Cultivation: I Have a Skill Level Panel

Meanwhile,

In a pavilion within a city, a great distance from the Profound Celestial Sect,

A burly young man with a sinister face sat cross-legged, clad in a wide, black robe.

A terrifying aura radiated from his body, seeming to warp the very space around him.

This was none other than Xin Shikui.

Before his eyes floated a prism, utterly pitch-black and deep, engraved with arcane runes.

"I agree to your proposition."

"But that brat must die!"

A crimson light flashed in Xin Shikui’s dark pupils, his face contorted with savagery.

"So, you’ve finally come around."

"But the Demon Transformation Ceremony is agonizing. If you cannot bear the pain, you will die."

"Of course, should you succeed, you will gain an Undying Body, a long life, and your power will increase exponentially."

The prism flickered with a demonic light

as a deep, hoarse voice slowly spoke.

Simultaneously, a terrifying and pure Demon Qi emanated from it,

threatening to collapse the very void.

"Pain?"

’Can any pain be worse than what I’m suffering right now?’

’Not being able to slaughter him—that is the greatest pain of all!’

Xin Shikui’s face twisted into a savage mask as he roared hysterically in his mind, like a cornered beast.

"Go to the Land of the Celestial Abyss. I will assist you with the Demon Transformation Ceremony."

After speaking in its cold, deep voice, the mysterious prism fell completely silent.

...

「Celestial Thunder Dao Peak.」

Inside a cave mansion dense with Spiritual Qi,

Gu Yun sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion.

An Ancient Jade Pendant, capable of calming the mind and steadying one’s focus, hung from his waist.

He operated the Nine Tribulations Thunder Gang Decision,

drawing all the pure Spiritual Power from the blocks of Middle Grade Spirit Stones floating around him. He sent it through a full Circulation, converted the Spiritual Power into True Yuan, and then immersed it into his Dantian.

Instantly, terrifying Thunder Arcs flickered around him. The brilliant flashes illuminated every corner of the cave mansion, releasing a tyrannical pressure that felt suffocating.

Time trickled by.

In the blink of an eye, a day had passed.

HUUU!

Gu Yun slowly opened his eyes, exhaling deeply.

The formidable aura surrounding him caused the very space to warp and tremble.

He then took a deep breath and pressed a hand down,

gradually calming the vast, ocean-like True Yuan within his body.

’Almost there.’

A flicker of excitement shone in Gu Yun’s eyes.

He was just shy of breaking through to the True Martial Realm Ninth Layer.

But his Middle Grade Spirit Stones were nearly gone,

which left him feeling quite helpless.

Sigh.

’I guess I’ll have to refine some Elixirs to get by.’

At this thought, Gu Yun’s Spiritual Sense swept into his Space Storage Ring, taking stock of his Spirit Medicines to see what Elixirs he could create.

After a moment, he had a plan.

With a wave of his hand, a flash of light appeared,

and an unremarkable Alchemy Furnace materialized in mid-air.

With another grand wave, he retrieved several Spirit Medicines from his Spatial Ring and tossed them into the furnace. Then, the pale Cyan Lotus Water and Fire surged forth from his body.

The moment this terrifying Cyan Spiritual Fire appeared, the very air distorted, as if the entire space was about to be incinerated!

The Cyan Spiritual Fire flowed like magma to the base of the Pill Furnace, blazing fiercely to heat the Spirit Medicines within.

Gu Yun’s hand seals changed as he controlled the temperature, ensuring it was neither too high nor too low.

He adjusted in real time to the changes inside the furnace, maintaining a perfectly consistent temperature.

The Spirit Medicines began to melt, little by little.

Half a day passed in the blink of an eye.

The fierce Cyan Spiritual Fire within the Alchemy Furnace vanished, and its temperature began to drop.

Gu Yun channeled a wisp of True Yuan and gave a light flick of his hand.

The lid of the Alchemy Furnace slid gently open.

A fragrance so dense it was almost tangible filled the air.

Breathing it in,

one would feel instantly refreshed and revitalized.

’Spirit Storage Pills... done.’

Gu Yun looked at the six complete Elixirs inside the furnace, each radiating a hazy, pale blue light.

A flash of excitement crossed his eyes.

’These are all assets!’

Although the Elixirs wouldn’t help his cultivation much,

they were a huge boon for others, and for those who needed them, they could be exchanged for a large amount of resources.

They could be exchanged for resources!

[You have successfully refined the Spirit Storage Pill. Success Rate: 60%. Your understanding of the Spirit Storage Pill has deepened. Alchemy Skill Level +2%]

Next,

Gu Yun repeated the process, going on to refine True Spirit Pills and Lingxiao Body Tempering Pills.

