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### **Chapter 66: Consecutive Breakthroughs**
The atmosphere cooled once more.
Gu Zhengshun said gloomily, "Let's not mention the underground palace anymore. Now that only the four of us remain at the three Profound Bone Mountains, why don't we return and send some more people over?"
"Not possible." Liu Jinxian fiddled with the wasp gu in her hand, speaking softly. "The five-year guard duty period cannot be neglected for a single day."
That's what she said, but anyone could see she was staying to fully refine this wasp gu. After all, she had used her trump card to subdue the second-grade Poison Wasp Queen.
The sunk cost was too great. She needed to use the Rot-Poison Wasps of Profound Bone Mountain for further refinement to have a chance of success. Leaving was out of the question for her.
Hearing this, Si Tu Hong also nodded.
"I agree."
He could not only utilize the Profound Essence Flowers but also benefit from free ghost nurturing in the Bonewood forests. Staying for five years was pure profit compared to returning to the sect.
Only Gu Zhengshun, whose goal in coming was the underground palace, seeking a great opportunity, now found everything lost and was disheartened,迫切 (eagerly) wanting to return.
Coupled with the unsafe environment and the unease of having offended all three, Gu Zhengshun was afraid!
He had betrayed Wang Yu first, then, when cooperating with Si Tu Hong, was unwilling to deal with Liu Jinxian, directly alienating all three parties.
No one wanted anything to do with him.
Wang Yu spoke up, "I also agree with Senior Sister Liu's plan."
His original purpose in coming to Profound Bone Mountain was to avoid trouble.
Now, having profited immensely, he needed time to digest his gains and naturally didn't want to return too early. The resources in his possession wouldn't run away. Once his cultivation reached the next stage,
he could plan for Foundation Establishment resources upon returning.
Incidentally, he could also inquire about demonic path secret arts that could compensate for acquired aptitude. This was the top priority.
With three against one, the decision to continue guarding Profound Bone Mountain was settled.
Next.
Gu Zhengshun retreated into his formation, showing no intention of coming out again. Liu Jinxian began moving around, searching for natural caves and traces of Rot-Poison Wasp swarms.
Si Tu Hong secluded himself in the Bonewood forests, quietly nurturing his Yin ghost servants.
A strange calm settled over the area.
No one suggested driving away the Foundation Establishment bone beast. Wang Yu was happy with this; he needed the time too.
And so, Profound Bone Mountain became completely tranquil.
......
......
In the blink of an eye, another year passed.
It was the end of the 5th month of Wang Yu's fifth year as an outer disciple, marking two and a half years at Profound Bone Mountain.
Doing the math, he was now twenty-two years old.
During this period, he had consumed his third top-grade Coldblooded Pill and refined nearly two-thirds of it. The spiritual power within him had reached its limit.
A full 999 strands of spiritual power, each equivalent to ten wisps.
"The breakthrough is today!"
He actively circulated his technique, guiding the spiritual power through his meridians towards his limbs and bones. Even the reattached left arm, an external object, was incorporated into the technique's circulation path.
The corpse arm was Yin-cold and carried Death Qi.
It was controlled within the left arm by the continuously refined 〈Yin Blood Pills〉, maintaining a delicate balance.
The spiritual power circulation accelerated continuously. Wang Yu's body shuddered.
The external,狂暴 (violent) spiritual power obediently merged into his dantian's energy sea. The one-thousandth strand of spiritual power was finally cultivated.
His aura instantly surged. The benefits brought by the realm breakthrough caused increases in his body, meridians, spiritual sense... and many other human marvels.
"—Sixth level of Qi Refining!"
Exhaling a puff of hot air, he continued circulating his technique to stabilize his realm.
Ten days later.
Within the secret room of his temporary cave dwelling, now completely sealed by the [Blood Mist Spirit Concealment Formation], was a stone pool in the center.
Mountain spring water, carrying faint spiritual energy, filled half the pool.
