The void layer.
"Burp~"
Yun Ze let out a burp, broke free from his cultivation state, and looked at Bu Bu beside him.
Since he had elevated his Qi Sea to three hundred times, the effect of consuming Qi Forging Pills had diminished significantly.
After the ninth realm of the Qi Sea, a single Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pill could only increase the Qi Sea by one fold.
Upon reaching three hundred times the Qi Sea, it took two Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills to increase it by one fold.
He was now burping with the scent of pills, which was unbearable.
"How many times now?"
Bu Bu's voice rang out, clearly she had been paying attention to Yun Ze's situation.
"Three hundred."
Yun Ze replied, stretching his limbs. "I'll rest for a bit. How many days have passed?"
"Three days."
"Three days... Any news from outside?"
Not long after Yun Ze entered his cultivation state, Bu Bu had asked him for a jade slip.
She said if there was news from outside, she could handle it immediately.
Yun Ze pondered for a few breaths, and finally decided to give the jade slip to Bu Bu to manage external affairs.
After all, she understood Emperor Sha better.
"They've already started searching for people. It's estimated that in seven days, they will gather to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and then they will begin collecting a large amount of Yuan Qi."
Yun Ze frowned.
Seven days, fifty-six times.
From a purely computational perspective, this was just right; he could go out and fight alongside everyone.
But... this couldn't be viewed from a computational angle!
Now that he had expanded his Qi Sea to three hundred times, he already felt the limit. Every further expansion felt like he was on the verge of exploding.
And there were still fifty-six times to go!
Even if he could theoretically reach this level, it might not be achievable within seven days.
Forget it, no more rest!
Yun Ze gritted his teeth and sat back down cross-legged, preparing to pop more Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills into his mouth.
But as he channeled spiritual energy into his Sumeru Ring, he froze.
Qi Forging Pills... only twenty-four left!
He had been consuming pills while cultivating, so he hadn't paid attention to the remaining quantity.
Now, seeing only twenty-four Qi Forging Pills, it was not enough to expand his Qi Sea!
"Eat them first, whatever you can increase, you increase."
Bu Bu's voice sounded again.
From her tone, it seemed she already knew the Qi Forging Pills were insufficient?
Indeed.
Bu Bu knew the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment method, so she should also know the difficulty of expanding the Qi Sea to three hundred and sixty-five times.
She had given him some Qi Forging Pills earlier, so she should have a rough estimate of how many she needed to achieve a perfect Qi Sea.
And these Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills were all "borrowed" from the Pill Master by her, so she would know best whether there were enough.
Now she was telling him to eat them first. Did she have another way to help him expand his Qi Sea?
"Okay."
A doubt arose in Yun Ze's mind, but he didn't overthink it. He first refined the remaining twenty-four Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills.
Yun Ze took half a day to refine the twenty-four Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills.
His Qi Sea had now expanded to three hundred and eleven times, leaving fifty-four times to reach perfection!
These fifty-four times were like a chasm to him!
The first twenty Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills had allowed him to break through to three hundred and ten times the Qi Sea, but the next four only increased it by one fold!
This meant that for every ten times the Qi Sea increased, the efficiency of the Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills decreased by one fold!
If it continued like this, he would need at least... nine hundred and sixteen Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills!
This was equivalent to the total number of Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills he had consumed before!
Let alone a Pill Master, even ten Pill Masters could not refine such a quantity of Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills within these seven days!
Moreover, he might not be able to consume so many...
Who knew what method Bu Bu would use to help him cross this chasm.
Yun Ze opened his eyes. Before he could speak, Bu Bu's voice sounded again.
"Finished refining?"
"Mm."
Yun Ze responded, "It's three hundred and eleven times now. It's getting harder and harder as it progresses."
"Naturally."
Bu Bu said, then stood up and walked towards him. "Since ancient times, the realm of perfect Qi Sea has been what heavenly prodigies of all races have dreamed of. Besides requiring a large amount of heavenly treasures as assistance, willpower, luck, inheritance, and talent are all indispensable!
With your aptitude, if you were placed in your clan back then, you would at most have an eighth realm Qi Sea. To achieve a perfect Qi Sea would be a pipe dream.
But now... alas."
Bu Bu sighed, a hint of loneliness flashing in her eyes, and she stopped speaking.
She walked behind Yun Ze and placed her hand on his head. "Never mind, let's not talk about the past. Relax your mind, guard your celestial spirit!
No matter what happens next, do not circulate your spiritual energy."
"I want you to trust me completely. Can you do it?"
"Yes!"
Yun Ze knew Bu Bu would not harm him. He agreed and, as she instructed, relaxed his mind and guarded his celestial spirit.
Instantly!
Yun Ze felt a surge of spiritual energy enter his body, spreading rapidly to his limbs and bones, and then surging into his Qi Sea like a hundred rivers converging!
Hum!
A buzzing sound erupted!
Yun Ze felt the Destiny Blood, Sword Seed, and the sword energy extracted from Xiao Shu within him instantly vibrate!
That surge of spiritual energy enveloped these three, coordinating their vibration frequencies.
So uncomfortable!
This feeling was like countless ants crawling on the soles of his feet and palms!
