Gift of the Great Dao, Breaking the Thirteenth!

Yet the sword spirit offered no explanation, giving only a single remark. "Whether the spirit ruins possess an artifact soul is decreed by fate. "You had best break through to the thirteenth layer first." Li Guanqi shrugged. Without pressing further, he activated the Spirit Ascension Platform. As the formation beneath his feet hummed to life, a thin mist soon drifted through the secret chamber. "This Black-grade Spirit Ascension Platform is truly extraordinary. The spiritual qi is already on the verge of liquefying into mist." Over the days that followed, Li Guanqi closed his ears to everything outside, pouring virtually every ounce of his energy into cultivation. Seven days later. Li Guanqi's face remained utterly serene, yet the dantian within his body was churning like a stormy sea. Dense, concentrated yuan qi flooded his entire dantian qi sea. As his internal cultivation art circulated at blistering speed, a sudden explosion detonated within his spiritual terrace! *Dong!* The surging yuan qi expanded with wild abandon! Li Guanqi's dantian swelled in an instant, ballooning to twice its previous size! Such a qi sea was at least three to four times larger than that of a disciple with a heavenly spiritual root. The yuan qi within this vast expanse was concentrated beyond measure. A profound, wondrous aura of the Great Dao began surging toward Li Guanqi's body. He could feel the absolute purity of that power when the sword spirit's voice rang in his mind: "Absorb it! Take in as much as you can!" Li Guanqi dared not delay. Circulating his cultivation technique, he drew that mysterious aura into himself, transforming it into stream after stream of white mist. Soon, the entire Great Xia Sword Sect noticed an anomaly. Above the Spirit Ascension Platform on Tianzhu Peak, a seven-colored haze gathered, swirling without dispersing—and directly beneath it lay Li Guanqi's secluded chamber. "*Burp*... I... I really can't take in any more!" Even as the sword spirit absorbed the gift of the Great Dao from Li Guanqi's body, it urged him onward. And so Li Guanqi took in energy while having it drawn out of him. That iridescent haze lingered for an entire incense stick of time before finally thinning and drifting away. Li Guanqi lay flat on the floor with a round, bulging belly, muttering weakly, "I can't move. I'm stuffed to bursting... "You... take it yourself..." Though his words were harmless enough, a faint blush touched the sword spirit's face. Turning around, it slipped back into the sword casket to begin drawing out the aura of the Great Dao lingering inside him. This mist-like substance was exceptionally wondrous. While it did not directly increase Li Guanqi's total reserves of yuan qi, it helped him stabilize his realm. In the span of a single incense stick of time, Li Guanqi had thoroughly consolidated the thirteenth layer of Qi Refinement. At this moment, he felt as though a single punch from his fist carried over two thousand jin of force. Such raw strength was enough to crush most cultivators who had just stepped into Foundation Establishment. A moment later, his round belly deflated at a visible pace. "Tsk, you absorb it fast." This time, however, the sword spirit did not answer, seemingly sinking into a deep slumber. Li Guanqi stretched his limbs, only then realizing his body was caked in a layer of grime resembling foul-smelling mud. He hurried to push open the heavy door of the quiet chamber. "Uh..." The moment he stepped outside, he found more than a dozen sect elders waiting in the courtyard. "Sect Master... Elders, what is this...?" Lu Kangnian reached out to inspect his body, and his eyes instantly widened! His gaze brimmed with utter disbelief as he stammered, "Th-this... you... you haven't established your foundation yet?!" Li Guanqi scratched his head. "Replying to the Sect Master, indeed I haven't." Lu Kangnian drew several deep breaths, completely shaken by Li Guanqi's colossal qi sea. "Good lad! Is this the dantian qi sea of a saint-grade spiritual root? "In all my years of cultivation, I have never seen a qi sea so immense!" Lan He curled her lips. "Sect Master, aren't you exaggerating a bit? "A disciple at the tenth layer of Qi Refinement—no matter how large his qi sea is, how big could it possibly be?" Li Guanqi had no desire to stand there being examined like a specimen. "Seniors, could you let me go take a bath first? I'm starting to smell like a rotten fish in a pickle