Chapter 288: Chapter 288: All Ninth Realm?

His once-careless attitude had now completely changed.

Chu Cangming said coolly, "It seems I need to find something for my dear junior brother to do."

’I’ve underestimated this junior brother of mine.’

With a flick of his sleeves, Chu Cangming rose to his feet. He stared at the dragon-shaped vortex of clouds gradually dissipating over the peak, the corner of his mouth hooking into a cold arc. "I heard our dear junior brother borrowed the Mountain-Slaying Sword from the Langhuan Book Tower for study. He has Swordsmanship, yet he neglects it to practice a Mace Technique? That simply won’t do. I recall there being quite a few Divine Swords down in the Sword Burial Abyss... It seems it’s time I sent this junior brother of mine an ’opportunity’."

’I thought he was just some mutt from who knows where. Now it seems he’s about to start snatching food from my own mouth.’

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"This wisp of True Qi is certainly delicate..."

The moment morning light pierced the sea of clouds, Xu Yunfan stood atop Qingwei Mountain. As he faced the first wisp of the sun’s East Coming Purple Qi, he couldn’t help but purse his lips.

At this moment, the nascent wisp of Pure Yang True Qi inside him was like the flickering flame of a candle in a Glazed Cup; the slightest carelessness, and it would dissolve into the boiling furnace of his flesh and blood.

If it weren’t for his Attribute Panel’s ability to make his progress permanent, any other Martial Artist would be out of luck.

The next instant, the moment the East Coming Purple Qi touched his skin, the wisp of Pure Yang True Qi began to circulate on its own within his flesh and blood. His formidable physique, a result of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm, filtered the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit into strands of golden haze, causing his entire body to faintly glow.

’Those who cultivate Pure Yang Inner Breath into True Qi probably have to spend a year or two just to stabilize it...’

He lightly touched his tongue to the roof of his mouth, feeling the True Qi trace a slick path through his body like a darting fish.

If not for the Attribute Panel making his cultivation state permanent, the eruption of Blood Qi from practicing the Dragon Fall Mace Technique last night alone would have been enough to shatter this wisp of True Qi into a sky full of sparks.

When he had absorbed all the purple qi, he inhaled and exhaled, drawing in all the surrounding Spiritual Qi.

’The Spiritual Qi is still too thin.’

As this thought crossed his mind, he guided the True Qi in his body along the great circulatory path of the Pure Yang Qi Skill, constantly refining the Spiritual Qi and purple qi he had absorbed, gradually strengthening the True Qi itself.

The last wisp of East Coming Purple Qi dissolved into a golden haze on the tip of his tongue, and Xu Yunfan slowly concluded his practice.

He frowned, sensing the Pure Yang True Qi gradually going dormant within him. The immense amount of Spiritual Qi he had just absorbed had only thickened the hair-thin wisp by the tiniest fraction.

’The Spiritual Qi is far too thin, a far cry from the Little Heaven and Earth Secret Realm.’

After thirty-six consecutive Celestial Cycles, the wisp of Pure Yang True Qi had finally strengthened by a mere sliver.

True Qi was, after all, a form of Extraordinary Energy. To advance further, one had to absorb the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth.

Only now did Xu Yunfan understand the impure True Qi coiled around the fingertips of the saintess from the Celestial Pivot Start Sect he had met. That kind of True Qi, forcibly condensed in the Outer Three Harmonies Realm, was like pouring molten iron into a clay pot.

Even if it were barely harmonized using Secret Martial Arts, it would ultimately leave a spiderweb of hidden injuries within the body.

True Qi is generally tyrannical. Even if its nature is mild, its circulation through flesh and blood can easily leave the body riddled with wounds. In such a state, one has no hope of ever reaching the pinnacle.

’No wonder they couldn’t rank among the top-tier Sects, merely clinging to existence by relying on the Great Zhou Imperial Court.’

Xu Yunfan composed himself, slowly guiding the circulating Pure Yang True Qi back into the depths of his flesh and blood. This area was close to the so-called—

Just as he was lost in thought, a clear, young voice cut through the clouds and mist on the peak.

"Senior Brother Xu! Master summons you to Qingwei Hall immediately!"

The Cyan Pine Daoist Child came sprinting up the stone steps, his cuffs dotted with a few wet dewdrops, clearly showing his haste.

Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow.

