Chapter 119

Chapter 119: Closed-Door Cultivation

Yun Xi did not dare to be arrogant. After all, she had hidden her spirit root attributes, and she also had the cheat of the chat group. If she still lost out after that, it would be hard to justify.

More fellow disciples gathered around one after another. Some were disciples who had experienced the Twin Mountain City incident with her. Some sincerely congratulated her, while others were jealous. But they were on the ship, and a Nascent Soul True Lord was present, so no one dared to act out. They could only look at Yun Xi with those quiet, envy-filled eyes.

Two days later, the ship landed on the platform before the Hao Ran Sect’s mountain gate. True Lord Yu Feng swept Sheng Yu Hong away to see the Sect Master, while the other disciples traveled in groups back to their respective peaks.

After Yun Xi briefly said goodbye to Mu Ning Zhu and the others, she first sent a voice-transmission talisman to Wei Zong Hao. When she learned he was still guarding the herb field, she flashed over to see her clan brother.

When Wei Zong Hao received the talisman, his face lit up. He opened the formation and waited for Yun Xi to arrive.

When Yun Xi stood before him, he felt the pressure she had not fully concealed yet. He smiled and cupped his fists. “Yun Xi, congratulations on successfully advancing to the Foundation Establishment Stage.”

Yun Xi smiled back. “We’re brother and sister. If you’re too polite, it feels distant. I can see you’re also on the verge of a breakthrough. Why didn’t you go to the Cultivation Hall to break through?”

Yun Xi could tell it clearly. The spiritual energy around Wei Zong Hao was solid and dense. It was only a matter of time before he broke through.

Zong Hao did not hide it. “You didn’t come back, so I was worried. And I didn’t feel at ease handing the herbs in the field to someone else. So I decided to wait for you.

“Mainly because not long after you left, Wei Yun Qing came and said you suddenly disappeared. She even dragged Sister Yun Ting to the herb field to look for you. When she learned you had taken a sect mission and left, her face looked awful.

“But her fussing also let all of us know that the difficulty of the mission you took got upgraded, and it was already transferred to the inner sect Mission Hall.

“I figured if that was the case, you should be back soon. So I might as well wait for you before breaking through. It’s only a few days, and I used the time to compress my spiritual power a bit more. That way, the breakthrough should go smoother.”

After hearing that, Yun Xi knew Wei Yun Qing still was not giving up and still had her in mind. But this trip really had gained her a lot, so she chatted with Zong Hao about everything she had experienced along the way. Zong Hao’s expression turned surprised again and again as he listened.

Especially after hearing about the Nine-Wheel Sacrifice Formation, his slightly round face scrunched up, and he sighed that Yun Xi was lucky. If it had been him, he would probably have died without even leaving scraps behind.

An hour later, Yun Xi ended the topic and said to Zong Hao, “Zong Hao, I’m back now. Don’t worry. Go break through. Once you reach the Foundation Establishment Stage, we can enter the inner sect together. That way, we’ll have company.”

This time, Zong Hao did not refuse. The herb field was rented by Yun Xi in the first place. He had only been helping care for it. Now it was returning to its rightful owner. He stood up, explained the points to watch for in the herb field, and then left Planting Peak.

After watching Zong Hao leave, Yun Xi thought for a moment, then sent voice-transmission talismans to all the Wei Family siblings except Wei Yun Qing. She told them she had returned to the sect safely and was currently guarding the herb field. If they had anything, they could send her a message, or they could come find her at the herb field.

She did not mention advancing to Foundation Establishment. Saying it would feel like showing off. Besides, she had already hinted they could come see her at the herb field. If they truly cared, they would naturally come. If they did not, she would not force it.

Not long after she sent the message, Yun Xi received replies one after another. After confirming she was safe, they said they were cultivating and would not disturb her. They told her to rest well, and in a couple of days they would find a chance to gather.

