Chapter 87 – Taking Flight

  By the second month inside the Ninefold Refinement Array, Jun De was beginning to lose his mind.

  At first, screaming curses at the Tranquil Mountain Sect had brought him a sense of petty satisfaction. He even included Elder Mu Yanyu in them, ranting about the ‘betrayal’ and other nonsense.

  He shouted threats at the heavens, cried out vows of revenge against every formation array in the Sect, and even composed a satirical poem about the Sect that included verses about their love of fornicating with themselves.

  But, when his voice was hoarse and his throat was raw, Jun De knew that the array didn’t care what he said. No matter how dramatic his tantrums became, the dense and grinding spiritual pressure continued to press down on him.

  The array was cold and impersonal, and he was nothing but an ant beneath a mountain being slowly crushed by the weight.

  Eventually, as the days turned to weeks, Jun De stopped yelling. It wasn’t because he had forgiven anyone, but because he knew that no matter what he did, he would be stuck in the array for the full six-month duration.

  There was no cheat code he could apply, no golden finger that would allow him to avoid it.

  So, with the grim recognition of a man on a sinking ship, Jun De accepted his fate and settled down. He crossed his legs, took a deep breath, and began to cultivate with a rare seriousness.

  The Ninefold Refinement Array wasn’t intended to suppress or punish him; its purpose was to refine the bodies of those who entered it. Its spiritual energy wasn’t impure or chaotic, just incredibly intense.

  Jun De worked to align his breathing to the ebb and flow of the spiritual energy that was crashing against him. Over time, the Qi in his body flowed in manageable bursts. It would return to his Dantian when the surrounding spiritual energy was low, and shield his meridians when it was at its strongest.

  He would cycle his Qi carefully, again and again in an endless loop while the friction, the heat, and the stress of everything scaped away at his body, mind and spirit like a whetstone across a dull blade.

  The few impurities that clung to his body and Qi were slowly being ground away, leaving his channels clearer and his Qi even purer than before. His foundation was continually solidifying until it was unyielding to outside pressures.

  After three months, when Jun De had adapted enough to the Array and the spiritual pressure around him was no longer capable of squeezing his bones into dust, Jun De removed his sword from his storage bag and practiced the Heaven-Piercing Starfall Sword Art.

  The Array’s oppressive influence forced him to be mindful of his every movement. Sloppy stances led to openings that the spiritual energy could exploit and result in pulled muscles. Misaligned breaths disrupted his flow of Qi and nearly caused a deviation in the cycle, keeping him healthy.

  Every day, Jun De adapted and grew stronger, more deliberate. Each step he took in his sword stance was a struggle against pressure that made him better.

  Meanwhile, the Dawnheart Flame within his Dantian was brimming with contentment. It was glowing a bright orange with a tinge of red, and it pulsed with joy as if the Array was a summer’s day in a hot spring.

  Unlike Jun De, who was struggling to survive, the Dawnheart Flame floated lazily in his core, utterly delighted in its present circumstances.

  Although Jun De had reduced his cursing against the Sect, he never neglected the little flame.

  “Traitorous little Flame. Just wait until we get out of here. Oh, you’re going to love the things I have planned for you.” Jun De growled. The Dawnheart Flame didn’t show the slightest reaction to its host's threats and continued to play and enjoy itself.

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  Outside the Ninefold Refinement Array, life in the Outer Sect had gradually returned to its steady rhythm from prior to the attacks by the demonic cultivators.

  Disciples continued their training, flowing in and out of the Tower of Tempered Will. Their aura gradually shifted as they gained new experience and went through the trials within.

  Others bartered and traded within the Nine-Treasure Pagoda, exchanging spirit herbs, talismans, and other things that they had either found or produced. Laughter and the sound of occasional friendly arguments filled the air again, all signs that the Sect was returning to normal.

