There was no need to mention the spirit stones; combined with what he already had, he now had a total of 203 low-grade spirit stones.
As for the robe, it looked quite brilliant. A quick inspection with his spiritual sense revealed that it was woven from golden and silver silkworm threads, infused with a hundred kinds of medicinal herbs, and refined with a single layer of Earth Fiend Restriction. While it hadn't reached the first tier of low-grade magical items, it was far superior to ordinary clothing.
The classification of magical tools in the cultivation world is based on the number of Earth Fiend Restrictions they contain and whether these restrictions form tiers.
They are divided into: non-tiered magical tools with fewer than nine restrictions; low-grade magical tools of the first, second, and third tiers; mid-grade magical tools of the fourth and fifth tiers; and high-grade magical tools of the sixth and seventh tiers.
Finally, magical tools with a complete set of seventy-two Earth Fiend Restrictions that form an eighth tier are considered supreme magical tools.
The classification of spiritual tools follows a similar system.
Next was the sword, about one foot and three inches long, and half an inch wide. The blade appeared to be carved from bronze, with a faint silver glow at the tip, making it seem particularly agile.
When Bai Yichen scanned it with his spiritual sense, he found nine Earth Fiend Restrictions, confirming that it was a standard first-tier magical tool.
Then, he slowly infused true qi into it, and without any resistance, Bai Yichen successfully refined the sword.
Although it was inferior to the Spirit-Confounding Gourd, it was still an offensive magical tool, a flying sword, making up for his lack of attack methods. In the future, he would be able to use it to slay enemies.
Finally, there were the two bottles of pills—Qi Cultivation Pills and Avoiding Grain Pills.
The Qi Cultivation Pills were said to be used by Qi Gathering stage cultivators to accelerate their accumulation of true qi. Opening the bottle, there were ten pills inside, each one round and lustrous, like pearls.
This reminded Bai Yichen of Yuan Hao's earlier advice: every seven days, senior elders at the Divine Soul stage, or even true disciples, would come to Bifeng Peak's Court of Transmission to lecture and pass on teachings to the inner disciples.
This was meant to provide guidance for those disciples who, for various reasons, had no master to consult.
Just like Bai Yichen now—he still had only a vague understanding of the Qi Gathering stage and the cultivation that followed.
The only knowledge he had came from the guidance Uncle Lingyun gave him after he broke through.
At the Qi Gathering stage, one could absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth, convert it into true qi, and store it to nourish the meridians and blood, refining the flesh apertures.
The Huangting Yinfujing left by the founder of Xuanzhen Temple only briefly described some breathing techniques he had explored for absorbing spiritual energy.
But compared to Uncle Lingyun's few words that day, these were crude methods, even inferior in terms of absorbing spiritual energy from the world.
Thinking of this, Bai Yichen decided to put the Qi Cultivation Pills away for later use when he had a more suitable technique, so as not to waste them now.
As for the bottle of Avoiding Grain Pills, it also contained ten pills, though they were less visually striking than the Qi Cultivation Pills.
However, they were classified as spiritual pills.
In the cultivation world, pills are divided into mortal pills, spiritual pills, treasure pills, and celestial pills.
Mortal pills were those Bai Yichen had taken in the past, while spiritual pills were like the two bottles in his hand. As for the latter two types, they were still beyond his reach.
It was said that only cultivators at the Divine Soul stage could use treasure pills, and celestial pills were even further out of reach.
Bai Yichen casually took out one Avoiding Grain Pill and consumed it. After all, he had gone through a lot today and had only eaten some refreshments on the boat, which was insufficient.
Although Qi Gathering cultivators could rely on absorbing spiritual energy instead of food, they could only go four or five days without eating before they needed to consume grains again.
Soon, a rumbling sound came from his stomach, as if a giant golden toad was inside, refining the Avoiding Grain Pill.
As expected of a spiritual pill, even though it was of the lowest grade, it far surpassed the mortal pills he had taken before. Most importantly, it contained a trace of spiritual energy.
