Chapter 21: Swallowing the Sun and Hiding the Moon

  In this cave, the cold air is oppressive.

  If it were an ordinary person who came in, they would probably be frozen stiff and unable to move; Ling Xiao had gradually gotten used to it before, but hadn't thought much of it. However, at this moment, following the usual route of his cultivation, when Zhou Tian transported his true energy, he suddenly discovered something was off.

  The Lingtai was exceptionally clear and bright, and the flow of true energy was also much faster than usual.

  Ling Xiao was initially startled, almost thinking he had gone mad. But calming down and carefully sensing, he finally discovered the mystery.

  It turns out that the cold air in this cave has such a wonderful effect. Although it cannot directly help with cultivation, practicing breathing exercises in this cave can increase the speed of true energy circulation by many times compared to usual. Moreover, the spiritual platform is clear and empty, seemingly having the effect of calming the mind and quieting the energy, reducing the worry of going astray.

  Especially since he cultivated the fire system, the scorching true energy seemed to be even more refined when it circulated in this cold air.

  This cave is actually a great place for cultivation!

  This discovery made Ling Xiao both surprised and delighted, so he sat down to meditate and cultivate, sitting for more than an hour, until the sun began to set in the west. He then retracted his true energy and stopped. Silently observing, the effect of cultivating in this cave was indeed extremely good, and this one hour had already surpassed the effects of two or more hours on ordinary days. When it was time to leave, he felt somewhat reluctant to part with the place.

  As he left Zhulian, Ling Xiao carefully left a mark, planning to come back and cultivate here if he had time in the future. The path of cultivating immortality was a fight against heaven, and being able to gain an advantage by even a fraction would naturally be better.

  Of course, this is a spider mountain after all. Although there are fewer poisonous spiders here due to the cold, it's still not completely safe. He needs to set up some simple formations to prevent the invasion of poisonous spiders. Otherwise, if he's suddenly startled by a poisonous spider while cultivating in the future, it would be a minor issue, but if his true energy cultivation goes awry, it would be too late for regrets.

  Of course, the cheapest preservation array method would cost at least ten spirit stones, which is equivalent to 1,000 contribution points, another huge expense...

  On one hand, he rushed back to the sect as quickly as possible, on the other hand, he calculated the expenses of the spiritual stones, his heart was both aching and joyful.

  There was another annoying thing that made him feel uneasy. What exactly was the Lord's Order? Unfortunately, it was cut into two pieces by the female puppet with a sword, and he couldn't take it out casually. He could only put his thoughts aside for now, anyway, no one knew he had this Lord's Order, and he would slowly find opportunities to ask about it later.

  As night approached, Ling Xiao rushed back to the sect and made some adjustments to his cultivation plan.

  The distance between Zhū Lǐng and the sect is too far, it's obviously not suitable to rush back every day. So I plan to go back to the sect once every three days, rest for a day, and also adjust; in between, I will always be at Zhū Lǐng, during the day I can hunt poisonous spiders or pick some spiritual medicine, at night I will return to that cold cave to cultivate.

  He didn't ask for much contribution points, just wanted to hone his Nine-Style Claw Technique; so he only wandered around the outskirts of Spider Ridge, but every day he could hunt and kill at least seven or eight poisonous spiders, which was a pretty good income.

  However, after practicing in the cold cave at night, he gradually realized that the cold air in the cold cave was slowly weakening. Although there is no impact for the time being, it's feared that after a year or so, the effect of practicing in the cold cave will be greatly reduced. However, since he came here by luck, he didn't have much to regret. He just took advantage of the remaining strong cold air and hurriedly practiced, striving to break through as soon as possible.

  Of course, during this period, he also went to refine the elixir again. A total of 18 batches of elixir materials were exchanged, but only 2 low-grade, 8 medium-grade, and 8 high-grade elixirs were refined...

  Of course, that kind of top-grade elixir was still nowhere to be found; it seemed that at his current level, he indeed wasn't skilled enough to refine such a high-level elixir.

  But this result has made Ling Xiao both delighted and frustrated.

  He became more skilled in alchemy, and his control over the flames also became more adept, so the quality of the elixirs he refined gradually improved, which was certainly a delightful thing.

  But the number of low-grade Cultivation Pills was too small, making every task submission a very distressing matter... In the end, I could only submit 2 low-grade and 3 medium-grade Cultivation Pills.

  Although in the eyes of outsiders, his success rate of alchemy is still mediocre: 18 materials only refined into 5 grains, and only one succeeded out of three. But it can't be helped that the quality is high! Among the five refined grains, three are medium-grade, which is enough to make people slightly surprised.

  Of course, and that's all. Other people's impression of Ling Xiao is also limited to: his alchemy skills are not bad.

  He quietly went to the Wanmyo Pavilion in the city, took out a dan medicine, and bought back a formation method: the Day Concealment Moon Array Method. Since there was a well-refined array flag, even if one knew the array method very well, it would only be necessary to follow the formula and arrange the flags in sequence to use it, which was extremely convenient. Of course, the price wasn't cheap either, a full 15 pieces of lower-grade spirit stone.

  Ling Xiao's income was mostly spent in an instant...

