Chapter 336

Chapter 336: Half a Year of Quiet Cultivation

Inside the Demon Prison, there were signs of scorching everywhere, and the vast prison no longer held any demons. The fierce flames had burned away all demonic energy, and the Yin-Yang Nine Heads shed their demonic skin, gradually emanating golden light.

“Good! Just like clay can be fired into exquisite porcelain, the lotus grows from the mud without staining. The Yin-Yang Nine Heads are no longer just the Yin-Yang Nine Heads; I need to simplify the Divine Phoenix Nirvana Talisman and draw the Golden Crow Nirvana Talisman to cultivate slowly.”

Following this, Li Hui engaged in unimaginable cultivation practices within the Haotu Sect, breaking through cave after cave and secret realm after secret realm. Occasionally, he ventured into the markets to exchange for Miao Jade, and rumors of his prodigal spending spread widely.

That morning, at the foot of Sitting Forgetting Peak.

As the first rays of sunshine shot across the horizon, hundreds of spirit talismans ascended into the sky to bask in the light. Before long, many talismans reflected purple light like mirrors, shining down on Li Hui, filling him with vibrant energy. As the spirit talismans turned to flying ash, he seemed to grow a little taller.

Six months had passed since he burned down the Demon Prison. Li Hui diligently continued his cultivation without the slightest hint of slacking. Supported by immense spiritual energy, he activated the Seize the Day Talisman, equating to several extra years of training.

Now, he had a tall stature, a face like jade, and a spirited demeanor, regaining the height of when he was sixteen or seventeen.

The talismans he had just used were the Han Ying talismans, a technique accidentally comprehended by the Jade Symbol Sect cultivators. They were seen as useless since they could only fill a man with vigor at the moment of sunrise, but for Li Hui, they were treasures.

From that vigor, he could draw a trace of profound qi. Every morning exposure equaled half a month of hard practice; using the Nine Patterns Three Exotics Han Ying talisman was even better, with one exposure worth three months of hard work.

Four months ago, Li Hui had already reached a small degree of proficiency in profound qi, a benefit from the Dao Xuan Gui Yuan fruit bestowed by his Master; otherwise, he would have needed six months of hard work to achieve this.

The advantages of small success in profound qi were countless. Firstly, casting Dao arts became faster and more potent, and his bodily functions improved rapidly. Even without a treasure cabinet to store potential, he could seamlessly advance to the mid-Gather Spirit Stage. However, two months ago, he faced danger while exploring the Rakshasa secret realm; he fell into the Ancient Land of Sound Attacks, which ultimately drained his potential completely.

This perilous place rarely appeared; only once was it recorded in the sect’s books. The power of its sound waves was terrifying enough to force him to fuse ancient Wutu soil, cultivating his Ideal Body to the corresponding level of Initial Condense Essence Stage. Therefore, his cultivation still remained at the mid-Gather Spirit Stage, but his physique already far exceeded the current tier.

As for his profound qi, after reaching a small success, achieving a great success was nearly impossible; it required twenty continuous cycles of twenty years each. Mid-stage Bosa cultivators could only live for a thousand years, so reaching the late-stage Bosa, infinitely nearing the All-Manifestation Realm, would require no deterioration in lifespan, particularly those who could live long.

Li Hui did not want to wait a thousand years for progress; he kept researching, finding the Han Ying talisman to be a significant shortcut. However, just having the Han Ying talisman wasn’t enough. The notion of cultivating for twenty cycles meant continuously condensing profound qi, which was divided into nine major levels from the bottom up according to refinement.

With each level, the refinement doubled!

What to do? To accelerate the improvement of profound qi cultivation, he needed to rely on talisman methods. With the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays in his body, the speed of his practices was beyond question, but speed alone was insufficient; it needed to be compressed and purified.

Cultivating step by step was too slow; he needed external force to forge it, but that force couldn’t be too strong or too weak.

After much thought, Li Hui suddenly had a flash of inspiration about Sitting Forgetting Peak.

