While sucking blood, Xiaobai said vaguely: "As Master's cultivation level gets higher, the nutrients in your blood increase as well. We'd love to drink more, but if we drink too much, we'll explode and die!"
Chirp, chirp...
Before long, Xiaoqiang was full. He deliberately stood up on two legs like a warrior, tapping his plump belly with his large pincers to indicate that he truly could not drink another drop.
Xiaobai's pink, forked tongue licked Yelin's wound, and it slowly began to heal automatically. A few breaths later, no trace of it could be seen.
During this period, Yelin had not raised any more bugs. For one thing, he really had no time to pick them, and for another, he had no access to higher-level spirit insects; usually, the most he could see were ants and butterflies.
In fact, Yelin had always toyed with the idea of keeping a few little ants.
He thought ants were fascinating creatures. They divided their labor and cooperated with exceptional unity, using tiny bodies to move huge pieces of food, fighting enemies without fear of death and without a single deserter.
He wanted to wait until he reached Immortal Peak to make a decision. If he really couldn't find any spirit insects he was particularly fond of, he would just casually pick a few lucky ants to keep.
After feeding Xiaobai and Xiaoqiang, Yelin put them away into the space of the Insect Emperor's Ancient Ring. There, they would have the chance to comprehend secret arts and increase their strength.
Based on Yelin's current estimation, Xiaoqiang should now possess the strength of a Qi Condensation 5th Layer beast, while Xiaobai was at the 6th Layer.
Xiaoqiang excelled in close-quarters combat, possessed immense strength, and had speed that reached the extreme.
Xiaobai, on the other hand, was much better at spells, having already comprehended quite a few low-tier spells within the space of the Insect Emperor's Ancient Ring.
As for their master, he had not yet stepped into the Qi Condensation 1st Layer.
Yesterday, he had already sensed the impending bottleneck of breaking through to the Qi Condensation 1st Layer, but after trying several times, he had failed to break through. Today, however, after eating Wang Changsheng's feast, the spiritual Qi in his body was abundant—this was the absolute best opportunity to charge the Qi Condensation 1st Layer!
Yelin sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
Exhale...
Inhale...
wisps of spiritual power were drawn into Yelin's body as he circulated the breathing and meditation technique, flowing along his meridians and eventually converging into his dantian to form magic power.
As the magic power within the dantian continuously increased, the dantian's capacity remained limited, causing the magic power to be constantly compressed and refined...
One hour.
Ten hours.
One day.
Two days.
Just on the morning of the third day, Yelin's body suddenly shook. A majestic momentum radiated outward with him as the center, causing the chairs and tables inside the dormitory to emit unbearable creaking sounds.
Yelin opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them.
"The magic power of a steed—I have it!"
His cross-legged body actually slowly lifted and hovered off the ground.
This was the ability of the Qi Condensation 1st Layer: floating in mid-air!
Chapter 22: Revision of Sect Rules
Even someone with the strongest physical strength could not lift their own body off the ground by themselves.
Yet Yelin, now wrapping his body in magic power, could lift himself up!
This was the fundamental difference between mortals and immortal cultivators.
With his body suspended in the air, Yelin gave a large grab, and a delicate teacup filled with more than half a cup of water on the table slowly flew up, landing unsteadily in Yelin's hand, yet not a single drop of tea was spilled.
This was the ability of telekinesis!
Telekinesis was limited to inanimate objects or unresisting living things; any living thing unwilling to be captured could cause massive pressure on the caster simply by struggling a couple of times, making successful capture very difficult.
Yelin held the teacup and gulped down a large mouthful of water; having gone without food or drink for the past few days, he was already parched. At the same time, his other hand pointed at the Mysterious Iron Sword resting on the table. With a crisp "clang," the Mysterious Iron Sword turned into a cold beam and flew into his hand.
This was not sword control, but rather telekinesis.
To truly command a flying sword, one needed a flying sword of magical tool grade.
