In the following days, Fang Hao spent his daylight hours cleaning the pill rooms and practicing basic footwork, while at night, he accelerated his cultivation inside the qiankun ring.

Under the ten-fold time dilation, it was equivalent to having ten months of practice time. His Divine Spirit Steps improved at a speed visible to the naked eye.

By the time his one-month punishment period ended, Fang Hao had reached Minor Achievement in the first layer of the Divine Spirit Steps, ’Treading Snow Without a Trace’. He moved silently, and his speed was more than thirty percent faster than before!

More importantly, during this month of settling down, Fang Hao gained new insights into cultivation.

He discovered that while cleaning the pill rooms, his heart was particularly calm. Watching the pill dregs and medicinal ash being cleared away bit by bit felt as if his state of mind was being washed clean as well.

This improvement in his state of mind was even more important than simple energy accumulation.

On the day his punishment ended, Fang Hao felt the Bottleneck of the ninth level of Qi Refining loosen on its own! He immediately went into secluded meditation to charge through it.

This time, without relying on any external items and solely through his own accumulation and insights, Fang Hao naturally made a Breakthrough to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Feeling the even more powerful spiritual power within his body, Fang Hao was ecstatic. As expected, cultivation could not rely solely on piling up resources; state of mind and insights were equally important.

After emerging from seclusion, Fang Hao continued to take on missions to earn contribution points. Now with his ninth level Qi Refining cultivation, combined with the Divine Spirit Steps and various other means, he was already able to accept some high-difficulty missions.

One day, he took a mission to hunt a ’Ground Fire Scorpion’. This kind of Demon Beast inhabited Ground Fire Caves and was extremely difficult to deal with, but its venom and shell were very valuable.

The Ground Fire Caves were exceptionally hot, and ordinary Cultivators could not stand being there for long. However, Fang Hao possessed the Myriad Manifestations Heaven Swallowing Art and a complete set of seven-element Spiritual Roots, making his adaptability to harsh environments far superior to ordinary people.

Inside the Ground Fire Cave, Fang Hao not only completed his mission but also unexpectedly discovered a Earth Fire Spiritual Vein. The fire-element Spiritual Qi here was exceptionally dense, which was of great benefit to his fire-element Spiritual Root.

Fang Hao had a sudden inspiration and set up a Spirit Gathering Formation at the Earth Fire Spiritual Vein, then began to Cultivate the Myriad Manifestations Heaven Swallowing Art.

Sure enough, the dense fire-element Spiritual Qi surged frantically into his body, and his cultivation speed was several times faster than usual!

"It seems that Spiritual Roots of different attributes need to be cultivated in corresponding environments to achieve twice the result with half the effort," Fang Hao mused, having realized something.

Afterward, he specifically took on missions in various environments: going to cold pools to Cultivate his water-element Spiritual Root, to Lightning Valley for his lightning-element Spiritual Root, and into forests for his wood-element Spiritual Root...

Although the seven-element Spiritual Roots consumed many resources, they also had an advantage—he could Cultivate in any environment, and his speed was never slow!

Half a year passed quickly. Fang Hao’s cultivation rose steadily, reaching the Middle Stage of the ninth level of Qi Refining. His Divine Spirit Steps also reached the second layer, ’Shifting Form and Changing Shadow’, greatly increasing his actual combat capability.

During this period, Chen Feng returned after his period of reflection. But unexpectedly, he didn’t cause Fang Hao any more trouble; instead, he became taciturn, burying himself in cultivation all day long.

Fang Hao was happy for the peace and quiet, focusing on improving his own strength.

One day, while Fang Hao was picking missions in the Mission Hall, he suddenly heard several Disciples discussing:

"Have you heard? The triennial ’Illusionary Realm Trial’ is about to begin."

"Really? That’s a huge Opportunity. I heard you can get all sorts of treasures in the Illusionary Realm!"

"Yeah, but it’s also very dangerous. In the last trial, some Disciples stayed inside forever."

Fang Hao’s heart stirred. The Illusionary Realm Trial? He felt like he had heard of it somewhere.

Returning to his residence, Fang Hao inquired with Li Xuan. Li Xuan indeed knew: "The Illusionary Realm Trial is a major event for the Sect, held once every three years. All Qi Refinement Stage Disciples can participate to seek Opportunities in the Illusionary Realm. I heard there are Legacies left by Seniors of great renown, as well as various Heaven And Earth Treasures."

"Is it dangerous?" Fang Hao asked.

"Of course it’s dangerous," Li Xuan said with a grave expression. "In the Illusionary Realm, there are not only various tests but also Disciples fighting each other for treasures. There are casualties in every trial."