Every time the disciples practiced their techniques and attacked the wooden balls, he could tamper with the balls, embedding replacement talismans and guiding qi talismans within. Once arranged properly, every day when the disciples bombarded the wooden balls, unknowingly exhausting their energy helped a certain leader refine his profound qi, saving him at least four months of hard work.

With this, combined with the Han Ying talismans and Seize the Day talismans, Li Hui could achieve the equivalent of six months of cultivation by training for just one day at Sitting Forgetting Peak.

Pure six months of cultivation thus arrived, but twenty cycles meant sixty years, and with nine levels over twenty cycles, they were still difficult to climb.

All said and done, reaching a new level would still take a year of investment.

Keep in mind that drawing the Han Ying talismans, replacement talismans, and guiding qi talismans all cost money! Even just sitting still to support the Seize the Day talisman required Miao Jade.

Moreover, in order to cultivate the Yin-Yang Nine Heads, transforming them into the Nine Suns, it was necessary to simplify the Divine Phoenix Nirvana Talisman to draw the Golden Crow Nirvana Talisman. The Fire Bear skin and golden crow feathers were already exhausted, so he had to purchase fire salamanders and various fire feathers at high prices, leading to a bitter smile today.

Due to heavily buying spiritual plants and spiritual plant seeds, including many rare varieties, he had sold off everything he could sell and was now contemplating selling off parts of what couldn’t be sold!

Li Hui sighed: “Sigh! Why does the Haotu Sect only have eighteen secret realms? Recently, there’s been a commotion about hunting down those who destroy the secret realms, with the elders from various factions setting up heavy defenses at the entrances. How sad! What happened to trust among people?”

“These days have been thoroughly idle!”

“The Ghost Fox Sect has fallen silent, leaving the Morning Rooster Dao Soldiers with no place to utilize their skills!”

“Should I find an opportunity to visit home? The Fatty and Qiniang advanced to the Gathering Spirit Stage, Zhong Yuan and Jin Feng’s cultivation speeds aren’t slow, and Mingming’s perseverance is remarkable; she finally cultivated the postnatal Dao body! But Song Zining has become useless! His second sister helped him marry several concubines, tossing all his ambitions in the trash heap. Hehe, his second sister watches out for him! Women truly have a knack for holding back.”

“Where did Big Sister go?” Li Hui thought of Ji Mengxue and frowned: “It’s normal for Qiniang not to foresee anything, but why couldn’t the sect’s master of techniques foresee anything? That seems unreasonable! By the way, I helped Mu Qianyun with a divination; it was an unfavorable omen, obstructed in moving forward.”

“Senior Sister Lian and Senior Sister Yue’s remains are with me. They should have come from the Heart Refining Branch of the Great Xia Jin Tian Sect. To reach the Great Xia, one must use a teleportation array; otherwise, it would take years to fly there. I don’t know why, but the teleportation array was shut down before I entered; the day it reopens is uncertain. To go to the Great Xia, one needs to head to the Dragon Hua Sect in the Daliang Kingdom.”

“Peach Blossom Mist emerged beneath Mirror Lake, but the immortal peach tree core hasn’t appeared yet. Huang Shiqin has been quite diligent, bringing me over a dozen flat peaches, but I’m still short four—just the final four!” While Li Hui was deep in thought, a bell rang out from a distant mountain.

“Dong…” Soon, the bells of the major peaks resounded continuously.

“All disciples listen carefully! Three days from now, we will open the Ancient Tomb of the Divine Sparrow. Whether you are a servant, outer disciple, inner disciple, true disciple, or personal disciple, you will have the chance to go to the Ancient City of Yin Ruins. There are three thousand six hundred ritual altars within the tomb, first come first served.”

“Remember, you represent the Haotu Sect; this is a great opportunity to experience the techniques of various sects. Any disciple conducting a ritual at the altars does not actually enter the ancient city; only a trace of their true spirit goes, so external items like spirit talismans, pills, artifacts, and treasures cannot be relied upon. You must have solid cultivation methods to make a name for yourself in the Ancient City of Yin Ruins.”

“In three days, calm your mind and adjust your spirit. When the time comes, we will enter the tomb…”