Chapter 461: Chapter 411: Tier 2 Magic (2)

Once his preparations were complete, Zhao Lin sat cross-legged and began to circulate his energy.

Even with an Acupoint Opening Pill, breaking through a realm couldn’t be rushed. This was especially true for a major threshold like reaching the late-stage of Qi Refining, which required a thorough warm-up.

After circulating his energy for four hours, his Qi and Blood were surging, and the Spiritual Power in his body gradually built to its peak.

Zhao Lin attempted to assault the Zhenshu Acupoint, only to find the spiritual acupoint was as hard as a rock, its outer barrier impregnable.

Without the Acupoint Opening Pill, if he were to rely on slowly grinding it down, it would probably take at least a year or two, just as Chen Yiliang had said.

That being the case, there was no reason to hesitate.

Zhao Lin took out the Acupoint Opening Pill and swallowed it.

He had taken five Acupoint Opening Pills before and was very familiar with the process. The pill dissolved, and its potent medicinal effects, combined with his Spiritual Power, surged along his meridians straight toward the Zhenshu Acupoint!

The first spiritual acupoint of the Seventh Layer was far harder to break through than any before it.

With the help of the Acupoint Opening Pill, Zhao Lin circulated his energy late into the night before he finally shattered the spiritual acupoint’s barrier in one go.

A RUMBLE echoed within his body, followed by a violent tremor.

The wind suddenly gusted in the Spirit Cultivation Room as Spiritual Qi continuously gathered toward Zhao Lin, forming a vortex that drilled into the newly opened spiritual acupoint...

"Qi Refining Seventh Layer!"

Zhao Lin murmured to himself, feeling the Spiritual Power in his body surge like a tide, rising to a new, higher level.

Having successfully broken through, Zhao Lin didn’t stop circulating his energy. He took a yellow vial from his storage pouch and tipped out a pill the color of golden wheat.

This was a Yellow Valley Pill, used to stabilize one’s realm. Along with the Yuan Condensing Pill and the Jade Marrow Pill, it was known as one of the three treasured pills of the Qi Refining Realm.

Of course, for Zhao Lin, the Acupoint Opening Pill was the best of all, but unfortunately, he only had two left.

A day later, his realm finally stabilized.

Zhao Lin slowly retracted his energy, preparing to begin cultivating Tier Two skills.

Now that his cultivation had reached the late-stage of Qi Refining, his abundant Spiritual Power could fuel Tier Two skills, allowing him to cultivate them to the "Proficient" level at most.

In terms of pure attack power, a "Proficient" Tier Two skill was actually weaker than a "Perfected" Tier One skill.

However, combat between cultivators wasn’t just a simple exchange of spells.

It was like a duel between martial arts masters: the more skills one mastered, the more ways one had to win. Furthermore, skills could counter and enhance one another, sometimes leading to unexpected, surprising results.

The reason Tier Two skills were designated as such was that their power and profundity were inherently superior to those of Tier One skills.

The Spirit Cultivation Map contained four Tier Two skills: Hundred-Blade Falling Leaf Saber, Water Demon Fist, Icy Whirlwind Hammer, and Mountain-Collapsing Earth-Shattering.

The first three skills all came from Zhu Lihan of the Zhu family. Zhao Lin had attended his funeral and traced these skills from the man’s remains.

As for Mountain-Collapsing Earth-Shattering, it was a skill he had analyzed from a skeleton at the bottom of a river during his first mission outside, the one in Yinfeng Valley.

Water Demon Fist was a Water Element Skill, so it would definitely be useful on his upcoming sea voyage.

Icy Whirlwind Hammer and Mountain-Collapsing Earth-Shattering were both heavy-hitting offensive skills, covering everything from single-point to area-of-effect attacks. Both were worth cultivating.

Only with Hundred-Blade Falling Leaf Saber did Zhao Lin feel some hesitation.

It wasn’t that the skill wasn’t strong enough. The problem was that among Tier Two Wind-type skills, there was Cloud-Riding Sky-Skimming, which was the best flight skill available.

If he cultivated Hundred-Blade Falling Leaf Saber, he would have to learn a different flight skill.

After some thought, Zhao Lin figured that since he had absorbed the Essence Soul of a Wind Fox and already possessed some flight capability, and since he wasn’t lacking in offensive skills, the choice was clear.

With a flicker of his Divine Sense, he erased Hundred-Blade Falling Leaf Saber from the slot for Wind-type skills.

Next, Zhao Lin kicked open two chests full of Spirit Stones and rapidly began absorbing the Spiritual Qi within them.

Cultivating a Tier One skill to the "Proficient" level required only sixty-four Spirit Stones.

For a Tier Two skill of the same mastery level, the cost was four times that of a Tier One skill—two hundred and fifty-six stones.

To get all three skills to the "Proficient" level would require over seven hundred Spirit Stones in total.

Zhao Lin absorbed all twelve hundred Spirit Stones in one go, storing the excess Spiritual Qi in the Spirit Cultivation Map to be used when needed.

