In the first level of the myriad phenomena pagoda, the eternal twilight wasteland.
Time passed quietly here at ten times the speed.
One month in the outside world was over three hundred days inside the pagoda.
After the initial shock and novelty faded, the Disciples quickly adapted to the strange rhythm of this independent space.
Everyone was racing against time.
In the area where Li Zhiwei and Murong Xue were located, Sword Qi surged.
The two stood opposite each other, sword tips touching, their bodies surrounded by visible, chilling Sword Intent.
"Senior Sister, your Sword Intent is becoming increasingly refined; you must be close to Foundation Establishment, right?"
Li Zhiwei said softly, her long sword trembling slightly, emitting a clear humming sound.
After more than three hundred days of hard cultivation, she was no longer the thin, timid little girl she had been during the initial Spiritual Root testing.
With the careful guidance of her Master, Li Hanyi, plus massive resources and the time acceleration of the myriad phenomena pagoda, her cultivation had already reached the seventh layer of the Qi Refinement Stage.
And all things considered, she had just turned seven years old.
A gentle smile appeared on Murong Xue's cold face as she ruffled her little head.
"You have also progressed very quickly; at your age, I had just stepped into the Qi Refinement Stage."
"Senior Sister… no way… I…"
Hearing her Senior Sister praise her, Li Zhiwei's face turned red, and she stammered, not knowing what to say.
Not far from them, Zhao Linger was focused on controlling a half-person-high bronze Pill Furnace.
Under her precise control of Spiritual Qi, the furnace fire waxed and waned, and the medicinal fragrance inside the Pill Furnace grew stronger.
"Condense!"
She gave a soft shout, her hands changing seals, and the furnace lid opened with a boom.
Three round, jade-like Medicinal Pills shot out and were precisely collected into a jade bottle.
"First-grade 'Qi Replenishment Pill', success!"
Zhao Linger wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, her eyes full of joy.
In three hundred days, she had grown from a novice who could only refine the lowest-grade Bigu Pill to an alchemist capable of refining first-grade Qi Replenishment Pills.
This speed of progress would be enough to make many veteran alchemists ashamed if placed in the outside world.
"Senior Sister Zhao is truly amazing!"
"That's right! Senior Sister Zhao is our Danxia Peak's Senior Sister, of course she's amazing!"
Several Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters from Danxia Peak gathered around, their faces full of admiration.
Nearby, Wang Zhaojun sat quietly in a small plot of herb field that Yun Miaoyi had specially prepared for her.
Before her, several second-grade spiritual plants, marked in the "Herb Compendium" as having "extremely harsh growth conditions," were growing vigorously and full of vitality.
Her fingers gently brushed over the leaves, closing her eyes to feel the subtle life rhythms within.
"Temperature… moonlight…"
She muttered to herself, recording her insights.
For her, communicating with plants and perceiving changes in medicinal properties was more important than directly practicing Alchemy.
This was the path that Yun Miaoyi had specifically pointed out for her—
First become a "Herb Identifier" and "Herb Cultivator," and Alchemy would naturally fall into place.
The area where Xiao Ya was located was the most "lively."
She had the atlas of ten thousand manifestations and divine craftsmanship and dozens of Jade Slips she had recorded herself spread out before her, with various strange-looking objects scattered around.
"The energy circuit node should be offset by another three points… No, that would trigger resonance imbalance…"
Her brows were locked in a frown, Spiritual Qi flowing from her fingertips, sketching out complex three-dimensional rune arrays.
Suddenly, with a soft "bang," a palm-sized Formation Plate in front of her emitted a wisp of blue smoke.
"Failed again… the 60th time…"
Xiao Ya sighed, but without the slightest discouragement, she immediately picked up a Jade Slip to record the failure data.
Elder Butterfly Dance occasionally appeared beside her, offering a few pointers, her eyes full of approval.
