Starting My Immortal Life by Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 132: Breakthrough—Peak of Qi Refinement!

Ji Yuan first activated the effects of every building on Misty Island, then released Tu Yue so she could go collect her welfare allowance.

As for the giant toad that had hopped over, he sent it away with a pair of spirit pigs.

Once these tasks were handled, he headed straight to the Cave Dwelling on the island.

No sooner had he entered than he activated the “Gathering Spiritual Qi Formation,” then took out twenty mid–grade spiritual stones and arranged them around himself.

The “Azure Sea Tide Technique” flowed naturally within him, and soon a spiral of spiritual qi appeared throughout the whole Cave Dwelling, continuously channeling spiritual energy into his body.

He then picked up two more spiritual stones, holding them in his palms as he absorbed the qi within.

In order to elevate from the late stage of Qi Refinement to its peak, relying solely on absorbing the spiritual qi from the world’s air wasn’t enough; even low–grade spiritual stones would progress too slowly.

So Ji Yuan decided to go all in—he used mid–grade spiritual stones.

Spiritual qi streamed continuously into his body. In his urgency to return and break through, he didn’t even have time to upgrade the Enlightenment Chamber, and he didn’t bother checking Jian Zong’s storage pouch.

Nothing was as important as achieving this breakthrough.

Medicine King Valley

Inside the Refining Hall, an elderly Daoist with a white beard sat behind an alchemy furnace, performing incantations to start the fire.

Before him stood a middle–aged man in black, bowing respectfully.

“So, you mean to say that although the Ninth Nether Cave Heaven hasn’t opened yet,” the old Daoist’s tone was calm yet exerted immense pressure on the man in black, “the two strongest Qi Refinement disciples in our Medicine King Valley have already died?”

The man in black hurriedly cupped his hands and replied in a low voice:

“Reporting to the Sect Leader, it’s not because we in Medicine King Valley are incompetent—it’s that the Water Dragon Sect is far too cunning!”

Sect Leader Danyang Zi slowly opened his eyes. “Zhang Zehuai was killed by Feng Yichen. And Jian Zong… who killed him?”

“Well…”

Dong Qing, the black–clad man, became even more respectful. “We are still investigating.”

“But we’ve already contacted our people inside the Water Dragon Sect. Current intelligence suggests that news of Jian Zong’s death hasn’t spread within their sect—they apparently did not know he had died.”

“We sent people to the site where Jian Zong died—the Qi flows were in utter chaos. It didn’t seem like a one–on–one duel; he appeared to have been surrounded and killed.”

Danyang Zi waved his hand, shook his head, and said:

“Among the six sects of Eastern Commerce, Medicine King Valley is the most honorable and open, while Water Dragon Sect is the most devious and deceitful. No need for further investigation—it must be the Water Dragon Sect’s doing.”

“Absolutely true, Sect Leader,” Dong Qing said admiringly.

But Danyang Zi's expression remained grim. “Dong Qing.”

“Yes, subordinate here.”

“You have entered the Ninth Nether Cave Heaven too, so you should know its true value—what’s most valuable inside is not the thousand–year phantom spirit herbs for Foundation Establishment Pills. Far more valuable are the remnants of magical treasures, and sometimes intact ancient treasures.”

Dong Qing was sweating profusely.

“For centuries, our sects have never ceased exploring the Ninth Nether Cave Heaven. That place is very likely the old daochang of the ancient Shang dynasty.”

“But now, the Cave Heaven is about to open, and our two strongest Qi Refinement disciples have died in succession. We’ve lost the initiative, and Medicine King Valley won't benefit as much this time.”

The death of Jian Zong didn't trouble Danyang Zi much.

What truly pained him was being unable to obtain the valuable items inside the Ninth Nether Cave Heaven.

“So what do you suggest?” Dong Qing asked tentatively.

Danyang Zi slowly turned to face him. In that instant, an unprecedented pressure nearly made Dong Qing fall to his knees. The Medicine King Valley Sect Leader spoke slowly:

“Our sect lacks Foundation Establishment cultivators—one or two won’t matter. But we need Qi Refinement masters who can dominate within the Ninth Nether Cave Heaven. Understand what I’m saying?”

