Li Gang took out the Heavenly Lotus and immediately consumed it as a whole. Consuming a Rank 8 Spiritual Plant as a Rank 3 would immediately burst his body and kill him.
But, this is not so for Heavenly Lotus. Heavenly Lotus directly affects the soul itself. Li Gang's Soul is already Rank 5 mid stage, and he would be able to barely handle it's medicinal power.
As soon as Heavenly Lotus entered his throat, it started melting, and felt warm at first. But soon, it turning into gaseous form and instead of going down his stomach, it rose towards his brain and disappeared from it's existence.
Li Gang felt pain in his mind as soon as it disappeared, this pain doesn't come from body, but soul itself. This pain is much stronger than Soul Spring.
But, he still gritted his teeth and held on, he felt his vision blurred and after an hour, he fainted.
7 Days later
Li Gang woke up. He looked at his surrounding. "Is it evening? Did I faint for few hours?"
A person lacks his track of time in his sleep or unconsciousness. But what surprised him was his vision. His eyes has become sharp, his all five senses have been enhanced. He could now see 10s of miles away and even see every scratches of the floor!
Soul Cultivation Rank 5 late stage!
He looked at his soul and was delighted. "I am able to sense my soul. I never thought happiness would come so early, but I still can't let my guard down. Now, I am the enemy of Celestial Sect, and they also know my identity."
He also frowned at his Soul. "My Soul foundation is really trash, I have to refine it properly."
He planned his ahead future, about how to deal with Sword Sect, how to earn Spirit Stones and how to feed Arcane Stormrider.
"Everything aside, first I have to cultivate my Soul."
He took out Arcane Soul Fusion method, which was given to him by Wang Xueyao and started cultivating.
Arcane Soul Fusion Technique is kind of unique soul cultivation technique. It tears apart the Soul itself and reconstructs them by healing it. Thus, it not only consolidates the Soul, but also improves every time the tore Soul is merged back.
This is also the reason why this technique is one of the strongest Soul Cultivation technique in the world. It not only improves the Soul Cultivation, but also solidifies the foundation.
Li Gang frowned. "It's too big of a coincidence."
'When I was worried about my Soul Cultivation, I got Soul Spring, when I was worried about sensing my Soul, I easily got Heavenly Lotus and when I was worried about my foundation, this Arcane Soul Fusion method worked just as fine. Is it my luck or someone controlling everything behind the scenes.'
As Li Gang thought of this, he felt chill running down his spine. He immediately discarded all his thought.
'Forget it, if it is luck, it is useless to think about it. And if someone is controlling everything behind the scene, with my strength, I am powerless to interfere in the situation. No need to bother about such things and better focus on what is ahead and what are the possible challenges I have to face in near future.'
Soon, a young man came and knocked Li Gang's door. He said. "Young master, few Sword Sect disciples want to meet you."
Li Gang smiled. "Finally they are here."
There is a reason Li Gang returned back to inn. First, during his fight, he has already filled the token with million Spirit stones, and he can utilize it for a long period of time for now. So, he don't have to worry about those elders.
The good thing is he has been cultivating and sharpening his soul for whole month now. And, his Soul Cultivation has reduced to Rank 5 early stage after condensing. But, his mind became even sharper, and his reaction speed has increased.
He can activate Token before those old monsters can use their strength. But, he is also aware, there can be a risk. They might have methods to block the space, and stop any teleportation.
He looked at the man and nodded.
He came down and found few Sword Disciples. He looked at them and said politely. "Hello"
There were two young man, and a woman. The two young man were wearing a common Tsing yi. One of them was a Rank 4 peak stage Warrior and other one was Rank 4 middle stage. The young woman was also Rank 4 middle stage. Their leader came forward and introduced themselves. "My name is Yuan Feng and these are my partners Ma Sheng and Wu Xin."
"We came here on the order of our Sect Leader. He wants to meet you. I hope you can go with us."
Li Gang nodded. "Give me two days, I will go with you immediately."
Yuan Feng rejected immediately. "I am sorry, but he asked to meet right away."
Li Gang narrowed his eyes. 'So, he does know about the Token. His aim shouldn't be that Sword but this token. That old geezer said it was made by him, but now it seems this Token is more important than that sword. I should have asked about this Token from Wang Xueyao.'
The reason Li Gang thought of this is understandable if you think from the higher up's perspective. They would think the man who possess such treasure would not want to use it in front of others and leak such information. So, they don't want Li Gang to be outside of their eyesight even once. In this way, Li Gang would want to avoid using the Token in front of others and might return to the Sect. The way Yuan Feng immediately rejected the idea shows he doesn't allow Li Gang to be out of his sight for even once.
