“Body Cultivation is indeed flawed, but at the end of the day, our prowess is still comparable to Qi Cultivators.” Said Xia Lihua.

Ji Xian shook his head, “I’m not denying that. But haven't you noticed, that compared to Qi Cultivation, Body Cultivation is less comprehensive?”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Qi Cultivation has existed for so long at this point that no one can even remember who and when it was created. Era after era, it has been polished and improved to the point that some people consider it a perfect system."

"To absorb Qi and form a Dantian, then convert Qi to Essence to Crystalize the Dantian. From there, you constantly break and rebuild, refining and consolidating before finally forming a golden core."

"This is merely the process to go from Qi to Holy and although it sounds simple, it's exceedingly intricate.”

Xia Lihua nodded with a look of understanding, “Indeed, compared to Body Cultivation where one merely needs to focus on strengthening their Internal World. It seems much more complete.”

Ji Xian sighed and said, “It can’t be helped, Body Cultivation is still fairly new."

He stood in front of her running his hand through her silky black hair, “I've said it before, your biggest problem is the rate at which you can produce Astral Essence. Even in the higher realms, this will continue to be a problem. Improving your physique is one way to allow you to manage your Astral Essence but it's not like Qi Cultivators can't do the same. Any cultivator in their right mind would seek to improve their body."

Xia Lihua immediately thought of Di Shi of the Nether race. He was able to go head-to-head with her in close combat. Although she's unsure if that was due to the black armor he had equipped, the fact remains that their strength was almost evenly matched. She can't help but wonder if the two of them were in the same Cultivation realm with no interference from the Universal Will, and with the same level of Divine Arts and cultivation method, who would win?

She contemplated but quickly shook her head. Her eyes flashed with confidence.

Without a doubt, she would win.

“And you can fix this problem?" She asked.

“I may have an idea.” Ji Xian smiled mysteriously

“But we’ll talk about this later."

Ji Xian turned his focus onto the book in his hand. It was black in color, its appearance completely ordinary and it was as thick as a grown man's arm. The word [Han] was handwritten on the cover.

The moment he tried to open the book, a complex, azure-colored circular formation appeared and prevented him from doing so.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Xia Lihua watched as Ji Xian experimented with various ways to remove the formation.

An hour later, his movement stopped and she noticed the light in his eyes suddenly dimmed. He looked dazed and unresponsive. After a couple of minutes, life returned to his eyes and his expression was back to normal.

She saw him cast a large rune of similar color unto the formation. Just looking at this single rune made her dizzy.

The rune landed on the formation of the book and split into smaller runes that joined with the word [Han] on the cover. It rearranges itself until a new word is formed. On the cover, it now reads [Lan]. The second this word appear a sound came from the book and the formation dissipated into countless azure-colored particles.

“You removed it?”

Ji Xian calmly nodded his head. “This Empress Han Lan was without a doubt a genius at formations. This is already above the level of the Lower World.”

He flipped the book to the first page and began reading.

Ten minutes later.

“Well?” Asked Xia Lihua. She was also curious about its content.

“So far, just detailed information on random things like herbs, places that the Empress visited, weapons, etc. I’ll need some time to go through this entire book."

“That information is useful to us but you spent a billion Essence Spirit Stones just for that?”

“Just pocket change, remember?”

The two chatted for a while. Ji Xian gave her some pills and guided her about different ways she can cultivate her Internal World. Xia Lihua's eyes lit up from his words. Eager to cultivate, she immediately set up a barrier around her.

Ji Xian smiled upon seeing this and returned to his reading.

Shortly after, Guo Xinyi returned. The moment she opened the door, she saw Ji Xian sitting in a chair, lazily reading a book. Her heart skipped a beat. Bing Yi had informed her of everything that happened at the Solitude Auction House. She was aware that Xia Lihua had attained a book written by Empress Han Lan.

When she saw Ji Xian reading a book, she thought it was that particular book by the Empress, but upon closer look, it looked completely different from how Bing Yi described it.

Guo Xinyi noticed an erected barrier on the side of the room. She knew it was Xia Lihua cultivating. Narrowing her eyes, she was surprised that her gaze couldn't penetrate it.

Looking back and forth between the two of them, she can't help but feel like something was off.

She quietly passed by Ji Xian and sat on the other bed.

“What is your name?” Asked Guo Xinyi. She suddenly realized she still don’t know the name of this servant.

Ji Xian slowly put down the book and glanced at Guo Xinyi. His mask covered half his face and his messy long hair fell over his eyes. His appearance could hardly be seen.

“Ji Xian.”

“The All Desolate Competition will begin in a couple of days. What are your plans till then?”

Ji Xian shook his head, “That is for my Lady to decide.”

Guo Xinyi said nothing more. She waved her hand creating a barrier around her. She wanted to ask if she can see the book written by the Empress, but it didn’t seem like an appropriate time so she can only put it off till later.

The room became silent.

Ji Xian didn't go back to reading, instead, his eyes shined with a clear subtle light as he ignored the barrier around Guo Xinyi and watched her cultivate. From the speed at which her Essence flowed to the paths it traveled through her meridians, he can see it all. The True Essence she was absorbing from the World was slowly being converted to her own while being infused with a special Yin quality.

He watched her for several hours before going back to his reading.

In the next couple of days, more and more Sects arrived, causing the city to become crowded. Ji Xian and Xia Lihua remained at the inn and didn’t leave. Xia Lihua had gained inspiration from Ji Xian and was focused on her cultivation and Ji Xian never got up from his chair, his eyes still glued to the book. The information it contained allowed him to increase his knowledge of all kinds of subjects.

Guo Xinyi didn’t bother the two of them and did her own thing with her disciples.

Suddenly, Ji Xian heard shouts coming from outside.

“The Grand Sword Sect has arrived!

“Look! The Arcane Mountain has come as well!”