Chapter 265: Chapter 216: 68 Years Old! Qi Refinement 7th Level!
Jade Pot Island.
Jade Cover Mountain.
Chen Jichuan sat cross-legged in the cave mansion, channeling his mana.
Mana surged like a mighty river.
His Dantian was vast like the four seas.
All two hundred and six bones had been fully refined, breaking free from their shackles. Pure energy naturally arose, his body became light and full, as if ascending to the Mysterious Realm.
The large apertures within his body stored mana, and when the apertures were full and spirit complete, the Qi Meridian opened, bloodline solidified. Thus, this third stage of Qi Refinement, the ’Foundation Establishment Realm,’ could also be called the ’Meridian Opening Realm,’ ’Bloodline Realm,’ or ’Ancestor Realm.’
"Foundation Establishment Realm."
"Qi Refinement Seventh Layer."
Chen Jichuan completely opened the first major aperture in his body, filled it with mana, and created the first Qi Meridian before halting his cultivation.
Repeated practice.
He had long been skilled at this.
Even reaching late-stage Qi Refinement again didn’t stir his heart.
Late-stage Qi Refinement?
It was nothing special!
"With the Immortal Sect backing me, and Secret Realms and treasured lands available for cultivation, this speed of progress truly can’t be rivaled by others."
After retreating from Refining Demon forty years ago, and cultivating hard for twenty years, Chen Jichuan advanced steadily. Before today, he had already reached Qi Refinement Sixth Layer, Core Formation Fifth Layer, and Night Travel Fourth Layer.
Such rapid progress.
Firstly, it relied on his previous cultivation experience.
Secondly, it depended on the various Pills he crafted himself.
Lastly, it benefited from the many Secret Realms controlled by the Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion.
"Immortal Dao and Life Dao should advance side by side."
"In fact."
"Because my Life Dao has already broken past the second order, the progress of its rebuilding should technically be faster."
"But due to the abundance of Secret Realms within Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion that assist Qi Refinement cultivators, my progress in Qi Refinement far outpaces that in Life Dao cultivation."
This clearly demonstrated the importance of Secret Realms controlled by the Immortal Sect for cultivators.
The former, Immortal Dao, had already reached Qi Refinement Seventh Layer.
The latter, Life Dao, was still at Core Formation Fifth Layer.
The disparity was stark!
"The Immortal Sect is populous and powerful, its foundation deep—this is no coincidence."
"I should contemplate joining an Immortal Sect in Panlong Mountain, leveraging its resources for cultivation."
"Not just for myself."
"Also for Shaohe. Without ’Dao Fruit,’ his cultivation is even harder. Staying with me at Fire Dragon Cave Market would likely only delay him."
In the past, I hadn’t considered this much.
But after entering this new world and joining the Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion, Chen Jichuan could personally experience the benefits of an Immortal Sect.
Previously, he believed his many secrets made him resistant to joining an Immortal Sect.
Now that mindset had finally shifted.
...
After some casual thoughts about real-world plans.
Immediately.
Chen Jichuan stood up.
"Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion only has four high-level techniques, and among its members, there’s only Master Baiyun as a second-order True Person."
"It is far inferior to Heaven Mending Sect."
Having now reached late-stage Qi Refinement, he already qualified to enter Heaven Mending Sect.
Chen Jichuan had long desired to join Heaven Mending Sect. Now, having reached late-stage Qi Refinement, he wasted no time delegating matters on Jade Pot Island. Without delay, he soared into the sky, heading straight for Radiant Light Island.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Wind Thunder Wings emerged behind him. With wind and thunder swirling, each flash carried him a hundred feet forward, far exceeding ordinary Qi Refinement Seventh Layer cultivators.
The altitude climbed continually, reaching forty miles above the ground.
At this height, there was hardly any water vapor, the sky was clear, and weather changes were rare. Phenomena such as rain, snow, hail, frost, dew, clouds, and fog were almost absent. This ensured smooth flight without interference.
His speed was noticeably faster compared to flying close to the ground or at lower altitudes.
"A hundred and fifty meters per second."
"A speed of five hundred and forty kilometers per hour."
Chen Jichuan harnessed wind and thunder, calculating his speed as he executed the ’Little Four Nine Wind and Thunder Escape Method.’
