Ye Xiao slowly put on his clothes and felt his whole body relax. He had finally begun the journey of cultivating the number one martial arts method since the beginning of time - the East-rising Purple Qi!
He tried using a normal method to circulate the power he had gained from cultivation. As he guided his qi towards his palm, it started to shine with a bright primrose yellow light.
"Level 1 in the Earth Origin Stage!"
Ye Xiao felt relieved. What a nice surprise!
He had realized that this mortal world was quite different from the Qing-Yun Realm where he had stayed in during his previous life. In Qing-Yun Realm, the considered lowest stage in the path of cultivation was the Spirit Origin Stage. In his prior life, he had reached the peak of the Dao Origin Stage, which was also the highest level in the Qing-Yun Realm.
However, in this mortal world, it began with the Mortal Origin Stage.
The Mortal Origin Stage, Earth Origin Stage and Sky Origin Stage were the only three stages in the mortal world at the moment. Above the Sky Origin Stage, it was the Spirit Origin Stage which only appeared in the Qing-Yun Realm.
The nine levels in the Mortal Origin Stage were the nine steps to become a hero. The nine levels in the Earth Origin Stage were like nine mountains that were, one after the other, harder and harder to climb. The nine levels in the Sky Origin Stage were like nine different clouds at various heights, while each upgrade equaled a step closer to heaven!
"Level 1 in the Mortal Origin Stage allows people to establish themselves in the mortal world; level 5 would allow one to get wealthy; aside from life and death, all routes in this world lead to the 9th level. The level which will officially let you stand apart from ordinary people!"
A man in the Earth Origin Stage could be called a real cultivator. People who had reached this grade usually had already achieved numerable accomplishments… However, in the Earth Origin Stage, levelling up could be compared to climbing the tallest and most challenging mountains in the world…
"So at this moment, I have already become stronger than ordinary people… I deserve to be called a real cultivator now…" Ye Xiao actually started to show a slight trace of complacency.
In his prior life, he had spent a full year to cultivate himself from level 1 in the Mortal Origin Stage to level 1 in the Earth Origin Stage. This time, however, it only took him a single day!
"Such speed…" Ye Xiao was rubbing his chin and felt a bit light-headed. A cultivation speed like this was something he wouldn't dare to dream about in his previous life.
Although he knew that it was the benefit of cultivating the East-rising Purple Qi, he was still satisfied enough that he wouldn't regret dying again for it. Only those who had cultivated themselves would know the difficulties of increasing their strength…
Although the former Ye Xiao - the foppish playboy - was ignorant, he had practiced some spiritual martial arts under pressure from his father. He was more or less at level 3 in the Mortal Origin Stage. There was a silver lining found after living in the General's House after all. The departed lord Ye had a certain amount of spiritual power inside his body, however, there were too many impurities in it.
"It is good that he had created a foundation for me, although he had debilitated his body so much that I don't even want to look at it… However, at least I have a body and I am still alive." Since he was very satisfied at the moment, he didn't wish to dwell upon it.
"I wonder… does the sphere have any other functions?" Ye Xiao was in good spirits.
While enjoying the progress he achieved in cultivation, he was more interested in the Heavenly Crystal Marrow. He had only entered the space inside the sphere and used the qi obtained from the Heavenly Crystal Marrow, yet the ablution of his muscles and bones had already taken place. This was truly wondrous! Moreover, the originally waste-like body had broken through the Earth Origin Stage because of it.
"What if… What if I take another piece, what would happen… like, I want to laugh hehe, hehe, heh…"
Thinking of that, he reentered the sphere. Ye Xiao walked straight to where the Heavenly Crystal Marrow was located and looked up. He rubbed his chin and thought, "Shall I… cut off another piece?"
Ye Xiao thought of something and immediately took action. He jumped up and reached his hands out to grab the Heavenly Crystal Marrow…
He had previously failed to cut the crystal with a knife, but now that he had the power of the Earth Origin Stage. He thought, "This time, I can finally fiddle with this tough thing no matter what!"
