The alchemy hall was a giant three story building with purple glazed tiled roofs covering a dark wooden structure of some form of spirit tree.
Boom!
Faust heard the occasional explosion reverberate through the building. The golden plaque hanging from the eves shook above the entrance slightly. He didn’t look too closely. All the newbie disciples quickly learned all the calligraphy contained a powerful intent that shook the mind.
All part of the Overseers of each hall showing off, Faust thought. Only those who reached the Golden Core realm by 50 would become core disciples and eventually respected elders of the sect, with potential to reach the lofty Nascent Soul realm. Past that, one could only become a sect Overseer.
After a few more minutes, Phalecia exited the Alchemy Hall.
“Here.” Phalecia passed two ornate and polished wooden boxes to Faust.
Faust took them and bowed. “Thank you, Junior Sister.”
“Not all, Senior Brother.” Phalecia bowed back. “I wish you luck on your breakthrough— and hope to see you in the Inner Sect soon.”
“Thank you.” Faust nodded, turning away to head to one of the nearby buildings.
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“Administration Hall.” A jade plaque read at the entrance to a large, marble building with gold and jade decorations. All mortal materials. The kind that the overseers who’d given up advancing further loved to indulge in.
Still, the building was lacquered in arrays and formations carved into the walls and floors. A testament to the centuries of effort the Administration Hall overseer had dedicated to their craft.
The hall was completely devoid of people. Faust’s footsteps echoing loudly across the open hall while cool, almost freezing air poked at his skin.
“Mmmh?” An old man, with a beard reaching the floor, looked up from a sitting desk.
Faust felt a chill go up his spine while a subtle weight pressed down on his shoulders.
“Outer Sect… Fallen Petal Ridge’s Faust…” The old man, Overseer Clementine, spoke after a moment of regard.
Faust bowed, cupping his hands. “I greet the venerable overseer.”
The old man brushed his beard with one hand. “...You're breaking through?” He asked.
Faust nodded. “I request absolve of my monthly quota for the next 2 months and Usage of the Jade Crushing Refinement Array.” He got straight to the point. The Administration Hall was where one could go to make special requests or buy things not normally sold by the sect. It was up to the Hall’s overseer’s own discretion if these requests were granted or not.
Clementine continued brushing his long beard, looking back down at whatever he had been writing for a time.
After a few minutes, Clementine spoke. “I’ve checked with the Mission Hall, Contributions Hall, Merit Hall and the Technique Hall.” He began. Faust guessed the old man had used the divine sense unique to those at the Golden Core realm to scan documents from the other halls. It was a truly marvelous ability.
“In the past nearly fifteen years you’ve been with the sect. You have accepted Six-hundred and twenty-three missions. Twenty-eight of those missions were emergency missions directly assigned by the sect. Of all your missions you have only failed four.” The elder listed Faust’s achievements.
“You have traded in two hundred first grade items to the merit hall, fifty six second grade items and seven third grade items… It was also noted that you were able to defeat someone at the Open Palace realm, whilst only at the Meridian Opening realm… In return, you have only claimed twenty seven first grade items and nine second grade items.” The elder listed what Faust had done at the Merit Hall.
“At the Technique Hall, you have provided extensive notes for others at the Meridian Opening realm as well as your own modifications of several techniques and a continuation of an incomplete technique. In return, you have taken two hundred and fourteen techniques from the Hall.”
Faust flinched at that. He had dreamed of being an immortal who could take heads with a flying sword from a thousand miles away. However, there were no good techniques for that and he had dedicated unholy amounts of time researching techniques and trying to develop his own.
Faust knew how valuable techniques were. Despite his accumulated contributions and merits, there was a very real chance the Technique Hall had already been generous with letting him take so many techniques out.
“However.” The old man continued. “It has been noted you have taken so many techniques out, in order to study and create your own. With technique crafting being one of the most important external arts and one of the rarest pursued… You have been given leeway and special exception for many of those techniques.”
“...” Faust stayed silent and bowing, his heart beating rapidly. While not being given use of the Jade Crushing Refinement Array wouldn’t be devastating, it would set his mind at ease and make his inner palace foundation probably another magnitude more stable. At the same time though, the Jade Crushing Refinement Array was incredibly sought after by both artifact refiners and those who pursued the path of tempering their mortal body.
