Chapter 349: 天七

Spiritual power surged throughout his body, impacting the barriers of his spirit apertures. With a soft sound, the barriers broke, and a steady flow of spiritual power poured into the newly opened spirit apertures.

It had been exactly thirty days since Lu Ye returned from the inner circle, and he had finally opened 240 spirit apertures. He could now switch his cultivation technique.

With a thought, the Lesser Heavenly Circulation flowing within his body gradually calmed, and the circulating spiritual power began to settle. Each cessation of a Lesser Heavenly Circulation would cause Lu Ye's cultivation to drop by one level. Starting from the ninth level, he descended to the eighth, then the seventh, until there were no more circulating spirit apertures within his body.

Cultivators are very vulnerable when switching cultivation techniques. Just like Lu Ye at this moment, although he had opened 240 spirit apertures, these apertures were not interconnected and did not form a complete system. Therefore, the power Lu Ye could exert was much weaker than before. If he were to be ambushed at this time, he would almost certainly be defeated. For this reason, cultivators usually choose a stable and safe location when transitioning cultivation techniques.

After a final check of the Grand Sun Glazed Art's circulation route, Lu Ye activated his spiritual power, starting from the Origin Spirit Aperture and sequentially passing through eighteen spirit apertures to complete a Lesser Heavenly Circulation. His cultivation returned to the first level. He then activated his spiritual power again, starting from the nineteenth aperture and sequentially passing through to the forty-fifth aperture. His cultivation returned to the second level. Then from the forty-sixth to the seventy-second aperture, he reached the third level. From the seventy-third to the one hundred eighth aperture, he reached the fourth level. Up to the one hundred forty-fourth aperture, he reached the fifth level. Up to the one hundred eightieth aperture, he reached the sixth level. And up to the two hundred fortieth aperture, he reached the seventh level!

A cultivator's level is directly related to how many Lesser Heavenly Circulation systems they have within their body. Since Lu Ye was now cultivating with a Heaven-tier technique, he had seven Lesser Heavenly Circulations, which corresponded to the seventh level. However, to differentiate from ordinary seventh-level cultivators, cultivators in the Nine Provinces who switched to Heaven-tier techniques were called Heaven-tier seventh-level cultivators, or "Heaven Seven." There were also "Heaven Eight" and "Heaven Nine." An ordinary seventh-level cultivator only opened 108 apertures, whereas a Heaven Seven cultivator had opened 240. With more than double the opened spirit apertures, their strength was naturally vastly different. So, although Lu Ye's cultivation seemed to have decreased, his actual strength was much greater than before he switched techniques.

Having reached this stage of cultivation, Lu Ye could choose to advance to the Cloud River Realm at any time. However, if he did so, he would become a Cloud River Realm cultivator with the weakest foundation, making it difficult even to advance to the True Lake Realm later. The more spirit apertures opened, the stronger one's power and potential would be after advancing to the Cloud River Realm. Therefore, even though Lu Ye now qualified for advancement, he would never choose that path. His goal was to open 360 apertures before advancing to the Cloud River Realm. He believed he had the means to achieve this.

Lu Ye silently observed the changes after switching his cultivation technique. The changes were quite evident. Although he now had two fewer Lesser Heavenly Circulations, the newly formed Lesser Heavenly Circulations moved about twice as fast as before, with spiritual power surging through them like a rushing river. Furthermore, each Lesser Heavenly Circulation now encompassed more spirit apertures than before. The increased number of encompassed spirit apertures combined with the faster spiritual power flow would allow Lu Ye to unleash stronger and more concentrated power in an instant. Therefore, switching to a Heaven-tier cultivation technique was a qualitative leap for cultivators. Any cultivator who made this switch would see their overall strength increase by at least 20-30%, and some even by 40-50%. This was the power of a Heaven-tier cultivation technique.

Moreover, the Grand Sun Glazed Art that Lu Ye purchased was the most expensive Heaven-tier technique suitable for him, costing over 5,000 contribution points. In the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield, not many people could afford such a technique. This technique not only greatly increased Lu Ye's strength but also offered a slight body-tempering effect as spiritual power flowed through his spirit apertures. Simply put, even if Lu Ye did nothing else, as long as he maintained the technique's operation and kept his spiritual power circulating, his physique would gradually strengthen. The Grand Sun Glazed Art was expensive, and for good reason.

He took out a Spirit-Nourishing Pill and consumed it. Without activating Gluttonous Devour, the medicinal effects were completely absorbed in moments. After switching to the Heaven-tier technique, the speed at which he refined spirit pills also noticeably increased, signifying a rise in Lu Ye's cultivation efficiency. He swallowed a few more spirit pills and observed the changes in his spiritual power. He concluded that at the Heaven Seven level, if he relied solely on spirit pills, opening one aperture would require at least 45 pills, an increase from before. However, due to the higher cultivation efficiency, the time needed to open an aperture would not change significantly. This had been Lu Ye's advantage since he began cultivating. For other cultivators, the higher their cultivation, the slower their progress, as more accumulation was required. However, Lu Ye's speed in opening apertures had not slowed down; instead, it showed a trend of increasing. Now, if he were to cultivate wholeheartedly within the outpost, opening one aperture a day would be effortless. With more effort, he might even open three apertures in two days. The 240 apertures were only 120 away from 360, so he was not far from his goal.

