From Celestial Official to Great Celestial Venerable

Chapter 63, Seventh Floor
hum-

On the panel of the Heavenly Essence Furnace, the Dharma Essence Points quietly hovered at [1125].

Qin Chuan's gaze swept across the scene, but a rare sense of bewilderment welled up in his heart.

With over a thousand points of Dharma essence in hand, he was momentarily at a loss as to where to devote them.

"The Five Elements Immortal Foundation Technique has evolved into the Wood Azure Sky Technique and the Burning Wood Fire Technique, which have reached the seventh level of Qi Refining; the Golden Treasure Bottle Seal has even reached the peak quality of Qi Refining... Logically speaking, breaking through to the seventh level should be a natural process, without any bottlenecks."

He frowned slightly and sighed softly, "The only thing lacking is spiritual energy."

He possesses the realm of enlightenment, but lacks sufficient resources to advance it; this is his current predicament.

Upon closer examination, his cultivation speed is actually quite terrifying.

In just over three months, he went from being a novice on the path of cultivation to reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining. Not to mention Jiuchuan County, even in the entire Lushan region, there is no one else like him.

However, the deeper one's cultivation, the greater the spiritual energy required. Neither the spiritual vein beneath the He family compound nor the carefully arranged spiritual energy gathering fields of Nongling Temple could support his breakthrough to the seventh level in a short period of time.

If relying solely on the spiritual energy accumulated from the spiritual fields of Nongling Temple, it would roughly take at least three or four months of seclusion to gather enough abundant spiritual energy for breaking through the barrier.

"Unless... there is something containing a large amount of spiritual energy, such as elixirs or spiritual wine, that can replace the painstaking breathing exercises."

With this thought in mind, Qin Chuan probed his storage bag with his divine sense—where lay quietly various spiritual items given to him by Sun Qinghan, used to make connections with immortals in the heavens and to showcase the special products of the Nine Rivers of Lushan.

Three catties of Jiuchuan Zhibao Yunwu Tea; ten "Nine-Aperture Purple Lingzhi" mushrooms, a true thousand-year-old spiritual material from Lushan; and ten lightning-struck heart-rotting fungi, which grew in Tianlei Pit and contain the power of thunder.

These are all precious items that Lushan Jiuchuan hopes to sell to the world.

Each item is a rare treasure, a stepping stone for Sun Qinghan to pave his way to the heavens, hoping to help Qin Chuan sell his products to some sects in Perfect World, essentially as sample gifts.

If too much is misappropriated without authorization, the consequences are self-evident.

Qin Chuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he had already made up his mind:
"I have been working tirelessly for the sake of Jiuchuan. How can I act without sufficient cultivation? I have heard that the Perfect Heaven beyond follows the doctrine of freedom, where the law of the jungle prevails. Everyone carries talismans and swords, and the barbarians often openly break into shops and plunder. This journey is fraught with danger. If I am not strong enough to protect myself, won't I be at the mercy of others?"

Having made up his mind, he no longer hesitated. He immediately took out a gourd containing a pound of cloud and mist tea and uncorked it.

In an instant, a surge of pure and powerful spiritual energy burst forth like a living thing, filling the room with its fragrance. The tea leaves curled up like young dragons, and the mere dissipation of spiritual energy invigorated Qin Chuan, far surpassing the spiritual pills and wines he had consumed in the past!
"Truly a treasure of Jiuchuan..." he thought to himself.

The origin of its ancestral tea tree is said to be traced back to the time of the ancient gods. Legend has it that it originated from the ancient divine garden, which contained many of the most precious spiritual roots in the world, including the seven divine teas.

Upon hearing this, a divine monkey realized that he had no good tea in his mountain, so he transformed into a bluebird and stole the tea seeds from these tea trees. After pecking up all the seeds of the seven divine teas, he encountered an ancient divine general leading heavenly soldiers to capture him when he passed through the land of Lushan Jiuchuan.

During a battle with a divine general, the divine monkey accidentally dropped a tea seed from the divine tea plantation into the Cloud and Mist Village of Nine Rivers. The seed took root and, after ten thousand years, became the first Cloud and Mist Ancestral Tea Tree. The tea brewed from it was named for its ethereal, cloud-like flavor.

During the Kaihuang era, the tea produced by the Yunwu Ancestral Tea Tree was even a tribute to the Heavenly Court.

Unfortunately, due to many other unforeseen circumstances, the yield of the ancestral tea tree decreased sharply, making it extremely difficult to obtain. Only second-generation Yunwu tea, grown from the tea seeds of the Yunwu ancestral tea tree, remained on the market.

Even if it is only produced by second-generation tea plants, the "ethereal mist" contained within it is extraordinary.

