Chapter 028

Chapter 28: Qi Refining Fourth Layer

The little Red Maned colt stomped its front hooves and licked its lips, snorting softly toward Wei Zong Hao without showing any resistance as the two approached.

Seeing this, Wei Yun Xi brightened with hope and quickly said to Little Fatty, “I think it likes candy. Let’s try negotiating with it using some sweets.”

Wei Zong Hao immediately covered his storage bag, his face full of reluctance, since he didn’t have many candies left.

Wei Yun Xi rubbed her round cheeks, coaxing gently, “Brother Zong Hao, I promise I’ll give you another bag of sweets later.”

She freely made this promise, knowing she’d worry about fulfilling it only after passing the assessment.

In the end, Wei Zong Hao failed to protect his candies and reluctantly handed them over, successfully negotiating a ride with the little Red Maned colt.

Once seated on its back, both children quickly felt the candies were well spent. Although the Red Maned colt was not yet fully grown, its speed easily matched the finest mortal horses. Despite carrying the two little beans, it raced onward without slowing, clearly familiar with the mountain terrain, swiftly heading toward the gates of the Grand Righteous Sect.

Whenever the colt slowed its pace, Wei Yun Xi would immediately prompt Wei Zong Hao to feed it another candy. With each sweet treat, the little colt joyfully ran even faster, amusing True Lord Yu Feng who secretly watched them from afar, his mouth twitching involuntarily at the spectacle.

Finally, just as the sun began to set, the pair reached the gates of the Grand Righteous Sect, finding it empty of people.

When the Red Maned colt stopped, Wei Yun Xi and Wei Zong Hao jumped off. Wei Zong Hao affectionately handed his last candy to the little colt, saying reluctantly, “Little horse, I’ve given you all the candies in my storage bag. Thank you for helping us get here so early. Once I become a disciple of Grand Righteous Sect, I’ll definitely come to visit you.”

Just then, a disciple riding a flying sword landed gracefully in front of them.

The disciple, dressed in a blue Daoist robe, smiled gently at the two small children, saying, “Are you participants of this year’s disciple assessment?”

“Yes, respected senior, my name is Wei Yun Xi,” Wei Yun Xi answered politely.

“My name is Wei Zong Hao. We’re both from Emerald Jade City’s Wei family,” Little Fatty quickly added.

“You’ve done very well. I have already recorded your names and rankings. You may rest here outside the gate. After three days, the next round of assessments will begin.”

Wei Yun Xi and Wei Zong Hao both cupped their hands gratefully, “Thank you, respected senior!”

Song Ke smiled and approached the little colt, patting its head affectionately as he said, “You got lucky this time, finding disciples willing to help you. Let’s see if you still dare sneak out alone to play.”

Little Fatty immediately stepped forward, respectfully explaining after a bow, “Respected senior, the little colt was trapped by iron bramble. Junior Sister and I heard its cries and rescued it. It carried us here out of gratitude.”

Song Ke laughed gently, replying, “It’s fine. That was your skill and its good fortune. I’ll take it back to Spirit Beast Peak now. You two can rest assured and meditate here safely.”

“Yes, respected senior!” they said obediently.

With that, Song Ke lifted the little Red Maned colt onto his flying sword and vanished into the distance as a streak of light.

Wei Zong Hao gazed after him enviously, sighing, “When will we be able to fly on swords?”

Wei Yun Xi looked toward the direction Song Ke had disappeared, answering thoughtfully, “I know about that. You must reach the Foundation Establishment stage before you can fly on swords.”

“Oh, that seems so far away!”

“Then we’ll just have to start working hard now. One day we’ll definitely fly on swords,” Wei Yun Xi encouraged, clenching her small fist with determination.

Then, the two found a sheltered spot and casually sat down to meditate. The moment Wei Yun Xi entered her meditative state, she sensed the surrounding spiritual energy eagerly pouring into her body. The spiritual energy here was even richer than in the Wei family’s cultivation hall. She couldn’t help but marvel secretly, [Truly worthy of being the second-ranked great sect in the Western Region!]

Seeing his younger sister beginning to meditate, Wei Zong Hao quickly followed suit. Although they had already passed the first round of assessment, they still needed to prepare for the trials ahead.

Meanwhile, Wei Yun Ting’s group was struggling through the forest. Because Wei Yun Qing repeatedly triggered trouble, everyone finally decided not to let her handle anything. She was simply instructed to follow closely behind. This adjustment ironically improved their speed, though Wei Yun Qing wasn’t pleased. She clearly sensed everyone distancing themselves, which left her even more unhappy.

On the final day, several scattered groups reconvened. Although their numbers had diminished slightly, people felt safer together.

When the Feng family’s disciples didn’t see Wei Yun Xi among them, they anxiously approached Wei Zong Han for answers. Wei Zong Han could only awkwardly explain, “Younger Sister Yun Xi got separated along with another child from our family, but they’re clever. Perhaps they’ll arrive at the sect before us, and we’ll see them when we arrive.”

He said this mainly to comfort himself and ease the Feng family’s worries, since everyone knew Wei Yun Xi was favored by her maternal family. Unexpectedly, his comforting words turned out to be true.

At this moment, Wei Yun Xi was indeed trying to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining. The spiritual energy here was simply too abundant to pass up.

Thanks to her immortal ornament, she wasn’t worried about her spiritual root being exposed. Moreover, breaking through to the fourth layer didn’t require much spiritual energy. She reminded herself she must stay low-profile and grow steadily from here.

Wei Yun Xi spent the entire night diligently absorbing spiritual energy, circulating it through her meridians, refining it, and finally condensing it into her dantian. As dawn broke and the first ray of purple sunlight emerged, she successfully broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Her meridians swelled painfully as abundant energy rushed through, but Wei Yun Xi guided the flow with her strong divine sense, circulating it smoothly until it settled obediently into her dantian, filling one-fourth of it.

The floral forehead immortal ornament automatically concealed her true level, making it appear as if she had only reached the first layer.

Her breakthrough stirred Wei Zong Hao awake, and as she opened her eyes, he asked excitedly, “Junior Sister Yun Xi, did you just break through?”

“Yes, now I’m also at the first layer of Qi Refining.”

“Oh, amazing! Now you’re at the same level as me!” he said with admiration.

“The spiritual energy here is much denser than at home. If you try hard today, you might break through to the second layer too.”

Wei Zong Hao immediately nodded determinedly. “Absolutely! I felt I was close last night but ended up falling asleep,” he admitted with an embarrassed smile.

Wei Yun Xi cheerfully assured him, “Brother Zong Hao, I’ll keep watch while you meditate today. You’ll definitely break through.”

“Yes, definitely! But first, let’s eat. I’m starving!” he said, patting his growling stomach.

Wei Yun Xi generously took out fasting pills, giving one to Little Fatty and taking another herself.

By that afternoon, Wei Yun Ting’s group finally reached the sect’s front square, which was already bustling with children who had arrived earlier. Their group wasn’t the earliest, nor were they the last.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed in surprise, “Hey, look! Who’s that?”