Translator: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
“Didn’t you learn such things from Mystical Sky Sect?” During the conversation, Elder Tang realised that Lu Ye knew little about cultivation, which was why he was curious.
It was difficult for Lu Ye to tell him the truth, so he replied, “I was young and naughty in the past, so I didn’t pay attention to the Seniors’ teachings.”
A smiling Elder Tang uttered, “That’s fine. You’re still young, so you can start working hard from now on.”
“Yes.”
Elder Tang lifted his hand and pointed one finger at Lu Ye’s abdomen. “Your first Spiritual Point is full now. If you want to unlock the second one, feel it carefully!”
Upon hearing that, Lu Ye quickly straightened up. Feeling Elder Tang’s finger on his abdomen, he realised that an external force was penetrating his body. It was Elder Tang’s Spiritual Power, but it was very gentle, so it wouldn’t cause any harm to Lu Ye.
The force passed through Lu Ye’s Source Spiritual Point and clustered in a nearby spot. Lu Ye was familiar with the spot as it was the second Spiritual Point for Golden Liberation Technique. He had failed in his previous attempts to locate it, but Elder Tang was able to find it with ease.
It was the benefit of joining a Sect and getting some guidance from a Senior, which could allow a new cultivator to save a lot of time and energy. The period of time when a cultivator was just starting out was most crucial. If he could unlock more Spiritual Points quicker than the others, he would be in a more advantageous position.
“This is the second Spiritual Point of Golden Liberation Technique. You can try to lead your own Spiritual Power to this point,” Elder Tang uttered.
Lu Ye quickly followed the old man’s advice and led his ample Spiritual Power from his Source Spiritual Point to the second one. However, he could clearly feel there was a barrier in front of the point which fended off his Spiritual Power.
“Every Spiritual Point has its own barrier. You can only unlock the point by breaking through the barrier. No one can help you, so you have to give it a try on your own.” Given Elder Tang’s power, he could easily help Lu Ye shatter the barrier. However, if he really did that, he might cause some irreversible damage to the young man’s Spiritual Point. Hence, he could only help Lu Ye locate the Spiritual Point but not break the barrier for him.
It was the first time Lu Ye learned that there was a barrier in front of every Spiritual Point. He had managed to unlock Source Spiritual Point with the help of Skill Tree. Recalling what had happened, he realised that there was indeed something that had broken apart. Now, it seemed that the thing that had been shattered was the barrier.
Elder Tang’s Spiritual Power did not remain on the same spot as it went on to flow through Lu Ye’s body. It would take a long time to break through a barrier. He had helped Lu Ye locate the second Spiritual Point, and the rest depended on the latter’s hard work.
A moment later, he retracted his hand and uttered, “I’ve left some leads in eight of your Spiritual Points following Golden Liberation Technique’s cultivation route. Every time you unlock a new Spiritual Point, you’ll immediately feel the location of the next one. After you unlock all eight Spiritual Points, you should make your Spiritual Power flow through the Source Spiritual Points and the other eight points following the cultivation route, and you’ll become a Spirit Creek Realm Master.”
“Thanks, Sect Master.” Lu Ye saluted him.
A smiling Elder Tang replied, “Just go on cultivating for now. It’ll take some time before we reach Mount Ao.”
“Yes,” Lu Ye replied and just continued cultivating on the same spot.
Since the Sect Master was right in front of him, he could ask the old man to give him a hand if anything went wrong. After confirming the location of the second Spiritual Point, Lu Ye became energised as he activated his Spiritual Power from the Source Spiritual Point and tried to break through the barrier of the second point.
He wondered what the barrier was made of. Every time he tried to crush it, he could feel that it would become looser. Nevertheless, it felt terrible trying to shatter the barrier. Every time he hit the barrier with his Spiritual Power, it felt like his Spiritual Point was smacked with a hammer.
It would still be alright if it was just one or two times. However, after several attempts, he realised that his second Spiritual Point felt sore. Furthermore, it would take some Spiritual Power every time he wanted to shatter the barrier. It was then he understood why the Sect Master said that breaking through barriers was difficult for a new cultivator, but it would become increasingly easier as the cultivator’s power increased.
