The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

"The Young Master has been in seclusion for three days. Why hasn’t he come out yet?"

"Seclusion is a common part of a Martial Artist’s cultivation. I’ve heard some Martial Artists enter seclusion for several years, even over a decade. The Young Master has only been in for a few days."

"No way. The Young Master isn’t going to be in there for years, is he?"

"We’ve run into several bands of pirates these past few days. If not for the Defensive Array on the Young Master’s Profound Vessel, we sisters would have been done for."

"Sigh... no matter how good the Defensive Array is, it’s not the same as the security of having the Young Master here with us. Do you think someone as wonderful as him has a girlfriend?"

"Heh, even if he didn’t, it wouldn’t be your turn."

"You’re asking for it..."

On the surface of the sea, aboard the Profound Vessel, the Dancing Girls whispered and joked amongst themselves. Just then, a gentle breeze drifted past. On the faces of Qingxu and the few other Dancing Girls who cultivated, a flicker of surprise appeared. Immediately after, the wind gusted again and again, carrying with it an inexplicably pleasant aura.

In the sky above, transparent currents of air began to converge, forming a massive vortex. At the center of that vortex was a single room on the Profound Vessel.

Suddenly, a Spell shot out from the room, deactivating the Defensive Array.

The instant the Defensive Array was dispelled, the wind abruptly intensified. The transparent currents in the air grew denser, and the vortex’s presence became increasingly formidable.

"This is gathering Primordial Qi... Such dense Primordial Qi."

Qingxu’s lovely face was a mask of astonishment. Immersed in such dense Primordial Qi, she could feel the True Essence within her stirring. It began to circulate on its own as streams of Primordial Qi poured into her body.

BOOM! The bottleneck within her became incredibly fragile, shattering in the blink of an eye.

"I... I’ve reached the Earth Element Realm?"

Qingxu looked astonished, but her eyes crinkled in a flash of delight.

She wasn’t the only one. Under these conditions, the other Dancing Girls who cultivated also broke through bottlenecks that had stumped them for years. Truthfully, their talent was only marginally better than an ordinary person’s; reaching the Earth Element Realm was considered the very limit of their potential. They had been stuck at their respective bottlenecks for several years.

And yet, they had never imagined they would break through so easily today.

Moreover, the Primordial Qi they had absorbed was less than one percent of the entire Primordial Qi Vortex. They looked toward the cabin, their eyes wide with shock.

’This much Primordial Qi... Could the Young Master be attempting the Heaven-Reaching Pass?’

Among the girls, Qingxu was the most knowledgeable. She knew that a normal period of seclusion wouldn’t cause such a phenomenon. Only breaking through a truly significant bottleneck would require such an immense amount of Primordial Qi.

And Qin Ya was already a Martial Artist at Celestial Essence Realm Perfection.

The next step was the Heaven-Reaching Pass—the threshold of the Extraordinary Realm!

’How old was Qin Ya? Not even twenty. Breaking through to the Extraordinary Realm at his age... if word of this got out, it would scare the daylights out of countless people.’

BOOM... The Primordial Qi abruptly surged once more.

Immersed in such dense Primordial Qi, the Dancing Girls could feel a dampness on their skin, as if the qi itself had become tangible.

The sheer scale of this already surpassed that of an ordinary Extraordinary Martial Artist’s breakthrough.

One hundred feet, two hundred, three hundred... The Primordial Qi Vortex was expanding. In the distance, several other Profound Vessels were speeding toward Qin Ya’s.

One Profound Vessel, flying a banner with a purple flower, moved at high speed. On its bow stood an elder in a purple robe. Behind him were several imposing young men, all staring in astonishment toward the gathering Primordial Qi.

The Elder in Purple Robe gazed at the ever-expanding Primordial Qi Vortex, a look of shock on his face. "A Primordial Qi Vortex of this magnitude... The Martial Artist attempting the Heaven-Reaching Pass must be someone remarkable. They are well worth befriending."