Yelin closed his eyes and looked inward at his dantian, discovering that the previously scattered and drifting clouds of magic power inside had gathered together to form a vortex of magic power. As he circulated the breathing technique, the vortex continued to spin, refining the magic power at its center into an even purer state.
"To achieve the Foundation Establishment Stage, one must condense the magic power in the dantian into a liquid state!"
"And to achieve the Golden Core Stage, one must condense the liquid magic power into solid crystals—those magic power crystals are what we call the Golden Core!"
After testing his abilities, Yelin was extremely satisfied, but suddenly a trace of doubt appeared on his expression.
"Why did my first attempt at floating in mid-air feel so effortless, not nearly as strenuous as rumored, and the consumption of magic power wasn't exorbitant either?"
"Could it be that I possess more than just the magic power of a single steed?"
Harboring his doubts, Yelin gave a wave of his hand, and the figures of Xiaobai and Xiaoqiang appeared in the dormitory.
Seeing Yelin floating in the air, Xiaobai immediately said in a very cheerful tone, "Congratulations, Master, on successfully stepping into the Qi Condensation 1st Layer!"
Chirp!
Xiaoqiang also let out a happy cry.
Yelin nodded.
"Xiaobai, help me test just how many steeds of magic power I possess. Something feels a bit off."
"Alright."
With that, Yelin slowly landed and stood up, retrieving a thick rope from his storage space. Xiaobai bit down on the rope, and with a "swoosh," the thick hemp rope was pulled taut between Xiaobai and Yelin!
With his entire body blessed by magic power, Yelin felt an instantaneous surge of boundless strength, and no matter how he exerted it, his power showed no signs of depletion. However, his body could not resist being pulled steadily toward Xiaobai.
Only now did Yelin gain a clear concept of Xiaobai's might.
Having confirmed Yelin's strength, Xiaobai and Yelin ended their one-sided tug-of-war.
"Master now possesses roughly 2.4 steeds of magic power!"
Yelin was slightly startled; his magic power was actually more than twice as formidable as that of an ordinary cultivator who had just stepped into the Qi Condensation 1st Layer, and even surpassed someone who had just entered the 2nd Layer!
"How can this be? Once a cultivator steps into the Qi Condensation 1st Layer, shouldn't they all only have the strength of one steed? Could it be that those pearls I ate earlier enhanced my magic power, and their medicinal efficacy only fully digested after I stepped into the Qi Condensation 1st Layer?"
Xiaobai pondered for a moment before saying, "Xiaobai thinks those pearls could only improve spiritual roots and strengthen the physical body. Master being able to possess a middle-grade five-element spiritual root is basically thanks to those pearls."
"As for Master's formidable magic power, it is most likely related to the Insect Emperor's Body!"
Xiaobai continued, "Although the Insect Emperor's Body is merely a sacred body for the path of insect taming and does not directly add much combat prowess, as a type of sacred body, it is completely normal for your magic power to be more profound than cultivators of the same realm. The advantages of a sacred body will only slowly manifest in future cultivation—this is just the beginning."
"So that's how it is!" Yelin was somewhat excited for a moment.
Although his future battles would mostly still rely on the spirit insects he raised, having high personal strength was always a good thing.
In a rather pleasant mood, Yelin put away Xiaobai and Xiaoqiang. Closing his door, he first headed to the preparatory handyman cafeteria for a hearty meal. When he emerged from the cafeteria, he found a large crowd of cultivators surrounding a notice board, discussing something in low voices.
Yelin squeezed his way in as well, and when he saw the content posted on the notice board, his expression shifted slightly.
The first rule of the Taixuan Sect had truly been revised!
Yelin clearly remembered that the first rule of the Taixuan Sect used to be [Fellow disciples must not kill one another; violators shall face execution at most]. It had now been changed to [Fellow disciples must not kill one another outside of designated duel zones; violators shall face cultivation abolishment and expulsion from the sect at most].
The so-called duel zone was also a new concept.
In the past, conflicts between disciples were arbitrated by the sect's law enforcement team, but now the law enforcement team would no longer resolve and mediate disputes. If there were truly irreconcilable conflicts, parties could issue a challenge to each other and enter the duel zone to fight to the death.
