Third Level of Sacred Qi Sword Formation, Visit to Flame Cauldron Peak

At night, Liu Ming sat cross-legged in the center of his room. Beside him lay the Sacred Qi Sword Formation Art bamboo scroll. Following the breathing techniques shown in the first picture, he began to cultivate.

'Hrmm, the Sacred Qi Breath is a cyclical breathing method that focuses on refining and circulating spiritual energy through one's meridians in order to enhance their control and potency over their sacred swords.'

Liu Ming took a deep breath, drawing in the ambient spiritual energy and circulating it through his meridians. This first phase was all about absorbing and refining the external spiritual energy.

'With each breath, a Sacred Qi cultivator draws the essence of the world into their being, purifying and strengthening their inner reserves.'

Once refined, he directed the spiritual energy through his body in a specific pattern, aligning it with the formation of spiritual swords. This phase focused on harmonizing his energy with the principles of sword creation and control.

'The energy flows like a river through the meridians, carving paths of power and precision, aligning the cultivator's spirit with the essence of the sword.'

Finally, Liu Ming exhaled, expelling any impurities and concentrating his refined spiritual energy into forming a sword.

'With each exhalation, the impurities are cast away, leaving behind only the purest essence, ready to be forged into weapons of unparalleled power.'

The Qi circulating through Liu Ming's body felt much warmer. This new sensation was the foundational energy for all disciples of the Sacred Cloud School. It was the refinement of the sacred energy from Sacred Cloud Mountain combined with Qi. This was sacred Qi!

Liu Ming calmly opened his eyes and they glowed golden.

'At first, practicing this breathing technique caused a brief ache and made me feel like I was suffocating. However, things are different now. It seems my body just needed some time to adapt. Now, I can clearly sense sacred Qi flowing harmoniously within me. I will apply myself intensely to complete my cultivation.'

Liu Ming practiced the breathing technique for three days straight. He didn't move from his spot or respond to knocks on his door. He was entirely focused on maintaining his potent spiritual energy and mastering the Sacred Qi Sword Formation Art.

Eventually, his concentration sharpened, and he began to condense sacred Qi into a tangible form. A faint glow appeared before him, flickering like a candle in the wind.

"Yes! This is the first level of Sacred Qi Sword Formation!"

A few days turned into a week as Liu Ming refined his control over the sacred sword's inner structure. He practiced tirelessly, each session bringing more stability and clarity to the flickering light.

"YES!"

On the first day of the second week, his sacred sword had become a steady, glowing presence, a symbol of his growing strength!

This was the third level of Sacred Qi Sword Formation!

He held the golden sword tightly. Its gleam continued to brighten the room.

"I succeeded!"

Still seated, he playfully swung it through the air and burst into childlike laughter.

Suddenly jumping up, he continued waving the sacred sword around. Then, he paused dramatically, proclaiming, "I, Liu Ming, shall crush the patriarchs of the other great sects with one swing of my immortal blade!"

He laughed loudly, but his amusement was interrupted by a knock at the door. Hurriedly stopping, he coughed awkwardly to cover up his laughter.

cough! COUGH!

"Lord Liu~" a voice called out from outside.

They sounded like a temptress, but this unmistakably belonged to a certain woman.

────Sigh~

Liu Ming knew exactly who it was.

'Yu Lan…'

He walked over and slid open the door. As expected, standing there was the stunningly attractive strawberry-blonde woman.

"Hello, Senior Brother," she greeted with a slight bow, her ample bosom gently bouncing as she did so.

It was hard for Liu Ming not to look at Yu Lan, and he had learned to accept this. Whenever he thought about her scorchingly sexy appearance, or even looked at her, his heart filled with warmth. After blinking a few times, he cleared his throat to regain his composure.

'I wish Grandfather had taught me more about women. We mostly talked about cultivation and the Greater Dao, so I never really got any advice on how to handle myself around women. Living in Clear Water Village didn't help either. The women there were always making advances on me, instead of the other way around. It makes me question my masculinity.'

Yu Lan leaned in a bit, and her scent reached Liu Ming's nose.

It was a distinct fragrance, smelling like ripe oranges kissed by morning dew, mixed with the delicate scent of jasmine petals. This seemed to be her usual perfume because he noticed the same sweet, intoxicating aroma when he lay in her lap while unconscious.

She leaned in so close that her forehead almost touched his.

"My lord, you've been cultivating for quite a while…"

She smiled tenderly at him while gently brushing her bangs to the side.

"I know you're trying to improve your cultivation as quickly as possible, but I would prefer if you ate something first. Hm~?"