He instinctively wanted to mobilize his spiritual energy to remove this itch, but he could only suppress it with his consciousness!
Now he understood why Bu Bu mentioned 'willpower'.
This was not something anyone could endure!
Soon, the vibration frequencies of the three were finally coordinated by Bu Bu, and the Qi Sea immediately began to vibrate incessantly!
"Pfft!"
Yun Ze spat out a mouthful of blood. The itch was instantly dispelled, replaced by waves of intense pain!
Unlike the previous time when he had triggered the sword energy, causing his Qi Sea to vibrate.
This time, it was the Qi Sea vibrating due to the simultaneous tremors of three entities, including the Destiny Blood and the Sword Seed!
It was not even an instantaneous vibration, but a continuous one!
However, the effect was also extremely significant!
Even with his current Qi Sea of three hundred and eleven times, Yun Ze could feel his Qi Sea expanding at a visible rate!
"Endure."
Bu Bu's voice came from above his head, with a slight tremor. "For the first time, you must endure for at least ten breaths! At least ten breaths!"
Yun Ze could feel that Bu Bu was also in great pain.
This vibration was initiated by her and controlled by her, so it was clear she was not feeling well either.
Ten breaths!
It was only ten breaths, and it passed in the blink of an eye!
Yun Ze gritted his teeth, counting down in his mind!
As soon as the ten breaths were up, Bu Bu lifted her hand from his head.
Both of them almost simultaneously collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
"Are you alright?"
They both spoke the four words in unison and exchanged a smile.
"I'm fine, just a bit of internal injury, I'm afraid I can't vibrate my Qi Sea again for a while," Yun Ze replied with a wry smile.
He spoke lightly, but his Qi Sea was already covered in cracks.
Fortunately, the Destiny Blood was there to slowly repair his Qi Sea, otherwise, he feared he would no longer be able to cultivate.
"Mm."
Bu Bu nodded, her face pale and devoid of color. "Don't worry, you have enough time to recover.
However, next time, it will be at least twenty breaths. Prepare yourself mentally."
"...Okay."
Yun Ze hesitated for a few breaths before finally uttering a word of无奈.
Twenty breaths, he had no idea if he could endure it.
They had six days left outside for collective Foundation Establishment, and there would likely be another battle then. He didn't know if he could make it in time.
He should check on his Qi Sea first.
He propped himself up, sat cross-legged, and sank his consciousness into his Qi Sea.
He didn't know until he looked, and was shocked!
His Qi Sea had now reached three hundred and twenty times!
In ten breaths, his Qi Sea had expanded by a full nine times!
This was equivalent to consuming thirty-six Nine Revolutions Qi Forging Pills!
Yun Ze immediately opened his eyes and looked at Bu Bu, only to find that she had already fallen asleep.
This seemed to be the first time he had seen Bu Bu asleep.
Even when he was completely asleep after leaving Han Shan Village, Bu Bu had still been awake.
It seemed she was truly exhausted.
Next time, twenty breaths.
It seemed that these twenty breaths would be a challenge for both himself and her.
Yun Ze took a deep breath, not daring to delay, and closed his eyes again, beginning to absorb the pure spiritual liquid from his Sumeru Ring.
To achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, besides a perfect Qi Sea, one also needed to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining!
He was currently only in the early stage of the seventh level of Qi Refining, so his cultivation base also needed to catch up!
When his Qi Sea had recovered and Yun Ze opened his eyes again, he found that Bu Bu had already woken up.
She was currently cultivating in place. Seeing Yun Ze wake up, she also opened her eyes.
"Awake?"
"Mm, how much time has passed outside?"
"Two days. They have found forty-five people and decided not to search further. They plan to have these forty-five people reach the ninth level of Qi Refining first.
Tan Chenyu said that thanks to the pure spiritual liquid, the plan for five days from now might not be delayed."
"Mm."
Yun Ze responded, looking at Bu Bu as if he had something to say but hesitated...
"If you want to ask something, you can ask me directly. There should be no secrets between us."
Yun Ze couldn't help but give a wry smile. "You found out after all?"
In fact, when he had decided to give the jade slip to Bu Bu, he had also glanced at the message sent by Tan Chenyu.
There was only one sentence, but it was enough to make Yun Ze's heart pound!
Bu Bu might be from the Primordial Era!
Yun Ze was no longer a novice who had just entered the cultivation world. He naturally understood what the Primordial Era meant.
The history of the entire cultivation world was divided into three periods: Ancient, Primordial, and Far Ancient.
The ancient tribal era, where Emperor Sha was located, was the Ancient Era. The Primordial Era was even older than the Ancient Era, and the Far Ancient Era was untraceable, said to be related to the origin of cultivation.
If Bu Bu was from the Primordial Era, then the era she lived in was at least hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of years ago!
Such a terrifying existence, just hearing about it was enough to make one's heart tremble!
No wonder she didn't understand the current cultivation world, even though she was reincarnated and cultivating again.
"Ask."
Bu Bu smiled calmly. "I can tell you anything you want to know."
"You..."
Yun Ze took a deep breath and finally asked, "Who exactly are you?"
"Actually, it's time I told you."
Bu Bu, as if she knew everything, lightly parted her lips. "I come from the Far Ancient Era."