Lin Feng let out a long sigh, somewhat discouraged as he lowered the flying sword in his hand. He raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, a wry smile twisting his lips.
"Guess I was being too naive, huh? I'm only at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining. How could I possibly wield a flying sword…"
Just moments ago, he had tried for a full ten minutes, his face flushed crimson and eyes straining to the point of bulging, utterly unable to make the flying sword budge an inch—controlling it was currently impossible.
Forget flying on it; he couldn't even make the flying sword hover. Disappointment washed over him. To possess a spirit tool flying sword yet only be able to treat it as an ordinary sword was deeply frustrating.
He could sense a special connection between himself and the flying sword. Rumors said that to wield a spirit tool or higher-grade magic treasure, one must first 'consecrate' it, branding it with their soul imprint. Only then could the artifact's true power be unleashed. Even if someone stole it, they couldn't easily control it unless they erased that soul imprint.
However, consecrating artifacts required Golden Core cultivation. Lin Feng hadn't consecrated this sword himself. Yet, the feeling of connection felt strikingly similar to the legends of post-consecration bonding. After consideration, he attributed this anomaly to the Repair Art—it was the only plausible explanation.
Despite this special bond, his cultivation level was ultimately too low. No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't 'control' the flying sword yet.
"Forget it. I'll just have to endure a bit longer," Lin Feng muttered to himself. "At least I have the flying sword now. Once my cultivation is sufficient, I'll get to properly experience that 'immortal swordsman' feel…"
Lin Feng finally gave up the attempt, storing the flying sword away. He considered repairing other treasure tools, but a loud rumble from his stomach abruptly reminded him he hadn't eaten a single bite all day. Glancing at the sky, he noted it was already dinner time. Tidying up, he headed out towards the Flavor Pavilion.
He was now a regular at the Flavor Pavilion. Thanks to his consistent patronage, he even held a VIP card. Unconcerned about spending extra spirit stones, he usually dined alone in a private room on the second floor, savoring a table of spirit cuisine. He only frequented the first-floor hall when he needed to gather information on the He family's movements.
After a sumptuous meal of spirit cuisine at the Flavor Pavilion, Lin Feng swung by an open magic treasure shop on his way home. He sold off a batch of recently repaired magic tools he'd accumulated, then bought several damaged treasure tools from the same store before returning home.
That night, Lin Feng only managed to repair two treasure tools. Afterwards, he cultivated for a while before going to sleep near midnight. At his current low cultivation level, he still needed basic sleep to avoid debilitating fatigue and mental exhaustion. Once he reached Foundation Establishment, he'd enter a 'dormant cultivation' state during cultivation—effectively sleeping while continuously circulating his cultivation technique, freeing up much more time for practice.
In the following days, Lin Feng maintained his diligent cultivation routine, shifting his repair focus to treasure tools. However, the quantity of treasure tools available was far less than that of magic tools. Conversely, repairing each treasure tool consumed significantly more energy. Repairing magic tools, he could fix over twenty consecutively before depleting his true qi. Repairing treasure tools, however, he could only manage four or five.
Maintaining this pace of roughly five treasure tools repaired daily, after another ten days of cultivation, Lin Feng's cultivation finally reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.
The upgraded Repair Art now provided even greater assistance to his cultivation, its effect surpassing even that of a Spirit Gathering Array. This thrilled Lin Feng immensely. It was his personal, unique cultivation method, likely unreplicable by anyone else in the entire cultivation world.
Upon reaching Great Perfection of Qi Refining, Lin Feng finally halted this near-semi-seclusion cultivation state. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue, but further progress would yield little benefit—he had encountered the first, and arguably most crucial, major bottleneck on his cultivation path.
Foundation Establishment was the most vital step for any cultivator. A towering edifice rises from a solid foundation. To journey farther in the future, laying a stable foundation was imperative.
Qi Refining was merely preparation. Only after Foundation Establishment did one truly step into the ranks of cultivators. Furthermore, the opportunity to purify one's spiritual root during Foundation Establishment was a unique, once-in-a-lifetime event, profoundly determining one's future destiny.
Some cultivators showed excellent aptitude during Qi Refining, yet their spiritual root purification during Foundation Establishment proved unsatisfactory. Others displayed average talent during Qi Refining, but were fortunate to have their spiritual root aptitude drastically improve upon Foundation Establishment, rocketing them to prominence as geniuses.
Lin Feng wasn't worried about failing to establish his foundation. He had sufficient spirit stones to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill. Even at a cost several times greater than others, he was confident he could succeed. His concern was that his spiritual root aptitude might not see significant improvement after Foundation Establishment. If that happened, his future path would likely become extremely difficult…
Moreover, rushing into Foundation Establishment immediately after reaching Great Perfection Qi Refining was probably unwise. As the saying goes, haste makes waste. Therefore, Lin Feng stopped cultivating, deciding to calmly rest and consolidate for a period, seeking the appropriate opportunity to attempt the breakthrough.
