Chapter 26: Three Months in Seclusion—Isn’t That a Bit Much?

Cao Xuan wiped the sweat from his forehead. A single misstep and everything could go wrong—if he tried to give another gift and they refused, what then? If a friend offers something, one dares to accept, but if a stranger or an enemy does, would any sensible person take it?

Thus, Cao Xuan could only take the initiative, maintaining, “I merely wish to help you, nothing more,” without making his intentions explicit.

Only upon returning to his own cave dwelling did Cao Xuan truly relax.

“This morning, I teased Lin Miaoxuan; this afternoon, I strolled with Chen Qianru. Tsk, tsk, my life is like walking on thin ice!”

After sighing, he exclaimed, “Oh? The affection level actually broke through?”

“Well, after giving gifts for two months straight, even ice and snow ought to melt!”

“I just wonder what good thing I’ll draw this time. System, begin the draw!”

[Ding~ Congratulations on achieving your second milestone. Prizes will be selected according to your current needs.]

Cao Xuan’s eyes lit up at this. If there was anything he lacked most right now, it was cultivation.

After all, as a mere Qi Condensation stage cultivator, he already had access to pills and resources—the only thing left was to increase his cultivation level.

What mattered most for cultivation, however, was his own spiritual root’s innate quality, and his was abysmal.

“I wonder if this draw will yield something to boost cultivation efficiency, or if I’ll be lucky enough to improve my spiritual root aptitude.”

Thanks to the “Compendium of Thousand Spiritual Herbs,” Cao Xuan knew of many rare treasures that could enhance spiritual roots, but who knew if such things still existed in this world?

Even if they did, they were not something a Qi Condensation cultivator could obtain.

During his time on the Alchemy Peak of Azure Cloud Sect, he had secretly searched for recipes to improve spiritual roots, but obviously, if Azure Cloud Sect possessed such things, they’d dominate more than just Yunzhou.

He watched the spinning prize wheel on his panel:

[Sunfire Divine Soul Pill: Grants the rare Sunflame spiritual root upon consumption.]

[Enlightenment Tea Tree: Each leaf induces enlightenment, boosting cultivation efficiency a hundredfold.]

[Sovereign Bone: Achieve invincibility without relying on spiritual roots.]

[…]

Every time a prize flashed by, Cao Xuan’s heart skipped a beat.

“Stop, just this one, this one is fine—ah, stop spinning already!”

He silently prayed, and finally, the wheel stopped as his heart hung in suspense.

He looked closely, only for his eyes to glaze over—the pointer landed on: [Thank you for participating].

“Damn it…”

[Draw failed. You receive a guaranteed reward: Spirit-Washing Pill Formula!]

“…Well, that’s not bad after all. Not bad, my dear system!”

[Spirit-Washing Pill Formula: With higher-quality alchemy, it can continuously cleanse and enhance spiritual roots.]

Reading this, Cao Xuan’s eyes lit up, but his face soon darkened.

If even the guaranteed prize was this good, the ones on the wheel must have been even better.

He felt as though he’d missed out on a fortune.

Though his face was bitter, he wasted no time extracting the reward.

“Hm? These ingredients are all common enough, but it requires eighteen steps—no wonder no one else could figure it out. No one’s even heard of it in Azure Cloud Sect.”

He studied the formula carefully and frowned. With his current mastery of alchemy and at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, he doubted he could endure a whole session of refining.

“I’ll need to reach the sixth level first. For now, I can start gathering herbs.”

…

Time in cultivation passes unnoticed. Another three months slipped by while Cao Xuan trained with single-minded devotion. With plenty of pills on hand, he had not even contacted Lin Miaoxuan or Chen Qianru in all that time.

He let out a long breath, feeling spiritual energy surging throughout his body.

“Since I started taking pills, one month to reach the fourth level, two for the fifth, and three for the sixth—just half a year!”

Cao Xuan couldn’t help but marvel. In truth, his method of pill consumption was not one others could imitate.

Not only the quantity, but the quality—these were all top-grade pills. Even the legendary heirs of immortal sects or holy lands would barely receive such treatment.

Of course, they wouldn’t need so many pills; each breakthrough required only a minor boost. Cultivating Qi in a hundred days, building a foundation in a thousand, and reaching the Golden Core in ten years would be no problem.

Cao Xuan rubbed his hands together, recalling the Spirit-Washing Pill formula and familiarizing himself with it once again.

“I thought I’d be like Old Devil Han, swallowing pills for centuries, reaching Golden Core or Nascent Soul before ever coming across something like the Heaven-Mending Pill.”

“But seeing as I’ve gotten ahead of the curve, I might as well enjoy it early. Let’s refine it first and worry later.”

He was a man of action. Just as he prepared to head for the alchemy hall, he fell into a familiar habit—like checking one’s phone upon waking. After closing his seclusion, he instinctively reached for his messaging talisman.

Cultivation isn’t a game where one simply levels up; it demands undivided focus. As a “waste” with a fourfold-refined spiritual root, Cao Xuan had only reached the sixth Qi Condensation layer through dedicated retreat.

The main reason, however, was that the medicinal effects of his pills were so potent that his spiritual roots refined energy too slowly to keep up with absorption. He had to concentrate fully, circulating his technique to refine spiritual energy.

He barely had time to check his messaging talisman, and thanks to his own top-grade fasting pills, he even spared himself meal times.

The moment he activated the talisman, it grew so hot he nearly thought his palm would catch fire.

First came messages from Senior Brother Yang Fan—not many, just a few:

[Strange, haven’t seen Junior Brother Cao in the alchemy hall lately.]

[I’ve made new progress on the Bone-Strengthening Powder—not as good as yours, but efficiency has improved. Hope to discuss in the hall tomorrow.]

[…]

Next, messages from the Spiritual Herb Pavilion—far more numerous, but all essentially urging him to deliver more pills.

[Master Cao, why haven’t you come to trade pills this month? We’ve got the spirit stones ready.]

[It’s been two months now. Are you in seclusion? Many people are asking about your pills, we’re swamped.]

[Three months now, Master Cao! What are we to do without you? Don’t tell me those scoundrels in the Artifact or Talisman Pavilions have lured you away!]

[Master Cao, please reply! I’ve already gotten approval from above—besides the usual purchase price, you’ll get eighty percent of auction proceeds!]

[…]

“Uh, I was only in seclusion for three months—is it really so dire?”

Cao Xuan was completely stunned. He had no idea how addictive his supreme-grade pills were to cultivators.

Many who’d used them once were already hooked.

Some couldn’t even stomach ordinary pills anymore, and at best made do with Senior Sister Ye Caixuan’s high-grade ones.

As they put it: once you’ve experienced the thrill of flight, it’s torture to crawl again.

During his absence, so many disciples came with spirit stones that the Spiritual Herb Pavilion was besieged, even drawing the attention of the sect’s guardian elders, who suspected the Pavilion of foul play.