Beast Tamer Ascension

Vol 2 Chapter 25: Qi Refinement Tenth Stage?

After enhancing their physiques, both Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse found themselves able to accommodate more true energy, giving them the possibility of advancing to the Qi Refinement Tenth Stage. The two continued hunting the Dragon-Phoenix projections together.

However, to Lin Jing’s surprise, even after resealing the Ice Soul Gu, it still continued to absorb a portion of his energy.

“You two better leave me some!” Lin Jing redoubled his efforts in hunting the Dragon-Phoenix beasts, driven by a bad premonition.

Given how difficult it was for someone with the Longevity Body to break through, he feared that by the time the Cavern Heaven event ended, the Pine Leaf Mouse and Ice Soul Gu might both reach the Tenth Stage of Qi Refinement while he remained stuck at the Ninth Stage!

Boom!

The Pine Leaf Mouse blasted yet another projection attempting to consume the Longevity Blood, and the light particles released from the projection scattered uncontrollably.

Absorbing these light particles, the Pine Leaf Mouse suddenly discovered a surge of spiritual energy within its body!

Buzz!

True energy around it condensed into swirling spiritual patterns, circling its body. It had broken through to the Qi Refinement Tenth Stage! Although it hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment, its strength was already comparable to that level!

Whoosh!

Under the control of even more powerful Everlasting Emperor’s True Energy, enhanced by its willpower, the Pine Leaf Mouse’s speed with Flying Leaf Technique increased drastically!

Watching this, Lin Jing felt conflicted. Even as a "Three-Body Cultivator" now, the Pine Leaf Mouse still managed to break through before him. This seemed to confirm that his two new physiques didn’t significantly enhance his cultivation speed.

Fortunately, the Pine Leaf Mouse’s breakthrough produced an abundance of spiritual energy that fed back into Lin Jing through their bloodline contract, bringing him closer to the Tenth Stage.

“Breakthrough!” Lin Jing muttered some time later.

“Too bad it wasn’t me.”

The Ice Soul Gu absorbed nutrients before Lin Jing and reached the Tenth Stage of Qi Refinement first.

Though still asleep, the Ice Soul Gu also fed back a substantial amount of spiritual energy to Lin Jing. Yet, Lin Jing remained just short of breaking through.

Both his contracted beasts had broken through their limits, leaving him the only one still lagging behind. Feeling frustrated, Lin Jing unleashed an even more ferocious wave of icy energy, injuring himself in the process—not because of the Dragon-Phoenix beasts but because he had to release fresh blood to attract more of them!

Finally, after a night of relentless hunting, Lin Jing hovered in midair, his body emanating massive waves of spiritual energy. Ten rings of spiritual energy formed, swirling around him like ten vortices, wrapping him in their embrace. With a deep exhale, Lin Jing released a frosty breath, then retracted all his true energy into his body.

Within him, his true energy had grown vast, like an ocean of clouds. The Qi Sea of the Tenth Stage was ten times greater than that of the Ninth Stage, and every strand of true energy remained flawless. This unparalleled power filled Lin Jing with immense confidence.

After days of tireless effort, Lin Jing had finally crossed into the pinnacle of the Qi Refinement Tenth Stage!

“Let’s keep going!” Lin Jing flew onward without pausing to revel in his breakthrough.

He recalled ancient books he had read in the academy’s library, which claimed that anyone who reached the Tenth Stage of Qi Refinement possessed talent worthy of catching the eye of the ancient Celestial Palaces, qualifying them to become outer disciples of such immortal sects.

The Celestial Palaces, as forces of the upper realms, undoubtedly set the bar extremely high. The thought of it filled Lin Jing with excitement, though he knew he had not yet reached his limits.

Elder Mo had once mentioned that the Ancient Imperial Prince, the son of the Second Ancient Emperor, achieved the absurd feat of reaching the Thirteenth Stage of Qi Refinement using the Boundary-Breaking Bird and the True Dragon Secret Arts.

This proved that the Tenth Stage was far from the peak.

“Qi Refinement Twelfth or Thirteenth Stages may be out of reach for now, but I wonder… could I push to the Eleventh Stage in this Cavern Heaven?”

Boom!

