Chapter 14: Three Weeks of Preparation

The first week started smoothly.

Ao Kuiba would wake up every morning, take a Meridian Cleansing Pill, and begin practicing his Qi formation.

As the pill was taken, Ao Kuiba’s meridians were once again cleansed from whatever impurity was present.

The process would enhance his meridian depth and quality, allowing more Qi to enter his body.

Afternoon was spent studying the Nine Cycles Body Tempering Art, a technique Ao Kuiba had memorized during the first week.

The art wasn’t as simple as it looked, as it required immense control over one’s body to compress the Qi and subsequently release it in a controlled manner.

Ao Kuiba began practicing the first cycle of the Nine Cycles Body Tempering Art.

At the start of the first week, Ao Kuiba’s meridians were already at an excellent quality due to his eight thousand years of cultivation.

However, the Meridian Cleansing Pills ensured that the quality of his meridians improved every day of the first week.

As a result, his Qi formation ability increased exponentially.

By the end of the first week, Ao Kuiba’s Qi was pure, his meridians were clean, and his body was able to adapt to the Dragon’s Blood Elixir.

In addition to the Meridian Cleansing Pills, Ao Kuiba took a single drop of the Dragon’s Blood Elixir every night to aid his body tempering.

The low potency of the elixir was perfect for his current level of cultivation.

Throughout the first week, Ao Kuiba had been practicing the art of body tempering and had made decent progress.

Every day, his body was able to withstand greater pressure from the Qi compressing inside him during the first cycle of the Nine Cycles Body Tempering Art.

The Dragon’s Blood Elixir was also proving to be an excellent supplement for body tempering.

Ao Kuiba’s body was reacting to the elixir by hardening his body further with every drop of the elixir he consumed.

The second week started off with Ao Kuiba’s cultivation array fully active.

The mid-grade spirit stone fragment, which acted as the array’s power core, pulsed with energy as Ao Kuiba’s Qi density increased tenfold.

The increased Qi density during cultivation sessions resulted in Ao Kuiba being able to achieve greater results with every cultivation session.

Ao Kuiba began the second week by practicing the first cycle of the Nine Cycles Body Tempering Art.

The Qi pressure within his body grew with every heartbeat until Ao Kuiba released the Qi in a powerful burst during the second cycle of the art.

Ao Kuiba then moved to the third cycle of the Nine Cycles Body Tempering Art.

He continued to the fourth cycle, at which point the pressure within his body became unbearable.

Ao Kuiba gritted his teeth and pushed further until the fifth cycle of the art had begun.

Ao Kuiba’s bones were beginning to grow, his muscles tightened, and his skin toughened.

With every cycle of the art, Ao Kuiba was able to withstand further pressure from the Qi compressing within his body.

The Dragon’s Blood Elixir was also having an effect, as Ao Kuiba’s body was being tempered further with every cycle of the art.

Ao Kuiba’s dragon blood was reacting to the elixir by enhancing his regeneration and increasing his physical abilities.

Ao Kuiba could feel his body growing stronger with every day of the second week.

The Mini World was also growing stronger.

Every night, Ao Kuiba would enter the Mini World to check on its progress.

The spiritual garden was thriving, as the Upper Realm seeds that Ao Kuiba had planted were beginning to grow.

The herbs that Ao Kuiba had planted were also growing at an accelerated rate, fueled by the increased Qi density of the Mini World.

The effect of the Void Crystal on the Mini World was undeniable, as the entire realm had become significantly stronger since Ao Kuiba had integrated the Void Crystal into the Mini World’s core.

The Core Formation beast had also become significantly stronger, as it had begun to grow fur that emitted a dull aura of fire magic.

The beast seemed to have accepted Ao Kuiba as its master, as it no longer growled whenever Ao Kuiba entered the Mini World.

Instead, the beast would sit and watch Ao Kuiba with an expression that suggested that it respected Ao Kuiba as its master.

Ao Kuiba smiled to himself.

The Mini World was his trump card, and it would continue to be his trump card for the rest of his life.

The Void Crystal had been a worthy investment.

Ao Kuiba was confident that the Mini World would continue to flourish and that he would benefit from its resources for many years to come.

Ao Kuiba was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice the change in the air as the night of the twelfth day arrived.

Ao Kuiba had just finished his cultivation session for the day when he sensed a familiar but unwanted presence approaching his villa.

Ao Kuiba opened his eyes and sat up straight in his meditation position.

One person was standing behind his villa’s gate, and Ao Kuiba could sense that the person was female.

The woman’s cultivation was strong but masked, and Ao Kuiba estimated her to be at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage or perhaps even stronger.

Ao Kuiba opened the villa’s gate, revealing a tall and elegant young woman with black hair flowing down her back in thick braids.

Ao Kuiba’s spiritual sense told him that the woman had been observing him ever since the fight between him and the three men from the Azure Cloud City’s Black Veil Pavilion.

The woman was called Ling Xue.

Ling Xue was a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the eastern part of Azure Cloud City, and she had been passing through the Azure Cloud City when she overheard the commotion that had occurred between Ao Kuiba and the three men from the Black Veil Pavilion.

Ao Kuiba had thought that the woman had simply been a curious observer, but it appeared that Ling Xue had been following him ever since that fateful day.

Ao Kuiba had seen Ling Xue’s name mentioned in the streets of Azure Cloud City several times, and every time he passed a group of people discussing her, their faces were always filled with a mix of admiration and fear.

Ao Kuiba regarded the woman before him with a mixture of concern and uneasiness.

Ling Xue returned Ao Kuiba’s gaze with a knowing smile.

"You truly are Ao Kuiba."

Ao Kuiba nodded.