Dong Qing’s eyes widened uncontrollably.

He understood perfectly.

“To slash the root foundation and return to Qi Refinement.”

It boiled down to those simple four words.

But Medicine King Valley had a more effective method—they possessed a second–tier pill called the “Regression Pill.” It could allow a Foundation Establishment cultivator to return to Qi Refinement while retaining the power and divine perception of a Foundation Establishment stage.

Of course, there was a cost.

The cost was that the user would be permanently stuck at the Qi Refinement stage.

Just when Dong Qing thought he might be the one to volunteer and consume the Regression Pill, Danyang Zi continued:

“This matter is assigned to you. Keep it confidential; outsiders must not learn of it.”

“And the consumer must be an willing participant. Only one who takes it willingly and then enters the Ninth Nether Cave Heaven can serve us there.”

“Yes,” said Dong Qing, clearly relieved.

As long as it wasn’t him taking the Regression Pill, he was fine.

“One more thing—don’t forget to continue investigating Jian Zong’s death. Truth always comes to light in the end. If it were just a few people, it’s easy to hide, but Water Dragon Sect had many people involved, so it won’t stay hidden.”

“When the investigation is complete, report back immediately.”

“Yes,” Dong Qing bowed again.

Only then did Danyang Zi wave him away.

Meanwhile, at the Water Dragon Sect, Sect Leader Xuan Shui Zhen Ren was also discussing the death of Jian Zong.

Now that Feng Yichen had reported everything in full, a pleased look could barely be restrained on his face.

Although Feng Yichen’s killing of Zhang Zehuai wasn’t arranged by Xuan Shui, he had foreknowledge of it.

But Jian Zong’s death caught him by surprise.

“Ji Yuan? When did he join the sect?”

“According to disciples’ knowledge, it shouldn’t even be two years. He came from Yunyu Marshlands’ market town. As for his cultivation, I saw him—he had reached the ninth layer of Qi Refinement.”

Feng Yichen, standing before Xuan Shui, spoke honestly without concealment.

“In that case,” Xuan Shui said, “as you guessed: Ji Yuan fought Jian Zong, then fled— and brought someone else’s attention upon him. That person later killed Jian Zong.”

Xuan Shui Zhen Ren folded his hands within his sleeves and said with a smile:

"Good that he's dead. As for who killed him, it doesn’t really matter. It could’ve been one of our sect members, a rogue cultivator, or even someone from the Joy Palace—any of those are possible."

"Alright, you may go now. Continue preparing well; the Ninth Nether Cave Heaven will open before long."

"Yes, this disciple takes his leave."

Only then did Feng Yichen bow and exit the grand hall.

After he had left, the smile on Xuan Shui Zhen Ren’s face gradually faded.

"Ji Yuan—"

He muttered the name to himself, then took a step forward and arrived at the Ancestral Hall, instructing someone to bring Ji Yuan’s file.

"From Zengtou Market, ninth layer of Qi Refinement, easily killed a late-stage first-rank demonic beast, and thus joined Water Dragon Sect."

"Seems he does have some strength. Fine, let’s wait and see how he performs inside the Ninth Nether Cave Heaven."

If he truly had the power to kill Jian Zong, there was no way he’d go unnoticed inside the Cave Heaven.

As for Feng Yichen’s speculation—it made sense.

But in Xuan Shui Zhen Ren’s eyes, it didn’t make enough sense.

Because in the cultivation world, there weren’t that many coincidences. The fact that they happened to run into Jian Zong on the way back after lighting the beacon was already a stretch of coincidence.

Then Ji Yuan fled and just happened to draw another Foundation Establishment cultivator’s attention?

And that Foundation Establishment cultivator happened to dare to kill a renowned genius of Medicine King Valley?

How could there be so many coincidences?

Many things that seemed impossible were actually the truth—people just didn’t want to believe them.

In Xuan Shui Zhen Ren’s view, the one who killed Jian Zong was most likely Ji Yuan himself.