Wang Yu removed his clothes and pants, entering the spring water completely naked. Then, three storage pouches floated above the pool, their openings wide.
Countless Profound Essence Flowers poured out. Wang Yu used the "washing and extraction" method from alchemy to thoroughly榨干 (squeeze dry) the value of these flowers.
Peach-red essence dripped into the pool water.
This act, which should have caused dilution, instead resulted in a concentration far exceeding that of a single Profound Essence Flower because the amount of essence poured in was greater than the water.
Moreover, using this method for absorption could alleviate part of the Waste Spiritual Root's poor refinement issue. Even if expelled from the body, it could remain in the Profound Essence Flower pool for a long time.
As long as he achieved secondary absorption, utilizing even ten or twenty percent would be far more cost-effective than simply swallowing them!
He had accumulated too many flowers; he couldn't possibly use them all.
Strictly speaking, this was Wang Yu's first breakthrough not relying on the placement slots. Although it still depended on external objects, it was progress, wasn't it?
As the Perfected Coldblooded Art circulated,
a massive amount of medicinal efficacy was absorbed, continuously tempering and cleansing Wang Yu's spiritual power cultivation. His high mastery of the technique allowed him to absorb large amounts at once and control it exquisitely.
Yet, his spiritual root was too wasteful, refining slowly and resulting in severe waste.
After one full Great Zhou Tian cycle, less than half a percent acted on his spiritual power. However, his resources were so overflowing that they forcefully纯化 (purified) and fused Wang Yu's thousand strands of spiritual power.
Transforming ten into one, a thousand into a hundred, strands combining into bundles!
The mist-like spiritual power grew increasingly dense. Each bundle of spiritual power was worth a hundred wisps, of superior quality, much more durable, and had a more outstanding cleansing effect on his body and spiritual sense.
Gradually, as time passed, Wang Yu became completely immersed in his cultivation. When hungry, he swallowed a top-grade Fasting Pill; when thirsty, he drank a mouthful of the bathwater.
His aura climbed to new heights until it reached a certain limit.
*Pop—*
A faint, almost illusory sound of a bottleneck breaking. Wang Yu's entire body erupted with dense spiritual power. At this moment, he had successfully completed the second spiritual refinement.
His cultivation advanced as naturally as water flowing downhill.
"So this is the feeling of the seventh level of Qi Refining... I entered the path at sixteen, and it took six years to reach the late Qi Refining stage. The path to immortality is truly fraught with difficulties."
The blue-black Coldblood spiritual power within him now numbered only a hundred bundles, yet it was more powerful than ever. Casting high-grade spells would no longer leave him strained.
This solved a major shortcoming: insufficient spiritual power.
Calculating the time silently, it had been roughly three months since he entered the flower pool for closed-door cultivation. He had directly broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.
The pool of Profound Essence Flower essence was not yet depleted.
Wang Yu continued his seclusion, further purifying his spiritual power, transforming it into semi-liquid True Essence. This was the true wonder of the Profound Essence Flowers, not to be missed.
As for his subsequent cultivation, it would still involve accumulating spiritual power.
Accumulating from one hundred bundles to three hundred would allow a breakthrough to the eighth level of Qi Refining, equivalent to twenty thousand wisps of spiritual power. Relying on placement slots, that would take five thousand days—nearly thirteen years!
This was the reality of a Waste Spiritual Root; even cheating felt frustrating.
But it was already comparable to a Three Spiritual Root. At least he had a chance to attempt Foundation Establishment before a hundred years old. Normal Four or Five Spiritual Roots couldn't even dream of that.
With his abundant resources, he might have a chance to attempt Foundation Establishment before fifty, in some ways only slightly inferior to a Dual Spiritual Root.
As for breaking through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, it required accumulating seven hundred bundles of spiritual power. Then, accumulating to a thousand bundles would be considered the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.
One could then attempt the realm breakthrough!
**(End of Chapter)**