He watched Yun Mei leave the city center with her two female guards beside her, both of them in the same realm as Yun Mei.
Without wasting any time, Mu Chen headed east to return to the Spiritual Qi Vein gate of Baiyin City.
However, his steps came to a stop again when a group of cultivators descended from the sky into Baiyin City.
There were five of them, all dressed in white-silver robes. Mu Chen immediately recognized where they were from. The Tianyin Sect.
What were they doing here?
The moment they arrived in the city, everyone's attention immediately shifted toward the Tianyin Sect cultivators.
Because Baiyin City was close to the sect's territory, the entire city fell under the Tianyin Sect's protection and authority.
"Look! It's the Tianyin Sect."
"If only I could join them, I'd have no regrets for the rest of my life."
"Forget the sect, the male cultivators from the Tianyin Sect are handsome and powerful. Every woman's dream."
Everyone began talking about the Tianyin Sect cultivators, about their hopes, and about the sect's disciples. Mu Chen fell silent for a moment as he watched the people's reactions.
The Tianyin Sect was indeed one of the three saint-grade sects in the Wang Kingdom. However, that did not mean the Hongyan Sect and Qingyun Sect were inferior.
Even so, Mu Chen had never felt any attachment to the Tianyin Sect.
Instead... he carried bad memories of that sect, two moments that had nearly cost him his life.
"The Tianyin Sect Master has announced the opening of the annual registration for new disciples."
"Everyone will be treated equally. The minimum cultivation requirement is 1st Layer Qi Condensation. Applicants can go to the Outer Hall of the Tianyin Sect to receive a trial candidate token."
Hearing that the Tianyin Sect had opened registration filled many cultivators with excitement. They immediately began discussing their plans to sign up, whether alone or with friends.
Mu Chen heard the announcement, but he had no interest whatsoever.
Returning to the Tianyin Sect would probably only drag him into another conflict that could put his life in danger.
He ignored them and continued walking away from the city center until he arrived back at his room in the Spiritual Qi Vein of Baiyin City.
He only had three days left to stay in the Spiritual Qi Vein. Su Qingyue was still outside, focused on cultivating with the Primordial Origin Qi Seed.
The man sat atop the stone altar and summoned the Ancient God Cauldron. Not only that, Mu Chen took out five mortal-grade pills and tossed them all into the cauldron.
He did this solely to complete his Heavenly Refinement System mission, aiming for another Primordial Origin Qi Seed to help with his cultivation.
Within three days, Mu Chen had to make the most of that pure golden qi energy to break through as many realms as possible.
Since his cultivation foundation had already reached the 7th Layer of Qi Condensation, Mu Chen planned to use the pure golden qi energy to quickly break through to the 12th Layer Qi Condensation.
A golden qi light appeared at the tips of two of Mu Chen's fingers, then he directed that qi light forward into the golden cauldron.
The golden qi energy ignited the flames, causing the golden liquid inside the cauldron to boil as it refined the five mortal-grade pills.
He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself, emptying his mind and clearing his heart. He did not know how long it would take to refine the pills, but he would endure for as long as he possibly could.
The golden qi aura continued to envelop Mu Chen and the cauldron, its flow steady as it refined the pills inside.
Ten hours passed, during which Mu Chen had skipped meals, water, and sleep.
For some reason, the longer Mu Chen cultivated, the more his hunger and thirst began to fade. They no longer appeared as regularly as they once had before he started cultivating.
That helped Mu Chen avoid wasting precious time. His body was becoming more accustomed to consuming the qi energy flowing into him.
A burst of golden qi erupted as the five pills rose from inside the cauldron, releasing their own fluctuations of qi, powerful and aggressive.
Mu Chen opened his eyes and looked straight ahead, watching the refined pills radiate a dominant qi aura. He did not know whether the refinement had improved the pills' quality or not.
[Congratulations! Host has successfully completed Heavenly Refinement Mission Six]
[Reward: 2x Primordial Origin Qi Seeds || 1000 low-grade spirit stones]
[Seventh Mission of The Heavenly Refinement System: Refine 10 Monster Cores]
[Reward: 2x Primordial Origin Qi Seeds || 2000 low-grade spirit stones || 1x Spirit-Grade Sword]
The sixth mission was complete. Mu Chen extended his hand and received the five pills radiating powerful golden qi.
Not only that, two Primordial Origin Qi Seeds emerged from the cauldron, along with 1000 low-grade spirit stones stored inside a black pouch.
Monster Cores? What are those?
Forget the Monster Cores. I should use the time I have left to focus on intensive cultivation.
He stored the pills away and took out his three Primordial Origin Qi Seeds, along with 1500 low-grade spirit stones.
With that amount, Mu Chen felt certain that he would be able to break through quickly within the remaining two days.
There was still no sign of Su Qingyue returning.
If Mu Chen did not face any danger, he doubted Su Qingyue would interrupt her cultivation to come to him.