“...With all your contributions and merits… I believe… Your request can be granted…”
Faust let out a deep breath, the weight on his shoulders seeming to half in an instance.
A jade token suddenly flew out from the elders sleeve. Faust caught it with both hands.
“I have informed the administrator managing the Jade Crushing Refinement Array. Give him this token when you enter.”
Faust bowed and cupped his hands one more time. “Thank you. May the sect stand tall for eras.”
The overseer nodded, before turning their attention back to the scroll he had been writing on.
Faust turned and left the hall as quietly as he could.
A few moments later, the sun's heat once more pelted Faust’s skin, the warmth a welcome contrast to the freezing halls of the Administration Hall.
“Hahhh…” Faust let out a deep breath, closing his eyes and enjoying the sunlight for a few moments. He already felt his years of diligence had been rewarded.
“Senior brother, Faust.”
“Hm?” Faust opened his eyes and looked forward.
A woman with fierce golden hair greeted, approaching the hall Faust had just left. She had a ruby gleam in her eyes and her accessories and clothes all seemed to match. Ruby and gold earrings, a Red Jade fan, a tight red and gold sleeveless cheongsam that would have covered the knees if not for the two slits on either side which ended not below the hips but at the waist. A popular style for more… eccentric personalities, where the knees and elbows were covered by thin black thigh highs and long gloves that went up the upper arms.
Despite being the senior brother, Faust bowed anyway to the young lady. “Junior Sister, Rozeline.” He greeted, unable to imagine spending so much money on an outfit when the sect provided the sect uniform for free.
“It’s rare to see you around. You’re usually out on missions.” The woman, Rozeline, snapped her fan shut, smirking as always.
“I’m preparing to break through.” Faust responded. It was his bad luck to run into one of the young prodigies of a major clan. He was ultimately still just a potter's son.
“Oh? You’ve been at the peak of the Meridian Opening realm ever since I joined the sect. Even the Inner disciple who inducted us recommended asking you for advice. I thought you were planning to become a sect deacon or administrator?”
Faust shook his head. “Perfection in each realm is the only thing that can match innate talent. I was just perfecting my foundation before making the leap.”
“I see. Well, by coincidence, I happen to be preparing to break through to the Open Palace realm as well. I look forward to seeing senior brother in the Inner Sect too.” Rozeline spoke, before walking past Faust into the Administration Hall.
…
Faust watched Rozeline for a moment, then turned away back to Jade Road Mountain. He had to prepare all his materials and grab the foundation laying method he had created, as well as a few Fasting pills to keep hunger and thirst at bay whilst he was in secluded cultivation.
Faust sighed as he walked. Of course, usually only the disciples of wealthy clans would enter the Administration Hall. Few disciples of ordinary background ever even tried asking the sect for use of one of their different arrays that assisted with channel construction or foundation laying. Many out of ignorance.
In his 15 years in the Outer Sect, Faust had seen exactly 2 other disciples not from powerful backgrounds enter the Administration Hall. The first was the lackey of one of the clan heirs, who entered on the heir’s instruction.
The second person was Sirius, who followed Faust’s advice. Yet she only did so because while her background wasn’t particularly powerful, she was still from a well educated merchant family with a small handful of weaker cultivators among their members.
Faust shook his head as he waved his fan to bear some of the summer heat. Mernanda and Persius were in a bad position if they ever wanted to go past the Open palace realm.
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Back at home, with plenty of time before lunch, Faust searched his house for various items. He collected the various boxes containing Golden Sand, Crushed Spirit Jade, Steelpine Sap, Minotaur Clam powder, Dark Slate, Star Iron, Iridescent Ashes and Spirit Glazed Platinum. He planned to use all of them to help lay his foundation.
Faust thought of Mernanda and Persius again and sighed. He had insisted the two at least use external materials to help lay their foundation if they weren’t going to use the sect’s various arrays and formations. But the two had already used their merit up to purchase new techniques that would work even in the Open Palace realm.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Turning his eyes back to the boxes, Faust took stock. He concluded he should definitely have enough of everything. In combination with the Jade Crushing Refinement Array, he would lay the first of three layers of his Inner Palace’s foundation, officially stepping into the Open Palace realm.
