Because of the outrageous trouble caused earlier by Gong Shangyu and Gu Qingying, their real genders and hidden identities were almost exposed right in front of Lu Li.
As a result, for several days after, the two girls behaved much more cautiously than before, letting Lu Li finally enjoy a rare period of peaceful days within his Pill House.
Even so, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something unclean had gotten into his Pill House.
These past few nights, while sleeping or meditating, he kept feeling as if something was pressing down on him, kissing him, or even running hands all over him.
He had actually tried to solve this problem.
Yet every time he set up an array to try to catch the culprit, he got nothing, so he could only assume it was a dream—a hallucination brought on by too much repression.
So time flowed by in the blink of an eye, and soon a week had passed.
Lu Li’s days this week were regular and fulfilling.
Every morning, as soon as he opened his eyes, he would rush off to Gong Shangyu and Gu Qingying’s rooms to clear his two rebel disciples’ meridians, leaving them so drained they couldn’t even get out of bed.
Then, he would bury himself in the Dan Room, discussing pill-refining techniques with Gong Shangyu and preparing to refine Zhujidan for Gu Qingying, who was about to break through to Foundation Establishment.
Now, a week later, Gu Qingying, the little vinegar jar, had reached the peak of Qi Refining almost effortlessly, just one final step away from Foundation Establishment!
So, early this morning, Lu Li began setting up an array in his Pill House, making final preparations for his eldest disciple Gu Qingkong to break through Foundation Establishment—and for himself to condense Jindan.
***
Duanqing Peak, Lu Li’s Pill House.
“Focus your mind and spirit. Prepare to break through the bottleneck!”
Lu Li, having finished the array, spoke in a deep voice to Gu Qingying, who was sitting cross-legged before him.
Gu Qingying nodded solemnly and immediately closed her eyes, activating the basic chapter of the Supreme Duanqing Jue.
Wisps of pure spiritual energy spread from her body, faintly tinged with the purple and golden glow unique to her special physique.
As the technique circulated, Gu Qingying’s aura rapidly soared, quickly reaching the critical point at the peak of Qi Refining.
Lu Li dared not slack off. He produced three supreme-grade Zhujidan he’d prepared in advance, along with dozens of bottles of auxiliary Ling Liquid, and arranged them in front of Gu Qingying.
To help his disciple break through, he had almost emptied the Sect Contribution Points he’d earned from recent tasks and the entire supply of Ling Stones from Duanqing Peak.
As Gu Qingying started her all-out charge at Foundation Establishment, even Gong Shangyu, who was left outside to stand guard, could clearly sense the spiritual energy around Duanqing Peak stirring, gathering in torrents toward the Pill House.
Meanwhile, inside the Pill House, the Zhujidan and Ling Liquid set before Gu Qingying transformed into vast, pure energy, which she absorbed as easily as a whale swallows water.
At this moment, her body seemed like a bottomless pit.
The flickering purple glow, almost sentient, helped her devour energy at a crazed pace.
In less than a quarter of an hour, one supreme Zhujidan and several bottles of Ling Liquid were completely absorbed.
“Hm? This absorption speed…”
Lu Li raised his brows, not daring to hesitate.
He immediately brought the second Zhujidan to Gu Qingying’s lips.
Yet the second Zhujidan lasted less than half the time, swallowed up by Gu Qingying in an instant.
Although her aura steadily rose, the barrier to Foundation Establishment remained as strong as ever.
The purple and gold radiance still flickered, conveying a sense of insatiable hunger.
Staring at his first disciple, Gu Qingkong—whose dantian and qi sea seemed like black holes—Lu Li couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.
If he didn’t know his disciple was a rare genius, he might have suspected she was an old monster disguised as a Qi Refining cultivator, just here to swindle his resources.
And indeed, Lu Li wasn’t wrong—Gu Qingying was truly an old monster reborn.
She was using the resources Lu Li provided to forge a perfect Nine-turn Yin-Yang Dao Foundation, hoping to suppress her Heart Demon and push her Perfect Dual Birth Physique to its peak.
“Enough, since we’ve started, there’s no turning back!”
Lu Li gritted his teeth, pushed the final supreme Zhujidan and the remaining Ling Liquid before Gu Qingying, then placed his palms on her back, channeling all of his pure Foundation Establishment peak spiritual energy into her body, helping guide and refine the last surge of energy.
