"Senior Brother Lin, please forgive me for being presumptuous," the young Junior Brother Liu began. "Although every disciple can be assigned a private celestial residence at the mountain gate, the spiritual energy available in each residence varies."
"If you draw one at random, you may end up with a remote or mediocre residence, which could hinder your cultivation."
"How about this? As the eldest son of the Liu family, a first-rate cultivation clan, while I can't influence major decisions in the Xuantian Sect, securing one or two well-located celestial residences with abundant spiritual energy is quite easy! Why don't you join me, and we can become neighbors? We could look out for each other, and you'd get one of the best residences in the mountain gate. How about it?"
Lin Li initially intended to refuse, but after hearing Junior Brother Liu's explanation, he realized that rejecting the offer might negatively affect his cultivation.
After a brief consideration, Lin Li nodded and said, "In that case, I'll trouble you with this request."
"No trouble at all!"
Junior Brother Liu grinned excitedly, "It would be my honor to have you as my neighbor, Senior Brother Lin! I couldn't ask for more, hahaha!"
As they continued talking, two other disciples nearby couldn't help but interject, "Young Master Liu, we've all gone through the same hardships together. Could you help us out too?"
"Yes, please!"
Junior Brother Liu looked at them with some amusement, then waved his hand generously, "It's no big deal! Leave it to me! While I can only have one neighbor, there are still some decent celestial residences left. I'll get you two mid-tier ones!"
"Thank you, Young Master Liu!"
The two disciples were overjoyed, quickly clasping their fists and bowing in gratitude.
...
An hour later.
At the celestial residence allocation building, Junior Brother Liu presented the Liu family's insignia, leaving the outer disciples in charge of the residence assignments visibly shocked. They immediately treated him with utmost respect, allowing him to select four celestial residences without any objections. Soon after, Lin Li and Junior Brother Liu arrived at their new residences, located in a serene and secluded part of the mountain gate.
The celestial residence was situated midway between the mountain gate and Tongtian Peak, surrounded by a tranquil bamboo forest. It was a grand mansion with two courtyards and multiple rooms.
Typically, outer disciples weren't assigned maids, but thanks to Junior Brother Liu's status as the eldest son of the Liu family, he spent lavishly and purchased several of the maids who had shown them the celestial residences earlier. He even gave two of them to Lin Li.
This left Lin Li, who had once been so frugal that he would split every coin in half, feeling a mixture of emotions.
After bidding farewell to Junior Brother Liu and being attended to by the two maids, who washed away the dried blood and filth from the Golden Leopard King, Lin Li changed into a new set of outer disciple robes, now marked with the yellow insignia symbolizing ownership of a private celestial residence. He instructed the maids not to disturb him until the sect assembly the following day, and then he entered the secluded cultivation chamber of his new residence.
Inside the cultivation chamber, the air was thick with spiritual energy, giving the impression of an ethereal mist.
As he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the spiritual mist filled his lungs, immediately making Lin Li feel relaxed and at peace.
Sitting cross-legged, Lin Li placed the Bloodsucking Demon Sword across his knees and thought to himself, "With my cultivation now greatly enhanced, I am just one step away from breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refining, reaching the seventh layer. I've gained the admiration of Junior Brother Liu, the eldest son of a top-tier cultivation clan, and Elder Zou has introduced me to the Sect Master. Tomorrow, I'll be publicly commended at the full sect assembly. I now have one of the best celestial residences at the mountain gate, thanks to Junior Brother Liu, and two maids to attend to my daily needs… Compared to the hardships I faced before joining the Xuantian Sect, it feels as though I've risen from the depths to become a dragon!"
"And all of this is thanks to the Bloodsucking Demon Sword!"
Lin Li pondered deeply, "Although this sword is not a true magical artifact, during the Trial Tournament when I face others in one-on-one combat, I may be at a disadvantage compared to those using actual magical artifacts. However, its unique abilities are nothing short of miraculous!"
"If I use it too much, there's a risk I'll be consumed by its demonic nature and become bloodthirsty. But if I don't use it, I'll be plagued by the curse, making cultivation extremely difficult."
"To hell with it!"
Lin Li gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, "It's all or nothing! I've already secured an extraordinary opportunity. If I hesitate now, I'll never achieve anything great!"
"In order to reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining and successfully establish my foundation, I must fully utilize the power of this Bloodsucking Demon Sword!"
"Once I've reached Foundation Establishment, this sword, which isn't a true magical artifact, will start to hold me back. By then, I'll consider my options. If necessary, before I establish my foundation, I'll join the Tool branch and learn artifact forging. I can then refine this demon sword into a true magical artifact!"
Lin Li was not one to blindly follow the advice of others.
Despite Elder Zou's efforts to recruit him into the Sword branch, Lin Li was not swayed. He always weighed the pros and cons before making decisions.
At this point, Lin Li was still unaware that the sword at his waist, Ye Fan, could evolve by absorbing blood through killing. For now, Lin Li's plan was to reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining and then join the Tool branch to study artifact forging, allowing him to refine Ye Fan into a magical artifact, achieving a win-win solution!
Having made his decision, Lin Li closed his eyes and entered a meditative state to begin cultivating.
Soon, Lin Li felt the spiritual energy within his dantian brimming with abundance.
In the three primary cultivation realms—Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Core Formation—the main differences were:
During the Qi Refining stage, spiritual energy is gaseous, and the cultivator's lifespan is no different from that of an ordinary person. After Foundation Establishment, the spiritual energy condenses into liquid form, extending the cultivator's lifespan to around one or two hundred years. In the Core Formation stage, the spiritual energy becomes solidified, forming a golden core, greatly enhancing the cultivator's power and extending their lifespan to several centuries.
Currently, Lin Li's dantian was filled with gaseous spiritual energy, completely saturated!
Even his meridians, throughout his entire body, were slowly flowing with this abundant spiritual energy.
At this point, his spiritual energy had reached its limit!
To make further progress, he needed to break through the barrier from mid-stage to late-stage Qi Refining. Only by expanding his dantian and meridians could he hold more spiritual energy and advance in cultivation!
As for the method of breaking through, Lin Li had already learned it when he joined the Xuantian Sect.
The cultivation technique Lin Li had been practicing up until now was a basic breathing technique from his days as a rogue cultivator.
After joining the Xuantian Sect, the sect issued him a copy of the Xuantian Infinite Breathing Technique, which was the standard breathing technique for all outer disciples.
During the Qi Refining stage, all sects primarily teach breathing techniques.
However, compared to the basic breathing technique Lin Li had practiced as a rogue cultivator, the Xuantian Infinite Breathing Technique was more advanced and made breakthroughs easier.
Most importantly, transitioning to the Xuantian Infinite Breathing Technique before reaching the Great Perfection of Qi Refining would make it easier for Lin Li to establish his foundation and, afterward, practice the unique cultivation techniques of the five branches of the Xuantian Sect.