Chapter 202 – A Rare Month of Cultivation

The matter with the Punishment Hall had finally come to an end.

Far away atop the peak of the Blazing Fire Sect, Elder Zhou Qingyuan stood calmly, his expression unreadable as he gazed downward, eyes glinting with a hint of mockery.

“Disciples of a grand sect… truly so bound by rules and order. To abandon a Foundation Establishment disciple without a second thought—how ruthless. Pity that our sect is too weak to do the same.”

“But after this episode, I’m sure those Foundation Establishment disciples will know to restrain themselves a little.”

“Interesting… This incident has stirred up quite a bit within the Blazing Fire Sect… heh heh…”

His voice, though soft, lingered across the mountain top for a long time.

Within the inner chamber of the Punishment Hall, Yu Xian closed the doors and activated the Eight-Cloud Forbidding Formation. Sitting cross-legged in the center, he immersed his mind once again.

To be honest, he had no interest in managing these matters.

Let Wu Zong deal with it. There shouldn’t be any major problems in the short term.

He, on the other hand, would focus solely on cultivation.

Thinking back, in all these years, he had rarely taken the time to properly and thoroughly cultivate.

Always on the move, and then spending two and a half years learning artifact forging under his senior brother…

During all that time, he barely refined his own cultivation base, polished his Foundation Establishment stage, familiarized himself with his spells, or practiced new techniques.

Now that he was confined to the Blazing Fire Sect due to certain circumstances, he might as well make peace with it and use this opportunity to cultivate diligently.

The Ten-Thousand-Year Spring of Wood Vitality Technique he practiced had reached the peak of its third layer, Wood Qi Manifesting Spirit, and was on the verge of breaking through into the fourth layer: Wood Nourishes the Spirit.

This twelve-layer technique culminated in the formation of a Wood Nascent Soul upon completion.

Fourth Layer – Wood Nourishes the Spirit.

All the trees and flora in the world possess a spiritual resonance—seemingly still, yet teeming with intent.

This layer involved nurturing a Wood Spirit within the body, filling the Foundation Platform, perfecting runes, and preparing for the eventual formation of the Great Golden Core.

That was the purpose of the fourth layer.

With his Foundation Platform stable and his Elm Tree growing steadily, Yu Xian exhaled deeply. His expression was serene, his body relaxed, his hands resting gently on his knees as he cultivated without pause.

Time slipped by in the stillness of his practice.

Days turned into weeks. Before he knew it, a whole month had passed.

During that time, no one came to disturb him. The Punishment Hall ran smoothly under Wu Zong’s management.

Thanks to Yu Xian’s lingering prestige, even the Foundation Establishment disciples remained obedient. The Qi Condensation disciples, of course, dared not act out at all.

Thus, for a rare stretch of one month, the Blazing Fire Sect saw unprecedented lawfulness among all its disciples.

“Spirit of Wood Nourishment, manifest and fuse with my Elm Tree—infuse my Foundation Platform!”

Inside the chamber, Yu Xian murmured.

The wood-attribute spirit qi that encircled him suddenly transformed into silk-like strands of light, which he quickly absorbed into his body.

These threads of spirit qi, cultivated for a full month, had finally taken form.

Yu Xian’s lips curved slightly into a smile as he formed a hand seal, guiding the refined energy into his dantian and Foundation Platform.

The runes etched on his Foundation Platform became clearer, while his Elm Tree grew to over twenty-two feet tall. Lush green leaves floated down, vanishing before they could touch the platform—only to regrow instantly in a perpetual cycle.

This was Wood Nourishes the Spirit—the fourth layer was complete.

Opening his eyes, Yu Xian smiled softly and murmured, “This is what they call ‘success through natural progression’. Now, it’s time to focus on the long-term task—refining the Great Pill Body Tempering Technique.”

He hadn’t practiced that since reaching the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment in physical cultivation.

With so many obligations—studying forging, exploring with Core Formation cultivators, refining pills, chasing enemies—there was never time to temper his body.

Now that he had free time, it was time to refine it thoroughly!

The Great Pill Body Tempering Technique, at its current stage, was at the initial level of Lesser Pill Body.

If you asked about the profundity of this technique, Yu Xian would tell you without hesitation: this was the strongest, most terrifying body-refining method he had ever encountered.

Its later stages were immense, boundless, unimaginable to him in his current state.

