Chapter 18: Bottleneck

In the following week, after refining all three Spirit Gathering Pills, Liang Yan's speed of absorbing spiritual energy improved slightly. Combined with the abundant spiritual power of the Spirit Spring and the nourishment from the Purple Qi, his cultivation speed was far beyond what it had been before.

Ever since learning that Zhuo Bufan had invited him to his cave dwelling, Wang Yuan's attitude toward Liang Yan had become noticeably more amicable; he had even returned the strictly rationed sect resources to him. Of course, Li Dali and Sun Qianli were not so lucky; there was still no hope for the spirit stones and Spirit Gathering Pills they rightfully deserved.

This caused Liang Yan to sneer inwardly, further realizing Wang Yuan's despicable nature. However, Li Dali was naturally optimistic and easygoing, and because Sun Qianli held the secret of the Spirit Spring cave, neither would have any real conflict with Wang Yuan.

Compared to the other branches, the Array Branch was relatively peaceful due to its small number of handyman disciples and simple relationships. Liang Yan worked in the mornings, studied arrays in the afternoons, and went to the Spirit Spring cave to cultivate at night. Thanks to the nourishment of the Purple Qi within the spring, he saved a significant amount of sleep, often only sleeping for a few hours every three or four days. Every mid-month, he went to assist Zhuo Bufan in alchemy in exchange for three Spirit Gathering Pills.

Cultivation life was, in truth, incredibly monotonous. Day after day, Liang Yan repeated the same routine.

In the blink of an eye, three years passed.

One evening, inside the Spirit Spring cave, a youth in gray sat cross-legged with his hands resting flat, his expression solemn.

This person was Liang Yan. Compared to three years ago, he had grown much taller and his physique was more upright. At this moment, the spiritual power within his body was surging, circulating through his limbs and bones. His aura gradually climbed, appearing as if it were about to reach a critical threshold, when suddenly, the spiritual power lost control and became chaotic, crashing violently through his internal organs. Liang Yan spat out a mouthful of blood, and his aura rapidly withered.

"I didn't expect to fail at the final step after all," Liang Yan said with a faint, bitter smile.

With the help of the Spirit Spring's energy, the Purple Qi, and Zhuo Bufan's Spirit Gathering Pills, he had reached the peak of the third layer of Qi Refinement two years ago. For the past two years, he had attempted to break through the bottleneck of the third layer countless times whenever his breath reached perfection. But all he had received in return were countless failures.

Over these two years, aside from his understanding of arrays advancing by leaps and bounds, his personal cultivation had remained stuck at the peak of the third layer of Qi Refinement, making almost no progress!

"Could that enchantress have been right? Is my innate talent so poor that I can never break through the peak of the third layer in this lifetime?" Thinking of the words spoken by the Pavilion Master of Yixing Pavilion, he couldn't help but feel a wave of frustration.

However, Liang Yan immediately stabilized his state of mind. "Hmph! The difficulty of cultivation is like rowing against the current or building a ladder to heaven. I knew the dangers from the start; how could I give up so easily?"

"Right! That Obstacle-Breaking Pill I heard about last time!"

Over the past two years, having failed to break through the third layer multiple times, Liang Yan had also been indirectly inquiring with fellow disciples about methods to break through bottlenecks. Although most of what he heard was impossible for him to achieve, he had learned of a pill called the "Obstacle-Breaking Pill."

It was said that this pill had a certain effect on helping Qi Refinement cultivators break through bottlenecks. Of course, the higher the cultivation, the smaller the effect; by the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Refinement, its effect was almost zero.

Liang Yan took a deep breath to stabilize the spiritual power in his body and thought to himself: *It seems I have no choice but to find a way to get an Obstacle-Breaking Pill to try.*

However, obtaining pills within the sect required exchanging contribution points at the Pill Pavilion, and contribution points had to be obtained by accepting and completing tasks at the White Tiger Hall. Most tasks at the White Tiger Hall were posted by cultivators within the sect, who used their own contribution points as rewards to recruit others. There were also some tasks issued by the sect itself, which often offered extremely high contribution points but came with much greater danger.

But according to sect regulations, only inner and outer disciples were allowed to accept tasks at the White Tiger Hall. As a handyman disciple, Liang Yan had no qualification to accept tasks, and thus no way to obtain the contribution points needed to exchange for an Obstacle-Breaking Pill at the Pill Pavilion.

"Isn't this just a death loop?" Liang Yan felt vexed, yet helpless. Just as he was frowning in frustration, a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Right! Three years have passed. Calculating the time, it should be about the time when Martial Uncle Lin Fei descends the mountain to hold the auction. If there is an auction, perhaps an Obstacle-Breaking Pill will be for sale."

