Chapter 154: Advancing to the Peak of the Grandmaster Realm

Xin Lang's "Art of Qi Transformation" was not only upgraded by the Upgrader to the Heaven-tier High Grade, but it was also integrated with the Upgrader's daily tasks, forming a unique cultivation technique whose rank surpassed even Heaven-tier High Grade techniques. Its speed of absorbing vital energy was already comparable to that of a junior Martial Saint; otherwise, without a sufficient supply of vital energy, Xin Lang could never have defeated the Martial Saint Ling Fangzheng by relying solely on two supreme weapons!

Xin Lang controlled the vital energy as it circulated through his meridians. A vortex of refined vital energy formed around him, and all the vital energy in the entire room rushed rapidly toward him.

Xin Lang's cultivation had improved significantly once more, reaching the peak of the seventh layer of the "Qi Transformation" stage. Breaking through the barrier to enter the eighth layer of "Qi Transformation" was merely a matter of time.

Xin Lang circulated his cultivation technique for a while. Although he refined and absorbed quite a bit of external vital energy, the Essence Qi Stone in his hand showed not the slightest reaction.

"Could it not be an Essence Qi Stone at all, but merely an ordinary piece of crystal?" A slight doubt arose in Xin Lang's heart.

Xin Lang entered the meditative state once again and circulated his cultivation technique for a long time, yet that "Essence Qi Stone" remained completely indifferent, showing not the slightest response.

"Damn it, could it really just be an ordinary piece of crystal?"

Xin Lang carefully examined it. He still had a deep impression of this life-saving "Essence Qi Stone" from his past, and he felt he couldn't be mistaken. Yet this Essence Qi Stone was stubbornly refusing to let him refine it.

Xin Lang equipped the supreme weapon "Heavenly Halberd" onto both hands. He remembered that the "Heavenly Halberd" could absorb all kinds of vital energy between heaven and earth; if this stone was truly an "Essence Qi Stone," the "Heavenly Halberd" should be able to refine it as well.

Holding the Essence Qi Stone in his hands, wearing the "Heavenly Halberd" gloves, Xin Lang once again began practicing his "Qi Transformation Stage" cultivation technique.

Xin Lang controlled the vital energy, making it circulate rapidly through his heaven-defying meridians. One cycle... two cycles... three cycles...

Xin Lang cultivated in one breath throughout the entire night. When he opened his eyes and looked at the Essence Qi Stone in his hand, Xin Lang was left speechless! The Essence Qi Stone in his hand remained entirely intact, resting right there without a single change!

Now Xin Lang was holding a massive treasure trove but was completely unable to use it, which depressed him to the extreme.

In truth, the Essence Qi Stone was an item that could only be used by cultivators at the "Qi Control Stage," who needed to project their internal vital energy outside the body and slowly nourish the Essence Qi Stone with their own vital energy. Since Xin Lang was currently only at the "Qi Transformation Stage," he was still unable to refine high-level refined materials such as the Essence Qi Stone.

Although Xin Lang could not absorb it right now, he knew that sooner or later, he would be able to put this Essence Qi Stone to use.

Xin Lang put the Essence Qi Stone away into the storage slot of the Upgrader, intending to keep it for future use when his cultivation level was sufficient.

Presently, Xin Lang was a seventh-level Grandmaster, and the number of usable storage slots in the Upgrader had reached twenty-seven. Although many items and elixir pills were stored inside, several slots still remained empty.

After the Essence Qi Stone was placed into the storage slot, it ended up right next to the slot containing the Marrow-Cleansing Pill. Xin Lang saw the name of the item labeled beneath the slot: Essence Qi Stone.

Seeing this name, Xin Lang sighed inwardly, "At least this thing really is an Essence Qi Stone; it's just that my current cultivation level isn't enough to refine it!"

Although he failed to refine the Essence Qi Stone or absorb the vital energy contained within it, the Upgrader had verified the authenticity of the stone, and Xin Lang's inner thoughts grew much more balanced.

Just as he was about to exit the Upgrader interface, Xin Lang caught a glimpse of the Marrow-Cleansing Pill in the adjacent storage slot.