He might just not want to expose himself. But it didn’t matter. As long as he was a disciple of Water Dragon Sect, everything else would reveal itself in the Ninth Nether Cave Heaven.

Ji Yuan, naturally, had no idea that his name had already reached the ears of the Sect Leader of Water Dragon Sect.

But even if he knew, there was nothing he could do about it.

He was still at the stage where he had to flee from a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If he encountered a Golden Core cultivator—the type he least wanted to fight—what could he possibly do?

All he could do was put on a brave face and say:

"Sect Leader, I’ve shed blood for Water Dragon Sect!"

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Among the twenty mid-grade spiritual stones placed beside Ji Yuan, only two remained.

But fortunately, upon inspecting his dantian internally, there was no empty space left—everything was filled with pill clouds. Ji Yuan felt an unprecedented sense of fullness.

Dantian complete.

Which meant that the Qi Refinement path had reached its peak.

To advance further along the path of cultivation, he would now have to compress these pill clouds, transforming them into liquid—pill liquid.

At that point, he would step into Foundation Establishment!

Hu—

Ji Yuan let out a long breath, sensing his own peak Qi Refinement cultivation. He couldn’t pretend he wasn’t pleased. After all, with one more step, he would reach Foundation Establishment.

But to say he was too happy would also be untrue.

Because right now, Ji Yuan already had the power of Foundation Establishment.

And a concealed one at that.

After the brief joy subsided, he began to recall the "life-and-death battle" from before.

When the Talisman Treasure: Sky-Escape Shuttle failed, Ji Yuan thought he would have to fight to the death. But once he saw the effect of Jian Zong’s talisman treasure, he realized it might not be necessary—because it wasn’t an offensive talisman. Ji Yuan’s physique could endure it.

In the end, although his defensive magical artifacts were nearly all destroyed, he wasn’t seriously injured. He only had some surface wounds.

By the time he returned to Water Dragon Sect, he had already fully recovered.

That was the nature of the battle—dangerous, yes, but not deadly. Had Jian Zong used an offensive talisman treasure, Ji Yuan might have been finished—or not. Because if it were an offensive one, it likely wouldn’t have included that disabling restriction.

If that were the case, Ji Yuan would’ve used the Sky-Escape Shuttle and gotten away.

Unless Jian Zong had two different talisman treasures.

One for restraint, one for slaying.

If that were so, then Ji Yuan wouldn’t have had any complaints.

If a mere Qi Refinement cultivator could possess two talisman treasures, then perhaps Heaven truly wanted him dead.

At that thought, Ji Yuan finally took out Jian Zong’s storage pouch.

Whether there was something or not—he just had to refine the pouch and see for himself.

Of course, the refining couldn’t be done carelessly. Ji Yuan first used fire techniques to thoroughly burn the pouch several times, in case there were hidden mechanisms on its surface.

Once that was done, he summoned Tu Yue.

Tu Yue also had some cultivation—though she was only mid-stage Qi Refinement, she could still use a storage pouch.

So he handed the pouch to Tu Yue and had her take it to the Pill Refining Room, asking her to sort and categorize everything inside.

That way, even if there was some hidden trap within the pouch—

Like if there were a mechanism that could transmit the image of the last user to Medicine King Valley—

The image they received would be of Tu Yue’s corpse.

And not Ji Yuan.

Wandering the cultivation world, killing and looting—

One could never be too cautious.

Seeing Tu Yue twist her waist as she carried the pouch into the Pill Refining Room, Ji Yuan turned and entered the Enlightenment Chamber next door.

This entire recent excursion had been sparked by this Enlightenment Chamber.

Now that he finally had all the materials to upgrade it, Ji Yuan could wait no longer.

Originally, he had intended to upgrade it the moment he returned to Misty Island.

But his breakthrough had come too quickly, and he couldn’t wait.

With a wave of his hand, he took out another twenty mid-grade spiritual stones. When he focused his senses into his storage pouch, he saw only three mid-grade stones left.

As for low-grade ones, he still had more than 200.

But in terms of value, that equaled just two mid-grade stones.

