Immortal Reincarnation Tribulation

Chapter 266 Qi Refining Stage 7

After collecting the pills and demon cores, Du Fan suddenly waved his hand and threw out a fire talisman, burning all the debris on the ground. Then his gaze turned to the fifteen fragments of the map.

Du Fan was quite interested in the fifteen fragments of the treasure map inscribed on the unidentified object. Out of curiosity, he spent half an incense stick's time studying them and discovered that when the fifteen fragments were pieced together, they should form a complete map.

Seeing this, Du Fan smiled slightly, then flicked his sleeve and temporarily put it into his storage bag.

There are priorities. Even if the cultivator's cave indicated by this treasure map contains a large number of treasures, this matter should be put aside for now, because for him at this moment, the most important thing is to break through to the seventh level of the Qi Refining stage.

"I still have nineteen deep yellow demon cores on me. I'll consume them all during this seclusion. If I still can't break through, I'll have to think of another way."

Du Fan sighed, then closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing.

Once he had calmed his mind and adjusted his physical condition to its best, he immediately patted his storage bag with one hand, took out a deep yellow demon core and a dose of core-dissolving water, and swallowed them instantly.

A month later, Du Fan suddenly opened his eyes. At this time, he had already swallowed fifteen deep yellow demon cores, but his cultivation level was still at the critical point of the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage, and he still failed to advance.

However, compared to his previous two seclusions, Du Fan appeared quite calm about this failed advancement, as if he had come to terms with it.

"The magical power within my body has now reached an unparalleled level. There's no reason why I shouldn't advance further. Even if I had to force it, I should have made it... How exactly did those cultivators who were at a higher level manage to break through back then?"

Du Fan fell into deep thought, but after a long time, he still had no clue about the matter and could not figure it out.

"Although it is difficult to advance from the sixth to the seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm, there must be several methods to break through the bottleneck of cultivation. Even if there are cultivators like me who are pushed so hard, there are definitely not many of them."

If I were currently within the Qixia Sect, I could easily pull out anyone to consult. However, here on Crescent Island, it's out of the question. When it comes to fundamental issues of cultivation, even Zhao Chong cannot be entirely trusted.

"There are four more deep yellow demon cores, which are worth about 3,200 low-grade spirit stones. I've already swallowed tens of thousands of them, so this little bit won't make a difference. Even if they don't have much effect, they will still be of some benefit to me."

Besides... this is my last gamble!

A sharp light suddenly shot out from Du Fan's eyes, which then closed. He grabbed at the air with one hand, and a demon core and a bottle of pill-dissolving water instantly appeared. He quickly consumed them.

After refining a demon core, Du Fan suddenly had a thought.

This time, taking the demon core was different from before. It seemed that an invisible barrier suddenly appeared in a certain part of his body, and it seemed to crack a little. Then it closed up and disappeared, leaving him with no trace.

"Huh, what's this?" Du Fan was immediately delighted. This phenomenon had never happened before when he had consumed more than forty demon cores.

"Could that invisible barrier be the key to advancing to the seventh level of Qi Refining...?"

If that's the case, I can't stop using the demon cores. I still have three left. After consuming them all, I'll find a cultivation market and buy a batch. Even if it means going bankrupt, I must successfully advance in a short time!

After calming down a bit, he swallowed another demon core and a dose of pill-refining water, and began to circulate his internal energy to refine them.

When the demon core was refined, the invisible barrier reappeared. This time, the cracks on it were significantly more numerous, as dense as a spider web, giving people a sense that it was about to collapse.

To Du Fan's great joy, this time, after the mysterious invisible barrier appeared, it showed no signs of disappearing. It was as if it were a solid object, completely fixed, and the cracks on it remained unchanged.

He could clearly sense that the invisible barrier was located in his dantian.

Du Fan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart. With a wave of his hand, a deep yellow demon core entered his mouth and quickly slid into his stomach under the impact of the core-dissolving water.

A day later, the instant Du Fan's eyes opened and closed, two sharp glints shot out from them.

In an instant, an extremely powerful aura emanated from him, and his entire being underwent a sudden transformation. It wasn't his appearance that changed, but his temperament. This unique aura of a cultivator, though ethereal, was undeniably real.

At this moment, Du Fan's cultivation had already broken through to the seventh level of the Qi Refining stage. At the last moment of his breakthrough, the invisible barrier in his body collapsed, followed by a surge of pure mana and an unprecedented increase in his cultivation.

