Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation Chapter 23
After waiting quietly for an hour.
Wang Yu's fingers twitched slightly. A small amount of alchemy knowledge and sensations surfaced in his mind, as if he had personally opened a furnace and attempted a failed concoction.
This experience was very different from previous ones, especially since he had no foundational knowledge in alchemy. Jumping straight in gave him a poor first impression, like a player relying solely on intuition discovering the limitations of their approach.
"So that's what it feels like..."
Muttering to himself, Wang Yu didn’t think too much of it. By reading more books on pharmacology and medicinal properties, he would eventually be able to make up for his lack of basics.
The task process had already reached its second half, with two months remaining. The spiritual power in Wang Yu's body had mostly solidified, leaving just three more strands yet to be merged.
The final breakthrough timing was roughly as he had estimated.
Tantai Chan's closed-door cultivation room was growing louder by the day. The temperature around the house rose steadily, and waves of pill fragrance filled the air.
The days spent in the medicinal herb were extremely peaceful. No one with a death wish came looking for trouble.
On the 189th day.
As Wang Yu sat in meditation, the air around him distorted. Spiritual energy began converging at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the stillness, a faint “pop” sound seemed to echo.
His aura rose a level. His bones creaked as if undergoing a second puberty, completing a minor metamorphosis.
A persistent itch between his brows hinted that an invisible tendril had finally broken through the physical barrier and was now able to sense the outside world.
This was the sign of spiritual consciousness detaching from the body. Within a radius of ten feet centered on himself, everything became clear, nearly indistinguishable from what could be seen with the naked eye.
Qi Refining Layer Four: Achieved.
A hundred strands of spiritual power condensed into ten denser strands. Far more concentrated, they now had a mist-like texture. Though fewer in number, they vastly outclassed his previous self.
Most importantly, both his Ice Sword Technique and Ice Shield Technique were of mid-grade spell rank. This meant that Wang Yu could finally unleash their full power, resulting in a massive boost in combat strength.
The superficial aging caused by the rapid loss of lifespan was also reversed with the breakthrough, and he no longer looked old and withered.
His hair was still mostly white, with only a hint of black emerging at the roots. Full restoration likely had to wait until he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Wang Yu was overjoyed.
After all, with Wasted Spiritual Roots, reaching mid-stage Qi Refining was something most people couldn’t achieve in a lifetime.
He was only seventeen this year, with plenty of time left to cultivate. The Idle Slot deserved the most credit.
He calmed his thoughts and attempted to activate the Night Concealment Mantra.
His aura immediately dropped back to Qi Refining Layer Three, without any flaws. Due to the qualitative change in his spiritual power, the incantation’s duration was significantly extended, now lasting about three incense sticks' time, good enough for practical use.
Qi Refining Layer Four’s cultivation returned to the accumulation phase.
He would need to accumulate from 10 strands to 300 strands of spiritual power to break through to Qi Refining Layer Five.
Since 10 strands combine into one true strand, that meant he needed a total of 2900 strands of spiritual power. The difficulty of cultivation had increased by more than a few times. Based on the current Idle Slot efficiency, if only one technique was placed in the slot, it would take two days to generate a single strand.
That meant 5800 days, over sixteen years would be needed just to accumulate enough to break through. This figure made Wang Yu's scalp go numb.
The disadvantage of his aptitude was becoming increasingly obvious. One Idle Slot was no longer enough. Even with two Idle Slots running simultaneously, it would still take over eight years. Improving his spiritual roots had become urgent.
The Cold Blood Technique offered a subtle improvement in this regard, but only after reaching full mastery would it begin to show its effects.
"That's right, once my cultivation breaks into mid-stage Qi Refining, the idle slot might undergo some changes..."
Wang Yu was just about to open it up for a look when he suddenly sensed Tantai Chan’s aura appear within Piercing Wind Hall, and hurriedly activated the Night Concealment Mantra to go greet her.
