Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi secured the undisputed first place in the first examination that was held after he joined the sect. It prompted Li Nanting to visit him often, worried he might rush his breakthrough to the Foundation Building Realm.

Sitting in his cultivation room, Li Guanqi reflected on his progress.

Sigh... Why would I think of the Foundation Building Realm at this moment? The amount of spirit qi required to break through the tenth stage is too much.

At this moment, his dantian had expanded to the size of a lake. Using a disciple with a Heavenly Spirit Root as a benchmark, Li Guanqi’s dantian could hold several times more vital qi.

This meant that if he wanted to achieve another breakthrough, he had to expand his dantian event further. He would require an amount of spirit qi equivalent to that of a regular late-stage Foundation Building Realm cultivator.

After completing his previous assignment, he had exchanged all his contribution points for spirit stones. Now, all that was left was the monotonous task of cultivation.

Twenty days passed. A fine layer of spirit stone dust covered the cultivation room.

Suddenly, the spirit qi in the room began to swirl toward him, forming a whirlpool. As he exhaled, a gentle boom echoed through the room.

Boom!

Once again, a layer of black, sticky impurities oozed out of his skin. His eyes sprang open, and he felt more refreshed than he had ever been.His five senses also became much sharper than before. His Spirit Platform felt clear, and he sensed that his divine consciousness had significantly strengthened. His dantian even doubled in size.

He continued absorbing the lingering spirit qi in the room, filling his expanded dantian.

Qi Refinement Realm, eleventh level!

Sword Spirit appeared quietly. She glanced at him and nodded slightly. His cultivation speed is still far behind the prodigies of the Upper World, but... it’s already quite commendable. Still, the twelfth and thirteenth levels will be much more challenging.

After a long time, Li Guanqi finally emerged from his cultivation state. He immediately noticed the foul stench emanating from his body and hurried off to boil water for a bath.

As soon as he emerged from the cultivation room, he caught sight of a small figure lying on her stomach atop his roof with a bao in hand.

Yu Sui’an.

When Yu Sui’an saw him, she sat up and waved with a grin. “You stink! You’ve already reached the tenth level, so why do you still have so many impurities? You didn’t fall into the toilet, did you?”

Li Guanqi’s face darkened. He ignored her.

She’d been following him around ever since his sword coffin broke her rib. Every day, she pestered him and demanded that he buy her baos.

In a flash, he grabbed her from the roof and placed her on the ground. Measuring her height against his hip, he said, “Have you gotten taller?”

She huffed, “Of course! I will be a beautiful tall woman when I’m older! Like this, like this...”

As she spoke, she gestured dramatically around her chest and bottom.

Li Guanqi burst into laughter and ruffled her hair. “What do you know, brat? You talk as if you know everything.”

Yu Sui’an swatted his hand away and rolled her eyes. “I do know everything! Hmmph! I’m going to see Grandfather Li.”

Then, she shot off, leaving Li Guanqi to take his bath in peace.

As he soaked in the water, his jade slip flickered gently. He injected a wisp of vital qi into it, and Li Nanting’s voice emerged from it.

—Guanqi, come to the pavilion after you’ve cleaned up.

Li Guanqi put down the jade slip, his thoughts turning to a more pressing concern: how to conceal his aura.

In the cultivation world, it was widely believed that the Qi Refinement Realm only had ten levels. So why had he broken through to the eleventh?

He knew that extraordinary talent could attract problems, especially if someone more powerful than himself took notice of him. He couldn’t tell anyone.

***

Li Guanqi arrived at the pavilion of Heavenly Lightning Peak’s peak master. He thought something major had happened, so he was surprised to find himself alone.

Seeing Li Guanqi, Li Nanting froze. Then, he appeared next to Li Guanqi in a flash. He asked hurriedly, “Have you broken through to the Foundation Building Realm?”

Before Li Guanqi could answer, Li Nanting circled him once, his brows furrowing. “Hmm, it doesn’t seem like it? You’re still at the tenth level... Hmm... Was I mistaken?”

Li Guanqi scratched his head awkwardly. “I haven’t reached the Foundation Building Realm yet. Uh... I just felt something different... For some reason, I felt like my dantian expanded a little bit again.”

Li Nanting’s face darkened with disbelief. Honestly, he did not know what kind of disciple he had recruited.

Over the past four months, Li Guanqi’s cultivation level had risen quickly. Li Nanting had been watching closely, hoping his disciple would set a new record as the fastest to reach the Foundation Building Realm in the sect’s history.

But if he hadn’t broken through, then what happened?

Li Nanting had even heard from Yu Sui’an that she saw Li Guanqi covered in a layer of dirt.

However, Li Guanqi simply shrugged and said he didn’t know what happened. He was just cultivating, and the impurities appeared.

Li Nanting had seen his fair share of strange occurrences, so he chose to drop the matter. As long as Li Guanqi was unharmed, that was all that mattered.

Li Guanqi inwardly sighed in relief. If Li Nanting had inspected his dantian, he would have noticed something was very different.

Li Nanting changed the subject. “I have some good news for you.”.

“Oh? What is it?”

Li Guanqi took out a bottle of good wine from his storage pouch as he spoke. While it wasn’t as good as immortal wine brewed from the various spirit fruits on the mountain, it had still cost him a hefty sum.

Li Guanqi poured the wine for Li Nanting, who smiled in response.

“The Cloud Dream Immortal Palace, which is controlled by us and a few other sects, will open in a month. This time, the Daxia Sword Sect has received five spots. You will receive one,” Li Nanting said, setting down his wine cup.

Li Guanqi frowned and asked, “What’s that? Is that a secret realm or something?”

Li Nanting paused, then explained, “It’s a very mysterious secret realm. It opens once every hundred years, but its contents are never the same. It’s as if the Cloud Dream Immortal Palace connects to a different realm’s entrance each time.

“These realms often contain great treasures, so your slot is quite valuable. You must make the most of this opportunity.”

Li Guanqi nodded. He was very interested in the Cloud Dream Immortal Palace.

This was also the perfect chance to leave the sect for a while. When he inevitably reached the twelfth or thirteenth level, it would be difficult to explain.

After that, Li Nanting asked Li Guanqi to pack up and even gave him a magical sword.

Li Guanqi stared at its sharp blade, glinting coldly in the light. He was at a loss for words, not knowing how to thank Li Nanting.

Seeing his reaction, Li Nanting smiled and waved him off. “I heard from the people at the Artifact Hall that you’ve already taken a dozen pig iron swords from them in the past few months. I can’t use this sword anymore, so you should take it.”

Li Guanqi lowered his gaze to the wine bottle. He did not speak for a long time.