jar." Lan He smiled faintly at his words. With a wave of her hand, a soft, water-like shroud of blue yuan power enveloped him. In an instant, all the filth was swept away. Li Guanqi cupped his hands with a grin. "Thank you, Elder Lan." Li Nanting was long accustomed to the bizarre occurrences surrounding the boy. As for why Li Guanqi could summon a gift of the Great Dao while still at the tenth layer of Qi Refinement, the gathered elders maintained an unspoken agreement not to pry. Before departing, however, Lu Kangnian spoke with a solemn expression: "Before long, the genius disciples of the other peaks will also be breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm one after another. "When the time comes, Li Nanting will lead the group to the spirit-opening site. How much our sect can secure this year will depend on you disciples." With that, the crowd dispersed. Li Nanting smiled, patting Li Guanqi on the shoulder. "Well done, boy. To think you actually summoned a gift of the Great Dao." Having said his piece, the old man followed Lu Kangnian away. Glad for the peace and quiet, Li Guanqi headed straight for the Sword Tower. The formidable power of the thirteenth layer of Qi Refinement had not only expanded his dantian qi sea, but had also greatly widened his spiritual terrace and sea of consciousness. His abundant divine sense could now effortlessly blanket a radius of fifty zhang. Upon reaching the Sword Tower, he stepped straight onto the sixth floor. Without relying on his divine sense, Li Guanqi flicked his wrist, unleashing six strikes as swift as the wind! Soon, a resonant toll rang out from the ancient bell atop the Sword Tower! *Clang!* Disciples across every peak looked up toward Tianzhu Peak, many muttering in astonishment, "Someone cleared the twelfth floor of the Sword Tower!" "Could it be a senior brother who broke through to the middle Foundation Establishment realm challenging the tower?" "Let's go take a look." More and more people gathered around the Tianzhu Peak Sword Tower. Inside, however, Li Guanqi was panting like an ox, surrounded by twelve pitch-black puppets lying motionless on the floor. He looked up at the stairs leading higher, took a deep breath, and slowly rose to his feet! The next floor held Foundation Establishment puppets; he wanted to see just how high his current strength could take him. *Tap, tap!* The thirteenth floor of the Sword Tower. The brightly lit inner chamber spanned a hundred zhang across. Upon the wide dueling platform sat a single puppet of gleaming silver, cross-legged on the stone floor. Li Guanqi drew his sword, took a steadying breath, and stepped onto the dueling stage. *Boom!* An invisible wave of pressure erupted instantly! Intricate spirit patterns began surfacing across the silver puppet's frame. *Clatter!* The puppet drew the longsword from its waist and came to a halt five zhang from Li Guanqi. Seeing more and more disciples gathering outside, the elder guarding the Sword Pavilion simply waved his hand, projecting the scene from the thirteenth floor into the air above. *Dong!* In the blink of an eye, the bluestone beneath Li Guanqi and the puppet shattered, and two silhouettes collided at blistering speed! Sword light crossed in flashes, the clatter of steel echoing incessantly across the platform. The two figures shifted positions continuously. Li Guanqi's blade was swift and potent, even suppressing the puppet by a noticeable margin in terms of raw power! Finding his opening, Li Guanqi lunged forward. With a subtle flick of his wrist, his sword plunged straight into the silver-armored puppet's throat! *Clang, clang!* The silver-armored figure slowly sheathed its sword, stepped back, and sat down once more. The thirteenth floor of the Sword Tower—conquered! Next came the fourteenth floor! Then the fifteenth! In the end, Li Guanqi's advance halted at the fifteenth floor. Yet throughout the battles, he had absorbed many of the puppets' techniques and strengths. His mastery over his own power rose to an entirely new level, and he attained the Great Circle in the sword art of the Azure Lotus Heavenly Gang Sword. Of course, the sword art had already been heavily refined and altered by the sword spirit. Covered in wounds, Li Guanqi walked slowly out of the Sword Tower. The moment he emerged, he found the grounds outside Tianzhu Peak packed with sect disciples. Finally, a senior brother swallowed hard and stammered, "H-he... he hasn't even established his foundation yet!"