54: Chapter 54 Taking stock of the gains, breaking through to the seventh level

The clamor of the power transition quickly settled.

Before Gu Yan's absolute strength and thunderous methods, all the factions in Luoyun Town chose the wisest path... submission.

After handling these mundane matters, Gu Yan finally had time to count his greatest spoils this time—the Town Mayors Office, the rich foundation accumulated by the Zhao Family over several generations.

Led by an old Zhao Family servant who had long since been scared out of his wits, Gu Yan arrived at the deepest part of the Town Mayors Office, before a seemingly ordinary rockery.

Trembling, the old servant tapped nine times on an inconspicuous rock, following a specific pattern.

Rumbling...

Accompanied by the dull sound of machinery turning, one side of the rockery slowly split open, revealing a deep stone door that only allowed one person to pass through.

A scent mixed with the extravagance of gold and silver and the mustiness of medicinal herbs rushed out from within the door.

Gu Yan did not hesitate; he raised a torch and stepped inside.

Behind the stone door was a downward staircase paved with bluestone slabs.

Walking down the stairs, a huge iron door, cast from a single piece of black iron and several times thicker than the one at the Wang Family treasury, blocked the way.

Gu Yan couldn't be bothered to look for the mechanism.

The True Qi of his Blazing Fire Art surged within him!

A scorching aura gathered on his right fist!

"Break!"

He gave a low shout and slammed his fist heavily against the thick iron door!

Boom!!!!!!

A deafening roar!

The black iron door, capable of withstanding the charge of an army of thousands, had actually been forced to cave inward with a huge fist imprint from his single punch, which contained the thick True Qi of Qi Refining Stage 6!

Immediately after, with the fist imprint as the center, hideous cracks spread rapidly in all directions like a spiderweb!

Finally, with a "clang," the entire door shattered into pieces!

Gu Yan withdrew his fist, blew off the non-existent dust, and stepped into the true treasury that had condensed the Zhao Family's century of hard work!

Inside the treasury, the space suddenly opened up!

Its area was more than three times that of the Wang Family treasury!

And the scene inside made even Gu Yan, who had already mentally prepared himself, involuntarily quicken his breathing!

Gold, silver, and jewels had long been casually piled in the corners, like trash that no one cared about.

Occupying the very center of the treasury were five huge wooden chests!

Gu Yan stepped forward and opened one of them.

A blinding light burst forth instantly!

Inside the chest, there was no gold or silver, but pieces of crystal clear, softly glowing, pure Spiritual Qi-containing...

Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

Densely packed and neatly arranged!

One chest had at least five hundred pieces!

Five chests meant... two thousand five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

Plus the one hundred pieces previously seized from the Black Wind Stronghold, and what Gu Yan himself had earned during this time...

His net worth, at this moment, broke through the barrier of three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

In the backwater of Luoyun Town, this was absolutely a massive fortune that would drive any Cultivator in the Qi Refinement Stage crazy!

Gu Yan forcibly suppressed the wild joy in his heart, moved his gaze away from the Spirit Stones, and looked to the other side of the treasury.

There, rows of antique shelves made from precious wood stood.

On the shelves were all kinds of jade bottles, brocade boxes, and thread-bound classic books.

Gu Yan picked up a jade bottle, opened the stopper, and a rich, medicinal fragrance wafted into his nose.

"Medium Grade Qi Gathering Pill?"

Although it was only Medium Grade, the quantity was over a hundred bottles!

Clearly, this was the stock the Zhao Family had previously used to monopolize the Luoyun Town market.

Besides Qi Gathering Pills, there were some low-level Medicinal Pills for healing and detoxifying.

Although the quality was not worth mentioning in Gu Yan's eyes, it had the advantage of... being in large quantity!

And inside the brocade boxes were various medicinal herbs of different ages.

Century-old Fleeceflower Root, three-hundred-year-old Blood Lingzhi...

Among them, what surprised Gu Yan the most was that inside a jade box wrapped in layers of Restrictions, he discovered a stalk of...

Five-hundred-year-old "Fire Sun Grass"!

This was the main ingredient for refining the Yellow-Grade High Grade Medicinal Pill, "Red Sun Pill"!

Its value was even comparable to hundreds of Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

Finally, Gu Yan's gaze fell upon the thread-bound classic books.

He picked one up, and on the cover were written the three large characters: "Surging Wave Art".

"Yellow-Grade Medium Grade Cultivation Technique?"

Gu Yan flipped through a few pages and discovered it was actually a Cultivation Technique of the same level as the "Blazing Fire Art"!

Besides this "Surging Wave Art," there were also a few Yellow-Grade Low Grade Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills.

Clearly, this was the true foundation of why the Zhao Family could become the number one Family in Luoyun Town.

"Not bad, not bad."

Gu Yan looked at the dazzling array of spoils, his heart filled with an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

With this batch of resources, it was not only enough to support the Gu Fan and Gu Xuan brothers in all their expenses for Cultivating to the Late Stage of the Qi Refinement Stage.

It could also allow his own Alchemy to reach a higher level!

He did not stand on ceremony at all; with a wave of his hand, he collected all the precious resources within the treasury into his own Storage Pouch.

After doing all this, he did not immediately leave the treasury.

Instead, he sat cross-legged directly inside this treasury, where the Spiritual Qi was several times denser than outside.

He decided to make one final push to break through to...

Qi Refining Stage 7!

He took out one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch and set up the simplest "Qi Gathering Array" around his body.

Hum—

One hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones lit up simultaneously!

Pure Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi poured out continuously from the Spirit Stones, turning into visible white mist that completely enveloped Gu Yan's body!

The density of Spiritual Qi inside the treasury soared again at this moment!

Gu Yan took out a "Barrier Breaking Pill" that helped with Breakthroughs from the seized Medicinal Pills and swallowed it.

The immense medicinal power exploded and dissolved!

The timing was ripe!

"Break!"

Gu Yan gave a low shout, and the thick True Qi within his body, which had already reached the Peak of Qi Refining Stage 6, turned into a surging tide under his urging and slammed fiercely toward the incredibly solid barrier of... Qi Refining Stage 7!

Boom!

The first impact, and the barrier did not move at all!

Gu Yan's expression did not change in the slightest.

He mobilized his True Qi and launched the impact again!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Once!

Ten times!

A hundred times!

Under the dual blessing of the Qi Gathering Array and the Medicinal Pill, the True Qi in his body seemed endless!

He was like the most persistent siege attacker, driving his army again and again to crash against a seemingly insurmountable fortress!

He did not know how much time had passed.

When he reached the one thousand and eightieth impact.

Crack!

A faint, crisp sound that seemed to come from the depths of his Soul!

On the impenetrable barrier, finally, a... crack appeared!

It's working!

Gu Yan's spirit was suddenly invigorated!

He no longer held anything back and gathered all the True Qi in his body to a single point!

"Break... for me!!!"

Rumbling!!!!!!

Within his Dantian Qi Sea, monstrous waves were stirred up!

The solid barrier, under this last and most violent impact, finally...

Collapsed!

An aura, several times stronger than before, thicker and more condensed, erupted from his body!

Qi Refining Stage 7!

Success!