Chapter 21: Breakthrough! Fifth Layer of Qi Refining
Over the next few days, Fang Yuan settled into a steady routine.
Each morning, he would take the Magic Artifacts he had forged to exchange for Contribution Points.
Then he would head to work and cultivate passively on the side.
At noon, he would visit Zhanchun Peak to purchase demon beast corpses — twelve at a time.
Afterward, he would make a stop at Qiyun Peak to deliver Pills and spirit grass.
Back home, he would rest briefly, then decompose the demon beast corpses, absorbing and refining the innate talents and Bloodline Power within them, while also tending to his spirit beast.
In the afternoon, he would sell off the demon beast materials to recoup funds.
In the evening, he would return to his Cave Dwelling and continue cultivating.
After cultivation, he would practice alchemy and Artifact Forging, then collapse into bed and sleep.
The days passed by, one after another.
In the blink of an eye, a week had gone by.
On this particular day, inside his Cave Dwelling, Fang Yuan sat with his eyes closed, refining a Supreme Qi-Nurturing Pill.
Turning his awareness inward, he could see that the Spiritual Power within his Dantian had accumulated to the brim.
The fourth cloud pattern had been fully branded onto his bones.
Within his Sea of Consciousness, the number of Spiritual Sense threads had reached 499, and each thread was now twice as strong as when he had first begun.
Everything was in place. Fang Yuan chose to break through!
The Spiritual Power within his body surged violently against the walls of his Dantian.
Crack! The resilient Dantian barrier split open with dozens of fissures at once.
The Spiritual Power inside rushed into the cracks, expanding the Dantian to twice its former size!
The Dantian barrier began showing signs of recovery.
All of his Spiritual Power immediately poured into the cracks, continuing to push the Dantian's expansion further!
"My physical body has already reached the Fifth Layer ahead of schedule, making the Dantian barrier far more resilient than before — it can support an even greater expansion!"
"My Spiritual Sense has also reached the peak of the Fourth Layer, comparable to an ordinary Fifth Layer cultivator, which gives an additional boost to Dantian expansion!"
"On top of that, the Completion Stage Cloud Qi Art seems to have a remarkable effect on expanding the Dantian — I can push it even further this time!"
Fang Yuan could see that the cloud-like Spiritual Power, as it struck the gaps in the barrier, effortlessly inflated the walls outward — like blowing up a balloon, smooth and natural.
Within a mere fifteen minutes, Fang Yuan expanded his Dantian by an additional four times on top of the initial doubling.
Adding in the extra 2.5-fold expansion from his Fourth Layer breakthrough, his Dantian's capacity was now ten times that of a cultivator at the same stage.
The Dantian barrier finished reshaping.
A tremendous suction force erupted from within his body!
Well prepared, Fang Yuan had already placed a large quantity of Spirit Stones around himself, along with several hundred Supreme Qi-Nurturing Pills!
He opened his mouth and inhaled — hundreds of Supreme Qi-Nurturing Pills entered his body at once!
His stomach, enhanced by the [Gold-Devouring] innate talent, instantly refined the pills, releasing an immense surge of medicinal power.
Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to refine so many Qi-Nurturing Pills in such a short time.
But this was the special window right after a breakthrough — the Dantian devoured the majority of that Spiritual Power in an instant, converting it into Spiritual Power stored within the Dantian!
Such an enormous amount of Spiritual Power would have been enough to fill the Dantian at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining to capacity — yet now it occupied only fifteen percent of the available space.
The remaining portion was rapidly absorbed by his physical body and Sea of Consciousness.
Turning his awareness to his Sea of Consciousness, he could see that the number of Spiritual Sense threads had surged by 100 at the moment of breakthrough, reaching 600 threads!
The strength of each thread had also increased by thirty percent!
A tremendous improvement indeed.
"The breakthrough is a success!"
A faint smile crossed Fang Yuan's eyes.
The Fifth Layer of Qi Refining was a considerable step up from the Fourth Layer.
