Below the throne, Long Yuan lifted his fierce-looking Jiao head, the ruthless light flickering in his scarlet vertical pupils.

"Dragon Lord, please see clearly. After the turmoil of the Hunter Conference subsides, if I cannot return with Qin An's head, I am willing to kill myself in apology!"

The Dragon Lord nodded indifferently, his eyes filled with a coldness like eternal ice: "What is the situation at the ancient battlefield relics?"

"The men have obtained quite a bit of resources." Long Yuan bowed, his scales clattering: "But unfortunately, we were ambushed by the Evil Extermination Bureau, and thirty percent of the resources have fallen into enemy hands."

"Heh, as long as the Evil Extermination Bureau holds Xunyang Prefecture, the pseudo-god creatures will never see the light of day." The Dragon Lord tapped his fingers on the armrest, sending up a string of ghostly blue sparks: "Since the top powers do not wish to engage in a life-and-death struggle with the Evil Extermination Bureau, we will devour them piece by piece—pass down the order, anyone who makes such mistakes again will be flayed and have their sinews pulled out!"

Long Yuan nodded.

The Dragon Lord suddenly licked his fangs: "Last night, that female cultivator couldn't withstand my energy absorption and has already expired. Find a few female cultivators at the Pulse Condensation Realm, and their virgin yin essence must be intact."

Long Yuan quickly agreed and quietly left with two dragon generals.

The main hall gradually fell into silence, the Dragon Lord sat high on the throne, the evil qi rolling, and the candlefire in the hall turned a ghastly green.

...

Time passed once more.

After the smoke of the Hunter Conference had dissipated, monsters suddenly arose throughout Xunyang Prefecture.

The iron cavalry of the Evil Extermination Bureau rode out in all directions, and the blood shed in battles with monsters had yet to dry before it was stained with new red.

Compared to Lingzhou, although Xunyang Prefecture appeared more prosperous, it was like a pot of boiling oil, needing only a spark to ignite a raging inferno.

Inside the Confidential Library.

Qin An closed the tome in his hand, the text formed from smoke brought a slight curl to his lips.

[Scholar lv.11 (0/8000): Your reading speed has greatly increased, you now have a photographic memory, and your comprehension has deepened]

[Talent: Pulse Condensation Realm Heart Method Cultivation Technique Comprehension Perfection, Pulse Condensation Realm Heart Method Cultivation Technique Epiphany Perfection, Pulse Condensation Realm Heart Method Cultivation Technique Amplification Perfection]

The scholar profession had reached level eleven, with the advancement condition requiring the reading of five hundred books.

Qin An had already met the requirement of five hundred books from zero to level eleven, thus directly advancing.

After reaching level eleven, all talents reached perfection at the Condensation Realm.

Qin An only needed some minor cultivation to push his Heart Method to the perfection level of the Pulse Condensation Realm.

But Qin An couldn't wait any longer.

He brushed his fingers over the pouch at his waist, the four Demon Pills within emitted a scorching pulse.

Even if he had to deplete these reserves today, he would open the door to the Outer Elixir Realm!

Thinking of this, Qin An found a heart method book in the Confidential Library, then went to see the Household Officer of the Internal Affairs Department.

"Exchange a Pulse Condensation Realm Heart Method."

The Household Officer eyed the cultivation technique before him with some doubt: "Are you sure you want to cultivate this Heart Method, sir?"

Qin An nodded: "That's right."

"Defensive type heart methods are seldom cultivated by people." The Household Officer muttered, but didn't dare say more, handing the original copy to Qin An: "Please check, sir."

Qin An nodded, taking the heart method with him as he left the Confidential Library, heading back to the small courtyard of the Evil Extermination Bureau.

...

With the door shut, Qin An lit the oil lamp on the table.

The dim yellow light from the oil lamp illuminated the surroundings, casting light on Qin An's face.

The cover of the heart method on the table revealed its true form under the lamp's glow—the Thick Earth Heart Skill.

This was a Pulse Condensation Realm level heart method.

If elevated to the level of perfection, True Qi would be as solid as the earth.

But this heart method leaned more towards defense.

When operating True Qi to fight an enemy, it could protect the heart's vital points.

Calling it a fight would be inaccurate, it was more like wearing the enemy down to death.

Since the prefecture generals of the Evil Extermination Bureau prioritized efficiency in slaying demons, few would opt to cultivate the Thick Earth Heart Skill.

But Qin An was different.

"The Bodhi Four Symbols Skill already has gold, wood, water, and fire attributes." Qin An tapped his fingers on the table as he thought to himself: "Now, with the addition of the Thick Earth Heart Skill, the five elements arts are complete, compensating for the shortcomings of the Heart Method, making it much stronger."

