Even though Zhao Qiankun had meticulously planned and inherited the legacy of his predecessors. Even though Lu Yuan had done so casually. Yet, "this gap" remained as vast as an uncrossable chasm.

Zhao Qiankun’s face was utterly grim. As a favored son of heaven, he had never expected to suffer repeated setbacks. Now, having lost again and disgraced the Kunlun Immortal Sect, he worried that upon his return, his second junior brother, Zhao Zhi, would seize the opportunity to undermine his position. In that instant, countless thoughts flooded his mind.

Lu Yuan remained unconcerned, utterly at ease.

The Demon Hunting Proprietor began inquiring about the rewards, starting with Zhao Qiankun. Zhao Qiankun requested a portion of spirit stones and some spirit beasts. The Kunlun Immortal Sect possessed numerous cultivation methods; Zhao Qiankun practiced the Five Fires Seven Fowl Art, one of the three great secret scrolls of the sect, derived from the Qingxu Dao De Secret Scroll.

The Kunlun Immortal Sect was rumored to have inherited the orthodox lineage from ancient times. Though the lineage was incomplete, it still housed three great secret scrolls, each containing a profound technique.

The three great secret scrolls were the Taiyi Secret Scroll for artifact forging, the Qingxu Dao De Secret Scroll for practicing fire-elemental techniques like the Five Fires Seven Fowl Art, and the Guangcheng Secret Scroll for the Wind Thunder Dragon Transformation Art. Legend held that the Kunlun Immortal Sect once possessed the Yun Zhongzi Secret Scroll detailing the central mental techniques of the clouds, but it was long lost.

Zhao Qiankun practiced the Five Fires Seven Fowl Great Method, so he naturally desired fire-elemental spirit beasts.

The Demon Hunting Proprietor began calculating. Every item in the Demon Hunting Shop had a corresponding price, but the amounts were substantial and complex to track. At least, if Lu Yuan tried to memorize them, he doubted he could retain even a tenth. However, the Proprietor had cultivated a technique called the Thousand Insights Great Method, making his memory far superior to Lu Yuan’s.

This Thousand Insights Great Method required a considerable amount of time to master, and even after achieving proficiency, it demanded a fixed daily period of review to maintain its peak state.

Alas, cultivation in this world did not rely on memory; it depended far more on innate talent and comprehension.

Returning to the matter at hand, the Demon Hunting Proprietor’s mind raced, his fingers flicking and tracing patterns in the void as he activated the Thousand Insights Great Method. After a moment, he calculated Zhao Qiankun’s spirit beasts: “According to your tally, you have acquired eight hundred spirit stones in total, six medium-sized fire-elemental spirit beasts, and eighteen small fire-elemental spirit beasts…” In truth, Zhao Qiankun’s spoils from the demon hunt also included five medium-sized earth-elemental and sand-elemental spirit beasts. However, earth and sand-elemental beasts traditionally fetched lower prices—not because their value was inherently lesser or because they absorbed less elemental Qi, but because the underground demons largely consisted of earth and sand-elemental beasts.

While many cultivators practiced earth-elemental arts, they were few compared to the sheer numbers underground. Thus, supply exceeded demand, causing prices to naturally fall to a lower level.

Conversely, earth and sand-elemental beasts commanded extremely high prices in the subterranean world. The price differential for these beasts between the surface and the underground was quite significant. If economic exchange existed between the two realms, the prices of surface earth/sand beasts would surely rise considerably. But allowing such exchange would mean arming the enemy—a possibility that could never materialize. Hence, the current situation persisted: high prices underground for earth/sand beasts, and comparatively lower prices on the surface.

The inevitable result of this price disparity was that certain reckless cultivators engaged in smuggling earth and sand-elemental beasts to reap exorbitant profits. However, discovery meant pursuit and elimination by all Five Great Immortal Sects.

The Five Great Immortal Sects absolutely forbade any action that aided the enemy.

Of course, setting aside the high prices of subterranean sand/earth beasts, one had to trade them honestly at surface prices unless courting death.

Zhao Qiankun acquired a considerable number of fire-elemental beasts: six medium-sized and twenty-four small ones. This was a massive haul. As the foremost personal disciple of the Kunlun Immortal Sect, his existing collection of fire beasts was only slightly larger than this. Essentially, Zhao Qiankun had instantly doubled his supply of fire beasts, which would nearly double his future cultivation speed.

The flatterers accompanying Zhao Qiankun, or core disciples from mid-tier sects like Meng Bai, possessed only a few small spirit beasts. Lacking spirit beasts, they were forced to endure arduous meditation to absorb ambient energy from heaven and earth, rather than directly consuming the refined energy expelled by spirit beasts.

At this juncture, everyone realized: if Zhao Qiankun obtained so many spirit beasts, how many would Lu Yuan receive?

All eyes turned, and the Demon Hunting Proprietor swiftly calculated, asking as he worked: “Do you wish to exchange everything for cloud-elemental beasts?”

