Chapter 57 – Prepare

Lu Ping already had two Blood Condensation Pellets, and he still planned to get one more. Sadly, his plan of getting a third one from the auction failed after he’d inadvertently attracted too much attention.

But who knew he would find his third Blood Condensation Pellet inside Qiao Xipeng’s interspatial pouch? With three Blood Condensation Pellets in hand, Lu Ping was even more confident in advancing to the next realm.

Of course, amongst all the treasures he looted, there was still something more valuable than the Blood Condensation Pellet—Qiao Xipeng’s talisman treasure.

The talisman treasure was in the form of a jade stamp seal. Crafted by a Third Layer Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master, it had three silver halos within its body. The body emitted a gentle and warm aura while the silver halos flowed inside like three little naughty fishes.

Since Qiao Xipeng had used the talisman treasure once before, it could only be used two more times. The First Layer Core Forging Realm talisman treasure Lu Ping looted from Qiao Xipeng’s brother, Qiao Xiying, could only be used one more time. However, it was all worth it for the silver talisman treasure.

The exuberant Lu Ping stuffed Qiao Xipeng’s remaining junk into his own interspatial pouch.

Afterwards, Lu Ping plunged into cultivation for the next few months, making incredible progress with his now sufficient supply of medicinal pellets.

At last, Lu Ping reached the peak of Ninth Layer Blood Refining Realm at the age of 18. He took another three months to consolidate his foundation before deciding to advance.

That day, Lu Ping traveled to Xuan Qi Island and paid Master Immortal Liu a visit.

Master Immortal Liu was happy to see Lu Ping, his eyes brightening up as he praised, “Good, good! Peak of Ninth Layer and a solid foundation. You can now try to advance to the next realm.”

Lu Ping replied respectfully, “That is why I’m here. I have come to ask Master Immortal Liu to approve my leave from duty. I intend to return to Zhen Ling Island for closed-door cultivation to break through to the next realm. I hope I have your permission.”

Master Immortal Liu smiled. “Haha, this is indeed a major event. The Blood Refining Realm is nothing more than the preparation stage. Only when reaching the Blood Condensation Realm can one be considered a true cultivator and an official disciple of Zhen Ling Sect.”

Master Immortal Liu paused briefly before continuing, “The preparations for your breakthrough, have you made any arrangements? What about Blood Condensation Pellets? Although it is true that some talents don’t need them, Blood Condensation Pellets can help stimulate your success rate, as well as consolidate your foundation. All in all, they are incredibly beneficial.”

“I have collected eight 500-year spirit herbs and exchanged one Blood Condensation Pellet from the sect.”

Naturally, Lu Ping wouldn’t expose his entire wealth to anyone.

Master Immortal Liu casually waved his sleeve and four wooden boxes appeared in front of them. “You have worked hard and your cultivation foundation is amazingly stable. One Blood Condensation Pellet may not completely stimulate the spirit bloodlines in your body. Your merits for the Xuan Qi Island raid and your contributions in securing the border have been noted by the sect as of late.

“These are four 500-year spirit herbs for the Blood Condensation Pellet, they are your rewards bestowed by the sect. You can figure out on your own how to gather the other four spirit herbs to exchange for a Blood Condensation Pellet. Should you succeed, you will have one more pellet. This will greatly improve your chances.”

Lu Ping looked joyfully at the wooden boxes. He quickly gave his thanks. “I just happen to have a few spirit herbs on hand and I was worrying about how to gather the rest. With these, I now have enough for the exchange.”

Master Immortal Liu looked at the excited Lu Ping and smiled. “I know that you’re now a wealthy man, but don’t forget to stay wary and conceal this wealth from others.”

Lu Ping’s heart tightened and he nodded. “I will remember to heed your advice.”

“I’m worried that things will become ugly soon in this sea region. The young master of Xuan Ling Sect’s Qiao Clan has been loitering in our territory for quite some time already. Hmph, do they really think our sect doesn’t know what they’re up to?”

Obviously, Lu Ping wouldn’t tell Master Immortal Liu that he’d already killed Qiao Xipeng. But from Master Immortal Liu’s words, it seemed like Qiao Xipeng had other plans by hunting down the sea snake monster. He asked, “Isn’t Qiao Xipeng trying to avenge his brother?”