  The Outer Valley, which had been declared too dangerous for the Outer Sect Disciples to enter since it was recently overrun with restless spirit beasts, had settled back into balance. Junior disciples now ventured there in pairs or groups, harvesting spirit herbs that shimmered with Qi under the strong summer sun.

  The threat of being abducted and refined by practitioners of the Crimson Rebirth Sutra, which had loomed large only a few months before, now seemed to have vanished completely. The disappearances had mostly stopped all across the region, and the fear that had gripped the hearts of the Outer Sect Disciples had faded away.

  But, although the Disciples may have been tempted to lapse into complacency, the higher-ups in the Sect were still preparing. Defensive formations were quietly being reinforced, new patrols around the region were being organized through the Task Board, and names had been posted declaring specific individuals as traitors who were to be eliminated on sight.

  For most of the Outer Sect, however, it felt like they had come through the current crisis stronger and more prepared than before, and things could go on as they always had.

  Then, without warning, one day a surge of Qi rippled through the Outer Sect. It was powerful, dazzling, and unmistakable. The ground shivered, and birds scattered into the sky. Even the spirit beasts in the distant Outer Valley growled in alarm.

  Disciples turned their heads toward the Upper Ridge, and their eyes widened as a pillar of spiritual energy momentarily burst upward before fading like mist burning off in the sunlight.

  It was the distinctive sign of someone breaking through to a higher realm, ascending past the Qi Condensation Stage and entering Foundation Establishment.

  The Outer Sect buzzed in speculation for a moment before the truth revealed itself.

  Elder Shen Weifeng emerged from his cultivation chamber, and his normally calm and serene expression was replaced by one of unrestrained joy. His robes fluttered around him, stirred by the pressure of his new cultivation realm. There was a glow in his eyes and a lightness in his step.

  When he let out a loud laugh, it was deep and booming as it sounded out for miles in all directions.

  He looked years younger; at least a decade had vanished from his features. The wrinkled lines of age and frustration at his situation had been smoothed away by his success. His aura, however, was still fluctuating wildly, and his Qi was clearly unsettled.

  But there was no doubt, Elder Shen had entered the Foundation Establishment Realm.

  The Outer Sect barely had time to register the development when something else happened. Barely moments after Shen Weifeng had emerged from his secluded meditation, two streaks of light arced across the sky above.

  Two Late Stage Formation Establishment Inner Sect Disciples descended into his courtyard, their long blue robes trimmed in silver to signify their rank. A man and a woman had arrived, radiating power, and their auras were refined and deep.

  Their faces, both middle-aged, bore expressions of genuine warmth and happiness at seeing Shen Weifeng.

  “Weifeng, old friend! It’s been far too long.” The woman said, smiling broadly as she approached him.

  Elder Shen stepped out of his residence and gave the pair a long, appraising look. He recognized them immediately as his former peers who had entered the Sect at the same time as him, all those years ago.

  Back then, the three of them had all been considered promising Outer Sect Disciples. But while they had all entered the Inner Sect with the expectation of reaching Foundation Establishment before the age of thirty, Shen Weifeng had failed.

  He had chosen to return to the Outer Sect as an Elder rather than remain in the Inner Sect.

  Now, after decades, he stood on equal footing with them again.

  They clasped arms like old comrades, laughing and reminiscing about their early days. No one mentioned the time between, and Shen Weifeng was glad not to be reminded of it.

  They talked for a long while beneath the fading summer sun, seated at a stone table in Shen Weifeng’s courtyard. Teacups were filled, emptied, and filled again.

  Eventually, the time came for the reason the pair had come. To retrieve Shen Weifeng and bring him to the Inner Sect to continue his cultivation journey.

  With a grin and a deep breath, Shen Weifeng finally gathered his Qi beneath his feet. For the first time in his long life, his body rose into the air under his own power.

  Together, the three Foundation establishment cultivators took to the sky and turned into three blurs of light that ascended from the Outer Sect. They raced through the cloud toward the Distant Inner Sect that loomed higher on the mountain.