Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Sixth Layer Qi Cultivation

Back then, the Xu and Liu families had faced off against the Chen and Qiu families. The Qiu Family withdrew without a fight. Facing a joint pincer attack, the Chen Family’s main force was annihilated, but a few members still managed to escape.

This person was one of them.

Only then did the Xu Family truly confirm that this wasn’t the work of wandering Tribulation Cultivators, but a retaliatory strike aimed specifically at the Xu Family.

But the Chen Family had indeed been destroyed. The few surviving members couldn’t possibly muster such a force on their own. There had to be another power involved, providing support.

But why would another power get involved?

Was it an old enemy with a grudge, or someone trying to stifle the Xu Family’s rise and drag them into a quagmire of chaos?

The Xu Family’s upper echelon faced the situation grimly. They had just set foot on a grand path and could not afford to be tripped up by a careless mistake.

They actively devised countermeasures and issued a clan-wide decree: until the Tribulation Cultivators were completely rooted out, everyone must be extremely careful when venturing outside.

...

’If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up.’ Lin Changheng wasn’t too worried.

Besides, this was a minor issue. The Xu Family’s rise seemed unstoppable.

On this day, Lin Changheng finally completed his accumulation. The Magical Power in his body surged, and based on past experience, he knew the moment to break through to the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation had arrived.

He activated the Lower Grade [Spirit Gathering Array], placed a Masterpiece [Burning Breath Pill] in his mouth, focused his mind, calmed his Qi, and sat cross-legged in Meditation.

The Upper Grade Technique, "Night Illuminating Fire," which he had cultivated to Great Success, began to rumble within him. It unleashed a powerful suction, drawing the Spiritual Qi gathered by the Spirit Gathering Array into a vortex that poured into his body to be refined.

After an unknown amount of time, his throat bobbed as he swallowed the Masterpiece [Burning Breath Pill]. It dissolved in his stomach, releasing a pure and potent Medicinal Power.

At this moment, the efficacy of his technique at the Great Success level was on full display. The Medicinal Power, mixed with Spiritual Qi, surged forth to break through his Realm.

’Break!’

He roared silently in his mind. The Spiritual Power within him abruptly contracted, then violently erupted!

With a soft CRACK, an invisible barrier inside him seemed to shatter. His Magical Power skyrocketed, and the aura around him climbed steadily before stabilizing at a whole new Realm.

Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation!

Lin Changheng slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of fire flashing through them. He felt the surging Magical Power within his body—now more than fifty percent stronger than before. A smile touched his lips.

’I finally broke through.’

Reaching the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation at forty-one was indeed slow, averaging nearly four years per Realm breakthrough.

He now had only nineteen years until the sixty-year-old deadline for Foundation Establishment, yet he still had to traverse the three realms of the Late Stage of Qi Cultivation, break through a bottleneck, and then make preparations for Foundation Establishment.

It wasn’t enough time at all.

Conventionally speaking, the difficulty of Foundation Establishment was immense. He had basically been handed a "suspended death sentence."

But Lin Changheng wasn’t anxious.

For one, anxiety was useless and wouldn’t help the situation. For another, his use of the Primordial Cauldron was constantly advancing, with various Treasure Seeds continuously forming and empowering him.

About four months ago, Lin Changheng’s [Origin Treasure Seed] had succeeded in Spirit Stealing again, just as he had predicted.

It was now an [Origin Treasure Seed·Third Layer].

[Spirit Stealing: 11/100]

Moreover, he had confirmed that the efficiency of Spirit Stealing was closely related to his Cultivation.

This time, it had taken three years and four months.

To accumulate the remaining eighty-nine progress points would, barring any surprises, take another two and a half years!

It was getting faster and faster!

[Already Refined: Enhanced Enlightenment Celestial Gift: Universal Wisdom]

[Utility: Spiritual Wisdom Directly Points to the Essence of Techniques, allowing for brief bursts of astonishing enlightenment.]

The practical effect of this was astounding.

Lin Changheng had originally pushed his "Night Illuminating Fire" deep into the [Mastery] level, nearly reaching its peak, but found further progress incredibly difficult.