It had been almost a month since he’d been accepted as Bi Yuan’s disciple, but this Sect Leader master of his was as elusive as a divine dragon, showing its head but never its tail. He would occasionally appear during morning practice to offer a few hurried pointers, but upon seeing that Xu Yunfan’s understanding of the Martial Arts he was practicing was even deeper than his own, he’d simply ask if he lacked anything. If told nothing was needed, he would promptly leave.

’This sudden summons... could it be related to that "Celestial Demon anchor" or some secret of the Taoist Sect?’

Xu Yunfan speculated. He knew perfectly well that the main reason Bi Yuan had accepted him as a True Inheritor was to gain an ally in resisting the Celestial Demon.

Following Cyan Pine, he arrived before Qingwei Hall. The moment Xu Yunfan stepped inside, he faltered for a second.

Bi Yuan stood in the center of the hall, his back to the entrance. His black robes billowed as if in a phantom wind, and arcs of blue and purple lightning played about his sleeves.

To Xu Yunfan’s greater alarm, three unfamiliar old men also stood to the side of the hall.

The man in gray robes on the left had eyes clouded by cataracts, yet his ten fingers were as translucent as jade. It was none other than Cui Yu, the head of the Taoist Sect’s Punishment Hall, also known as the "Jade Judge."

The red-faced elder on the right had a wooden sword hanging at his waist. Although his aura was serene and graceful, it was contained, holding immense power in reserve.

The old Daoist standing in the center had a white beard that reached his chest and a smile on his face, but a single glance was all it took for Xu Yunfan to form a judgment.

’A smiling tiger.’

"My disciple, greet your three Martial Uncles."

Bi Yuan turned, his gaze as sharp as lightning. An oppressive aura, vast as an abyss and confining as a prison, silently descended upon the hall.

As his gaze swept over Xu Yunfan, it seemed to pierce flesh and blood, peering directly into the circulation of every strand of qi within his muscles, bones, and organs.

That one glance seemed to see right through his very bones and organs. When he saw the Anomaly within Xu Yunfan’s body, a flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes before he regained his composure. With others present, he naturally couldn’t say anything, but his heart was itching with curiosity, desperate to know more.

’In just over a month, Xu Yunfan has already cultivated the Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill to this extent? And... Pure Yang True Qi?!’

His pupils contracted. Unsure if he was seeing things, Bi Yuan subconsciously rubbed his eyes.

The lustrous Jade Bones from the Minor Achievement of the Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill; the blazing True Qi, like molten gold, lying dormant in his Dantian after he achieved Perfection in the Pure Yang Qi Skill; even the fine network of blood-red lines that appeared as golden threads from the Dragon Scale Armor fused with his flesh... Bi Yuan saw it all in perfect detail.

’Pure Yang True Qi?!’

’That aura... there’s no mistaking it! None at all.’

’He could never mistake that aura. Thirty years ago, it was with Pure Yang True Qi as his catalyst that he had broken through the Nine Realms Celestial Gate and ascended to the pinnacle of Qi Cultivation!’

’But Xu Yunfan has only been cultivating for a little over a month, and he’s already condensed a wisp of Pure Yang True Qi?!’

Astonishment flashed through his eyes, but Bi Yuan’s expression remained perfectly calm.

With his three martial brothers watching him like hawks, he curled his fingers inside his sleeve, forcibly suppressing the urge to probe further.

Only the way his wide sleeves stirred without a wind betrayed the tremor in his heart.

Xu Yunfan’s expression remained unchanged. He silently circulated the Dragon and Tiger Hibernation Skill, concealing his internal aura. Though he was only at the introductory level, it was enough. As long as no one made physical contact with him, they wouldn’t be able to learn the specifics.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze hardened as a storm of shock raged in his heart.

Of the men before him, besides Bi Yuan, the other two elders possessed auras as profound as the abyss and as vast as the sea. Their every gesture seemed to faintly resonate with the world itself.

’Ninth Realm Qi Cultivation... Supreme Grandmasters!’

’Just how many Ninth Realm Qi Cultivation masters does the Taoist Sect have?!’

He forcibly suppressed his tumultuous thoughts and bowed. "Disciple Xu Yunfan greets the three Martial Uncles."

A faint smile touched Bi Yuan’s lips. He raised the Duster in his hand, its silken threads rustling with a crisp sound. "Yunfan, you’ve arrived at the perfect time."