The surrounding spiritual energy slowly flowed into Bai Yichen's body. Although he had no cultivation technique for further practice, he could still perform basic breathing techniques, absorb the energy, and refine true qi.
A mouthful of murky gray gas was expelled, containing impurities that had accumulated in his flesh apertures through daily practice.
This marked the completion of his evening cultivation session.
Then Bai Yichen remembered something and was about to retrieve it when he heard footsteps at the entrance. A quick sweep with his spiritual sense revealed it was Niu Xiang and Ha Ji.
They were carrying the tea utensils Bai Yichen had requested, along with a food box.
"Master, we noticed there were still some meals in the kitchen and thought you might be hungry, so we brought them back."
Niu Xiang respectfully placed the items on the wooden table, and Ha Ji hurriedly followed, though there was a hint of reluctance in his eyes.
Bai Yichen smiled knowingly and opened the box. While the food looked and smelled delicious, it was just ordinary fare.
"You two have worked hard. You may have this food."
"Thank you, Master!" Ha Ji, impatient, knelt and bowed immediately.
Niu Xiang hesitated but followed suit.
"Haha, I have other matters to attend to. You may leave."
Bai Yichen couldn't help but chuckle as he watched them.
After Niu Xiang and Ha Ji left with the food box, Bai Yichen did not remain in the front hall. He picked up the tea utensils and moved to the cultivation room at the back.
Using the jade token, he activated the cave's formation, isolating it from the outside world.
In smooth and fluid motions, he scooped a ladle of water from the spiritual spring to clean the utensils, then scooped another to heat for brewing tea. He warmed the cup, awakened the tea, and steeped it. Finally, he presented a cup of tea before himself, savoring the fragrance and tasting it.
Each movement was graceful and precise, executed with ease.
As he entered a state of sitting and forgetting, his heart refinement method activated, and he achieved a state where the self and the external world became one, clearing his mind and reaching a serene calm.
Fifteen minutes later, Bai Yichen opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of pure air, and felt a lingering tea fragrance in his mouth, filling his senses.
Using water from the spiritual spring to brew tea was truly marvelous!
If Bai Yichen had just been refining his flesh apertures and expelling impurities earlier, now he was purifying his mind and gaining clarity of his true nature.
If Yuan Hao and the others were to witness this, they would be astonished, as this was not something a mere Qi Gathering cultivator could typically achieve.
With both his body and mind refreshed, Bai Yichen remembered the task he had been interrupted from earlier.
He retrieved three items from the gourd.
The first was a page of golden inscriptions on a jade slip, the original text of the Sitting and Forgetting Heart Refinement Method that was said to have been comprehended by Patriarch Tianfeng.
Bai Yichen first tried to refine it like a magical tool by infusing it with true qi, but it was like a mud bull entering the sea—there was no response.
He then attempted to scan it with his spiritual sense, but it seemed as though there was a barrier blocking him. After several tries, he still had no success.
Seeing this, Bai Yichen could only put it away for the time being, realizing that the timing wasn't right yet.
Fortunately, he had only reached the third stage, "Cleansing Dust," of the heart refinement method, and there were still the fourth stage, "Supreme Tranquility," and the fifth stage, "True Insight," yet to be achieved.
However, beyond that, he had no further guidance, which is why he had taken this opportunity to try and discover any hidden mysteries within.
Bai Yichen wasn't foolish. Having cultivated the heart refinement method up to this point, he was well aware of its extraordinary nature.
He just hadn't expected it to be so difficult to comprehend, clearly not an ordinary practice.
Even Patriarch Tianfeng seemed to have become more profound and mysterious in Bai Yichen's eyes.
How had he, at the Qi Gathering stage, managed to translate the first few levels of the Sitting and Forgetting Heart Refinement Method?
Could it be that he understood the golden seal script?
Forget it. Overthinking would be pointless.
Bai Yichen then picked up the second item, something that couldn't be mistaken.
It was the spirit peach pit, which could also be considered his peach tree seed.