Chapter Twenty-Eight: Trouble

The next day, after completing his Qi refinement, Cao Yun emptied the storage pouch he had obtained from the Servant Hall, scattering all its contents across the ground.

Gazing at the dazzling array of items spread before him, a faint smile curled at the corner of his lips as he began to count them one by one.

Ten spirit stones gleamed with crystalline light; two jade slips engraved with the emblem of the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect; two delicate jade bottles containing elixirs; two sets of outer disciple robes from the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect; and a glowing array formation plate designed to seal his cave dwelling.

One jade slip recorded the sect’s regulations, while the other contained the secret cultivation technique known as the “Blood Refining Great Method” of the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect.

The formation plate, once activated, could repel intrusions from Qi Refining level cultivators.

The two elixirs consisted of a Green Spirit Pill and a Qi Guiding Pill.

The Qi Guiding Pill aided in breaking through bottlenecks and advancing cultivation—a concoction Cao Yun had personally refined before.

The Green Spirit Pill was excellent for enhancing magical power cultivation. Though not as precious as the Spirit Origin Pill, it could still ease the cultivation path by several days.

After donning the outer disciple robes, Cao Yun eagerly downed a Green Spirit Pill and began to absorb its essence.

Having reached the seventh layer of Qi Refining in culmination, he had hoped the pill would propel him to the eighth layer in one leap. Yet, after ingestion, he merely felt his mana grow denser without any sign of breakthrough.

He pinched another Green Spirit Pill between his fingers, crushed it gently, and smiled bitterly.

It turned out that the Qi Refining powder he had consumed in the Myriad Demon Forest was nothing but pulverized Green Spirit Pills.

With no other choice, Cao Yun resorted to taking the Qi Guiding Pills.

After swallowing two, the spiritual energy within him only fluctuated slightly, unlike the wild surge he experienced when he was at the second layer of Qi Refining.

Resolute, Cao Yun decided to swallow ten Qi Guiding Pills at once. As the ten pills took effect, his spiritual power surged like a stormy sea.

He quickly channeled this powerful energy, relentlessly assaulting the bottleneck at the eighth layer of Qi Refining again and again, yet the barrier remained immovable.

Ten pills, then another ten, and finally eight more...

After consuming forty Qi Guiding Pills, the bottleneck showed not the slightest sign of yielding.

A deep sense of frustration weighed on Cao Yun, as if an invisible mountain pressed upon his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Recalling the glorious days when sixty-eight Spirit Origin Pills had propelled him from the third layer to the peak of the seventh layer of Qi Refining, he grew ever more convinced that foundation building couldn’t be achieved through sheer hard work alone; instead, it required reliance on pills.

Yet now, he faced a harsh reality: a useless spiritual root was still useless. Even with pills, one would need to consume an unimaginably vast quantity to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Had Cao Yun known that the Spirit Origin Pills he consumed were colloquially called “Foundation-Building Pills” among independent cultivators, his sense of defeat might have been even greater.

Countless wanderers had fought and died over a single Foundation-Building Pill, yet Cao Yun had taken twenty-eight in such a short time—an unprecedented or at least rare feat in history.

On the sixth day, just as Cao Yun prepared to visit the Refining Art Hall to retrieve the mid-level magical weapon forged by Gu Lao, a transmission talisman hovered persistently outside his cave’s formation seal.

He waved gently, and the talisman obediently flew into his hand.

Cao Yun activated his spiritual power, and a cold, indifferent voice echoed softly in his ear: “Cao Yun, come to the Abyssless Valley for a meeting.”

The voice was utterly unfamiliar. Cao Yun was certain he had never crossed paths with its owner. The furtive tone aroused his suspicion.

With his cautious and solitary nature, he was unwilling to attend such an unknown appointment.

At the Refining Art Hall, Gu Lao had just completed forging the Fiery Mother-and-Child Nails. Patiently, he explained and demonstrated their use before handing the weapon to Cao Yun.

With a slight surge of power, Cao Yun saw seventeen rice-grain-sized nails shimmer at his fingertips, swirling like flowing light. As he concentrated his energy, the nails instantly shrank to the size of embroidery needles and danced through the air in an endless spiral.

Cao Yun was very pleased.

With the weapon in hand, he intended to test its power in the Myriad Demon Forest. But recalling the morning’s transmission talisman, he worried someone might be lying in wait for him in Abyssless Valley. He abandoned the idea and decided to return to Tianzhu Peak to familiarize himself with the Fiery Mother-and-Child Nails and develop several deadly techniques.

After a day of intense practice, Cao Yun wielded the nails with ease and had devised several devastating moves. He was confident that even against a tenth-layer Qi Refining opponent, he would have ample advantage.

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion resounded outside the cave.

The formation seal designed to repel Qi Refining intruders was shattered in an instant.

At that moment, a young man of about seventeen or eighteen strode in boldly. With sword-like brows and starry eyes, he wore the inner disciple robes and had his hair tied back with a flowing, colorful ribbon.

His voice was cold, tinged with killing intent: “Cao Yun, you have quite the nerve.”

Cao Yun was about to retort angrily, but seeing the inner disciple robes, much of his anger dissipated.

Using his divine sense, he scanned the newcomer and only relaxed after confirming he was a tenth-layer Qi Refining cultivator.

“Senior Brother, may I ask how I have offended you to provoke such a commotion? To come here and demolish my cave dwelling at once?”

“You really are forgetful, aren’t you, Cao Yun,” the youth said coldly.

Cao Yun stared at the youth, feeling a vague familiarity but unable to recall who he was.

He wondered if this was an enemy from the secular world. But having eliminated all threats in his missions, there should be no lingering grudges.

“Senior Brother jokes. I have just entered the sect and believe I have not offended you. Oh? Could you be someone connected to Huo Qingyun?” Cao Yun said cautiously.

“Cao Yun, let me remind you again—two years ago, the Blood Slave Hall,” the youth frowned slightly, his tone laced with restrained anger.

Suddenly, Cao Yun’s mind was enlightened. This was the genius with a dual-attribute spiritual root, known as the Earth Spiritual Root, who had been captured alongside him in the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect.

Why had he come to find him? Cao Yun was filled with questions.

“You’re clearly a spiritual root with no talent, yet you always act as if you have everything under control. Cao Yun, do you know how much I detest that?” The youth’s brows twisted in a grimace, as if struggling to suppress some intense emotion.

Cao Yun met his gaze without reply, but his hand silently moved to his storage pouch. This sudden trouble was truly vexing.