Over the past few days, Lin Xuan had been fully operating the spirit-gathering array and cultivating in seclusion. Finally, in one concerted effort, he broke through to the seventh layer of the Spirit Opening Realm, reaching the late stage of that realm. A hint of satisfaction gleamed in Lin Xuan's eyes.
Somewhat regrettably, the consumption for this cultivation session had once again exceeded his expectations. Having plundered the savings of nearly a hundred Spirit Opening Realm martial artists, amounting to roughly twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones, he had exhausted them all just to break through to the early seventh layer of the Spirit Opening Realm—a little over two layers, less than three. To put it in perspective, twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones were more than the accumulated wealth of many early-to-mid Spirit Yuan Realm martial artists. For another martial artist with decent talent and potential, that amount would suffice to advance from the first layer of the Spirit Opening Realm to the first layer of the Spirit Yuan Realm. Yet for him, it only covered two layers. The vast disparity was clear.
Fortunately, it wasn't without gains. His talent and potential were exceptional, surpassing the level of the Red Sun Domain. Although breaking through each layer required immense cultivation resources, every breakthrough brought a substantial boost in strength. Now, at just the seventh layer of the Spirit Opening Realm, he was confident he could defeat an ordinary mid-stage Spirit Yuan Realm martial artist. Additionally, the *Golden Scale Elephant Art* had also progressed. After his cultivation talent had risen to the Crystal Grade and his strength talent to the Mystic Grade, Lin Xuan realized that the *Golden Scale Elephant Art* no longer had any bottlenecks. He smoothly comprehended it to the Minor Achievement level. Of course, this was just comprehension; his physical body had yet to reach the Minor Achievement stage, requiring a large accumulation of spirit stones. Still, even without Minor Achievement, he had made significant strides over these days, gaining another million jin of strength, reaching a total of four million jin—the power of four elephants. At the same time, the bottleneck to the Spirit Yuan Realm had vanished.
"As I thought, it's all about talent," Lin Xuan exhaled deeply, murmuring to himself with a flash of understanding in his eyes. Wang Xufeng had been stuck at the peak of the Spirit Opening Realm for decades, unable to break through, precisely because his talent was insufficient to bring the *Golden Scale Elephant Art* to Minor Achievement. Now that his own talent and potential had reached that level, it was no longer an issue.
Lin Xuan then calmed his mind, sweeping his gaze over the attribute panel floating before him, from top to bottom. "Hmm? Energy points have reached ten million?" His eyes landed on the bottom of the panel, and he was startled. He hadn't expected to accumulate so many energy points in just a few days. "It must be that everything that happened in the puppet secret realm has spread," he reasoned after a moment, nodding slightly. "Ten million energy points should be enough for me to replicate another big wave during the upcoming Red Sun Domain's Eight Major Powers Competition."
With that, he dismissed the attribute panel and rose to leave the cultivation chamber. Since his available cultivation resources were depleted, it was time to earn another batch. There were still a few days until the competition, and he couldn't afford to waste them—he needed to boost his strength as much as possible.
Leaving the cultivation chamber, Lin Xuan summoned the steward and instructed, "Go fetch Liu Qianyu and tell him I need to see him." As the top true disciple of Flowing Cloud Sect, he theoretically had authority over all disciples, so summoning Liu Qianyu was no issue. "Yes, young master!" the steward replied before quickly departing without asking questions—he had no right to pry into Lin Xuan's affairs.
After washing up, Lin Xuan went to the main hall, had someone brew spirit tea and arrange spirit fruits, and waited. Having looted Duan Feichen, the second true disciple of Wind Flame Valley and a top genius second only to the Four Young Masters in the Red Sun Domain, he was well-stocked with these precious items. Before long, the steward returned with Liu Qianyu.
"Brother Lin, you've grown much stronger in just a few days!" Liu Qianyu remarked, unable to sense even a trace of Lin Xuan's aura, as if he didn't exist. He had only felt this from mid-stage Spirit Yuan Realm sect elites like his father and the grand elder, yet now it emanated from Lin Xuan. Shaken and astonished, he dared not imagine how powerful Lin Xuan had become. "Brother Liu, have a seat," Lin Xuan gestured. Liu Qianyu didn't stand on ceremony, taking the left seat and sipping a cup of spirit tea before asking, "I heard you needed to see me. What's the matter?"
Instead of answering directly, Lin Xuan turned to another question: "Brother Liu, how is the supply of pills within Flowing Cloud Sect?" "The pill hall can still provide for ordinary inner and outer disciples, no problem. But for higher-ups like us true disciples and inner sect elders at the Spirit Yuan Realm, the pill hall falls short. Usually, we have to buy from the Alchemist Guild branch in nearby Wind Cloud City," Liu Qianyu replied after a moment's thought, looking puzzled. "Why the sudden interest?"
"This ties into the favor I need from you," Lin Xuan said with a hint of a smile. "Oh? How so?" Liu Qianyu grew intrigued. Lin Xuan continued explaining. Soon, Liu Qianyu gasped, staring at Lin Xuan in shock and disbelief: "Brother Lin, are you serious?" "Have I ever done anything without confidence?" Lin Xuan replied calmly. Liu Qianyu's expression turned grave, and he gritted his teeth: "In that case, I'll join you in this wild gamble!" "Then I'll leave this matter to you, Brother Liu," Lin Xuan nodded. "Good! Please wait a moment!" Liu Qianyu cupped his hands before swiftly leaving the hall.
Watching his retreating figure, Lin Xuan nodded slightly. "With Liu Qianyu handling this, it should be no problem." This was part of Lin Xuan's plan to make a big profit within Flowing Cloud Sect in these final days. The method was alchemy. After learning from Liu Qianyu about the insufficient pill supply for the sect's higher-ups, Lin Xuan had made this decision. His alchemy talent had reached the Mystic Grade, placing him among the top in the entire Red Sun Domain—fewer than three could match him. Refining sixth- and seventh-grade pills for the Spirit Opening and Spirit Yuan Realms was not difficult. However, his spirit stones were nearly depleted, so he had brought Liu Qianyu in. Liu Qianyu would negotiate for the sect to provide materials, Lin Xuan would handle the refining, and the finished pills would be sold within the sect. The profits would be split: thirty percent to the sect, ten percent to Liu Qianyu, and sixty percent to Lin Xuan. This way, all three parties benefited—an ideal arrangement. Moreover, Liu Qianyu, as the former top true disciple of Flowing Cloud Sect and the only son of Sect Leader Liu Wuyan, was destined to become either the next sect leader or grand elder. With Lin Xuan as the sect's current top genius, their combined weight was enough to quell any issues.