Chapter 70

Chapter 70: At Last in the Late Stage, Storms Unending

While the world outside boiled with unrest, Zhao Chun shut herself away and trained for a breakthrough.

It did not take long for cultivators to catch the scent of trouble. Word spread about the old blood-feud between the two sects. The Ling Zhen Sect had once fled in disgrace to the Secluded Valley; its strength had been cut down, and only about half its disciples had survived.

When sects went to war, it was always the low-level disciples who paid first. Panic simmered for days. Rumors ricocheted through the grounds until Li Shu made examples of a few loudmouths with thunderous punishment, and the chatter finally died.

In seclusion, Zhao Chun swallowed the Scarlet-Crowned Sunblossom she had taken from the Windflame Sect ruins. With Liu Xuan’s Lotus-Heart Qi-Regulating Pill supporting her, metal and fire qi surged through her body—only to be pressed down as a thread of wood qi invaded, guiding the force through her dantian and meridians.

The Scarlet-Crowned Sunblossom deserved its reputation as a top-grade Mortal Rank spirit herb. Zhao Chun cultivated for three full months before she absorbed its medicinal power completely. When she finally drew a breath of true qi from deep within, she stepped cleanly into the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage.

The bottleneck between mid-stage and late-stage shattered. From here, the road was simple: accumulate true qi, refine it, and push onward.

Nine months later, after a full year in seclusion, she had refined nearly half the true qi she needed. The eighth level arrived.

Less than five months remained before the Hundred Sects Assembly.

It was time to start thinking seriously about the Foundation Establishment Stage.

In as little as one year—or as many as three—she would touch its threshold. The spirit materials required to form her Spiritual Foundation were something she had to begin searching for now.

She cultivated both metal and fire. If she pursued only one attribute, then once she advanced to Foundation Establishment, the balance would skew and the backlash could injure her. That was why most cultivators focused on a single spiritual root: dual-attribute cultivation meant that when you built your Spiritual Foundation, you needed multiple attribute materials to stabilize it.

A quick search through the Spirit Materials Compendium confirmed what she already feared. For fire, the best match was Earthfire Ling Zhi, which grew on lava-slick cave walls deep underground. For metal, the ideal choice was a rare spirit ore called Heavenly Sun Jade—and its core was the finest part.

If she was going to build her foundation, she had to do it like Meng Han: find what suited her best and form a superior Spiritual Foundation.

Both materials were scarce, but Zhao Chun had no intention of giving up.

At least their habitats were similar. Both could be found in cave systems across the Eastern Domain. She would not have to race across the world chasing two entirely different leads.

For now, though, the Hundred Sects Assembly came first.

After it ended, she could travel, gain experience, and search for spirit materials at her own pace.

Seclusion at the Qi Refining Stage was not a complete seal. Qi Refining cultivators still needed food. Fasting Pills could substitute in the short term, but they were not enough over the long haul; she still had to eat to replenish her blood qi. That meant she could keep up with major events through Cui Cui.

And there had been plenty.

For one, her nominal senior brother in her master’s line—Li Shu’s chief disciple, Huo Zi Xun—had broken through and become the Ling Zhen Sect’s fifth Essence Condensation cultivator. He was granted an elder’s title as well. For a time, Li Shu’s faction surged to the forefront of the sect, its momentum so fierce it felt like oil poured onto open flame.

There was good news from Cui Lan E too. Lian Jing had defeated an official Outer Sect disciple in the tournament. At last, she shed her status as a menial—an unquestionable cause for celebration.

The sect’s internal turmoil was endless, but it did not touch Zhao Chun directly.

When only a few days remained before the Hundred Sects Assembly, Zhao Chun finally emerged. By then, she had refined roughly eight-tenths of her true qi. The ninth level of the Qi Refining Stage was no longer far.