He didn't care much about the Heart Method's power of attack.

Because, among the four attributes of the Bodhi Four Symbols Skill, each had its unique traits, and when it came to attack power, the gold attribute cultivation techniques were already sufficient.

Thus, the earth attribute was Qin An's first choice.

Once he understood, Qin An wasted no more thoughts, opening the Thick Earth Heart Skill and studying it carefully.

The flame of the oil lamp flickered slightly.

Qin An closed the Thick Earth Heart Skill, having already grasped it fully.

Qin An then moved to the side of his bed and sat cross-legged on it, operating his internal True Qi according to the method of the Thick Earth Heart Skill.

The next moment, the True Qi within him became as solid and steady as the earth itself, moving unceasingly through his body.

Once a circuit was completed, smoke-like writing appeared before his eyes, twisting into words like a serpent.

[You cultivated the Thick Earth Heart Skill, triggering the scholar's talent]

[Thick Earth Heart Skill (Perfection)]

No qi blood was consumed because Qin An had triggered the scholar's talent.

Without hesitation, Qin An restrained his inner joy and operated the Bodhi Four Symbols Skill again.

When Qin An activated the Bodhi Four Symbols Skill, the smoke before his eyes dispersed with a roar, only to re-form into new words.

[You possess the Bodhi Four Symbols Skill and the Thick Earth Heart Skill, but you cannot merge them due to insufficient talent, making no progress]

[In your pressing urgency, you are keenly aware of the monsters of Xunyang Prefecture watching you, and you are determined to break through forcefully using Qi Blood]

[After years of stolid meditation, burning vast amounts of Qi Blood, you finally have an epiphany]

[To merge them, one must understand the principles of the five elements]

[You do not understand them, but you have Demon Pills on hand, burning them within your body once more]

[The Demon Pills are consumed wildly, and the light of comprehension in your mind gradually magnifies, fully understanding the principles of the five elements, successfully merging the two heart methods]

[You name the heart method the Bodhi Five Elements Skill]

[Bodhi Five Elements Skill (Initial)]

After the four Demon Pills were entirely depleted, Qin An opened his eyes.

Within him, his Qi Blood surged like a torrent.

"Finally about to step into the Outer Elixir Realm, this time I'm fortunate, consuming only four Demon Pills." Qin An squinted his eyes.

In front of him, the smoke transformed into a massive flood, surging toward Qin An's brow like tidal waves.

Qin An closed his eyes. After he fully mastered the Bodhi Five Elements Skill, the qi and blood in his body could no longer be suppressed, like a flood.

All eight main veins were completely connected by qi and blood, and along the roots connected to the main veins, they merged into his Supreme True Elixir.

The True Elixir started to tremble intensely within Qin An's body, as if an invisible giant hand had grasped it.

The next moment, the golden surface of the True Elixir became even more radiant.

In just a few breaths' time, the True Elixir became incomparably smooth and was surrounded by the power of qi and blood.

Qin An did not pause, continuing to operate the Bodhi Five Elements Skill.

The True Qi surged like a sea, covering all eight main veins, consistently pushing qi and blood, stacking it onto the True Elixir.

The golden surface of the True Elixir suddenly turned blood red.

Countless amounts of qi blood power were completely absorbed into it.

Qin An's mind cleared, and he felt an incredible lightness all over, with True Qi coursing through his entire body like the sea.

At this moment, the Outer Elixir Realm was achieved!

Qin An squinted his eyes slightly, his gaze flashing with brilliance, and he formed his fingers into a sword. A thread of True Essence shot from his fingertip, silently piercing through a green brick three meters away.

"After the Outer Elixir Realm, it can no longer be called True Qi, but True Essence."

Qin An had an epiphany.

True Essence is purer compared to True Qi, and both in terms of quality and quantity, it far exceeds the realm of True Qi.

Precisely for this reason, it's fundamentally impossible for the Vein Condensation Realm to overthrow the Outer Elixir Realm.

"Now, only when the Mountain Patrol Copper General's assessment is completed, can I leave the power whirlwind of Xunyang Prefecture." Qin An's eyes narrowed slightly, and he thought to himself, "The matter of the ancient battlefield ruins must be accelerated. Inside, there is a supreme foundation that can achieve the next realm."

Regarding how the Outer Elixir Realm achieves the supreme foundation, there is no relevant information in the Confidential Library. One must have the qualifications of Silver Prefecture General or Mountain Patrol Copper General to know.

After all, this involves the secrets of the ancient battlefield ruins.

