Chapter 99: Peak of the Ninth Rank

"Is this the Blood Circulation Powder?"

Du Fei gazed at the slightly crimson powder in the medicine cauldron and smiled faintly. A moment later, he casually swept it up, and a small amount of the powder, about the size of a fingernail, instantly entered his mouth.

As the powder entered his mouth, Du Fei felt a slight tremor throughout his body. Soon, a rather peculiar hot current began to circulate within him, and this circulation seemed to make his true qi flow a bit faster.

During this circulation, the damaged areas in his body seemed to be slowly repairing themselves...

"This Blood Circulation Powder is indeed excellent. It seems I need to refine some for emergencies... and some detoxifying pills... I think there are some in the ninth-rank pills, right? Also, the Bone Washing Pills need to be refined in large quantities. Besides my own use, I can probably use them as money sometimes..."

After a brief calculation in his mind, Du Fei took another mouthful of the Blood Circulation Powder and quickly began to heal his injuries...

It must be said that the effect of the Blood Circulation Powder was extremely good. The injuries that were expected to take half a month to heal were basically healed in less than three days under the effect of the powder.

With the time he gained, Du Fei began to refine a large number of pills.

For the current Du Fei, refining some ninth-rank pills was no longer a particularly troublesome matter, after all, he was now barely considered a ninth-rank alchemist.

Under this almost non-stop refining, it didn't take long for the prepared medicinal materials to be exhausted by Du Fei. Looking at the numerous bottles in front of him, Du Fei was quite pleased as he stuffed them into his Black Spirit Ring. With these things, the trip to the Pill King's ruins seemed a bit safer...

...

Deep into the night, at the back mountain.

"Boom—"

A rather loud explosion echoed, and immediately, a large pit was blasted out in the dense forest. Lightning flickered in the pit, as if it had been struck by lightning.

Standing at the edge of the large pit, Du Fei gazed intently at the pit in front of him, his expression rather complex.

Three days ago, after failing to refine the True Lightning Pill using the mixed pill method, Du Fei set his sights on the sixth-rank martial skill, the Azure Lightning Cannon. After practicing in the cultivation space and gaining some insights, he could勉强 use this skill, but compared to the power displayed by the phantom in the cultivation space, he could only exert less than one-tenth of its power...

Martial skills in the world are divided into three grades and nine ranks! Seventh to ninth-rank martial skills are collectively known as Master-level, fourth to sixth-rank martial skills are known as Venerable-level, and first to third-rank martial skills are known as Saint-level.

Although the difference between different ranks within a grade is already significant, the difference between different grades is even greater.

For example, although there is only a one-rank difference between a seventh-rank martial skill and a sixth-rank martial skill, the power difference is enormous.

With Du Fei's strength, if it weren't for the system's assistance, he would likely not be able to cultivate this sixth-rank martial skill. Thus, Du Fei also understood why Gu Yun didn't use the Azure Lightning Cannon that day!

Because he simply couldn't cultivate this martial skill.

If he had cultivated this skill, even with all his trump cards, Du Fei would likely have only suffered defeat!

"Let's try again!"

With a sigh in his heart, Du Fei's right hand formed several mysterious seals, and he gently pressed forward. As he moved, a faint lightning glow instantly condensed in front of him. However, this lightning was just a manifestation of Du Fei's true qi, appearing somewhat unreal.

The condensed lightning formed a phantom sphere, which seemed to contain countless lightning bolts, constantly changing shape, making the surrounding air crackle and hum, appearing extremely strange.

From this strange sphere, a powerful pressure emanated, which most people would likely be unable to withstand.

The purple-black lightning continuously flickered, and the pressure, like the sky collapsing, continuously radiated out. The occasional beasts in the back mountain seemed to sense something and crouched on the ground, trembling.

Narrowing his eyes and gazing at the lightning sphere, Du Fei sighed again. No matter how he condensed it, even with the help of the Concentration Pill, he seemed unable to increase the power of the Azure Lightning Cannon by much. It appeared that exerting one-tenth of its power was already his limit.

However, Du Fei understood the key.

Generally, Venerable-level martial skills require at least a seventh-rank martial master to qualify for cultivation, and to fully master them, one needs to be at least a sixth-rank martial patriarch!