The more Liang Yan thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He made up his mind that after completing his handyman duties tomorrow, he would immediately go to see this Martial Uncle Lin.

The next afternoon, in front of the gate of a secluded pavilion, a youth stood with his hands at his sides, looking very respectful.

This was Liang Yan. He felt quite nervous about coming here; after all, three years had passed, and it was uncertain whether Lin Fei would even remember him. Although the old monk had helped Lin Fei in the past, Lin Fei had fulfilled his promise by leading the old monk into the sect, so they were even. Whether he would help him this time depended entirely on fate.

As he was thinking this, a maidservant suddenly walked out from the courtyard, nodded slightly to him, and said, "Immortal Lin requests your presence. Follow me."

The servants in the cave dwellings of these elders were mortals. Most of them lacked spiritual roots and were unable to cultivate, possessing limited knowledge; they simply referred to all these cultivators as "Immortals."

Liang Yan followed the maidservant into the pavilion and into a room in the west wing. The interior was simply decorated, with a pot of warm tea brewing on a square wooden table. Behind the table sat a scholar in green robes, looking at him with a smile.

Liang Yan's heart tightened. He stepped forward and bowed. "Liang Yan, a handyman disciple of the Array Branch, greets Martial Uncle Lin."

"Haha, no need for such formalities! Nephew Liang, how have you been in the sect these past three years?"

"Thanks to Martial Uncle's care, everything has been well."

"That is good," Lin Fei said with a smile. "Speaking of which, if the senior hadn't stepped in to save me back then, there would be no Lin today. I only provided a small amount of help, and I have always felt I owed him."

Liang Yan sensed that his mood was exceptionally good today. After a brief observation, he understood: *No wonder. It turns out Martial Uncle Lin has just recently broken through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.*

"Nephew Liang, is there a reason for your visit today?"

"Indeed. This disciple has encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation and has made almost no progress. I heard that Martial Uncle is about to descend the mountain to hold an auction, and I wished to ask if Martial Uncle could allow me to accompany you, so that I might purchase some pills for my cultivation."

"I see," Lin Fei nodded. "You handyman disciples cannot take tasks from the White Tiger Hall, so naturally, you have no contribution points to exchange for pills. And since the sect forbids Qi Refinement disciples from descending the mountain at will, that is why you came to me."

"Martial Uncle is perceptive; this junior is truly left with no other choice!"

"Haha, no matter! You are a descendant of the senior; I can certainly handle such a small matter."

Liang Yan said with great joy, "This junior thanks Martial Uncle for granting my request!"

Lin Fei waved his hand, then suddenly remembered something and added, "By the way, I heard Sister Zhou mention last time that you seem to have joined the Array Branch?"

Not knowing what he meant, Liang Yan could only nod. "That is correct. This disciple has a great fondness for arrays, so I chose to join the Array Branch."

Lin Fei sighed. "The Array Branch is sparsely populated. Currently, there are very few outer disciples, and I heard there are only two handyman disciples. Including you, there are only three. The grand techniques of the Ancestor have left few in the later generations who can comprehend them."

After a moment of sentiment, Lin Fei asked, "Since you have joined the Array Branch, have you spent time studying arrays?"

"This disciple is unskilled, but due to the six-year pact I made with the Pavilion Master, I have been pushing myself day and night to read books and study arrays. I have now attained a rudimentary understanding."

"Then, do you know the Heaven's Eye Array?"

Liang Yan's brow furrowed, but he still replied, "This disciple knows a little. The Heaven's Eye Array is a surveillance array that can observe the strength and weakness of others and break through certain disguises and concealment techniques."

Lin Fei nodded with satisfaction. "Correct. It seems you have not wasted your time." He continued, "Since you know the Heaven's Eye Array, could you help set up a simple array at the entrance of the auction venue? Recently, evil cultivators have been causing trouble near Green Mountain, and I fear someone might sneak into the auction."

"Although this disciple's skill is limited, I am willing to try."

"Haha, good!" Lin Fei laughed. "Rest assured, as long as you set it up properly and this auction is completed successfully, I will not mistreat you. I will give you twenty spirit stones as your reward. How does that sound?"

Liang Yan naturally had no objections. After they conversed further, Lin Fei finally said, "Alright, go back and prepare first. We will set off for Green Mountain in three days."

Liang Yan rose to take his leave. On the way back to his dormitory, he had already made a silent vow: he must use this opportunity to get his hands on an Obstacle-Breaking Pill, otherwise, he might have to wait another three years!