Blood seeped from all seven of their facial orifices. The black-robed elder's furious laugh had very nearly shaken the two Black-clothed Cultivators in the hall to death.
"Issue my decree! Spare no expense in your search for clues. For anyone who finds a usable lead...
I will personally perform a marrow cleansing and tendon restructuring. If they lack an immortal destiny, they may enter my Holy Sect. If they already have a Cultivation base, they will be promoted three full levels!"
"Yes, sir!" Without a moment's hesitation, the two Black-clothed Cultivators replied in low voices, turned, and hurried away to carry out the elder's orders.
After the two departed, the dim, lightless hall once again fell into silence.
A long time later, the black-robed elder abruptly rose, transforming into a streak of black light in an instant. He departed Flower Moon Peak and headed for another treasured hall.
...
「Jia Li Hall.」
The hall towered into the clouds, its interior astonishingly vast.
Row after row of Profound Iron Bookshelves, each several hundred yards tall, stood like colossal pillars reaching for the heavens. Densely packed upon them were innumerable Jade Scroll Collections, exuding the cold air of ages and the weight of boundless information.
The streak of black light landed and materialized into the black-robed elder. He raised a hand, took out a Jade Talisman, and presented it to a young Cultivator at the entrance of Jia Li Hall.
"I want to see the records for this generation of Outer Mansion Disciples from Ling Family Mountain."
The young Cultivator guarding the entrance glanced at the Jade Talisman, which emitted a faint cyan glow. He jolted in shock, scrambling to his feet and bowing deeply, his voice laced with obvious nervousness.
"Gr-Greetings, Master.
Please wait a moment, Master. I'll go fetch it at once."
Faced with a personal visit from a Foundation Establishment Master, the young Cultivator dared not be slow. But just as he was about to enter the hall to retrieve the records, a soft shout came from behind him.
"Hold it!"
Gently waving a feather fan, a refined-looking middle-aged man in a plain, long robe slowly walked out of Jia Li Hall.
Looking at the cold and indifferent black-robed elder, whose eyes were like a falcon's, the man in the long robe smiled gently.
"If it isn't Senior Brother Song Kun. It's been a while. Have you been well?"
The black-robed elder, Song Kun, shot a cold glance at Yang Cuan. A flicker of irritation crossed his eyes as he said in a low voice:
"I've been just fine. No need for your concern."
"Heheheh, that's good to hear. Is Senior Brother here to retrieve some records? But the Sect rules are clear: aside from the Master on duty, no other Disciples may access the records without authorization.
And I recall that Senior Brother... doesn't seem to hold any official post, correct?" Completely ignoring Song Kun's increasingly icy gaze, Yang Cuan shifted his feet slightly, firmly planting himself in the center of the Jia Li Hall entrance.
The meaning was simple.
'You may be a Foundation Establishment Master, but you hold no official position.'
'If I don't let you access the records today, you absolutely will not be accessing them.'
Song Kun's wide black robes suddenly billowed without any wind, whipping about loudly. A faint, phantasmal image of a blood-red crescent moon appeared in the depths of his eyes, and a terrifying, heart-stopping pressure, like an invisible mountain, crashed down upon Yang Cuan!
Despite the horrifying pressure emanating from Song Kun, Yang Cuan seemed completely unfazed. He even took another slow step forward, his posture relaxed, as if he were merely facing a gentle breeze.
The two invisible auras of the Foundation Establishment Masters clashed violently before the hall's entrance, grinding against each other. The air itself seemed to solidify, letting out a faint, strained screech as if unable to bear the strain.
The young Cultivator standing nearby had long since gone deathly pale. His legs trembled like reeds in a storm, cold sweat poured down his forehead like rain, and he was on the verge of suffocating and passing out.
The deathly silent standoff lasted for several breaths, each second feeling as long as a century.
"Your terms," Song Kun finally said, conceding.
'Jia Li Hall is not just any place. If he really tried to force the issue, he would be the one to lose out.'
'The Demon Sect is not without its own order.'
'On the contrary, the rules of the Demon Sect are actually even more strict and ruthless.'
'Otherwise, the underlings would have long since risen up in rebellion.'
