Youth must be seized early; one cannot remain forever young. Chapter 127: Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement

A month later.

Inside the Erbu Inn.

Bai Qingzhou slowly opened his eyes, feeling the changes within his body. He muttered to himself, "So, this is what the ninth level of Qi Refining feels like..."

After returning from viewing the Fire Waterfall, Bai Qingzhou had entered seclusion to冲击 the next stage of his cultivation. Today, he had finally broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

As his cultivation level increased, the time required for each promotion grew longer. Even with Bai Qingzhou's current financial strength, and the aid of various cultivation arrays and supplementary medicinal pills, it had still taken him a full year to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"Hoo..." Bai Qingzhou exhaled slowly and stood up.

To facilitate his breakthrough, he had specifically rented a Grade-A room, which cost five spirit stones per night.

Stripping off his clothes, Bai Qingzhou stepped into the bathtub in the room to cleanse his body. The tub was filled with a mixture of precious medicinal herbs and elixir extracts, combined with spirit spring water transported from a distant, mystical location. The moment one stepped in, they felt an immense sense of comfort.

Bai Qingzhou channeled his spiritual energy to cast a [Fire Induction] spell, slightly warming the cool water before closing his eyes to rest.

The spirit spring water seemed to possess a life of its own, continuously soothing his robust physique. The comfortable sensation made him feel drowsy, and his mind began to wander uncontrollably.

He thought of the departed Li Yuyun...
He thought of his childhood friend Qin Feng...
He thought of the rugged cultivator who had died in the forest...

Before long, he drifted off into a deep sleep.

...

"Senior, your time is up..."

A voice suddenly rang out from outside the door, jolting Bai Qingzhou awake. He used his spiritual energy to sense the weather outside and realized that it was already broad daylight.

"One moment, I am coming out," Bai Qingzhou replied briefly.

He stood up; the water in the tub had turned clear, and even the faint traces of spiritual energy within it had been completely absorbed into his body.

Stepping out of the tub, he used a wind-attribute spell to dry his body and hair. He put on a brand-new white robe and walked toward the door.

He opened it.

Standing at the entrance was a young cultivator dressed as an inn attendant.

"Senior, your time has expired. How was the experience this time?" the young cultivator asked with a low, smiling tone.

"Heh, it was quite good!" Bai Qingzhou replied simply, stepping out of the inn.

"That is good to hear! We welcome you to come back again, Senior!" the cultivator called out, following him to the door.

"Indeed!"

Once outside, Bai Qingzhou looked up at the gentle sunlight, feeling in high spirits. He continued walking toward the marketplace.

He wanted to get something to eat.

During his year in the bazaar, he and Meng Li had frequented every restaurant and street stall owned by rogue cultivators. In their own personal ranking, a small noodle stall near the market was the absolute best. Today, Bai Qingzhou intended to have a meal there.

As he walked into the bustling marketplace, the familiar clamor of voices reached his ears once more. Even in the daytime, the market was teeming with noise; many cultivators were haggling, as if there were never a moment of silence.

After a year, Bai Qingzhou was intimately familiar with this place.

At the stalls, he even saw a few familiar faces. After exchanging polite nods, he began to browse the vendors, wondering if he might find something of value.

The stalls were filled with an array of miscellaneous items: talismans, beast meat, magic tools, books, and more, all arranged in a chaotic fashion. Having spent years mingling in the bazaar, Bai Qingzhou had developed a keen eye for treasure and could discern the value of many items.

After wandering for the time it takes to burn two incense sticks, he bought a few talismans and some trinkets, but he had not seen anything that truly caught his eye.

Just as Bai Qingzhou was about to head off to find food, he suddenly stopped.

His gaze fell upon the stall of a young cultivator.

"Why does this look so familiar..." Bai Qingzhou’s heart skipped a beat.

There were no customers at the young cultivator's stall, and he was idly tidying up, waiting bitterly for someone to approach.

Bai Qingzhou thought for a moment, then walked directly to the stall and said with a hearty smile, "Fellow Daoist, do you have anything good?"

Seeing a customer, the young cultivator immediately perked up. With a beaming smile, he said, "I have nothing but the best here, Fellow Daoist. What are you looking for?"

Bai Qingzhou scanned the items on the stall one by one. When he saw a certain item, his eyes lit up, but he quickly masked his expression. He then said dismissively, "Many of these are just mid-grade Yellow-tier items. They are beneath my notice!"

Hearing this, the young cultivator paused slightly before saying with a smile, "Ah, so you are a senior of the late Qi Refining stage..."

With that, he looked down at his wares, his eyes skimming over them until they stopped on a book.

After some thought, he picked up the book and said, "Senior, please take a look. How about this sword manual?"

Bai Qingzhou raised an eyebrow slightly, took the manual, and said coolly, "What kind of sword manual is this?"

"Take a look, this is called the 'Ethereal Sword Manual.' It is a top-grade Yellow-tier manual! And look at the author—he is a Golden Core powerhouse!" the young cultivator said, as if presenting a treasure.

Bai Qingzhou looked at the name on the book, and his heart stirred. He naturally recognized the name; in fact, he was quite familiar with it.

For inscribed on the book were two characters: Xu Yang.

This was the very author of the 'Bamboo Leaf Sword Manual' that he had practiced for many years!

When Bai Qingzhou had passed by earlier, he had felt a sense of familiarity, and now he realized it was because they shared the same author.

Although he desperately wanted it, Bai Qingzhou feigned indifference and said lightly, "Xu Yang? A rogue cultivator from where? I have never heard of him."

Hearing this, the young cultivator curled his lip, clearly thinking that Bai Qingzhou was a bumpkin who didn't keep up with current events and didn't even know the famous Xu Yang.

However, he kept a polite smile on his face and said, "Senior, it is enough to know that this is a top-grade Yellow-tier manual..." He paused, glanced at the sword hanging at Bai Qingzhou's waist, and continued, "Senior is a swordsman, too, right? Then you should buy it!"

"But... I already have a sword manual. Learning another one now would only confuse my sword technique. This is useless to me." Bai Qingzhou shook his head slowly and moved to put the manual back.

The young cultivator looked dejected.

"However..." Bai Qingzhou stopped his movement. "I have a disciple in my family who needs a sword manual... Fellow Daoist, how much for this book? If the price is right, I might take it."

"Er, in that case..." The young cultivator hesitated to name a price. Since Bai Qingzhou was only buying it for a disciple, it wasn't a necessity, and if he set the price too high, he would scare the customer away.

"Fellow Daoist?" Bai Qingzhou asked, his tone showing a hint of impatience.

The young cultivator struggled for a moment, then tentatively said, "One hundred low-grade spirit stones?"

Hearing this price, Bai Qingzhou felt a surge of joy.

A top-grade Yellow-tier sword manual usually cost at least one hundred and twenty spirit stones. If he could get it for a hundred, he would save twenty!

Yet, his face remained unmoved. He even put on a pained expression and said, "Can't you make it cheaper? I'll buy it for ninety spirit stones!"

The young cultivator shook his head like a rattle, saying, "That is impossible!"

...

After some bargaining, Bai Qingzhou successfully acquired the 'Ethereal Sword Manual' for ninety-six spirit stones.