At the same time, even outside the duel zone, killing a fellow disciple was no longer punishable by death; instead, the maximum penalty was revised to the abolishment of cultivation and expulsion from the sect.
This word "most" was extremely flexible.
In other words, one might still only receive some light, painless punishment!
In addition, many clauses had been added to the sect rules, among which one was the most shocking.
Starting from handyman disciples, every single disciple would possess a challenge right once every three months. Those with a challenge right could challenge any other fellow disciple of the same realm or higher. Winning the match allowed one to arbitrarily choose one trophy from the opponent's storage bag; if one lost the challenge, the opponent could arbitrarily choose two trophies from their storage bag.
During the challenge, killing was prohibited, and even severely injuring the opponent complied with sect rules and required no compensation.
This was encouraging disciples to fight and plunder one another!
Aside from these two sect rules, the Taixuan Sect would also increase the supply of pills and spirit stones for disciples. The stipend for ordinary handyman disciples was raised from two spirit stones per month to three, while senior handymen were raised from four spirit stones per month to six, along with the allowance to claim one Qi Gathering Pill.
The treatment improvements for outer sect disciples and inner sect disciples were even greater.
At the same time, the sect would regularly hold various spell-casting competitions; anyone who won a ranking in the competition would receive generous rewards.
In addition to internal sect competitions, various sects also encouraged dispatching disciples to interact with one another. Winning in exchange matches yielded equally exaggerated rewards.
Generally speaking, the direction of the sect rule revisions was to encourage strife and intensify competition among inner sect cultivators!
Discussions buzzed around Yelin's ears.
"People who kill and loot treasures in the mortal world are robbers, and if caught, they get beheaded. Now, our sect is actually encouraging us to become robbers—is the Taixuan Sect really a righteous major sect?"
"I don't want to cultivate immortality anymore, I don't want longevity, I want to go home. Once you become a handyman disciple, there is a possibility of being robbed or even killed at any moment, and you can't even sleep peacefully at night. How is one supposed to cultivate like this? Shouldn't cultivating immortality be about self-cultivation and nurturing the mind?"
Under the influence of the new sect rules, even the pre-existing trust among all the surrounding preparatory handyman disciples vanished, their gazes toward one another turning intensely vigilant and filled with suspicion.
The peaceful and harmonious atmosphere that had been maintained in the Taixuan Sect for hundreds of years was completely gone!
Chapter 23: Ambushed and Intercepted
The Immortal Peak where the preparatory handyman quarters were located was called Tailing Peak. Compared to other main peaks, it appeared short and mediocre, whereas the Scripture Pavilion stood atop the grand and majestic Taixuan Peak.
Yelin did not rush to fly toward the Scripture Pavilion. Instead, he drove his flying sword to circle around Tailing Peak—sometimes soaring straight into the sky, sometimes plunging down steeply, sometimes sitting cross-legged on the flying sword to drift slowly as if admiring the scenery, and sometimes flying along with the flow of the clouds.
His goal was to master sword-control skills as quickly as possible.
Yelin also pleasantly discovered that while an ordinary Qi Condensation 1st Layer cultivator could only maintain sword flight for half an hour at most before their dantian's magic power was depleted, Yelin had flown on his flying sword for three hours, and the magic power in his dantian remained abundant, showing no signs of obvious consumption.
Not only was his magic power much more robust than ordinary Qi Condensation 1st Layer cultivators, but his speed of recovering magic power also far, far surpassed other cultivators.
This meant Yelin's endurance in combat far exceeded that of other cultivators!
"If my non-combat-enhanced sacred body is already this terrifying, just how frightening must other sacred bodies specifically designed to boost combat prowess be?" Yelin could not help feeling a bit startled inwardly.
"Fortunately, Xiaobai said that sacred bodies favored by heaven and earth are extremely rare, so I shouldn't run into them that easily."
Having more or less mastered the skills of controlling the flying sword, Yelin changed direction, flying from among the white clouds toward the Scripture Pavilion on Taixuan Peak.
Screech~~~!
White immortal cranes, each larger than a water buffalo with a wingspan exceeding two zhang, were dancing amidst the clouds. On the backs of the cranes, one could occasionally see Taixuan Sect disciples sitting cross-legged and practicing cultivation, while some were even practicing sword techniques right on the crane backs.
Swish, swish, swish—a succession of cold gleams flashed and vanished.
Boom!
A crane flapped its wings, causing the air to vibrate. A massive gust of strong wind roared in all directions, blowing away the surrounding clouds and mist.
Yelin did not dare get too close to the cranes for fear of being accidentally injured by them.
These immortal cranes possessed at least Qi Condensation 3rd Layer cultivation, with the highest ones even exceeding the 10th Layer. Each of them had the ability to slay demons, and some of the higher-intelligence cranes could even cast spells.
Seeing those disciples who drove cranes without needing flying swords at all, Yelin felt a twinge of envy.
"However, Xiaoqiang's current body size can also grow to be as big as half an ox; carrying me in flight should be no problem at all. It's just that Xiaoqiang is pitch black all over and still a mutated cockroach—appearance-wise, it's not as elegant and noble as an immortal crane, but its flight speed is definitely much faster!" Yelin thought smugly.
Before long, the grand and majestic immortal architecture of Taixuan Peak came into Yelin's view. As the main peak of the Taixuan Sect, Taixuan Peak's main buildings included the Scripture Library, the Treasure Pavilion, the Scripture Pavilion, the Taixuan Hall where affairs were discussed, and the Taixuan Palace where retired sect leaders resided.
In addition, there was a plaza several kilometers wide on Taixuan Peak, primarily used for large-scale activities and mass assembly.
For instance, sermons held by the Supreme Leader of the Taixuan Sect took place in Taixuan Plaza. Moreover, when other righteous major sects came over to organize large-scale inter-sect exchange activities, they were also grandly held in Taixuan Plaza.
On ordinary days, Taixuan Plaza was completely deserted and remained closed.
After locking onto the Scripture Pavilion, Yelin flew his sword at high speed toward it. Soon enough, Yelin descended on his flying sword right at the entrance of the towering building that was the Scripture Pavilion.
The moment Yelin landed, four figures surrounded him tightly.
Yelin's expression sank slightly: "May I ask what business you senior brothers have?"
Surrounding him were an outer sect disciple at the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer and three handyman disciples at the 1st Layer. All four wore fierce expressions, and the outer sect disciple said in a deep voice, "Yelin, middle-grade five-element spiritual root, founding member of the Longevity Society. This morning you registered your breakthrough to the Qi Condensation 1st Layer, and received a reward of ten spirit stones and a low-grade magical tool flying sword. Kid, am I right?"
Another cultivator added, "I also heard that this kid was bestowed a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills by Uncle Xuanling, and since he just stepped into the Qi Condensation 1st Layer, he probably hasn't had time to swallow them yet! A bottle of Qi Gathering Pills is worth no less than a low-grade magical tool flying sword!"
Yelin's expression grew even gloomier.
"So then, you intend to rob me? Sect rules dictate that challenges can only be initiated against cultivators of the same realm. Do you wish to violate the sect rules?"
When Yelin said this, his voice was extremely loud, and every cultivator within a radius of several hundred meters could hear it clearly.
Immediately, many cultivators surrounding the Scripture Pavilion gathered around to watch.
Yelin was currently unfazed and confident. As far as he knew, the enforcement of the Taixuan Sect's rules was extremely strict; as long as it wasn't someone at the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer bullying him, a 1st Layer cultivator, he was confident he could handle it.
Furthermore, he had long since prepared himself mentally for being challenged or robbed. Although many senior brothers and sisters usually took good care of him, he understood that there were both good and bad people in the Taixuan Sect.
It was just that he had no conflicts of interest with those senior brothers and sisters.
