Chapter 429 - 395: Acupoint Opening Pill (Part 2)
Chapter 429: Chapter 395: Acupoint Opening Pill (Part 2)
After speaking, he suddenly thought of a question. "Sir, how did you know he could produce so many merit points? A regular Spirit Dao Institute disciple probably couldn’t even come up with twenty."
Shopkeeper Tian snorted. "He killed fourteen cultivators from my sect. How could the Chenghua Sect not reward him? But sooner or later, I’ll make him spit it all back out!"
By the end, he was grinding his teeth, as if he held a deep-seated hatred for Zhao Lin.
...
Zhao Lin entered the Spirit Cave again to assault the Heaven-Piercing Acupoint.
After circulating his energy for five days without a breakthrough, he finally decided to use the Acupoint Opening Pill.
He brought the pill to his lips, tilted his head back, and swallowed it in one gulp!
The pill’s potency slowly dissolved, and a searing hot current rose from his Qi Sea.
Immediately after, he felt a tearing pain as a tyrannical force spiraled upward, sweeping up all the surrounding Spiritual Qi!
The Spiritual Qi twisted into a dense, tightly packed mass. With but a thought from Zhao Lin, it charged toward the Heaven-Piercing Acupoint like a soldier armed with a blade and halberd.
’The pill is legitimate!’
Zhao Lin felt a wave of relief. With such effects, it had to be an Acupoint Opening Pill!
No wonder it was banned. A normal cultivator wouldn’t be able to withstand such a ferocious medicine.
The condensed Spiritual Qi continued to grow, and upon reaching the vicinity of the Heaven-Piercing Acupoint, it slammed into it viciously.
DONG!
With the first impact, a tiny fissure appeared on the barrier.
Then came the second, the third...
More and more cracks appeared on the barrier, crisscrossing and spreading like a spiderweb over a thawing ice sheet in early spring.
At the same time, the inside of the Spiritual Acupoint was also under immense pressure, and several wounds of various sizes appeared.
On the ninth strike, the barrier shattered with a roar, and Spiritual Qi flooded in.
Zhao Lin felt a sharp pain in his Heaven-Piercing Acupoint. ’The rumors were true,’ he thought, ’my Spiritual Acupoint has been damaged.’
But soon, a white mist formed within his body and entered the Heaven-Piercing Acupoint, rapidly healing the wounds.
The Spiritual Qi in the Spirit Cave seemed drawn to Zhao Lin, gathering around him.
’I’ve finally reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer!’
Zhao Lin opened his eyes, which shone with a divine light. He felt the abundant Spiritual Power within him, his heart surging with emotion.
For an ordinary cultivator, moving from the Qi Refining Fourth Layer to the Fifth Layer was just another step in the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, granting a boost in Divine Sense and Spiritual Power. But for Zhao Lin, it was completely different!
Upon reaching the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, the Mana he could release instantaneously was enough to sustain a Perfection-level skill.
The difference in realm wasn’t huge, but the difference between a Major Accomplishment-level skill and a Perfection-level skill was enormous.
A Perfection-level skill, as the name implies, is one without flaws, having reached a state of perfection.
If a Qi Refining Realm cultivator mastered a Tier One Perfection-level skill, they could contend with a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, unless the latter had mastered a Major Accomplishment-level Tier Two Skill.
Overjoyed, Zhao Lin leaped up from the ground.
There were seven magic skills in the Spirit Cultivation Map, three of which could be raised to the Perfection level: Ice Blade Skill, Flame Stream Arrow, and Water Manipulation Skill.
He couldn’t wait to cultivate these three skills to the Perfection level.
He walked out of the Spirit Cave and looked up to see a sky full of stars.
Back at his residence, the entire courtyard was shrouded in a faint white mist.
Zhao Lin took out his Token and shone it at the Fog Illusion Array. The mist immediately parted, clearing a path.
He pushed open the door, entered the room, and dragged out seven large wooden chests from the bedroom.
Zhao Lin had waited a long time for this day and had long since prepared enough Spirit Stones.
Cultivating a skill to Major Accomplishment required 256 Spirit Stones, while cultivating it to Perfection required 1,024, a difference of 768 Spirit Stones.
The three skills combined would cost over two thousand Spirit Stones.
The thought that these Spirit Stones would soon turn to dust made Zhao Lin’s heart ache a little.
But feelings were just feelings. He was willing to part with any number of Spirit Stones to achieve a Perfection-level skill.
And these were just Tier One skills. If he wanted to cultivate a Tier Two skill to Perfection, it would cost 4,096 Spirit Stones.
Zhao Lin opened the chests and neatly stacked the Spirit Stones in front of him.
He reached out with both hands, grabbing a Spirit Stone in each.
TSSS!
The Spirit Cultivation Map extended dozens of thick tentacles, instantly draining all the Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Stones.
As his cultivation level increased, the Spirit Cultivation Map’s speed of absorbing Spiritual Qi had also become much faster.
In the blink of an eye, the Spirit Stones turned into piles of dust.
