Chapter 73: Chapter 56: Seven Major Five-Star Star Acupoints, Immortal Seed Rumors (2)

Qiu Ming and Fu Xueping both sighed long and hard.

"I was counting on using this year to break through to Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer with almost a guarantee, but man plans and heaven laughs. If those Evil Star shifts come a few more times, even reaching the fifth layer would be tough." Fu Xueping wrinkled her pale nose, looking utterly gloomy.

"Turns out getting Sect Merit Points isn’t that easy after all."

Hearing their words, Qiu Ming started cursing under his breath as well.

"Before I came to Five Extremes Mountain, I swore to my old man that I’d definitely get the reward for hitting Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer."

"If a whole year goes by and I only get to fifth layer, he’ll definitely mock me to death again."

Qiu Ming was already at Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer—his goal couldn’t just be the fifth, but had to be the higher sixth layer.

Liou Yuan was eavesdropping on the side, secretly delighted.

"So what if you’ve got Four-Star Star Acupoints or even Five Elements Star Acupoints?"

"When an Evil Star’s overhead, all you can do is stare and sigh."

Liou Yuan’s schadenfreude was only natural—he didn’t have this headache at all. For him, daily cultivation went on as usual, Evil Star or Auspicious Star, it was all the same with the Fixed Star Compass in his hand.

"My only regret is that, without the accumulated star energy from inside Five Extremes Mountain, my cultivation speed’s back to what it was before my move from Virgo Peak."

And also, Liou Yuan had run out of Star Stones ten days ago.

When the energy inside Five Extremes Mountain ran dry, Liou Yuan brought out his Star Stones to maximize his training time.

But that only lasted three days.

Now that the topic was out in the open,

Liou Yuan came up with a plan. He pretended to have gotten a little inside scoop, and quietly said to the three, "I heard someone from our batch has already started picking up gigs at Shoushan Tower."

"Maybe we should try the same."

"Since we can’t train for now anyway, why not use this time to earn some Merit Points?"

Liou Yuan was already paving the way for using his Fixed Star Compass openly soon.

If he was the only one in their batch running off to take tasks at Shoushan Tower, it would draw way too much attention.

If they were going, best bring these three with him.

Xie Miaobo and Fu Xueping were both strong among the group, especially Qiu Ming, who was already at Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer—there’s no way he’d hold Liou Yuan back.

Liou Yuan’s suggestion made Qiu Ming’s eyes light up first. He was the first to respond: "Great idea!"

He was never the type who could stay idle anyway.

These days, with no star energy to train, he’d been yelling on the hillside all day with too much energy and nowhere to spend it.

"It really is a good idea. I heard lots of Outer Sect disciples are willing to trade Star Stones for Merit Points."

"Now, one Merit Point can get you anywhere from two to three Star Stones."

"We may as well go earn some Merit Points and swap ’em for Star Stones to keep training!"

Fu Xueping was shrewd with her calculations. She’d already started thinking about how to use the Merit Points to get the resources they needed for cultivation.

"Two Star Stones for a Merit Point—that was last year’s rate."

"It’s at least three Star Stones these days." Xie Miaobo was already getting fired up, chattering nonstop.

"Our cultivation isn’t super high yet, so picking up odd jobs shouldn’t be an issue. Ten days to half a month and we can get some points, then swap for Star Stones and keep training."

"I say, let’s not even bother heading back today. Let’s go straight to Shoushan Tower, all four of us."

The three of them were all riled up by Liou Yuan’s suggestion, itching to give it a shot.

Liou Yuan listened, grinning from ear to ear.

Of course, he didn’t plan on going to Shoushan Tower with them—he wanted to get back and train instead.

He’d only go out once the Fixed Star Compass was fully charged.

Right then, he explained to the trio, "You three go check out the situation at Shoushan Tower first. I need to head back; my new hut’s bed isn’t fixed yet. Sleeping on the floor lately has really messed with my training."

After all, everyone on Xiaopei Mountain knew his hut had been destroyed—it was a perfect excuse.

"Alright! If there’s a good task, we’ll take it first."

"And if we need more hands, we’ll come get you tomorrow." Qiu Ming was a straightforward guy, waving his hand and taking Xie Miaobo and Fu Xueping straight towards Fifth Peak’s Shoushan Tower.

"Finally, I don’t have to hear Qiu Ming hollering all day." Watching the three walk off, Liou Yuan’s face was all smiles.

Having sent the three away, the best part was that Liou Yuan could focus on training tonight.

