However, the Sword Spirit did not offer any explanation, merely uttering a single sentence.
"Spirit Ruin with or without a weapon soul, it is the will of heaven."
"You should focus on breaking through the thirteenth layer first."
Li Guanqi shrugged his shoulders, not pressing for more information, and activated the Ascension Platform.
As the formation at his feet hummed, a thin mist quickly filled the secret chamber.
"This Profound Grade Ascension Platform is truly extraordinary; the spiritual energy is already showing signs of condensation."
For the following period, Li Guanqi immersed himself in cultivation, oblivious to the outside world, dedicating all his energy to his practice.
***
Seven days later.
Li Guanqi's face was serene, but his pubic region was a tumultuous sea.
Rich primordial energy filled his entire sea of qi, rapidly circulating with the internal cultivation technique.
Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted within Li Guanqi's spiritual platform!
Boom!
The expanding primordial energy surged wildly!
Li Guanqi's pubic region instantly expanded, now twice the size of before!
Such a sea of qi was at least three to four times larger than that of a disciple with a Heavenly Spirit Root.
The energy within the vast sea of qi in his pubic region was so dense it could hardly be more concentrated.
A mysterious aura of the great Dao was about to flood into Li Guanqi's body.
Li Guanqi could feel the purity of that power, as the Sword Spirit's voice echoed in his mind.
"Inhale! Absorb as much as you can!"
Li Guanqi did not dare to delay, as the mysterious energy transformed into streams of white vapor and was absorbed into his body with the operation of his cultivation technique.
Soon, the entire Great Xia Sword Sect noticed something unusual.
Above the Ascension Platform of Heavenly Pillar Peak, a seven-colored mist lingered, and below it was Li Guanqi's meditation chamber.
"Burp~ I… I really can't take in any more!!"
The Sword Spirit, while absorbing the Dao's gift within Li Guanqi's body, urged him to continue.
And so, Li Guanqi absorbed while being absorbed.
The misty energy persisted for the duration of a stick of incense before slowly dissipating.
Li Guanqi lay on the ground, round-bellied and powerless, saying, "I can't move, I'm stuffed to death…"
"You… you do it yourself…"
Although the words were simple, the Sword Spirit's face turned slightly red.
It turned and entered the Sword Box to begin absorbing the great Dao energy within Li Guanqi's body.
This energy, akin to spiritual energy, was very mysterious; it could not directly increase Li Guanqi's total amount of primordial energy.
But it could help him stabilize his realm. In just the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Li Guanqi had completely solidified his Qi Refining thirteenth layer realm.
At this moment, he felt that a single punch of his weighed over two thousand pounds.
Such power was enough to crush most cultivators who had just reached Foundation Establishment.
Moments later, his round belly quickly vanished at a visible rate.
"Tsck, that was absorbed quickly."
However, this time the Sword Spirit did not respond to him, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep.
After stretching his limbs, Li Guanqi then realized his body was covered in a layer of mud-like filth, emitting a foul odor.
Li Guanqi hurriedly pushed open the door of the meditation chamber.
"Uh…"
As soon as he stepped out, Li Guanqi found several Sect Elders standing outside.
"Sect Master… what is this about…"
Lu Kangnian reached out to examine his body, and his eyes suddenly widened in disbelief, exclaiming, "This… this… you!! You haven't established your Foundation yet??"
Li Guanqi scratched his head and said, "Replying to the Sect Master, indeed, I haven't established my Foundation yet."
Lu Kangnian took several deep breaths, completely stunned by the vast sea of qi within Li Guanqi.
"Good lad, is this the sea of qi of a Saint-Grade Spirit Root?"
"In all my years of cultivation, I've never seen such a vast sea of qi!"
Lan He pursed her lips and said, "Sect Master, aren't you exaggerating a bit?"
"How big can the sea of qi of a disciple at the tenth level of Qi Refining be?"
Li Guanqi did not wish to be studied by them and spoke up, "Seniors, may I go take a bath? I'm almost like a stinky fish in a jar of salted vegetables."
