Chapter 108: Chapter 109: Qi Refining Seventh Layer

Lu Yi paid a visit, bringing news and a gift of apology.

The news: Ye Jingzhou had left the valley.

The gift: an umbrella.

「Last night.」

After Ye Jingzhou had dealt with the matter concerning himself and the Li Brothers, he informed Lu Yi that he would be leaving the valley for a time to gather some materials in preparation for his upcoming alchemy.

’Tributor Li actually completed the pill formula?’

After seeing Lu Yi off, Chen Che mulled over their conversation and was genuinely surprised. But as his gaze swept over the brocade box Lu Yi had left behind, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

’But Lu Yi really spared no expense this time!’

The Oil Paper Umbrella inside the brocade box was the gift.

Of course, this was no ordinary umbrella. It was a Tier One High Grade Defensive Magical Artifact named the ’Celestial Secret Umbrella’.

The productivity of this world was low, making it no easy feat to forge a Magical Artifact. The entire process, from gathering Materials to the final forging, could often take anywhere from six months to a year. As a result, Magical Artifacts were exceedingly rare among Cultivators.

Even a Jinyun Valley disciple like Hu Yao didn’t own a single decent Magical Artifact.

Lu Yi’s intentions were clear at a glance.

It was a gesture to ensure he held no resentment over the previous night’s events. It was also meant to put him at ease and tell him not to overthink things.

’He can be proud, but he can also humble himself. No wonder Ye Jingzhou trusts him so much. The man is meticulous; he leaves no loose ends.’

Chen Che grumbled internally as he stroked the Celestial Secret Umbrella.

But one thing was certain: the matter with the Li Brothers was now completely in the past.

He called for Ding Fei and Hu Yao, gave them a few instructions, and then stepped out of the Pill Shop.

The once-deserted Market was bustling with activity again. For the past several days, everyone had been in the mountains searching for the Demon Beast, but Li Hong’s Signal Arrow had triggered a massacre. Many Loose Cultivators had been scared out of their wits and no longer dared to involve themselves in the matter.

"It was a massacre. At least dozens of people died last night!"

"What a waste. After all this time, we haven’t even seen a shadow of that Demon Beast. It probably flew away ages ago!"

"I heard the Li Brothers were killed by Tribulation Cultivators last night."

...

’Looks like this whole affair is coming to an end. It won’t be long before the hunt for the Little Chick dies down.’

Listening to the chatter around him, Chen Che mused to himself.

He estimated that at least fifty or sixty percent of the Loose Cultivators who had gone searching had already returned. The rest, unwilling to give up, remained in the mountains. But soon enough, they too would likely give up after finding nothing.

"CHIRP CHIRP~"

The moment he returned to the Cave Mansion after his long absence, the Little Chick excitedly pounced on him.

Chen Che gave it a look.

He hadn’t seen it in about ten days, and it seemed to have grown another size. Standing upright, it almost reached his chest.

Its appearance had also changed considerably from the Painting. He reckoned that in a little more time, even Lu Yi and the others who had seen it in person wouldn’t be able to recognize it.

With these thoughts in mind, he refined a batch of Pills for the Little Chick, reapplied a coat of dye to it, and then turned his attention to studying the Celestial Secret Umbrella.

The umbrella was a little over 1.2 meters long.

Its canopy was pure white with nine ribs, giving it an exquisite appearance. At first glance, it didn’t look much different from an ordinary Oil Paper Umbrella. But in reality, its canopy was woven from Celestial Silkworm Silk, and its ribs were forged from Muddled Essence Iron.

As a Defensive Magical Artifact with a singular purpose, it wasn’t difficult to use.

He slowly channeled his True Essence into it, and the Celestial Secret Umbrella levitated into the air.

’It seems I can control it even with my current Cultivation?’

Chen Che thought to himself. He had never used a Magical Artifact before. In fact, it wasn’t just him; throughout all of Xianmen High School, most students—aside from the Artifact Cultivators—had never handled one, only learning about them from books.

