Li Sheng had been cultivating and taking medicinal pills, and after three days, Qingyi and her group were ambushed, leading to an explosion of internal conflicts. Just then, his senior sister arrived to hunt down the strange demons, astonishing everyone and suppressing the tensions, guiding them back to Qing Ling. Li Sheng prepared to receive them.
Inside the Spirit Gathering Room, Li Sheng stopped his training, feeling that the effects of the first medicinal pill had nearly worn off. He then took out a premium Golden Essence Pill and swallowed it. The pill melted in his mouth, and as its effects spread, the internal injuries he had sustained were quickly healing.
After two hours, Li Sheng opened his eyes and exhaled. "Finally resolved the hidden danger..."
Leaving the Spirit Gathering Room, Li Sheng looked around. Sensing unusual fluctuations coming from the left Spirit Gathering Room, he thought to himself, "My junior sister's cultivation must be reaching a critical moment; she should break through in a few days."
"Hmm, that girl Hong Ying is also working hard... wait, where is my senior sister?" After checking around, he decided to head to the alchemy room.
Passing the training field, he encountered Tie Zhu and Wang Hu. "Greetings, Sect Master!" they both respectfully saluted.
Li Sheng paused, glanced at them, and smiled. Wang Hu had already broken through to the Eighth Rank, while Tie Zhu was not far behind, nearing his breakthrough as well. After refining with premium pills, both their physiques and talents would undergo significant changes, especially noticeable at the Eighth and Ninth Ranks.
"Good!" Li Sheng nodded in satisfaction and instructed, "Follow me to the alchemy room."
"Yes, Sect Master!" they replied in unison.
In the alchemy room, the seven-colored light from the Spirit Furnace faded, and two Four-Pattern Pills floated up. After storing the Golden Essence Pill in his storage bag, Li Sheng took the Inner Breath Pill and walked out of the hall.
"Wang Hu, now that you've reached the Inner Breath Realm, you can go to the back mountain's Spirit Gathering Room to cultivate. Here, take this pill." Wang Hu's expression brightened as he accepted the jade vial, saying, "Thank you, Sect Master, for your guidance!"
Tie Zhu looked on with envy at the jade vial. Li Sheng nodded and turned to Tie Zhu. "Work hard on your cultivation, and come find me once you break through."
"Understood, Sect Master!" Tie Zhu responded before heading towards the Spirit Gathering Room. Having reached the Fifth Rank, he was at a stage where he could abstain from food; as long as he was in a place with rich spiritual energy, he wouldn't need to eat.
In the Spirit Gathering Room, Li Sheng opened his status panel.
**Title**: Sect Master of Qing Ling Sect
**Sect**: Qing Ling Sect+ (conditions met for promotion)
**Sect Points**: 0
**Cultivation**: Fifth Rank Blood Movement Realm
**Martial Arts**: Turtle-Snake Body Refinement Technique (Perfected), Thunder-Tiger Breathing Technique (Perfected), Golden-Yuan Bone Forging Technique (Perfected), Dragon-Elephant Breathing Method (Perfected), Phoenix-Wood Blood Nourishing Technique (Minor Accomplishment)
**Cultivation Talent**: Top-Tier (A Genius of the Domain)
**Comprehension**: Top-Tier (A Genius of the Domain)
**Skills**: Extreme Strength Level 1
Li Sheng's gaze fell on the talent and comprehension sections, and he sighed. "It seems that the effect of Spirit Level techniques on enhancing talent is becoming weaker..."
His attention shifted to the section after the Sect+ sign.
**[Conditions met. Would you like to promote to a Two-Star Sect?]**
"No!" Li Sheng decisively rejected it.
Since there was only one Fifth Rank cultivator in the sect, promoting now would only yield basic sect points, which would be more detrimental than beneficial. It would be better to wait until his junior sister and senior sister broke through before making a decision. When upgrading the protective array before, it only cost a single sect point to go from First to Second Tier, but going from Second to Third Tier cost five points...
