Chapter 60

" THESE two are alchemists from the Jing沧 Sect, so they are naturally eligible to stay in the Upper Garden." The inn official's expression remained unchanged as he spoke slowly. He had been in this position for a long time and had seen all kinds of people, so he was not easily intimidated by a few shouts.

"Jing沧 Sect?" The young cultivator's face changed slightly. Then, seeing that there were only two people in Zhang Yan's group and hearing the word "alchemist," his expression relaxed, and his tone became more assertive. He sneered, "So what if it's the Jing沧 Sect? Does that mean you don't have to follow the rule of first come, first served?"

He stepped in front of Zhang Yan, raised the magical sword in his hand, and said, "We don't have a place to stay yet. How about we have a sword duel? If you lose, you'll give this garden to me, how about that?"

The inn official watched coldly from the side, not saying a word to stop them.

This person was probably at the Pulse Opening stage, not yet reaching the First Level of Bright Qi. The magical sword in his hand still had some spiritual light, but Zhang Yan did not even look at him, his expression indifferent as he instructed the inn attendant to take the token and lead the way quickly.

The inn attendant did not dare to disobey, took the token, and led the way. Zhang Yan flicked his sleeve and walked out.

"You!"

The young cultivator was enraged by Zhang Yan's indifferent attitude, his face turning red, and his body trembling. Seeing Zhang Yan about to step out of the inn's gate, he shouted, "Rise!" The magical sword in his hand flew out with a "clang" and slashed toward Zhang Yan's back.

Zhang Yan's eyes flashed, turned his head, and blew out a breath of turbid qi. This turbid qi mixed with a heavy sha, heading straight for the flying sword. There was a "sizzle," and the sword's spiritual light was almost completely dissipated, falling to the ground. The turbid qi continued forward, its momentum undiminished, and the feeling of piercing through stone and metal rushed toward the young man, who turned pale.

At this moment, someone shouted, "Friend Daoist, show mercy!"

A flying talisman flew out from somewhere, emitting a beam of light to block the turbid qi. However, with a "puff," the turbid qi easily pierced through it. The person exclaimed, "Hmm," and a silver ring in the shape of a full moon flew out from his hand, colliding with the turbid qi.

This silver ring was filled with spiritual light, shining brightly, clearly a magical treasure. Zhang Yan frowned, inhaled deeply, and retracted the turbid qi into his chest. He turned to see a beautifully dressed woman standing with a sword, raising her hand to recall the silver ring to her wrist.

This woman looked alluring but had a cold expression, clearly a disciple of a prestigious sect, probably at the First Level of Bright Qi, a genuine human cultivator. However, when she saw Zhang Yan, her face changed, and she said, "Zhang Yan, it's actually you!"

Zhang Yan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Have we met before, Fellow Daoist?"

The woman laughed coldly and said, "You naturally don't remember me. At the foot of Dangyun Peak, do you remember Senior Brother Shen Jingyue?"

"Hmm?" Zhang Yan's gaze sharpened, looking at her again. He nodded and said, "So you're from the Nanhua Sect. How is Senior Brother Shen now?"

The young cultivator, who had been pale with fear, now managed to speak, "Senior Sister Jiang, do you know each other?"

The woman said coldly, "Thanks to you, Senior Brother Shen passed away half a year ago."

Zhang Yan's expression remained unchanged. On that day, Shen Jingyue had forced the deduction of the eroding text, clearly exhausting his life force, and this outcome was not unexpected. However, he did not have any ill feelings toward him.

The woman took a few steps forward, standing in front of the young cultivator, and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, my junior brother did something wrong and offended you. I will take him back and punish him. Can you give me some face, Senior Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Yan smiled faintly and said, "This is the territory of the Water Kingdom. I naturally won't make things difficult for you."

The woman sighed in relief, but then Zhang Yan turned to the inn official and said, "I heard that after the Water Kingdom was established, the ruler set up rules, etiquette, and laws, so cultivators are no longer seen as barbarians. However, today, I am disappointed. When I see your superior, I will ask where the laws and rules are."

After saying this, he did not look at the two of them and turned to leave with Luo Xiao.

The inn official and the woman both changed color.

The inn official came to the woman with a cold face and said, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, please give me an explanation for this."

Zhang Yan's simple words forced the inn official to step in and handle the matter. What was originally a small issue might now become a big problem. The woman became furious but was helpless.

The young cultivator seemed to realize he had caused some trouble and said, "Senior Sister, I will take responsibility for my actions, I..."

The woman stopped him, took a deep breath, and comforted him, "Junior Brother, don't worry. Senior Brother Shen had connections with the Water Kingdom's Lian family. This matter might not be as bad as you think. We'll see what happens when we meet Senior Brother."

She watched Zhang Yan's departing back, her brows furrowed, and her lips tightly pressed. She thought to herself, "I heard that Zhang Yan wasn't even a junior disciple before, but from that turbid qi, he is clearly at the Second Level of Bright Qi, and he is probably not far from the Third Level. I thought I was making rapid progress, entering the First Level of Bright Qi in half a year with my master's help, but Zhang Yan is even faster. Could he really be a genius? I don't know when I can avenge Senior Brother Shen."

