"I always feel like I've been hustling these past few days."
Having purchased the Spirit Pill and spent five hundred spirit stones on a Cloud Mist Array disk, Song He sat beside the Wood Gourd vines and sighed lightly.
He placed the palm-sized silver Array Plate, engraved with mysterious array runes, beside the Wood Gourd vine and communicated with the gourd through his Divine Sense, "Try to see if you can infuse spirit Qi into it."
He had already buried the array flags according to the requirements of the array, and now he just needed to infuse spirit Qi to activate it.
When he had bought it, he had "casually" asked the cultivator selling the Array Plate whether the purity of the spirit Qi would affect the formation of the array.
The seller sized him up and replied, "Junior Brother, rest assured, this array can withstand even the power of a Golden Core Master. The higher the Cultivation Level, the better the effect of the array."
Therefore, compared to Song He's still unliquefied spirit Qi, the Wood Gourd, though only a sapling, certainly had a far superior purity of spirit Qi.
The obedient Wood Gourd extended a vine and entwined the Array Plate.
Afterward, a dense white mist suddenly rose up around them.
This thick mist ascended from the array flags, spreading outwards, and in the blink of an eye, it enveloped the two-mu Class II spirit field. It not only obstructed the line of sight but also prevented Divine Sense from penetrating.
"This effect is even better than the one he demonstrated to me."
Song He stood up and personally experienced the effect of the Cloud Mist Array—entering the mist, he was isolated from the outside world by the array's fog. Everything he saw and sensed was shrouded in whiteness.
No matter how he walked, he couldn't find his way out.
In the end, it was through the spiritual connection with the Wood Gourd that he found a path. Of course, he could also control the on and off switch of the Array Plate.
He had imprinted his own Divine Sense inside the Array Plate, allowing him to be unaffected by the array.
He did this just for the sake of trying it out.
After testing the Array Plate, Song He finally relaxed.
With that, all his tasks were finally complete.
Sitting safely within the second layer of the array, Song He contentedly took out the Azure Cloud Spirit Pill he had purchased, ready to enjoy the thrill of advancement.
He stared at the golden pill in his hand, without hesitation, he slowly placed it in his mouth.
The elixir had a slightly sweet taste as it entered his mouth.
Before he even had time to circulate his cultivation to refine it, he felt the pill "melt" away, a torrential surge of spirit Qi, like a waterfall, spread from his mouth to his limbs and bones.
The force was as fierce as a galloping herd of horses.
The amount was indeed sufficient for Song He to advance two levels consecutively.
The spirit Qi dispersed through his meridians and flowed toward Song He's Dantian. What was amazing was that such an enormous amount of spirit Qi didn't burst his meridians.
During the flow, the special spirit Qi even transformed his meridians, making them more resilient and capable of holding more spirit Qi.
However, what was strange was...
"This spirit Qi seems just like the Qi released when the Daynight Flower blooms. Could this special Qi be, that the so-called Azure Cloud Grass is cultivated using the spirit Qi of the Daynight Flower?"
Having no time to be surprised or ponder, Song He quickly began guiding this surge of spirit Qi.
He closed his eyes and entered into the cyclical state of cultivation.
...
Cultivation knows no years.
To transform this tremendous power into his own spirit Qi, Song He spent a full five days slowly converting it.
He didn't let a single bit go to waste.
Afterward, he took three more days to stabilize his Cultivation Level, to prevent the sudden increase in spirit Qi from destabilizing his Dao foundation.
Fortunately, the spirit Qi he had recently absorbed was the purest, and as a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator, he was supposed to refine the spirit Qi into liquid and step into the Foundation Establishment level.
Such a vast amount of spirit Qi gathered together.
Indeed, there were signs that the spirit Qi within his Dantian was beginning to liquefy.
After all, a massive infusion of spirit Qi was indeed one way for a cultivator in the Late Qi Refining Stage to advance.
Song He couldn't help but sigh at the importance of resources.
Without them, whether it was the Enlightenment of a Class II spirit field or the spirit Qi infused by the Wood Gourd, or even the Azure Cloud Spirit Pill, none would have been obtainable.
Those were even beyond his wildest dreams and desires.
For a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator, having resources meant having everything. The Cultivation World has thrived until now, and the path for low-level cultivators to advance is still easy.
It boils down to either arduous cultivation or resources.
It might be much harder for lone cultivators, but for a large sect like the Spiritual Leaf Sect, as long as you have spirit stones, it is easy to buy some resources that are impossible to acquire outside.
"Should I try to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage now?"
Holding the bottle containing the Foundation Establishment Pill, Song He hesitated for a long time but still did not take the pill to challenge the bottle-neck of the Foundation Establishment Stage directly.
Having meditated for eight days straight, if it had not been for the continuous nourishment of his physical body with spirit Qi, and the gourd providing some tender leaves for him to swallow, he feared he might have starved to death...
Even with the will and strength, he couldn't choose to challenge the great boundary's bottleneck in such a state of mental exhaustion. Otherwise, wasting a Foundation Establishment Pill was the least of his worries—it would be troublesome if he failed.
Right now, he just wanted to eat something quickly, and then lie in bed to get a good night's sleep — though meditation could also restore his spirit, he still preferred sleeping in bed.
...
In his rush to seek food, Song He didn't go to Xiao Le Peak but found a building similar to a mundane world's restaurant on Green River Peak.
It was opulent and glittering; one could see it shimmering in the sunlight from afar — and in fact, upon getting closer, Song He discovered...
The restaurant was indeed made of pure gold.
The entire building was constructed of gold, with the surface adorned with pearls, agates, jade, and other precious stones, exuding a nouveau riche opulence yet not lacking in artful design.
It was clearly the work of a masterful designer.
Well... how should I put it? Maybe because Song He had only just entered the Cultivation World not long ago, he didn't find such things vulgar.
On the contrary, he found them quite eye-catching.
Although for cultivators, gold and these seemingly shiny gemstones are merely decorative and of no practical significance.
Nevertheless, one couldn't deny their beauty.
Luxurious beauty is still beauty, after all.
"Quite alluring, I've heard that the Spirits Arrival Building is very unique. I wonder what it's like inside?"
As Song He slowly stepped into this Spirits Arrival Building, a woman dressed in white palace attire with extremely delicate features came to meet him.
Fragrant breeze hit his face, accompanied by the tinkling sound of her ornaments.
She bowed slightly and said softly, "Senior, welcome to Spirits Arrival Building. May I have the honor of showing you the way?"
There was no play of 'seductive charm', but every one of her movements seemed to be carefully trained and designed.
Although she was only mortal, with that white magic artifact court attire and ornaments like wind chimes and jade pendants, she appeared to be imbued with a spiritual nature.
Honestly, just by appearance, she looked more like an "Immortal" than Song He did.
"Lead the way."
Song He didn't care what she looked like.
At this moment, all he wanted was to eat something good quickly.
He still had quite a few spirit stones left in his pocket; having a luxurious feast should be no problem at all.