Chapter 11 Nine Months Of Cultivation and A Breakthrough

In the blink of an eye, three months passed. Shangguan Yi emerged from his seclusion today, leaving the inner room to sit on the sofa outside.

During these three months, he had devoted his time to refining high-grade pills for his next seclusion session. Consequently, he barely had time to cultivate, resulting in his cultivation progress increasing by only 3%, reaching a total of 13%.

However, his gains were considerable. He had accumulated 300 high-grade essence pills and an additional 900 low-grade essence pills. Since he had to contribute 1,500 essence pills to the pavilion every three months, he still had 2,000 essence pills left from last time. This amount was sufficient for him to undergo another three months of seclusion with the remaining pills.

He was a 1st level Foundation Establishment Cultivator with limited essence to refine pills each day. Therefore, he had to make thorough preparations before entering a prolonged seclusion.

Shangguan Yi sat there as Shuang’er returned from delivering the pills to Old Wang. She didn't forget to bring back the pill ingredients and the essence stones.

Shangguan Yi accepted two brown pouches and swept them with his Divine Sense. The ingredients were 90% low grade and 10% mid grade. As for the essence stones, after deducting the amount borrowed from Old Wang, only 500 essence stones remained.

"What’s the situation outside after my three months of seclusion?” Shangguan Yi asked as he kept the two brown pouches.

Shuang’er pondered for a moment before responding, “Young Master, the outside is quite peaceful yet lively now due to the influx of many geniuses entering the Xuan World. Many top geniuses of Xi’An City have entered the Xuan World. Those young talents we saw at the auction, like Zhou Mu, Liu Bu, and Young Lady Xiao, have all ventured into that world. There's even a rumor that Xiao Yan also got a quota. Every day, people discuss and speculate about this matter. Bets are being placed on which one of them will survive and return with a breakthrough opportunity.”

"Recently, I also heard that Xiao Yan’s spot was originally Young Lady Chu’s. She sacrificed her spot for him. This has led to a lot of criticism towards Xiao Yan, but there are also those who admire their true love. It's the talk of the city right now," Shuang’er reported.

Shangguan Yi nodded slightly in response and then asked Shuang’er for more details. After understanding the situation outside, he stood up, preparing to leave.

“I’ll be entering a long seclusion session,” he reminded her without turning back. “You will come to collect the pills every month. I’ll leave them on the sofa once I finish my cultivation sessions.”

"Also, I haven't received my salary for a few months. Go and collect it for yourself," he said from a distance.

"Thank you, Young Master," Shuang'er replied, bowing deeply. She straightened up only after Shangguan Yi had entered the room, a surprised expression on her face.

She had been working for him for quite some time and had never received any rewards from him, a fact she had grown accustomed to. This time, however, she didn't expect him to be so generous. Fifteen essence stones were no small amount. Although she was not yet a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, she understood the value of a single essence stone. She remembered that the elder in her family only received ten essence stones each month, but now she would receive fifteen each month. This made her grateful for the decision she had made back then.

Shangguan Yi entered the room and immediately began his cultivation session, aware of the preciousness of time. Although he had the system to assist him, his cultivation journey was still challenging due to the need to spend time and essence on refining pills. This dual focus was crucial for both his safety and progression.

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In terms of safety, the protection provided by the Azure Cloud Pavilion was indispensable. As a pill refiner, Shangguan Yi was a valuable asset, and without the backing of a powerful organization, he would likely become a target for many other forces. The resources and secure environment offered by the Pavilion allowed him to cultivate in peace, away from the constant threat of being hunted.

In terms of progression, his lack of innate talent meant he relied heavily on high-grade treasures and pills to compensate. Refining pills was a skill he had mastered to aid his cultivation, producing high-grade pills that significantly enhanced his growth. Although this process was time-consuming, the benefits made it worthwhile, ensuring steady advancement despite his talent limitations.

In reality, the time Shangguan Yi spent refining pills was relatively short, typically only half an hour per batch of high-grade essence pills. However, the real challenge lay in replenishing his essence after each batch.

Each time he refined a batch of high-grade pills, it consumed a significant portion of his essence—roughly 70%. Replenishing this essence was crucial for his continued cultivation, requiring three days with the aid of a high-grade pill and cultivation technique. Without these aids, it would take a full week to recover his essence, delaying his ability to refine more pills.