Seeing there was still plenty of time, Faust decided to have one last proper meal before heading to the Jade Crushing Refinement Array. He probably wouldn’t have a proper meal for months beyond Fasting pills or the Spirit Qi Satiation technique. A must have for any traveling cultivator.
An hour later, Faust cleaned the pot with a few flicks of his wrist, expertly manipulating some Water Qi to peel off any bits. Using the 12 Qi Transformations technique to turn the Water Qi into Fire Qi, he turned the sludge that remained of his lunch into ash and charcoal, before guiding it with normal Spirit Qi into the small pots of spirit herbs that lay on the windowsill.
“It’s time.” Faust nodded to himself, picking up the boxes of external materials he’d be using, a bag of Fasting pills and the scroll containing his final copy of his modified concrete inspired foundation laying technique.
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Instead of going up Jade Road to Clear Jade bridge, Faust went down the mountain, following Jade Road, which snaked around the mountain until it connected to the Outer Sect’s first courtyard. A massive courtyard which stood between two columns of Clear Jade bridge, which towered hundreds of meters above, acting as the final gate before entering the sect proper.
Turning down another large road, Faust passed between Jade Road Mountain and Diamond Mountain. He quickly came across a massive valley that formed between the two enormous mountains, descending hundreds more meters until the Clear Jade Bridge was just a thin arc in the sky.
With the mountains shielding the valley from the worst of the heat, the temperature finally dropped.
Eventually, Faust reached the peripheral disciple dwellings, more often called Peripheral village. It was where all the hopefuls who refused to leave the sect entirely gathered. With the sect’s permission of course.
The village, populated by several thousand peripheral disciples and thousands more mortal merchants, led to several places, but Faust was most interested in the path that branched from the village to the mines.
Gray robed, peripheral disciples, many well into middle age or even having gone white on their heads, trudged along, hauling carts filled with ore across the paved stone path to the mines, more passing by Faust every few steps he took.
The mine's entrance soon came into view. A deep gash in the side of the valley that swallowed light, covered in thick vines and greenery that seeped inside the darkness.
Stepping up to the entrance, Faust looked down the narrow stone steps, which descended, seemingly endlessly downwards. Pale blue lanterns lined both sides of the steps separating them from countless plateaus of clay, filled with ponds and greenery that followed the stairs down into the abyss.
Wooden platforms eventually branched off the staircase as the greenery and small ponds fell off, disappearing into the darkness. Countless more disciples turned wheels and pulled on ropes, dragging platforms filled with gleaming gems and ores from the depths of the mines. A few deacons at the peak of the Meridian Opening realm oversaw everything, with a single person at the Open Palace realm watching from a high platform.
It wasn’t Faust’s first time in the mines. He had taken several sect missions to kill demonic creatures found down here. Despite all the miners being peripheral disciples who had all reached the Qi Refining realm, few who reached the Meridian Opening realm would stay. Except for the few who became deacons, they would have better prospects joining the Imperial Military. As such, Outer Sect disciples at the Meridian Opening realm sometimes had to venture down. Sometimes to kill shadow beasts, other times to destroy a piece of stone that gained spirituality and became a golem, other times to exterminate an infestation of minor spirit beasts or clear a dangerous fungus.
Thousands of meters deep, everything was pitch black except for the pale lanterns that illuminated the stairs in blue light. Even now, countless grey robed disciples were going up and down the wide, narrow staircase, which couldn’t even fit a grown man's foot without it hanging off the step.
“It should be near here…” Faust mumbled, hoping he recalled the Jade Crushing Refinement arrays location correctly.
A few thousand more steps down, Faust stood on a part of the stairs which opened up to a wide stone platform. One that seemed suspended in pitch black. Several groups of people were resting. The opposite side of the platform continued leading further down, but the other two sides had bridges which led in different directions.
Stone plaques carved onto the ground labeled the two paths. To the left was labeled “Mountain Weighted Refinement array” while the right was labeled “Jade Crushing Refinement Array.”
Faust followed the path, soon separated from the chatter and clamor of the miners, walking across a bridge that seemed to cross the abyss.