Fang Hao pondered for a moment. Danger and Opportunity coexisted; this was indeed a good chance for rapid improvement.

"How do I sign up to participate?"

Li Xuan glanced at him: "You want to participate? With your strength, you indeed have a chance. Registration is happening these few days, and you’ll need to go through a screening process."

Fang Hao made up his mind. He had to participate in the Illusionary Realm Trial.

Perhaps he could find the Opportunity to reach Qi Refining Great Perfection inside, or even... the chance for Foundation Establishment.

The path of immortal cultivation was inherently an act of going against heaven. If one was timid and hesitant, how could they achieve the Great Dao?

A look of determination flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes. This time, in the Illusionary Realm Trial, he would make everyone look at him in a new light!

As soon as news of the Illusionary Realm Trial spread, the entire Outer Sect was in an uproar.

More than four thousand Qi Refinement Stage Disciples signed up to compete for five hundred slots; one could imagine how intense the competition would be. Fang Hao signed up without hesitation; such an Opportunity could not be missed.

The screening matches were held at the Sect’s largest Martial Arts Arena. Over four thousand people were divided among forty arenas simultaneously, with roughly the top twelve from each arena advancing.

Fang Hao was assigned to Arena C. His first-round opponent was a seventh-level Qi Refining Disciple named Yan Ming.

When Yan Ming saw his opponent was Fang Hao, he immediately became nervous. Fang Hao was now somewhat famous in the Outer Sect, and his ninth-level Qi Refining cultivation was considered above average.

"Senior Brother Ning, please guide me," Yan Ming bowed, his tone respectful.

Fang Hao returned the gesture: "Junior Brother Yan, please."

The referee gave the order, and the match began.

Yan Ming struck first, his Flying Sword piercing straight forward. His sword technique was fairly practiced, but in Fang Hao’s eyes, it was full of flaws.

Fang Hao was unhurried, executing the first layer of Divine Spirit Steps, ’Treading Snow Without a Trace’. His figure flashed like a ghost, easily avoiding the Flying Sword while simultaneously appearing at Yan Ming’s side.

Yan Ming only felt a blur before his eyes. Before he could react, he felt a gentle force push him, and he couldn’t help but fall off the arena stage.

"Arena C, Fang Hao wins!" the referee announced.

The entire process took less than three breaths of time. The audience below hadn’t even clearly seen what happened before the match was over.

"What fast movement technique!"

"Is this Fang Hao’s strength?"

"A seventh-level Qi Refining Cultivator is simply defenseless before him."

Fang Hao calmly walked off the stage. Against a seventh-level Qi Refining opponent, he indeed didn’t need many tricks.

The second round of matches took place in the afternoon. After the first round of eliminations, about two hundred people remained in Arena C.

Fang Hao’s opponent this time was an eighth-level Qi Refining female Cultivator named Yi Bing. She used an ice-attribute Flying Sword, her sword technique was agile, and her cold Qi was piercing.

"Senior Brother Ning, please be careful," Yi Bing warned, showing quite a bit of grace.

The match began, and Yi Bing struck first. Her Flying Sword pierced forward with a biting cold Qi; before the sword arrived, the chill had already reached him.

Fang Hao once again used the Divine Spirit Steps, but this time it didn’t feel as easy. Yi Bing’s sword technique was clearly much more sophisticated than Yan Ming’s; her sword strikes were continuous, and the cold Qi could slow down an opponent’s speed.

The two exchanged over ten moves. Although Fang Hao held the upper hand, it was difficult to win quickly.

"Junior Sister Yi has excellent sword technique," Fang Hao praised, while his footwork shifted from ’Treading Snow Without a Trace’ to ’Shifting Form and Changing Shadow’.

Fang Hao’s figure suddenly became blurred, and in the next instant, he appeared on Yi Bing’s left. Yi Bing hurriedly pulled back her sword to defend, but Fang Hao appeared on her right.

After several such flickers, Yi Bing completely failed to keep up with Fang Hao’s speed, and a flaw appeared in her defense.

Fang Hao saw his chance and tapped Yi Bing’s wrist with a finger. Yi Bing felt her wrist go numb, and her Flying Sword flew out of her hand.

"I lost," Yi Bing said straightforwardly, cupping her hands in surrender. "Senior Brother Ning has a marvelous movement technique."

"I was lucky," Fang Hao returned the gesture.

This victory was more taxing than the previous one, but still relatively easy. Fang Hao successfully advanced to the top one hundred of Arena C.

The third day was the final screening, where each arena would decide the final twelve or so people to advance to the Illusionary Realm Trial.