He took out the Restful Fruit core, poured spiritual power into it, and his consciousness entered the small transit space. He cautiously scanned his surroundings. Good, the scoundrel from the Myriad Devil Ridge was nowhere in sight. Not daring to linger, he quickly spent fifty contribution points to enter the Mirage Realm.

He went on a rampage! After advancing to Heaven Seven, the enemies in the Mirage Realm felt utterly worthless. However, the Mirage Realm had its ways of dealing with him. If one enemy wasn't enough, it sent two; if two weren't enough, it sent three. In the end, Lu Ye was always forced out.

Less than half an hour later, Lu Ye opened his eyes. A battle in the Mirage Realm allowed him to experience the numerous benefits of switching to a Heaven-tier cultivation technique. His increased strength was evident, and his control over his spiritual power had also greatly improved. This was undoubtedly good news for a Spirit Master; enhanced spiritual power control meant that constructing spirit patterns would become much easier.

It was time to set off again! He had stayed back for a month, avoiding the attention he needed to avoid, and the Myriad Devil Ridge's compensation had arrived. Now that he had advanced to Heaven Seven, he couldn't just stay cooped up in the outpost indefinitely. As for the Myriad Devil Ridge's reaction once he left... he didn't care.

After tidying up a bit, Lu Ye returned to his sect and visited Lady Yun. When he came back, his storage bag contained a large number of books on spirit patterns. He met with his Second Senior Sister, Shui Yuan, who, upon learning of his imminent departure for the core circle, said little, only advising him to see the Sect Master. Moments later, Lu Ye stood before the Sect Master and explained his purpose.

"Heaven Seven already," the Sect Master murmured, a hint of realization in his voice. He recalled first seeing Lu Ye in Evil Moon Valley, shortly after he had opened his apertures. On the way back to Ao Mountain, they were ambushed, forcing him to send Lu Ye into the Spirit Creek Battlefield. In the blink of an eye, this disciple, whom he had practically "picked up," was already Heaven Seven. Furthermore, he had stirred up quite a commotion in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.

"Yes, disciple believes it's time to enter the core circle."

"What are your plans for this journey?"

"No specific plans, just to explore and see what's there."

When he entered the inner circle, Lu Ye had not affiliated himself with any particular sect's outpost for cultivation. Now, entering the core circle, he still had no desire to tie himself down to one place. Some people he had met in the Chess Sea had extended invitations, but Lu Ye had politely declined them all. Given what happened in the inner circle, his entry into the core circle would likely not be peaceful. Barring any surprises, the Myriad Devil Ridge would undoubtedly monitor his movements constantly and target him in various ways. Lu Ye, however, was not afraid.

The Sect Master cleared his throat. "Yi Ye, about this: I brought back fifty junior brothers and sisters for you all, didn't I? I presume you're aware of their origins."

"I've heard," Lu Ye replied. The top fifty cultivators from the Three Saints Institute's disciple recruitment ceremony were abducted, and their sect master, Yu Ganju, even came to Ao Mountain to fight with our Sect Master. Lu Ye had witnessed this personally.

"As a condition for not pursuing the matter, the Three Saints Institute made a request that I, with no other choice, had to agree to."

"Does it concern me?"

"The Three Saints Institute wants you to affiliate with their sect after entering the core circle. Their current generation of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators is somewhat weak, and their situation isn't good, so they wish for your assistance."

Lu Ye was puzzled. "They have quite the nerve." Their situation was already difficult, yet they still wanted him to affiliate with them. In Lu Ye's opinion, this was simply seeking their own doom. The reputation of "Sect-Destroying Lu Ye" was not exactly good in the Myriad Devil Ridge. He was already mentally prepared to face various forms of targeting once he entered the core circle. Therefore, affiliating with any sect's outpost would only bring a heap of trouble. This was also why he wasn't planning to affiliate with any sect. What was the Three Saints Institute thinking? Did they feel their outpost wasn't under enough pressure, so they wanted more excitement?

"Of course, this matter depends on you. If you're unwilling, then you won't go. I will handle the Three Saints Institute myself."

"It doesn't matter. If they want me there, I'll go."

Leaving the Sect Master, Lu Ye still couldn't quite grasp what the Three Saints Institute intended to do. Unable to figure it out, he didn't bother dwelling on it. Since the Three Saints Institute had this request and the Sect Master had agreed, he saw no need to refuse. Regardless, the Sect Master had snatched fifty promising talents from their disciple recruitment ceremony.

For this trip into the core circle, Amber and Yiyi would naturally accompany him, along with Ju Jia and Feng Yue. Originally, Lu Ye had planned to send Hua Ci and Feng Yue together to a sect outpost in the core circle. Now that Hua Ci was gone, Feng Yue couldn't remain in the outer circle indefinitely, as she wouldn't have many opportunities to earn contribution points there. He sent out messages for them to prepare themselves.

Lu Ye also messaged his Fourth Senior Brother to inquire about the repair of his spirit apertures. Learning that his damaged apertures had fully recovered, he finally felt relieved. His Fourth Senior Brother added that it was fortunate he had bought two sets of Aperture-Mending Pills; otherwise, his damaged spirit apertures truly wouldn't have been repairable. This was because his apertures had been damaged for too long, and one set of pills hadn't been enough.