Chapter 114 – A Stretch of Clouds and Mountains (1/2)

Diao Fei originally planned to keep it for opening the Yang Linking meridian, saving it for when he would break through to the fourth layer. However, he could not allow his rival to obtain this Lightning Strike talisman no matter what, so he could only bear the pain of giving it up.

Li Qingshan said to Diao Fei, “Let me see it!”

Diao Fei poured the Pearl Dew pill into his palm. A small pill, transparent like a droplet of dew, shone brightly. All of the Qi Practitioners in the surroundings struggled to hide their greed. A pill of superior quality could play a great role at crucial times when it came to breaking through. Qi Gathering pills could not be compared to it.

Li Qingshan suddenly regretted the fact that he did not finish off both of them back on the boat very much. My demonic thoughts, oh my demonic thoughts! He smiled. “Not too bad.”

Not too bad? Diao Fei was very dissatisfied with this evaluation. This is a Pearl Dew pill! Have you seen better pills before? The other Qi Practitioners all thought Li Qingshan was putting on an act as well.

Little did they know that not only had Li Qingshan seen better, but he had eaten many better as well. Only now did he realise just how nice Xuanyue had been to him. Although he had no idea what the name of the pills that Xuanyue had fed to him were, just a single one of them was countless better than the Pearl Dew pills that these Qi Practitioners desired so much. Sigh, speaking of which, I wonder how she is doing?

Achoo!

Over five thousand kilometers away, a black spiritual cat laid in a deep, blue embrace and let out a sneeze. A slender hand gently rubbed her smooth fur, as silky as moonlight.

A gentle voice said nervously, “Yue’er, have you caught a cold?” At the same time, she tightened her embrace, pulling in Xuanyue tightly.

“I’m a cat daemeown. Can cat daemeowns fall sick? Please use your head, meowster!” Xuanyue struggled hard, but she was unable to break free.

“As long as you aren’t sick. Your body is far too frail. Here, eat a pill!” Her slender fingers held a spiritual pill, delivering it to Xuanyue’s mouth. Its glow was hidden inside. It glistened and was transparent, just like a crystal. Compared to it, Qi Gathering pills were like mud balls, while Pearl Dew pills were like rocks.

“No more! No more! No more!” Xuanyue swung her head around, struggling even more.

“Alright, alright, alright. No more, no more.” She stowed the pill away. Her voice was filled with helplessness and doting, like a mother looking at the child she loved the most. It was as if even being capricious was a good thing.

She suddenly thought of that tall, wide figure, carrying her on his back while climbing the icy cliffs in the snowstorm, shedding a pair of translucent tears for her. I’m not a good pet!

She was just like a child who only realised her parents’ care and concern after having her own child. Only after trying did she understand that none of the things she possessed came so easily.

“Meowster, let me tell you a story!”

“Alright! I love hearing Xuanyue’s stories!”

Outside the windows were a stretch of clouds and mountains. Two mystical beasts pulled a beautiful carriage, treading through the air.

Back to Jiaping city, Li Qingshan had already returned to his room. He laid on his bed idly as he calculated his earnings today.

Around fifty Qi Gathering pills were enough to support his cultivation for three days; he could break through to the third layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi. As for the Pearl Dew pills, it would be used to break through the fourth layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi, which was going from the first layer to the second layer as a Qi Practitioner, opening his first meridian.

As a result, Li Qingshan shut himself in his room, entering secluded cultivation once again. His behaviour was common. There were many Qi Practitioners who would use these three days to make some final preparations, remaining in their room for the entire time.

He ingested the Qi Gathering pills one by one. Most of it was converted into daemon qi, while a small part of it was converted into extremely pure true qi. Although he could not revert to his original form to check, Li Qingshan believed his current daemon form would be even taller and studier. If he remained in the mountains, he would struggle to reach this level even if he spent day and night absorbing spiritual qi of the world. It was true. The cultivation speed of daemons was nowhere near as fast as humans. This was their natural disadvantage, but Li Qingshan did his best to use the methods of humans to make up for this disadvantage.

Although external pills were beneficial to cultivation, it would lead to an accumulation of impurities in true qi, leading to impure true qi. Apart from absorbing their effects, regular Qi Practitioners would also find ways to purify and refine their true qi, which would obviously take up quite a lot of time. However, with the assistance from the sumeru ring, Li Qingshan was saved from this part of the process, basically saving him a lot of time. It instead sped up his cultivation.

Li Qingshan meditated in his room quietly. Three days passed swiftly. He had ingested a year’s quantity for many Qi Practitioners, twenty-four Qi Gathering pills, in a single sitting, and only then did he break through to the third layer of the Innate Method of Gathering Qi. He originally wanted to continue cultivating, but unfortunately for him, it was time. He could only stand up and leave. He discovered that it had begun drizzling at a certain time while he was cultivating.