Refining Ruins Cauldron

Seeing that the time was ripe, Gu Qingyun suddenly thrust out his sword!

The fire-attribute sword energy swept out like a razor, forcefully splitting a rock in two!

The stone's cut surface was as smooth as a mirror, and it was scalding hot; you could even smell a burnt odor.

With a loud bang, the sword energy was embedded into the ground, leaving a deep sword mark!

"This power...!"

Gu Qingyun was overjoyed. Compared to when he didn't have the spirit sword, its power had more than doubled!

Moreover, the preparations for the event were also completed more quickly.

The spirit sword is sturdy, and you don't need to be as careful when accumulating spiritual power as you would with your physical body.

The rampaging spiritual energy was bound within the sword, and then it erupted all at once!

While being more powerful, it also consumes far less energy than usual.

Gu Qingyun did a rough calculation and was surprised to find that the spiritual energy consumption was only about half of what it used to be.

It's fast, powerful, and consumes very little energy.

Having tasted the sweetness of the spirit sword, it's somewhat difficult to return to the state of using one's body as a sword.

"With its current power, and aided by the Azure Serpent Spirit Sword, I can unleash at least three 'Wildfire' attacks!"

Gu Qingyun tightened his grip on the spirit sword, overjoyed.

If he were to face Zhao Long again now, he would be confident that he could kill him with a single sword strike!

Even when facing Ziyan, who was at the half-step Foundation Establishment stage, Gu Qingyun had some confidence to put up a fight with the help of the Azure Serpent Spirit Sword!

Being at the half-step Foundation Establishment stage is still just the Qi Refining stage; it's far from the true Foundation Establishment stage!

After a short rest, Gu Qingyun took out the evolved version of "The Wandering and Lost Steps".

He hadn't had time to cultivate this Heavenly Rank movement technique yet.

I'll take advantage of this free time to see if I can get started.

Upon opening the cultivation manual, Gu Qingyun immediately became engrossed in it.

As expected, the Heavenly Rank Movement Technique was extraordinary.

With his current level of cultivation, even the first move would be barely understandable to him.

After reading it several times to deepen his understanding of its contents, Gu Qingyun finally began to comprehend it.

He was already extremely familiar with this process; it had been the same when he cultivated other Heavenly Rank items before!

With the experience gained earlier, this trip was actually quite fast.

The phrase "逍遥迷蹶" (xiāoyáomímié) means to be carefree and unrestrained, having a mind but no fixed form.

When you reach the pinnacle of your skill, you can do whatever you want. With a single step, you can transform in countless ways, and your movements can traverse thousands of miles.

Even if the opponent has a thousand skills, it is difficult to pinpoint their location!

Following the first movement of the body technique, Gu Qingyun painstakingly stepped forward, practicing little by little!

At the beginning, failure is inevitable.

In just a few steps, Gu Qingyun tripped over himself several times.

Of course, how could this setback make him give up?

If it doesn't work the first time, then try again.

One after another, from three comes all things!

Practice until you can do it fluently, until you've grasped the basics...

In the blink of an eye, the five-day holiday is over.

After carefully hiding the Refining Cauldron, Gu Qingyun stood up, still feeling unsatisfied.

He stretched vigorously, and his bones cracked and popped with a joyful sound.

He had been immersed in cultivation for the past five days. Not only was his energy and spirit unaffected, but he also looked more radiant and full of energy!

Gu Qingyun patted the Refining Ruins Cauldron with satisfaction.

Since acquiring this treasure, my cultivation journey has been incredibly smooth.

Not only are there numerous cultivation techniques and profound skills, but even precious pills and rare items are no longer lacking.

The two most important foundations of the path of cultivation are now firmly in Gu Qingyun's hands.

This is also his greatest source of confidence.

"You all just wait..."

Suddenly, the figures of Ziyan and Baifeng appeared before his eyes. Gu Qingyun muttered to himself bitterly, his gaze unwavering.

"One day, you will all have to look up to me!"

He patted the dust off his clothes and straightened his gray garments.

After several days, it's time for me to return to the alchemy hall to get back to work.

However, a piece of news struck Gu Qingyun like a bolt from the blue.

Nianchen, your body perishes!

"When did this happen?!"

Gu Qingyun's face was deathly pale, and he stammered as he managed to utter a few words with difficulty.

"Just yesterday... Fairy Ziyan wanted to strike while the iron was hot and refine another batch of Spirit Essence Pills..."

Zhao Xingsheng sighed, unable to resist Gu Qingyun's persistent questioning, and could only tell the truth.

Spirit Essence Pill?!

That's a grade three elixir!

When Ziyan was only at the first grade when she was refining the Guiyuan Pill, she almost failed!

If I hadn't reminded him, the furnace would have exploded and everyone would have died!

Not to mention the difficulty of refining a third-grade pill; with Ziyan's current skill level, she simply cannot reliably produce one!

Gu Qingyun's expression turned completely serious, as if he had already guessed something. His voice was hoarse as he asked, "Nianchen wanted to go by himself?"

"No, Fairy Ziyan originally wanted to find you by name, but you were on leave to heal your injuries, so she went to find Nianchen instead."

Zhao Xingsheng told the truth.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingyun felt a lump in her throat, unable to catch her breath for a long time, her face turning red from the strain.

He adjusted his breathing, his chest heaving violently.

Nianchen said that he was better than Gu Qingyun; he was more experienced and knew more about spiritual herbs.

But how could he know that he could see through appearances and discern the true nature of the elixir!

Last time, Gu Qingyun was lucky; he warned him and was hit by Ziyan's palm, but he still survived.

But this time, no one could save Nianchen.

He died in the end!

He died in that alchemy room!

"The alchemy failed. Fairy Ziyan couldn't control the heat properly, and it exploded halfway through. Third-grade pills are potent, and the explosion was incredibly powerful; Nianchen was killed instantly..."

Zhao Xingsheng continued.

Seeing that Gu Qingyun was completely flustered, he paused for a moment before continuing to speak.

"That Fairy Ziyan also said that it was Nianchen's bad luck that caused her to explode while refining pills, wasting a whole batch of spiritual herbs. Any random good-for-nothing would definitely be better than him."

Gu Qingyun clenched his fists, and veins bulged on his forehead.

"Elder Huo... Elder Huo Qian knows?"

"Sigh, what good will it do to know?"

Zhao Xingsheng sighed again, his expression dejected.

"The elder said that the failure was due to Nianchen's lack of skill and his haphazard delivery of medicine..."

"Fairy Ziyan...was only confined for half a month!"

What a terrible example of someone with poor skills delivering medicine haphazardly!

A human life is only worth half a month of confinement?!

Gu Qingyun laughed in anger, his fists bleeding, his clenched nails digging into his flesh.

Even Zhao Xingsheng couldn't help but tremble at the sight of that expression, which was filled with grief and indignation and was extremely cold.

"Gu Qingyun, I know you're upset, but we absolutely cannot act rashly in this matter! You..."

He could tell that Gu Qingyun's expression was off.

Zhao Xingsheng quickly lowered his voice and said solemnly, "You're just a menial disciple. Staying alive is the most important thing. Why... why seek death?!"

Gu Qingyun remained silent for a long time before forcing out a stiff smile: "Don't worry, squad leader, I know what I'm doing. I won't go to my death."

After saying that, he said no more and walked towards the alchemy room.