At the age of one hundred, I inquired about the Dao, awakening the supreme spiritual root that shatt

After resting for a while, Master Qiye opened the furnace again to refine the second batch of True Essence Pills.

With the experience from the previous batch, Master Qiye's technique and control of the heat became even more skillful and reliable this time.

Ling Xiu stayed by his side the whole time, observing every single detail.

He unleashed his profound spiritual sense, precisely capturing every movement of Master Qiye.

He memorized even the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy, repeatedly analyzing it in his mind, as if he were personally refining elixirs.

as predicted.

After this cauldron was opened, the success rate of pill production increased significantly, producing three True Essence Pills, along with five unusable pills.

Ling Xiu once again "didn't stand on ceremony" and put all five waste pills into his personal jade bottle.

But this gain is far from enough.

Master Qiye then began the third furnace. At this moment, he was in peak condition, and he controlled every step and detail perfectly.

In particular, the control of the core heat and the fusion of yin and yang medicinal properties have been perfected to the extreme.

The third batch produced six successful pills, but four unusable pills remained.

Even more surprisingly, one of the pills had two complete pill patterns on its surface, indicating that it was a mid-grade Xuan-level True Essence Pill.

Seeing this, Master Qiye slowly withdrew his spiritual power, a look of satisfaction on his face.

Ling Xiu was overjoyed and carefully collected all the discarded pills.

After refining the True Essence Pill for several consecutive days, Master Qiye was already showing signs of exhaustion.

He counted all the pills, a total of ten, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad. This time, I've refined a total of nine low-grade and one mid-grade True Essence Pills. My efforts over the past few days have not been in vain!"

After saying that, he asked Ling Xiu in a gentle tone.

"You've been watching me refine three batches of True Essence Pills these past few days. Have you gained anything from it?"

Ling Xiu bowed and replied respectfully.

"Master Qiye's alchemy skills are superb, but I am dull-witted and have only grasped a superficial understanding."

The Dao of alchemy is vast and profound; I still need to read more, learn more, and practice diligently.

"Not bad, quite honest, that's good."

Qi Ye remained calm, but deep down he greatly admired Ling Xiu's comprehension.

In his eyes, this centenarian apprentice had remarkable comprehension.

In just a few days, he was able to grasp the basics of alchemy, which far surpassed that of ordinary apprentices.

"It seems you haven't wasted these past few months at the Pill Treasure Hall. Go back now, and don't slack off. Continue to diligently cultivate your alchemy skills."

"Your disciple will remember your teachings, Master!"

Ling Xiu bid farewell to Master Qi Ye, secretly overjoyed. Clutching the jade bottle containing the discarded pills, he quickly left the Taiqing Pill Room.

He rushed back to his residence and immediately set up barriers to prevent any attempts to investigate.

Pour out all the waste pills from the jade bottle.

These discarded pills were in poor condition; some were cracked, twisted, and dull, while others were completely charred and carbonized.

There were still a few remnants of faint spiritual energy, but the medicinal properties inside were completely disordered and conflicting.

Ke Lingxiu carefully picked up the pills. To him, these discarded pills that others would throw away were priceless treasures.

"There are twelve in total, one of which shattered into pieces; that's enough!"

Ling Xiu was so excited that he put all twelve waste pills into the Qiankun Xuan Gourd.

At the same time, a thought surfaced in my mind.

"Once these discarded pills are transformed into top-grade True Essence Pills, I must find a quiet and secluded place to break through to the True Essence Realm."

In such a vast sect as Qingyun Sect, finding a secluded place where no one will disturb you is no easy task.

Breaking through to the Condensation Realm will cause violent fluctuations in spiritual energy, creating a great disturbance.

Ling Xiu's mind raced. The extraordinary phenomena that his breakthrough in the "Void Primordial Longevity Technique" caused were several times greater than those of ordinary cultivators. Once exposed, they would be impossible to explain.

At the age of one hundred, he was merely a menial apprentice at the Pill Treasure Hall. If he were to suddenly break through to the Condensation Realm, it would surely arouse suspicion and prying from others, and endless troubles would follow.

The only safest course of action is to temporarily leave the Qingyun Sect and go into seclusion elsewhere.

"There's a mountain called Nanshan Earth Lung Mountain next to the sect. How about we go there for seclusion?"

The idea had barely formed in his mind when he immediately rejected it.

"No, the Earth Lung Mountain is teeming with monsters. Without anyone to protect us, our breakthroughs are easily disturbed and interrupted. Moreover, sect disciples often come into the mountain for training, and there are also patrolling disciples on the outskirts. It's too conspicuous."

