[Magic update complete. This was a minor version update. The Magic’s effects have been adjusted as follows:]

[Skull Curse 7.0: Magic power increased, number of White Bone Skeletons increased.]

...

Qi Yun’s five fingers clenched shut. Trapped and tightly bound within the Abyssal Iron Sand, the Yellow Springs Netherworld Cultivator couldn’t even let out a scream before its entire skeleton was instantly crushed by the terrifying pressure.

Immediately after, a swarm of White Bone Skeletons cackled eerily and pounced.

The divine ability [Devouring Essence] activated, instantly sucking it dry, down to the bone and marrow.

It was reduced to a shriveled corpse, completely devoid of life.

The large number of Yellow Springs Netherworld Cultivators brought with them a large amount of Yellow Springs Holy Water.

The large amount of Yellow Springs Holy Water allowed the Skull Curse to undergo another version update in a short period of time.

Skull Curse 7.0 had already become the highest-level Magic in Qi Yun’s arsenal, its power immense.

With a single thought, a full twenty-seven White Bone Skeletons, wreathed in terrifying Yin Fire, cackled as they burst forth. They blotted out the sky, and the chilling Ghost Qi and Yin Fire they emanated bathed a vast area in a ghastly green glow—a truly terrifying sight!

As the power of his Magic continuously increased, Qi Yun’s handling of the situation became more and more effortless.

Previously, he had to go all-out in his Nanming Sword Demon state to defeat the Yellow Springs Netherworld Cultivators.

Now, he could easily suppress them with just the Sand Iron Skill and the Skull Curse.

And then, pick them off one by one!

"Did you see that?" Standing obediently in the safe zone outside the battle, hands tucked in his sleeves, Du Yunian’s lips barely moved as he whispered to Shen Fan beside him.

"I saw." Shen Fan gently smoothed her hair, her gaze trembling as she slowly nodded. Her pupils reflected the image of Qi Yun casually slaughtering his enemies—of Abyssal Iron Sand and White Bone Skeletons erupting in a devastating storm at the wave of his hand.

"..." Suppressing the urge to slap Shen Fan, Du Yunian gritted his teeth and said, "I was asking if you saw the number of Spirit Points on the Champion Scholar’s hand."

"Oh, that. It looks like it’s about to break thirty thousand," Shen Fan said, glancing over.

"Tsk tsk, thirty thousand... If we can leave the Peach Garden safely this time, the Champion Scholar’s position as a Direct Disciple of the Inner Mansion is pretty much a done deal." Du Yunian’s tone was tinged with envy.

There are three ways to enter the Inner Mansion and become a True Cultivator: becoming the Champion Scholar, being accepted as a Direct Disciple by a Foundation Establishment Master, or following procedure and reaching the Qi Refining Sixth Layer to enter the Inner Mansion.

But the treatment one receives after entering the Inner Mansion varies drastically.

In theory, a Champion Scholar receives the best treatment upon entering the Inner Mansion. There’s an extremely high chance of being taken as a Direct Disciple by a Master, plus special consideration from the Sect and a host of other benefits.

Being directly accepted as a Direct Disciple by a Master depends on the Master, as each one treats their disciples differently.

As for following the procedure and entering the Inner Mansion after reaching the Qi Refining Sixth Layer within ten years, the treatment is much worse. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

You would have to continue working hard, improve your Cultivation, and strive to win a Master’s favor.

Although he and Shen Fan had some connections with elders in the Inner Mansion, they weren’t part of a Master’s direct lineage.

Even if they managed to enter the Inner Mansion smoothly in the future, they would still have to painstakingly manage their careers. It couldn’t compare to Qi Yun’s brilliant momentum, his path already paved for him.

"Then why don’t you go fight those Yellow Springs Netherworld Cultivators?" Shen Fan’s lips curled into a slight smile as she teased him, having detected the sour note in his tone.

"Forget it. Those Yellow Springs Netherworld Cultivators are all at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, and they’re all skilled in Magical Combat techniques.

"I’m just someone who tends furnaces for Alchemy. I’d better not get in on the action." Du Yunian rubbed his bald head and waved his hands dismissively.

Though he envied Qi Yun, he knew full well that he wasn’t cut out for Magical Combat and fighting to the death.

Tending furnaces for Alchemy was his real strength.

While Shen Fan and Du Yunian were still talking, Qi Yun had already suppressed and killed all the Yellow Springs Netherworld Cultivators on this level.

With the Skull Curse’s divine ability to suck the very marrow from bones, a battle of attrition was meaningless against him.

