After a period of rigorous body tempering, Wen Qixue, who looked five years old, grew into the likeness of a ten-year-old and stopped growing.
Wen Qixue suspended his tempering. “After this, I should only rely on cultivation; tempering the body won’t yield much more benefit.”
At the same time, Rong Mingmo brought good news from the Great Elder’s side.
“The First Senior Sister is essentially out of danger,” Rong Mingmo reported. “It is said that the lotus seeds provided by you played a massive role.”
At the mention of the seeds, Wen Qixue was struck by curiosity. “What exactly is the function of those lotus seeds?” They had sat in his possession for years, yet he had never been able to discern their precise utility, sensing only that they seemed to exert a restraining influence on treasures related to the fire attribute.
Rong Mingmo answered, “It is said that they can store alien fire. The First Senior Sister suffered because her cultivation was insufficient to contain the flame, which allowed it to exploit her meridians. The seeds allow the alien fire to be stored away entirely. Once her cultivation reaches a sufficient level, she can directly subdue and absorb it. In this way, her years of suffering won’t have been in vain.”
Wen Qixue nodded in understanding. Indeed, the cultivation world currently lacked any method to store such sentient, exotic treasures. Standard storage vessels would extinguish their spirit, and under normal circumstances, one would only be able to create a personal space once they reached the Void Refinement stage. Alien fires, being both sentient and lethal, were disastrous; if they escaped, they could reduce several cities to ash. Previously, if a cultivator encountered one while training, they were forced to refine it on the spot. If they failed, they would suffer the same fate as Yun Luo—or worse, if they lacked the backing of a sect like Danxia Valley to suppress the side effects, they would be forced to endure it until their cultivation reached a level where they could tame it.
Rong Mingmo added, “The Second Elder is pondering whether these seeds can be used in forging. He wants to ask if you have any extras; he would be willing to purchase them from you with spiritual stones.”
Wen Qixue nodded. “I have some, but not many. The seeds mature alongside the Mystic Water Pure Lotus, which branches once every fifty years. I haven’t possessed the Lotus for long, so my supply is quite limited.”
Rong Mingmo sighed. “These seeds must be difficult to find. I wonder if the ones we have will be enough for the First Senior Sister…”
Lan Qinchuan raised an eyebrow from the side. “Of course they are hard to find. To find the seeds, you must first find the Lotus itself. If the Mystic Water Pure Lotus were easy to find, the First Senior Sister wouldn’t have suffered for all these years. Speaking of which, Wen Daoist, how did you find that particular Lotus? I have heard they are notoriously difficult to track.”
Wen Qixue recalled: “I found it in a vast pool, which was filled with illusions of the Mystic Water Pure Lotus. Since the Lotus itself is transparent, it is nearly impossible to spot while submerged. Furthermore, it requires spiritual consciousness to nourish it; without such contact, it only manifests its true form for a quarter of an hour when it matures, hiding itself for the remainder of the time.”
Lan Qinchuan synthesized the description: “In other words, one must identify the true Lotus from a pool of illusions within a quarter of an hour, or lose the opportunity?”
Rong Mingmo asked, “Could you not simply fence off the pool containing the Lotus?”
Wen Qixue reminded her: “The Mystic Water Pure Lotus moves.”
Like all pure spirit treasures, it would travel, and a single pool could not contain it; it merely selected a location to bloom when it neared maturity. He reassured Rong Mingmo: “It should not be a problem. Though I do not know the full extent of the seeds’ powers, their efficacy is quite potent.”
Lan Qinchuan concurred: “At the very least, it is far better than the previous situation. With the Elders now involved, they will surely not allow the alien fire to torment the First Senior Sister any longer, nor will they let the Lotus escape.”
Rong Mingmo’s spirits lifted. She looked around. “Where is Junior Brother Xuanlin? I did not see him the day he tested his spiritual roots; I only caught a glimpse of that dark red light over the Outer Valley.”
Wen Qixue replied: “He is currently meditating. It seems he is on the verge of another breakthrough, so he has been exceptionally diligent lately.”
Rong Mingmo: “…” She doubted her own ears. “Wen Daoist, are you saying Su Xuanlin is about to advance again? If I recall correctly, he advanced just before we returned to the Valley? How long has it been, and he is advancing already?”
Wen Qixue nodded. “That is normal; cultivation speed is inherently faster during the Qi Refining stage. Rest assured, I am watching him; his foundation will not be compromised.”
Rong Mingmo: “…That was not my concern.”
Lan Qinchuan, however, was intrigued. He asked impatiently: “Is this Junior Brother Xuanlin of yours formidable in a fight?”
Wen Qixue paused before answering: “Xuanlin has not yet begun formal training in combat techniques. Brother Lan, if you wish to spar with him, you may have to wait quite some time.”
Lan Qinchuan sighed: “What a pity.”
The remark reminded Wen Qixue that he still did not know what Su Xuanlin’s ultimate cultivation path would be sword cultivation, dharma cultivation, or otherwise?
He heard Rong Mingmo say: “I heard that Xuanlin’s primary attribute is a Star Spiritual Root. Such techniques are quite rare; I wonder what he intends to practice? He cannot continue with a general-purpose technique forever, can he?”