Ling Xiu's thoughts were in turmoil, and he couldn't think of a foolproof hiding place. He was filled with distress.

"Could it be that we're heading to those ancient ruins?"

A perfect place suddenly popped into his mind—the desolate ancient land he had seen from afar on his flying sword when he left Qingzhu Village.

This place is desolate and uninhabited, with chaotic and mixed spiritual energy, and steep and rugged mountain peaks.

Bai Luoqing had previously mentioned to him that this wasteland was the site of an ancient battlefield, where powerful spatial strangulation arrays set up by ancient powerful beings remained, and the entire area was a ruin.

This place is prone to strange phenomena and harbors hidden dangers. Not to mention human cultivators, even demonic beasts rarely set foot here.

"The spiritual energy here is disordered, and it is imbued with spatial killing phenomena."

"It perfectly conceals the extraordinary phenomena of my true essence arising from breaking through to the True Essence Realm, making the probability of it being noticed extremely low. It is the ideal place for secluded cultivation and breakthrough!"

With the location finalized, a new problem arose that troubled Ling Xiu.

After breaking through to the Condensation Realm, primordial true essence will be born in the body, and the cultivation will cross a major realm. How should one hide the fluctuations of one's own cultivation?

The technique he is currently practicing, "Concealing Breath Chaos," can only conceal the aura of a Qi Refining Realm cultivator. Once he enters the Condensation Realm, he may not be able to completely hide his whereabouts.

True essence and magical power are completely different from ordinary spiritual power. If one is not careful, the leakage of one's aura will be seen through by a powerful person at a glance.

"It seems I must find a higher-grade technique for concealing one's aura, or a magical artifact that can hide one's cultivation aura."

Ling Xiu's mind raced as he calculated.

"Outer disciples are qualified to enter the Sutra Repository and can freely choose three to five techniques."

I possess an outer sect identity jade token, which allows me to enter and search.

"Also, the markets outside the sect might have what I need; I can go there and try my luck then."

Having made up his mind, Ling Xiu calmed down and rested.

As expected, the Qiankun Xuanhu did not disappoint the next morning, and all twelve discarded pills were upgraded in grade.

The cinnabar is perfectly round and flawless, its entire body is lustrous and radiant, and its crimson color is dazzling and eye-catching.

The pill's body was surrounded by four fine, orderly, layered patterns, all of which transformed into a top-grade True Essence Pill.

Ling Xiu held twelve top-grade True Essence Pills in his hands. Even though he had expected it, he was still shaken to his core.

He quickly put all the pills back into the Qiankun Xuan Gourd, forcibly suppressing the surging excitement in his heart.

This pill is the core reliance for breaking through to the Condensation Realm, and must never be revealed; it must be properly kept.

"Without further ado, let's head to the Sutra Repository and try our luck."

Ling Xiu breathed a sigh of relief, left his residence, and headed straight for the sect's scripture hall.

As an outer disciple, he possesses an exclusive identity jade token, granting him the authority to enter the Sutra Repository and select spells.

Before long, they arrived at the Sutra Repository. This hall has four floors. The first floor is for outer disciples to consult the classics. The shelves are filled with various basic cultivation techniques and spell jade slips, each with a detailed introduction.

Ling Xiu casually flipped through a few manuals.

Nine Illusions Netherworld Finger, Heaven-Shattering Sword, Earth-Splitting Spear, Divine Movement of the Eight Desolations.

He then moved to another row of shelves, where various spells were stored.

The Thunder Sound Sweeping Clouds Mysterious Picture, the Dark Thunder Illusion Wave Mysterious Skill, and the Soft Cotton Star Phenomenon Pill Scroll are all of various types, but they are all of the lowest grade, first rank.

These spells were useless against him, so Ling Xiu walked straight to a corner of the main hall.

A large pile of broken jade slips was stacked in the corner. They were all incomplete high-level spells that had been eliminated from the second or third level. The cultivation threshold was extremely high and the risks were huge. Few disciples of the sect came to read them.

Ling Xiu didn't care at all and bent down to search carefully.

Soon, he pulled out a jade slip covered in thick dust and badly damaged from the bottom, his gaze falling on the description on the jade slip.

"The Art of Concealing Heaven and Hiding the Dao" is a fragment of an ancient secret manual for concealing one's aura. It can eliminate calamity energy and hide one's cultivation and divine consciousness.

Those with mediocre spiritual foundations will find it difficult to enter this path.

The cultivation method is incomplete, and rashly practicing it can easily lead to qi deviation and demonic possession. Cultivators must be cautious.