Soon, Faust came upon another stone courtyard, this one surrounded by stone double doors on three sides. Pale blue light revealed the edges of the mine. A giant, vertical gray wall that extended seemingly endlessly up and down, with a bit cut out for the stone platform.
“Are you Faust?” A middle aged man wearing glasses asked, sitting on a wooden desk on the side of the path leading into the courtyard, his back to the edge of the bridge as he put down a book with a rather obscene title.
“Yes.” Faust bowed, pulling out the Jade token he’d been given by the Administration Hall overseer.
The middle aged man took the token, letting it levitate towards him using Spirit Qi, turning it over a few times before nodding and throwing his arm towards the stone platform surrounded by double doors. “Good luck.”
Faust bowed perfunctorily to the older man, who he felt was at the peak of the Open Palace realm, before stepping on the platform, where one of the stone double doors opened up for him.
Faust headed inside, hearing the heavy stone doors slide shut behind him.
Faust exhaled deeply, “No going back now.” He tried to assure himself, heading towards the room's center, where a pulsing green circle of light, surrounded by glowing green characters, beckoned him closer.
Faust took several deep breaths. After a few moments of silence, he stepped inside the green circle.
Immediately, Faust felt his meridian channels being crushed, forcing him to draw Spirit Qi out to form a shield around both his physical and spiritual body. He grit his teeth and resisted jumping out. Vast walls of dirt and rock seemed to press against him as he sat down in the center of the circle.
Faust took several more deep breaths, keeping his breathing steady as he arranged his external items around himself, opening the lids. The essence of the various materials wouldn’t be able to escape the boxes with the Jade Crushing Refinement array’s suppression anyways.
For now, Faust took a single Fasting Pill, then rolled out his foundation laying method and proceeded to meditate. It was time to put his years of accumulation to the test.
First, Faust used a modification of the Clear Mirror Meditation Art to meditate. Spirit Qi began flowing through his meridian channels, soon forming a cycle as they went from one node to another.
For the first few days, Faust let himself fall into deep meditation.
For days after that, he contemplated his foundation laying method, thinking of everything that could go wrong and how to solve it.
Then, on the 8th day of secluded cultivation, Faust began reaching out with his Innate Qi, picking up the external ingredients he had gathered one by one.
For the entire first month, Faust ground the external items with his Innate Qi until their physical forms were turned to dust and they became nothing but their Qi Essences, which he promptly drew into his body and let float around until he was ready.
Once all the Essence Qi was absorbed and ready for use, Faust fretted over his meridian channels for a few days, double, triple, quadruple checking every inch of every one countless times. It was a useless thing since he had spent so many years doing the same thing whenever he had spare time, but when every step here could heavily affect Faust’s future, he worried anyway.
Time waited for no man however and Faust had to move on. He mobilized the deep, deep reserves of Innate Qi he had developed over a decade, letting it bubble up from the depths of his Dan-Tian and other nodes. The Innate Qi began perforating his spiritual body until the transparent spirit that existed in the same space as the physical body, turned into a misty form, then, eventually into a pure pale blue form.
If Faust hadn’t had the help of the Jade Crushing Refinement array, this is where he would stop, wasting a majority of his accumulated Innate Qi and causing the solidified spiritual body to be lacking in density.
Fortunately, the Jade Crushing Refinement Array was here and Faust simply had to let it work. He released a part of the Essence Qi from the external materials, he began mixing it across the whole spirit body, saturated with Innate Qi as it was. The process was like mixing cement and then concrete, the liquid rock common in the Empire’s west.
Once the Innate Qi had been sufficiently mixed with the Essence Qi, Faust took a deep breath, then, he dropped the Spirit Qi shield that he had erected earlier.
In an instant, the Jade Crushing Refinement array began its work, crushing and compressing the mixed Innate Qi and Essence Qi further and further.
An uncomfortable feeling, as if his organs were being squeezed overtook Faust. He resisted the urge to raise another Spirit Qi shield, cycling his Qi following the meditation art.
After some time, the mixture of Qi couldn’t be compressed anymore, solidifying into a pure white mass that encased his meridian channels within his spiritual body.