Within the sect, many cultivators lingered at the ninth level to stabilize themselves rather than rushing through a breakthrough. So during the year and a half Zhao Chun had been closed away, many of the 20 Qi Refining disciples chosen for the assembly advanced—yet none of those already at the ninth level broke through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

They suppressed their cultivation for two reasons. First, to make their foundations denser, sturdier. Second, because once you stepped into the Foundation Establishment Stage, you could no longer attend the assembly as a Qi Refining disciple.

To go, you would have to compete with Foundation Establishment disciples, and only the winner earned the right to attend.

But how could someone newly in Foundation Establishment defeat mid-stage, let alone late-stage, opponents? Better to hold the breakthrough at the edge of the tongue and advance after the assembly.

At the Hundred Sects Assembly, the true matches belonged to Foundation Establishment and Essence Condensation cultivators. Qi Refining disciples were barely worth the great sects’ attention.

This time, Li Shu and Qiu Silhouette would both attend as late-stage Essence Condensation cultivators. Li Shu was already over 100 and could not participate in combat, but Qiu Silhouette was still under the age limit and could enter the matches. The newly advanced Huo Zi Xun was also listed among the combatants.

As for the Foundation Establishment disciples, 10 were selected—Inner Sect elites, all late-stage, all under 50.

Among them were familiar faces Zhao Chun knew: Liu Xuan and Du Fan Zhi. Even Jiang Yun stood among the group, sword in hand.

A year and a half without seeing them. In that time, Zhao Chun had risen from the sixth to the eighth level. For a dual spiritual-root cultivator—especially one cultivating two attributes at once—her speed was astonishing.

The 20 Qi Refining disciples no longer stood in their original order. With everyone improving in the interim, the rankings would shift drastically if they fought again, so they lined up without ceremony and dispersed to their places.

Fang Cai Ran stood beside Zhao Chun. She was still at the ninth level, yet the aura around her was steadier, more refined—clear proof of real progress.

“This trip is to the Tun Qi Pool,” Fang Cai Ran said, eyes bright with longing. “It lies at the far southern edge of the Southern Domain—practically the end of the Heng Yun world.”

She spoke like someone already breathing that air. “The Southern Domain’s leader, the Zhi Yue Sect. Rong Qing Mountain—the talisman cultivators’ holy land. The Dan Cheng Sect. Windsea Tower… The famous sects of the Southern Domain will all gather. Genius after genius will appear. It’s a grand event.”

The sects she named were not merely famous; they were formidable. Each had many Essence Condensation cultivators and several Profound Division cultivators. The strongest was the host, the Zhi Yue Sect—13 Profound Division cultivators, making it one of the top three powers in all of Heng Yun.

There were even rumors that sects like that possessed experts above the Profound Division Stage, though that was far beyond what disciples like them could ever confirm.

News had already swept the Southern Domain about two especially dazzling geniuses: Song Yi Kun of the Zhi Yue Sect, and Xue Yun of Rong Qing Mountain. Both entered the Essence Condensation Stage at 19, crushing their peers.

Before their breakthroughs, they were said to be invincible at the Foundation Establishment Stage. In past assemblies, they had overwhelmed everyone else; only when they faced each other did they have to go all out.

Now that they had stepped into the Essence Condensation Stage, the titles they would carve out among their new peers would only be more spectacular.

“There’s no need to worry about those sects,” Fang Cai Ran said, her expression tightening. “The one we truly have to watch is someone else.”

Her voice dropped. “The Ren Yang Sect is also in the Southern Domain. This Hundred Sects Assembly, they’ll definitely come. The grudge between our sects runs deep. If they were willing to ambush and kill disciples before, they have no bottom line. They might move against us.”

She paused, her gaze sharp. “I heard a senior brother say that in past assemblies, disciples have died for no reason. This time, three Essence Condensation cultivators are traveling with us as well—to keep the disciples safe.”

Zhao Chun had dealt with the Ren Yang Sect before. She had nearly died by Tu Mian’s hand. Their gu arts were strange and treacherous, and they excelled at striking from the shadows. Hearing Fang Cai Ran, Zhao Chun’s vigilance rose at once.