Therefore, Qin An currently does not know how the Outer Elixir Realm achieves the supreme foundation.

But this matter isn't urgent.

He has just stepped into the Outer Elixir Realm, and the distance to the next level is extremely far.

For now, it's important to first solidify and enhance proficiency.

Considering this, Qin An thought briefly and planned to next enhance the proficiency of the butcher profession.

The proficiency as a butcher concerns blade techniques, also the source of Qin An's unparalleled attack power.

"I must quickly elevate blade techniques and fist techniques to the Outer Elixir Realm Initial, but I seem to be particularly short of demon pills now." Qin An rubbed his chin, thinking to himself.

After reaching the Outer Elixir Realm, his body can store ten demon pills' worth, but now, in order to elevate the Heart Method to the Outer Elixir Realm, all demon pills have been depleted.

"Indeed, as the central state said, it's very difficult for a single Lingzhou to nurture a third person into the Outer Elixir Realm: Xunyang Prefecture is where the major resources lie."

Having understood this, the sky was already late.

Qin An planned to visit Zhou Yuanfeng the next day and inquire about any tasks available.

Even though no tasks have been issued, since the storm of the Hunter Conference has already passed, Qin An thought maybe he could pick up some achievements.

After extinguishing the oil lamp, Qin An ceased further thoughts, lay upon his bed, closed his eyes, and slept soundly.

...

The next day.

When the first ray of morning sunlight shone through the window, Qin An opened his eyes, changed into a tidy, clean black outfit, and then walked out the door to have breakfast in the outside streets.

After finishing his meal, Qin An raised his feet and walked toward the courtyard where Zhou Yuanfeng resided.

At this moment, Zhou Yuanfeng was the only person sitting on a stone stool in the courtyard, sipping fine wine from his cup.

Upon hearing footsteps, Zhou Yuanfeng turned his head, noticing Qin An striding over.

His hand holding the wine cup suddenly tightened, the cup shattered into flying ashes with a crisp sound, startling the birds under the eaves into flight.

Qin An sat opposite Zhou Yuanfeng, frowning and saying, "Mr. Zhou, why such a look?"

Zhou Yuanfeng snapped back to reality, forgetting his right hand was drenched in wine, pressed it onto the table, and stood up abruptly: "You've broken through to the Outer Elixir Realm!"

His words carried an air of disbelief.

"Did you forgo waiting for the Supreme True Elixir and directly chose to break through?"

Qin An shook his head, "I have already forged the Supreme True Elixir."

In disbelief, Zhou Yuanfeng asked, "That requires eight demon pills to forge. How could your cultivation in the Vein Condensation Realm be collected so quickly?"

Qin An replied calmly, "It was indeed quick, but wasn't it just right?"

He hadn't expected to be able to quickly condense the Supreme True Elixir.

After all, when he first arrived in Xunyang Prefecture, this seemed like an extremely remote astronomic number.

But in Xunyang Prefecture, through a stroke of luck, Qin An miraculously shortened the time to the limit.

This also confirms what the central state said, once you enter Xunyang Prefecture, you can continue to climb.

Zhou Yuanfeng returned from his thoughts, eyes showing a few feelings of emotion: "I hadn't expected you could truly cross into the Outer Elixir Realm with the Supreme True Elixir. Indeed, it's beyond my expectations."

In his words, aside from emotion, there was a hint of bitterness.

He recalled when he first met Qin An, he actually looked down upon him quite a bit.

Only because of consideration for those two disciples' faces did he take Qin An under his wing.

After all, given Zhou Yuanfeng's personality, Qin An seemed merely to be someone coming in through connections.

But unexpectedly, as Qin An stayed longer in Xunyang Prefecture, every time he returned from a task, it inevitably left Zhou Yuanfeng greatly surprised.

Gradually, his impression changed.

From initial disdain to later plainness, and eventually to mutual appreciation.

Now, although Qin An's position is slightly lower, his strength has already reached the same level as Zhou Yuanfeng's Outer Elixir Realm, leaving him full of emotion.

"All of this is thanks to Mr. Zhou's care." Qin An changed the topic, "I wonder if Mr. Zhou has any tasks available?"

He came here intending to grab a few tasks and collect more demon pills.

Therefore, Qin An did not beat around the bush.

Zhou Yuanfeng put away his complex expression: "Indeed, since you've reached the Outer Elixir Realm, you require resources like demon pills."

"I do have a task here. If you can accomplish it, it may help you rise to Silver Prefecture General, and with that status, you can then participate in the Mountain Patrol General's assessment."

As he finished speaking, Zhou Yuanfeng beckoned.

Immediately, Jiao Yue cautiously walked out from the corner.

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