Li Sheng, still deep in sleep, was abruptly awakened by a series of notifications.

"Ding, spiritual pulse upgrade complete."

"Ding, alchemy room upgrade complete."

"Ding, treasure vault upgrade complete."

"Ding, mountain protection array upgrade complete."

"Successfully upgraded?" Li Sheng rubbed his eyes and activated the sect panel.

Host: Li Sheng

Title: Sect Master of Qingling Sect

Sect: Qingling Sect+ (low tier, upgraded to three-star sect, condition: refining level)

Sect Points: 0

Cultivation Level: Ninth Grade Body Refining Realm

Martial Arts: White Elephant Body Refining Skill (entry level)

Talent: Mediocre (average)

Comprehension: Ordinary (above average)

Skills: None

Training Ground+

Inheritance Hall+

Treasure Vault (martial arts simulation)

Spiritual Spring Pool+

Alchemy Room (alchemy synthesis)

Spiritual Pulse: Low Tier (talent +2, comprehension +2, physique improvement - strong)

Mountain Protection Array: Second-tier array (repair)

"After upgrades, the plus signs for facilities are gone... Looks like I need to further upgrade the sect to enhance them."

"And my talent and comprehension have increased!"

Feeling refreshed, Li Sheng thought for a moment before raising his awareness.

His vision elevated, allowing him to survey the entire Qingling Sect.

"Hm?" Li Sheng furrowed his brows, sensing some commotion within the mountain protection array: "Are we being robbed?"

With a thought, he zoomed in on the situation.

Inside the array, a white mist enveloped three black-clad figures who stood alert, weapons drawn, scanning their surroundings.

"What's going on, Second Brother?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Don't panic, I was careless. I didn't expect this maze to be so powerful; it's likely one of the best among first-tier arrays."

"Hurry up with a plan; I have a bad feeling."

"Can't be! Big Brother, you're a seventh-grade warrior; a first-tier maze shouldn't pose a threat to you!" the Third Brother exclaimed.

"Just be cautious."

"If this path is blocked, let's try the other two routes," the Second Brother decided.

As the mist swirled, they dashed forward, soon realizing they were lost.

"Big Brother... the information was wrong; this is definitely not a first-tier array, but a second-tier one…"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible?!"

"Only a handful of two-star sects possess such arrays; how could a nearly disbanded three-star sect have one?"

Seeing the genuine fear in his companions' expressions and feeling an unseen danger around them, the leader's heart sank. A second-tier array could threaten seventh-grade warriors; a single misstep could lead to his demise.

Fortunately, the array was merely a maze, and the sect's members had left, leaving behind just a ninth-grade "waste."

But if there really was a second-tier array, why hadn't the sect's elders taken it down before leaving? After all, the price of a second-tier mountain protection array was exorbitant. The leader was filled with doubt.

He decided to test the waters, loudly calling out:

"My brothers and I accidentally entered your sacred place; we hope the masters here will let us go. We are willing to offer a large amount of cultivation resources as compensation..."

Hearing their repeated pleas, Li Sheng scoffed internally: "What kind of good person roams around in night clothes at this hour, accidentally entering someone else's territory?"

Though he was laid-back and preferred to avoid trouble, he wasn't foolish.

Thinking of letting them go only for them to take revenge later or lie in ambush outside his mountain gate felt like too much hassle.

His mind then focused on a floating white light within the array, emanating a familiar and affectionate feeling.

"Is this the array spirit?" Li Sheng exclaimed in wonder, then sent a thought: "It's up to you; handle it cleanly."

"Chirp chirp..." A joyful emotion returned to him.

Li Sheng retracted his gaze from the array, for he was kind-hearted and disliked conflict, particularly bloody scenes. As for whether the array could take out the intruders, he felt no worry.

A first-tier killing array could annihilate ninth-grade warriors and severely injure eighth-grade warriors; a second-tier killing array could eliminate seventh-grade warriors and severely injure sixth-grade ones.