Master Immortal Liu scoffed contemptuously. “That’s just an excuse. If Xuan Ling Sect didn’t approve of it, Qiao Clan would never dare to send its young master to loiter around the border for a monster. They’re fools if they think our Sect is ignorant of their plans. Xuan Ling Sect was once a great and profound sect, but lately, they have lost their grand bearing and have become timid with their actions.”

Lu Ping only listened and didn’t dare to interject. After Master Immortal Liu finished his piece, Lu Ping asked, “Since the situation is so bad, should I still take my leave?”

Master Immortal Liu was nonchalant. “Just do what you need to do. The situation hasn’t reached the point where Xuan Ling Sect will target sect disciples like you. Haha, it’s funny even thinking about it. There’s been no news about Qiao Xipeng for the last half month but the Qiao Clan hasn’t taken any action. Perhaps, he’s already been killed by the sea snake monster!”

Lu Ping knew that his cultivation base was too low, so he meant nothing to the sects. However, when he heard Master Immortal Liu saying Qiao Xipeng could be dead already, his heart was stricken with shock.

Master Immortal Liu imparted Lu Ping with some precautions and common practices for the breakthrough to the Blood Condensation Realm. After that, Lu Ping bowed and left.

When the martial siblings in Group 7 learned about Lu Ping’s upcoming breakthrough, they were all shocked by his speedy cultivation progress. They gave him their blessings and handed over gifts like spirit stones, medicinal pellets, spirit materials, and others. Most were from the disciples in Group 7 but there were also gifts from several familiar disciples from the other groups.

Among them, Yao Yong’s and Du Feng’s gifts were the most valuable—one 500-year spirit herb each. On a side note, Du Feng had also just broken through to the Blood Condensation Realm recently.

Shi Lingling’s gift was a bottle of Blood Solidifying Pellets, the same item she gifted to Yao Yong for his breakthrough.

In addition to Master Immortal Liu’s four 500-year spirit herbs, Lu Ping now had six 500-year spirit herbs for the Blood Condensation Pellets. He also looted three 500-year spirit herbs from Qiao Xipeng. He now had enough 500-year spirit herbs to exchange for the fourth Blood Condensation Pellet.

Lu Ping initially planned to harvest the five spirit herbs from Sheng Tao’s garden, but that was no longer necessary. He never expected the sect to reward him with four spirit herbs.

After changing shifts with a Group 11 disciple, Lu Ping left Huang Li Island and returned to Zhen Ling Side Hall through the teleportals. He first went to the side hall market and exchanged a Blood Condensation Pellet from Zhen Ling Sect’s official medicinal pellet store. Now, Lu Ping owned four Blood Condensation Pellets.

Zhen Ling Side Hall was on Zhen Ling Island, situated at the foot of Tian Ling Mountain, the central base of Zhen Ling Sect. The mountain was protected by a massive array formation and was shrouded in mist all year round, rendering it like a paradise.

The Tian Ling Mountain itself was a large spirit vein. The Zhen Ling Sect had nurtured it for thousands of years for it to reach this state. The spirit vein had a small branch that extended to the foot of the mountain, and hence, the side hall was built there.

Twenty four cultivation rooms were built at the center of this small spirit vein branch. These rooms were specially built for the side hall disciples to use during their breakthrough to the Blood Condensation Realm.

Lu Ping was in luck. When he arrived, there was a side hall disciple who had just left after failing in his advancement, leaving a vacant room for him to use. One must know that these cultivation rooms were incredibly popular—they were occupied most of the time and rarely vacant.

Lu Ping paid the rental fees for the cultivation room. He purchased the longest rental period, which was half a year’s time, at a fee of 500 spirit stones. He then settled down in the cultivation room.

The cultivation room was almost 15 square yards and was furnished simply. There was only a bed at the corner of the room, a bamboo chair and a bookshelf on the side, and a putuan in the center.

The room’s floor was inscribed with a spirit-gathering formation. The array formation would attract the spiritual energy from the spirit vein and gather them into the room to increase the density and intensity of the spiritual energy.

Lu Ping sat on the spirit-gathering putuan. He calmly extended his senses out to the rich spiritual energy gathered around him. Then, he placed a Blood Solidifying Pellet in his mouth and slowly began his cultivation method, the [Blood Condensation Spirit Melting Scripture].

Lu Ping adjusted his state to his peak form and started his final preparation for the breakthrough.