"Finally, I've advanced to the seventh level of the Qi Refining stage! It was so difficult!"

Du Fan let out a long sigh of relief. For the first time in more than a month of seclusion, a smile appeared on his face. Then, he straightened his expression, closed his eyes, and began to examine his own condition internally.

"This advancement has brought tremendous changes to my body. It's completely different from the previous ones. Whether it's the concentration of my magic power, the strength of my divine sense, or even the resilience of my physical body, it's on a completely different level than before. It's as if I've stepped into a whole new realm."

When Du Fan opened his eyes, a strong sense of shock appeared in them. His breathing became rapid, and he was extremely excited. He could no longer suppress the excitement in his expression.

"Not only has my magical power increased by nearly double, but it is also much purer. With my current physical condition, I should be able to cast those spells without any problem."

"In terms of divine sense, judging solely by divine thought, the range of my divine sense now has increased by another two hundred feet compared to when I was at the sixth level of Qi Refining. On average, the strength of my divine sense should have increased by about one-third, comparable to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

"Compared to the former two, the improvement in physical strength is somewhat insignificant. In fact, under normal circumstances, physical strength will increase with the growth of cultivation, but it will never be too obvious unless it is a major advancement in realm."

"Of course, I don't need to worry about that. As long as I continue to cultivate those Buddhist and Taoist physical techniques, my physical strength will always surpass that of others of the same level."

Du Fan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. His turbulent emotions gradually calmed down. After pondering for a while, he made the most objective assessment of his own situation.

"Now it seems that my own shortcomings have been fully exposed. Whether it is spiritual sense, physical body or bones, I am not inferior to others of the same level. Only magic power is the weakest aspect of my cultivation so far, apart from my aptitude."

Perhaps aptitude and magical power, these two elements of cultivation, are inherently complementary...

Du Fan smiled wryly, shook his head, then his eyes lit up, and he murmured, "With my current strength, if I were to encounter Old Monster Huang again, it would only take a few moves. As for ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivators at the Great Perfection stage, they shouldn't be a big problem for me either."

If I were to cultivate those minor Five Elements spells and basic physical techniques to the third level of mastery, I would be confident of reaching the top ten in the Crescent Island competition, which is full of experts. It wouldn't be impossible for me to even secure a place in the Grand Sea and Sky Banquet. But so much time has passed, the Crescent Island competition must have already ended...”

Thinking about this, Du Fan felt a little regretful, even disappointed, but he still preferred to look forward to what had already happened, because that was what made it meaningful.

"Judging by the dates, the team going to participate in the Hainan Rendez-Vous should depart in the next few months. If nothing unexpected happens, Zhao Chong should not be among the ten participants."

"The Hainan Rendez-Vous will last for quite some time, roughly half a year including the round trip. During this period, there will still be no daily missions on the island. As long as I am not found by that assassin organization, I will be safe."

"Of course, even if they come looking for me, it won't matter. As long as they are cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage, I can fight them. However... I cannot kill them. I just need to fight them to a draw, like last time."

Du Fan nodded, his mind racing as he began to plan for the future.

"Next, I need to consolidate my Qi Refining Stage 7 realm first. As for the Stabilization Stage, there's no rush. It can be put on hold for later. I need to cultivate those spells and physical techniques to the third level of mastery first."

"If there is still time after doing all this, I can consider treasure hunting. There might be something that interests me in that cultivator's cave. This time, no outsiders will be involved, which will reduce the risks considerably. It might be a great opportunity for me."

"Also, I must learn Miss Tian's lightness technique. It shouldn't be a problem. If I hadn't been too excited last time and made a mistake that angered that girl, I would have mastered it by now."

Thinking of Tian Wu, Du Fan unconsciously smiled. In other people's eyes, Boss Tian was naturally an extremely terrifying tigress, inspiring fear in everyone. But in Du Fan's eyes, this woman was just a bit eccentric, and he even enjoyed seeing her furious side, finding it quite amusing...

"I hope she hasn't developed romantic feelings for me, otherwise I'll feel really guilty. In both my lives, this is the first time I've done something so despicable. I hope we can part amicably..." Thinking of this, the smile on his face froze, and after a long while, he sighed heavily.

Du Fan had no intention of staying in the cave to consolidate his cultivation. Instead, he immediately got up and appeared outside the cave in a few flashes. Without pausing for a moment, he ran straight towards the Green Forest Village.