[Alchemy:

Human Tier Upper Grade (80%)]

[Through diligent and tireless effort, you have successfully refined the Lingxiao Body Tempering Pill. Success Rate: 50%. Alchemy Skill Level +2%]

[Losing sleep through painstaking effort, you have successfully refined the Spirit Storage Pill. Success Rate: 60%. Alchemy Skill Level +3%]

[Working diligently from dawn till dusk, you have successfully refined the True Spirit Pill. Success Rate: 80%. Alchemy Skill Level +2%]

After another day of this,

Gu Yun finally stopped.

Looking at his harvest,

a smile crept onto his face.

One bottle of Spirit Storage Pills, one bottle of Lingxiao Body Tempering Pills, and three bottles of True Spirit Pills.

He had managed to refine all these bottles of Elixirs in just two days of intense, non-stop alchemy.

However,

’Why do I feel so drained?’

’Looks like the high-stakes work completely overtaxed my spiritual energy.’

At this thought, Gu Yun waved his hand.

An Elixir, shrouded in a hazy, pale blue light, floated before him.

He immediately swallowed a Spirit Storage Pill.

The Elixir dissolved into a cool current that flowed through his body.

Instantly, he felt his vitality return.

A flash of lightning sparked in his eyes,

and he exuded an exceptionally tyrannical aura!

The effects of the Spirit Storage Pill were immediate. Gu Yun felt completely re-energized.

He then took a step.

His figure flickered and vanished, leaving only an afterimage to slowly dissipate in the air of the cave mansion.

...

「Inner Sect Marketplace.」

Rows of pavilions rose and fell like waves, stretching on endlessly.

Buildings lined both sides of the street.

Cultivators had set up stalls all along the way.

A wide street, stretching farther than the eye could see, was packed with a ceaseless flow of people.

It was a veritable sea of people, bustling with activity.

There were middle-aged Cultivators in Daoist Robes with beards, carrying large wine gourds;

aloof Sword Cultivators in black robes, their faces cold, with longswords strapped to their backs;

and beautiful female Cultivators in red dresses, their black hair flowing like waterfalls...

All the while, the unending cries of the stall owners echoed through the air.

Every time he came to the Marketplace,

Gu Yun felt a sense of being among common people, close to the secular world.

And this time in particular,

the Marketplace was exceptionally crowded!!

It was practically overflowing.

There were many new faces, all wearing different kinds of clothing.

’It must be because of the Inner Sect’s grand competition,’

’attracting Cultivators from all the major and minor Sects and family powers across the Eastern Profound Domain.’

However,

’The semifinals start in two days.’

’I’d better move quickly.’

With that thought,

Gu Yun wove through the sea of people

and arrived at the center of the Marketplace,

a bustling, easily accessible area where the crowds were thickest.

Gu Yun gazed at the tall pavilion standing before him. It was the most popular destination in the Marketplace, the Wanbao Treasures Pavilion.

Gu Yun had been here many times and was familiar with the process.

「A moment later, on the second floor of the Wanbao Treasures Pavilion.」

In a fragrant, antique-styled room with valuable murals on the walls and an Incense Burner in the corner,

a stout man with a round face and beady eyes sat across from Gu Yun. He wore a golden brocade robe that strained against his enormous belly.

Aromatic Spirit Tea sat on the exquisitely carved wooden table between them.

"Brother Gu,"

"A single Spirit Storage Pill is worth fifty Middle Grade Spirit Stones, so a bottle of ten comes to five hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones."

"A Lingxiao Body Tempering Pill is worth forty Spirit Stones, so that’s four hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones for the bottle."

"A True Spirit Pill is worth twenty Middle Grade Spirit Stones, so three bottles comes to six hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones."

"All together, that’s one thousand five hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones. What do you think, Brother Gu?"

Jin Yuanbao’s small eyes were fixed on the five bottles of Elixirs on the table, his face wreathed in smiles as he spoke.

The corner of Gu Yun’s mouth quirked up. He tapped his fingers rhythmically on the wooden table, his gaze as placid as water. With a faint, unreadable smile, he simply stared at Jin Yuanbao, saying nothing.

This brought immense pressure down on Jin Yuanbao. It felt as if an invisible, torrential flood was washing over him, threatening to drown him and leave him gasping for air.

"Two thousand."

Gu Yun slowly raised two fingers and uttered the number.

The words had barely left his lips

when Jin Yuanbao chuckled awkwardly.

"Brother Gu,"

"Surely you’re joking with this little brother..."

But in the next instant,

Gu Yun slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.

"Younger Brother Jin,"

"Do I look like a fool to you?"