On the walls of Capital Wu, from a position unseen by anyone, a man wearing a fox fur overcoat was watching Wu Yu and Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian standing outside the walls of Capital Wu, his eyes shining as brightly as stars.
Beside this man was another man of shorter stature. He was smiling as he stood by the taller man. It was the one who resembled Yuan Hao, but he was more evil in nature. Yuan Chen.
And the imposing and awesome man clad in fox fur was none other than Jiang Junlin.
Both had been standing on that spot for the entire duration of the battle.
Jiang Junlin had shown a smile that belied his curiosity. "Truthfully, this Sun Wudao is quite interesting. His Body Refining Realm technique alone is quite splendid. From start to finish, he did not use spiritual power or dao techniques. I surmise that he is only at the stage of the martial way's Spirit Ascension tier."
Yuan Chen found that hard to believe. "Martial way's Spirit Ascension? How could he beat the Spectral Concubine, who was at the second tier of the Qi Condensation Realm?"
Jiang Junlin pat him gently on the shoulder, chuckling. "Yuan Chen, the world is wide, and there are all kinds of unbelievable techniques. Let me tell you one more thing. In truth, I've sent a pigeon back to the sect in query. The sect has no information on this Sun Wudao. Which means one of two things. One, this Sun Wudao does not actually belong to the Heavenly Sword Sect, and is an imposter. Two, this name ‘Sun Wudao’ is a false name."
"I see! I feel like this person will be a lot of trouble. We must investigate this thoroughly." Yuan Chen looked up with adoration at Jiang Junlin.
Jiang Junlin took on a lofty air. "That goes without saying. I've already sent someone to the Heavenly Sword Sect to check the name list of active Immortal Kingdom Supervisors. However, we have been at odds with the Heavenly Sword Sect for a while now. To get the name list into our hands will take a month or more."
"So long? At that time, the Lifegiving Fruit will be just about ripe." Yuan Chen could not wait. After all, Wu Yu had ruined his father's plans today.
"Alright, I'll hasten them along. We must learn the background of this Sun Wudao."
"And then?"
"What are your thoughts on castration?"
......
Wu Yu had said that he would bring Princess Wu You to Heavenly Immortal Peak. But he still escorted her back to Carefree Palace.
Heavenly Immortal Peak was high, and the nights chilly. Life up there was inconvenient, and Princess Wu You still had the body of a mortal, unsuited to an extended stay on the top.
As for Wu Yu, he naturally went to the practice room of Carefree Palace. However, now he could be seen publicly at Carefree Palace.
Any guard or lady who saw him immediately sank to their knees in respect and kowtowed. He could not stop them.
After finishing off the Spectral Concubine, Wu Yu had immediately sent a Heavenly Cloud Roc with his own letter back to the Bipo Mountain Range. After a few days, Wu Yu received Su Yanli's reply. She wrote:
Master knows of this. You need not worry. Remain in peace at Capital Wu.
A short message, which gave Wu Yu an immense sense of security.
Feng Xueya was indeed Feng Xueya. Even though Wu Yu had finished off the direct disciple of the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts, he still did not deem it a problem.
Given Feng Xueya's personality, he might even bid Wu Yu a job well done, because Wu Yu had finished off a ghostly cultivator.
The Basics of the Sword wrote: Any demon or ghostly cultivator must, strength willing, be killed.
Since that was the case, then Wu Yu needed not worry about the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts. He calmed down and focused on mastering A Staff to Ascension. At the same time, he focused his efforts towards the Qi Condensation Realm.
"The Spectral Concubine was truly a disciple of the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts."
Within the Sumeru Pouch, Wu Yu had found many things.
A majority were custom tools of ghostly cultivation, and rather grotesque. These included goat heads, the livers and gallbladders of tigers, as well as severed human hands and other bloody things.
All of this Wu Yu threw away. Only a few things remained.
"These immortal essences can treat wounds, nurture the spirit, liven the blood, and even cleanse toxins. Some can even help Sister nurse her body. She is too frail right now."
Wu Yu believed that with the immortal essences, and a school of fist techniques that he would teach Wu You, her lifeblood would revitalize, and her body would quickly recover. It would be no problem to live a long life of a hundred years.
As for martial cultivation, Wu You had no talent in this aspect.
"Besides some other rubbish, these three are the most important."
Three objects lay before Wu Yu.
The first was an empty Sumeru Pouch. It could hold a bit more compared to the one which Mo Shishu had given him. Wu Yu planned to leave it empty. He would gift it to Qing Mang in the future.
The second was the Soul Summoning Banner. Wu Yu intended to send this bloody and savage thing back to the Heavenly Sword Sect, to be handed to Feng Xueya.
Third, were nine Spirit Concentration Pills.
That's right, nine of them!
Added to Wu Yu's original one, he now had a full 10 Spirit Concentration Pills. This was already a fairly substantial fortune.
The Spirit Concentration Pill was a precious pill!
Immortal medicines were valuable beyond measure. It was said that only the Jindan Immortals could use dan fire. By gathering immortal essence and other materials, they could follow certain steps and bank the fire to eventually create immortal medicines.
Immortal medicines were, of course, much more potent than immortal essences and the other original ingredients.
Only the Jindan Immortals could create Spirit Concentration Pills, and that required energy, time, and resources. That was why immortal medicines were so valuable.
In truth, martial cultivators who had entered the Qi Condensation Realm no longer used gold as a currency.
