Chapter 139: Realm Breakthrough
"Senior Sister Wang, I never said I was weak," Fang Yun said with a smile as he approached the counter.
"But who could’ve guessed you were this strong?"
She was, of course, aware that Fang Yun’s defense was invincible against others at the same realm.
However, having an invincible defense within his realm paled in comparison to his performance during the Inner Sect tournament.
"Well, now you know, Senior Sister."
"I do now!" Wang Yourong nodded, then added with a grumble, "That Jiang Yan, he was so vague. I heard you also have some kind of special constitution."
"The Seven-Aperture Exquisite Body."
"Yes, yes, that’s the one!" Wang Yourong began to size Fang Yun up. "Junior Brother Fang, oh, Junior Brother Fang... Besides your poor Spirit Root Talent, you’ve got a knack for both Alchemy and Artifact Refining, and to top it all off, you even have a special constitution."
Wang Yourong was truly envious of Fang Yun.
Especially his Alchemy Talent.
"An Elder said my Seven-Aperture Exquisite Body is fine during the Qi Refining Stage, but it’s pretty average after Foundation Establishment." Seeing Wang Yourong’s look, Fang Yun thought she was envious of this special constitution.
"That’s still amazing!" Wang Yourong, thinking Fang Yun was dissatisfied with his special constitution, offered a word of comfort.
Wang Yourong quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, Junior Brother, are you here to turn in a mission today?" She couldn’t see any new Alchemy missions assigned to Fang Yun.
"No." Fang Yun shook his head and quickly stated his purpose for visiting the Dan Cloud Pavilion. "I need to buy Qi Condensing Pills, one Middle Grade and one Lower Grade."
’Buying Qi Condensing Pills?’
Hearing this, Wang Yourong immediately checked Fang Yun’s current aura.
Sure enough, Fang Yun’s aura was at the peak of the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
"I only just broke through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer a short while ago, and you’re already catching up this month, Junior Brother."
She had seen how hard Fang Yun worked, so she didn’t feel a hint of jealousy.
She remembered when she first met Fang Yun. He was only at the third layer of Qi Refining, while she was already at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
"Maybe next year, I’ll have to start calling you Senior Brother." Wang Yourong did a quick mental calculation. At Fang Yun’s current cultivation speed, it wouldn’t be hard for him to reach the Qi Refining Ninth Layer by next year.
Of course, maintaining such a cultivation speed required a vast amount of resources, and Fang Yun had earned them through his own hard work and Alchemy Talent.
"You can keep calling me Junior Brother if you want, Senior Sister." Fang Yun wasn’t particular about titles.
He didn’t mind what people he was familiar with called him.
"That won’t do. Rules are rules."
Wang Yourong shook her head and went to fetch the pills for Fang Yun.
A moment later, two pills were on the countertop.
"One Middle Grade and one Lower Grade Qi Condensing Pill. That will be exactly one hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones."
Fang Yun paid the Spirit Stones and collected the pills. After Wang Yourong recorded the transaction, they chatted for a few more moments before he left.
He hurried back to his residence to prepare for his breakthrough to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
After the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, the breakthrough from the peak of the Seventh Layer to the Eighth Layer was the simplest hurdle.
Even for someone like him with Five Spirit Roots, breaking through with the help of two Middle Grade Qi Condensing Pills was almost a guaranteed success.
This hurdle wasn’t much more difficult than the breakthrough from the peak of the Qi Refining Fifth Layer to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
Once he reached the peak of the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, the next breakthrough would be much more difficult than this one, though it still wouldn’t compare to the difficulty of breaking through from the peak of the mid-Qi Refining Stage to the late Qi Refining Stage.
Fang Yun sat cross-legged on a cushion.
Three pills were laid out before him.
Two Middle Grade Qi Condensing Pills and one Lower Grade Qi Condensing Pill.
He had one Middle Grade Qi Condensing Pill left over from his breakthrough to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, which was perfect to use now.
Under normal circumstances, the two Middle Grade Qi Condensing Pills would be enough for him to break through. If that wasn’t enough, he could take the Lower Grade Qi Condensing Pill.
After adjusting himself to his peak state, Fang Yun began to circulate the final Mental Method of the seventh layer of the Cyan Wood Technique, starting his attempt to break through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
「After nightfall.」
The moonlight was beautiful tonight.
In the midst of his breakthrough, Fang Yun reached the most critical juncture: the final push from the peak of the Qi Refining Seventh Layer to the Eighth Layer.
At that very moment, he directed a Middle Grade Qi Condensing Pill into his mouth and swallowed it.
As the pill’s medicinal power spread through him, Fang Yun first concentrated it, then used it to aid his assault on the barrier to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
One Middle Grade Qi Condensing Pill was, predictably, not enough. Before long, Fang Yun swallowed the second one.
’So close!’
When the medicinal power of both Middle Grade Qi Condensing Pills was completely spent, Fang Yun still hadn’t broken through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
Even so, if he pushed with all his might, he had a seventy to eighty percent chance of success.
But Fang Yun chose not to.
This wasn’t a situation where he was just shy of the required Spiritual Power; taking the pill was a certainty.
And so, the remaining Lower Grade Qi Condensing Pill was also swallowed by Fang Yun.
「Three breaths later.」
His entire aura had changed.
The breakthrough was a success.
Qi Refining Eighth Layer!
A large amount of medicinal power still remained from the Lower Grade Qi Condensing Pill he had just taken.
Fang Yun wasn’t one to be wasteful, but this didn’t feel like a waste to him. Even if he had broken through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer the instant he swallowed the pill, before its medicinal power even had a chance to spread, he would still have considered it worthwhile.
Once his aura stabilized, Fang Yun slowly opened his eyes, emerging from the state of consolidating his new Cultivation.
’Qi Refining Eighth Layer.’
He hadn’t done much else today, so Fang Yun was still full of energy.
After quickly expelling the excess medicinal power of the Lower Grade Qi Condensing Pill from his body, Fang Yun immediately tried a new experiment.
’At the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, combined with my two-star Combat Talent, just how much control do I have over Upper Grade Magical Artifacts?’
Without a moment’s hesitation.
Under his control, five Upper Grade Profound Iron Shields began to continuously revolve around him.
At the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, he could only control five Upper Grade Magical Artifacts with considerable difficulty.
Now that he had broken through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, he could control five Upper Grade Magical Artifacts with ease.
’What about six?’
Another Profound Iron Shield flew out.
In total, Fang Yun now possessed seven Upper Grade Profound Iron Shields.
"It’s a strain..."
With a thought, Fang Yun returned all the Profound Iron Shields to his Storage Pouch.
Previously, controlling six Upper Grade Magical Artifacts was a great strain. Now, it was significantly better. He could use them in combat, but his precision would suffer.
If controlling six Upper Grade Magical Artifacts was already a strain at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, there was no point in even attempting seven.
He wouldn’t bother trying seven even when he reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. By then, he was certain he would have upgraded his Combat Talent to three stars.
’I really look forward to seeing what the three-star Combat Talent can do...’
As he thought this, an Upper Grade Qi Enhancement Pill appeared in his hand.
He wanted to test how long it would take to absorb and refine one Upper Grade Qi Enhancement Pill now that he was at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
Four hours later, he had his answer.