As Lin Jing flew, the Ice Soul Gu hovered behind him at a slow pace. In his storage pouch, various pills to replenish true energy were steadily being consumed, primarily to compensate for the energy lost during travel.

In the Dragon-Phoenix Cavern Heaven, what drained the most energy for the Ice Soul Gu and Pine Leaf Mouse wasn’t fighting but traveling. The cavern was enormous, and even when using Longevity Blood as bait, they frequently had to move to different areas because the Dragon-Phoenix projections were clustered too densely in certain spots.

Hidden Dragon Academy, Flying Dragon Mountain.

As time passed, more and more people gathered here. Many candidates had initially come alone, but upon entering the Cavern Heaven, elders from their sects and families had also arrived to observe their progress.

By now, Flying Dragon Mountain was filled with Nascent Soul cultivators, with Golden Core cultivators everywhere.

At one corner of the mountaintop, a pine cone hidden within a tree was muttering to itself.

“By my calculations, the Cavern Heaven should be ending soon.”

In midair, Cao Ziwei sat cross-legged. His cultivation at the Great Perfection of Nascent Soul placed him among the top five on Flying Dragon Mountain.

Standing up slowly, his Nascent Soul aura radiated outward as he transmitted his voice across a hundred miles:

“The Cavern Heaven is about to close. Anyone who breaks through their limits within the Dragon-Phoenix Cavern Heaven will be awarded a sixty-year use of an academy cave dwelling after passing the assessment.”

A sixty-year cave dwelling usage period… Upon hearing this, cultivators from second- and third-rate sects became instantly envious. Cultivation depended on four key factors: techniques, wealth, companions, and location. The academy’s spirit-veined cave dwellings were unquestionably prime cultivation sites, even superior to those of most ordinary sects.

“They’re coming out!”

With a shout from the crowd, the cultivators watching saw people emerging from the light pillar of the Cavern Heaven. One by one, candidates returned. Regardless of their current state, most wore smiles, clearly satisfied with their gains.

“How was it?” One candidate was immediately pulled aside by their elder for questioning.

“My true energy was refined more than tenfold in the Cavern Heaven! After continuous tempering, its strength now rivals true essence. Even against an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, I might hold my own in a direct confrontation!” the candidate exclaimed excitedly.

“Good, good, good!” The elder was delighted. They hadn’t expected the candidate to break through any limits, so the current gains were already excellent.

In midair, Cao Ziwei stood watching as one candidate after another emerged. He nodded slightly, satisfied with this batch. This cohort of candidates might be the strongest in terms of Qi Refinement power in the past century.

“Ninth Stage, Ninth Stage, Ninth Stage…” His spiritual sense swept over the candidates, but so far, all of them were still at the Ninth Stage of Qi Refinement.

Cao Ziwei sighed. “No matter how solid your foundation in the Ninth Stage of Qi Refinement, time alone will eventually bring you there. But the Tenth Stage? That’s a matter of luck and opportunity, and it seems most candidates lack that bit of fortune.”

His expression shifted suddenly. “Hmm? Finally, someone has reached the Tenth Stage.”

His gaze locked onto a woman in a yellow dress stepping calmly out of the Cavern Heaven—Chen Lingxi from the Divine Talisman Sect.

As she descended from the light column, nine swirling vortices of spiritual energy appeared around her, exuding a transcendent aura.

“Xier!” A beautiful Nascent Soul woman immediately approached her.

“Master… I’m sorry.” Chen Lingxi looked remorseful as she greeted her master, clearly referring to her earlier defeat at Lin Jing’s hands.

“I’ve already heard about it. It doesn’t matter. Now that you’ve reached the Tenth Stage of Qi Refinement, your future prospects will be vastly different.” The Nascent Soul woman smiled warmly, placing a hand on her disciple’s shoulder. Upon hearing that Chen Lingxi had been selected by the Cavern Heaven, she had rushed here without delay.

“Master, now that I’ve reached the Tenth Stage of Qi Refinement, I will not lose to him again.” Chen Lingxi was brimming with confidence, her aura unrestrained. This monumental breakthrough overshadowed her previous loss to Lin Jing, and she felt invigorated as if her progress with the Hidden Dragon Arts would now be unstoppable.

