Chapter 16: An Invitation

While Liang Yan was still in confusion, another streak of purple light emerged from the spiritual spring and shot toward him. This time, Liang Yan was prepared and turned to dodge. Unexpectedly, the purple light seemed to have eyes; it swerved in mid-air and shot toward him again, moving even faster. Liang Yan dodged in haste, but was ultimately overtaken by the purple light.

As soon as the purple light entered his body, his entire being felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar. However, through careful observation this time, Liang Yan discovered that the purple light seemed to be guided, following his meridians downward until it was finally absorbed by his dantian. To be precise, it was absorbed by the Heavenly Mystery Bead within his dantian.

After absorbing three consecutive streaks of purple light, the Heavenly Mystery Bead vibrated slightly. A moment later, it released an extremely dense surge of spiritual energy, which slowly dispersed throughout his limbs and bones.

Liang Yan was overjoyed. Although he still did not understand the underlying cause, he could not pass up such a magnificent opportunity. He immediately sat cross-legged in meditation, circulating his energy to refine that pure spiritual energy.

By the end of the night, the spiritual power within Liang Yan's body had become increasingly pure. Through his observations throughout the night, he reached a conclusion: these purple lights seemed to be attracted by the Heavenly Mystery Bead, actively drawn out from the spiritual spring. This could be deduced from Sun, Qian, and Li's situation, as they were not affected by the purple light at all.

"There must be another mystery within this spiritual spring," Liang Yan thought to himself.

However, this was merely a thought; he lacked the ability to investigate the mystery. Being able to obtain the spiritual energy and the purple light from this spring was already a massive boon. Liang Yan was secretly delighted; if he continued to cultivate this way, he might be able to attempt breaking through the bottleneck of the peak of the second level of Qi Refinement and strike for the third level within a few days.

As the sky began to turn pale, Liang Yan finished his cultivation and stood up. Sun, Qian, and Li had also finished and were walking toward him.

"It seems Brother Liang has had a very productive night," Sun, Qian, and Li said, looking at him with considerable surprise.

It should be noted that for low-level Qi Refinement cultivators, they were merely equivalent to great masters of internal martial arts in the secular world. They still needed to eat and sleep. Although Sun, Qian, and Li would not suffer physical damage from practicing all night, they were mentally exhausted. At this moment, they looked weary, just as they did during the day.

In contrast, Liang Yan looked radiant and full of energy, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever. Knowing this was the nourishing effect of the purple light, Liang Yan could not explain it directly and could only nod vaguely in agreement.

Both sides harbored their own thoughts and did not ask further. After exploring the vicinity together, they returned to their dormitories.

For the next several days, Liang Yan worked and read during the day, and came to the cave to cultivate with Sun, Qian, and Li at night. One night, Liang Yan suddenly had a sensation; the spiritual energy circulated through his meridians for several cycles, but when the energy reached the Baihui acupoint at the top of his head, the movement slowed down. It was as if an invisible, intangible barrier was obstructing it from the shadows.

Liang Yan knew this was the bottleneck of the second level of Qi Refinement; only by breaking through this barrier could one enter the third level. Thus, he calmed his mind and continuously mobilized the spiritual energy within his body, charging toward the Baihui acupoint time and time again.

As he frantically drove his nameless mantra, the pure spiritual energy rapidly gathered into a slender beam of energy and began to charge through the bottleneck along the meridians.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint, muffled sound suddenly echoed. In the vast, silent cave, it felt as if a slight breeze had risen from nowhere. This caused Sun, Qian, and Li to open their eyes and look at Liang Yan suspiciously, but since they saw no unusual phenomena, they closed their eyes and resumed their cultivation.

Only Liang Yan knew that just now, he had successfully broken through and smoothly advanced to the third level of Qi Refinement. However, while breaking the bottleneck, he had secretly activated the Heavenly Mystery Bead to conceal his aura, which resulted in almost no fluctuations being transmitted outward. Even Sun, Qian, and Li, who were right next to him, only felt a slight sensation before nothing more happened.

