Returning to the cultivation room.
Chen Ye took a deep breath, temporarily putting the external disruptions out of his mind.
"Cultivation is the foundation of everything!"
With a determined gaze, he retrieved the Qi Nourishing Pills he had purchased earlier.
Now that resources are abundant, it is the perfect time for secluded cultivation to improve his strength!
He sat cross-legged, swallowed a Qi Nourishing Pill, guiding the gentle medicinal power into his meridians, and began fully operating the Evergreen Technique.
The Spirit Gathering Array quietly activated, and the spiritual qi around him visibly thickened, strands of it being absorbed into his body.
[Evergreen Technique Limit Break: 780/800]
Time slowly passed in the monotonous cultivation.
The spiritual power of the Evergreen Technique within Chen Ye’s Dantian became increasingly pure and refined.
As his proficiency continuously improved, he could feel his comprehension of wood-based spiritual qi deepening, and his cultivation technique’s operation becoming more seamlessly fluid.
[Evergreen Technique Limit Break: 795/800]
Only five points left!
Chen Ye focused entirely on operating the Evergreen Technique.
Boom!
Chen Ye felt a thunderous roar within him, as if breaking free from some restraint, a more immense and vast vitality power erupted from the depths of his Dantian, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones!
[Evergreen Technique Master: 1/1600]
Success! After breaking the limit, the Evergreen Technique finally advanced further to reach the Master Realm!
"Great! With the Evergreen Technique breakthrough, it’s the perfect time to charge into the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation!"
Chen Ye felt overwhelmingly ambitious, and without hesitation, he took out the Meridian Opening Pill, which cost ten Spirit Stones.
This pill, with potent medicinal power, is specifically used by cultivators to break through realm barriers.
He wanted to seize the momentum of the recent breakthrough and vitality surge within his body to charge into a higher realm in one go!
The pill’s power dissolved in his abdomen, like a mighty torrent, carrying the condensed spiritual power from his Dantian, launching a fierce assault against the barrier of the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation.
However, each minor realm breakthrough in the middle stage of Qi Cultivation was no easy feat.
Chen Ye could clearly feel the solidity of the barrier, incomparable to what he faced before.
Despite the assistance of strong medicinal power from the Meridian Opening Pill, the torrent of spiritual power repeatedly crashed against it, yet it remained insufficient to succeed.
"Pfft—"
A mouthful of slightly sweet blood spurted out; Chen Ye’s face turned pale, and his breath became somewhat dispirited.
The first attempt was a failure.
"Still too impatient..." Chen Ye sighed.
He had entered the Fifth Layer of Qi Cultivation for less than a month, and his foundation was not yet fully stable.
Even with the opportunity from the breakthrough and the assistance of pills, aiming to soar to the skies in one step was not an easy task.
He was undeterred, took a brief moment to adjust his breath and stabilize his turbulent qi blood, and then took the second Meridian Opening Pill into his mouth.
This time, he didn’t rush to succeed; instead, he first guided the pill’s power to nourish his meridians, adjusting his state to the peak.
Only then, did he mobilize all his spiritual power to converge into a more refined and resilient torrent, launching another assault against the solid barrier!
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Once! Twice!
Chen Ye gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, immersing all his mind in this difficult breakthrough.
After who knows how long, just when he felt the spiritual power in his Dantian about to deplete, and the second attempt at breaking through was close to failure—
"Crack!"
A slight but clear cracking sound came from the depths of his Dantian!
The solid barrier finally showed a crack!
Chen Ye’s spirit rejuvenated, he recklessly pushed the last trace of spiritual power, crashing fiercely into the crack!
Success!
An unprecedented feeling of smoothness and clarity spread throughout his body
The Qi Sea expanded again, the sixth Qi Vortex slowly formed and started rotating stably, emitting spiritual power fluctuations stronger than ever!
Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer!
Finally broke through!
Chen Ye took a long breath of stale air, felt the powerful spiritual power surging through his body, and showed a relieved smile.
This breakthrough, although full of twists and turns, was ultimately successful!
[Realm: Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer]
He slowly opened his eyes, a flash of sharp light flickered in his pupils.
Just one more step, and he could reach the late stage of Qi Cultivation.
If he reached the late stage of Qi Cultivation, his status would be vastly different!
It should be noted that within the Lingyin Sect, most Inner Sect disciples are merely at the late stage of Qi Cultivation!
"So, this is the spiritual power of the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation..."
Chen Ye clenched his fist, marveling at the abundant spiritual power within him.
Not only that, the wonders of the Evergreen Technique, having reached the Master Realm, were far more than this.
Chen Ye carefully comprehended it, finding that the speed of his spiritual power’s operation had increased by nearly ten percent compared to when he broke the limit.
Now, his cultivation speed was comparable to that of cultivators with Three Spiritual Roots.
The daily passive proficiency gain had increased to twenty-five!
Additionally, his spiritual power capacity was far superior to cultivators of the same level practicing the Evergreen Technique.
Ordinary Sixth Layer cultivators can only cast twenty Geng Metal Qi, but Chen Ye could cast forty!
"Goodness, upgraded from a handgun to a machine gun."
Chen Ye marveled.
Back then, at the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation, he could only cast ten Geng Metal Qi, always carefully calculating, never daring to waste spiritual power.
...
After breaking through to the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation,
Chen Ye looked at the two Techniques obtained from Kong Hongxuan.
Unfortunately, these two Techniques, like Geng Metal Qi, were not wood-based Techniques.
Although Chen Ye is of the Five Spiritual Roots, the cultivation technique is ultimately a Wood Series technique, and the power of these magics is somewhat diminished.