He carefully picked out more than twenty tea leaves, placed them in a teacup, used the Little Cloud Rain Technique to pour water, and then used the Palm Flame Technique to cook them.

In a short while, the tea leaves unfurled like clouds in the tea soup, and a layer of milky white mist condensed on the surface, swaying gracefully, like a scene from a fairy tale.

Qin Chuan leaned closer and sniffed, inhaling the wisp of ethereal mist into his stomach.

boom!
A surge of pure spiritual energy instantly dissolved and flowed into every part of the body; this single whiff was comparable to the results of three days of arduous cultivation!
"Having heard of its effects, if I drink it..." He no longer hesitated, raising his cup and drinking the tea in one gulp. In an instant, the immense spiritual energy accumulated over half a month of arduous cultivation exploded within his body, surging like a mighty river. Qin Chuan immediately sat cross-legged, circulating his Five Elements Immortal Foundation Technique, focusing all his efforts on guiding and refining it.

However, this spiritual energy was too abundant; if refined using the usual methods, it would probably take until midnight.

"Too slow." His mind raced. "Heavenly Furnace, upgrade my 'Thirteen Transformations of Divine Astoundment'!"

[The furnace master has consumed 100 mana points, and the Thirteen Transformations of Divine Astoundment has been upgraded to the third level!]

His divine sense suddenly surged threefold!
The speed at which spiritual energy is refined increases dramatically.

However, it still felt insufficient.

"Too slow!"

Looking at the remaining thousand points of Dharma Essence on the panel, Qin Chuan did not hesitate.

[The furnace master has consumed 300 mana points, and the Thirteen Transformations of Divine Power has been upgraded to the fourth level!]

His divine sense doubled again! At this point, he possessed four times the divine sense power of other cultivators at the same level, equivalent to four Qin Chuans at the sixth level of Qi Refining simultaneously refining spiritual energy.

In less than half an hour, the spiritual energy in the tea soup in the cup had been completely refined, and his cultivation level had improved significantly.

He looked at the tea leaves in the cup, which still shimmered with a faint glow after the first infusion, and poured water without hesitation to brew a second infusion... After four infusions, he finally extracted all the spirit from the tea.

A cup of Cloud Mist Tea, after four infusions, infused him with enough spiritual energy for over a month's worth of cultivation.

What's even more remarkable is that after drinking the tea, Qin Chuan felt his body becoming increasingly light, and the spiritual energy flowing through his meridians was subtly imbued with a touch of ethereal immortal charm.

"It is said that drinking this tea regularly can cleanse spiritual energy of impurities... It is indeed true."

He clearly sensed that his spiritual power was becoming increasingly refined, and he couldn't help but feel happy.

From then on, in the days leading up to Master Xuanji's confirmation of the departure date, Qin Chuan frequently brewed this Cloud Mist Tea, using its abundant spiritual energy to enhance his cultivation. After consuming about an ounce of tea leaves, the spiritual energy accumulated within his body finally reached a certain threshold—

boom!
Driven by both divine sense and spiritual power, the Five Elements Immortal Foundation Technique was in full operation, and the five internal organs simultaneously emitted five colors of light: blue, red, yellow, white, and black, illuminating the body as if a temple had been opened, with light shining brightly.

With a deafening roar that only he could hear, like the opening of the gates of heaven, that solid barrier was breached in one fell swoop!
Seventh level of Qi Refining, achieved.

This realm is also known as the late stage of Qi Refining. Upon entering, Qin Chuan immediately grasped the meaning of "late stage"—it was qualitatively different from the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Physical strength, consciousness, and spiritual power all underwent a complete transformation, a comprehensive sublimation.

If he had previously been able to rely on his unique cultivation technique to exchange injuries with Su Liao, who was at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and gain a slight advantage, now that they were both at the later stages of cultivation, he was confident that he could crush an opponent like Su Liao. He even had the strength to fight against a peak cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

All of this was thanks to the good fortune that Yunwu Tea brought him in just a few days.

"This trip to the outer heavens," Qin Chuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he had already made up his mind, "I need to find a suitable excuse to make the Cloud Mist Tea be consumed in a 'reasonable' way."

Now that the goods have been handed over to him, how to profit for himself without making any mistakes is up to his skills.

A few days later, in the afternoon, Master Xuanji summoned him at Nongling Temple.

"Prepare your belongings and set off on my flying boat." The True Man's tone was calm, yet carried an inherent authority. "We will first travel by boat to the Lushan Blessed Land, then transfer to the Sky-Crossing Flying Boat to reach Xiaoxiang Cave Heaven and meet up with the academic team. Finally, we will board the 'Cross-Boundary Flying Boat' that can traverse the Chaos Sea from Xiaoxiang Cave Heaven and head to the Perfect World."

(End of this chapter)