"The Primordial Qi Vortex has already reached five hundred feet," one of the young men said with envy. "This senior’s foundation in the Celestial Essence Realm must be truly profound. After they advance to the Extraordinary Sky Control stage, the amount of Primordial Qi they can command will likely be more than double that of their peers. It’s truly enviable."

Just then, another youth with a defiant look on his face scoffed, "A five-hundred-foot Primordial Qi Vortex? It’s decent, but that’s all it is. When I, Luo Bi, ascend to the Extraordinary Realm, mine will surely be more than double that of this Martial Artist."

Luo Bi’s expression was full of arrogance, as if a five-hundred-foot vortex was beneath his notice. Seeing this, the Elder in Purple Robe frowned slightly. "Young Master," he said, "though your talent is exceptional, you must understand that there is always a heaven beyond the heavens, and always someone better than you. The path of Martial Arts allows no room for carelessness or complacency. You must remember that."

Luo Bi looked impatient upon hearing this, but the man was a respected Elder of the family, someone even his own father had to treat with courtesy. He couldn’t very well talk back, so he simply said, "This Young Master is aware of what he is doing. There is no need for you to worry, Elder."

The Elder in Purple Robe sighed softly. He knew his words had not been taken to heart and that this Young Master had been arrogant since he was a child, so he said no more.

At that moment, several of the young men behind Luo Bi stepped forward to offer flattery. "Young Master, your talent is a gift from the heavens. There are few in this world who can compare to you."

"That’s right! The Young Master reached Celestial Essence Realm Perfection at such a young age. He even cultivates the family’s Divine Skill, the Purple Luo Heavenly Technique, and has comprehended the peerlessly offensive Great Trend of Purple Gold! He could defeat an ordinary practitioner at Celestial Essence Realm Perfection in a single move."

"Indeed, indeed! I’ve heard that even the so-called Liujie of the Vast Sea Divine Palace, those favored sons of heaven from tens of thousands of miles away, are likely a cut below our Young Master."

Hearing their flattery, Luo Bi’s expression grew even more conceited.

The Elder in Purple Robe snorted coldly, his powerful aura flaring. The sycophantic youths immediately fell silent. "The Vast Sea Divine Palace is one of the top Sects in the entire Southern Domain. Even our Purple Luo Family would not dare to make an enemy of them lightly. The Vast Sea’s Liujie are among the truest prodigies on the path of Martial Arts. How dare the likes of you slander them here? Utterly senseless. Return to the vessel and reflect carefully on what you’ve said."

"Yes, yes..."

Facing the Elder’s might, the youths dared not talk back and quickly agreed.

Luo Bi’s expression, however, turned sour. He gave a cold snort and fell silent.

BOOM! Just then, the Primordial Qi erupted violently. The vortex expanded at a shocking rate, spreading to a thousand feet in the blink of an eye. And it didn’t stop. Eleven hundred feet, thirteen hundred feet... it expanded as if it had no limit.

Now, even the Elder in Purple Robe’s face showed a trace of shock.

The Heaven-Reaching Pass—the promotion to the Extraordinary Realm—is a critical milestone for a Martial Artist. The size of the Primordial Qi vortex one can trigger during this stage determines how much Primordial Qi that Martial Artist can command upon reaching the first stage of the Extraordinary Realm: Sky-Controlling.

Generally speaking, any Martial Artist capable of advancing to the Extraordinary Realm is a genius.

However, the vortex triggered by most of these geniuses during their Heaven-Reaching Pass is only around three hundred feet. The Elder in Purple Robe recalled that even he, considered a peerless talent in his youth, had only managed a vortex of five hundred feet. Yet, the vortex formed by this unknown Martial Artist had already surpassed a thousand.

’What kind of talent was this? When this person reached the Sky-Controlling stage, just how much Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi would they be able to command? It was truly impossible to imagine.’

The Primordial Qi Vortex had already expanded to fifteen hundred feet, but it showed no signs of stopping. It continued to grow, devouring all the Primordial Qi in the vicinity.