Early the next morning, Yu Sui'an woke up groggily in bed.
Discovering that yesterday's blanket was draped over her, her little face turned red.
Turning her head, she spotted a new set of clothes, which instantly filled her with ecstatic joy.
Right after that, she heard the sound of a longsword piercing the air from the courtyard.
Having changed into her new clothes, Yu Sui'an beamed with delight as she looked down at the pristine white dress.
Pushing the door open, she saw Li Guanqi practicing his swordsmanship with elusive, shifting movements.
Seeing that she had awakened, Li Guanqi couldn't help but smile. "Not bad. It looks very pretty and fits well. The cuffs on your previous clothes were getting too short."
After rolling her eyes at him, Yu Sui'an asked, "Little blind man, aren't you going to rest for a couple of days?"
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and replied softly, "Cultivation is like rowing a boat upstream; if you don't advance, you fall behind.
"If you want to achieve great things, you must persevere in cultivating every single day."
Yu Sui'an replied dismissively, "Can't you just do it earlier tomorrow?"
Li Guanqi ruffled her head and said, "Oh, you. If something ought to be done today, doing it tomorrow—no matter how early—is still a delay."
With that, he added, "I won't bother you anymore. Today I have to attend the Disciplinary Hall Master's lecture, and I also need to make a trip to Tianshui Peak."
Yu Sui'an was not the clingy type. She turned around and dashed toward the dining hall.
"Off to buy buns~!"
After taking a bath, Li Guanqi washed his black training robes and hung them out to dry.
Dressing in a spotless white sect robe, he walked out the door and headed straight for Tianjian Peak.
Qin Xian's lecture today was focused on matters regarding Foundation Establishment.
Walking out of the great hall afterward, Li Guanqi pondered, *At the Foundation Establishment realm, the primordial qi in the dantian actually turns to liquid.*
*One can also fast, abstaining from the mortal grains and worldly food, reducing the buildup of bodily impurities.*
*Lifespan extends to over two hundred years, and one can fly on a sword for short periods!!*
This lecture left Li Guanqi deeply shaken. No wonder everyone said that only upon reaching Foundation Establishment did one truly embark upon the path of immortal cultivation.
By this logic, the gap between having reached Foundation Establishment and being a Qi Refining cultivator was truly immense.
Even now, Li Guanqi wouldn't dare claim he could reliably kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was simply too difficult.
After Foundation Establishment, one could utilize far more arts and spiritual talismans.
Many dharma artifacts could only unleash their true power once one attained Foundation Establishment.
Just as he arrived at the dining hall, Ye Feng and the others came over to greet him.
Moreover, all of their cultivation levels had advanced by leaps and bounds.
It seemed these fellows had traded their points for quite a few useful items.
Ye Feng gave a sly wink and said, "Old Li, want to make a bet on who reaches Foundation Establishment first?"
Li Guanqi curled his lip. "It shouldn't be long before you break through to the tenth level, right?"
Ye Feng chuckled and didn't deny it. Although Li Guanqi dearly wanted to win some money off the boy, he truly didn't dare take the bet this time.
"Not betting."
"Why not? Aren't you already at the tenth level? Honestly, I feel like some peak tenth-level folks don't even have an aura as strong as yours."
Li Guanqi said helplessly, "Isn't it a good thing that I don't want you to lose money?"
Just then, Zhong Lin spoke up. "By the way... regarding the opening of the ruins after Foundation Establishment, what are your thoughts?"
Hearing this, Li Guanqi perked up as well. Ye Feng scoffed, "Just treat it as going through the motions. Don't take it to heart.
"Never mind our Great Xia Sword Sect—even across the entire Northern Region combined, it's considered fortunate if a hundred or eighty spirit ruins contain anything at all.
"In the end, having eight or ten lucky ones who obtain weapons is already an extraordinary feat."
Lin Dong also nodded slightly and said softly, "There's no need to dwell on it too much. I heard from an elder that this matter of spirit ruins doesn't depend on talent.
"Spirit ruins are ethereal and illusory, far more unfathomable than spiritual roots.
"If you have something, you have it; if you don't, you don't."
Zhong Lin chuckled. "Out of all of us here, probably only Old Li has a shot at it."