It was almost impossible for Liu Ming to say no to Yu Lan when she stared at him with bedroom eyes.

"I suppose you're right, Lan'er…"

Those captivating eyes of hers surely made life easy for her. It would be surprising if any man could say no to such a pretty face and beautiful, vixen-like eyes.

Yu Lan's smile widened. "Excellent, my lord."

━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━

Before delving fully into practicing the Sacred Qi Sword Formation Art, Liu Ming chose to unseal Flame Cauldron Peak using the Sacred Cloud Seal. He did so because Xiu Meixiang's passion lay in pill refinement, which was her primary interest.

Flame Cauldron Peak.

It was situated to the east of the sect and dedicated to the profound art of alchemy. Its slopes were always bathed in a gentle blue radiance emanating from countless alchemical fires, where Apothecary Disciples brewed potent spirit medicines.

"Ohohoho! Now this looks like a quality pill!"

Sect Master Maomao held up a bright blue pill. It had an engraving in a glowing hot white color. The pill was almost the size of the anthropomorphic cat's hand, so he held it with both hands.

He looked at Xiu Meixiang, who was arranging some spirit plants and herbs.

"So you're saying this pill can help a cultivator expand their heavenly grotto, Meixiang?"

The pink-haired girl paused her sorting and looked back at her sect master.

"Yes, it's the Grotto-Expanding Space Pill. The crest on it indicates it's been spirit-refined three times. I lack the talent for full spirit refinement, so I spirit-refined each individual spirit plant and herb I used. Then, I designed a medicinal formula to align the herbs and plants, ensuring they enhance each other's quality."

The cat looked back at the glowing blue pill and smiled.

"Oh, I see. Then it'll certainly be useful for when you break through to the Heavenly Grotto-Spirit Stage!"

Normally, this would be the part where Xiu Meixiang replied with a bright smile, but she hid her solemn expression behind a dull smile instead. "Well, if I ever reach that part in my cultivation journey… I hope." She resumed sorting the herbs and plants.

Suddenly, Liu Ming's loud voice sounded, "Wow, that looks amazing!"

Just hearing her senior brother's voice wiped the look of contempt off Xiu Meixiang's face. Her normal expression, with rosy cheeks and sparkling green eyes, resurfaced as she turned to see if it was really him.

At the entrance of the Medicine Hall were Liu Ming and Yu Lan.

The young man smiled and waved gently at Xiu Meixiang and Sect Master.

"Oho, I can't believe you guys have already started brewing pills. That's good progress!"

Sect Master Maomao chuckled, "Young Patriarch who left us to cultivate all this time has finally returned. Hoh! Hoh!" The cat laughed in his usual weird manner, which always sounded like a certain jolly, bearded figure who only partook in winter festivities.

Fast-paced footsteps could be heard as Xiu Meixiang rushed to Liu Ming with a bright smile on her face.

"Brother Ming!"

She giggled as she moved quickly across the Medicine Hall and tightly hugged her beloved patriarch.

"I'm so happy you came to visit. How have you been?!"

There was such liveliness in her voice as she hugged Liu Ming even tighter, pressing their bodies together. Liu Ming could feel two soft, fleshy balls pressing against his chest, making his cheeks turn a little red. He didn't even know what to do with his arms, whether to wrap them around her slender waist.

"Uh, I'm doing quite fine. Mei-, Meixiang…"

Seeing the way he acted and spoke, Yu Lan gave him an oddly curious side-eye. Xiu Meixiang gently unwrapped her arms from around his body and giggled a bit.

"Everything has been going great! The Sect Master and I just visited our Green Crest Gardens, and it's still in excellent shape. We picked some spirit plants and herbs, and I concocted a spirit medicine that turned out quite well. Right now, I'm sorting the other plants and herbs we collected so we can put them into storage."

She spoke with great excitement while clasping Liu Ming's hands gently against her chest.

Liu Ming scratched his cheek with an index finger and looked to the side. "I see…" he sheepishly replied.

Seemingly deciding to choose violence today, Yu Lan wantonly commented, "Oh well, it's not as though my excellent Lord Liu cares to know about something so boring. He didn't even ask."

'Oh no…' Liu Ming thought.

A scary smile spread across Xiu Meixiang's face, the kind that hid a lot of anger.

Liu Ming could almost see the evil aura coming from her.

'I'll just create some space for myself…'

He innocently whistled and walked to the side, hoping to let the two women settle their problems.

But Xiu Meixiang grabbed his wrist and looked back at Yu Lan.

"Oh, Elder Sister Lan…" she said softly, her voice barely hiding her boiling rage.