Compared to the agreed-upon six months, she was a few days late.
Upon their reunion, Tantai Chan inspected the condition of the herb garden before releasing her aura to summon Wang Yu. When she saw his handsome and delicate appearance, her brows furrowed tightly.
“Wang Yu?”
“It’s me. Greetings, Senior Tantai.”
“Your appearance…”
Wang Yu had already prepared for this. As the Foundation Establishment divine sense swept across his body, he cursed silently in his heart but remained calm on the surface.
“Wang Yu was born a Spirit Slave, and his lifespan had deteriorated severely. That’s why he appeared prematurely aged despite still being a youth. Fortunately, he was promoted by the True Disciple Su, which allowed him to narrowly advance to the outer sect. Over the past half-year, he has recuperated properly and taken many vitality-nourishing spirit pills, so he has now recovered his original appearance.”
Tantai Chan ignored all explanations and only focused on a few key words, [valued by True Disciple Su!]
That made sense. Spirit Slaves advancing to the outer sect was a rare occurrence. For someone to be promoted deliberately, there had to be another reason. Tantai Chan immediately dismissed her idea of withholding payment. Her cold expression softened considerably.
“You never mentioned your connection to True Disciple Su.”
“Senior Tantai did not ask. Naturally, I dared not speak out of turn.”
“Very well.”
She took out her Deacon Token and lightly tapped it against Wang Yu’s Blackblood waist token. Two hundred contribution points were credited instantly, with the three hundred due to Ice and Snow Pavilion already deducted.
“Many thanks, Senior Tantai.” Wang Yu gave a respectful bow, then spoke again. “I would like to purchase two stalks of the Iceleaf Nine-Petal Grass from the herb garden. May I ask if you’re willing to sell them?”
Tantai Chan thought for only a moment before agreeing.
“You may. If you are gathering spirit herbs to refine pills, once you’ve gathered everything, you may come find me. With my rank as a Rank 2 Mid-Grade Alchemist, assisting you… will be more than sufficient.”
Wang Yu thanked her again. After breaking through in cultivation, he had roughly calculated the time required to reach Qi Refining Fifth Layer. Spirit pills like Cold Blood Pill, which assisted in cultivation, had now become extremely important.
He couldn’t entrust something he would ingest into his own body to someone else. That was one of the main reasons he insisted on learning alchemy himself.
The demonic cultivation environment was far too harsh. One’s vigilance must always be at maximum.
Rubbing his hands together, Wang Yu’s expression turned slightly uneasy.
“Then… may I ask how much you’d charge?”
Tantai Chan fell silent for a moment.
“Two stalks of Iceleaf Nine-Petal Grass. As they are rather rare, the sect treasury lists their exchange price at one hundred twenty contribution points. I’ll take one hundred spirit stones per stalk from you. How’s that?”
Spirit stones were generally considered slightly less valuable than contribution points. This price was more than fair. Besides, this herb was the primary ingredient in Cold Blood Pill, while the secondary ingredients were cheaper. Wang Yu nodded repeatedly.
Half a year ago, he had stumbled upon a windfall, and aside from basic living expenses, had barely used it. The spirit stones he offered even included eighty catties of spirit sand, a rather shabby offering.
After receiving the desired herbs, he sealed them inside a jade box.
Preserving spirit herbs was also a technical skill. Jade Sealing was the most common and cheapest method. Slightly more advanced techniques included Talisman Sealing, Cauldron Sealing, Stone Sealing, and Wax Sealing.
Some veteran alchemists even possessed unique secret techniques. Every scholarly field in the cultivation world had existed for countless ages, and the knowledge derived from them was so vast that even a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to learn it all.
Therefore, cultivators typically specialized in one or two auxiliary skills.
But as their realm increased, their knowledge also expanded. Standing atop the heights, it was normal for a Nascent Soul cultivator to be proficient in first- and second-rank techniques of the Four Arts.