Chapter 111: Lingxi Fourth Layer Realm

The medicinal power dissolved, spiritual energy flowed, and the forty-seventh aperture gradually filled.

On the night of the second day after leaving Mount Ying, Lu Ye met the requirements for advancing to the fourth-level realm.

However, to advance to the fourth-level realm, he first needed to switch his cultivation technique.

As he frequently switched between the Gluttonous Feast and the Golden Cicada's Freedom Art, this process was not difficult for him. Under Lu Ye's control, the spiritual energy rapidly flowing through his body quickly calmed, and the connections between his major apertures were severed.

He then followed the circulation route of the Soaring Red Lotus Art, activating his spiritual energy. Starting from the source aperture, the spiritual energy flowed through the first, second, and up to the ninth aperture.

Perhaps because it was his first time activating the Soaring Red Lotus Art, this minor circulation cycle operated very slowly. Lu Ye calmly maintained it, and the spiritual energy, flowing like a stream, circulated faster and faster through the nine major apertures until it eventually circulated on its own.

The first minor circulation system was established.

He then activated the tenth aperture, guiding spiritual energy into the eleventh through eighteenth apertures, following the same method.

A moment later, the second minor circulation system was established.

A moment later, the third minor circulation system began to operate.

Next was the fourth. However, advancing from the third to the fourth level of the Spiritual Stream Realm was a significant improvement, as the fourth minor circulation cycle encompassed as many as eighteen apertures.

As it was his first time activating a minor circulation involving eighteen apertures, Lu Ye was extra cautious.

After a short while, his body subtly trembled. A wave of spiritual energy swept outwards from his location, even pressing down the nearby bonfire.

He had reached the fourth level of the Spiritual Stream Realm!

Lu Ye was delighted, silently experiencing the changes within himself.

Compared to the third level, the fourth level indeed brought immense growth. The benefits from the eighteen apertures were more than twice those of any previous level. The spiritual energy he could instantly activate was nearly half more than before, naturally meaning his combat power would be significantly stronger.

Moreover, the Soaring Red Lotus Art offered many advantages compared to the Golden Cicada's Freedom Art.

One was an Earth-tier cultivation technique, the other a Yellow-tier, and naturally, the benefits they provided to cultivators were different.

The most obvious change was the speed of spiritual energy flow within his body. The speed of spiritual energy flow when cultivating a Yellow-tier technique was vastly different from that of an Earth-tier technique; the latter was at least twenty percent faster than the former!

This change, reflected in the cultivator, could also enhance their strength.

He stood up and drew his long saber, pouring his spiritual energy into it. Instantly, a reddish glow appeared on the blade's surface, as if a layer of burning flames clung to it. If such a weapon were supplemented with a Sharpness Spirit Rune, its destructive power would be immense.

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow and casually twirled the saber. Under the night sky, the saber danced like a fiery dragon.

He swung the saber, and a brief whooshing sound cut through the air.

Advancing to the fourth level, his strength indeed increased significantly, more than any previous advancement. No wonder people said the fourth and seventh levels were turning points.

If he had possessed this level of cultivation when fighting Senior Brother Zhou from Mount Youyun, he would have been fully confident in killing him with minimal effort.

He withdrew his spiritual energy and sheathed his long saber, then sat down again and took out the Soaring Red Lotus Art to study it. This Earth-tier cultivation technique came with several spirit arts that Lu Ye had seen before, but their cultivation requirements were quite high. Even the lowest-tier art required at least fourth-level cultivation, which Lu Ye couldn't achieve before. Now, he finally had the qualifications.

To be honest, during his previous battle with Luo Ji, he had envied his opponent's ability to use spirit arts. When low-level cultivators fought, the side that could use spirit arts often gained an advantage.

In contrast, Lu Ye could only endure and forcefully counter the spirit arts cast by others. If not for his Defensive Spirit Rune, he would have been easily defeated by Luo Ji.

Previously, he had some spirit talismans to compensate for his lack of combat techniques. However, Lu Ye now had only a few talismans left, and all his offensive ones had long been used up. If he could master a spirit art, he couldn't say how much his strength would increase, but at least he would have one more combat method.

However, he was not in a hurry to examine the spirit arts. He had no prior experience with such things and probably wouldn't understand them immediately; it wouldn't be too late to study them slowly when he had time.

At this moment, he was simply exploring the apertures needed to open for the fifth-level realm.

To cultivate to the fifth-level realm, he would need to open at least sixty-three apertures, eighteen more than required for the fourth-level realm.

However, since Lu Ye had previously opened two extra apertures that were included in the circulation route for the fifth-level realm, he only needed to open sixteen more apertures to advance to the fifth-level realm.

Given his current cultivation speed, as long as he had enough energy and wasn't disturbed, it would probably take just over a month.

Recalling when the Sect Master had thrown him into the Spiritual Stream Battlefield, he was merely a small cultivator who had opened three apertures. He entered this place utterly bewildered and walked on thin ice; a pack of fierce wolves could even trap him in a tree.

Time flew by, and four months had passed.

Although his cultivation was not yet high, the initial hardships had passed. His experiences over these past few months had been truly colorful: he had participated in major battles between two sects, been chased by powerful cultivators far stronger than himself, competed against disciples from top major forces who cultivated Heaven-tier techniques, and even engaged in life-and-death struggles with many individuals whose strength and cultivation surpassed his own.

Thinking about it this way, Lu Ye felt that his past four months had truly been arduous, and he couldn't help but shed a tear of bitterness for himself.

But it was all in the past now. Previously, his low cultivation meant he was helpless. But now he was a fourth-level cultivator. While he couldn't exactly "walk sideways" (dominate) in the outer regions of the battlefield, his self-preservation ability had significantly increased. In the outer regions, most cultivators were at a lower level than him. He was no longer among the lowest-ranked; now he also had the qualifications to stand tall and look down on others.

Activating his spiritual energy, he lowered his head to check his battlefield imprint.

The recorded information was as simple as ever:

Name: Lu YeAffiliation: Crimson Blood Sect DiscipleCultivation: Opened 47 AperturesLocation: Spiritual Stream BattlefieldMerit: 174

He remembered his merit points were 142 when he left Cleaving Sky Gorge. However, after killing five people from Mount Youyun, he gained 32 merit points. He calculated it using his self-discovered method and found the numbers matched.

It seemed that to gain more merit points, he would have to kill enemies of a higher cultivation level.

Lu Ye had a faint feeling that merit points would be of great use in the future!

It was time for saber practice. Lu Ye took off his upper garment, revealing his muscular upper body covered in shocking, crisscrossing, gruesome scars. Although these injuries had healed, the scars remained, as Hua Ci still didn't have the ability to completely remove them.

He meticulously chopped, stroke after stroke. Two hours later, Lu Ye, drenched in sweat, finally sheathed his saber. He walked aside, took out his waterskin, and washed himself, then returned to the bonfire to meditate and cultivate. Now that he was at the fourth level, he needed to figure out his current cultivation efficiency and how many spiritual pills it would take to open one aperture.