The next morning, Yu Sui'an woke up groggily in her bed.
She blushed as she noticed the blanket from yesterday still covering her.
Turning her head, she spotted a set of new clothes, which filled her with ecstatic joy.
Then, she heard the sound of a long sword cutting through the air from the courtyard.
After changing into her clothes, Yu Sui'an admired her brand-new white skirt, her happiness evident in her eyes.
Stepping out the door, she saw Li Guanqi practicing his swordplay, his movements elusive and swift.
Li Guanqi, seeing her awake, couldn't help but smile and said, "Not bad, it's pretty and fits well. The sleeves of your old clothes were getting too short."
After rolling her eyes playfully at him, Yu Sui'an asked, "Little Blind, don't you ever take a break for a couple of days?"
Li Guanqi smiled slightly and said softly, "Cultivation is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to fall back."
"To achieve great things, one must persist in their practice every day."
Yu Sui'an nonchalantly replied, "Can't you just do it earlier tomorrow?"
Li Guanqi ruffled her hair and said, "What needs to be done today, even if done earlier tomorrow, is still delayed."
After speaking, Li Guanqi added, "I'll leave you be. Today I have to attend the law lecture and also make a trip to Heavenly Water Peak."
Yu Sui'an didn't cling to him and quickly turned to run towards the dining area.
"Off to buy steamed buns~"
After a bath, Li Guanqi washed and hung up his black training clothes.
Dressed in the clean white attire of the Sect, Li Guanqi headed straight for Heavenly Sword Peak.
Qin Xian's lesson today was about matters related to Foundation Establishment.
Stepping out of the great hall, Li Guanqi pondered, "When reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, the vital energy in the pubic region actually liquefies."
"One can practice inedia, abstaining from worldly grains, reducing the production of impurities within the body."
"One's lifespan can even exceed two hundred years, supporting short durations of sword flight!!"
This lecture left Li Guanqi deeply shocked; no wonder they say that only after Foundation Establishment does one truly embark on the path of immortality.
It seems that the difference between those who have established their foundation and Qi Refining cultivators is indeed vast.
Even the current Li Guanqi wouldn't dare claim he could easily defeat a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm; it's too difficult.
After Foundation Establishment, one can utilize a greater variety of techniques and Spirit Talismans.
Many magical instruments can only exhibit their true power after Foundation Establishment.
Just arriving at the dining hall, Ye Feng and the others gathered around.
It was clear that they had all made significant progress in their strength.
It seems these fellows had exchanged their points for quite a few useful items.
Ye Feng, with a mischievous grin, said, "Old Li, want to make a bet on who will reach Foundation Establishment first?"
Li Guanqi smirked and replied, "You should be breaking through to the tenth level soon, right?"
Ye Feng chuckled without denying it. Although Li Guanqi was tempted to take his money, he really didn't dare to bet this time.
"No bet."
"Why? Aren't you already at the tenth level? I even feel that some at the peak of the tenth level aren't as strong as you."
Li Guanqi helplessly said, "Don't want you to lose money, is that so bad?"
Zhong Lin then spoke up, "By the way, what do you guys think about opening the Spirit ruin after Foundation Establishment?"
Li Guanqi perked up at this, while Ye Feng scoffed, "Just treat it as a formality, don't take it too seriously."
"Forget about our Great Xia Sword Sect, even if you combine the entire Northern Region, it would be good to have something in one out of a hundred and eighty Spirit ruins."
"In the end, if ten or eight lucky ones find a weapon, it would be remarkable."
Lin Dong nodded slightly and said softly, "Don't worry too much about it. I've heard from the Elders that the Spirit ruin is not determined by talent."
"The Spirit ruin is an elusive entity, even more unpredictable than the Spirit Root."
"Some have it, some don't."
Zhong Lin laughed, "I'm afraid only Old Li here might have a chance."
Li Guanqi shrugged and said, "Stop flattering me to death; that thing doesn't look at talent, who knows if I have it."
Afterward, everyone stopped discussing and focused on eating, as they had to go to Heavenly Water Peak in the afternoon to learn about Spirit Spells.
However, Li Guanqi took this matter to heart, as this wasn't the first time he had heard about the Spirit ruin.
"Sword Spirit, is there something in my Spirit ruin?"
The Sword Spirit replied impatiently, "How would I know!"
"Uh… is there a big difference between having a weapon in the Spirit ruin and not?"
Li Guanqi thought the Sword Spirit would rebuke him, but instead, the Sword Spirit's voice was very serious and filled with complex emotions.
"There is a difference! And it's huge!"
"Almost all of those who truly stand at the pinnacle of the world have something in their Spirit ruin."
"Although it's not absolute, the impact is significant!"
In fact, the Sword Spirit didn't say everything; whether Li Guanqi possessed a Spirit ruin sword also determined whether he could truly control the swords within the Sword box.
If he didn't have it, then he would only be able to use the first sword in the Sword box for the rest of his life.
Soon, Li Guanqi put this matter out of his mind.
After all, he couldn't think that far ahead yet; he had just broken through to the twelfth level of Qi Refining, and it would take some time for his realm to stabilize.
The thirteenth level of Qi Refining was even more challenging.
He had even considered whether to break through to Foundation Establishment now, but the Sword Spirit sternly scolded him.
***
Heavenly Water Peak.
This time, the lecture was given by the Peak Master of Heavenly Water Peak, Shen Lian.
Shen Lian looked at Li Guanqi with increasingly strange eyes.
In her perception, Li Guanqi's aura was even stronger than some cultivators who were at the ninth level of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment.
This made her somewhat puzzled, but she didn't think too much about it.
"The art of Spirit Spells has origins from ancient times and was fully developed during the archaic era."
"Legend has it that there are three hundred Spirit Spells, the lower the number, the greater the power."
"The top thirty are even known as Forbidden Spells."
"However, due to various reasons, many Spirit Spells have been lost since the archaic and ancient times, with no one knowing how to use them."
At this point, someone asked a question.
"Uh… Elder Shen, what are the ancient and archaic eras?"
Shen Lian explained somewhat helplessly, "The ancient era is about ten thousand years ago, and the archaic is a hundred thousand years."
"The primordial era ranges from five hundred thousand to a million years, and anything before that is considered prehistoric."
"You should visit the library more often to read about the history of the Spirit Realm; you can't just focus on cultivation."
Then Shen Lian began to teach everyone the fastest way to use Spirit Spells.
Li Guanqi was very interested in this type of offensive technique.
So far, he had seen three kinds of Spirit Spells.
The first was the Snake Binding used by Qin Xian to trap those two possessing individuals.
There was also the Thunder Whip used by Shen Lian and the Spirit Spell used by Lu Kangnian to bind that disciple.
Using Spirit Spells requires developing special meridians within the body for the quickest use.
The names of the Spirit Spells are not for shouting out the moves but rather for channeling the breath, so one must call out the name and rank of the Spirit Spell.
After Shen Lian gently put away the human meridian chart in front of her, she said softly, "This is the meridian circulation method for the Thunder Whip, which allows those without thunder elemental spirit power to condense a thunder whip."
"The key is to feel the presence of thunder elemental spirit energy."
Suddenly, Li Guanqi whispered from below, "Spirit Spell! Two hundred eighty-two, Thunder Whip!"
Crack!
A purple thunder whip, over a meter long, instantly appeared in the palm of Li Guanqi's hand.
Shen Lian smiled and nodded in approval, "Not bad, such a monstrous talent."
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas