Returning to his secluded courtyard.

Xu Changshou spent the night meticulously carving the One-Horned Azure Wolf Hide with a fine steel sword. This hide was vastly larger than the Yellow Weasel pelt, yielding a full thirty-six cuts.

The task complete, Xu Changshou closed his eyes and settled into meditation. The hour was late; he would rest his spirit tonight and draft talismans on the morrow.

The next day.

As dawn's first light broke, Xu Changshou consumed a simple Spirit Meal and prepared his drafting station.

Thirty-six cuts of One-Horned Azure Wolf Hide equated to thirty-six Windwalk Talismans. However, Xu Changshou did not intend to use them all for that singular purpose.

Beyond the Windwalk Talisman, there existed another highly practical wind-attribute spirit talisman: the Flight Talisman.

Given the choice under normal circumstances, Xu Changshou would undeniably favor the Flight Talisman. After all, soaring through the heavens was infinitely superior to fleeing across the dirt.

Yet, deploying a Flight Talisman carried a fatal flaw: it was far too conspicuous.

Sword Riding and taking to the skies was the exclusive domain of Foundation Establishment grand cultivators. If a mere Qi Condensation ant like him casually flew about and offended an eccentric expert, a single casual strike would erase him from existence.

Still, that did not mean he would forsake them entirely. When facing a genuine threat to his life, a Flight Talisman offered a far superior avenue of escape compared to a Windwalk Talisman.

Thus, he required Flight Talismans, though not in great quantities. A small reserve would suffice.

Xu Changshou had long since calculated his deployment strategy for both talismans.

His supply of standard talismans was abundant, and he could draft more at will. For mundane travel, regular Windwalk Talismans capable of crossing three thousand Li a day were more than sufficient.

If he encountered danger or required urgent transit, he would deploy the Windwalk Talismans drafted on the One-Horned Azure Wolf Hide, covering five thousand Li a day. These were strictly for emergencies.

As for the Flight Talismans, particularly those drafted on the wolf hide, he would keep them hidden unless his very survival hung in the balance.

Running the silent calculations, Xu Changshou decided to allocate the One-Horned Azure Wolf Hide to draft twelve Flight Talismans and twenty-four Windwalk Talismans.

Thirty-six talismans in total. He spent the next two days drafting them with practiced ease.

Once finished, he stored them securely within the space of his Bloodline Jade Talisman.

Next, Xu Changshou took a thorough inventory of his accumulated arsenal.

Twelve Earth Stalwart Talismans drafted upon Yellow Weasel pelt.

Twelve Flight Talismans drafted upon One-Horned Azure Wolf Hide.

Twenty-four Windwalk Talismans drafted upon One-Horned Azure Wolf Hide.

An assortment of various other spirit talismans.

Three thousand five hundred standard Windwalk Talismans designated for sect quotas.

Xu Changshou calculated the numbers: three thousand five hundred Windwalk Talismans would cover his sect duties for exactly one year and eight months.

And one year and eight months of undisturbed time was more than enough for him to break through to the ninth layer of Qi Condensation.

His immediate priority remained Secluded Cultivation to elevate his cultivation base.

Having reached the eighth layer of Qi Condensation, his body's hunger for Qi Gathering Pills had spiked. On average, he now refined one pill every two days.

That equated to fifteen Qi Gathering Pills a month-a staggering cost of one and a half Spirit Stones.

For a Miscellaneous Disciple, this rate of consumption was terrifying. His monthly stipend was a mere one hundred and twenty shattered Spirit Stones. Without external revenue, his official stipend wouldn't even cover a fraction of the cost.

Fortunately, his talisman crafting spared him the need to purchase Qi Replenishing Pills, or his situation would be truly desperate.

Naturally, this burden was trivial to Xu Changshou now. With his clandestine trade bringing in a steady ten Spirit Stones a month, he could easily shoulder the expense.

What followed was a prolonged period of Secluded Cultivation.

For a cultivator in the Qi Condensation realm, advancing from the eighth to the ninth layer posed no significant challenge. It was a matter of accumulation, not a true bottleneck.

As long as one's Spiritual Qi gathered to a critical mass, the breakthrough would naturally follow.

However, assaulting the tenth layer of Qi Condensation was an entirely different ordeal. Much like the seventh layer, the tenth layer represented a profound watershed.

The seventh through ninth layers constituted the late stage of Qi Condensation. The tenth through twelfth layers marked the absolute peak of the realm.

The twelfth layer was the mythical state of Qi Condensation Grand Perfection.