He then activated the Spirit Cultivation Map and pushed all three skills to the "Proficient" level!

Zhao Lin’s spirits lifted. Tier Two skills were much harder to cultivate than Tier One skills; many cultivators in the early-stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm couldn’t even master three "Proficient" level skills.

He still had one more day of access to the Spirit Cultivation Room. Zhao Lin ate two large handfuls of Spirit Rice to replenish his energy, stretched his body for a while, and began practicing the three new skills.

He cast the skills one after another, causing ripples of Mana to pulse against the walls.

The Spirit Cultivation Room was rich in Spiritual Qi. Whenever he grew tired, he would meditate to recover his Spiritual Power, repeating the cycle over and over...

A day later, he had achieved a decent mastery of the three Tier Two skills!

On the morning of the fourth day, Zhao Lin walked out of the Spirit Cultivation Room carrying two empty chests.

When he returned to Golden Core Hall, the shop had just opened. Gu An was directing mortal servants as they swept the dust from the entrance.

"Shopkeeper Zhao? I thought you..."

Gu An stopped mid-sentence, realizing his blunder, and quickly shut his mouth.

"Thought I wasn’t coming back, did you?"

Zhao Lin finished the sentence for him and strode inside.

Gu Dezhao was going over the accounts with Wan Jingsheng. Seeing Zhao Lin, he quickly stood up. "Shopkeeper Zhao, the goods have arrived, and the Spiritual Vessel has been sold at a reduced price. Here’s the inventory list."

Zhao Lin took the list, gave it a casual glance, and handed it right back to Gu Dezhao. "I have full confidence in your work, Elder Gu."

"I need to go out again. I’ll leave the shop in your hands, Elder Gu. Feel free to handle any matters as you see fit."

Surprised, Gu Dezhao asked, "How long will you be gone this time, Shopkeeper Zhao?"

Zhao Lin did a quick calculation. ’It’s mid-October now. At the earliest, I can catch a mission in early November.’ He said aloud, "About half a month."

"That long..."

As Gu Dezhao was speaking, he suddenly noticed that Zhao Lin’s aura and demeanor seemed different from before. He used the Qi Observation Skill and saw that Zhao Lin’s cultivation had actually advanced to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

He couldn’t help but turn pale with shock. At the beginning of last year, Zhao Lin’s cultivation was only at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. Breaking through one layer a year—this speed was simply astonishing.

Zhao Lin laughed heartily, turned, and left with a confident stride.

He left the market square, headed straight for the docks by the sea, and boarded a sea vessel bound for Red Tail Island.

「An hour later」

A long, narrow island appeared before his eyes. One half of the island was shrouded in white mist, while the other half was wreathed in rising black fog. This was Red Tail Island!

...

「Harmony Hall」

The moment Zhao Lin set foot on Red Tail Island, a man named Yangquan walked into the inner hall and said to Shopkeeper Tian, "Lord Tenzou, Zhao Lin has gone to Red Tail Island!"

Shopkeeper Tian swept his large sleeve, clearing the pills from the table. "Did you follow him?" he asked.

"No!"

Yangquan shook his head quickly. "We have men at the docks. They saw him board a Spiritual Vessel bound for Red Tail Island with their own eyes."

Then he frowned. "Why do you think he’s gone to Red Tail Island?"

Shopkeeper Tian pondered for a moment before saying, "There are only three types of people on Red Tail Island: the garrisoned guards, the boatmen who deliver supplies, and cultivators undertaking missions."

Yangquan paused, then understood. "Lord Tenzou, are you saying he’s going there to take on a mission?"

Shopkeeper Tian sneered. "After losing a Spiritual Vessel and a whole shipload of goods, his shop probably can’t stay afloat."

"With no other options, he has to take a desperate risk!"

Yangquan’s eyes lit up. "Excellent! Should we inform the sect about this right away?"

Shopkeeper Tian thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "This old man is only guessing; there’s no definite proof yet. We can inform the sect of his whereabouts for now. As for how to judge the situation, we’ll let the lords decide."

"What if he doesn’t come back?" Yangquan asked, a little worried.

"What’s your hurry?"

Shopkeeper Tian chuckled, perfectly composed. "There’s still some time before the missions begin. Besides, if he’s going to undertake a mission, he has to go to the Merit Hall in Dongfu County to accept it."

"We just need to have someone keep an eye on the Merit Hall."

Yangquan immediately praised him, "Your Lordship is brilliant!"

He then broke into a grin, his face full of excitement. "As long as he dares to take a mission, the sect will surely execute this fiend, and we’ll have performed a great service!"

Shopkeeper Tian’s expression turned serious. "Never underestimate this person. He killed several of our sect’s late-stage Qi Refining cultivators when he was only at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. Now he’s already at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. His strength has likely improved even more."

Yangquan nodded in acknowledgment. "This subordinate understands. However, the sect will surely dispatch a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator this time!"

Hearing the words "Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator," a smile appeared on Shopkeeper Tian’s face. "Indeed! A cultivator from the Foundation Establishment Realm will surely leave him with no place to be buried."

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