The 1500 low-grade spirit stones floated around him, while the three Primordial Origin Qi Seeds hovered above Mu Chen's head.
His hands formed a complex hand seal, activating the Heavenly Refinement Art, First Layer.
The spiritual qi energy from the spirit stones would pass through the refinement process of the cauldron in Mu Chen's dantian and transform into Primordial Origin Qi.
The seeds were different.
Because the qi energy stored inside them was already Primordial Origin Qi, all of that qi flowed directly into Mu Chen's dantian sea.
I don't know how long it'll take me to break through, but I'll keep going until the very last moment.
***
Two days passed.
Su Qingyue had already arrived in the Spiritual Qi Vein room.
She sat in a chair and looked ahead. Mu Chen was still seated atop the stone altar, absorbing the golden qi energy from the Primordial Origin Qi Seed.
"Using that seed just to help Qi Condensation break through a realm is not worth it."
"Even so, I don't want others to know about that seed. If possible, he could sell all of them to me, and I'd give him high-grade spirit stones in return."
A burst of qi spread throughout the entire room. Su Qingyue raised her hand and extended it forward, holding back the turbulent qi.
The golden qi aura radiating from Mu Chen's body looked powerful and dominant, far stronger than his previous breakthrough.
Su Qingyue guessed that Mu Chen had successfully broken through to a higher realm, perhaps the 10th or 11th Layer Qi Condensation.
Another explosion of aura erupted, startling Su Qingyue.
Her eyes glowed white as she saw that Mu Chen's cultivation foundation had increased far beyond her expectations.
Even with that golden qi energy, Mu Chen no longer needed to worry about the bottleneck that usually occurred at the 10th Layer Qi Condensation.
Mu Chen's bones and muscles were strengthened, his stamina restored, and his senses drastically heightened. Most importantly, his strength had risen dramatically.
Now, with the cultivation foundation of the 13th Layer Qi Condensation, combined with the amplified power of his techniques, Mu Chen could at least protect himself from threats at the Foundation Establishment realm.
Mu Chen's eyes opened and looked toward Su Qingyue, who was seated on the wooden chair, still watching him.
"I already told you... you'd break through to a higher level in less than a month," Su Qingyue said.
"This is thanks to the Primordial Origin Qi Seed."
He looked up and saw that the golden qi energy sealed inside the seed had not diminished. The seed had not been used up at all.
This was different from the 1500 low-grade spirit stones, which had already vanished after their spiritual qi had been exhausted.
"You're not cultivating?" Mu Chen asked.
Su Qingyue shook her head.
"I can't focus on cultivating. At the very least, with the golden qi energy inside this seed, I would need five seeds to break through to Mid Soul Transformation."
"Not only is the amount huge, but it would also take me a long time to fully absorb this qi energy."
That means... she needs my Primordial Origin Qi Seeds.
"You understand what I mean, right?"
"Yes," Mu Chen replied. "In exchange, I'll trade these Primordial Origin Qi Seeds for spirit stones above the low grade."
Su Qingyue smiled widely, waved her hand, and sent five black pouches floating in front of Mu Chen.
"One pouch contains 100 high-grade spirit stones. That should be enough for you to break through to Foundation Establishment."
Mu Chen directed his qi toward one of the pouches, checking the count. Everything was exactly as Su Qingyue had said.
"All right."
He sent his three Primordial Origin Qi Seeds flying toward Su Qingyue, and the woman caught them with a bright smile.
"So, are you planning to go into closed-door cultivation?" Mu Chen asked.
"I have no choice... it pains me to have to leave you."
"But it will take me quite a long time to break through if I stay by your side."
"My advice, Mu Chen, is that you should rejoin a sect. They can protect you and also improve your abilities," Su Qingyue replied.
Mu Chen fell silent for a moment, letting out a soft sigh and taking a deep breath. He had already been in Baiyin City for a week, going about his business and observing others.
There were very few wandering cultivators among them.
Mu Chen always felt as though people were looking at him with hostility, even though he had done nothing.
"Why do people seem to dislike wandering cultivators?"
"There are many reasons. But they are more worried that a wandering cultivator might be from a demonic sect."
"A demonic sect?"
"Cultivators of the demonic path. They never wear their sect robes because it would stand out too much. So they choose to dress like wandering cultivators."
"Not only that, wandering cultivators are always labeled as arrogant and prideful, as if they don't need a sect to grow stronger. That only makes people hate them even more."
Mu Chen did not know much about the social divide between sect cultivators and wandering cultivators. There was a deep gap filled with hatred and dislike between them.
"They may not attack you because my presence protects you. However, I'm worried that if you are left unprotected, powerful cultivators will attack and accuse you of being a demonic cultivator without any solid reason."
Like what the Hongyan Sect cultivators did when they attacked me in the ancient ruins.
"So, what's your advice?" Mu Chen asked.
Su Qingyue stood up and stared sharply at Mu Chen, "Stop being so idealistic and start thinking realistically. A sect is the only place that can protect you, Mu Chen!"