Moonlight poured through the half-closed window like water, spilling into the room along with the cool night breeze.
Shi Yu sat cross-legged on a prayer mat with her eyes closed. She had set up a Spirit-Gathering Array around herself, drawing spiritual energy toward her, where it gathered without dispersing. Faint strands of light radiated from her body, enveloping her figure in a hazy glow.
Her breathing grew slow and rhythmic. With every inhale, she felt her internal spiritual energy increase by a fraction; with every exhale, a bit of turbid energy and impurity was expelled. The rush of spiritual energy brought about by her breathing caused her clothes to billow one moment and cling tightly to her skin the next.
As the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged continuously into her body, Shi Yu's aura climbed higher and higher. When her internal Qi surged to its absolute peak, the gathered spiritual energy around her suddenly came to a dead halt. This pause lasted for several breaths before her breathing shifted slightly, sending her aura soaring to its absolute climax.
Her body acted like a funnel, as the abruptly gushing spiritual energy scrambled to pour into her interior, her meridians nearly giving way under a wave of tearing pain.
Shi Yu opened her eyes abruptly, her hands forming several complex seals as she forcefully squeezed the spiritual energy scattered throughout her body into her dantian.
Her Yellow Sprout Dao Foundation swayed violently under the storm of spiritual energy, looking like a sapling caught in a tempest. Strands of origin spiritual energy, thin as gauze, overflowed from the yellow sprout. Guided by Shi Yu's will, they refined the surging spiritual energy with a force that was deceptively gentle yet uncompromisingly firm.
Dense, pure spiritual energy gathered like stardust, gradually forming a core that developed into a Qi cyclone, revolving rhythmically around the yellow sprout.
When Shi Yu opened her eyes wide, a sharp glint flashed across her gaze as the final Qi cyclone formed.
Soon, the turbulent spiritual energy in the room settled down, and her billowing clothes relaxed. Shi Yu slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and brought her hands together to finish her seal, concluding her stance.
“The eighth layer of the Qi Refining Realm.”
Normally, the higher one advanced in the late stages of the Qi Refining Realm, the harder it became to make a breakthrough. Remaining stuck at a single layer for years or even decades was common. However, after her journey within the Enlightenment Mirror, she had forged a Dao Heart, laying an extraordinarily deep and solid foundation. Combined with the benefits from the life scale, she had managed to reach the eighth layer of the Qi Refining Realm so rapidly.
Now, there were a full eighty Qi cyclones inside her dantian.
The further one progressed, the harder it was to condense Qi cyclones, as the required amount of spiritual energy nearly doubled for each one. Thus, while it seemed she had only gained a few new cyclones, the total amount of spiritual energy within Shi Yu's body was a full fifty percent higher than when she was at the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
Her internal spiritual energy was fuller than ever before, and her soul was exceptionally vibrant.
After taking a moment to feel the changes, her eyes curved into a subtle smile as she thought to herself, With this, refining Tier-3 pills will no longer be a difficult task.
Even among Tier-3 pills of the same tier, some were harder to refine than others. Now that her cultivation had increased, as long as a pill wasn't absurdly complex, she estimated she could refine it.
Rising from the prayer mat, Shi Yu looked out the window toward the distant horizon. Sea of clouds tumbled like a vast canvas, occasionally shimmering with golden light.
The journey had been smooth and peaceful without any setbacks. By now, the cloud boat had flown into the territory of Hengze Prefecture, and they would likely arrive at its capital city soon.
Lowering her gaze to look down from hundreds of feet in the air, she noticed the landscape of Hengze Prefecture was vastly different from Lingtai Prefecture.
Lingtai Prefecture was full of spiritual rivers and grand mountains, such as the vast, sprawling Fulong Mountain Range. Hengze Prefecture, on the other hand, was mostly made of plains, with high mountains being a rare sight. Rivers crisscrossed the plains, encircling cities like jade belts. Between the cities lay dense networks of fields and villages, teeming with life.
“Every region has its local specialties. I should be able to gather quite a few rare Water-attribute spiritual materials here,” Shi Yu mused inwardly as she looked at the rushing rivers.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by a voice from outside: “Miss Shi, are you inside?”
Shi Yu withdrew her gaze, walked away from the window, and opened the door.
Standing outside was a fellow Tier-2 alchemist traveling with them. Seeing Shi Yu, he looked slightly constrained, clearing his throat before speaking: “The president asked me to inform you that we are about to enter a no-fly zone. When we do, we will all need to disembark from the cloud boat and make the rest of the journey on foot.”
“A no-fly zone?” Shi Yu blinked.
In the cultivation world, no-fly zones fell under two categories. The first was natural hazards or places governed by peculiar laws of nature, where flying artifacts, flying spirit beasts, or cultivators' escape lights were restricted and rendered useless. The second was man-made, conventional rules establishing restricted flying areas for various reasons.
She wondered which category Hengze Prefecture's no-fly zone belonged to.
The Tier-2 alchemist smiled and explained, “Flying has always been forbidden within five hundred miles of Hengze Prefecture's capital city. A central prefecture capital like this possesses immense pride; how could it allow outsiders to fly above its head? Only a select few who hold a 'Cloud-Traversing Token' or Golden Core Realm grandmasters can fly through without hindrance.”
So it was a man-made rule, then.
Understanding the situation, Shi Yu walked out onto the cloud boat's deck with him.
While they were still some distance away, President Song could be seen steering the cloud boat to a slow descent, dark-faced and muttering curses under his breath.
“If they don't put on airs, it must feel like a disrespect to their status as a central prefecture capital, right? They only act tough within Changyuan Prefecture. Looking at the whole East Continent, Hengze Prefecture doesn't mean squat!”
The cloud boat landed five hundred miles away from the capital city, and everyone disembarked one after another. President Song waved his wide sleeve, stowing the cloud boat inside before saying gloomily, “Let's move.”
The cultivation levels of the group varied, as did their travel speeds. The group traveled along the main road, and after a day and a half of trekking, they finally arrived at the capital city of Hengze Prefecture.
A colossal city came into view, its city walls stretching a hundred feet high, carved with countless array runes that gleamed with golden light, making it difficult to look at directly. Judging solely by the scale of its city walls, this city indeed possessed a far deeper foundation than the capital city of Lingtai Prefecture.
A massive plaque hung above the city gate, roughly ten zhang long and wide, bearing three large characters: “Hengze Prefecture.” The calligraphy was forceful and vigorous, exuding an aura of majesty.
Shi Yu tilted her head to look up at the plaque, her keen senses picking up the majestic momentum remaining upon it.
She murmured softly, “These characters... must have been written by someone at least at the Golden Core Realm.”
Master Ji nodded beside her. “Indeed. Eight hundred years ago, this plaque was written by the first city lord of Hengze Prefecture. That city lord was at the late stage of the Golden Core Realm.”
Shi Yu caught the key word and repeated, “City lord?”
“Mhm,” Master Ji said as he walked. “Unlike Lingtai Prefecture's capital city, which is governed through mutual agreements among various families, Hengze Prefecture also has many families and sects, but it is ruled by a singular faction with supreme status—the City Lord's Mansion.”
Shi Yu nodded in understanding.
People surged like a tide through the city gate, coming and going in a bustling hive of activity. Furthermore, unlike Lingtai Prefecture's capital city, where almost only righteous cultivators walked the streets, there were quite a few cultivators with sinister, uncanny auras walking around here, seemingly completely unbothered by showing their faces in public.
Once inside the city, President Song said, “Let's find a place to stay first.”
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