Yes, it could also be a coincidence. In a real world, anything is possible. But thinking about worst case possibilities can help one avoid dangers.
Li Gang nodded and said. "Fine, let's go."
Yuan Feng nodded and took out a Sword and started flying. He asked Li Gang. "You don't know how to use Sword to fly?"
Li Gang looked at him and was surprised. He replied immediately. "No, I have never seen someone flying on sword."
Yuan Feng frowned. 'Why does sect master want to see him?'
He said. "Jump over to the sword."
Li Gang nodded. He jumped and balanced himself on the sword. Yuan Feng also helped him maintaining his balance.
Soon, they set off.
Li Gang was surprised to see the speed of flying sword. He murmured inwardly. 'I should also learn flying sword, it is very efficient to travel from one place to other as compared to going on foot.'
Soon, in a few hours, they reached their destination. Yuan Feng said. "Go on top of the peak, you will meet Sect Master there."
Li Gang looked at Yuan Feng and said. "I can't climb such a huge Mountain. Can't you help me reach there too?"
Yuan Feng frowned but still nodded.
After reaching on top of the peak, Li Gang braced himself. 'This moment might be a life and death situation, let's see what would happen.'
He saw a huge Gate, and entered it. As soon as he entered, the entire atmosphere changed. It was like an entirely different place. Dense Spiritual aura, beautiful sceneries and everything here can mesmerize one.
He kept on going and soon found two old men playing chess together on a 200 x 200 board. The pieces were all over the board, making complex structure.
One of the old man said. "You are here? Can you introduce yourself?"
Li Gang nodded and bowed. "I met the sect leader. My name is Zhang Hao."
The old man nodded. "I am Jiang Fugui, the sect leader of Sword Gate, and this is Great Elder of our sect, Ji Shentian."
He looked at Li Gang deeply and smiled. "What do you think about the position of this chess game?"
Li Gang looked at the complex position and replied casually. "White is winning, even though Black's attack seems to be aggressive, but it is clearly visible that Black is struggling in his attack. He is just waiting for a mistake from White."
Jiang Fugui was surprised. 'He has sharp eyes. He can see through all that at one glance! Worthy to be selected by the ancestor.'
He asked. "Can you tell me little brother, what should be the move white play to avoid loosing?"
Li Gang replied without even looking at it. "From your left corner, place at 117-78 position"
Jiang Fugui nodded. 'This is the only move that helps white survive this position.'
He changed the topic and said. "Why didn't you come here immediately?"
Li Gang was prepared. He said. "I had something to do in Verdant Forest. I have been marked by a strong Warrior, and I heard there was a way to remove the mark in Verdant Forest. I don't know if senior can help me remove the mark? I can't even sense the mark, if it is possible I also want to see how deep this mark has been engraved. Even though I searched hard, I failed to find the clue and so I returned back, preparing to go again."
Jiang Fugui frowned and he asked Li Gang. "Come closer."
Li Gang nodded. He went near him.
Jiang Fugui put one of his hand on Li Gang's eyebrow and started searching. He was surprised to find a deep hidden mark on him.
He said deeply. "Who marked you?"
Li Gang replied. "It was a Rank 7 Warrior, I went into an inheritance, where I found Heavenly Lotus. There were many Rank 7 Warriors fighting for it, and amidst the commotion, I grabbed it and ran away. But unfortunately I was marked by one of them."
He looked at Li Gang and asked with a deep voice. "Why did you stole Heavenly Lotus?"
Li Gang replied. "I don't possess Spiritual Imprint, and so I wanted to use it sense my soul and continue cultivating my Soul. Long time ago, my soul was injured, and even Spiritual Imprint was damaged. This is also why I risked my life to get that rank 7 Heavenly Lotus!"
Jiang Fugui looked at Li Gang's every expression and found no fault. He nodded. He used his spells, and the mark appeared on him.
Li Gang was surprised. 'That old fox, I knew he wouldn't let me go so easily. He had already marked me before I teleported.'
Jiang Fugui is a Rank 8 mid stage Warrior, and handling such marks is easy for him. He pinched his fingers and made a spell, which entered Li Gang's body and erased all those marks.
Then, he looked at Li Gang and said. "Our ancestor must have left something to you."
Li Gang nodded and immediately took out the Sword. "He told me to return this to you."