Damn it—if this Jian Zong’s storage pouch doesn’t have anything valuable in it, I’ll… I’ll draw talismans and refine pills instead!

Draw them ferociously, refine them ruthlessly!

Ji Yuan stewed in frustration for a bit, then brought out his spoils from this trip: three Illusion‑Heart Flowers and one flask of Earth Vein Spirit Essence.

On the panel, the Enlightenment Chamber already had the words “Upgradeable” floating beside it.

Without hesitation, Ji Yuan chose to upgrade it.

As the panel refreshed, the items within the stone room before him gradually disappeared.

And then Ji Yuan noticed—the Enlightenment Chamber felt… somewhat different.

He examined the stone walls all around. Though they looked the same,

No matter where he looked, it felt like there was something to discover. For instance, that crack—looked like a sword technique might be hidden within. But when Ji Yuan took a closer look, there was nothing.

What is this, like eating Illusion‑Heart Flowers? he muttered internally.

Then he looked at the panel.

The Enlightenment Chamber had been upgraded to level 2 and automatically gained a new spiritual effect.

Spiritual Effect: Insight enhancement increased to 20%. When encountering bottlenecks, gain an additional 10% insight boost.

Ji Yuan believed that both his pill-refining and talisman-drawing skills had hit bottlenecks, which was why he hadn’t made breakthroughs yet.

Now, with the aid of the Enlightenment Chamber—

Insight was passively increased by 30%. That should be enough for a breakthrough, right?

Next came the level 3 Enlightenment Chamber.

Opportunities were like opening blind boxes. Ji Yuan checked the spiritual effects for level 3:

Enlightenment Chamber: Lv3

Spiritual Effect 1: Insight enhancement increased to 30%. When encountering bottlenecks, gain an additional 20% insight boost.

Spiritual Effect 2 (Clarity of Dao Heart): Produces one Clarity Fruit per year.

Upgrade Requirements: 600 mid-grade spirit stones; one third-rank demon core each of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth elements; one branch from a Clarity Fruit Tree.

(Not Fulfilled)

Spiritual Effect 1 was just the usual upgrade.

The boosts to insight and bottleneck assistance were increased by 10%—nothing special to say there.

But Spiritual Effect 2… that was something else.

Especially when seen alongside the “upgrade requirements.”

It required a single branch from a Clarity Fruit Tree to upgrade, but after upgrading, it would produce one Clarity Fruit every year. Ji Yuan inferred from the Enlightenment Chamber that the Clarity Fruit was likely something that boosted insight. Such a rare treasure would certainly be highly contested.

A tree branch—even if grafted and grown—

Would take at least a hundred years to bear fruit, right?

But his Enlightenment Chamber could yield one every year.

A thought flashed through Ji Yuan’s mind—what if the Enlightenment Chamber was connected to another world behind the scenes, where time flowed differently or the resources were exceptionally rich?

He gives them one tree branch, and within a year, they grow it for him.

Each tree produces dozens or even hundreds of fruits per year—but only gives him one, and he’s grateful beyond words.

...Thinking too much, way too much.

Ji Yuan realized that inside the Enlightenment Chamber, even if he wasn’t meditating or cultivating, his mind was much more active than elsewhere—how else could he come up with such wild ideas?

Now that the upgrade was complete, the next step was simply to meditate and train.

But whether it was pill refining, talisman drawing, or the Canglang Sword Manual, none of them were things that could be mastered in a short time. So Ji Yuan simply waited.

It wasn’t until he saw Tu Yue’s figure entering the room that he finally relaxed.

Without sorting out the storage pouch, he wouldn’t have been able to calm his mind for cultivation.

There’s a saying—“Robbery and murder earn you golden belts.”

But the real joy wasn’t the killing—it was the part where you sorted the loot in the storage pouch afterward.

So when he saw Tu Yue exiting, Ji Yuan immediately stepped into the adjacent stone chamber.

As soon as he entered and saw the two piles of spirit stones inside, Ji Yuan knew—he’d struck it rich!

Massively rich.

Low-grade spirit stones weren’t worth much, so even though that pile had four or five hundred, Ji Yuan didn’t care much.