Li Guanqi shrugged. "Come on, don't butter me up like that. That thing doesn't depend on talent, so who knows if I'll have anything?"
After that, the group dropped the subject and focused on eating. In the afternoon, they still had to visit Tianshui Peak to learn about spirit incantations.
Li Guanqi, however, took the matter to heart. This was not the first time he had heard about spirit ruins.
*Sword spirit, is there anything inside my spirit ruins?*
The sword spirit replied impatiently, *How would I know!*
*Uh... is there really that big of a gap between having a weapon or something similar in your spirit ruins and having nothing?*
Li Guanqi had expected the sword spirit to snap at him, but to his surprise, the sword spirit spoke with a very complicated, solemn tone.
*There is a gap! A massive one!*
*Those who truly stand at the pinnacle of heaven and earth are almost entirely people with objects in their spirit ruins.*
*Though not absolute, its influence is immense!*
In truth, there was one sentence the sword spirit did not utter aloud: whether Li Guanqi possessed a spirit ruins sword would also determine if he could truly master the swords inside the sword casket.
If he did not, then for the rest of his life, he would only ever be able to wield the first sword within the casket.
Li Guanqi soon cast the matter to the back of his mind.
After all, he couldn't afford to think that far ahead just yet. Having only recently broken through to the twelfth level of Qi Refining, it would take him some time to stabilize his cultivation realm.
The thirteenth level of Qi Refining would be even more difficult.
He had even considered whether he should simply break through to Foundation Establishment right now, only to be harshly reprimanded by the sword spirit.
***
Tianshui Peak.
The one lecturing the disciples today was none other than the Peak Lord of Tianshui Peak, Shen Lan.
As Shen Lan looked at Li Guanqi before her, an increasingly strange look appeared in her eyes.
To her perception, Li Guanqi's current aura was actually far thicker and heavier than that of certain cultivators who had established their foundations at the ninth level of Qi Refining.
This puzzled her, but she didn't dwell on it for long.
"The Dao of spirit incantations originated in high antiquity, and was later carried forward and brought to its peak during remote antiquity.
"According to legend, there are three hundred spirit incantations in total. The lower the number, the greater the power.
"The top thirty spirit incantations are known as forbidden incantations.
"However, due to various reasons, after passing through remote antiquity and recent antiquity, quite a few spirit incantations have fallen into disuse, with no one left who knows how to cast them."
At this moment, someone raised a question.
"Uh... Elder Shen, what are recent antiquity and remote antiquity?"
Shen Lan explained with a touch of exasperation, "Recent antiquity refers to roughly ten thousand years ago, and remote antiquity to a hundred thousand years ago.
"High antiquity spans from five hundred thousand to a million years ago, while eternal antiquity is anything over a million years ago.
"When you have free time, visit the Scripture Pavilion more often to read the Human Spirit Realm Chronicle. How can you expect to get anywhere if you only know how to cultivate?"
Shen Lan then began teaching the disciples how to activate spirit incantations in the fastest manner.
Li Guanqi was exceedingly interested in this method of attack.
Up until now, he had witnessed three spirit incantations.
The first was the one Qin Xian had used to trap and execute the two possessors—Serpent Binding!
Then there was the Thunder Whip used by Shen Lan, as well as the spirit incantation Lu Kangnian had used to restrain that disciple.
To utilize a spirit incantation, one had to open specialized meridians within the body in order to cast it with maximum speed.
Moreover, reciting the name of a spirit incantation was not merely about shouting a technique's name; it served as a mechanism to guide and channel qi. For this reason, one had to voice both the incantation's name and its ranking.
With a wave of her hand, Shen Lan put away the diagram of human meridians before her and said softly, "This is the circulation pathway for Thunder Whip. It allows those who do not possess lightning spiritual power to condense a whip of lightning.
"The key lies in perceiving the presence of lightning spiritual energy."
Down below, Li Guanqi suddenly muttered under his breath, "Spirit incantation! Number two hundred and eighty-two, Thunder Whip!"
*Crackle!!*
A purple lightning whip measuring a full zhang instantly materialized in Li Guanqi's palm.
Shen Lan smiled and nodded. "Not bad. Such monstrous talent indeed."
Chapter 53