"Xuantian Boundless, True Techniques of Heaven and Earth! Inhale the mist, observe the balance of Yin and Yang..."
Reciting the mental incantations of the Xuantian Infinite Breathing Technique, Lin Li gradually entered a meditative state.
Entering meditation refers to the state where a cultivator fully immerses themselves in cultivation.
It's similar to sleep; before and after sleeping, hours may have passed, but to the person, it feels like mere moments—a blink of an eye.
Meditation works the same way.
Before and after entering meditation, it could be as short as an hour or as long as several hours. In some extreme cases, Core Formation cultivators, whose lifespans extend to hundreds of years, can remain in meditation for terrifying lengths of time, even years!
However, for the cultivator themselves, the time before and after meditation feels like an instant.
While in meditation, Lin Li felt that the breathing technique he had practiced as a rogue cultivator before joining Xuantian Sect was crude by comparison.
Whether it was understanding the body's meridians, sensing cultivation realms, capturing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, or even breaking through stages and solidifying one's foundation, all aspects of his previous technique fell short of the Xuantian Infinite Breathing Technique.
"Whooo~~~"
As he emerged from meditation, Lin Li let out a long exhale of impure air.
"Xuantian Sect truly deserves its reputation as one of the seven great righteous sects!"
Lin Li murmured, "Even the primary cultivation technique for outer disciples is so profound, granting me tremendous benefits!"
Now, after this round of meditation, Lin Li could clearly feel the many flaws of the breathing technique he had practiced as a rogue cultivator.
If he didn't switch to the Xuantian Infinite Breathing Technique soon, when he finally reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, establishing his foundation would likely be an impossible task!
After this meditation, Lin Li had returned to his natural state, fully transitioning from his previous crude breathing technique to the Xuantian Infinite Breathing Technique. Moreover, he had corrected many of the flaws in his cultivation up to this point.
Having now reached the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Refining, the true pinnacle of a righteous sect's technique, Lin Li's spirit sharpened: "Now, it's time to break through the bottleneck!"
Lin Li appeared relaxed, but his eyes were focused, gleaming with inner resolve.
As he began circulating his spiritual energy, a faint mist surrounded his body.
This was a sign of his spiritual energy being fully charged as he operated the breathing technique to push past the bottleneck!
...
A long while later!
There was a faint, almost inaudible sound, one only Lin Li could hear, originating from deep within his body, like a "pop" as the bottleneck gave way.
Instantly, the flow of spiritual energy within Lin Li's meridians became smoother, and his dantian subtly expanded by several fractions.
Although this was merely a breakthrough from the sixth layer to the seventh layer of Qi Refining, a small step in cultivation terms, the growth was significant for Lin Li.
The transition from the sixth to the seventh layer signified the leap from mid-stage to late-stage Qi Refining.
The bottleneck for this breakthrough was far more challenging than those between earlier layers.
However, the rewards were equally great!
For each breakthrough from the fourth to the sixth layers of Qi Refining, Lin Li's maximum spiritual energy capacity increased by only about ten percent.
However, breaking through from the sixth to the seventh layer alone increased his capacity by thirty to forty percent!
It was more than the sum of the previous three layers combined!
Now, Lin Li's body no longer felt the overstuffed, bloated sensation of having his spiritual energy at full capacity. Instead, he felt entirely refreshed and comfortable!
The spiritual energy flowed freely through his now-expanded meridians and dantian, without any trace of congestion.
Lin Li opened his eyes.
A flash of light, sharp as a cold blade, flickered briefly in his gaze before disappearing!
His eyes, compared to those of ordinary people, were now filled with a firm, deep composure, as though they contained the boundless expanse of the universe.
If a mortal had been present and looked into Lin Li's eyes, they might have felt as though their very soul was being drawn into them.
This phenomenon, which often occurs during breakthroughs, disappeared as quickly as it came.
Lin Li stood up and experimentally swung the Bloodsucking Demon Sword a few times.
The movements were smooth, without any significant changes from before the breakthrough.
Next, Lin Li channeled spiritual energy into the Bloodsucking Demon Sword.
The sword shimmered with spiritual light.
With a light swing...
Whoosh!
The sound of the blade cutting through the air rang out!
Lin Li pondered, "Although I don't have an object to test it on, I can sense that while this sword doesn't possess the inherent abilities of a magical artifact, infusing it with spiritual energy greatly sharpens its edge!"
"As long as I don't face particularly powerful enemies, it should be enough to handle most situations."
"However, joining the Tool branch is becoming more pressing. Using an ordinary weapon for too long is a disadvantage! I need to establish my foundation soon, then learn artifact forging so I can imbue the Bloodsucking Demon Sword with special abilities, refining it into a true magical artifact!"
Hearing this, Ye Fan was speechless: "Join the Tool branch? Are you kidding me? Do you think I need you to forge me? By the time you, a beginner, try to refine me, you might ruin me instead of evolving me. Then what? I'll be left with no way to complain!"
Unfortunately, Ye Fan was still just a mortal-grade sword. Without reaching the level of a magical artifact, he couldn't channel his energy to communicate, much less express his thoughts. He could only sulk and pray that Lin Li would soon use him to kill more opponents, gain evolution points, and finally evolve into a magical artifact so he could guide Lin Li to join the Sword branch!
At that moment, a voice came from outside the cultivation chamber, "Young Master Lin! The sect assembly is about to begin! Please prepare yourself. After we serve your breakfast, you can head to the mountain gate!"
Considering the many outer disciples in Xuantian Sect and the fact that the mortals in the sect also gathered near the mountain gate, where most of the buildings were located, holding the sect assembly at Tongtian Peak would have been too much trouble.
Therefore, the Xuantian Sect's sect assemblies were traditionally held at the mountain gate.
For the elders at the Foundation Establishment or Core Formation stages, flying down from the five peaks to the mountain gate was quick and convenient—far better than making the outer disciples and mortals spend an entire day climbing up the mountain.
After emerging from his secluded training, Lin Li washed, dressed, and ate breakfast, all attended to by his maids. Then he left his private celestial residence.
As soon as he stepped outside, he ran into his neighbor, Junior Brother Liu.
"Wow! Senior Brother Lin! What a coincidence!"
Junior Brother Liu exclaimed dramatically, "Are you heading to the sect assembly too?"
Lin Li rolled his eyes, "What do you think?"
"Heh, yeah, I guess that was a silly question!"
Junior Brother Liu chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "Come on, let's go together!"
Lin Li nodded, but as he walked, his thoughts turned to the upcoming assembly: being publicly commended and rewarded in front of all the disciples and elders...
Just thinking about it made his heart race with excitement and anticipation!