After staying in Shouming Palace for a few days, Zhang Yan, accompanied by Qin Nan, rode the wind back to Zhao You Heavenly Pond.
His visit did not attract much attention. Even the maids of Shouming Palace, except for the female cultivator who had hosted him, merely assumed he had come to visit Qin Nan, and that his audience with True Master Peng was nothing more than an act of courtesy.
Returning to the main hall, Zhang Yan settled on the jade couch. With a sweep of his sleeve, over a hundred white jade gourds fell onto the ground before him.
These were all brimming with true sand that resembled jadeite beads formed from dewdrops—glistening and radiant, overflowing with spiritual energy. They were packed so full that it seemed as though they might tremble loose with the faintest vibration.
With a slight smile, Zhang Yan found that his earlier conjectures were correct after all; True Master Peng’s cave mansion indeed harbored a few hidden Earth Evil Spirit Veins.
Judging from the quality of this true sand, it had been cultivated for at least a century—likely relocated by True Master Peng when he began guarding the small demon cave.
Although these Earth Evil Spirit Veins were not as refined as those hidden within other True Masters’ cave mansions, their advantage lay in availability. For the past twenty to thirty years, aside from aiding Qin Nan’s breakthrough into the Hua Dan Realm, Zhang Yan was the only one able to use them for cultivation.
He let out a clear exclamation, flipped his palm over, and a wisp of white mist flew from his hand. It whirled around in midair before descending, seizing the true sand within one of the jade gourds. With the urging of his heart and spirit, it began swirling and grinding intensely.
In less than an hour, countless snow-like fine white fragments scattered in all directions, while a faint, water-like stream of essence qi floated in the air—so subtle it was nearly invisible without close scrutiny.
Zhang Yan drew a deep breath, inhaling the essence qi into his abdomen. Gradually, he rotated his golden core, refining the qi. After thoroughly examining the results, he couldn’t help but exclaim in delight. The essence qi from this single gourd of true sand was equivalent to the combined yield from thirty-plus boats of Five Elements Divine Sand—an indisputable vast disparity in quality.
Having personally refined and absorbed both types of divine sand, Zhang Yan felt the marked difference directly and profoundly. He sighed inwardly, acknowledging once again that to rank among the Mingcang Sect’s Top Ten Disciples, one must have the backing of a Cave Heaven True Master; otherwise, success was unachievable.
Glancing downward, Zhang Yan assessed that the hundred-plus gourds would suffice for his needs over the next four months. By then, more true sand would naturally be delivered to him.
Relieved to have resolved an immediate issue, Zhang Yan was filled with joy and set the concern aside. Counting the days, he noted that more than three years remained until the upcoming sect competition.
Given his first-grade elixir formation status, breaking through the "shell barrier" and condensing the True Imprint of Dharma Power within these three years was absolutely impossible. The issue was not the true sand but the inherently arduous and long process of accumulating elixir power, even under conditions of ample cultivation resources—it required painstaking effort day by day.
Thus, to stand out in the sect competition, it was not only his cultivation that mattered but also his mastery of divine skills and Daoist techniques. Thıs content belongs to 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
Currently, Zhang Yan had two strategies he could rely on. The first was the Flying Sword Technique, paired with his Little All Heavens Shifting Escape Technique. If his opponent did not possess a Dharma Treasure capable of countering him, he could ensure himself an undefeated position. The second was the Supreme Mysterious True Light.
He pondered deeply. While the Flying Sword Technique was indeed formidable, the sect competition was not a life-or-death battle; many techniques couldn’t be used to their full extent.
Furthermore, the Top Ten Disciples had all attended the Sixteen Sects Sword Fighting Conference, likely gaining experience with Shaoqing Sect’s Flying Sword Skills. They may have devised countermeasures for such techniques, so he could not overly rely on this approach. To achieve victory, Zhang Yan would have to place his stakes on the Supreme Mysterious True Light.
However, there lay a problem.
His gaze flickered as he shook his body. A stream of shimmering water light emerged, surging upwards like a rushing waterfall, roaring loudly as it ascended to the dome above.
Zhang Yan sat silently with closed eyes, unmoving, as the water light soared before him. After roughly an hour, he formed a spell with his fingers, collecting the water light back into his body.
No matter how much he urged his elixir energy, even expending a significant portion, he still could not amplify the power of the Xuan Guang by a single increment. It was clear that he lacked the means to convert the entirety of his elixir energy into Dharma Powers.
The Supreme Mysterious True Light was extraordinary, yet with his first-class elixir formation, by all reasoning, his elixir power—strong enough to "lift Nine Whales"—should easily empower the Five Elements True Light to astonishing heights. However, the potency of the Water Element True Light had shown only marginal improvement compared to his Xuan Guang Realm. Evidently, slow refinement with Five Elements Essence Qi was the only way to increase its strength.