But the adjacent pile of mid-grade stones—though smaller—looked to contain “only” eighty to ninety pieces.

He scoffed.

Still wealthy.

Just those spirit stones alone would surpass the net worth of most Foundation Establishment cultivators. No wonder Jian Zong was the top Qi Refinement genius of Medicine King Valley.

Ji Yuan walked forward and casually swept all the spirit stones into his own storage pouch.

While doing so, he also counted them.

453 low-grade spirit stones, 89 mid-grade ones.

After storing the spirit stones, Ji Yuan glanced at the ground.

Talismans, pills, magical artifacts—they’d all been neatly sorted by Tu Yue, so Ji Yuan could find whatever he needed at a glance.

So naturally, the first thing he grabbed was Jian Zong’s talisman treasure.

As soon as he touched it, he injected a trace of spiritual energy and immediately understood the talisman’s attributes.

It was named Thousandfold Chains. As for its effect—Ji Yuan had experienced it firsthand. He probably understood it better than Jian Zong himself.

It should be capable of trapping a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator—though not for long, as it could be broken through eventually.

In terms of usage, it was better than the Sky-Escape Shuttle—it could still be used twice more.

A great item. This alone was enough to make up for all the losses incurred during the battle. All those expended talismans and magical artifacts—just selling this one talisman treasure would more than cover it!

But Ji Yuan was just thinking.

A talisman treasure like this—yes, it could be sold for spirit stones.

But with spirit stones, you might not be able to buy something this good.

After safely storing the Thousandfold Chains,

Ji Yuan looked over the remaining talismans. Jian Zong had clearly been a resource-heavy cultivator; he had tons of talismans—most of them high-grade first-rank talismans, just like Ji Yuan’s, bundled in stacks.

Ji Yuan turned his gaze to the magical artifacts nearby.

Then it all made sense.

Jian Zong owned a high-grade talisman brush—he was also a talisman master. With that many talismans, no wonder his stockpile was so vast.

But first-rank talismans no longer piqued Ji Yuan’s interest. With a casual grasp, he pulled out five noticeably thicker and larger talismans from the pile.

Talisman scrolls—second-rank, lower-grade!

Now these were the good ones.

Among the five, two were Thousand Sword Talismans for offense, and three were Copper Wall Talismans for defense.

Ji Yuan had already experienced the effect of the Thousand Sword Talisman firsthand—it was extremely powerful, highly destructive. At the time, even his Bronze Breastplate had only lasted a few breaths before shattering completely.

Fortunately, his physical body was strong enough, or he would’ve died right then under the Thousand Sword Talisman’s barrage.

Thankfully, they were all his now.

As for the remaining Copper Wall Talismans, their effect should be similar to Iron Wall Talismans.

They were excellent tools for defense.

The remaining first-rank high-grade talismans didn’t interest Ji Yuan much anymore—he simply swept them all into his pouch. In future battles, they could serve as basic attacks.

Finished with the talismans, Ji Yuan moved on to examine the various pills.

Tu Yue had thoughtfully grouped herbs and pills together.

Ji Yuan first picked up a long, rectangular jade box—anything stored in a jade box had to be something good!

The moment he opened it and saw the herb inside, he was briefly stunned.

"Millennium Blue Hui Grass!"

He actually found such a treasure!

Ji Yuan had come across this before, so now he recognized it at once.

Inside the jade box was a single plant. But there was another jade box beside it, and Ji Yuan quickly grabbed it. Upon opening—

Sure enough, another one inside.

Jian Zong actually had two stalks of Millennium Blue Hui Grass.

Although there were no Millennium Phantom Spirit Herbs, this still helped Ji Yuan resolve a pressing need… No, wait—if he had Millennium Blue Hui Grass, was it possible he also had Foundation Establishment Pills?

Feng Yichen had them.

And Jian Zong’s strength and battle record weren’t far off from his. He should have them too, right?

Ji Yuan immediately stowed away the two herbs, then lowered his gaze and began carefully inspecting the many pills before him. After just a few glances, he indeed spotted a uniquely designed jade vial.