Chapter 173: Only Qi Cultivation Level 3?
An hour later, Chen An walked out of his room.
He tidied his slightly disheveled clothes, feeling inexplicably guilty as he glanced around.
Even though it was just some warm affection with his older sister, it somehow felt strange.
As for why his clothes were messy, that was to blame on Mu Sanniang always moving around so much.
The girl, perhaps ticklish, would squirm from time to time.
It made him feel restless too.
After all, he wasn’t a little kid!
If he didn’t know the girl’s personality, he would have almost thought Mu Sanniang was doing it intentionally.
Thinking this, Chen An shook his head, casting all those intimate thoughts away.
…
Three days later, early morning.
Inner Sect, Main Peak.
Chen An slowly woke up in his own cave mansion.
After cultivating, it was natural not to need sleep. His awakening was merely a return to normal from a meditative state.
The cushion beneath him emitted a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy, capable of speeding up cultivation to some extent.
This was considered one of the unique benefits of Inner Sect disciples.
People like Mu Sanniang could only live in ordinary houses.
His thoughts drifted, and remembering that it was the beginning of the month, Chen An got up and walked out of his cave mansion.
The beginning of the month was when the sect distributed cultivation resources. Most disciples who cultivated in seclusion would also choose this day to come out of seclusion.
However, some people found it troublesome and chose to accumulate resources for several months, or even years, before collecting them all at once.
Once one stepped onto the immortal path, their concept of time differed greatly from that of mortals.
As Chen An gradually understood this, he also felt some relief.
He was fortunate that he hadn’t truly followed Mu Sanniang’s suggestion to separate them into immortals and mortals.
Otherwise, if he were to enter seclusion one day, it might be for eight or ten years. That would have been too cruel for Mu Sanniang.
Arriving at the stone door, Chen An held his jade token and cast a quick spell.
With a resonating rumble, the stone door opened, revealing a large expanse of light from the outside.
He stepped out, and a gentle breeze blew, rustling the boy’s robe.
The spring wind was always refreshing and invigorating.
Chen An peeked out, identified the location of the Pill Hall, and then performed the Lightness Technique, the most commonly used by low-level cultivators – Divine Steps.
This was a move he used most frequently and was most skilled at, bar none.
It was purely practice.
After all, he visited Sanniang in the Outer Sect every few days, so it was impossible not to become skilled.
Along the way, the scenery of the various peaks alternated, with vast clouds swirling between them, creating a uniquely beautiful vista.
Chen An casually admired the scenery while continuing his pace.
He had not yet reached the stage of sword control, otherwise, it wouldn’t be so troublesome, and he wouldn’t need to rely on his legs to walk.
The Pill Hall was located on Pill Peak in the Inner Sect. Every beginning of the month, Pill Peak became much livelier, with figures bustling everywhere.
Some flew through the air, while others, like Chen An, arrived on foot.
As he neared his destination, Chen An glanced upwards.
He saw colorful streaks of light flashing by one after another, accompanied by faint sounds of the air being broken.
There were those flying with swords, those floating, and those riding various flying magic treasures and spirit beasts.
Chen An felt a pang of envy, thinking that when his cultivation improved, he would get one too.
Then, he could take Sanniang to tour mountains and rivers, wouldn’t that be delightful?
A year of cultivation in the mountains had made the boy’s sense of not being an indigenous person increasingly faint.
In other words, his immersion was too strong; he had completely identified with his own role.
Whether this was good or bad, perhaps only heaven knew.
…
Upon arriving at the Pill Hall, as soon as the boy’s figure appeared, someone immediately greeted him.
Chen An responded to everyone, smiling warmly.
His popularity had always been high. This might be partly due to his status as Dao Xuan Zhenren’s personal disciple, but it was also inseparable from his conduct.
He was already young, with great potential, and coupled with his handsome appearance, approachable and polite demeanor, and so on, he had accumulated so many positive attributes that it was difficult for anyone to dislike him.