  However, the defense is indeed reassuring. Below the fourth layer of Qi Gong, if you don't understand the formation, you're basically helpless; wanting to force a breakthrough is almost a pipe dream. And even if you have some understanding of the formation, it would take at least half a day's effort to break through. Ling Xiao mainly used it to block the demon beast, which was already sufficient.

  Later, Ling Xiao also secretly told Fengyi about the cold cave.

  Although having one more person would inevitably speed up the consumption of cold energy, with his closeness to Fengyi, he naturally wouldn't hide it from her.

  Fengyi was indeed very pleased, but she refused to stay here for long. She still hunted and killed monsters with Ma Ruzi every day, only occasionally coming here to practice for a day or two. Even Ling Xiao suspected that if she didn't want to see him, she wouldn't have come at all.

  However, even so, Fengyi's cultivation has advanced rapidly. She entered the second layer of Qi Refining, which was already earlier than Ling Xiao, and now she is gradually approaching perfection. If there is an opportunity, it is likely that she will be able to break through to the third layer of Qi Refining smoothly.

  Ling Xiao's cultivation advanced even more terrifyingly.

  He has been refining elixirs to earn contribution points and is not worried about the sect's tasks. Most of the time, he cultivates in that cold cave, with sufficient mid-grade cultivation elixirs provided, so his cultivation almost changes a little every day and greatly every three days. In a short period of time, it's almost as if he has surpassed others who came after him. Perhaps, he might even break through before Fengyi.

  Adding the mid-grade artifact, Wujin Claw, and the Dragon Shadow Nine-Style Claw Technique, even without considering consumable items like talismans, Ling Xiao's current combat strength far surpassed Fengyi's.

  As for the remaining fragments of the Claw Method Secret Book, Ling Xiao continued to practice diligently.

  According to the introduction of the secret book, being able to strike nine seals in one breath is considered entry-level; if you can strike eighteen seals in one breath, it's barely considered proficient; only when you can strike eighty-one seals in one breath can you be considered a minor achievement. To be able to strike three thousand six hundred seals in one breath, that's what's called great achievement...

  When nine seals are struck, the dragon's shadow is only in its infancy; when eighteen seals are struck, the head, claws, horns, and tail appear; and when eighty-one seals are struck, the eyes, teeth, and scales all become lifelike. However, it is only when three thousand six hundred seals are struck that the entire dragon's shadow comes to life, vividly as if alive.

  However, regarding Dacheng's seal script, this incomplete version does not have any records of it.

  But even so, he privately thought that being able to buy a spell of this level with just one low-grade Spirit Cultivation Pill was really a huge bargain...

  However, thinking about it, the power of magic lies in two things: one is the cultivator's own cultivation and application. The second is to print the magic formula on the instrument, increase the power of the instrument, this is not a particularly profound skill; the value of this book actually lies in the dragon shadow's fantasy, and because it is incomplete, that's why it's so cheap. Of course, flying claw-type secret books are used by too few people, which is also a major reason.

  Ling Xiao's current level is still only between beginner and proficient. But he has already increased the power of Wujin Claw by more than 30%. It's really hard to imagine what kind of power it would have when it reaches small success, let alone great success...

  It's relatively easy to reach the entry-level standard of casting nine seals in one breath. However, wanting to cast just one more seal requires several times more effort and is extremely difficult.

  Like this, every day is busy, time flies, and in the blink of an eye, another mid-month has arrived.

  This month was supposed to be the season for Elder Qi Wu Xin of the sect to lecture on alchemy, but suddenly news came out that he would be replaced by Elder Fu Ling.

  Although it was unclear what had happened, everyone outside the door, including Ling Xiao, were still extremely happy.

  So early in the morning, Ling Xiao hurriedly went to the Purple Cloud Hall with Feng Yi and Ma Ru siblings.

  Let's count, it's only been two months since the last elixir refining, but Ling Xiao already has a feeling of vast changes. Thinking back to that time, he was just an unknown outer sect disciple, every day worrying about where to go to collect medicine and how to earn enough contribution points for the sect; but now, sect tasks are no longer a problem, with ample elixirs, rapid progress in cultivation, and a reputation for refining elixirs that's spreading far and wide. Even fellow disciples he meets on the road can't help but smile and greet him...

  Nothing is more changeable than human affairs.

  However, this also attracted the attention of others in the industry. Fengyi was happy for Ling Xiao, but Ma Ru couldn't help but roll her eyes and said, "What's there to be so proud of, your tail is already raised high!"

  However, she also understood in her heart that Ling Xiao not only didn't have the slightest bit of complacency or arrogance, but was instead always warm and humble. Whoever came forward to talk to him would be met with a warm smile and a response, without neglecting anyone or showing any haughtiness. Especially when compared to Qi Ming before, it made his demeanor even more striking.

  It's just that she doesn't know why, but her heart feels uncomfortable, especially uncomfortable...

  Facing her provocation, Ling Xiao just smiled slightly and didn't bother to argue with her.

  Four people entered the Ziyun Hall together.

  Today, it was Chen Ang, Chen Shixiong, who was on duty. After checking the contribution points of Ling Xiao and the other three this month, he waved his hand and let them pass into the back hall. In fact, this was just a formality. Among their batch of disciples, these four were quite famous, so naturally, they didn't need to worry about completing tasks for the sect.

  Ling Xiao asked somewhat strangely: "Elder brother Chen Ang, why isn't Elder Huang Jian on duty here today?"