One hundred and fifty meters per second.
It seemed very fast.
But in reality, even high-speed trains in his previous life could reach speeds of two to three hundred kilometers per hour. Civil aviation aircraft typically had speeds of 900 kilometers per hour. Fighter jets could reach about 1200 kilometers per hour.
In comparison.
His current speed was still far from enough.
"But I am merely at Qi Refinement stage right now."
"If I were a second-order cultivator, my speed would certainly rival fighter jets."
"If I were a third-order or fourth-order cultivator, perhaps I could reach the first or second cosmic speed, breaking free from Earth’s gravitational pull, leaving the Earth and entering outer space."
Chen Jichuan gazed towards the heavens, aspiring and curious.
Curious whether the outer space of this cultivation world was the usual cosmos or held extraordinary mystery.
Above forty miles in altitude.
Clear skies, endless horizon.
With a wide view, Chen Jichuan maintained high-speed flight, relying more on the horizontal movement of air currents to conserve mana. This allowed him to keep himself in a state of ample mana, avoiding being caught off guard by danger en route.
Fortunately, this journey was uneventful.
On the fifth day, Crown Lion Mountain came into sight.
...
"Immortal Master Dai."
"Brother Dai."
"Junior Brother Dai."
Chen Jichuan descended from his escape light outside the mountain gate, heading straight to Fanglan Valley.
Along the path.
Numerous disciples and Immortal Masters of Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion greeted Chen Jichuan, some deferentially, others cheerfully.
This wasn’t because Chen Jichuan had particularly good relationships.
In truth.
For forty years, he rarely returned to Crown Lion Mountain, rushing in and out every time, and apart from a few senior brothers and sisters under Master Baiyun, he had little interaction with others.
Yet, being highly cultivated, strong, and exceptionally talented, progressing swiftly in cultivation, his future was undoubtedly limitless, so everyone sought to ingratiate themselves rather than offend him.
Being outstanding naturally draws admiration.
"Brother Wang."
"Junior Brother Zhang."
Chen Jichuan nodded to each one, responding with a smile.
During his walk.
Others chatted with Chen Jichuan casually, mentioning a recent event where he had gone to Fengchi Island and slew the ’Doom God.’ They complimented him sincerely.
After he left.
Behind his back, people still discussed—
"He’s advanced to late-stage Qi Refinement!"
"That makes sense. The ’Doom God’ possessed an ancient Magical Treasure and was himself at late-stage Qi Refinement. If Junior Brother Dai could slay him, his cultivation couldn’t possibly be low."
"Late-stage Qi Refinement!"
"Isn’t Junior Brother Dai not even a hundred years old yet? Looks like our Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion will soon produce another True Inheritor!"
Surprised and envious, they watched Chen Jichuan leave.
...
Fanglan Valley.
Chen Jichuan strode forward. As he arrived outside Master Baiyun’s cave mansion, voices could already be heard from inside.
"Disciple Dai Zong requests to meet Teacher."
Standing outside the cave mansion.
Chen Jichuan bowed and spoke.
As soon as his voice fell, laughter erupted from within the cave mansion: "I was just talking about you, and here you come. Get in here quickly."
"Talking about me?"
Chen Jichuan’s mind stirred, and he walked into the cave mansion.
Inside.
He saw quite a few people gathered.
Senior Brother Zhu Qian.
Second Senior Brother Cao Wan.
Sixth Senior Sister Li Yunyuan.
These three were closest to Chen Jichuan, their interactions frequent over the years.
But apart from these three and Teacher Baiyun within the cave mansion, there were also a man and a woman cultivator, smiling as they looked at him.
Chen Jichuan took one look and deduced their identities.
At this moment.
Senior Brother Zhu Qian spoke, introducing them to Chen Jichuan: "You and Sixth Junior Sister joined later, so you haven’t met these two. They are True Inheritors from the upper echelon of Heaven Mending Sect. This one is ’Cheng Beixuan,’ and this one is ’Xue Xiao,’ both renowned figures."
"Senior Brother always exaggerates."
Cheng Beixuan and Xue Xiao looked somewhat helpless at Zhu Qian’s introduction.
Cheng Beixuan turned to Chen Jichuan and said, "This must be the youngest junior brother Teacher has recently accepted, the ’Jade-faced Judge’ Dai Zong."