"Senior Brother, what are you saying? How could I be someone who abuses his position for personal gain?
It's just that my apprentice has been struggling to grasp the true meaning of his Sword Formulas lately. Senior Brother is a grandmaster of the Sword Dao; I wonder if I might borrow your notes on the Sword Dao for him to see?" A perfectly measured look of helplessness appeared on Yang Cuan's face, his expression utterly sincere.
"Fine!" Song Kun shot Yang Cuan a glance and nodded with a cold sneer.
"Excellent! You, go get the records and present them to Senior Brother for his inspection."
His goal achieved, Yang Cuan's face bloomed into a brilliant smile. He pointed at the young Cultivator, who was still standing there dumbstruck, and ordered him to immediately fetch the records for Song Kun.
"Uh, yes..." The young Cultivator snapped out of his stupor and scrambled into Jia Li Hall. A moment later, he emerged holding a Jade Scroll, which he presented to Song Kun.
"Hmph!" With the records in hand, Song Kun didn't even spare Yang Cuan a glance. He casually tossed a Jade Talisman over before transforming into a streak of black light and departing.
Rubbing the Jade Talisman, which faintly pulsed with Sword Aura, and feeling the pure Sword Intent within, the smile on Yang Cuan's face slowly faded. He narrowed his eyes.
"Go make a copy of the records he just took.
'For a few mere Outer Mansion juniors to warrant such attention from that old bastard...'
'Heh... something's definitely fishy!'
...
「Seventh Outer Mansion, in a secluded, private courtyard.」
Inside the meditation chamber, Qi Yun sat cross-legged, his eyes shut tight and his brow furrowed deeply.
His robes billowed around him without any wind, whipping about loudly. An invisible current of air swirled around him like a vortex, kicking up the fine dust on the floor.
Over the course of a month, with the aid of Qi Spirit Pills, he had filled nearly all the meridians in his body with Innate True Qi.
The next step was to break through the miasma within his Purple Mansion. If he could do that, he could guide the True Qi to settle in his Dantian and step into the Qi Refining Third Layer.
The back of his robes was already soaked with sweat. Qi Yun's breathing was slightly ragged, and his face had grown pale.
The more True Qi he had in his body, the greater the burden on his Heart and Spirit to control it.
Only after the True Qi settled in the Dantian would his foundation be set, allowing him to command it as easily as his own limbs, no longer taxing his Heart and Spirit.
'Success or failure hinges on this one attempt!'
Taking a deep breath and focusing his entire Heart and Spirit, Qi Yun immediately mobilized the Innate True Qi in his meridians. Like a hundred rivers flowing to the sea, it surged tumultuously toward his Purple Mansion.
'When charging the miasma of the Purple Mansion, the higher the quality and quantity of True Qi, the greater the chance of success.'
'Ordinary Cultivators, without the help of a Treasure Pill, accumulate True Qi slowly. They usually attempt a breakthrough after filling about half of their meridians with True Qi.'
'The success rate for that is only about sixty percent.'
'But my aptitude is poor, so the miasma in my Purple Mansion is bound to be thicker. Even with all my meridians filled with True Qi, my chance of success is probably only ninety percent.'
'A full ten percent chance of failure!'
With a solemn expression, he mobilized all his True Qi. Qi Yun's eyes sharpened as the Innate True Qi, gathered from every meridian in his body, viciously slammed into the layer of Acquired Muddy Qi that had condensed into a miasma within his Purple Mansion!
WHOOSH—
The instant the True Qi and the miasma collided!
It was like a small earthen dam in the countryside being hit by a raging tidal wave from the deep sea.
The miasma in his Purple Mansion was instantly smashed to pieces by the surging Innate True Qi. It dissipated completely without so much as making a splash.
The vast, unimpeded torrent of Innate True Qi flooded into his Purple Mansion Dantian.
An indescribable feeling of clarity, ease, and control instantly filled Qi Yun's entire being.
The True Qi, which had previously required constant effort from his Heart and Spirit to control, was now perfectly integrated with his physical body, flowing as naturally as breathing.
"Haaaah..." He let out a long, turbid breath and raised a sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow. Qi Yun sighed softly.
"That was truly dangerous. I absolutely cannot take such a risk again."
...