He was convinced it must have been left behind by a legendary expert—perhaps a Nascent Soul, or even a Great Ascension cultivator. Maybe… even an Immortal.

So he treated the technique with the utmost care, never daring to slack.

It was like building a skyscraper.

If you were just constructing a cottage, mistakes in the foundation could be fixed later.

But if you were building a tower that reached the heavens, then one early misstep could doom everything to collapse.

The technique began to circulate.

His body heated up as all his pores closed, spirit qi surged inward but did not flow out. Using his body as the pill, and heaven and earth as the cauldron!

Vast quantities of spirit qi acted like endless fuel, burning, refining his muscles and bones, making his physical body stronger.

Unlike the earlier Core Pill Body stage, which would radiate heat outward, this Lesser Pill Body stage emitted nothing—no light, no heat—like a still meditation session. None could tell what terrifying refinement was happening within him.

Though unmoving, Yu Xian’s twitching brow revealed the immense pain he endured.

Great Pill Body Tempering… refining the body into a Great Pill.

In essence: refine.

Back when Yu Xian used to refine pills daily, he never considered the agony those herbs must endure in the flames.

But now… now he understood.

Karma…

Three days passed.

His expression was calm, but exhaustion could be seen clearly.

He had pushed his limits.

Ordinarily, for this stage, three cycles of the technique were enough.

But Yu Xian had already completed eighteen.

Eighteen rounds of burning pain.

And now, he was beginning the nineteenth.

The weariness wasn’t fake—it was real.

Heat surged through him again, refining marrow, blood, flesh, and bones.

One more hour passed. He raised his hand, made a seal, and slowly ended the cycle.

He hadn’t reached his limit.

He could push for two more cycles.

But that would leave him completely drained for at least an hour or two, and though this place was safe, it wasn’t absolutely safe.

He didn’t need to take that risk.

He exhaled a long, dark breath of turbid qi, full of refined impurities and toxins.

Opening his eyes, exhaustion lingered. After inhaling two deep breaths of spirit qi, he formed another seal and whispered:

“Lightwood Soaring Spirit Technique.”

This auxiliary technique was obtained during the division of loot from the hunt for Yu Huafeng.

It worked in tandem with flight techniques, lightening the body and increasing speed by 10–20%, so he had kept it alongside the Wave Pulse Grand Art.

Now with time on his hands, he began to learn it.

As he chanted and sealed, pale yellow-green spirit energy wrapped around him. His body felt light, as if he might float.

Of course, that was only illusion—this wasn’t a flight spell, only an assistive art.

Still, with it enhancing Cloud Soar Technique, his flight speed could increase by about 5%.

In life-and-death situations, even a 10% increase could mean the difference between living and dying.

Three days of practice passed. He achieved a slight breakthrough, reaching 5% speed increase.

To go further would take time, but Yu Xian wasn’t in a hurry.

Switching to a different technique, he now began practicing:

Wave Pulse Grand Art.

He remembered it well. When Yu Huafeng used it, even his high-grade defensive artifact barely blocked it.

Had it been a lower-grade artifact, the shockwave alone would’ve been devastating.

Now Yu Xian wanted this as his trump card.

Slowly chanting, he formed a seal. After five breaths, he pointed forward.

Buzz—

A ripple, like a wave on water, spread out from his finger, about a foot wide.

It traveled ten feet and then burst with a boom.

A flicker of satisfaction glowed in Yu Xian’s eyes.

For a first attempt, not bad.

Though it couldn’t compare to Spirit-Finger, Fire-Flood Incantation, or Seven Vine Bind, those had long been second nature to him.

He just needed more practice.

He believed this art had great power once mastered. With his mid-Foundation strength, it would rival even his core battle arts.

Smiling calmly, Yu Xian focused again.

Another day passed.

“Go!”

A shout echoed inside the chamber. He pointed forward, and the air rippled with a forceful surge—ten feet out, it exploded!

Powerful!

Not as great as Yu Huafeng’s, but satisfactory for now.

Just as he was preparing to continue, he heard urgent footsteps approaching quickly.

He had ordered no disturbances unless the matter was dire.

Now, over a month had passed—clearly, something had happened that they could no longer handle.

“Elder!”

Yu Xian frowned slightly, withdrawing his energy, pondering.

From outside came the voice of Qi Yu.