The Internal Affairs Hall was located between the outer disciple area and the inner disciple area. It would take about an hour to walk from the Sword Pavilion to the Internal Affairs Hall.
The Internal Affairs Hall wasn't something that the Chore Hall could compare to. It occupied five times the area of the Chore Hall. Inside, there was a Hall Master and four Deacons. The Hall Master was in charge while the four Deacons were in charge of different affairs.
Chu Mu's arrival surprised the Deacon who received him. It was not only because of his identity as an outer disciple. Although there were very few outer disciples who came to the Internal Affairs Hall, there were still some occasionally. The most important thing was that his cultivation was only at the fourth stage of the Sword Qi Realm.
After the Deacon asked about Chu Mu's purpose for coming, he changed his mind and planned to take advantage of him. However, he felt that it was a bit inconceivable that someone at the fourth stage of the Sword Qi Realm would have enough contribution points to exchange for elixirs, so he quietly probed.
Although Chu Mu was a bit of a sword fanatic, he was not stupid. He immediately understood the Deacon's thoughts and casually mentioned the Sword Pavilion Elder. As expected, the Deacon misunderstood and thought that Chu Mu was being taken care of by the Sword Pavilion Elder. Therefore, he dispelled the idea of taking advantage of Chu Mu and became more enthusiastic. He didn't look down on Chu Mu because his cultivation was far inferior to his.
"The elixirs that can be exchanged for in the Sword Pavilion are low grade. What kind of elixirs do you want to exchange for?" Deacon Wen asked with a smile, "Is it for healing, increasing cultivation, or something else?"
"Increasing cultivation." He didn't know much about elixirs.
"Elixirs that can increase cultivation include Qi Nourishing Pill, Qi Gathering Pill, Qi Refining Pill, and Qi Breaking Pill. Do you know the difference between them? Then listen to me in detail. " Deacon Wen said with a smile, "Qi Nourishing Pill is the lowest grade of elixirs. It is suitable for people at the first to third stages of the Sword Qi Realm to nourish their Sword Qi. Qi Gathering Pill is suitable for people at the fourth to sixth stages. Qi Refining Pill is suitable for swordsmen at the seventh and eighth stages, and Qi Breaking Pill is suitable for swordsmen at the ninth stages. Since you are at the fourth stage of the Sword Qi Realm, I suggest that you exchange for Qi Gathering Pill. Each pill is worth twenty contribution points."
"Generally, you need five or six Qi Gathering Pills to break through from Stage 4 to Stage 5. If you want to break through to Stage 6, you need even more." Deacon Wen added.
After thinking for a moment, Chu Mu said, "I have a hundred contribution points. I'll exchange them for five Qi Gathering Pills."
"One hundred contribution points!" Deacon Wen's mouth was wide open. He originally thought that it would be very good if Chu Mu could have 20 or 30 contribution points. He didn't expect it to be 100 contribution points. But when he thought of the Sword Arts Elder, he couldn't help feeling envious. Perhaps, the hundred contribution points were given to him by the Sword Firmament Pavilion's elders.
"Junior Brother, wait a moment." Deacon Wen took Chu Mu's disciple's sword medallion and walked into the room. Before long, he returned with a small porcelain bottle in his hand. He handed it to Chu Mu along with the disciple's sword medallion. "There are five Qi Amassing Pills in this bottle. The one hundred merit points in the disciple's sword medallion have all been deducted. I wish you great progress in your cultivation, junior apprentice-brother. When the time comes, don't forget me."
"Thank you, Senior Brother." Chu Mu put away the sword medallion and shook the porcelain bottle. Ding ding dong dong sounds could be heard. Chu Mu immediately knew the number of pills in the bottle. Five pills.
"This junior apprentice-brother must be very talented to be taken care of by the Sword Arts Elder." Deacon Wen looked at Chu Mu's back and thought to himself. If he knew that Chu Mu's cultivation talent was only at the ninth grade, his jaw would probably drop.
… …
"I wonder how effective the Qi Gathering Pills are? I'll know tomorrow. "Chu Mu took the porcelain bottle and left the Internal Affairs Hall. He strode towards the Northern District of the Outer Sect.
When he returned to the Northern District, he became the center of attention again. Many Outer Sect disciples looked at him with envy, admiration, and dissatisfaction.
"Senior Brother Chu Mu, please teach me swordsmanship." A disciple at the fourth stage of the Sword Qi Realm suddenly rushed in front of Chu Mu and pleaded.
"Senior Brother Chu, please teach me swordsmanship."
"Senior Brother Chu, please accept me. I'm willing to be at your beck and call."
The actions of some of the Outer Sect disciples made Chu Mu speechless. After rejecting them, he returned to his wooden hut and closed the wooden door. Although he didn't cultivate, he organized the various comprehensions from his recent cultivation and the strange state that appeared when he faced off with Wang Feng today.
