99: Chapter 99 Cultivation Level Soars

Manager Qin looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Fine," he said.

"I will offer this Cultivation Technique to the Sect in your name. You won't be shorted a single one of the contribution points you deserve."

In the end, Li Changsheng's Cultivation Technique was worth twelve thousand contribution points; combined with the herbs, he obtained a total of forty-four thousand contribution points this time.

In the days that followed, the four of them—Li Changsheng and his companions—each kept busy.

Li Changqing offered the herbs she had gathered and the sword technique of the "Thirteen Swords of the Clear Wind" to the Sword Guard Hall, obtaining a generous amount of contribution points.

She began a secluded meditation to break through to Qi Refining Level 6.

Shi Tiezhu offered the rare spirit herbs he had gathered to the Hundred Crafts Academy in exchange for a Body Refining Cultivation Technique and a batch of cultivation resources.

He began following a Senior Brother from Houtu Peak to learn more profound earth-element Spells; though he was exhausted to the point of death every day, he enjoyed it.

Li Xiaocao offered several stalks of violets to the Hundred Herb Garden. In his delight, Manager Qin promoted her directly from a servant in the Rare Spirit Herb Garden to a Formal Disciple and began teaching her the basics of Alchemy.

She followed Manager Qin to learn every day; although it was hard work, she progressed rapidly.

Li Changsheng himself began his secluded meditation.

He needed to refine that emerald-green bead.

The life force within the bead was too immense; if it could not be completely refined, it would always remain a hidden danger.

Furthermore, he had a faint feeling that this bead might have some sort of connection with the Longevity Dao Body within him.

On the third day of his seclusion, he finally refined the first layer of power within the bead.

That night, his cultivation base leaped from the Middle Stage of Qi Refining Level 7 to the Peak of Level 7.

On the seventh day of his seclusion, the second layer of power was refined.

Qi Refining Level 8.

On the fifteenth day of his seclusion, the third layer of power was refined.

Middle Stage of Qi Refining Level 8.

At this point, more than half of the power remained in the bead, but he did not dare to continue refining it.

If his cultivation rose too quickly, his Foundation would be unstable, and problems could easily arise.

He needed time to settle and time to adapt.

On the day he emerged from seclusion, he went to find Manager Qin.

"Manager," he said, "I want to look up some ancient records."

"What kind of records?"

"About... ancient powerhouses, Secret Realms, and... the Longevity Dao Body."

Manager Qin looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded.

"On the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion, there are some ancient books."

"I remember that when you returned from the Secret Realm last time, you exchanged for over forty thousand contribution points. That's enough for you to search through everything."

The third floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

Li Changsheng sat amidst a pile of ancient books, flipping through them one by one.

He found records about the Sumeru Grotto-Heaven, records about that stone hall, and even some legends about the ancient powerhouse "True Lord Qingxuan."

But he found no information regarding that emerald-green bead.

Until he came across a tattered ancient book made of beast skin.

On the last page of the ancient book, a passage was recorded:

"True Lord Qingxuan, an ancient powerhouse, cultivated the Path of Longevity and refined the nine-turn azure profound beads."

"On the day the beads were formed, heaven and earth shook, and all things met with spring. After the True Lord's passing, the nine beads were scattered, their whereabouts unknown."

nine-turn azure profound bead.

He looked down at the emerald-green bead in his arms.

Was this one of the nine-turn azure profound beads?

Didn't that mean there were eight others scattered in various places?

He took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.

If that were truly the case, then the origin of this thing was much greater than he had imagined.

Could the things the Blood Fiend Sect had been searching for be these beads?

He didn't know.

But he knew he had to become stronger.

Because those hidden dangers still remained.

The people of the Blood Fiend Sect would not let the matter rest.

They had suffered heavy losses in the Secret Realm, and they would certainly settle this score with him.

Then there was the Spirit Devourer in Qinghe Town; Immortal Master Yunyin had said that it would recover in ten years at most.

Now, two years had passed.

Time was pressing.

He had to possess enough power before then.

Outside the window, the sunlight was just right.

He stood up and looked into the distance.

That road was still very long.

Three days after returning from the Scripture Pavilion, Li Changsheng made a trip to the market.

He needed to exchange a portion of the Spirit Medicines and Yao Beast Materials he didn't need for Spirit Stones, and then buy some Medicinal Pills and Talismans required for cultivation.

Although the power of the nine-turn azure profound bead was immense, he didn't dare to continue refining it and needed to rely on Medicinal Pills to stabilize his Foundation.