With her arsenal of talismans and her brief appearance on the Physique Rankings for her Talisman Physique, Chen Lingxi believed her gains from the Cavern Heaven far outstripped everyone else’s.

Even those with the Heavenly God Physique couldn’t compare.

As for Lin Jing… in her mind, he had only been at the Seventh Stage of Qi Refinement before entering the Cavern Heaven. Without a special physique, it would have been nearly impossible for him to break through the pinnacle.

The gap between them from now on would be insurmountable. Just thinking about it filled her with renewed vigor, sweeping away the gloom of her earlier defeat.

“Fellow Daoist Xie, congratulations.” The father of Wang Xiao, another notable cultivator, stepped forward and addressed Chen Lingxi’s master with a smile.

Among those present, three stood out as the most powerful: Wang Xiao’s father, the Nascent Soul woman from the Divine Talisman Sect, and Cao Ziwei from the academy. All three had reached the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage. Even among Nascent Soul cultivators, their strength and background commanded respect, and they addressed each other as equals.

Just as the words left his mouth, Wang Xiao emerged from the Cavern Heaven. Dressed in a gleaming suit of silver armor, his aura was overwhelming. Spiritual energy erupted around him, and behind him loomed the faint silhouette of a deity. He, too, had broken into the Tenth Stage of Qi Refinement!

“Haha, congratulations are in order!” Wang Xiao’s father laughed heartily, realizing that his son had also ascended to the pinnacle.

Wang Xiao nodded to his father and then turned his sharp gaze to Yuan Jing and Ziling’er in the distance. Before entering the Cavern Heaven, even with his Heavenly God Physique, the gap in cultivation realms had given him only a 20% chance of defeating Foundation Establishment swordsmen.

But now, after being tempered in the Cavern Heaven, Wang Xiao’s confidence soared. He was 90% certain he could defeat Yuan Jing and make a name for himself across the Ancient Domain!

“You…” Yuan Jing had waited for days, but seeing the transformation in Wang Xiao, he felt immense pressure. Even his Sword Heart wavered slightly under Wang Xiao’s aura.

As the Cavern Heaven closed, most of the candidates had returned, and no fatalities were reported.

“It seems that only those truly chosen by the Dragon-Phoenix Cavern Heaven, like Wang Xiao and Chen Lingxi, were able to break the pinnacle,” Cao Ziwei noted. The other geniuses, who had entered through happenstance, ultimately lacked the same opportunities.

Even latecomers like Gao Sheng and Xu Zhizhi hadn’t reached the Tenth Stage.

At that moment, as all attention was focused on Chen Lingxi and Wang Xiao, Cao Ziwei’s voice rang out in shock.

“You’ve reached the Tenth Stage as well!”

“No… it’s both of you!”

Another Tenth Stage? The crowd followed Cao Ziwei’s astonished gaze and saw a young man in a white robe stepping out of the Cavern Heaven. Perched on his shoulder was a robed Pine Leaf Mouse.

Boom!

An overwhelming explosion of spiritual energy erupted as Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse simultaneously unleashed their Qi Refinement Tenth Stage true energy. Twenty layers of spiritual energy vortices stacked atop one another, surging into the sky and shocking everyone present.

A cultivator… at the Tenth Stage!

A beast… at the Tenth Stage!

This was… the Beast Tamer!

This duo, who had entered the Dragon-Phoenix Cavern Heaven and were thought to have split their opportunities, had both reached the Tenth Stage!

What was even more shocking was that Lin Jing had entered the Cavern Heaven with the lowest cultivation level among all participants—merely at the Seventh Stage of Qi Refinement, with the weakest foundation.

And yet…

When Chen Lingxi and Wang Xiao exchanged glances with Lin Jing, their hearts skipped a beat, as if they had fallen into an icy abyss, overwhelmed by an indescribable pressure.

What was going on?!

“Ke ke ke…” Hidden within an ancient tree, a pine cone suddenly cracked open with laughter. The Divine Pine’s voice rang out in astonishment.

“I don’t know what happened, but this Longevity Brat actually contracted the Ice Soul Gu… and this Ice Soul Gu…”

“…has reached the Eleventh Stage of Qi Refinement! Its cultivation is higher than theirs!”

As the only one able to see through the seals hiding Lin Jing’s internal state, the Divine Pine was utterly shocked.

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