Suddenly, he sensed someone triggering the doorbell at his Cave Dwelling.
"That fast? Doesn't the Cave Dwelling have a concealment Formation?"
Fang Yuan walked to the entrance of his Cave Dwelling and found Li Chenggong standing at the door, gazing up at the sky.
"You actually broke through?" Li Chenggong looked genuinely surprised. "I sensed a distinct vortex phenomenon in the Spiritual Energy above your Cave Dwelling — a clear sign of a breakthrough — so I came to check."
Fang Yuan thought to himself how sharp Li Chenggong's perception was. He had deliberately prepared a large stockpile of Spirit Stones and Pills specifically to avoid being detected, yet he had still been found out.
"It's all thanks to Senior Brother Li's Cloud Body Art. It's sped up my cultivation considerably."
Li Chenggong waved his hand dismissively. "I can't take credit for that. Your comprehension is absurdly high for someone your age — you've even mastered the Cloud Qi Art?"
"Just luck!" Fang Yuan said with a smile.
"Wait here a moment!"
Li Chenggong's figure vanished from the spot in an instant.
Fang Yuan scratched his head, unsure where he had gone.
Fifteen minutes later, Li Chenggong reappeared with a broad smile on his face.
He tossed a Storage Bag to Fang Yuan.
"This is your reward for being the first to break through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining."
Fang Yuan quickly caught it.
"Alright, keep up the hard work, kid! Come find me if you have any questions — I'm usually fishing by the lake near Treasure Peak!"
Li Chenggong flashed away and was gone.
"Safe travels, Senior Brother!" Fang Yuan cupped his hands in farewell.
He opened the Storage Bag and peered inside. It contained four items: a pair of spirit boots approaching the quality of a Tier One, Upper Grade Magic Artifact, one upper grade Barrier-Breaking Pill suited for the Late Qi Refining Stage, a portable guardian Formation, and a fire talisman with the destructive power of a Qi Refining Completion Stage cultivator.
"That's it?" Fang Yuan muttered under his breath.
"Each item is worth roughly three to five thousand Spirit Stones — all together, that's ten to twenty thousand Spirit Stones' worth of rewards. Not too much, not too little, I suppose."
Fang Yuan slipped on the spirit boots, stowed the rest of the items away, and turned to head back into his Cave Dwelling.
He noticed, however, that a flying bird was streaking toward him from the distance.
Fang Yuan paused, watching with curiosity.
Atop the bird stood a familiar figure.
"Han Zimo?"
As Han Zimo drew closer, Fang Yuan was surprised to sense that his aura had also reached the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.
"What a coincidence."
Han Zimo landed, his gaze fixed intently on Fang Yuan.
"Senior Brother Han!" Fang Yuan greeted him.
Han Zimo said in a low voice, "I didn't expect you to beat me to the breakthrough."
Fang Yuan smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that — just got lucky this time!"
Han Zimo gave him a strange look. "I switched to a supreme fire-attribute cultivation technique. With an upper grade Spiritual Root's cultivation speed, combined with ample Pills and demon beast meat, my progress has been advancing a thousand miles a day — yet I still couldn't keep up with you. Just how do you cultivate?"
Fang Yuan coughed. "Maybe my comprehension is decent. I'm also cultivating a supreme technique."
Han Zimo's eyes narrowed at that. The sword at his waist seemed to sense his intent and let out a clear, resonant ring.
"Fang Yuan, I formally challenge you to a sparring match. Do you dare accept?"
Han Zimo's tone carried unmistakable confidence — as if the moment Fang Yuan agreed, victory would already be his.
Fang Yuan gave a wry smile. "Senior Brother Han flatters me. I work at the Treasure Hall all day, and when I get back I barely have time to cultivate — I haven't had a moment to practice any Techniques. I'm genuinely no match for you."
Han Zimo nodded in understanding at that.
But he still said, "You're already here. Let's have one fight — win or lose doesn't matter!"