“Yes…” Normally, spirit stones were necessary for feeding beasts and daily cultivation, so most would exchange for some. However, Lu Yuan currently possessed over three thousand spirit stones and wasn't lacking for the moment. Naturally, he would convert everything into cloud-elemental beasts to aid his magical power cultivation. His swordsmanship was already exquisite; he merely needed his magical power to keep pace.

The Demon Hunting Proprietor nodded and continued his complex calculations. After a long pause, he finally stated: “Your spoils can be exchanged for two large Cloud Beasts, Cloud Tigers, sixteen Cloud Foxes, and fifteen small Cloud Rabbits.”

Silence…

This…

This…

Upon hearing the quantity of cloud beasts, Lu Yuan himself was startled; much less the other cultivators. Such a large number of cloud-elemental beasts—and the proportion seemed excessive. By simple conversion, it looked five to six times what Zhao Qiankun received, even though Lu Yuan's demon spoils were only about three to four times greater than Zhao Qiankun's.

In fact, this made perfect sense. Lu Yuan’s spoils were slightly superior in quality to Zhao Qiankun’s, including two Asura Horns left behind by Rudra-level demons. This accounted for the final five or sixfold difference.

The assembled cultivators suddenly understood why their progress in magical power cultivation lagged so far behind Lu Yuan’s. With such an abundance of cloud-elemental beasts, Lu Yuan’s power could increase continuously, even if he were lazy. Conversely, no matter how hard others meditated, their magical power growth rate could never match Lu Yuan’s.

No wonder Lu Yuan was so formidable.

In essence, this was a self-reinforcing cycle of the strong becoming stronger.

It was said that in the cultivation world before the establishment of sects, the strong grew stronger and the weak weaker. While the founding of sects helped equalize these disparities, significant gaps still remained, just like the one currently separating Lu Yuan from the rest of the younger generation.

Lu Yuan accepted a Spirit Sealing Tablet and probed it with his divine sense, immediately confirming the contents matched the Demon Hunting Proprietor’s account of the cloud-elemental beasts. In total, he now possessed: Four Cloud Tigers, large Cloud Beasts. Eight Cloud Wolves and eighteen Cloud Foxes, medium-sized Cloud Beasts. Five Cloud Cats, twenty Cloud Rabbits, and five Cloud Dogs, small spirit beasts.

Lu Yuan’s current assets now surpassed those of a cultivator in the first layer of the Longevity Realm, even reaching double that amount. His speed in absorbing cloud-elemental Qi was breathtaking, likely meeting the standards of the second or third layer of the Longevity Realm. Consequently, his current magical power advancement could only be described as godspeed.

This wasn't to say that someone in the second or third layer of the Longevity Realm automatically possessed greater assets than Lu Yuan. Once reaching the Longevity Realm, specifically the first layer known as the Fusion Realm, a cultivator achieved a seamless integration with the ambient energy of heaven and earth, allowing magical power to flood into their body constantly, establishing an inherent Qi circulation system.

Having returned from the cultivator marketplace, Lu Yuan could feel his magical power stirring, on the verge of a breakthrough. He immediately secured a room in an inn. Meng Bai, upon hearing Lu Yuan intended to cultivate, readily agreed to guard him. Lu Yuan sat cross-legged in the quiet room, fingers pointed toward the sky, holding the primordial unity—Bao Yuan Shou Yi.

The current rate of Qi intake was immense. It felt as if a gentle breath could mobilize a stupendous quantity of primordial energy. That vast cloud-elemental Qi poured ceaselessly into his body, rushing through his five organs, six viscera, and blood, saturating his entire being with overwhelming cloud-elemental Qi.

However, the five organs and six viscera seemed incapable of containing such a massive influx. Every moment, this cloud-elemental Qi bombarded his physical form. After an unknown period, Lu Yuan felt his blood circulation quickening, faster and faster, surging through his internal channels.

After an indeterminate time, something seemed to explode within his body. The immense cloud-elemental Qi that had been flooding inward now burst forth, penetrating the skin and bones, relentlessly remodeling them. The toughness and elasticity of his skin grew stronger. Now, even if sliced by a sword, new skin would instantly grow back, ensuring no loss of blood throughout his body.

The hardness of his bones also increased. While the current strength of his skeleton still fell short of a flying sword or the incomparably tough flesh of an Asura, it was not far behind.

This was the sixth layer of the Body Tempering Stage: Refining Skin and Bone.

He had finally reached this level.

The next step was the seventh layer of the Body Tempering Stage: Tempering the Brain. Tempering the Brain required extreme caution, as it was far more perilous than this stage. The brain was the most fragile part of the human body; a single mistake could lead to mental confusion and disorder.

Once the seventh layer, Tempering the Brain, was complete, he could advance to the eighth layer: Sword Flight—the stage he anticipated the most.

He wished he could reach the eighth layer soon, but he had only just broken through to the sixth layer of Body Tempering, meaning the eighth was still a long way off.