บท 292: Chapter 291: First Glimpse of the Spirit Realm

Holy Pill City was immense, and the flow of people coming and going was not small.

There were countless inns in the city, so Xiao Ming and his companions easily found a place to stay.

At night, a silver disk hung high in the sky, casting a white radiance across the world. Xiao Ming put down the Medicine Sect alchemy inheritance in his hand and felt somewhat emotional.

'This Medicine Sect was indeed a top-notch alchemy sect. Its understanding of alchemy was precise and insightful. I'm afraid my understanding of alchemy now is not inferior to that of a peak-grade seventh-tier alchemist.'

'However, theory alone is shallow. I don't have much practical experience in refining seventh-tier pills.'

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming also felt somewhat helpless. After all, he had not had any free time since he obtained this alchemy inheritance.

Refining a seventh-tier pill would take at least ten days or half a month. He still needed to focus on his cultivation, travel to various places, and cultivate his soul. How could he have that much time to refine pills?

Now that he would arrive at the Pill Tower, the situation would be much better.

He would have enough time to focus on refining pills and improving his strength.

It was said that after reaching the Dou Ancestor realm, it was impossible to rely solely on one's own cultivation to achieve rapid breakthroughs. Only encountering those adventures could make people break through quickly. And the most directly useful thing for Xiao Ming was the natural treasures of heaven and earth.

Unfortunately, such things were difficult to come across. Even if Xiao Ming knew about them through the simulator, there were very few of them, and some of them were not even in the Central Region.

If only the Pill Tower's Three Thousand Burning Flame could be absorbed by Xiao Ming, he could leap to become a peak Dou Ancestor in one go.

But for now, that was impossible, or at least not that easily.

Sighing, Xiao Ming lowered his head in thought.

'Well... let me think for a moment, what kind of adventures have there been recently in Central Plains?'

'Hmm, in two months, there seems to be a small ruin emerging in the Southern Region, but that ruin is already too deteriorated and the valuable items are not high. The time is too short, so there is no need to go there.'

'Three months later, still in the Southern Region, the City Lord's Mansion of Baiyun City will be destroyed and the Baiyun Sword Scripture will be released, causing many people to fight for it. The Baiyun Sword Scripture is an Intermediate Di Qi Method and comes with matching Dou Techniques, which is quite good, but the time it takes to go there is too long and not worth it.'

'In the Northern Region, there seems to be some kind of baptism... it seems to be of little use to me right now, but it's worth letting Xian'er take Qing Lin to try it out...'

'...'

After thinking for a while, Xiao Ming realized that there had been no suitable adventures for him in the next six months. With a helpless smile, Xiao Ming gave up on his plan to search for opportunities.

'I should try to get the Core Soul Marrow. With that, I should be able to completely enter the Spirit Realm within a month.'

Thinking like this, Xiao Ming stood up and walked to the bed, sitting cross-legged. He repeated a mantra in his mind:

'Reach the peak of the soul... Embrace stillness in meditation... Clear the mind of all distractions... Absorb the soul into emptiness... Temper the soul and purify the heart.'

This was the mantra of the soul technique that Yao Lao traded to Xiao Ming. The name of this soul cultivation technique was the Zen Soul Technique.

As Xiao Ming silently repeated the mantra, the soul power that had been lingering in his brow began to slowly rotate on its own. Faintly, a tingling sensation spread from his brow, and then, he realized that there was a strange suction force emanating from it. The surrounding world trembled slightly, and strands of spiritual energy seeped out and poured into his brow.

"Hoo..."

Spiritual energy was an extremely mysterious energy that did not possess the same power as Dou Qi, but for the soul, it was an excellent nourishing substance. However, spiritual energy was like chaos and was extremely difficult to sense. Without a soul cultivation technique, it was rare for alchemists to know how to sense and absorb it.

What was entering Xiao Ming's brow at this moment was spiritual energy.

As the wispy spiritual energy infiltrated his brow, Xiao Ming immediately felt a faint coolness in his mind. This was a phenomenon that would only appear after the increase of spiritual energy within the soul.

If someone could see Xiao Ming's soul, they would discover an indescribable charm within it. This was a manifestation of the soul reaching the Spirit Realm. Obviously, as long as there was enough time, Xiao Ming's soul would undoubtedly advance to the Spirit Realm.

As time passed, Xiao Ming's cultivation seemed to undergo some unknown changes, and his soul power spread out like ripples of water.

At his brow, there was gradually releasing a faint fluorescence, which was the fluorescence of spiritual energy. It could not be seen with the naked eye but had to be detected using soul power.

As the fluorescence increased, it formed a vortex the size of a palm on his forehead.

...

The following day, Xiao Ming woke up from his cultivation and stretched his body slightly. He then was surprised to find that the effect of his cultivation from the previous day seemed to be too obvious. He felt that the spiritual energy contained in his soul was about twice as much as yesterday.

'Could it be because of that strange feeling yesterday?' he thought.

During his soul cultivation, Xiao Ming entered a wonderful state, which did not last long. However, he did not pay too much attention to it at the time. He did not expect such a pleasant surprise now.

If yesterday's Xiao Ming needed a year to enter the Spirit Realm, now he would only need seven months.

It could be said that the present Xiao Ming had one foot in the Spirit Realm.

"Perhaps after obtaining the intermediate-grade seventh-tier alchemist badge today, I could try to take the assessment for the high-grade badge." Xiao Ming thought, narrowing his eyes. He believed it was feasible, and even if he failed, it wouldn't matter.

Without further ado, after finishing breakfast, Xiao Ming took Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin directly to the headquarters of the Pill Tower. Only the headquarters of the Pill Tower had the authority to issue a high-grade seventh-tier alchemist badge.

Because he was going to take the Pill Tower assessment, Xiao Ming wore the alchemist badge on his chest.

With his youthful and handsome appearance, plus the seven-star badge on his chest, Xiao Ming became the most eye-catching figure on the road, attracting the attention and admiration of countless people.

Fortunately, Xiao Ming and his companions were used to this kind of attention, so they didn't feel uncomfortable.

The Pill Tower headquarters was situated in a bustling square paved with polished granite, where people came and went continuously. It was evident that this was a significant area in Holy Pill City.

Xiao Ming and his group navigated through the crowd and made their way to the headquarters. The Pill Tower headquarters was not a place that ordinary people could enter. If it weren't for Xiao Ming's status as a seventh-tier alchemist, he and his companions would have been stopped at the entrance.

After entering the Pill Tower headquarters, Xiao Ming turned to his companions and spoke, "I've heard that there is an alchemist trade fair happening here too. Xian'er, you and Qing Lin should check it out to see if there are any high-level medicinal materials that could be of use to you. I'll come to find you both after I finish the assessment."

"Good luck, Young Master!" Qing Lin replied, giving him a sweet smile.

"Mm, take your time during the assessment, and remember to stay focused. We'll be waiting for you." Xiao Yi Xian said with a gentle smile, her eyes lovingly fixed on her partner.

If she was to advance rapidly in her cultivation, acquiring high-level medicinal herbs was imperative. The higher the level of the poison she wanted to refine, the more challenging it would be to acquire the necessary materials. Therefore, this trade fair area could be an excellent opportunity for her to find something useful.