A sudden thought flashed through Xin Lang's mind: back when he fought in the past, in order to avoid letting people discover that he was using recovery potions, he had always applied them directly to his avatar within the Upgrader.

Xin Lang was suddenly struck by a flash of inspiration: "Can I use the exact same method with this Essence Qi Stone—using it directly on the avatar within the Upgrader to absorb the refined vital energy inside it?"

With that thought, Xin Lang used his consciousness to drag the Essence Qi Stone from the storage slot, pulling it directly onto the avatar in the main area of the Upgrader.

Instantly, that stubbornly unyielding Essence Qi Stone underwent a drastic transformation. It burst apart in a split second, shattering into countless specks of starlight. These specks of starlight diffused all around Xin Lang's avatar and then rapidly merged into the avatar's body.

At the same time, Xin Lang felt vital energy rush into all the meridians of his body like a breached flood embankment, instantly shattering the final barrier of his seventh-level Grandmaster status and promoting him to an eighth-level Grandmaster!

However, all of this was far from over; it was merely the beginning!

The roaring vital energy rampaged wildly through Xin Lang's meridians, threatening to rupture his meridians and tear his entire body apart. Xin Lang hurriedly activated his Qi Transformation technique, forcing the vital energy to circulate through his meridians, following the web-like, heaven-defying unique meridians of his body until it finally converged into his Dantian, entering that vast and mysterious space.

Xin Lang entered a meditative state of cultivation, navigating through numerous twists and turns before he finally managed to absorb all the vital energy contained within the Essence Qi Stone into his body.

Xin Lang's cultivation level grew rapidly: early eighth-level Grandmaster... mid eighth-level Grandmaster... peak eighth-level Grandmaster...

Boom...

The massive vital energy contained within the Essence Qi Stone allowed Xin Lang to advance yet another level, breaking through the eighth-level Grandmaster barrier and promoting him to a ninth-level Grandmaster.

Yet this still wasn't the end. Aided by the powerful vital energy of the Essence Qi Stone, Xin Lang's cultivation was propelled all the way to the mid ninth-level Grandmaster stage in a single bound.

A fist-sized Essence Qi Stone had actually allowed Xin Lang to leap two consecutive levels, promoting him from a seventh-level Grandmaster all the way to a ninth-level Grandmaster! If others were to find out about such a feat, they would undoubtedly die of jealousy.

However, the Essence Qi Stone was something meant for Martial Saints at the "Qi Control Stage." Grandmasters at the "Qi Transformation Stage" were inherently incapable of refining and absorbing it. Xin Lang had only managed to obtain the vital energy within it through the Upgrader. Since a spiritual stone meant for the "Qi Control Stage" was used by someone in the "Qi Transformation Stage," it was hardly surprising that Xin Lang leaped two levels!

Having advanced to a ninth-level Grandmaster, Xin Lang felt that his speed of refining the essence of heaven and earth had become much faster than before. The amount of vital energy he could inhale and exhale in a split second was already enough for him to unleash a Heaven-tier martial skill! The reason Xin Lang possessed such a monstrous capacity for vital energy intake was entirely due to his "heaven-defying unique meridians," something ordinary ninth-level Grandmasters could never hope to achieve.

"The ninth layer of the Qi Transformation Stage!" Xin Lang felt a surge of pleasant surprise after checking his own level.

There were still 5,600 experience points left in Xin Lang's Upgrader. Because of his "heaven-defying unique meridians," Xin Lang had always been unable to complete the Upgrader's current daily tasks. Xin Lang thought to himself: "Since that's the case, I might as well advance once more and break through to the tenth-level Grandmaster!"

If it were in the past, under conditions that were not yet ripe, Xin Lang would never have rashly upgraded to the tenth-level Grandmaster. But now, he could no longer obtain experience points from daily tasks, and his current main storyline quest was still incomplete. Until this main quest was finished, no new main quests would appear. Therefore, Xin Lang dared to upgrade himself to the tenth-level Grandmaster, giving himself ample time to cultivate and break through toward the Martial Saint realm of the "Qi Control Stage."

"Upgrade!"