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His mountain protection array, while not purely a killing array, possessed strength comparable to or exceeding that of a second-tier killing array, especially with the array spirit's enhancement.

As Li Sheng's attention shifted to the spiritual pulse, five stone chambers came into view, their spiritual energy abundant, significantly stronger than elsewhere.

"This is a great place! With these five stone chambers, both my strength and the sect's development will see immense boosts."

He then checked the changes in the alchemy room and treasure vault; the sizes remained the same, but their architecture had become more exquisite.

The alchemy room now housed a waist-high alchemy furnace, adorned with intricate carvings of plants and trees, exuding an ancient charm.

As he focused on it, a prompt appeared.

[Herb Spirit Furnace: Can refine elixirs five times daily, and gather spiritual energy once.]

"Refining on my own? What a great item! But what does ‘gather spiritual energy' mean? I'll have to buy some herbs at dawn and test it."

In the treasure vault, a rustic black cauldron sat at the center, towering over him, decorated with carvings of the sun, moon, and stars, radiating a mesmerizing glow.

[Purple Star Martial Cauldron: One simulation per day, five synthesis chances.]

"This Purple Star Martial Cauldron has effects similar to the Herb Spirit Furnace. There are still many martial arts texts in the sect; though most are ordinary, they might work well for synthesis and simulation." Li Sheng walked out of the room, heading toward the treasure vault.

Inside the treasure vault, Li Sheng scanned the surroundings; there were about twenty or so ordinary martial arts texts.

There were only seven entry-level martial arts texts, all hand-copied, clearly taken away by several elders.

Ninth-grade body refining martial arts: White Elephant Posture, Spirit Crane Seven Techniques.

Eighth-grade intermediate martial arts: Turtle Breath Technique, Cloud Inhalation Technique.

Seventh-grade bone forging martial arts: Tiger Roar Blade Technique, White Ape Cloak Hammer.

Sixth-grade refining martial arts: Wind Thunder Breathing Technique.

"There's only one simulation chance; let's see how the synthesis works."

Li Sheng tossed two ordinary martial arts books into the cauldron, and a prompt appeared.

[Martial Arts Synthesis Progress 2/5]

"Is it five to one?" Li Sheng nodded and tossed in three more martial arts texts.

A swirl of light enveloped the space, and in a single breath, a brand-new martial arts book floated at the cauldron's opening.

Li Sheng eagerly took it and began flipping through it, becoming increasingly astonished; despite his mediocre talent, his eyesight was keen.

To his surprise, five ordinary martial arts could synthesize a ninth-grade martial art, and its quality surpassed the two existing ninth-grade martial arts in the Qingling Sect.

"Let's try again."

Next, Li Sheng tossed all remaining ordinary martial arts books into the cauldron, and soon, he held five brand-new ninth-grade martial arts texts.

Including the two he already had, Li Sheng now possessed seven ninth-grade martial arts books.

"Perfect, that uses up all synthesis chances; let's test the simulation effect." A glimmer of anticipation flashed in Li Sheng's eyes.

He first tossed in one ninth-grade martial arts book, and a prompt appeared.

[Martial Arts Simulation Progress 1/5]

"Same process?"

Understanding this, Li Sheng threw in four more ninth-grade martial arts books, and after a swirl of seven-colored light, a book floated up.

He eagerly opened it, and two beast shapes caught his eye.

"Ninth-grade martial arts: Turtle-Snake Body Refining Technique, with turtle and snake forms... it's actually a spiritual-level martial art!" Li Sheng was struck with astonishment: "Moreover, it's a spiritual-level martial art that combines two spiritual forms..."

In this world, martial arts were divided into ordinary, entry-level, and spiritual-level.

He knew that spiritual-level martial arts only existed in top sects and royal families, guarded by master-level experts.

The few spiritual-level martial arts known to the world were extremely rare, and when discovered, they would attract countless powerful figures, leading to bloodshed.