Chapter 3298 — Breakthrough! Mid Heaven Rank!

Elder Wang had already fetched the Minor Qi Gathering Pill, handed it to Yang Qiqi, and then withdrew.

Yang Qiqi returned to X Island without a hitch. Even she herself had not expected things to go so smoothly, though that was likely thanks to Xiao Jiu's identity, which had kept He Dantou from daring to suspect her lightly.

Wei Zhao had not expected Yang Qiqi to settle the matter so quickly. Watching her casually place the Minor Qi Gathering Pill into his hand, he could not help but sigh inwardly. Yang Qiqi's devotion to him was utterly without reservation. To a cultivator, the Minor Qi Gathering Pill was a pill of considerable importance, yet Yang Qiqi had shown not the slightest reluctance, handing it over as though it were some ordinary trifle!

"Qiqi, you don't want to advance to the Heaven Rank?" After taking the Minor Qi Gathering Pill, Wei Zhao sighed and asked.

"Of course I do, but with you here, Brother Wei Zhao, I have no use for such a pill. If I took it, it would be wasted." Yang Qiqi shook her head and spoke indifferently.

"Very well, Qiqi. But you must take the next one, or else He Dantou will likely grow suspicious." Wei Zhao warned.

"It's fine. I doubt He Dantou would dare move against me now." Yang Qiqi waved her hand and recounted to Wei Zhao everything He Dantou had told her about Xiao Jiu.

"Oh?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. The matter of Xiao Jiu being an earth-element inheritor was likely a rarity even within Huaxia's ancient cultivation world. How had He Dantou, the president of an Overseas Cultivators Association, come by such information? Apart from the people of the Loess Plateau Sect, perhaps only Ancestor Xuanchen knew of this. Could it be that He Dantou was in contact with Ancestor Xuanchen?

Still, no matter how one looked at it, this was not bad news. Wei Zhao had originally resolved that, whatever happened, he must leave at least one Minor Qi Gathering Pill for Yang Qiqi. But now it seemed he might be able to claim the second Minor Qi Gathering Pill for himself. Even if Yang Qiqi failed to break through, so long as Xiao Jiu was around, He Dantou would not dare do anything to her!

Yet this was only one of Wei Zhao's passing thoughts. After all, it was better to be prudent. If he could endure this crisis, he would not need Yang Qiqi's Minor Qi Gathering Pill. So long as he re-established a fearsome reputation at the ancient level, he would not need Yang Qiqi's pill—Kang Jingming's Minor Qi Gathering Pill would be delivered to his door of its own accord.

With that in mind, Wei Zhao said, "Since that is the case, I shall enter seclusion first and refine this Minor Qi Gathering Pill before anything else!"

Now Wei Zhao had to raise his strength by the greatest possible margin to cope with the predicament awaiting him upon his return home—those enemies at the ancient level. Wei Zhao must reassert his dominance over them.

Yang Qiqi, Xiao Jiu, Xu Shilan, and Cheng Yiyi all knew of Wei Zhao's current situation, so naturally they said nothing more.

That same day, Wei Zhao once again entered the guest room where she resided, preparing to take the Minor Qi Gathering Pill!

Not bad. The fragrant pill in Wei Zhao's hand was indeed the Minor Qi Gathering Pill, though its quality did not appear as fine as the one he had taken last time. That was hardly surprising—the Minor Qi Gathering Pill he had taken previously had been refined by the Pill God Zhang Lifeng. This pill was likely either produced by the Mysterious Pill Sect or left over from older stock, and certainly could not match Zhang Lifeng's standard of pill refinement.

Still, having one at all was good enough, and Wei Zhao was not choosy. With the Minor Qi Gathering Pill, the difference in quality only mattered when it was used to break through a barrier—a finer pill would raise the success rate. But when taken as an experience pill, the effects were essentially the same.

Wei Zhao had taken a Minor Qi Gathering Pill once before, so he was not particularly nervous now. After making his preparations, he drew a deep breath, slowly placed the pill into his mouth, and swallowed it down!

At once, a warm current welled up from his abdomen and surged through his whole body, followed by a scorching sensation as though every meridian in his body were being set aflame!

Wei Zhao had felt this before. Painful as it was, he knew it was a road he had to walk, so he did not deliberately resist it. Instead, he let it run its course, gritting his teeth and holding on as he awaited what would follow!

Thereafter, the burning in his meridians grew ever more intense. Wei Zhao felt as though not only his meridians but his entire being were about to catch fire!

Even so, Wei Zhao gritted his teeth and persevered. He was thoroughly familiar with this sensation—it was the same feeling he had experienced before his last breakthrough, when he had taken a Minor Qi Gathering Pill. The more painful it became, the more it was a sign that the breakthrough was near.

The energy released by the Minor Qi Gathering Pill poured endlessly from Wei Zhao's lower abdomen into the meridians throughout his body! As time passed, Wei Zhao could feel more and more energy gathering within his meridians—a vast tide of energy battering at them, as though seeking to stretch them open and expand them!

Beads of sweat the size of peas rolled ceaselessly down Wei Zhao's forehead, and the pain grew ever more intense. Yet in his heart, he was utterly exhilarated!

After all, if he had not felt this, he would have wept. To have finally obtained a Minor Qi Gathering Pill only for it to have no effect—that would have been enough to make him want to die!

As Wei Zhao's suffering deepened, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth in the air all gathered around him, swirling above his head and forming an extremely faint vortex! It resonated with the true qi within Wei Zhao's body, circulating rapidly around him—faster and faster it spun, and his body temperature rose along with it!

At last, a thunderous boom rang out by Wei Zhao's ear, and his whole body shuddered in response. It felt as though his meridians had exploded open in an instant—and in that moment, Wei Zhao knew he had broken through!

Mid Heaven Rank! Wei Zhao now possessed the strength of the mid Heaven Rank. He was, one might say, one step closer to that summit! The mid Heaven Rank was only four tiers away from the peak of the late Heaven Rank—the realm of great perfection.

Thinking back on the road he had traveled, from the Yellow Rank to this moment, Wei Zhao was overcome with emotion... In a mere year's time, it felt as though a lifetime had passed. So much had happened in that year, and he had borne so many responsibilities—responsibilities that ceaselessly drove Wei Zhao to strive onward!

Fortunately, this one Minor Qi Gathering Pill had allowed Wei Zhao to advance smoothly and break through. And now Wei Zhao, with the Essence Necklace, could likely even slay a top expert of the late Heaven Rank peak in a single blow, could he not?

At that thought, Wei Zhao felt somewhat reassured. At least, once he returned now, he could bide his time for a fitting moment to display his strength and reassert his dominance over those petty schemers at the ancient level who were stirring restlessly. Even if he could not overawe them for good, so long as he overawed them for a time—until Kang Jingming delivered the Minor Qi Gathering Pill—Wei Zhao would have won! (I stayed up late writing a chapter yesterday, so I'm not in good shape today. Only one chapter. I'm truly too sleepy. Going to sleep now. Good night!) (To be continued...)