“Huuu…” Faust exhaled a shaky breath. He had completely lost track of time by now, raising another Spirit Qi barrier to pause most of the array’s pressure for now.
Despite his whole body shaking in discomfort, Faust smiled. His research and decade of accumulation hadn’t been in vain. Within his inner palace, the first pour of concrete had been made, but there was still a lot to go before he completed the first layer of its foundation.
Faust drew more of his accumulated Innate Qi out through his major channels, and then through his minor channels which snaked through his whole spirit body like a giant steel web. Innate Qi quickly perforated Faust’s whole spirit body until it became a pale blue again, he mixed the various Essence Qi, then he dropped the Spirit Qi that had been shielding him from the Jade Crushing refinement array’s pressure.
Once again, the array compressed the mixed Qi against the meridian channels and turned solid white.
Faust lost track of time, repeating the process again and again.
Eventually, Faust paused, meditating to calm his shaking body down. A third of his spirit body had turned to pure white. Despite having enough Innate Qi left to continue, he stopped. He was almost out of Essence Qi from the various external resources he had used to create an even tougher foundation.
Besides, Faust had already achieved his goal, with his spirit body a third filled, his inner palace had completed the first of its three layers. Now, it was for the final detail.
The Spirit Glazed Platinum’s essence was still floating around, Faust began to carefully mobilise it, turning the Essence Qi into fine threads which he began snaking around the already encased minor and major meridian channels.
After a while, the Essence Qi was stretched thin, but Faust had successfully twisted it into a fourth array, one that would complement the three he had already formed using his minor meridian channels.
Using the last bits of Essence Qi from the other materials, mixing them with his Innate Qi, Faust encased the carefully laid out Spirit Glazed Platinum’s Essence Qi, pinning it in place. In the final step, Faust let the Jade Crushing Refinement array do its work, compressing the mixed Qi into a pure white that covered the Essence Qi and his meridian channels.
“Huuuuuh….” Faust exhaled a deep breath. He was done.
Faust stood up shakily in the array.
With a thought, the Spirit Qi inside of Faust churned violently, before speeding up, rushing through his meridian channels and outside of his body through the minor channels.
Vast amounts of Spirit Qi gathered around Faust in an instant.
At the peak of the Meridian Opening realm, this would be Faust’s limit. By now, the violently moving Spirit Qi would make even his heavily reinforced channels that resembled thick stone and steel bridges begin swaying violently, threatening to collapse.
Now? The encased meridian channels didn’t sway, locked in place and reinforced by Faust’s inner palace foundation.
With a smile Faust tripled, then pentupled the force of the Spirit Qi rushing through his meridian channels. Still, there was no reaction from his meridian channels, not even the slightest threat of cracking in the foundation.
Faust calmed himself down, sitting down to meditate. He had only just laid the first layer of his inner palaces foundation. He still needed to consolidate it, or in his case, he would simply need to leave the “concrete” to set.
Even so, if Sirius, with her mid stage Open Palace realm cultivation, was physically 5 times stronger than Faust was when he was at the peak of Meridian Opening, despite not tempering her physical body as much as he did. Now, Faust would be somewhat stronger than she was, despite only being at the early stage of the Open Palace realm right now.
Faust held back tears. He had been mocked for being the first to reach Meridian Opening in his generation of disciples, yet for never advancing to the Open Palace realm while his peers and friends did. Yet now.
It was worth it. Even without the body tempering, Faust was confident now, after testing it for real, that his foundation was so robust that maybe. Just maybe. He would be able to aim for higher. Higher than Nascent Soul which he considered his limit. Perhaps, he could even reach the same realm as the sect leader, the Essence Unity realm or even the same realm as the sect's ancestors, Deity Transformation.
Sitting back down, Faust began meditating. Since the stone doors of the chamber were still closed, two months hadn’t passed yet. Since he still had time, he released his Spirit Qi defence against the Jade Crushing Refinement array. The array, just as it could compress various kinds of Qi and the spirit body, it could also compress the muscles of the physical body, making one's physical body significantly stronger even without Spirit Qi to enhance it. It was a boon for those who practiced body tempering and Faust intended to make use of it while he had the opportunity.
As a reader, how do you prefer realm breakthroughs written?