Wen Qixue pondered this: “Star Spiritual Roots are indeed rare. I shall have to look for one later.” I wonder if I can find one in my compass hall?
Lan Qinchuan recalled and asked Rong Mingmo: “Are there any Star Spiritual Root cultivators in our Valley?”
Rong Mingmo hesitated: “I… I do not believe I have ever heard of any…”
“Are Star Spiritual Roots that rare?”
At that moment, a thick surge of spiritual energy erupted within the Cloud Pavilion, blowing the three occupants into disarray. Soon after, a young man bolted out from the inner chamber and rushed to Wen Qixue’s side: “Xue-ge! I’m at the seventh level of Qi Refining!”
Wen Qixue held Su Xuanlin down with one hand and checked his pulse with the other, channeling a trace of spiritual energy to investigate. “Is there any discomfort? Are you still practicing the Origin Heart Sutra?”
Su Xuanlin obeyed, letting the energy circulate through his meridians. “None at all. I feel wonderful better than I have ever felt!”
“Naturally, I am still practicing the Origin Heart Sutra.”
Wen Qixue patted Su Xuanlin’s hair and smiled: “You said the same thing when you reached the sixth level.”
“However, at the seventh level of Qi Refining—the higher tier of the stage—there are certain things you must attend to.”
Su Xuanlin sat upright. “Xue-ge, please, tell me.”
Wen Qixue said: “In the higher tier of the Qi Refining stage, one must consolidate their foundation with extreme rigor before each breakthrough. This allows one to reach the ‘Great Perfection’ state before Foundation Establishment. Achieving this state can grant one a profound, comprehensive epiphany.”
“Having this epiphany in advance will be immensely helpful for the entirety of your Foundation Establishment journey.”
Rong Mingmo and Lan Qinchuan exchanged glances. Rong Mingmo sidled over toward Lan Qinchuan: “Brother Lan, is this true?”
Lan Qinchuan shook his head. “I have never heard of it, though I did experience an unfathomable epiphany when I reached the tenth level of Qi Refining, though I do not know what it signified.”
Rong Mingmo felt cheated: “So such a stage truly exists? Why did I have no such sensation?”
Then, she heard Wen Qixue continue: “Attaining the Great Perfection of Qi Refining is rigorous the cultivation, physique, and soul must all be flawless. I have already checked you, Su Xuanlin. Your soul is quite complete; the critical components now are your cultivation base and your physique.”
He pointed at Su Xuanlin and continued: “For you, your physique is of greater importance. You are already seventeen you have passed the optimal stage for physical tempering, making it difficult to compensate for.”
Rong Mingmo realized: “Oh, then my physique must be failing. We Dan cultivators are like that.” She turned to Lan Qinchuan: “What is the optimal stage for physical tempering?”
Lan Qinchuan whispered: “Five to ten years old. Look at Wen Daoist he was able to use tempering to push himself from the form of a five-month-old to that of a ten-year-old because of this. After ten, the effects remain, but they are significantly diminished. If one insists on tempering then, one must use aggressive materials.”
“Our Valley’s body-tempering formulas are all quite aggressive.”
Rong Mingmo was shocked. “Brother Lan, are you saying…”
“Our Danxia Valley has been around for quite a while, how can it be that we lack a gentle tempering formula?”
Lan Qinchuan looked up: “Has Danxia Valley truly been around for so long? Isn’t it only a few hundred years? Master said that Danxia Valley was founded hundreds of years ago when Innate Spiritual Root and single-root cultivators were being hunted by deviant cultivators. The Valley Master and several elders sought a hidden location to protect those wandering cultivators who were vulnerable to being hunted.”
“Look at our spirit plantations; they have been cultivated for so many years, yet the spiritual energy density has barely risen above the levels of the outside world.”
Rong Mingmo refused to concede: “Our Danxia Valley is the strongest alchemical sect in the Central Continent.”
Lan Qinchuan countered: “You would be correct if you simply removed the words ‘Alchemical Sect’!”
Rong Mingmo pouted: “You are so annoying!”
After Wen Qixue finished advising Su Xuanlin on his practice, he overheard the pair. “There is no need to be so harsh. While the spiritual energy in Danxia Valley may not compare to major sects with thousands of years of heritage, for a rising sect, it is already quite high.”
“At the very least, even the Heavenly Sword Sect, despite the aid of Heavenly Fate, possesses internal spiritual energy levels far inferior to those of Danxia Valley.”
Lan Qinchuan chuckled. “That is likely because their true ‘heaven-favored’ protégé is never actually in the Heavenly Sword Sect!”
He then bowed to Wen Qixue, acting as if nothing had happened: “Wen Daoist, may I presume to ask if you would be willing to sell that body-tempering formula?”
Wen Qixue looked at Lan Qinchuan. “You want it?”
Truthfully, Lan Qinchuan had passed the appropriate age; the formula would be of little use to him.
Lan Qinchuan pouted. “At my age, what use could it be to me? But I imagine the sect would be very interested.”
Wen Qixue smiled: “That is fine. I happen to want to conduct a transaction with your Valley.”
“I require a very large plot of land.”