Chapter 8: Half a Year of Growth

Returning to Xiaozhu Peak, Su Changqing walked into the Jingxin Cave once more to begin his closed-door cultivation.

Time flies like an arrow, the sun and moon like a shuttle.

Immersed in his cultivation, Su Changqing felt that time was running as swiftly as a white horse, and soon half a year had passed.

In a small room on Xiaozhu Peak, Su Changqing was draped in snow-white robes, his hair disheveled, and the entire room was filled with various books and manuals, each one looking somewhat worn from being flipped through.

He was seen resting his chin in one hand while flipping through a sword manual titled "Qingfeng Sword Dao" with great interest, so absorbed that not even the slightest movement around him could make him stop.

In a mere hour, he had finished reading the entire "Qingfeng Sword Dao" and turned to pick up another manual to read.

【You have comprehended "Qingfeng Sword Dao"; under your Against-Heaven Comprehension, "Qingfeng Sword Dao" has been successfully evolved into "Gale Sword Dao".】

【Gale Sword Dao: As the saying goes, all martial arts under heaven can only be broken by speed. This sword dao focuses on being as swift as the wind, striking like a flying immortal, and slaying enemies in an instant, invisibly.】

【You have comprehended "Turtle Breathing Technique"; under your Against-Heaven Comprehension, "Turtle Breathing Technique" has been successfully evolved into "Heaven Concealing Method".】

【Heaven Concealing Method: To cross the sea by deceiving the heavens, masking your aura and hiding from the skies; even great beings cannot see through your cultivation level. It is truly a top-tier aura-concealing technique.】

【You have perused "Complete Collection of Basic Arrays"; under your Against-Heaven Comprehension, you have successfully created the "Nine Star Immortal Slashing Array".】

【Nine Star Immortal Slashing Array: Borrowing the nine stars of the vast heavens as the array base, using mountains, rivers, the sun, and the moon as the array eyes, and condensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as the driving force. Once the array is formed, it can overturn mountains and seas; its lethality is incomparable to ordinary arrays.】

【You have perused "Guyezi Alchemy Notes"; under your Against-Heaven Comprehension, you have successfully created the "Gathering Fire Spirit Pill Technique".】

As Su Changqing comprehended book after book, notification sounds of improvement rang out one after another in his mind.

At dusk.

Su Changqing put down the last book, rubbed his slightly sore wrists, and said with a leisurely smile, "With this, I have finally successfully comprehended all the technique books on the first floor of the Qingyun Sect Library Pavilion."

Within half a year, Su Changqing's childish face had gradually developed sharp features, and his once cute and obedient appearance had gradually become handsome and refined; standing there in white robes, he looked just like an otherworldly immortal.

Beyond his appearance, changes were already this significant.

His cultivation had also improved time and again within this half-year; last week, he had reached the peak of the tenth level of the Qi Refining Realm, just one step away from Foundation Establishment.

This level of cultivation was already catching up to Senior Sister Lu Xueqi, whom Master valued most.

It was said that Lu Xueqi had only broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm a few months ago! From Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment in half a year—he had once obscurely asked Shuiyue who could compare to this speed.

Yet he saw Shuiyue smile silently and say.

"The records state that even Qingye Zushi took a full ten months to go from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, and he became a person who turned the tide of an era. If someone could truly go from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment in half a year, they would surely be destined to achieve the Great Dao, though I have never heard of such a person."

Su Changqing nodded in acknowledgment, thinking to himself that his current cultivation speed was faster than even Qingye Zushi.

If this were spread, it would be shocking and world-shaking; I fear both the righteous and evil paths would be stunned, and it might even lead to some great beings coming to catch him personally for research.

Fortunately, he stayed on Dazhu Peak every day and had learned some aura-concealing techniques to hide his cultivation.

Whenever anyone asked, he would brush it off by saying he had just entered the Dao, not revealing to outsiders at all that he was now nearing Foundation Establishment. Besides this, within the half-year, he had borrowed many cultivation manuals and scriptures from the Qingyun Sect Library Pavilion during his spare time, learning arrays, alchemy, body refinement, sword dao, and more.

With Against-Heaven Comprehension, all these arrays, alchemy techniques, and other cultivation manuals were comprehended into even stronger versions.

Thus, his cultivation strength could not be compared to those of the same level.

Do not forget, he was practicing the Wuji Xuanqing Dao, which was even more profound than the Taiji Xuanqing Dao. Even though Su Changqing was only at the tenth level of Qi Refining, he might not necessarily lose if he were to trade blows with some Foundation Establishment cultivators.

However, these things could not make Su Changqing stop his pace; the most important thing now was to break through from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment.

"If I want to break through to Foundation Establishment, closed-door cultivation alone will likely not work in the short term. I must find a way to speed up the progress."

Su Changqing stood up, his eyes flickering with thought.

This Wuji Xuanqing Dao was far more profound and powerful than the Taiji Xuanqing Dao, but its cultivation difficulty was also greater. To break through each major realm, one must either spend time allowing the cultivation to naturally break through the bottleneck, or use a breakthrough item to force the cultivation to grow and break through the realm directly.

Now, if he wanted to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

One way was to wait another month or more for the bottleneck to break; the second was to find a heavenly treasure called the Desolate Immortal Orchid to serve as a medicinal primer for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Su Changqing had indeed seen the plant called the Desolate Immortal Orchid in the records of the Qingyun Sect Library Pavilion; it was described as an extremely precious medicine, and its existence was extremely rare.

Moreover, it only existed on Jiuyin Mountain, a hundred miles away from the Qingyun Sect, and even going to Jiuyin Mountain to look for it required some serendipity; those without fate might not find a single stalk even after searching for half a year or ten months.

"I have been on the mountain for half a year; it is time to go out and gain some experience."

Thinking this, Su Changqing had already made up his mind.

Nowadays, apart from his cultivation, he had already practiced his other means to the peak of what he could currently achieve. Rather than being trapped in the Qi Refining Realm unable to break through, it was better to go down the mountain to gain experience.

The next day.

Su Changqing changed into new clothes; he was handsome and refined, his large eyes filled with determination, his expression confident, appearing mature and steady.

He first went to the small hall on Xiaozhu Peak to find Master Shuiyue, preparing to bid farewell and go down the mountain for experience.

Walking into the hall, Su Changqing only saw a group of senior sisters practicing and did not see Master Shuiyue's figure. Not knowing where she had gone, Su Changqing walked to Wen Min's side and asked, "Senior Sister, why do I not see Master?"

"Little Junior Brother, Master went to the Sect Main Hall today for matters. If you have something to find Master for, you can go to the Sect Main Hall."

Wen Min looked at Su Changqing, slightly stunned, and after reacting, she answered him earnestly.

This little junior brother of hers usually practiced in the Jingxin Cave or his own room, and she did not see him often, but how could she feel a different change in him every time? "Oh, thank you, Senior Sister Wen Min. I have matters to attend to, so I will go find Master; I won't disturb you further, Senior Sister."

Having received the answer, Su Changqing quickly left this place, and taking advantage of the lack of people, he took out his Flying Sword and flew toward the direction of the Sect Main Hall.

(End of chapter)