Ling Xue looked over Ao Kuiba’s shoulder at the villa’s interior.

"The dragon who appeared from a burst of flame," she said, "the young man who felled one of the Azure Cloud City’s black guards with a single fist, and the mysterious buyer who appeared at the Black Veil Pavilion’s auction hall and walked away injury free."

Ao Kuiba sighed.

"Those are just stories."

Ling Xue’s lips curled into a smirk.

"Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t," she said. "But either way, I think it’s best if you don’t try to run from me."

Ao Kuiba narrowed his eyes at the smug young woman before him.

"Perhaps I will," he said.

Ling Xue chuckled.

"Well now," she said, "I believe we both know what happens if you try to run from me."

Ao Kuiba stared at the young woman, unimpressed.

Ling Xue stepped closer to Ao Kuiba.

"You’re not from around here," she said.

"No," Ao Kuiba replied.

"You came all the way from the Black Mist Forest to Azure Cloud City," she said.

"Where do you think I’m going?" Ao Kuiba asked.

"To somewhere far away from here, I imagine."

Ling Xue laughed.

"Well," she said, "I know you’ll be at the Violet Cloud Summit auction house. Will I see you there?"

Ao Kuiba nodded.

"I have an invitation," he said.

"Good," Ling Xue said. "I suppose I’ll see you there."

Ling Xue turned to leave, but before she disappeared into the night, she turned back to look at Ao Kuiba.

"Be careful at the auction," she said. "The people there are all powerful, and not all of them are as friendly as I am."

Ling Xue disappeared into the night, and Ao Kuiba stood at his villa’s gate for a long time, watching the spot where Ling Xue had been standing.

Interesting.

The third week went by quickly.

Ao Kuiba’s cultivation level had consolidated at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage by the end of the second week.

His meridians were now at an exceptional quality, and his Qi flowed freely through them without a single obstruction.

His body had also been tempered throughout the past two weeks, and his muscles, bones, and skin had grown stronger and tougher.

Ao Kuiba was undoubtedly stronger than most of the cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage.

While most cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage barely survived the trials of the art, Ao Kuiba would have most likely lived through the trials with ease.

Ao Kuiba prepared for the Violet Cloud Summit auction by gathering the items he would need to bid on the treasures he wanted.

Ao Kuiba brought three Formation Discs with him, one for a defensive barrier, one for concealing his presence, and one for trapping any would-be-thieves in his vicinity.

In addition to the Formation Discs, Ao Kuiba also brought along several defensive talismans, several mid-grade spirit stones, and a single high-grade spirit stone.

Ao Kuiba considered bringing along a higher-level treasure to use as bait in case any powerful cultivators attempted to rob him, but he ultimately decided against it.

It would have been a waste of resources, and the Lower Realm wasn’t the best place to be seen with high-grade treasures.

Ao Kuiba’s Mini World was continuing to grow stronger.

The spiritual garden that Ao Kuiba had been cultivating was now providing him with a steady supply of high-quality herbs.

The Upper Realm seeds that he had planted in the Mini World had also finally sprouted, and the strange plant they had grown into was now providing even more resources than the herbs.

The Core Formation beast had also been getting stronger, and it now appeared to have accepted Ao Kuiba as its master.

Ao Kuiba’s cultivation array was also beginning to have an effect on the Mini World, as the Qi within the Mini World was now significantly denser than before.

The increased Qi density meant that the resources that the Mini World produced were even better than they had been before.

Ao Kuiba was satisfied with the progress that the Mini World had made thus far.

As the morning of the twenty-first day arrived, Ao Kuiba prepared to leave for the Violet Cloud Summit auction.

The Azure Cloud City was still asleep when Ao Kuiba exited his villa and began his journey to the Violet Cloud Summit auction house.

It would take him three days to reach the auction house, as the journey would be through a series of mountains.

Ao Kuiba passed through villages and farms as he made his way toward the auction house.

Many of the people he saw were cultivators, and they all appeared to be traveling to the auction house as well.

While Ao Kuiba traveled through the mountains, he encountered several wild beasts.

The beasts were all relatively weak, but Ao Kuiba made sure to avoid them.

On the third day of his journey, Ao Kuiba arrived at the Violet Cloud Summit.

The peak was shrouded in violet mist, which gave the mountain its name.

The Violet Cloud Summit was a renowned location, as it was the home of the Violet Cloud Summit Chamber, an organization that hosted an annual auction for powerful treasures.

Many cultivators attended the auction, drawn by the promise of finding rare and powerful treasures.

Ao Kuiba arrived at the auction house just as the sun was rising over the horizon.

Ao Kuiba entered the auction house grounds and was greeted by a middle-aged man dressed in the robes of the Violet Cloud Summit Chamber.

The man’s gaze was sharp as he examined the invitation Ao Kuiba had presented to him.

The man’s eyes widened slightly as he read the name on the invitation.

"Master Ao Kuiba," the middle-aged man said, "the Branch Manager requested that we give you the utmost courtesy.

Your pavilion is all prepared."

Ao Kuiba nodded.

"Show me the way," he said.

The middle-aged man led Ao Kuiba to the back of the auction house, where a series of pavilions had been prepared for the guests of the auction.

Ao Kuiba’s pavilion was at the highest level, and it overlooked the auction house.

Ao Kuiba entered the pavilion and took a seat on a cushion at the center of the room.

The view was spectacular, as the violet mist curled around the valley floor far below.

Ao Kuiba’s pavilion was large enough to accommodate several people, but he preferred to be alone.

The auction would take place the following day, and Ao Kuiba intended to bid on several treasures.

Ao Kuiba closed his eyes and prepared himself for the auction that would take place the following day.