The Azure Sky Sect's central feature was the Spiritual Qi Convergence Pool. Built over the nexus of the mountain's spiritual pulse, the massive, jade-lined pool was reserved exclusively for the core and inner disciples. It was where the spiritual energy was purest and densest.
For a servant like Lin Wei, venturing near it was a direct invitation for execution. But Lin Wei was desperate. The pill dregs were only enough for incremental growth. If he was to truly accelerate his path and escape his fate, he needed massive reserves of pure Qi.
He knew of an old, abandoned sewage tunnel running beneath the disciple dormitories, used decades ago but since replaced. It ran surprisingly close to the bedrock foundation of the Qi Pool itself.
Tonight, under the cloak of a moonless sky, Lin Wei snuck into the tunnel. The air was thick with the scent of mildew and decay, but as he crawled deeper, he felt a thrilling shift: a faint, cool pressure. The air was becoming heavy with Qi.
He reached a section where the tunnel walls were damp with seepage. The stone here was warm. The pressure of the spiritual energy was intense, indicating his proximity to the Pool above.
Lin Wei found a small fissure in the ceiling of the tunnel, no wider than his thumb. Through it, he could hear the faint, tranquil sound of the Qi Pool's circulating water. More importantly, through this fissure, Qi was slowly leaking.
It was the purest, most refined spiritual energy the sect possessed, but mixed with the stale, damp air of the tunnel, it was considered unusable—wasted energy dissipated by the mountain's slow, imperfect circulation.
Lin Wei positioned himself directly beneath the fissure. He didn't use a cultivation art; he simply focused the Void Eye Edict outward, like a silent, spiritual vacuum.
The results were astonishing. The Edict acted not just as a filter, but as a spiritual pump. It created a tiny vortex, pulling the leaking Qi from the fissure and into his body. The energy was pristine, requiring minimal refinement.
Whoosh!
The pure essence rushed into his core. Lin Wei trembled with the sheer power, every cell in his body singing. This was what true cultivation felt like. He stayed there for two hours, an eternity in the tunnel, absorbing and compressing the high-quality Qi.
Qi Condensation, Second Level.
He had broken through another major stage in a single night, using what the sect considered its most minor leakage. Lin Wei rose, his fear replaced by a cold, calculating satisfaction. He was stealing the most precious resource of the Azure Sky Sect, right from beneath their most prized location.
The Void Eye doesn't just devour; it takes what is discarded and makes it magnificent. Lin Wei carefully reversed his path, wiping away his footprints. The outcast had found his secret garden of power.