But as soon as he Refined the [Enhanced Enlightenment Celestial Gift: Universal Wisdom] into himself... 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

He immersed himself in it overnight. The experience was profound and mysterious, and he broke through to the [Minor Achievement] stage of the technique.

Yet, less than three months later, he had somehow advanced to the [Great Success] stage of "Night Illuminating Fire"!

This was an outcome that surprised even Lin Changheng.

It didn’t stop there. In the past year, his Alchemy Dao—

which had previously only allowed him to produce Middle Grade Masterpiece pills during rare flashes of Spiritual Light,

had seen his Skills skyrocket after gaining [Enhanced Enlightenment Celestial Gift: Universal Wisdom]. Now, from a single batch of ten Middle Grade Pills, he could produce two Masterpiece pills!

He even spent another dozen or so nights reviewing the fundamentals of the Alchemy Dao and tried to go back to refining the Lower Grade [Red Flame Pill].

The result: from a batch of ten, three were Masterpiece pills!

’Excellent!’

This was an achievement many Upper Grade Alchemists would struggle with.

This showed that Lin Changheng’s understanding of the fundamental Alchemy Dao had undergone a world-shaking transformation, putting him on par with an Upper Grade Alchemist!

It also meant he had a much more solid foundation!

In the future, the grand tower of his Alchemy Dao could be built more smoothly and securely!

A nine-story tower begins with a mound of earth... by building up layer upon solid layer, one might just reach the heavens!

As for the Essence Blood of the [Lantern Grass Essence], the Xu Family merchant caravan had already acquired a batch from the Liu Family long ago.

He had completed the First Layer of Spirit Stealing.

Its innate [Longevity] Talent was also Refined into him!

The resulting Utility left Lin Changheng utterly astonished.

[Utility: Slightly slows the decay of Qi and Blood, increasing Lifespan by five years.]

’Slows the decay of Qi and Blood?’

At this thought, Lin Changheng immediately sat cross-legged and began to perform Introspection on his body.

After a long time, he didn’t find any special substance or Spiritual Mechanism, but he did notice that his physical body seemed to have become more... sealed.

It was like a wine bottle being forcefully plugged with a cork, or a balloon being tied shut!

It was harder for anything to escape the "container" of his body.

One must understand, the reason it was said to be difficult to achieve Foundation Establishment after the age of sixty in the Cultivation Realm was due to the body’s decline with age and the decay of Qi and Blood. To put it bluntly, the body becomes as leaky as a sieve, making it impossible to surmount the "Mountain of Essence" among the three mountains of "Essence, Qi, and Spirit"!

This makes Foundation Establishment difficult, often resulting in Foundation Establishment Failure.

But [Slowing the decay of Qi and Blood] could clearly and effectively counter this problem, preserving a chance for Foundation Establishment even at an advanced age.

As for the latter half, [increasing Lifespan by five years], it was even more straightforward and a better fit for the name [Longevity].

Lifespan refers to one’s fated life-duration.

This meant Lin Changheng’s maximum lifespan had increased by five years!

But this wasn’t the end!

As he continued to perform Spirit Stealing with the [Lantern Grass Treasure Seed], he could gain even more life!

He just didn’t know how many rounds of Spirit Stealing this Treasure Seed could support!

’If I accumulate enough, I won’t even have to make a move. I could literally outlive some of my enemies...’

Looking in the mirror, he noticed that the lines etched on his face by time had softened slightly. Despite being middle-aged, he had regained a hint of his youth.

This didn’t mean his aging had been slowed. Cultivators generally don’t show obvious signs of aging before sixty; it’s only after sixty, or after suffering severe injuries, that a precipitous decline occurs.

Rather, it meant that the traces of passing time had been softened, which changed one’s immediate impression of him.

’So this is the effect of extending one’s life?’

The corners of Lin Changheng’s mouth curved up, unable to contain his satisfaction. His expectations had not been in vain.

At the same time, influenced by the Refined Treasure Seed, he gained a faint awareness of his own Lifespan—it was around one hundred and eighteen years.

Previously, there had been no way to sense it.

Although it didn’t reach the theoretical maximum for a Qi Cultivation Cultivator—one hundred and thirty years—

it wasn’t too low either.

And now, it had jumped straight to one hundred and twenty-three years!

...