He kept several useful treasure tool-grade treasures for himself and sold the rest—again, selling them to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion—garnering a substantial income. By the time he stopped cultivating, he still had over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones remaining.
With cultivation temporarily suspended and a large reserve of spirit stones, Lin Feng also paused his acquisition of damaged treasure tools for repair. He also discovered an awkward issue: even if he wanted to buy more, there wasn't much left to acquire…
Unlike magic tools, treasure tools were primarily owned by cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage, usually mid-stage or higher. Such cultivators weren't numerous in Qingyun City. Additionally, the utility value of treasure tools far exceeded that of magic tools. Even severely damaged ones could be highly useful, so few people willingly sold damaged treasure tools. Many used them until they were completely scrap. Most of the damaged treasure tools Lin Feng had acquired recently were 'old stock' accumulated over the years by various shops. After his 'sweep', very few remained. The rest were new items, useless for his purposes.
This problem also troubled Lin Feng. He was already contemplating that after Foundation Establishment, he should perhaps travel to a larger city nearby to scoop up a batch of damaged treasure tools to practice his Repair Art. After all, he was counting on upgrading his skill again soon. However, this wasn't urgent and could be planned after establishing his foundation.
Thus, Lin Feng spent several comfortable days shifting his focus to learning—voraciously absorbing all kinds of knowledge about the cultivation world in preparation for future adventures.
The most important task was collecting texts concerning heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Additionally, records on cultivation world history, introductions to major sects and forces, and even various strange tales and anecdotes all fell within Lin Feng's scope of study…
…
Another ten days passed in this manner. When Lin Feng felt he had 'rested' sufficiently, he decided on his next course of action—hunting demon beasts outside the city!
Although he was now at Great Perfection Qi Refining, he could feel that a small gap remained before breaking through the bottleneck. Relying solely on cultivation exercises might not bridge this final step. After consideration, he decided to venture out to hunt demon beasts, hoping that combat would provide the spark needed for breakthrough.
Another reason was that Lin Feng also sensed his recent rapid cultivation progress had left other aspects lagging somewhat. This imbalance wasn't ideal. To adapt to his enhanced cultivation level, combat was undoubtedly the best training. Moreover, he genuinely needed to accumulate more practical experience; otherwise, he could easily suffer setbacks when he truly ventured into the wider cultivation world later.
That morning, Lin Feng prepared his things early and headed straight for the North Gate. There were three areas around Qingyun City suitable for hunting demon beasts, but he had only been to the Seven Peaks Forest to the north, so he intended to go there again.
Although the threat from the He family seemed to have diminished, Lin Feng decided against teaming up with others this time, opting for a solo expedition for greater freedom and caution.
For an ordinary cultivator, venturing alone into the Seven Peaks Forest at Great Perfection Qi Refining still carried significant danger. However, Lin Feng was now equipped head-to-toe in treasure tools, possessed a spirit tool flying sword, and had a defensive gold talisman and countless magic talismans. Within the Seven Peaks Forest, he could essentially operate unimpeded. As long as he didn't venture too deep or deliberately charge into large groups of Tier 2 demon beasts, he faced little real danger.
It was akin to a level 5 player in a game, decked out in level 10 gear, soloing a level 5 dungeon—clear advantage, manageable difficulty.
…
Bypassing the Adventurer's Guild, Lin Feng exited directly through the North Gate, taking the main road towards the Seven Peaks Forest.
He shared the road with numerous other cultivators, though most traveled in groups of three to five. Lin Feng, traveling alone, stood out somewhat. Two teams even approached him with invitations to join, both of which he politely declined.
Besides the cultivators leaving the city, he occasionally encountered groups returning. These were mostly adventure squads returning from deep within the Seven Peaks Forest after several days. Their numbers were generally five or more, often including several Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"Hmm? Is that… Lu Cheng?"
Lin Feng advanced while observing his surroundings. As his gaze swept over a returning group in the distance, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure—it seemed to be Lu Cheng, whom he had once teamed up with.
However, Lu Cheng didn't seem to notice him. By the time Lin Feng spotted him, the group was already moving further away towards Qingyun City behind them. Though he initially thought about greeting him, seeing this distance, Lin Feng abandoned the idea.
Not long after, Lin Feng left the main road, heading towards a patch of forest nearby. The few cultivator groups who had been traveling near him had also dispersed along the way. Soon, his figure vanished into the dense foliage of the trees…