Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Void Refinement
Holding a gray Spirit Stone in his palm, Vahn activated the Void Refining Manual at once.
Following the manual’s instructions, he channeled the Void Qi out of his body through his right hand, forming a dark net that looked like small field of void.
The last time he used this Void net, it devoured the spiritual energy of the surroundings. But this time, he specifically targeted at a solid cultivation resource filled with rich energy.
The Void net soon enveloped the gray Spirit Stone. Then, under his incredulous eyes, the hard gray stone started dissolving into tiny, luminous essences.
The entire process looked magical, defying common sense.
Those rich essences quickly flowed into his body through his meridians and veins, racing to be stored in his Dantian and used later.
The process wasn’t just magical, it was smooth and extremely fast.
It was commonly known that cultivators consumed Spirit Stones to increase their cultivation base, using their cultivation manuals to slowly absorb the energy within.
However, no one could do it as fast as Vahn.
Though he didn’t know exactly how much time an ordinary cultivator required to fully use one Spirit Stone, he could tell his Cultivation Speed was fast. Very fast.
He wasn’t just breathing in spiritual energy like them; he was practically devouring it. Moreover, he was sure he hadn’t wasted too much energy in the process.
"So this is the true potential of the Void Refining Physique and the Void Refining Manual when combined together..."
Vahn murmured, his eyes flashing with a cold light.
"Now, no one can stop me."
With that realization, Vahn quickly began absorbing the Spirit Stones one after another with mad hunger.
His Cultivation Base began to rise at an astonishing pace:
[ You Have Achieved a Breakthrough! Qi Refining Stage 4 ]
[ You Have Achieved a Breakthrough! Qi Refining Stage 5 ]
[ You Have Achieved a Breakthrough! Qi Refining Stage 6 ]
....
The consecutive small breakthroughs made him feel exhilarated. So much so, he forget the sense of time and surroundings.
For now, he could only absorb one low-grade Spirit Stone at a time. He attempted to absorb two at once, but the immense influx of energy caused a sharp pain in his arm, signaling his meridians and veins were close to rupturing.
They simply couldn’t handle such a massive influx at his current stage. Therefore, he settled on safely absorbing one Spirit Stone with each cycle.
While this process might seem slow, he had already achieved progress that would have taken ordinary cultivators weeks or even months to accomplish.
But with each subsequent breakthrough, the requirement for energy increased dramatically. Vahn paused his cultivation to quantify the expenditure, counting the Spirit Stones he had consumed.
He noticed a pattern:
* For Qi Refining Stage 4, he had refined a total of 100 Spirit Stones.
* For Qi Refining Stage 5, it was 300 Spirit Stones.
* For Qi Refining Stage 6, it was 900 Spirit Stones.
* For Qi Refining Stage 7, it was 2,700 Spirit Stones.
* For Qi Refining Stage 8, it was 8,100 Spirit Stones.
With each stage of breakthrough, he had to spend 3 times the amount of the previous stage.
The expenditure was becoming seriously high, but Vahn could also feel himself getting immensely stronger. The internal energy stored within his core felt abundant, like a massive, overflowing pond.
While the energy requirement for others was significantly lower, this immense demand brought a crucial benefit to Vahn: his Dantian could hold exponentially more energy than that of his peers.
Vahn realized this was actually a tremendous advantage. He could fight prolonged battles where ordinary cultivators constantly faced the problem of energy depletion. His deeper energy reservoir would grant him superior endurance and the ability to sustain the powerful arts he was now capable of wielding.
Although, the future requirement for cultivation resources worried him a little.
After who knows how much time had passed, Vahn finally stopped cultivating. He checked his stats and found out that he reached Stage 9 of Qi Refining.
[ Status ]
[ Name: Vahn Necrotis ]
[ Title: Master Storyteller
[ Lifespan: 17 / 90 ]
[ Physique: Void Refining Physique ]
[ Cultivation Level: Qi Refining - Stage 9 ]
[ Cultivation Arts: Art Of Healing (Verse -1), Nine Heavens Lightning Swords ]
[ Elemental Affinities: Light (Bonded), Darkness (Innate), Lightning (Merged) ]
[ Special Abilities: None ]
--
He stopped not because of any kind of bottleneck, but because he didn’t know how to proceed to Foundation Establishment Realm.
He needed knowledge and guidance.
But after going outside, he noticed it was already morning. The sky was bright and shiny with white cranes flying overhead.
He had unknowingly spent half a day and a whole night cultivating.
Vahn shook his head helplessly. Time really flies like flowing cloud once someone starts cultivating.
But at least the progress was enough to make up for the loss.
He closed the System screen and headed toward the Scripture Hall.
He decided to first gather necessary knowledge from the texts, then he would go to Seraphina’s place to seek Insights from her personal experience.
He walked with his usual carefree steps, but suddenly, after channeling his abundant internal energy outward, he felt like he was gliding on thin clouds. He felt as light as a feather. This was a raw technique he had developed after copying Seraphina, hoping that one day he could truly fly in the air just like her.
However, on the way, he noticed an unusual atmosphere. All the Outer Disciples seemed far more diligent, more focused on their training, practicing their forms and techniques with newfound vigor.
Vahn became curious.
Very soon, he found out the reason: the public announcement of the Seven Saintesses Competition.
The grand event was scheduled to be held after one week. But it was not as simple as Vahn initially thought. While the main event was indeed the climactic battle among the seven Saintesses to see who was the strongest, there was also a critical secondary competition.
This secondary battle competition will be held between all the disciples of the Seven Great Holy Lands. Both Outer Court and Inner Court disciples would get the chance to showcase their talent and potential to the world.
The rewards were truly "Juicy," including millions of Spirit Stones, Heaven Grade Treasures, and powerful Artifacts.
There was even the prestige of the competition itself. The champions also had a chance to be chosen by one of the Saintesses to become their personal followers.
While the idea of becoming a follower held no interest for Vahn, countless ambitious individuals would be dying for the opportunity.
Vahn smiled. "Things are getting interesting."