For himself, being a ninth-rank martial master and able to grasp a bit of this sixth-rank martial skill was already a great fortune.

Moreover, from its attributes, the Azure Lightning Cannon is clearly suitable for those who cultivate lightning-attribute true qi, and his true qi is water-attribute, which is not suitable!

Du Fei believed that if he could cultivate lightning-attribute true qi or refine the True Lightning Pill, he might be able to exert a bit more power from this skill!

Sighing slightly, Du Fei's right hand suddenly swung, and the purple lightning sphere floating in front of him instantly exploded, landing heavily on a large rock.

"Boom—"

In the blink of an eye, the large rock was blasted into powder, and deep cracks appeared on the ground.

Seeing this, Du Fei sighed again. It seemed that the power he could exert from this skill was really only this much.

However, even so, this skill was subtly sharper than the Pill Technique and the Mystic Yin Finger he had mastered, and could serve as a good trump card!

With the daily practice, Du Fei firmly believed that this skill would ultimately be able to exert greater power under his control.

Sighing slowly, Du Fei lightly clapped his hands, and the boiling true qi in his body instantly stopped. He casually threw a pill to restore his true qi into his mouth and was about to rest, but suddenly, his mind stirred, and his expression became somewhat surprised.

Unconsciously, the true qi in the qi sea of his dantian seemed to have condensed to a certain point, and this point... seemed to be enough to make him reach the peak of the ninth-rank martial master?

Thinking of this, Du Fei did not hesitate to sit cross-legged on the spot.

In cultivation, besides one's own efforts, what is needed even more is opportunity. If one cannot seize the opportunity for a breakthrough, then often, one might lose this chance forever.

For this unexpected opportunity, Du Fei had some understanding. It was likely due to his near-death experiences and the large-scale refining of pills these days, which unconsciously accumulated his true qi to a certain point, leading to this situation.

They say that pressure is motivation, and this is also true for cultivation.

Taking a deep breath, Du Fei expelled all杂念 from his mind, then took a deep breath and instantly entered a state of cultivation.

As the seals in his hands slowly changed, the energy in the air suddenly began to flow around Du Fei, and when it touched his skin, it was instantly absorbed, like liquid meeting a sea surface.

As the liquid was absorbed, Du Fei's skin began to seep a faint layer of blood water...

The blood water was extremely dark, a result of the injuries accumulated in Du Fei's body over these days.

During this cultivation opportunity, the hidden ailments in Du Fei's veins and skin were also slowly being repaired...

As time passed, within a radius of several hundred meters, Du Fei's body seemed to have become a bottomless black hole, and the thin energy in the surroundings rapidly converged towards him. As this situation changed, the energy became more concentrated, as Du Fei seemed unable to instantly refine all the energy.

Thus, Du Fei appeared to be enveloped in a mist, looking extremely mysterious.

"Ha—"

After this strange scene lasted for a moment, Du Fei suddenly let out a light shout, took a deep breath, and this time, with his inhalation, the dense energy around him was instantly sucked into his body, like meeting a black hole. As the energy was absorbed, Du Fei's body slightly floated, and his bones made a series of crisp cracking sounds.

"The true qi in my body has condensed to the limit, just one step away from success!"

Smiling faintly, Du Fei's hands formed seals again and shouted, "Break!"

"Boom—"

A faint rumbling sound echoed in his mind, causing the air around him to vibrate. The true qi circulating throughout his body suddenly contracted, all flowing into his true qi vortex, making the originally small vortex slowly expand, eventually almost filling the entire dantian qi sea.

The Concentration Pill also moved to one side on its own, becoming extremely obedient.

Sensing this, Du Fei's expression suddenly changed slightly. He could feel that he was about to advance to the peak of the ninth-rank martial master, but for some reason, he was always missing that final step...

"Not enough yet..."

Muttering to himself, Du Fei's mind suddenly stirred, and a faint medicinal power spread from the Concentration Pill, quickly flowing into the dantian qi sea...

"Boom—"

This time, with the influx of medicinal power, the dantian qi sea instantly burst, and a surge of boiling true qi, like a flood, instantly filled Du Fei's entire body, then returned to its original position.

After a slight tremor, Du Fei focused inward and, upon seeing the enlarged true qi vortex, a faint smile instantly appeared...

"Done..."

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