If a Spiritual Point was likened to a bucket, then Spiritual Power was like the water inside the bucket. Presently, Lu Ye only had a bucket of water. If he had two to three buckets, he would have more Spiritual Power to use, and it would significantly increase his speed of breaking through the barrier. He might even be able to achieve it in one go.
One hour later, he realised that he couldn’t mobilise his Spiritual Power anymore as the water in his bucket had almost dried up. Hence, he took out a bottle of Qi Blood Pills from Zhou Cheng’s Storage Bag and dropped two pills on his palm.
“Did you always use those to assist your cultivation?” Elder Tang suddenly asked.
Lu Ye quickly replied, “Yes.” His chest tightened when he saw that Elder Tang’s expression appeared awkward. “Sect Master, is there anything wrong with these Qi Blood Pills?”
Elder Tang frowned. “Did those from Evil Moon Valley tell you they’re Qi Blood Pills?”
“Aren’t they?” Lu Ye was shocked. He had consumed these pills before, and they indeed could help restore his vitality. What were they if they were not Qi Blood Pills?
Elder Tang took Zhou Cheng’s Storage Bag and dropped all the bottles on the ground before examining them one by one. Then, he passed a bottle to Lu Ye. “These are the real Qi Blood Pills.”
Lu Ye took the bottle to have a look and realised that the Spirit Pills inside it were indeed different from the ones he had consumed before. He had examined these pills in the past, but since he couldn’t recognise what they were, he didn’t dare to take them as he pleased. He had never expected that the pills he had been consuming were not Qi Blood Pills. The real ones were in a different bottle.
“What are these, then?” Lu Ye pointed at the bottle of pills that he was about to take just now.
“They’re the residue from refining Qi Blood Pills,” Elder Tang explained. “Not every attempt to refine pills will be successful. If it fails, it’ll become residue, which is practically useless. However, some residue still retains some medicinal efficacies. These are the things that are left behind after failed attempts to refine Qi Blood Pills.”
Lu Ye’s expression darkened when he heard Elder Tang’s explanation. It was no wonder that he always felt there was a char taste when he consumed these pills in the past. He thought that it was the original taste of Qi Blood Pills, but now it seemed that it wasn’t the case. He had been taking the residue from failed attempts to refine pills, which was why it had a strange taste to it.
“Why did the Evil Moon Valley’s cultivators bring this stuff with them?” Elder Tang was puzzled. 𝗼𝐯𝐞𝐥．𝐜𝐨𝗺
“It’s for the mining slaves.” Lu Ye explained the mechanism of exchanging contributions for rewards in the mine.
Upon hearing that, Elder Tang took the residue. “You can’t have it anymore as it’ll affect your cultivation.”
A nervous Lu Ye asked, “How does it affect me?”
“Every drug in the world is slightly poisonous. The Spirit Pills we use for cultivation contain Pill Poison as well. The lower quality the pills are, the more poison they contain. In fact, the residue from refining pills is the most poisonous. That’s why even though you can rely on Spirit Pills to help with your cultivation, you can’t be overly reliant on them. If you take too many pills, a lot of Pill Poison will accumulate in your body. The consequences could range from turbid Spiritual Power and difficulty in using spells to irreversible damage to your foundation and power.”
Lu Ye was terrified upon hearing that. Previously, he had consumed 200 to 300 pills that were made from the residue. If it was as serious as what Elder Tang had said, he was basically doomed.
After a gulp, he asked anxiously, “Sect Master, are there any guidelines on the dosage we can refer to when using pills to help with our cultivation? How do we know how much Pill Poison we’ve accumulated?”
Elder Tang replied, “Just observe your Spiritual Power. Just like what I had said, when too much Pill Poison has been accumulated, your Spiritual Power will become turbid. To a cultivator, the purer his Spiritual Power is, the easier it is for him to cultivate and battle against other people, and vice versa. I could see that your Spiritual Power is pretty pure, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
When he helped Lu Ye locate his second Spiritual Point just now, his Spiritual Power had passed through Lu Ye’s points, so he was clear about whether the latter’s Spiritual Power was pure.
Upon hearing that, Lu Ye felt awkward.