Chapter Eight: Three Levels in a Row!

This time, the refining process was exceptionally long. Three full days and nights passed, and only when Qin Feng’s face grew pale and he was on the verge of collapse did the pearl suddenly blaze with a brilliant red light, finally floating before him.

Qin Feng’s eyes closed, and he fainted dead away, the pearl losing its control and dropping to the ground with a crisp sound.

All this time, Qin Yuyan had been faithfully watching by Qin Feng’s side. As he refined the pearl, she pondered the first layer of the “Tai’a Forge of Insight” and would occasionally glance over to check on him.

Seeing Qin Feng suddenly faint, the young girl hurried over, propping him up and channeling her own mysterious energy to soothe his breath.

Fortunately, Qin Feng was merely exhausted. After a short while, he opened his eyes once more.

Picking up the Nine-Devouring Heavenly Fire Pearl from the floor, a hint of joy flashed through Qin Feng’s eyes.

He had succeeded!

Sensing the familiar imprint upon the pearl, Qin Feng could not wait—he swallowed it in one gulp. Once the pearl fully merged with his body, Qin Feng briefly felt its presence, then extended his right hand. Instantly, a cluster of crimson flame burst forth in his palm.

This was the Nine-Devouring Fire.

At first glance, the crimson flame looked no different from ordinary fire, but Qin Feng understood its extraordinary nature. At the edges of the flame, there was a faint, eerie trace of black light that could devour and incinerate anything it touched into nothingness.

What a formidable flame—who knew what destruction it could wreak at its peak?

Of course, Qin Feng only marveled at this briefly.

“Brother, you did it!” The girl beside him was beaming with delight, cheering and bouncing with excitement.

“Mm. I’m going to test this flame now. If Father’s guess is correct, with this method, I won’t have to worry about cultivation until after I reach the Earthly Force Realm,” Qin Feng replied.

Though still somewhat weak, Qin Feng had become accustomed to training in exhaustion over the years. He had long grown used to hardship. Thus, after taking a mid-grade mysterious stone from his storage ring and holding it in his palm, he entered a meditative state once more.

Though eager, Qin Feng proceeded methodically.

At first, he carefully controlled his body, absorbing mysterious energy from the stone to restore what he had depleted over the past days refining the Nine-Devouring Heavenly Fire Pearl. Yet to his surprise, the mysterious energy contained in a mid-grade stone was overwhelming for him at his current stage. The vast, pure energy surged into Qin Feng’s body like a boundless sea. In just moments, his internal energy was replenished completely.

Of course, this was also due to his blocked meridians—because of the blockage, he could store only a pitiful amount of mysterious energy.

Once his energy was restored, Qin Feng moved to the next step, cautiously drawing the Nine-Devouring Fire from the pearl now merged with his body and guiding it into his meridians.

At the first contact, Qin Feng’s body shuddered violently, followed by elation.

That thin thread of fire, though it appeared harmless, burned away the obstructions and impurities that had plagued his meridians for years as if passing through an unguarded realm. The blockages that had choked his meridians for eighteen years melted away in an instant, like ice dissolving in water.

With unrelenting force, the Nine-Devouring Fire swept through his meridians, burning all the accumulated impurities to nothing. Then, at Qin Feng’s mental command, it returned to the pearl.

Instantly, a sensation of unprecedented comfort surged through every cell of Qin Feng’s body, as if each one was rejoicing.

It was like someone who had never breathed freely suddenly inhaling unimpeded for the first time—truly marvelous.

Yet what happened next astonished Qin Feng even more.

Within his meridians, he discovered a vast reserve of mysterious energy—far more than expected.

Why would there be so much energy?

A brief reflection revealed the answer. For over a decade, he had persisted with cultivation, never giving up despite hardship. Because of the blocked meridians, much of the energy had been trapped, accumulating over time, causing the meridians to swell.

And because of this blockage and swelling, his meridians were now broader and tougher than anyone else’s. Even in his best moments before, he could only open three or four tenths of his meridians. But now, with everything suddenly cleared, Qin Feng realized he had stumbled upon a heaven-sent opportunity.

Cultivate now—seize the moment!

Qin Feng was no fool; he wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip by.

He immediately began guiding the energy according to the “Azure Dragon Force Tempering Formula,” circulating it through his meridians, lap after lap, stirring up all the energy that had accumulated, moving it throughout the meridians, and finally, under the formula’s guidance, dispersing it into his muscles and cells, slowly converting it into stored force.

Emerald light flickered across Qin Feng’s body, growing ever more radiant—far surpassing the display from a few days ago when he broke through to the fourth tier.

Qin Feng’s cultivation surged from the fourth tier, leaping upward—surpassing the fifth tier within moments, and rapidly advancing toward the sixth.

He was well aware of his own rapid progress.

But right now, he had no time to reflect on it; he was fully focused on circulating the Azure Dragon Force Tempering Formula, controlling the vast energy and ensuring it was perfectly absorbed.

Soon, his cultivation broke through again, reaching the sixth tier. The light on his body barely dimmed.

The mysterious energy that had accumulated in his meridians over ten years had long since become part of his body, allowing for perfect absorption and letting his cultivation leap two full tiers in a single moment—an almost uncanny event.

Though most of the energy had been absorbed, the momentum of his ascent did not falter in the least. As his aura climbed higher and higher, Qin Feng’s cultivation raced toward the seventh tier.

“Not good—the energy isn’t enough!”

Abruptly, Qin Feng’s eyes snapped open, a trace of worry on his face. This was a rare opportunity—an explosion after years of suppression. If he missed it, he might never have such a chance again.

“Continue—let me ascend!”

With a wild roar, he drew on the mysterious energy within the stone at a tremendous rate. The glow on his body, which had just begun to fade, flared up once more. At last, with a crisp shattering sound from the stone in his hand, everything in the room was swept away as if by a hurricane.

“Ha!”

With a thunderous roar, the emerald light on his body abruptly contracted, and at the same time, Qin Feng finally opened his tightly shut eyes.

“Haha!”

“To leap three tiers in a row—Seventh Tier, Earthly Force Realm—accomplished!”