Feeling the significantly increased pure spiritual power within his body, Liang Yan was overjoyed. However, he did not relax; instead, he silently circulated his energy to consolidate his newly broken realm.

By the time he opened his eyes again, the sky was bright. Liang Yan looked to the side and saw that Sun, Qian, and Li were gone. Clearly, after waiting for him without success and not wanting to interrupt his cultivation, they had returned alone.

"Calculating the time, it's about time to report to Wang Yuan," Liang Yan muttered to himself. However, he intended to return to the dormitory to wash up first, because his breakthrough to the third level of Qi Refinement last night had caused some impurities to be expelled from his body, which felt uncomfortable sticking to his skin. Liang Yan knew that with every level of breakthrough in the Qi Refinement stage, one's mortal physique would be improved, cleansing the meridians and expelling innate impurities to make the body more suitable for cultivation.

Liang Yan walked toward the dormitory and soon arrived at the apricot grove thatched cottage. However, a person was currently standing in the courtyard, dressed in moon-white robes, a sharp sword hanging at his waist, and wearing a scholar's cap, looking very elegant and free-spirited.

Hearing footsteps, the person turned around and looked at Liang Yan with a smile, saying, "Junior Brother Liang, I have been waiting for a long time."

Liang Yan felt strange and simultaneously became alert. After all, he had been out all night, and he didn't know when this person had arrived. The spiritual spring provided immense benefits to his cultivation, so he could not afford to reveal even a single clue.

With this thought, Liang Yan bowed and said, "Greetings, Senior Brother Zhuo." He then added with a look of confusion, "Senior Brother Zhuo is one of the top elite disciples of the outer sect, while I am merely an ordinary handyman disciple. I did not expect Senior Brother Zhuo to deign to visit someone as lowly as myself; I am truly unworthy."

Zhuo Bufan maintained his smile, a smile that felt as refreshing as a spring breeze. He replied calmly, "Not at all. Junior Brother Liang's achievements in the Dao of Formations can be called extraordinary and rare in this world. Although I was born into the Pill Vein, I am quite obsessed with formations, which is why I wished to seek an audience with you and ask for your guidance."

Hearing such flattery, Liang Yan felt somewhat awkward. He could only reply, "It is merely a small trick. Once Senior Brother Zhuo draws his divine sword, these unorthodox paths cannot stand against a single strike of yours."

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Bufan's expression turned serious, and he said to Liang Yan, "Junior Brother, do not belittle yourself. Among the three thousand Great Daos, each has its own wonders. Back then, our sect's founder, Master Yixing, was known as a master of both chess and formations; he entered the Dao through formations and established the millennium-old great sect of the Yixing Pavilion."

Liang Yan's face flushed slightly, and he said, "Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother Zhuo. I shall certainly keep it in mind."

Zhuo Bufan's expression softened, and he smiled at Liang Yan again. "Actually, I came today specifically to ask Brother Liang to set up a formation for me."

"What? Senior Brother, you still need me to set up a formation for you?"

"That's right," Zhuo Bufan nodded. "Actually, I have been refining a certain type of pill, but it is extremely difficult to succeed. Especially during the refinement process, the spiritual energy of the materials fails to converge, causing the spiritual energy to dissipate when the pill is finally formed, resulting in a useless pill."

Liang Yan's mind lit up, and he blurted out, "Could it be that Senior Brother wishes to set up a Spirit Gathering Formation?"

Zhuo Bufan looked at him approvingly and nodded. "Exactly. I want Junior Brother to set up this Spirit Gathering Formation while I am refining the pill, so that the spiritual energy of the materials condenses without dispersing, thereby increasing the chance of successfully forming the pill."

He then added somewhat awkwardly, "Actually, I have researched some formations myself for this purpose, but I have never grasped the essence. To be honest, my demand for this pill is immense, but I have yet to refine a single one. If Junior Brother can help me succeed, I will surely reward you handsomely."