The market was much quieter than usual.

According to statistics, seventy-six Qi Refining Stage Disciples from the Qinglan Sword Sect had been taken to the Secret Realm, and only fifty-two had returned.

Those twenty-four people would remain in the Secret Realm forever.

Their friends, fellow Disciples, and even relatives were all silently enduring the pain of loss.

There were fewer people on the streets, and those shops that were usually bustling were much quieter.

Firstly, some Disciples had remained in the Secret Realm this time, and secondly, other Disciples felt the importance of increasing their strength, so more people were concentrating on their cultivation.

Occasionally, a few Disciples shopping or trading would pass by in a hurry, their faces carrying a hint of solemnity.

Li Changsheng first went to Lingcao Hall.

Meng Qing was still sitting behind the counter, though his expression was a bit more tired than usual.

His eyes lit up when he saw Li Changsheng enter.

"Junior Brother Li! You're back! I heard you had quite a harvest this time?"

Li Changsheng nodded and pulled out several Spiritual Plants from his robes.

These were all herbs of lower maturity; he had already handed those of medium maturity over to the Sect to exchange for contribution points, keeping only some high-maturity premium ones for himself.

He planned to sell the rest to exchange for some Spirit Stones.

Meng Qing took them, his eyes widening more and more.

"Fifty-year-old golden-veined grass? Eighty-year-old purple sun ginseng? And this... blood cloud ganoderma?!"

He looked up at Li Changsheng.

"Junior Brother Li, your trip to the Secret Realm this time was truly a bountiful harvest."

Li Changsheng smiled.

"It was alright. By the way, how many Spirit Stones can these be exchanged for?"

Meng Qing took a deep breath and began to appraise them one by one.

Finally, he stated a figure.

"A total of... five thousand nine hundred and sixty Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Let's call it six thousand."

Li Changsheng nodded, left the Spiritual Plants, and exchanged them for a heavy bag of Spirit Stones.

After leaving Lingcao Hall, he went to the Spirit Talisman Pavilion.

This time, he bought many more powerful offensive Talismans that could cause damage to Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivators.

There were also some defensive Talismans that could withstand attacks from Cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage.

In the Medicinal Pill shop, he bought several bottles of pills for stabilizing cultivation, as well as a bottle of "Jade Dew Ointment" for healing.

After one round, only two thousand of the six thousand Spirit Stones remained.

But he didn't feel distressed.

These things were all capital for saving his life.

It was already evening by the time he returned to the Hundred Herb Garden.

As soon as he walked into Section C Field No. 7, he saw Li Changqing sitting on the ridge of the field waiting for him.

"Changsheng," she stood up, her expression somewhat solemn.

"What's wrong?"

Li Changqing hesitated for a moment and whispered.

"The matter about Zhao Yan might not be hidden anymore."

Li Changsheng's brow furrowed slightly.

"Zhao Yan's uncle, Zhao Guangyuan, has been making inquiries these past few days."

Li Changqing said, "He has asked almost every returning Disciple one by one, asking if they had seen Zhao Yan and if they knew how Zhao Yan died."

Li Changsheng was silent for a moment.

"Did anyone speak?"

Li Changqing shook her head.

"I remember there weren't many people present at the time."

"The people from the Jinyang Sect were far away and might not have seen anything. The people from the Qingxin Pavilion had already entered the stone hall by then."

"Among the Loose Cultivators, some died and some scattered, and those who survived don't know the inside story. Only..."

"Only the people from the Blood Fiend Sect."

Li Changsheng finished the sentence for her.

Li Changqing nodded.

"They know. That leading youth and the few people around him all saw it with their own eyes."

Li Changsheng said nothing.

He had long considered this issue.

The people of the Blood Fiend Sect were Zhao Yan's accomplices and witnesses to his killing of Zhao Yan.

Would they tell Zhao Guangyuan about this?

Yes.

They certainly would.

The Blood Fiend Sect had suffered heavy losses in the Secret Realm, and they would surely settle this score with him.

Telling Zhao Guangyuan would allow them to kill with a borrowed knife and earn a favor from him at the same time.

Why wouldn't they?

"What is that leading youth's name?" he asked.

"His surname is Xu, and his name is Xu Sen."

Li Changqing said.

"I've inquired; he is a minor leader in the outer sect of the Blood Fiend Sect, at Qi Refining Level 7. Almost all the subordinates he brought into the Secret Realm this time were lost. He hates you to the bone."

Li Changsheng nodded and remained silent.