He had a feeling that the cost for upgrading from Third to Fourth Tier would likely be even higher.
Li Sheng took a deep breath and swallowed the last Premium Blood Solidification Pill. The painful cultivation process began anew.
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...
Two days later, seventy miles away from Qing Ling Sect, Qingyi and her group found themselves in a precarious situation.
"Miss, the situation is not looking good!"
"Flower Aunt, how many demons are there?" Qingyi asked, her beautiful face showing signs of fatigue.
"About a dozen, mostly dangerous-level leaders. Elder Liao's injuries have not improved and he can't act forcefully; he's using the martial domain to suppress the demons," Flower Aunt said, carrying a fainted girl on her back, her expression grave.
"Let's go out and take a look!" The two of them stepped out of the temple.
Dozens of strange demons were trapped in a yellow martial domain, slowly advancing toward them. In the center of the martial domain, Elder Liao, with a dark expression, was staring ahead, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He lamented silently, had it not been for the city-destroying level demon attack a few days prior that left him severely injured, he wouldn't have regarded these dangerous-level demons at all; he could easily eliminate them with a wave of his hand.
Though he had consumed several medium-grade pills in the past few days, their effects were limited. Constant vigilance against demon ambushes had not only failed to improve his injuries but worsened them, preventing him from acting casually. This led to a stalemate with the demons.
The other four Fifth Rank guardians held their weapons, surrounding them with fearful expressions. If Elder Liao weren't there, they likely would have fled already. A dozen dangerous-level demons were far beyond their capacity to handle.
Upon seeing Qingyi and Flower Aunt arrive, Elder Liao's pale face showed impatience. "I told you not to delay our journey! Now look, we're stuck here by these damned demons; Qingyi, you need to take responsibility for this!"
Qingyi narrowed her eyes, fully aware of the implications in his words; he was demanding compensation. "Elder Liao, don't be unreasonable. The miss ordered a rest for your injuries, and you said nothing about it before; how can you...?"
"Shut up!"
"You have no say here; a mere branch manager dares to contradict me?"
"That's right, Flower Aunt, our lives depend on Elder Liao's protection now; don't be ungrateful!"
"Hurry up and apologize to Elder Liao!"
"Fools who can't see the situation should be fed to those demons!"
The few surrounding Fifth Rank warriors began to criticize her, their expressions filled with disdain.
"You... how dare you?" Flower Aunt's face turned pale as she pointed at the group, recalling that these guardians had previously shown her respect. Now, they were aligning with Elder Liao to insult her.
Being a manager of a branch in the city, she wouldn't lose her composure over such matters. What truly angered her was the hidden intent represented by their remarks.
Who didn't know how much the miss valued her? These people were openly humiliating her, but in reality, they were insulting the miss through her. That was what truly made her furious.
"Flower Aunt!" Qingyi pulled her behind her and smiled, "Elder Liao is right; it was my oversight."
Seeing Qingyi bow her head, Elder Liao's expression softened a little as he snorted. "Knowing your mistakes is not enough; once it's safe, you must show me some sincerity and compensate me, otherwise..."
"Elder Liao, please focus on dealing with the enemies; Qingyi will not disappoint you." Qingyi's smile was sincere, yet she was seething inside.
As a precious daughter of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's direct lineage, she had come to the city merely for training. Yet this Elder Liao seemed to think he was just a regular branch manager.
A few days ago, she had already sent messages using the Black Mysterious Stone, asking her clan members to come to the western side of Lingchuan Prefecture to support them. She also intended to sell materials to Qing Ling Sect, but to think that these short-sighted fools would pull such a stunt just as they were nearing the sect.
For now, she could only bide her time. Once the clan's experts arrived, she would definitely make them regret their actions today.
"You're lucky this time; I'll let it go on your account, but if this little manager dares to offend me again next time, don't blame me for being ruthless!"