But now, he couldn't enter that state no matter what.
"Could it be that I need enough external pressure?" Chu Mu couldn't help but think.
Soon, the sun set in the west. After enjoying a delicious meal in the canteen, he immediately returned to his wooden hut. The night passed.
At dawn, Chu Mu left his wooden hut and went to the cliff to face the morning sun.
He sat down cross-legged and placed the steel sword on his legs. He took out the porcelain bottle and opened it. A wisp of medicinal fragrance floated out.
He poured out a Qi Gathering Pill. It was light yellow and the size of a soybean. It emitted a faint medicinal fragrance. He threw it into his mouth. It melted in his mouth, leaving only a faint medicinal fragrance lingering in his mouth. The Qi Gathering Pill had already turned into a warm current that flowed down his throat.
He immediately began cultivating according to the chants of the fourth layer of the Essence Nurturing Sword Qi Art.
A wisp of sword Qi was transferred from his dantian. The Qi Gathering Pill turned into a warm current that entered his body and spread out in all directions.
Wherever the sword Qi passed, the warm current would be absorbed and circulated along with the sword Qi. In the process of circulation, the warm current would be assimilated into sword Qi.
After two small circulations, the warm current from the Qi Gathering Pill was completely assimilated into sword Qi. It flowed back into his dantian and the sword Qi in his dantian grew a bit stronger.
"Mid fourth phase. Good, I've finally broken through to the mid fourth phase. I'll continue to work hard and try to break through to the fifth phase today." Chu Mu revealed a trace of joy. He quickly took out two more Qi Gathering Pills and threw them into his mouth. The warm current became even stronger.
He continued to cultivate. Not long after, the warm current from the two Qi Gathering Pills was completely absorbed and assimilated into sword Qi. The sword Qi grew a bit stronger. Late fourth phase.
He poured out another two Qi Gathering Pills and threw them into his mouth. He continued to cultivate.
Ten minor circulations were finally completed. Today's sword qi cultivation was also over. He had consumed a total of five Energy Gathering Pills, and the effects were obvious. The sword qi in his dantian had grown significantly stronger. He was now at the early stage of the fifth stage of the Sword Qi realm.
"The sword Qi of the fifth phase sword Qi is two parts purer than the fourth phase sword Qi. The total amount has increased by around fifty percent." Chu Mu thought to himself. He leaped up and pulled out his sword. He began to practice the basic sword techniques. Now he practiced the Soaring Cloud Sword Technique. Now he practiced the Clear Wind Sword Technique.
"When I used the Clear Wind Kill at the fourth phase, I used up all my sword Qi. Now that I'm using the Clear Wind Kill, its power has increased slightly. Moreover, the remaining sword Qi is enough to use the Clear Wind Brush and Dazzling Wind again."
Obviously, the difference between the fourth and fifth phase sword Qi was very obvious.
After his sword Qi recovered, he began to practice the Soft Cloud Sword Technique. The Soft Cloud Sword Technique only had five forms. The first four forms were nameless. The fifth form was called Soft Cloud Three Revolutions. After using it, there would be a soft cloud that would revolve three times. As long as the attack was absorbed by the cloud, it would be weakened by the continuous three revolutions.
However, it could dissolve all the low-level attacks and thirty percent of mid-level attacks.
In addition, the low-level body movement that he had memorized was called Swinging Willow Body Movement. It focused on being light and flexible, like a willow branch swinging in the wind.
It only took him one day to master it. He continued to practice on the second day. However, because he had used up all his Qi Gathering Pills, his sword Qi did not increase much. It only stabilized at the early stage of the fifth phase. As for the Soft Cloud Sword Technique and Swinging Willow Body Movement, it was Dacheng's.
"I can completely absorb one Qi Gathering Pill every two small circulations. Ten small circulations are exactly five Qi Gathering Pills. That's how I broke through to my current level. I wonder how efficient the other disciples are at absorbing. Under normal circumstances, if one could only circulate four small circulations a day, then it would take three days to absorb five Qi Gathering Pills. However, one mid-level sword technique is worth one hundred contribution points, and one low-level sword technique is worth ten contribution points. One Qi Gathering Pill is worth twenty contribution points, which is equivalent to the contribution points of two low-level sword techniques. The value of these Qi Gathering Pills is really high. Ordinary people would not be able to get their hands on them. " As Chu Mu faced the sea of clouds, he thought to himself, "The effect of elixirs is really amazing. I believe that if I have enough contribution points to exchange for enough elixirs, I will definitely be able to break through to the seventh stage of the Sword Qi Realm in a short period of time."
"Now, I am at the early stage of the fifth stage of the Sword Qi Realm. Flying Cloud Sword Technique, Soft Cloud Sword Technique, Breeze Sword Technique, Dacheng Body Movement, Chaotic Steps, and Swinging Willow Body Movement. However, it will be difficult to improve them in a short period of time."