As he spoke, he opened his right hand, revealing three snow-white, pure pills with cloud-like patterns on them.

"Spirit Gathering Pills!" Liang Yan took a deep breath.

These Spirit Gathering Pills were rare spiritual pills for Qi Refinement cultivators, possessing the effect of improving a cultivator's physique and increasing the speed at which they absorb spiritual energy. Especially for a cultivator like Liang Yan, who had a mixed spiritual root and naturally slow absorption, they were exceptionally precious.

Originally, handyman disciples in the sect would receive one Spirit Gathering Pill every six months to assist their cultivation, but unfortunately, the resources for the three of them had been intercepted by Wang Yuan. Now, for Zhuo Bufan to produce three at once, the temptation was undeniably great.

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Liang Yan said to Zhuo Bufan, "My skills are shallow; I fear I might fail to meet Senior Brother Zhuo's high expectations."

"No matter. Just do your best. As they say, man proposes, but God disposes; success or failure depends on the will of Heaven."

Liang Yan nodded slightly and then added, "Also, as a handyman disciple, I'm afraid I'll need to finish my work before..."

Before he could finish, Zhuo Bufan interrupted, "You don't need to worry about that. I have already spoken to Wang Yuan. From now on, whenever I am refining pills, you are exempt from your daily chores and can come directly to help me."

Liang Yan had not expected him to have such influence that he could command the handyman supervisor. However, recalling the discussions of several disciples from that day, it seemed Zhuo Bufan had an uncle who was an Elder of the Inner Cabinet, which likely granted him some privileges.

Thus, with no more concerns, Liang Yan said, "Since Senior Brother Zhuo has extended such a kind invitation, I cannot refuse. Shall we set off?"

"Hahaha, Junior Brother Liang is indeed straightforward! Come! Follow me to Emerald Bamboo Peak." With that, he performed a hand seal, and the Fixed Light Sword spiraled out, hovering quietly at chest height between the two. Zhuo Bufan pulled Liang Yan, and the two stood upon the flying sword, heading toward Emerald Bamboo Peak.

Although the sect prohibited low-level disciples from flying through the air within sect territory as a sign of respect, it was permitted to use objects to fly close to the ground for travel. After all, the sect's valleys were so vast that relying solely on one's legs would be inconvenient.

The two traveled by sword and arrived at the foot of Emerald Bamboo Peak in the blink of an eye. This peak was where the outer sect disciples of the Pill Vein usually cultivated. As one of the top-ranked senior brothers of the outer sect, Zhuo Bufan possessed an independent cave dwelling near the summit.

Liang Yan jumped down from the flying sword, his eyes unable to hide his excitement. He had a profound fascination with the Dao of Sword Cultivation and was clearly very excited by his first experience of flying on a sword.

Observing his expression, Zhuo Bufan merely smiled faintly, performed a hand seal to retrieve the sword, and the two began to ascend the mountain path of Emerald Bamboo Peak step by step.

As the name suggested, the mountain paths were lined with upright green bamboo. As the breeze blew, the bamboo forest swayed, producing a subtle melody that sounded like heavenly music.

"It is said that this Emerald Bamboo Forest was personally planted by the Founder back in the day, concealing the Great Dao of Rhythm. Those with the right affinity can even obtain profound methods to cleanse their souls and nourish their seas of consciousness from it."

"There is such a thing? Junior Brother is truly ignorant..." Liang Yan said with a bitter smile.

"Haha, rumors are always just rumors. At least in the ten-plus years I have been cultivating here, I have never heard of anyone having such an opportunity. I am merely sharing an interesting tale with you; there is no need to take it seriously."

"Haha," Liang Yan also laughed.

Chatting and laughing, the two soon arrived in front of Zhuo Bufan's cave dwelling. Zhuo Bufan cast a spell to fly into the courtyard, the gate opening at his command, and he then led Liang Yan inside.