As a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Shangguan Yi's dietary needs differed significantly from those of mortals. Instead of food and drink, he focused on maintaining his essence, ensuring it didn't deplete completely. His cultivation required a careful balance of energy conservation and utilization.

In this way, Shangguan Yi entered his cultivation session. He consumed the pill, absorbed the world essence, and then refined it into his own essence. Every three days, he would wake from his cultivation state to consume a high-grade pill.

Once he finished refining the world essence into his own essence, he would guide his essence to build the second pillar in his Sixth Sense Realm. While this process didn't take much time, it did consume his essence rapidly. Shangguan Yi would halt when his essence was reduced to 10%, then focus on replenishing it through cultivation. This routine was tedious and demanding, a test of endurance that many young cultivators might struggle to withstand for an extended period.

With the system at his disposal, Shangguan Yi couldn't afford to slack off, burdened as he was with numerous tasks. While he might not have as much time for cultivation as other geniuses who could solely focus on it, he held firm to the belief that once he broke through to the next level, time would become more abundant.

With increased essence reserves, he could refine more pills, thereby saving valuable time. He envisioned a future where he could allocate more time to cultivation, perhaps even entering seclusion for half a year or longer.

As another three months elapsed.

Shangguan Yi remained in seclusion, devoting himself to cultivation. However, he also spared some time to refine low-grade pills, ensuring he had enough to contribute to the pavilion. Each month, he briefly left his room to place the pills on the sofa, ensuring they were readily available for collection.

He didn't worry about anyone in the pavilion attempting to steal the pills. After all, his room was highly isolated from outsiders, and only individuals like Old Wang, Manager Li, and a select few high-ranking elders were permitted to visit. Consequently, the area around his room was consistently quiet and peaceful.

He wasn't worried about Shuang’er either. Her selection by Old Wang indicated that her background was likely reputable, as Old Wang wouldn't make a mistake on such a straightforward matter. Additionally, given the strength of the Azure Cloud Pavilion, the consequences of betraying it would be severe. A clever girl like Shuang’er wouldn't make such a foolish move.

Indeed, it was her responsibility to deliver the pills to Old Wang every month upon noticing the new batches placed on the sofa.

Shangguan Yi calculated, "Hmm, it's at 50% now. With 210 high-grade pills remaining, I estimate it will take about 6 months to achieve a breakthrough."

Satisfied with his current cultivation speed, Shangguan Yi was confident that he could achieve the breakthrough within 6 months at most if he maintained his current pace.

Considering that it had been 9 months since he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, Shangguan Yi realized it was time to reveal more about his abilities.

"Alright, I'll reveal the mid-grade essence pills to the pavilion after I exit my seclusion. Also, it'll be a time for me to have them find the other materials for upgrading my cultivation technique." Shangguan Yi made a decision.

He had two reasons for doing this.

First, he had no background, only a pill refining talent that everyone believed. This information was public to others, and he couldn't create or change it. Therefore, he must proceed carefully, lest they become suspicious of him. Indeed, he had talent for refining pills, but no matter how talented he was, it took time for everything. What would happen if he who had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm a month ago and became a mid-grade pill refiner the next month? Who would believe it? Did he expect everyone to think he was a heavenly genius? Did he expect them to praise him and seek his favor? Did he expect them to say something like, "Forget it, he's a heavenly genius; he also has his secrets. We won't inquire further about him; it's taboo"? That's nonsense! If he were to shine above his age and experience, it would bring about a crisis. What if they decided to investigate him and discovered the existence of the system? It would be worse than death. Shangguan Yi couldn't risk that. So, he would reveal more about his abilities when the time was right.

Second, he needed to accumulate wealth because every item he needed was of high quality. Therefore, he couldn’t rush the process; he needed some time to let things fall into place.

Time passed like this, and another 6 months passed quickly. On this day, Shangguan Yi emerged from seclusion in a good mood, having advanced to a level 2 Foundation Establishment Realm.

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Cultivation Realm:

-Body Refining Realm (mortals / practitioners)

-Foundation Establishment Realm ( genuine Cultivators)

-Core Formation Realm

Technique/Pill/Artifact/Array/Beast/Herb/Talisman Level

-Warrior (level 1)

-Elite (level 2)

-Master (level 3)

Each level divided to 4 grades: low, mid, high and supreme.