The more enemies there were, the more immense the Cultivation he absorbed. His True Qi wasn’t depleted in the slightest; on the contrary, it grew even more potent.

He glanced at the Spirit Points on the back of his hand.

[39,853]

Almost forty thousand Spirit Points.

"This is indeed much faster than killing those venomous insects and strange beasts," Qi Yun muttered, pursing his lips. He then walked toward the statue on this tenth level.

The statue on the fifth level had the form of a bird-headed man with a pair of wings on its back.

But the statue before him on the tenth level was even more bizarre and majestic.

It had three heads and six arms, its entire body was black as ink, and its main pair of eyes held a cold, dark-golden luster. Most peculiar of all, on its back were three enormous cloud drums, their surfaces naturally etched with golden patterns that resembled lightning.

Qi Yun raised an eyebrow, studying the lightning-like golden patterns on the three cloud drums.

The next instant!

Countless orbs of light, similar to the ones on the fifth level, appeared once again.

The Spiritual Sources on this level were clearly more expensive than those on the fifth. The cheapest one cost one thousand Spirit Points.

Correspondingly, the Dao Seals contained within the Spiritual Sources were purer and more potent.

Any single one would be of great benefit to his Cultivation!

’None that improve aptitude...’

He scanned the orbs of light before him. Although several of them pulsed intensely, clearly compatible with the Magic Qi Yun possessed, he did not see the divine object that Du Yunian and Shen Fan had mentioned, the one capable of changing one’s aptitude.

’Isn’t it on this level?’

Seeing no sign of the aptitude-changing divine object, Qi Yun suppressed the urge to immediately exchange his points for these Spiritual Sources.

After all, he didn’t know the price of the divine object yet. It would be maddening if he found it but didn’t have enough Spirit Points.

"Where is the shortcut you mentioned, the one that lets you jump from the tenth to the fifteenth level?"

Turning around, Qi Yun asked Shen Fan and Du Yunian, who were standing not far away.

Hearing this, Shen Fan and Du Yunian immediately hurried forward.

The two exchanged a glance, then each reverently took out an item from their Storage Pouch.

In Shen Fan’s hand was a brass-colored hilt covered in cracks, which were forcibly held together by a layer of molten gold, barely maintaining its shape.

And in Du Yunian’s hand was a broken blade, carefully wrapped in some kind of unknown beast hide.

When the hide was unwrapped, it revealed a fragment of a blade that shimmered with Flowing Light, as if countless streams of living water were rippling across its surface.

An extraordinary and incomparably sharp aura instantly spread out, making one’s skin crawl with cold.

Du Yunian carefully took the broken hilt from Shen Fan’s hand and, even more carefully, joined the miraculous blade fragment to it.

BUZZ—!

A low hum sounded. The moment the two pieces touched, they fit together seamlessly.

Forming a small, incomplete dagger that emanated an astonishing aura!

Holding this short dagger, under Qi Yun’s watchful gaze, Du Yunian made a light slash against the trunk of the towering peach tree that soared into the clouds beside them.

SHRRK!

A soft sound, like cloth being torn, was heard.

It was accompanied by a burst of faint pink radiance, so dense it felt tangible.

Where the peach tree’s trunk had been cut, there was no sign of wood grain.

Instead, a vertical pillar of light composed of pure Spiritual Light was revealed, surging and rushing endlessly upward!

"Step into this pillar of light, and you can go straight to the upper levels. Once we’re at the fifteenth level, we just need to cut open the trunk again." Wiping the sweat from his brow, Du Yunian let out a small sigh of relief.

He had been terrified that the dagger in his hand wouldn’t work.

After all, the God of Slaughter behind him showed no mercy when he started killing.

Walking closer to carefully inspect the pillar of light hidden within the peach tree’s trunk, Qi Yun couldn’t help but ask:

"Since this pillar can take us straight to the upper levels, why not go up a few more? Why get out at the fifteenth?"

"You may not know this, Champion Scholar, but in the Peach Garden Secret Realm, the higher you go, the more terrifying the venomous insects and strange beasts become.

"And past the fifteenth level, there’s no sanctuary where the statues are.

"The venomous insects and strange beasts from the sixteenth level onward are all around the Qi Refining Eighth Layer," Du Yunian quickly explained.

"Qi Refining Eighth Layer at the sixteenth level... Truly worthy of a True Monarch Level Shiyi Realm."

Saying no more, Qi Yun put his arms around Shen Fan and Du Yunian and stepped into the surging pillar of light.

The trio’s figures were instantly swallowed by the roiling Spiritual Light as they sped toward the fifteenth level of the Secret Realm along this hidden shortcut!

...