Chen Ye considered for a moment, remembering he already had Geng Metal Qi, so he did not learn the Ice Condensation Needle.
Admittedly, the rank of Ice Condensation Needle is higher than Geng Metal Qi, but there was no need to relearn it laboriously for a slight improvement.
He first learned the spell called Water Element Shield.
This defensive magic of the Upper Grade First Tier was also useful to him.
However, cultivating this Water Element Shield was much more difficult than he had imagined.
He tried several times, only managing to condense a thin film of water before him, wobbling continuously, far from being refined into a shield.
"Tsk, indeed, high-ranking magic is difficult to practice..." Chen Ye felt somewhat frustrated.
Unexpectedly, he was not even as proficient as Qing Jun, that little girl!
But fortunately, he had a proficiency panel.
He just needed to practice, and he could increase his proficiency!
Chen Ye persevered, casting several Water Element Shields in succession.
[Minor Achievement in Water Element Shield: 1/100]
...
The next day.
"Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer... another step closer to Foundation Establishment."
Chen Ye felt entirely relaxed. He stood up and pushed open the door of the cultivation room.
The snow in the small courtyard had not yet melted, and the cold plums swayed lightly in the wind.
The strongest wave of the cold disaster was about to end!
Soon, the skies would clear after the snow!
Just as Chen Ye was savoring this rare peace,
suddenly, a series of urgent and heavy knocks sounded outside the courtyard.
"Dong! Dong! Dong!"
The knocking was urgent and loud, accompanied by the anxious cries of the Dark Old Man: "Brother Chen! Brother Chen! Open the door quickly! Something big has happened!"
Chen Ye’s heart tightened, and he immediately stopped his cultivation and rose to his feet.
He walked quickly to the courtyard gate but did not open it immediately, instead asking in a deep voice: "Gen, what has you so panicked?"
Outside, the voice of the Dark Old Man was filled with evident shortness of breath and terror:
"It’s... it’s on the western side of the Market! The array on the west side is completely destroyed this time! Many demon beasts are attacking the array! And... and the people from the Jade Lizard Association and Stone Mirror Association seem to be taking advantage of the chaos to fight each other!"
What?!
Chen Ye’s expression changed dramatically!
The west side of the Market was precisely near the Three Thousand Great Mountains!
Once the Mountain Protection Array there is breached, the consequences would be unimaginable!
And those two big gangs, they actually chose to have a conflict at a time like this?!
This was simply digging their own graves!
What exactly happened during the days he and his disciple were in seclusion?
"Damn it!"
Chen Ye cursed softly, understanding that what he feared most was probably about to happen.
Once the Market’s array is breached, demon beasts would flood in, and with gangs fighting, the entire Yunxi District would become a living hell!
He made a swift decision, shouting into the house: "Zhiwei! Qing Jun! Pack your things, stay inside and don’t come out!"
Simultaneously, he quickly took a few Spirit Stones and pills left in the Storage Bag, stuffing them into his close-fitting clothes, and tied the Heart-Protecting Jade firmly.
After finishing all this, he took a deep breath and opened the courtyard gate.
Outside, Li Dageng looked extremely anxious, with the equally pale-faced Granny Li trailing behind him.
"Brother Chen, what should we do now? I’m afraid we cannot defend the Market!" Li Dageng was at a loss.
Chen Ye glanced at the direction of his small courtyard, then looked at the faint sounds of rumbling and beast roars coming from the distance, his gaze becoming extremely solemn.
Escape? There was nowhere to escape to!
Chen Ye made a decisive decision: "Come to my place! There are still several Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Lingyin Sect in the Market, they cannot fail to defend it!"
He was just puzzled,
The cold disaster was about to end, why did such a thing happen?
"Bang!"
The heavy door latch was forcefully lowered by Li Dageng, and he used several heavy stone strips to firmly block the courtyard gate.
Granny Li quickly inspected every window, using pre-prepared wooden boards and nails to reinforce them, preventing agile, bird-like demon beasts from sneaking in.
Yuanyuan anxiously paced in the courtyard, her ears perked up to catch every sound from outside.
Chen Ye placed his two disciples in a relatively safe corner of the inner room, using several thick quilts to create a small space.
"Stay here, don’t run around, whatever you hear don’t come out, understand?"
Chen Ye sternly instructed, his gaze sweeping over his two disciples.
Zhiwei nodded, her expression calm and even carrying a hint of curiosity as she tried to sense the chaotic fluctuations of spiritual power outside:
"Master, I will protect Qing Jun."
The little girl was trembling with fear, clenching her small fists shakily:
"Qing Jun is not afraid, Qing Jun is very powerful now, going out to kill the bad guys!"
This little thing, not very brave, but quite bold in speech.
Chen Ye shook his head, settled his disciples, and returned to the courtyard.
At this moment,
the sounds of battles, beast roars, and magic explosions from outside came in waves like tides, sometimes near, sometimes far, clearly indicating that the chaos in the Market was spreading towards Shunshui Street.
"Brother Chen, what... what should we do?"
Li Dageng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Although he was a body cultivator at the Fourth-Layer Qi Cultivation and had experienced some brawls, he still felt a sense of heart palpitations and powerlessness in the face of such chaos affecting the entire Market.
"Why panic!"
Granny Li, however, was more composed than her son. She took out a stack of talismans, her gaze fierce,
"If soldiers come, block them with generals, if water comes, cover it with earth! Whoever dares to break in, this old lady will fight them!"
Goodness, those talismans shimmered with spiritual light, including several middle-grade First Tier talismans.
It seemed like the savings of the Li Family for decades.