That suggestion came from Sister Yun Ting. The others only sent brief greetings. Wei Zong Yu did not reply at all, and he was probably in seclusion.

Yun Xi did not think too much of it. After stepping onto the cultivation path, this was normal. It was impossible to meet everyone all the time the way they had in the family.

Yun Xi was only reporting that she was safe. After receiving the replies, she followed Zong Hao’s tips, formed hand seals, and watered the spirit plants. Then she took out the Fourth Rank composite formation disk that City Lord Li had compensated her with.

She was very satisfied with this Fourth Rank formation disk, and it suited her well for using across realms. Her cultivation had not reached Nascent Soul, but her spiritual sense strength had. If she ran into a powerful enemy, the formation disk could play a huge role. As long as she had enough spirit stones, she could even trap a Nascent Soul cultivator for the time it took to brew a cup of tea, buying herself a chance in a fight.

This was a Fourth Rank composite formation disk that combined trapping, defense, killing, and illusion into one. It was essential for traveling, training, and killing and looting.

Since she was going to cultivate, she naturally needed the safest environment. Once she activated the formation disk, it only covered the thatched hut she was in. That also saved spirit stones.

After that, Yun Xi took out talisman brush, talisman paper, and beast blood, and began drawing Second Rank talismans. She drew each Second Rank talisman she currently knew once. Half of the spiritual energy in her body was consumed. Then she began trying to draw Second Rank talismans she had not fully mastered, improving her talisman skills.

Once her spiritual energy was nearly depleted, she waved her sleeve and put away the talisman tools, then started meditating to cultivate. She did not want to cause obvious spiritual energy fluctuations here, since this was an outer peak. So she held spirit stones as she cultivated. She no longer cared about a piece or two.

After replenishing the spiritual energy she had used up, she spent the latter half of the night practicing the body-refining technique.

Now she could already form the first six body-refining moves. Every time she finished, her whole body ached, but once she combed through it with spiritual power, it felt exceptionally comfortable. She could feel that the higher the difficulty of the moves, the more starlight power her body absorbed.

And as her body was tempered by starlight power, it grew tougher and tougher. The tearing sensation that had come from her powerful soul almost disappeared. As long as she did not use spiritual sense attacks beyond her cultivation level, it would not burden her body at all.

When Yun Xi saw a layer of gray grime appear on her skin, she knew it was impurities forced out during tempering. She cast a Dust-Clearing Spell, then sat cross-legged and began cultivating the Soul-Refining Art.

The spiritual sense stab she had used before was an attack method from the Soul-Refining Art. Now, besides consolidating her expanding soul, she also wanted to turn spiritual sense attacks into a hidden trump card.

After following her routine and absorbing the first thread of purple qi after sunrise, she began tending the herb field. She harvested mature spirit herbs, then took out her Purple-Gold Coiling Dragon Cauldron and started refining Second Rank pills. Back on Alchemy Peak, she had been cautious and secretive, but now that she had her own alchemy cauldron, she could refine pills openly.

Yun Xi refined pills for a full day, using up all the spirit herbs she had stored in her storage bag and storage ring. Only then did she reluctantly put away the cauldron. She sorted the pills she had refined, then sat down to cultivate again and restore her spiritual power.

After her spiritual power recovered, she took out the Seven-Star Doom Staff and began practicing staff techniques. But her staff style had been derived from the Peerless Sword Thunder Art, so it felt awkward to train.

Yun Xi understood the difference between sword and staff, so she did not get discouraged. She practiced while thinking it through. She altered that thunder sword style until it barely resembled itself, but the staff movements became much smoother.

Once the staff technique had a proper structure, Yun Xi began training the Thousand Shadow Wind-Supporting Technique. With her current cultivation, she could produce two shadow bodies, briefly confusing enemies. Whether by naked eye or by spiritual sense, they could not be distinguished. As for whether cultivators stronger than her could see through it, she still did not know.