Zhao Lin continuously absorbed Spirit Stones. The only sounds in the room were his faint breathing and the SHFF SHFF sound of the stones disintegrating.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Spirit Cultivation Map had absorbed enough Spiritual Qi. The grids for the Ice Blade Skill, Flame Stream Arrow, and Water Manipulation Skill all began to flash simultaneously.
Zhao Lin knew the time was right. He guided the Spiritual Qi into the Ice Blade Skill, pushing the skill to the Perfection level.
A brilliant light flashed across the surface of the plum blossom, and the sixth petal turned a vibrant crimson.
A moment later, a stream of light flew into his sea of consciousness.
The decades of experience Miao Kefa had accumulated practicing the Ice Blade Skill flowed into Zhao Lin’s body and mind like a trickling stream.
A look of joy flashed in Zhao Lin’s eyes. His understanding of the Ice Blade Skill, already at a high level, had advanced another step.
It might seem like just one step, but it was a realm most cultivators could never hope to reach.
Zhao Lin composed himself, reached out his hands, and continued to absorb Spirit Stones...
By the hour of Hai, all three skills had been upgraded to the Perfection level!
’Mission accomplished!’
Zhao Lin slowly exhaled as a wave of drowsiness washed over him.
...
Early the next morning, Zhao Lin hurried to the Spirit Dao Institute.
Halfway there, a thought suddenly struck him: ’Acupoint Opening Pills are rare. It was hard enough to find a seller, so I might as well take this chance to buy a few more.’
’If someone else buys them all, it’ll be difficult to find more later.’
At this thought, Zhao Lin turned around, headed back down the mountain, and went to the marketplace on Songyu Peak.
The shopkeeper and his apprentice were still the only ones in the store. When they saw Zhao Lin, shocked expressions appeared on both their faces.
The last time Zhao Lin had visited, he was at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer; now he was at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
The apprentice’s expression was even a little grim.
Zhao Lin assumed he was just jealous and didn’t pay it any mind.
Shopkeeper Tian was the first to recover. He cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Zhao, on reaching a new height in your cultivation. This is truly worthy of celebration!"
Zhao Lin smiled in response. "It’s all thanks to Shopkeeper Tian’s pills."
The corner of Shopkeeper Tian’s mouth twitched slightly. "You’re too kind! Fellow Daoist Zhao, could it be that you’ve come to buy another one?"
Zhao Lin nodded. "Precisely. But maybe not just one. How many more does your esteemed shop have?"
"Well..."
Shopkeeper Tian’s eyes flickered, and he feigned a troubled expression. "The Acupoint Opening Pill isn’t like other pills. Every one sold is one less in the world, and our shop’s stock is limited."
Zhao Lin remained unmoved, staring fixedly at him.
"Alright, then."
Shopkeeper Tian said, as if having made a great decision, "There are two Acupoint Opening Pills left. I will sell them both to you, Fellow Daoist."
Zhao Lin’s face broke into a smile. "Thank you, Shopkeeper Tian. If you get any more Acupoint Opening Pills in the future, don’t forget to save them for me."
"No problem!"
Shopkeeper Tian said this aloud, but inwardly he sneered, ’We may have more Acupoint Opening Pills, but I’m afraid you won’t be alive to collect them.’
Just like last time, the three of them went to the inner hall to exchange the goods for payment.
After Zhao Lin left, the expressions on the faces of Shopkeeper Tian and the apprentice turned sour.
"Lord Tenzou, he broke through,"
the apprentice said cautiously.
"This man is a Martial Cultivator. His meridians and Spiritual Acupoints are stronger than a normal cultivator’s, so it’s not surprising he successfully broke through with one Acupoint Opening Pill."
Shopkeeper Tian’s face was grim. "But the second and third will be a different story. Even if his body is forged from iron, he won’t be able to withstand medicine as ferocious as a wolf or a tiger!"
By the time Zhao Lin arrived at the Spirit Dao Institute, the morning lecture was about to begin, and all the disciples were present.
Today, Elder Wu was giving the lecture, so all third-year disciples were in the Transmission Hall.
The moment Zhao Lin stepped through the door, he attracted the attention of all the disciples.
"What? Zhao Lin reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer!"
A curious disciple used the Qi Observation Skill to size up Zhao Lin and couldn’t help but cry out in surprise upon discovering he had actually reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
"Ah, so fast?"
"Senior Brother Zhao has a medium-grade Spiritual Root. I didn’t expect him to be the second disciple to reach the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, just after Lin Chaoran."
"Aren’t Martial Cultivators supposed to advance slowly? At this speed, he’s left even the disciples with high-grade Spiritual Roots in the dust."
"Well, he cultivates in the Spirit Caves every day and pops pills like candy. Of course he’s fast, right?"
The disciples were in an uproar, buzzing with discussion.
Even Elder Wu was secretly surprised. He had expected Zhao Lin to be stuck at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer for half a year, or even a full year, but he had unexpectedly broken through.