Xue Xiao also smiled and said, "Indeed, remarkably handsome—’Jade-faced Judge’ lives up to the name!"
"Dai Zong greets Third Senior Brother and Fifth Senior Sister."
Upon hearing their titles, Chen Jichuan immediately recognized their identities.
Under Master Baiyun, there were seven disciples.
Among them, the fourth disciple had passed away.
The third and fifth disciples were exceptionally talented, having attained late-stage Qi Refinement early, becoming True Inheritors of Heaven Mending Sect.
In previous years, their fame across the Radiant Light Domain rivaled that of Chen Jichuan, the ’Jade-faced Judge.’ When Chen Jichuan joined Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion, he had often heard stories of these two.
Now upon meeting them.
Cheng Beixuan had already reached Qi Refinement Tenth Layer.
Xue Xiao was at Qi Refinement Ninth Layer.
"The two advanced to late-stage Qi Refinement at seventy-two and seventy-six years old respectively—the former has been with Heaven Mending Sect for eighty-four years, the latter for seventy-seven years."
"They’ve both cultivated well."
Chen Jichuan secretly used the ’Insight Skill’ to examine them, noting their age and cultivation silently.
One was a Qi Refinement Tenth Layer cultivator at one hundred fifty-six years old.
One was a Qi Refinement Ninth Layer cultivator at one hundred fifty-three years old.
Both had good potential to advance to second-order in this lifetime.
However.
Chen Jichuan, having lived through it, understood the difficulty of reaching the second order.
From the Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion perspective, during Master Baiyun’s several hundred-year rule over Crown Lion Mountain, including Cheng Beixuan and Xue Xiao, a total of eleven True Inheritors had emerged. Among them, seven were either deceased or aged out, leaving only four active.
None of the deceased or living had advanced to second-order.
During Master Baiyun’s lifetime, if Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion failed to produce a second-order True Person, the sect would either face decline or have a True Person parachuted in from Heaven Mending Sect to take over leadership.
Originally.
Master Baiyun had pinned his hopes on Cheng Beixuan and Xue Xiao.
But now—
"Seventh disciple."
"You’ve reached late-stage Qi Refinement?!"
As Chen Jichuan exchanged pleasantries with his senior brothers and sisters, Master Baiyun’s gaze fixed upon him, his eyes blazing, his expression brimming with joy.
"Late-stage Qi Refinement?"
"Junior Brother—"
Zhu Qian and Cheng Beixuan abruptly turned to stare at Chen Jichuan.
"Just recently broke through."
"I was about to report to Teacher."
Chen Jichuan answered directly, addressing Master Baiyun.
"Truly broke through?"
"Junior Brother is only—"
"Only sixty-eight years old!"
"By the heavens, wasn’t Third Senior Brother seventy-two years old when he advanced to late-stage Qi Refinement?"
"Indeed. Third Senior Brother at seventy-two, and Fifth Senior Sister at seventy-seven."
"Splendid! Looks like our Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion will soon produce another True Inheritor!"
Zhu Qian, Xue Xiao, and others stared at Chen Jichuan in astonishment and delight.
Being under Master Baiyun’s tutelage, they were naturally close. Seeing Chen Jichuan achieve a breakthrough and ensure a bright future cheered them immensely.
"Good!"
"Marvelous!"
Master Baiyun also exclaimed repeatedly with joy.
He thoroughly understood Chen Jichuan’s potential—
Although he advanced to Core Formation at twenty-one years old.
In reality, it wasn’t until twenty-eight that he began actual Qi Refinement cultivation.
Meaning he achieved late-stage Qi Refinement in just forty years!
Such talent was truly remarkable.
Moreover, not only was this disciple extraordinarily gifted in cultivation, but also in Alchemy and Artifact Refining, displaying exceptional aptitude. Over the years, he had delved into Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion’s related texts and had already begun crafting second-order Spirit Pills and second-order Magical Treasures.
"Sixty-eight years old at Qi Refinement Seventh Layer."
"Sixty-eight years old as a second-order Alchemist."
"Sixty-eight years old as a second-order Artifact Refiner."
Master Baiyun’s heart surged with passion: "Looks like our Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion will finally produce an unparalleled prodigy!"
...