Zhang Yan had just stepped out of the inn's gate when he saw a cultivator walking in. Their eyes met, and they nodded at each other. The person paused briefly on Zhang Yan, but lingered longer on Luo Xiao before passing by.

"What is this person's cultivation level?" Zhang Yan asked in a low voice. He could vaguely see that this person's face resembled Shen Jingyue, and his attire was the same as the two Nanhua Sect disciples earlier, so he must also be a disciple of the Nanhua Sect. However, Zhang Yan could not discern his cultivation level.

"This person's cultivation level is similar to mine, both at the Second Level." Luo Xiao, after using the True Dew of the King of Be to recover, had broken through to the Second Level of Bright Qi, "Shining Night as Day." She looked back at the person and added, "Is there something wrong with him, my lord?"

Zhang Yan shook his head, thinking, "According to what the woman said, Shen Jingyue is dead. This person seems to have some familial connection to him. If we meet again, there might be more trouble. I need to quickly improve my cultivation level."

As for the young cultivator, he was just a minor annoyance, not worth Zhang Yan's attention. Letting the Water Kingdom deal with him was enough. He didn't care how it would be handled.

The location of the Biyun Pavilion was on an independent island in the east of the Southern Palace. The island had a pavilion half-submerged in the lake. At night, the tree shadows swayed, the moon was bright, the beach looked like it was covered in frost, and the distant water reflected the light, creating a dreamy scene.

The inn attendant led Zhang Yan and Luo Xiao to this place, handed them a token, and left.

Zhang Yan took a few steps on the island and felt a subtle cold energy from the ground. He thought, "This place is cold and full of water energy, suitable for condensing 'Yinyin Heavy Water.'"

According to the *Lanyun Secret Manual*, after reaching the Second Level of Bright Qi, one can use sixteen breaths of clear and turbid qi to condense Yinyin Heavy Water.

Yinyin Heavy Water, a single drop has the weight of a thousand catties, and it is hard to resist. If one has ten drops, they are almost invincible among peers. If one has a hundred drops, they can repel a thousand soldiers. If one has a thousand drops, they can reverse waterfalls and change the course of rivers.

However, this method has a drawback. One must keep sixteen breaths of clear and turbid qi in the chest, absorbing the cold and dark energy from the depths of the water at the hour of Hai (9 PM to 11 PM) every day. It takes 108 days to condense a single drop, and during the process, one cannot use it in battle, or all the effort will be wasted.

Moreover, after condensing the Yinyin Heavy Water, the loss of clear and turbid qi must be replenished, which will delay the progress to the Third Level of Bright Qi.

The *Lanyun Secret Manual* itself emphasizes the transformation and condensation of spiritual energy, so it does not particularly focus on the speed of cultivation.

However, if one follows the "Qi Path," such as the *Taibai Golden Book*, the focus is on refining the mystical power, and there is no other way.

But Zhang Yan thought that although he had many magical treasures, more combat techniques were always better.

There were still nine months until the Alchemy Conference. If he could break through to the Third Level of Bright Qi within half a year, he would have 81 breaths of spiritual energy, making it much easier to condense the Yinyin Heavy Water.

With his decision made, Zhang Yan instructed Luo Xiao, "For the next three months, I will be in seclusion. Unless the ruler of the Water Kingdom summons me, I will not see any visitors."

Luo Xiao nodded and said, "My lord, don't worry. I will guard outside, so you can focus on your cultivation."

Zhang Yan entered the pavilion, waved the token, and the restrictions of the Biyun Pavilion were activated, making it impossible for even a Core Formation cultivator to enter without his permission.

Sitting cross-legged in the meditation room, Zhang Yan did not rush to cultivate. Instead, he took out the three "Life-Extending Pills" from his sleeve. He looked at them, picked one, and swallowed it. Once in his stomach, the pill was enveloped by spiritual energy, preventing the poison from taking effect. He then silently used his mystical power to refine it, storing the extracted pill energy in the qi points in his chest.

After refining the first pill, he swallowed the second one and repeated the process.

Once he had refined the two pills, he took out a flying sword from his spatial pouch, examined it closely, and blew a breath of turbid qi onto it. There was a "hiss," and the sword's spiritual light was quickly contaminated, turning it into an ordinary sword, even with corroded marks on the blade.

Zhang Yan nodded in satisfaction. His idea was indeed feasible.

Using condensed turbid qi to wrap the heavy sha could indeed contaminate the flying sword, but the effect seemed insufficient.

For example, when he fought Wu Zhen, even if the flying sword was slightly contaminated by the heavy sha, it could still be used to injure him. However, if the yin and yang poisons were mixed in, the effect was significantly enhanced.

Now, as long as the opponent had not condensed the mystical seed, any flying sword that came his way would be contaminated by his breath, breaking through spiritual energy and contaminating qi. Even he himself, without magical treasures, would find it hard to defend against such a technique.

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