At Lan He's words, a smile flickered across her face, and with a wave of her hand, a gentle blue primordial force enveloped him.
In an instant, all the filth on his body was cleansed away, and Li Guanqi bowed with a smile, "Thank you, Elder Lan."
Li Nanting had grown accustomed to the extraordinary events surrounding him.
As for why Li Guanqi could attract the gifts of heaven at the tenth level of Qi Refining, everyone tacitly chose not to inquire further.
However, before leaving, Lu Kangnian spoke with a solemn expression, "It won't be long before the genius disciples from the other peaks will also break through to Foundation Establishment."
"When the time comes, let Li Nanting lead the team to the Spirit Opening site. How much we can contend for this year depends on you, our Sect's disciples."
Afterwards, everyone dispersed, and Li Nanting patted him on the shoulder with a smile, saying, "Well done, you've actually attracted the gifts of heaven."
After speaking, the Old Man followed Lu Kangnian and left.
Li Guanqi was happy for the peace and headed straight for the Sword Tower.
The formidable power of the Qi Refining thirteenth layer not only expanded his sea of qi but also his spiritual platform and sea of consciousness.
His abundant Divine Sense could easily cover a radius of fifty meters.
Upon reaching the Sword Tower, he directly ascended to the sixth floor.
Without using his Divine Sense, Li Guanqi's wrist flicked, and he swiftly slashed out six swords!
Soon, a loud bell rang from the ancient bell atop the Sword Tower!
Dong!!
All the disciples from various peaks looked up towards the direction of Heavenly Pillar Peak, and many said in a deep voice, "Someone has passed the twelfth layer of the Sword Tower!"
"Could it be that a Senior Brother has broken through the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment and is challenging the Sword Tower?"
"Let's go and see."
More and more people gathered around the Sword Tower at Heavenly Pillar Peak.
However, at that moment, Li Guanqi was panting heavily, with twelve pitch-black puppets lying defeated beside him.
Li Guanqi looked up at the stairs above, took a deep breath, and slowly got up!
One more level would be the Foundation Establishment puppets; he wanted to test how many levels he could reach with his current strength.
Step by step!
The thirteenth level of the Sword Tower.
The brightly lit inner chamber was hundreds of meters in size, and on the spacious dueling platform, there was only a silver puppet seated on the ground.
Li Guanqi drew his sword and stood tall, taking a deep breath as he slowly stepped onto the dueling platform.
Boom!!
An invisible pressure burst forth instantly!
Complicated spiritual runes began to emerge on the puppet's body.
Clang!
The puppet drew its sword from its waist and stood five meters opposite Li Guanqi.
The Elder guarding the Sword Pavilion, seeing more and more disciples gathering around the Sword Tower, simply waved his hand, projecting the situation of the thirteenth level for all to see.
Thud!
In an instant, everyone saw the stone slabs beneath Li Guanqi and the puppet shatter, their figures colliding swiftly!
Sword Light intertwined, and the sound of clashing metal continuously echoed on the platform.
The two figures constantly shifted, Li Guanqi's swordplay was swift and powerful, even managing to overpower the puppet in terms of strength!
Soon, Li Guanqi seized the opportunity, his figure lunging forward, his sword trembling slightly as it pierced into the throat of the silver-armored puppet!
Clang!
The silver armor slowly sheathed its sword and sat back down.
The thirteenth level of the Sword Tower, broken!
Then came the fourteenth level! The fifteenth level!
Ultimately, Li Guanqi stopped at the fifteenth level of the Sword Tower, and during the battle, he also learned many strengths from the puppets.
His control over his own power climbed to a new level, and he also reached Great Perfection in the understanding of the Green Lotus Heavenly Gang Sword Technique.
However, by this time, the Sword Spirit had already made many modifications to the sword technique.
Li Guanqi, covered in wounds, slowly walked out of the Sword Tower.
As soon as he came out, he found that the outer area of Heavenly Pillar Peak was filled with Sect disciples.
Finally, a fellow Sect Brother swallowed hard and said, "He… he hasn't established his Foundation yet!!!"
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas