Chapter 24: Breakthrough in Cultivation

After processing the items in Liu Tianlong's storage bag, Song Qingming continued traveling south for several more days, entering a somewhat desolate hilly region. Seeing the sun setting in the west and the sky gradually darkening, Song Qingming came to a halt.

After observing his surroundings, he found a cliff face and released his Blazing Sun Sword to strike against the rock. After some effort, he finally excavated a small cave. He then set up a simple Five Elements Maze Array outside the entrance, placed a spirit stone to activate the formation, and only then entered the cave with satisfaction.

Ever since his last encounter with the high-grade demon crocodile, he had preferred to take longer routes over the past few days, choosing to walk through desolate mountains and flatlands to avoid the deep mountain marshes where demon beasts roamed. Even at night, he insisted on finding a cave and setting up a formation before sleeping.

Lighting a campfire, Song Qingming took some spirit rice from his storage bag to cook. Qi Refinement stage cultivators could not yet practice fasting and needed to eat every few days. Fortunately, he had brought a significant amount of spirit rice, so he did not have to worry about food supplies for the time being.

After dinner, Song Qingming rested for a moment, then took out a Qi Nourishing Pill and swallowed it, circulating the Kunyuan Manual to slowly dissolve the medicinal power of the pill.

He had been out on this journey for nearly a month. Without a spiritual vein to cultivate in within these deep mountains, he could only rely on the spirit rice he carried to absorb a small amount of spiritual energy, so his cultivation had not progressed much. Fortunately, today was finally the day he could take his scheduled monthly medicinal pill.

After cultivating for half a cycle, Song Qingming suddenly felt the bottleneck of his fifth level of Qi Refinement loosen slightly. He thought to himself that perhaps his cultivation had finally reached the point of breakthrough.

Under normal cultivation speeds, it would have taken Song Qingming at least another two or three years to potentially break through to the fifth level of Qi Refinement.

However, since obtaining the fragmented map, he had earned many spirit stones through talisman making over the past two years. He had exchanged them with Gao Yuyao for five or six bottles of cultivation-enhancing pills. Aside from taking two bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills to the clan's Gold Treasury to exchange for talisman-making materials, he had kept most of the pills for himself. By continuously consuming these pills over the last two years, his cultivation had already risen to the peak of the fourth level of Qi Refinement.

Taking out a Heart-Clearing Talisman and sticking it to his body, Song Qingming crushed over a dozen low-grade spirit stones in his hand. A massive surge of spiritual energy instantly filled the cramped cave.

When a cultivator breaks through, they need to absorb a large amount of spiritual energy. Ideally, the breakthrough should take place in a spiritual vein rich with energy. Unfortunately, in these desolate mountains, Song Qingming could not find a spiritual vein, so he had to use the spirit stones in his possession to provide the energy. Although he now held many spirit stones, such a luxurious act still made him frown slightly.

Using this surge of spiritual energy, Song Qingming increased the speed of his internal technique's circulation. He felt the fifth spiritual acupoint within his body begin to vibrate incessantly.

Seeing this, Song Qingming felt a secret joy in his heart. He patiently continued to absorb the spiritual energy and pour it into his dantian. Finally, an hour later, the spiritual energy in his meridians flowed like clear water into a river, smoothly breaking through the fifth spiritual acupoint. His cultivation rose to the fifth level of Qi Refinement, and the magic power in his dantian increased significantly.

He hadn't expected this breakthrough to the fifth level to be so smooth. Song Qingming felt a wave of happiness; after twelve years of cultivation, at twenty-two years old, his cultivation level had finally caught up with most of the cultivators in his clan.

For Song Qingming, who had walked the path of cultivation for over a decade, nothing could bring him more joy than a breakthrough in cultivation. He knew clearly that without sufficiently powerful cultivation, no matter how many treasures or spirit stones he possessed, he would be unable to protect them; instead, he would merely be making them easy targets for others.

Reaching the fifth level of Qi Refinement at twenty-two was considered a very fast cultivation speed in Qinghe County. If he could successfully convert the items from Liu Tianlong's storage bag into cultivation resources, Song Qingming felt a glimmer of confidence that he could reach the ninth level of Qi Refinement before the age of sixty. Combined with the Water Spirit Fruit in his storage bag, he would then be able to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Xiaoyao Sect. His path ahead suddenly looked very bright.

After the breakthrough, Song Qingming did not rush to leave his seclusion. He circulated his spiritual energy several dozen more times to nourish the newly opened spiritual acupoint. It was not until five days later, once his cultivation was completely stabilized, that he finally stepped out of the cave.

Packing up the formation, Song Qingming continued his journey, using the Body Lightening Technique. He felt that his magic power was much more profound than before.

After crossing a high mountain, Song Qingming suddenly noticed several figures in a valley far below. Occasional roars of demon beasts drifted up, and a smile of pleasant surprise instantly appeared on his face. Ever since he was swept into the pool by the Black-Feathered Python, he had been traveling alone in these dangerous mountains for nearly ten days. Finally seeing people made him feel excited, and he quickly headed down the mountain.

As he drew closer, he saw several cultivators surrounding a giant bear. The leader was a burly man with a high cultivation level, already at the late stage of Qi Refinement, and he was the main force on the battlefield. The other three supporting attackers were mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, while a young woman at only the third level of Qi Refinement was not participating in the fight, standing not far away watching the surroundings of the battlefield.

Seeing this, Song Qingming did not reveal himself immediately. He perched on a nearby tree to watch from a distance. Only after the high-grade giant bear was brought down by the group did he jump down from the branch and walk toward them.

"Stop! Who goes there?"

When Song Qingming was about ten yards away, the burly man with the highest cultivation noticed him first and shouted loudly, his tone somewhat unfriendly.

The others were still collecting materials from the giant bear. Upon hearing that someone was approaching, they immediately released their magic tools to guard the perimeter, fearing that Song Qingming might be an enemy or part of a group.

Seeing their intense vigilance, Song Qingming quickly stopped and spread his hands to explain

"Fellow Daoists, please do not misunderstand. I am a rogue cultivator from Qinghe County, also here to hunt demon beasts. A few days ago, my luck was poor; my hunting team encountered a second-level demon beast, and I accidentally lost my teammates while fleeing for my life. I do not have a map with me and have been wandering these mountains for days without finding my companions. I only just happened to run into you all. May I ask, in which direction lies Pingyang County, and how far is it from here?"

"So it is a fellow rogue cultivator. You gave me a fright. Do not take offense, Daoist; I thought you were one of those bastards from the Fire Wolf Gang." Seeing that there was indeed only Song Qingming, the leader lowered his guard and signaled his companions to put away their magic tools.

This burly man was clearly a straightforward person. Having spent two years in the Grass Hut Mountains, Song Qingming quite enjoyed dealing with this type of personality.

"Pingyang County is quite a distance from here. It is about a five or six-day journey to the southeast. If you do not have a map, it might be difficult to navigate. I suggest you wait for us at the mountain pass behind you for a day. We are returning to Guiyun Market tomorrow, so we can take you along with us."

The speaker was a middle-aged scholar in flowing robes, holding a green jade sword. He was at the fifth level of Qi Refinement and possessed a scholarly air. He spoke unhurriedly, clearly being a man of substance.

"That sounds good. I thank you all in advance." Song Qingming nodded. As long as he could exit the dangerous Floating Cloud Mountains faster, waiting an extra day was no problem for him.

The others, including the burly leader, did not object to the scholar's offer to take Song Qingming along. It was obvious that although the scholar's cultivation was not the highest, he was the one whose word carried weight among the five.

After parting with them, Song Qingming walked toward the eastern valley for about the time it takes to eat a meal. He saw a large red tree, over ten yards tall, appearing ahead—this was the meeting point he had agreed upon with the scholar for the next day.

Song Qingming found some dead wood nearby and borrowed some branches and leaves from the large tree to build a simple hut beneath it.

The next morning, while Song Qingming was in meditation inside the hut, he suddenly heard a ripple of spiritual energy coming from the formation outside. He stepped out to look and saw a young girl in green, wielding a flying sword, hacking wildly through the mist of the formation and occasionally releasing low-grade spells.

The woman appeared to be around twenty years old, with a green jade hairpin in her hair and her black hair tied into two small braids behind her back. She wore a green dress; she was the third-level Qi Refinement girl he had encountered among the rogue cultivators in the valley yesterday.

However, she seemed to have lost her sense of direction within the formation, and her face was filled with panic. Her companions stood not far outside the formation, seemingly discussing how to rescue her.

Seeing this, Song Qingming could only give a wry smile. He had set up this formation to protect against mountain demon beasts; he hadn't expected this girl to be so careless as to stumble straight into it and get trapped. For someone unversed in formations like her, it would be difficult to escape on her own without two or three hours.

Song Qingming quickly made several hand seals and deactivated the formation. The mist surrounding the area beneath the tree instantly dissipated into the air, revealing the large red tree and Song Qingming standing beneath it.