Starlight and moonbeams draped the quiet valley in a silvery veil, pines whispering softly in the night breeze.

Liou Yuan lay flat by the window, his Five Mansions pulsing inside, and two Star Acupoints drawing in Spiritual Power nonstop.

Turning his inner gaze, he now had four streams of Spiritual Power—forty threads, flowing through his organs.

That was the result of his half-month of cultivation.

When the star energy inside Five Elements Mountain was depleted, he refined his thirty-eighth thread of Spiritual Power.

Using Star Stones and the celestial energy above, he refined his fortieth thread.

Now, the forty-first was about to take shape.

Nine more threads, and he’d reach the Qi Cultivation Fourth Stage.

Now, without Star Stones or the Five Elements Mountain’s star energy, his speed had slowed down.

But still way better than those Outer Sect disciples who could only sigh in frustration.

"I must be the first among Xie Miaobo and the rest of the Four-Star Acupoint batch to break through to Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer."

"Fact is, my double acupoint cultivation speed stands up to any disciple with Four-Star Talent."

"Plus, I’ve got all the time to train during Evil Star shifts."

"I’m already outpacing all the Four-Star Talents."

Feeling the forty-first thread of Spiritual Power about to solidify tonight, Liou Yuan was secretly pleased.

At the same time, an idea popped into his head.

"Looks like I don’t have to wait until breaking through the fifth layer to take the Micro-Star Elixir."

"If I use it to break through to the fourth layer sooner, I can claim the Merit Point reward earlier too."

Breaking through to Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer at Five Extremes Mountain meant a forty-point Merit Point reward.

Liou Yuan could easily trade those Merit Points for Star Stones, and use them to aid his cultivation, laying the foundation for the fifth layer breakthrough.

"Besides, once I’m at the fourth layer, I’ll get two Star Stones distributed every month."

"Break through just one day earlier, and that’s an extra Star Stone to boost my training compared to everyone else."

"One step ahead, step by step ahead!"

Counting all the perks of an early breakthrough to Fourth Layer,

Liou Yuan made up his mind right away.

He immediately exited his cultivation, reached into his shirt, and pulled out the bottle with the Micro-Star Elixir.

This Micro-Star Elixir was what Liou Yuan had gotten when he killed the Star Evil that had possessed Di Xi before leaving.

According to the appraisal given by the Fixed Star Compass,

the Micro-Star Elixir could be taken up to five times, though after three, the effects would wane.

After five doses, it was useless.

Liou Yuan had already taken two—this was his third.

Opening his mouth, he tilted his head back and swallowed the Micro-Star Elixir.

Feeling celestial energy surging inside, Liou Yuan effortlessly shifted his Five Mansions to refine it.

He needed five streams of Spiritual Power to break through to Fourth Layer.

Liou Yuan had just four right now.

One Micro-Star Elixir wouldn’t be enough to get him there tonight, but it would greatly reduce his overall training time.

"With the help of the Micro-Star Elixir, I’ll break through to Fourth Layer in less than half a month for sure."

Liou Yuan thought, while refining the medicinal power inside him.

After Qiu Ming and the other two headed for Shoushan Tower on the day of the cliff lecture, it was nearly half a month before they returned.

Evidently, they’d clearly taken a task at Shoushan Tower—who knows where they’d gone.

It wasn’t until the twelfth day that the trio staggered back, exhausted.

Though they looked dead tired, all three had a sparkle in their eyes.

Liou Yuan found out they’d spent those days at Fourth Peak, helping a Pill Master from the Pills Pavilion mind a medicinal field.

Because, as the star energy in Five Extremes Mountain depleted with time,

the herbs couldn’t absorb Spiritual Qi, and cultivators had to tend the fields with their own Spiritual Power daily or the medicinal properties would fade away.

The three had ended up spending days nourishing the herb fields with their Spiritual Power.

Only when a new group of disciples took over were they finally free.

As a result, their faces were paper-white, clearly wrung dry of Spiritual Power.

Only Qiu Ming, who also trained his body, looked slightly better.

But hard work brought its returns too.

Each of the three got two Merit Points as a reward.

Then, through Xie Miaobo’s connections, they traded at a rate of one Merit Point for three Star Stones and ended up with six Star Stones.

Tonight, they could finally use Star Stones to boost their training again.

"Is this even human work? Never again! I’d rather go out and hunt a fierce beast—or even take on a Star Evil hunting job—at least the points come faster than this slog."

Qiu Ming cursed and complained.