[Revive Fu Lan (Foundation-Establishment Stage), Not Enough Mastery]
[The host can however sacrifice 7865 Psionic Stars for this.]
"..."
The air rustled in a beautiful city, everywhere you looked, it was brimming with interaction and activity. The air was fresh and smiles were everywhere. Ling Yan, however, did not pay any mind to it.
"This brother, would you be willing to join the city's guard?" A man asked Ling Yan, they appeared to be recruiting people.
"No." Ling Yan glared at the man under his hood.
"...! Forget that I had said anything brother." The man awkwardly apologized.
'A bad mood' was an understatement, Ling Yan appeared as though he could kill anyone at the moment. Who could blame him? Just a while ago, he was faced with the reality of this world. That life and death could be so fleeting.
[The Host's sacrifice is as follows:
Qi Refining Realm (2nd Layer) = 5 Psionic Stars
Qi Refining Realm (3rd Layer) = 15 Psionic Stars
Qi Refining Realm (4th Layer) = 40 Psionic Stars
Qi Refining Realm (5th Layer) = 55 Psionic Stars
Qi Refining Realm (6th Layer) = 85 Psionic Stars
Qi Refining Realm (7th Layer) = 105 Psionic Stars
Total = 305 Psionic Stars]
"..."
Despite the huge amount of Psionic Stars he had condensed, Ling Yan didn't feel a bit rewarded from it. However, he would have been blind if he had not used them, so he had spent almost all of them on his Cultivation Speed and Qi Purity.
His aura, despite being in Qi Refining Realm(1st), was exuding the aura of a fairly strong Qi Refining 4th layer. The purity of his Qi had expanded by leaps and bounds that he was shocked when he had first discovered it.
While that was the case, it meant that it also affected Ling Yan's cultivation speed—this was the effect of having a purer Qi, which is why he mostly used his Psionic stars in cultivation speed to compensate for the drawback that it had.
[Erase the Host's Memory of the Previous Rebirth, Requires 12 Psionic Stars]
"...!"
As if irritated by the system's suggestion, he swung his hand at the air as if to remove it from existence.
[Understood.]
Soon after, looks were shot at him, but he didn't mind—as he only had one destination to go right now: The Cultivation Pagoda of this city.
He was currently near the northern border of the Longwei Dynasty, which was considered to be the strongest dynasty in the entire continent, occupying the middle and the southern part of the continent. Beyond the border was the Tiān Fēng Dynasty which had neutral relations with the Longwei Dynasty—they did not intend to meddle with the war between them and the Yàn Yún Dynasty.
"...? What a mysterious young man. Despite being in the first layer, your aura is much stronger. So, what will it be today sweetheart?"
"-?"
An elegant woman that appeared to be a fox, calmly said, exhaling the smoke from the smoking pipe. Ling Yan, despite his sour mood, had still found it fascinating to find fox ears for the first time in his life. The scene looked so oddly surreal that even he took a while before being able to respond.
"The highest available floor for outsiders please."
"...you surely jest." The fox woman dropped her smoking pipe, a belittling smile forming on her face.
"Will this be enough?"
"Hmm...? Oh...?"
At the table were 100 middle-level spirit stones, which was enough to live in luxury for 3 months—or two years, if one was frugal.
"It seems I have misread you, young man. However, are you sure you can absorb the abundant energy at the top floor? It seems very wasteful to me."
"I am aware."
"Hah..."
"Very well, here you go, you have 5 hours." Sighing, the fox woman handed him a golden key.
Everyone in the area had come around to overhear the conversation and check what was going on. After all, a huge amount of money taken out by a Qi Refining Realm cultivator was a rare sight.
Nevertheless, Ling Yan moved forward, he only had one goal in mind: Cultivate.
The Cultivation Pagoda had 10 layers, the 10th being the lowest, and he was going to the 3rd layer—which was the highest allowable room for an outsider. The room in the third layer was usually occupied by the Core Formation or Late Foundation-Establishment cultivators—indeed, it was a rare sight to see a Qi Refining Layer, who is still unable to learn a sophisticated cultivation method, waste their spirit stones on something so wasteful.
[The Host is recommended to get a Qi Regulating Incenses, which will bring the most efficiency in absorbing the Qi from this room without overloading. It will take 5 Psionic Stars per stick.]
"Today, I'll have to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm using the [Jade Scripture]. Then, we'll move on to the next." His words, full of resolve, followed the system's suggestion.
As if some sort of consolation, the incense was mint-scented—which was Ling Yan's favorite. Thanking the system silently, he had begun cultivating and absorbing the abundant energy from the room. He had only 5 hours, after all.
<<----------->>
"9th layer... not enough." Ling Yan sighed.
Despite his best efforts, he had just broken through the Qi Refining 9th Layer in 3 hours. It was quite hard to progress now, however, as breaking through the next realm was at best, took twice as long. He had used all the medicinal pills that Elder Hai Mu had, but it seems it's still too much to breakthrough to the Foundation-Establishment in under 5 hours. Only real heaven-defying geniuses with a solid background could achieve such a feat.
[Convert Psionic Stars to Spirit Stones?]
"It seems I have no choice, I'll be extending this. If I had known, I wouldn't have been so confident with only 5 hours." He sighed, as he defeatedly stood up.
Ling Yan had calculated that he would actually need only 3 hours, but it seems that there were some complications that he had been delayed by quite a mile. Now, he had no choice but to go down again and extend his stay in his room.
"I was trying to avoid this... It seems I have no choice but to attract attention."
Ling Yan was not exaggerating. A person who could reach the ninth layer of the Qi Refining Realm in under 3 hours was only found in the major families of a dynasty. If he went as he is now, he was bound to get attention.
"The world of Cultivation is thorny indeed, I can see why I need to be teleported somewhere after sacrificing my cultivation realm."