Even if he were to sneak a peek at some Senior Sisters’ skirts, they would likely just giggle and call him cute.
This wasn’t just talk; Chen An remembered an incident where, after visiting Mu Sanniang late one night, he accidentally wandered into a spirit spring where several Senior Sisters were bathing because he was unfamiliar with the path. Not only were they not angry, but one of them even pulled him in.
She said something like, “A bath makes you healthier.”
Chen An was so embarrassed his face turned red and his heart pounded. He quickly apologized and then fled as if he had escaped.
This incident even became a popular anecdote in the Inner Sect at the time.
For instance, now, a woman in a green dress was smiling and teasing Chen An, “Junior Brother Chen, are you going to sneak a peek at Senior Sister bathing tonight again?”
Chen An could only blush and explain, “Who was sneaking a peek? I already said it was an accident, an accidental intrusion…”
“Who knew someone would be bathing in the middle of the night!”
As soon as he finished speaking, it triggered a burst of laughter from everyone.
Chen An’s eyelids twitched. He put on a brave face and walked into the Pill Hall.
Fortunately, they all found him cute and simply teased him a bit. They didn’t dwell on it and returned to their own tasks.
The Pill Hall had two floors. The first floor was for Inner Sect disciples to trade and sell pills, and it was also where cultivation resources were distributed.
The second floor contained some rentable alchemy rooms.
Chen An wasn’t very interested in alchemy at the moment and had never been to the second floor.
He went through the usual procedure and soon received a small bottle.
Inside the bottle lay a milky white pill.
This pill was called a Qi Refining Pill, and its purpose was simple: to assist Qi Refining cultivators in their cultivation.
The amount of these cultivation resources was determined by one’s own cultivation level.
Chen An had not lied to Mu Sanniang. After a year, he was now at Qi Cultivation Level 3, just one step away from the mid-Qi Refining stage.
Therefore, the resource he could receive was this small Qi Refining Pill.
After obtaining what he wanted, Chen An no longer delayed and turned to leave.
He still had to go to the Outer Sect.
Inside the Pill Hall, as the boy departed, the administrator responsible for distributing pills lowered his head and looked at the information the boy had just left on the table.
His expression froze, and then he murmured, “Only Qi Cultivation Level 3?”
Someone nearby heard his mumbling and frowned, instinctively replying, “Elder Wang, what do you mean by ‘only Qi Cultivation Level 3’? Junior Brother Chen has only been in the sect for a year. To have this progress is already incredibly amazing!”
Elder Wang shook his head and offered no explanation.
Chen An’s cultivation speed, when compared to ordinary cultivators, was definitely among the top tier.
But in his many years as an administrator, he had seen countless geniuses in the sect, many of whom were much faster than Chen An.
However, none of them, upon entering the sect, had caused several sect elders to emerge from seclusion repeatedly, shaking the entire sect’s high-level leadership.
Elder Wang narrowed his eyes.
It was truly strange…
…
Meanwhile, in an unremarkable house in the Outer Sect.
Mu Sanniang slowly opened her eyes.
On her face, which usually showed little expression, a hint of excitement appeared.
The girl clenched her fists secretly.
She had finally lived up to her younger brother’s expectations and successfully entered the Qi Refining stage…
Thinking this, she turned her head and glanced at the empty small bottle beside her.
Then, the girl lightly jumped off the bed, picked up the empty bottle, and walked to a cabinet.
She opened the cabinet door, revealing rows of neatly arranged empty bottles.
Looking at these empty bottles, Mu Sanniang’s eyes suddenly welled up.
Every time her younger brother brought her pills, she would silently collect them after using them.
At first, she didn’t think much of it, but now that she had finally entered the Qi Refining stage, looking back, she realized that this small cabinet was almost filled with empty bottles.
She felt a slight sting in her nose, and her eyes were inexplicably misty.
After a moment, Mu Sanniang wiped her face, quickly composed herself, and walked out of the room.
She was going to register at the office.
Only after being registered could she receive the corresponding disciple benefits.