Although this Disciple's cultivation level was not the fastest to improve, her drive for research into Formations and her whimsical ideas often surprised even her, a Mahayana Cultivator specializing in illusion Formations.
Wang Teng, Li Haoran, and other Disciples under the Golden Peak Elder were practicing sword Formations in another area.
Sword Qi whistled, and metal clashed.
Wang Teng had changed his former impatience; his sword Moves were steady and fierce, each sword strike striving to bring his full strength to the limit.
"Senior Brother Wang, your third sword Move has already achieved Minor Achievement, but there is still some stagnation in the flow of Spiritual Qi when withdrawing the Move."
Li Haoran withdrew his sword and commented; he was steady in temperament and observant, often able to spot subtle flaws in his fellow Disciples' Moves.
"Many thanks for the guidance, Junior Brother Li!"
Wang Teng cupped his hands, holding no grudges.
After that period of "tempering" by Elder Fu Shan, he had long understood the importance of sparring and mutual correction among fellow Disciples.
Liu Qingqing, Bai Zhi, and other Disciples with wood Spiritual Roots, under the guidance of Elder Green Vine, sensed the vitality of plants and cultivated healing and auxiliary spells.
Su Yurou and Jiang Che followed Elder Canghai, controlling water and condensing ice, their spells agile and varied.
Liu Lie and Zhu Xiaoxiao, under the urging of Elder Red Cherry, together with that young Yao Race cub named "Chiyu," sparred with each other, honing their fire-attribute Divine Ability.
Shi Lei and Yue Shan followed Elder Profound Elegance, practicing earth-attribute Cultivation Techniques, steady and solid.
Even those thirty-plus Disciples who had not yet officially entered the various Peaks were progressing rapidly under the rotating guidance of Liu Ruyan, Gu Luoli, and others.
There was no alternation of day and night in the pagoda, only an eternal twilight.
But the Disciples had divided their own cycle of "Cultivate - Spar - Rest - Comprehend."
Every hundred days (pagoda time), the Elders of each Peak would organize a small-scale sparring exchange.
Sword Cultivators and Spell Cultivators would discuss the Dao, Formation Cultivators and Body Cultivators would spar, water spells and fire spells would collide…
In one actual combat and exchange after another, the Disciples not only improved their cultivation, but their combat experience, vision, and knowledge were also growing rapidly.
The bond between fellow Disciples grew deeper through their shared struggles.
Ye Linger progressed extremely quickly.
The Taiyin Treasure Codex perfectly matched her Physique, plus the time advantage of the myriad phenomena pagoda and the massive resources of the Immortal Palace.
In more than three hundred days, her cultivation had gone from the Peak of the ninth layer of the Qi Refinement Stage to steadily stepping into the Early Foundation Establishment Stage!
And at the moment of Foundation Establishment, her Spiritual Qi cycled nine times, her dao foundation was flawless, it was the highest quality "Flawless dao foundation"!
The moon wheel mark on her forehead became increasingly clear, and there was a faint flow of moonlight.
She specialized in the Dao of Taiyin and used sword techniques as a secondary focus!
This was the path she chose herself after Li Hanyi saw her outstanding talent and gave her a few pointers in her spare time.
Ye Linger's Sword Intent was clear, cold, and ethereal, combining offense and defense, perfectly complementing her temperament.
This day was the 310th day of the pagoda's time.
Gu Luoli sat cross-legged in an open space specially cleared in the center of the wasteland.
She had been sitting there in meditation for seven days.
The aura around her was as heavy and deep as an abyss, and Spiritual Qi was roaring and rushing in her body.
Deep within her double pupils, the golden light circulated faster and brighter.
Liu Ruyan and Ye Linger guarded from a distance, their expressions tense.
"Third Junior Sister is about to have a Breakthrough." Liu Ruyan said in a low voice.
Ye Linger nodded; she could feel that the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was gathering toward Gu Luoli at an astonishing speed.
It even triggered a Spiritual Qi tide in this independent space!
------------------------
I've posted 40+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"