Liu Yan.

Because of her unapproachable personality, she was known as the Ice Beauty.

Lu Yang paused and continued: “It's just... once the Elder strikes with this sword, I'm afraid the only hope of repairing your Spiritual Root and re-ascending the great Dao of Foundation Establishment will... vanish into thin air along with this Disciple.”

“And you, Elder, might have to stay in the Qi Refining Stage forever.”

Lu Yang deliberately slowed his tone, every word hitting the mark like an ice pick stabbing into Chi Rong's heart.

The hand Chi Rong used to hold the sword trembled violently!

Lu Yang's words accurately pierced the pain and longing she had hidden deep in her heart, tormenting her day and night!

She was once a genius of the Inner Sect at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage, but because of a serious injury, her Spiritual Root was broken, her cultivation fell, and she was forever trapped in Qi Refining.

For an Immortal Cultivator, this was no different from being half-crippled.

Restoring her cultivation had already become a Heart Demon, her only obsession for living!

The phrase “stay in the Qi Refining Stage forever” caused Chi Rong's anger to recede as quickly as melting snow.

Chi Rong wanted to restore her Spiritual Root more than anyone else.

But a sword that had left its scabbard could not be easily retracted.

Her sword still pressed against Lu Yang's throat, but the expression in her eyes was complex, and the previous anger was gone.

Lu Yang saw that Chi Rong couldn't let go of her status as an Outer Sect Elder.

So he used two fingers to gently push Chi Rong's sword aside.

Once moved, Chi Rong's arm immediately went limp and dropped.

Lu Yang was ecstatic. One hand gently covered the back of Chi Rong's hand that held the sword; it felt cold to the touch.

Feeling no obvious resistance from her, he applied a little force, guiding that cold sword, which symbolized her dignity, to slide silently into its scabbard inch by inch.

Seeing that Chi Rong did not dodge during the entire process, Lu Yang was overjoyed, thinking to himself that it was a success.

Lu Yang immediately waved his hand, and the wide-open door closed instantly.

Then he took out a Spirit Stone from his Storage Pouch.

He embedded it into a groove in the floor not far away.

This was a Restriction Lu Yang had carved.

He had studied a period of Formations before.

He had carved Formations all over the house he lived in, mainly to prevent other Cultivators from peeping or intruding without greeting.

Only one Spirit Stone was needed to activate these Formations.

Later, due to the lack of resources, Lu Yang had stopped using them.

He didn't expect them to come in handy now.

As the Restriction activated, it instantly isolated the inside from the outside.

Chi Rong stood stiffly on the spot, watching Lu Yang's movements with a complex expression.

She knew what would happen next.

Leave? No, the opportunity to repair her Spiritual Root was right in front of her.

Resign to fate? But this humiliation... Just as she was having an internal struggle, Lu Yang had already approached and taken the hand that had just held the sword; it felt soft but slightly cool.

Lu Yang didn't give her more time to think, leading her step by step toward the dim bed in the inner room.

After Lu Yang finished the preparations, she actually let him lead her to the inner room.

Lu Yang gently laid her down on the bed.

Immediately, he took out a pre-prepared black silk ribbon and gently covered Chi Rong's eyes, which were filled with humiliation and despair.

The moment her vision was obscured by darkness, Chi Rong's body completely relaxed, as if the last bit of strength had been drained from her, despairingly and self-deceptively... giving up resistance.

Looking at this body on the bed that was once high and cold, now ready to be plucked, Lu Yang's heart pounded like a drum.

First, because he was actually about to have this woman known as the Ice Beauty, an Outer Sect Elder who was one of the Ten Excellencies of the Outer Sect.

Second, because she possessed three types of Spiritual Roots, which were exactly what Lu Yang needed.

As long as he completed this Cultivation, he could Breakthrough his long-stagnant cultivation.

Lu Yang took several deep breaths, suppressed his boiling blood, and suddenly waved his sleeve!

The heavy bed curtains fell accordingly, blocking out the last trace of light...