Yet, even the tenth layer held no terror for Xu Changshou. He was no longer starved for resources. If the natural barrier proved too stubborn, he possessed the capital to smash it with a Barrier Breaking Pill.

Time flowed like water.

In the blink of an eye, a year and a half vanished.

"The ninth layer of Qi Condensation... finally."

Xu Changshou slowly opened his eyes, a razor-sharp glint of Spiritual Qi flashing within his pupils.

The Spiritual Qi reserves within his meridians had grown profoundly dense. With a mere thought, it surged through his veins with the torrential force of a great river.

His physical vessel had also been tempered by the breakthrough. His raw bodily strength now approached nine hundred Jin.

Across the final three thresholds-the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth layers-his physical might would continue to temper, ultimately capping at one thousand Jin.

The physical enhancements in these final stages would be marginal at best.

The true transformation of the peak stages lay in the explosive growth of Spiritual Power.

Take a tenth-layer cultivator, for example. Their Spiritual Power was so vastly superior to a ninth-layer that, in a direct clash void of Dharma Treasures or hidden trump cards, the tenth-layer expert could obliterate the ninth-layer in a single, merciless strike.

On the final day of the month, Ye Shanhu paid him a visit.

"The ninth layer of Qi Condensation! Congratulations, Junior Brother Xu!"

Sensing the potent aura radiating from Xu Changshou, genuine astonishment flickered in Ye Shanhu's beautiful eyes.

Over their year and a half of clandestine exchanges, she had begun to harbor deep suspicions. The phantom 'Senior Brother' supplying these flawless Windwalk Talismans likely did not exist. She heavily suspected Xu Changshou was the true talisman master.

Naturally, Ye Shanhu kept these shrewd deductions strictly to herself.

Her sole objective was the steady supply of Windwalk Talismans. As long as Xu Changshou delivered the goods, the identity of the crafter was entirely irrelevant.

"To shatter the barrier to the ninth layer so swiftly... Junior Brother Xu, you truly hide your depths well," Ye Shanhu praised warmly.

Xu Changshou offered a self-deprecating smile. "This meager progress is nothing worth mentioning. I still pale in comparison to Senior Sister Ye."

It was a factual statement. A full half-year prior, Ye Shanhu had successfully breached the tenth layer of Qi Condensation.

An entire minor realm still separated them, and the gulf between the ninth and tenth layers was a formidable watershed. Bridging that gap would be no small feat.

Ye Shanhu laughed lightly. "There is no need to belittle yourself. Among our entire cohort, your innate spiritual root is undeniably the poorest, yet your cultivation speed rivals the most talented among us."

Feigning curiosity, Xu Changshou asked, "What of the others? How fares their progress?"

"Among our ten, Senior Brother Li remains the undisputed vanguard. He stepped into the tenth layer a full three months before I did. Aside from the two of us, you are the only one to reach the ninth layer. The rest are still hopelessly bottlenecked."

"I see."

Xu Changshou nodded slowly.

In terms of raw progression, he had thoroughly eclipsed the scions of minor mortal clans. Yet, when measured against privileged cultivation heirs like Ye Shanhu and Li Linhao, a distinct disparity remained.

He stood beneath the apex but towered over the dregs. Xu Changshou was coldly satisfied with this equilibrium.

Abundant resources were certainly a factor, but Xu Changshou's ruthless diligence was an anomaly none of them could fathom.

Born a mortal cowherd, he had been baptized in grueling hardship since childhood. This agonizing resilience proved to be an invisible, unparalleled advantage on the path of cultivation.

"Senior Sister Ye, here is your requisition of ten Windwalk Talismans."

"Then I shall not stand on ceremony. Here are your ten Spirit Stones."

"The transaction is complete. I will take my leave, Junior Brother Xu."

"Safe travels, Senior Sister Ye."

Once Ye Shanhu had departed, Xu Changshou tallied his amassed fortune once more.

At this moment, his liquid wealth stood at a staggering two hundred and seventy-three Spirit Stones, alongside several hundred shattered fragments.

Throughout the past eighteen months of grueling cultivation, his illicit commerce with Ye Shanhu had never wavered, guaranteeing a monthly influx of ten Spirit Stones.

This completely eclipsed the one and a half Spirit Stones he burned monthly for pills.

However, his stockpile of Windwalk Talismans for the sect quota was running dangerously low. With just over three hundred remaining, he only had enough to satiate the sect for two more months.

It was time to return to the drafting table.

This round, Xu Changshou intended to draft a truly massive stockpile. His next objective was to assault the monumental bottleneck of the tenth layer of Qi Condensation.

That monumental endeavor would drain exponentially more time and demand a terrifying mountain of resources.