Ye Xiruo held the teapot, mumbling to herself about the word "potential". What did it mean exactly? Did it refer to momentum? She wasn't some powerful expert. Standing there, she was just an ordinary person, far from being the all - encompassing "heaven" or "earth".
She wondered what that word truly signified. Brother Tiesheng, who was also a cultivator, hadn't been able to tell at a glance that she was cultivating. Could this person who'd left such an enigmatic word be a master? Ye Xiruo shook her head. He didn't seem to have the demeanor and bearing of a master at all. He'd just left that single word out of the blue and then walked away.
Forget it. She decided not to dwell on it for now. If she ever met that guy again, she'd definitely get a clear answer.
She slipped back into her room, closed the doors and windows tightly, and then took out the spirit stone, placing it on the table for a close inspection.
The spirit stone was only half the size of a fist, with its luster contained within. One had to look closely to notice the ever - changing glow inside. Using her spiritual sense to perceive it carefully, a broad smile spread across Ye Xiruo's lips. Inside were compressed spiritual qi, and those glowing clusters were pure spiritual energy. This spiritual energy was so pure that it could be absorbed directly, potentially saving her at least three nights of cultivation time. With this extra time, she could finish memorizing the Myriad Medicine Canon earlier.
Without hesitation, Ye Xiruo sat on the bed, clenched the spirit stone tightly, and began to cultivate. Threads of pure spiritual energy seeped into her meridians, converging into a small stream that rushed merrily through the nineteenth major acupoint and towards the twentieth.
One major cycle, two major cycles. Ye Xiruo absorbed the spiritual energy with unwavering determination, as if she were in a frenzy. A faint green radiance flickered repeatedly on her body.
Three hours later, Ye Xiruo gradually roused from her cultivation state. The spiritual energy circulated smoothly, and she had already opened twenty - five major acupoints. The small grass in her dantian seemed to have grown a bit larger, exuding an even more intense spiritual aura. At this moment, she still didn't know that this small grass was her spiritual root.
Looking back at the spirit stone in her hand, she saw that half of the glowing clusters inside had disappeared. It seemed that one more cultivation session like this would deplete it completely. Ye Xiruo couldn't help but grip the spirit stone tighter. Cultivating immortality seemed to be a costly affair. She was already so poor that she was in debt. How was she going to manage in the future?
The mortal world and the cultivator's world were fundamentally different. Gold and silver were the hope of survival for mortals, but for cultivators, they were of little value.
Spirit stones, pills, and magical artifacts - she had none of these at the moment. Having been a mortal for decades, she still found it difficult to fully embrace her new identity as a cultivator.
As time passed, it was time for lunch.
There was no more rice left, so she could only make pancakes. Today, she didn't make scallion - and - egg pancakes because there were no eggs left. Instead, she made a few thin pancakes, stir - fried a plate of shredded green peppers and pork, and made a cold dish of shredded Chinese cabbage and carrots.
She picked up a pancake, rolled the vegetables inside, and started eating. This had been one of her favorite dishes in the past. It was simple, quick, delicious, and healthy. Ye Xiruo ate three pancakes in one go before finally stopping. Then, she looked at the remaining two pancakes with a tinge of regret.
Well, there was still half a pot of leftover spare - rib soup from the morning. It seemed these two pancakes would have to be saved for dinner.
After lunch, Ye Xiruo didn't resume her cultivation but instead began to memorize the medicinal herbs.
She had no idea how the system calculated time. If three days in the space were equivalent to one day outside, she should have at least seven days left. Despite her deep - seated frustration, Ye Xiruo immersed herself wholeheartedly in the Myriad Medicine Canon.
Perilla: Pungent and warm, it pertains to the lung and spleen meridians. It expels external cold, regulates qi, and relieves qi stagnation in the middle - jiao. It can also neutralize the toxicity of fish and crabs, especially effective for qi stagnation in the spleen and stomach.Indigo Naturalis: Salty and cold, it pertains to the liver, lung, and stomach meridians. It clears heat, resolves toxins, cools the blood, and disperses swelling.Cacumen Platycladi: Bitter, astringent, and slightly cold, it pertains to the lung and large intestine meridians. It cools the blood to stop bleeding and resolves phlegm to relieve cough.Medulla Junci: It promotes urination, alleviates stranguria, clears heart - fire, and reduces restlessness.
...
One medicinal herb after another flashed before her eyes, and then faded to gray in her mind as she committed them to memory. Ye Xiruo's expression remained unchanged, but the spiritual power in her sea of consciousness was circulating at an increasingly rapid pace.
Ye Xiruo was initially unaware of this change. Only after memorizing about one - tenth of the medicinal herbs did she belatedly realize that her spiritual power seemed to have increased slightly. If this were to be known to the outside world, it would surely cause a great stir.
It was well - known that the cultivation of spiritual power was even more arduous than the cultivation of a martial artist's true essence. The strength of spiritual power was largely determined by one's innate endowment. Some people were born without any spiritual power and could only live as ordinary mortals.
Some were born with weak spiritual power, and even if they cultivated diligently for a lifetime, they were destined to achieve limited success. It could be said that the strength of spiritual power determined one's ultimate potential.
As everyone knew, the growth of spiritual power was extremely slow, and the medicines that could enhance spiritual power were extremely scarce. Moreover, cultivation methods for spiritual power were even rarer. Once such a method emerged, it was bound to trigger a fierce struggle.
Someone like Ye Xiruo, whose spiritual power increased just a bit from memorizing books for a while, was truly a rare sight in the world.
Ye Xiruo poured herself a cup of tea, and her sea of consciousness gradually calmed down. The golden - glittering gourd in her sea of consciousness seemed to brighten a bit. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination.
Just as she was sipping her tea, suddenly, a powerful force struck her, and Ye Xiruo was sent crashing to the ground. She rubbed her arm. Although the impact lasted only a moment, that force was truly overwhelming and impossible to resist.
Was this an earthquake? Ye Xiruo had just managed to get up from the ground when another powerful force hit, knocking her down again.
"What on earth is going on?" Ye Xiruo was furious. This was really infuriating.
She simply sat on the ground, deciding not to get up to avoid being knocked down again.
Through the window, Ye Xiruo could see an unusual radiance in the sky. Could some powerful figure have arrived?
Ye Xiruo was about to stand up but then stopped herself. Even if some powerful being had come, what did it have to do with her? What if she was accidentally trampled to death?
Half an hour later, when she was certain that there was no more movement, Ye Xiruo quickly got up from the ground and rushed outside.
The sky had returned to normal, but the air seemed to carry a more intense sense of murderous intent, which was extremely oppressive.
This was different from the intimidate of the spiritual beasts in the past. This kind of intimidate carried a stronger sense of bloodlust and dominance. It was the aura of a human.
Ye Xiruo's face paled slightly. What exactly had happened just now?
As she pondered this, she was about to go out. She wanted to ask Brother Tiesheng what had occurred because she had a strong sense of foreboding in her heart.
"Xiaoliu, pack your things and go live in the town with my mother for a while," Brother Tiesheng, looking extremely anxious, said as soon as she opened the door.
"What happened?"
"A mysterious treasure has emerged in the back mountain. All the major sects will soon send their people here. The spiritual beasts and cultivators are bound to engage in a fierce battle, and there will surely be a bloodbath," he said, his tone grave.
"Will our village still be safe?" Ye Xiruo's face turned even paler.
This was the place where she had been reborn. Although she had only lived here for a few days, she had truly come to regard it as her home. Now, she was about to watch helplessly as her home faced potential destruction.