Gold was for mortals, and completely useless to them.
In lieu of coin, they used valuable ingredients, and even metals, such as the blazing gold used to make the Demon Subduing Staff.
Of course, the most common was Spirit Concentration Pills.
Immortal treasures, dao techniques, and other rare marvels could all be exchanged with Spirit Concentration Pills, whether on the official market, or in private trade.
This was a common custom within the world of dao. It had been circulating for countless years.
Spirit Concentration Pills were actually of great use to martial cultivators in the Qi Condensation Realm!
Firstly, the Spirit Concentration Pill could help one condense qi in the crucial step from mortal body to qi condensation. It could increase the success rate of qi condensation.
Next, even if one had already reached the Qi Condensation Realm, the Spirit Concentration Pill could still create and increase spiritual power. Cultivating to reach the Qi Condensation Realm required large quantities of the Spirit Concentration Pills as well.
This was the resource of martial cultivation.
Of course, Spirit Concentration Pills also required step by step progress. Some martial cultivators from humble backgrounds could not use many Spirit Concentration Pills.
If one was greedy for progress, the user might end up being consumed by them instead, his body exploding.
The Qi Condensation Realm naturally required enlightenment about the world, which slowly grew. The Spirit Concentration Pill served as a supporting tool.
Even so, one could see the value of Spirit Concentration Pills.
10 Spirit Concentration Pills was a huge fount of wealth to Wu Yu.
"I only had one, and that might not guarantee that I would succeed in condensing my qi. But now with 10, I definitely can!"
He was not prepared to leave any wealth for himself. As long as his body could take it, he did not mind swallowing all of them. After all, it was an ill-gotten gain....
"I cultivate the Invincible Vajra Body, so I should be better than others in absorbing the Spirit Concentration Pills.
"Situ Minglang entered the Qi Condensation Realm very quickly. Evidently, Lan Huayi must have given him many Spirit Concentration Pills.
"I have finally become familiar with A Staff to Ascension, and I'm at the peak of my martial way! Next, I just need to progress incrementally and try to condense my qi."
Wu Yu sat in the practice room quietly, asking even Wu You not to disturb him.
The Qi Condensation Realm was the beginning of the path of the dao!
To Wu Yu, this was a whole new world.
In the Heavenly Sword Sect, only those at the Condensing Qi Realm could be core disciples.
Besides, the Qi Condensation Realm held another important tier of meaning to him!
Which was, after he condensed his qi, he would have spiritual powers. Complemented with his 10,000 warhorses of power, he should be able to destroy Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian with ease.
The day that he successfully condensed his qi would be the day to wash the palace with blood!
"Qi Condensation Realm!
"What is known as the Qi Condensation Realm is actually an absorption of the spiritual qi in the environment. Using the 10 spiritual orifices of the body, one can open up one's 'spiritual source.’ The spiritual source is the wellspring of all spiritual power.
"The 10 spiritual orifices are the most important orifices on the whole body.
"Only with the 10 spiritual orifices activating the spiritual source can one condense qi successfully. It is said that at that time, one is worthy of the name Jindan Immortal, and becomes a Jindan Immortal. Which is the level of Master."
Wu Yu was still too far from that level.
"The Body Refining Realm uses the flesh to fight. The Qi Condensation Realm uses spiritual power to fight.
"Spiritual power is the condensed form of spiritual qi. It is part of the body's strength, and also the source of strength. It supports dao techniques, and can also materialize in unimaginable techniques, such as Jiang Junlin's Bone-Adhering Fire, or the Spectral Concubine's Vengeful Spirit Evil Ghost."
Martial cultivators had a long road ahead of them. Their vigorous spiritual power was built on a real foundation!
"The 10 spiritual orifices of the body have their own order in the natural sequence to generate the spiritual source. If you force it or change the order, you are defying nature, and your body will perish on the road.
"Firstly, the first spiritual orifice is the Sternum Meridian right in the center of the chest.
"The spiritual power of the first tier of the Qi Condensation Realm completely stems from the Chest Meridian.
"And then, the Heaven's Hall Meridian [forehead], Heaven's Gate Meridian [wrist], High Rush Meridian [foot], Sea of Breath Meridian [stomach], Curved Lake Meridian [elbow], Gushing Spring Meridian [sole], God's Dip Meridian [navel], Gate of Life Meridian [lower back], and Lake of Wind Meridian [nape].
"Out of these, the fifth spiritual source is the Sea of Breath Meridian. After I master the Sea of Breath Meridian, I must lay down my immortal roots while floating in the Sea of Breath.
"There's a saying that goes: without immortal roots, one cannot become an immortal. It's said that these immortal roots will greatly determine one's future progress.
"Humans have natural qualities, which is the body. They also have nurtured qualities, which are known as the immortal roots. With good immortal roots placed down, one's progress will fly. With poor immortal roots, no matter how much effort one commits, it will be wasted. When I reach the fifth tier of Qi Condensation Realm, I will have to discover my own immortal roots!”
Exactly because of this, the second great realm was called: Qi Condensation Immortal Roots Realm.
But Wu Yu was still far from establishing his own immortal roots.
What was most important for him now was the Chest Meridian at his sternum. He had to stimulate his spiritual source.
"Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian should have about three spiritual sources. They are the Chest Meridian, the Heaven's Hall Meridian, and the Heaven's Gate Meridian! After I open the Chest Meridian, with my physical power in support, I can slaughter him!"