This time, with Lu Li’s spiritual power pouring in, the torrent of energy finally reached a critical point!
“Buzz…”
Gu Qingying’s delicate body trembled, purple light flaring around her.
A moment later, a blurred, mysterious purple-gold shadow flashed and vanished behind her!
Then, her slowly climbing aura erupted upward like a volcano!
In an instant, the barrier of Qi Refining shattered, and Gu Qingying’s cultivation soared into Foundation Establishment!
One ring, two rings, three rings…
A full nine brilliant purple-gold halos rose from within her, circling her body before merging at her dantian to form a rock-solid Nine-turn Yin-Yang Dao Foundation!
Gu Qingying’s eyes snapped open.
Her violet pupils flashed with sharp light, within them stars flickered and faded, Dao Rhythms swirling deeper than ever.
Her aura stabilized completely at Foundation Establishment First Layer, solid and firm!
Thus—
Supreme Duanqing Jue, Foundation Establishment stage: Complete!
Ancient cultivation method, Heart Purification Art of Glazed Glass, fourth layer: Complete!
Supreme art: Nine-turn Yin-Yang Dao Foundation—Complete!
As Gu Qingying broke through to Foundation Establishment, a System prompt sounded in her mind, telling her that the Cognition Modification System had finished upgrading.
Now her System could affect even Jindan and Nascent Soul cultivators!
Except for those monsters at the Divine Transformation stage and above, no one could see through Gu Qingying’s Cognitive Modification now!
Seeing his disciple break through, Lu Li’s face split into a satisfied smile.
But just as he smiled, a System prompt suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Your disciple Gu Qingkong’s cultivation has advanced from the peak of Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment First Layer!]
[Side Mission: Earnest Guidance completed!]
[Reward granted: Cultivation increases by one Small Realm! (Foundation Establishment Peak → Jindan Early Stage)]
As the notification sounded, a surge of energy even more powerful and vast than Gu Qingying’s breakthrough erupted from deep within Lu Li’s dantian, flooding his entire body and rushing into his meridians!
Gu Qingying straightened her sleeve and casually answered, “Master said he just had an insight and needs to enter seclusion immediately. It seems he’s about to break through to Jindan.”
“Oh? Jindan?”
Gong Shangyu raised her brows, but looked anything but surprised. Instead, she showed an expression as if everything was as she had expected.
At that moment, a surge of indescribable, overwhelming pressure, accompanied by pure, unbridled fluctuations of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, seeped out from the tightly shut stone doors behind them!
Though the soundproofing arrays in the Pill House were perfect, the phenomenon caused by drawing Heaven and Earth spiritual energy could not be faked.
It was the omen that appeared only when condensing Jindan!
Feeling this aura, surprise and confusion flickered in Gu Qingying’s violet eyes.
“Master… Why is he condensing Jindan so soon? He clearly hadn’t reached the bottleneck before.”
Gong Shangyu glanced at her, then chuckled, taking on the demeanor of someone who’d seen it all before, and explained to her junior with an air of mystery:
“In your previous life, you were picked up by Master in the late stages, so maybe you don’t know his special trait.”
She paused, her tone hinting at deeper meaning.
“It was the same in our past life. Every time Senior Sister and I made a big breakthrough, Master’s cultivation would suddenly leap forward as well.”
“We always joked in private, wondering if he was secretly cultivating some kind of method where the disciple’s progress boosts the master.”
“It wasn’t until you all joined us that Master’s abnormal growth finally slowed a bit.”
Gong Shangyu shrugged, glancing at Gu Qingying, who still seemed somewhat bewildered.
“So, you’ll get used to it. Master… has always been this unfathomable.”
Gu Qingying’s eyes shone thoughtfully, as if she was pondering Gong Shangyu’s words.
She looked at the tightly closed stone doors of the Pill House, then at Gong Shangyu, who wore the expression of someone who’d seen through all mysteries, and her perception of her master’s enigma deepened.
So… there’s such a thing?
Hmm…
It seems Master has more secrets than I imagined.
Thus, each girl harbored her own thoughts, saying nothing, while only the subtle spiritual energy fluctuations from within the Pill House betrayed the silent transformation taking place on Lu Li’s path to Jindan.