The small courtyard was enveloped by a simple prohibition spell, and the key was a jade token that could unlock the spell. Using the token, the three of them entered the courtyard.

It was a very rudimentary courtyard, with a large wooden hut that had only one room, six pillars, and walls made of wooden planks that had many gaps. On the wooden floor, there were some old rush cushions. In the middle of the courtyard, there was a stone table with four drum-shaped stone stools, truly the epitome of crudeness.

“How many Spirit Stones did it cost?”

Mi Xiaojing was genuinely curious about how many Spirit Stones were needed to rent such a simple dwelling.

“One Spirit Stone.”

“That’s quite cheap.”

“One Spirit Stone per day!”

Mi Xiaojing suddenly gasped in shock; that was way too expensive.

Yong Ji immediately laughed and said, “Things are pricey here. Those who live here are mostly from Cultivation sects. Rogue Cultivators wouldn’t rent such a place; they’d rather build a wooden shack outside. This place is for those who need temporary residence.”

Mi Xiaojing said, “Hmm, we also need to buy a residence. It doesn’t have to be in the market area; the outskirts are fine too.”

Yong Ji replied, “Certainly, it’s too expensive to rent here long-term. Let’s rest today and visit the market tomorrow.”

The three of them each sat on a rush cushion to cultivate. The Spiritual Qi here was decent, but it paled in comparison to the Heart Sect and was only slightly better than the wilderness.

Mi Xiaojing absorbed starlight, so he was indifferent to the density of the Spiritual Qi.

It had been a while since he had properly cultivated. Before the destruction of the Heart Sect, various chaotic matters prevented Mi Xiaojing from settling down to cultivate. He could only maintain his practice daily, and as a result, he was unable to break through, even though he was already at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, just a step away from advancing.

One could say that Mi Xiaojing had been holding back for a long time. As he sat down to cultivate this time, he immediately felt something was off; the Starry Sky Gang energy within his body was churning violently.

With a slight movement of his Divine Sense, Mi Xiaojing immersed himself in cultivation, ignoring everything else. He was always very focused during his practice.

As starlight entered his body, Mi Xiaojing began the transformation, slowly replenishing the consumed Starry Sky Gang energy.

What pleased Mi Xiaojing the most was that the Ancient Tribulation Pill Scripture symbol hidden on his forehead finally stopped absorbing his Starry Sky Gang energy. Previously, every time he cultivated, the symbol would absorb energy, preventing him from satisfying his needs. This time, strangely, the symbol remained still.

As time passed, Mi Xiaojing’s body filled with Starry Sky Gang energy, but he continued to cultivate, transforming the starlight.

After an unknown period, Mi Xiaojing’s body suddenly shook, and his Starry Sky Gang energy broke through the bottleneck. In an instant, he advanced to the Great Perfection stage of Foundation Establishment without much effort, as if it was a natural progression.

This was because Mi Xiaojing had sufficient accumulation, just lacking the final push. With a little time and effort, he could smoothly advance.

After spending some time consolidating his cultivation level, Mi Xiaojing felt very pleased. Advancing to the Great Perfection stage of Foundation Establishment meant that he was now qualified to attempt Core Formation. Although he knew it wouldn’t be easy, this advancement provided him with a solid foundation.

Mi Xiaojing opened his eyes and immediately saw Yong Ji and Luo Bo staring at him. He asked in surprise, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Yong Ji said, “You’ve advanced, congratulations!”

Luo Bo happily said, “Congratulations, Brother Xiao Mi!” He was genuinely very happy.

Yong Ji was inwardly astonished; Mi Xiaojing’s progress was too rapid. In just a few years, he had grown from an Evolutionary Immortal who knew nothing to a rather formidable Cultivator. This time, he had silently advanced to the Great Perfection stage of Foundation Establishment, just one step away from Core Formation.

Once Mi Xiaojing achieved Core Formation, he would be considered to have truly entered the ranks of the Cultivation World, possessing a certain ability to protect himself.

Mi Xiaojing was also very happy. He had thought that it would take some time to advance to the Great Perfection stage, but he had succeeded in one go. It seemed that his previous accumulation was indeed profound.

Another important reason was Mi Xiaojing’s cultivation technique, the Starry Sky Qianyuan Art, which was truly exceptional.

His Divine Sense delved into his Dan Tian to check, and it was mostly the same as before, except that the Heart Tower had grown another level. Mi Xiaojing felt a bit strange; could it be that as a Cultivator advanced, an Evolutionary Immortal could also level up?

Everything else was much the same, with the scapegoat puppet sitting atop the Heart Tower. Up to this point, Mi Xiaojing still didn’t understand the use of this scapegoat puppet.

Additionally, there were seven copies of the Ancient Tribulation Pill Scripture revolving around the puppet, along with the Thunder Sword spinning above the puppet’s head, and the eighteen Prayer Beads doing the same.

The Immortal Pouch was surprisingly hanging at the waist of the scapegoat puppet, which left Mi Xiaojing dumbfounded. Could it really be like this?

Mi Xiaojing couldn’t guess what would happen after he formed his Core. The Starry Sky Qianyuan Art did have records on how to form a Core, but now there were a bunch of things in his Dan Tian, and he didn’t know if they would affect his Core Formation.

Wang Weijun was not on the Heart Tower, and it was unclear what he was up to.

As for the Immortal Pouch and the treasures he had obtained last time, Mi Xiaojing dared not take them out to examine. Taking out any one of them would immediately alert other Cultivators. With his current strength, he couldn’t protect them, and it might even bring about fatal danger unless Mi Xiaojing deployed the Qingmu Formation, which might conceal the Treasure Light of the items for a while.

For now, Mi Xiaojing couldn’t use these treasures either.

Looking at them with envy but unable to use them, Mi Xiaojing simply stopped looking. He raised his head and asked, “Elder Yong, where are we going today?”

Yong Ji smiled and said, “I went out this morning, and now it’s already afternoon. Let’s go check out a large general store.”Mi Xiaojing and Luo Bo had no particular ideas about the name of the shop. “The Grand Grocery,” the only impression it gave was that the name was a bit lackluster. However, neither of them said anything and simply followed Yong Ji out.

Back on the bustling street, it was now the afternoon. The street was as lively as ever, with people coming and going. Mi Xiaojing asked, “Has it always been this busy here?”

Yong Ji replied, “It wasn’t this busy before. This time, it seems a bit different. There are many more foreign cultivators, and by that, I mean low-level cultivators. There’s been an increase in Qi Refining cultivators.”

Mi Xiaojing paid a bit more attention and indeed found this to be true. Out of ten cultivators, six or seven were in the Qi Refining stage. This was somewhat similar to a Cultivation Sect.

The three of them chatted and laughed along the way, and in a short while, they arrived at a place resembling an archway, with several large characters written on it: “Cloud Interval Archway.” To be continued… Your support is my greatest motivation. 161027090440