He experimented for a bit.

He also discovered that the canopy could expand, but the larger it grew, the more True Essence it consumed.

If he were to Activate it with all his strength, the Celestial Secret Umbrella could expand to a massive twelve zhang, but with his current reserves of True Essence, he could only maintain it for a mere three minutes.

He spent a while longer familiarizing himself with how to use the Celestial Secret Umbrella.

Finally, he put it away, lit three stalks of Concentration Incense, and sat cross-legged on the Lotus Platform in his Cave Mansion. He opened his Micro Crystal Brain and began his Cultivation.

「The next few days.」

Chen Che fell back into his old routine. His days were spent in his Cave Mansion on Cultivation, Alchemy, and God Casting, as well as teaching Alchemy to Zhao Deyou. In his spare time, he studied ahead for the second semester of his sophomore year and reviewed materials from past provincial competitions.

And just as he had predicted, after a long and fruitless search, the Loose Cultivators in the mountains began to leave one after another.

Soon, only a scattered few remained.

...

...

「On this day, the sky was clear.」

The once-raucous mountain forest had gradually returned to its usual tranquility.

SCREEE~

A piercing eagle’s cry suddenly echoed from the sky.

"After all this time, has that Demon Beast finally shown itself?"

Several Loose Cultivators were huddled in a ruined temple. The wind howled through its walls, the roof was gone, and even the Divine Statue had vanished. They were warming themselves by a bonfire when the eagle’s cry rang out. Overjoyed, they scrambled out of the temple, their eyes scanning the sky in the direction of the sound.

But when they saw the black shadow streak across the sky, the excitement in their eyes faded.

"It’s black, and chest-high... It doesn’t match the Painting."

"It’s been so long. I bet that Demon Beast left the mountains ages ago."

"Forget it, just forget it. We’ve combed through these mountains. That Demon Beast probably escaped long ago. Why would it still be waiting around for us?"

...

’Today, I will reach the Seventh Layer!’

Chen Che sat cross-legged upon the Lotus Platform and swallowed the last Clear Moon Lotus Seed.

As the seed entered his stomach, it immediately transformed into a raging torrent, like a Flood Dragon, surging and weaving through his meridians.

’Here it comes!’

Chen Che had tensed his mind and prepared himself the moment the torrent appeared.

Though born of nature, this kind of Celestial and Earthly Treasure had not been refined, so its Spiritual Qi was often incredibly violent.

With the previous two seeds, Chen Che had waited for the Spiritual Qi to rampage through his body until its power weakened before he began to absorb it.

It was a safer method, but also a wasteful one.

BOOM!

The instant the Energy-Introducing Technique latched onto the torrent, Chen Che felt as if he were wrestling a Flood Dragon.

The Energy-Introducing Technique, which he had circulated countless times before, now felt impossibly sluggish, like a rusted bearing that refused to turn.

But Chen Che didn’t stop. Instead, he pushed it to circulate even faster. He fought to guide the torrent, slowly pulling it into his meridians and forcing it to follow the path of the Energy-Introducing Technique. He ran the cycle again and again until the torrent was finally refined into True Essence.

BOOM!

Just as a Grand Circulation completed, an unstoppable aura erupted from him, transforming into a visible shockwave that rolled outward.

The gale lasted for several dozen breaths before finally subsiding.

’I finally did it!’

Chen Che slowly opened his eyes and looked at the Micro Crystal Brain:

[Name: Chen Che]

[Realm: Qi Refining Seventh Layer (0.24%)]

[Qi and Blood: Qi Refining Seventh Layer (39.7%)]

[Divine Sense: Foundation Establishment Third Layer (73.3%)]

[Warning: True Essence reserves are 103.2% higher than Cultivators of the Same Tier.]

’Finally! I’ve reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer before school starts! I wonder what kind of results I can achieve in the provincial competition with my current strength?’

Chen Che felt a growing sense of anticipation.

Only by advancing from the provincial competition could he face off against the true prodigies.

Prodigies like... Ye Zhihan.