Yet after the revision of the new sect rules, some people who usually hid their malice in their hearts openly bared their vicious fangs, casting a dark cloud of suspicion and self-preservation over the environment within the Taixuan Sect.
That outer sect disciple said coldly, "Of course I want to abide by the sect rules, and dealing with you doesn't require me to make a move. I advise you to obediently hand over the spirit stones, pills, and flying sword one by one, lest you suffer physical pain, end up severely injured, and still lose your treasures—that would outweigh the gains, wouldn't it?"
Another handyman cultivator said, "That so-called president of yours, Song Lingtian of the Longevity Society, indeed has decent talent and is somewhat famous within the sect, but our Black Shark Society is not without backing either. I advise you to banish any thoughts of relying on Song Lingtian early on; he himself is barely protecting his own skin right now, and it's hard to say whether he can even hold onto the upper-grade Scarlet Cloud Sword bestowed by the Peak Master of Spirit Sword Peak. Kid, do you understand your current situation?"
It seemed that this so-called Black Shark Society had quickly investigated Yelin's background and backing after he claimed his reward, and had thus dispatched personnel to wait for him at the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion.
They came prepared.
And Yelin was also prepared.
Unmoved, Yelin revealed a sneer and cupped his fists: "Hand over the treasures? You guys must be out of your minds. Please, esteemed senior brothers, bestow some pointers!"
As soon as Yelin finished speaking, the atmosphere became hair-trigger tense.
The outer sect disciple laughed heartily: "Originally, considering your decent talent, I didn't want to push you to annihilation. But now it seems... you are actually this foolish, courting your own death!"
"Since that's the case, I'll give you a profound lesson. It's a pity to waste the challenge rights of three junior brothers, but there's a long way to go—the challenge rights of three junior brothers are also valuable resources; you'll have to cough up at least thirty spirit stones in tribute later to offset this!"
With that, he exchanged a glance with a handyman disciple beside him.
That handyman disciple immediately pulled out his Taixuan Sect identity jade token, poured magic power into it, and shouted lightly, "I, handyman disciple Li Lei, hereby consume my challenge right today to challenge handyman disciple Yelin. Both parties are at the Qi Condensation 1st Layer; may the Law Enforcement Hall come forward to bear witness!"
Chapter 24: The First Battle
The new sect rules stipulated that public challenges between disciples had to be notarized by a law enforcement team; conducting one without notarization was equivalent to killing a fellow disciple, and the punishment was extremely severe.
Soon, three long rainbows descended from the sky. Stabilizing their figures, Yelin saw three Taixuan Sect inner sect law enforcement hall disciples wearing striking light red Dao robes.
Within the sect, only inner sect law enforcement hall disciples wore light red Dao robes, while law enforcement hall elders wore blood-red Dharma robes, their overwhelming majesty causing one's heart to tremble.
The arrivals were two women and a man. Judging by their auras, they should be one inner sect disciple at the Qi Condensation 8th Layer and two at the 7th Layer.
The Qi Condensation 8th Layer inner sect disciple swept a glance over Yelin and the handyman cultivator Li Lei who had challenged him, speaking sternly: "The 17th Law Enforcement Team has come to notarize. After confirmation, both parties' cultivation levels are at the Qi Condensation 1st Layer; this challenge complies with the sect rules."
Another female cultivator said, "Surrounding cultivators, please step back a distance of ten zhang to avoid being accidentally injured by the spell combat! The two challenging parties shall maintain a distance of three zhang between them!"
The crowd that had originally gathered to watch quickly dispersed, discussing animatedly among themselves.
"Tsk tsk, this kid named Yelin is truly a pitiful soul. I heard he was intercepted and killed by devilish path evil-doers on his way to the Taixuan Sect, and out of a whole flying boat of people, he was the only survivor. Now he's just stepped into the Qi Condensation 1st Layer to become a handyman disciple, and yet he's been targeted by the Black Shark Society, who want to rob him of his spirit stones and flying sword."
"The people of the Black Shark Society are truly despicable, even robbing a junior brother at the Qi Condensation 1st Layer—aren't they ashamed?"