However…
Booom!
Purple lights attacked him at once.
Ye Xiao was blown onto the floor and nearly got his hip decimated into eight pieces. The shock, however, made him oblivious to the screaming pain of his body.
The Heavenly Crystal Marrow was right in front of him and could be clearly seen.
However… He might be able to lay his eyes upon it, but it was still far beyond reach. He couldn't reach it no matter how he tried!
That wasn't all, the moment he had tried to lay his hands on it, he was cruelly beaten away by the purple lights coming from within the Heavenly Crystal Marrow…
"What the hell is going on? This thing had costed me innumerable hardships to obtain, and now that it has finally become mine, I can only look at it from a distance?! Is there still justice?!" Ye Xiao was kneading his hip with frustration flashing across his face.
He wouldn't give up just like this. As such, he gave it another shot, but the results were still the same.
Ye Xiao was frustrated after being beaten down again and again. With dirt smeared all over his face, he exclaimed, "It's really impossible to reach!"
Looking up at the high-profile Heavenly Crystal Marrow, Ye Xiao sighed and groaned, "I've never seen something like this shit… I got it, and here should be my place. It is obviously mine, but it actually won't let me touch it! You… ratty space in the sphere, can you be reasonable?"
After trying a few more times, Ye Xiao feebly lied down on the floor of the space.
He finally understood. Even though he could get the Heavenly Crystal Marrow into this sphere, his level was too low to take charge of the space inside it. He didn't have the right, or should we say power, to rule this place.
Ye Xiao clearly knew that using such a treasure like the Heavenly Crystal Marrow right now would really be a huge waste! Although it could immediately boost his cultivation to unimaginable heights, it could also bring some hidden troubles along. After all, if strength didn't come from arduous cultivation, then a cultivator's foundation was doomed to be weak. It would be a difficult journey for him to increase his power endlessly.
However… the chance to achieve a meteoric rise in a single night was so alluring that no one would be able to resist it at all. Though for Ye Xiao, because it was within his sight but beyond his reach for now, he no longer held any interest for it.
"Fine. This place will make a fine storage room." Ye Xiao settled for the second best option in an attempt to comfort himself.
Then, he left the space, grabbed a chair outside and tried to bring it back into the space within the sphere…
"Erhh, no?" Ye Xiao looked at the chair in his hand and scratched his head.
"Is it too big? Maybe a smaller one will do."
Ye Xiao grabbed a stone about the size of an egg.
But… it failed once again.
"What is the problem?" Ye Xiao was really confused.
"Even I can get in, how come this small stone can't?!"
He tried it once again!
He had tried for several times, but failed nonetheless. It was only when he shifted his attention to a jade-crystal which contained the essences of the universe and was left to him by his father. After attempting to bring it inside the sphere, something finally happened…
It was not that the jade-crystal could enter the space, however…
"It lost some…" Ye Xiao looked at the jade-crystal in his hand and discovered that something had changed, making him feel both happy and annoyed.
Normal people might not have been able to tell the difference, but Ye Xiao on the other hand obviously felt it. The jade-crystal didn't look different - it retained the same scale and the same sheen. However, the most essential spiritual power it was harboring was gone, so it had now become nothing more than a pillow with an embroidered case - pretty to look at, yet absolutely useless.
"Could it be that this space only accepts certain higher-class things…" Ye Xiao started to analyze it, "That means, every fancy treasure needs to be higher than a certain class to be able to enter this space. This jade-crystal is quite an example. Except for the most essential part of it, the rest is below the required class, so it can't get in!"
Ye Xiao rubbed his chin and was thoughtful for a while, "This thing is picky with its food, isn't it?"
"To absorb the essence of the sky and the earth and to gather the qi from everything, so as to expand the space and feed yourself. Only then can you become the unparalleled Monarch of this unbound space… This is the first temple of the unbound space. To open the second temple, you need to master the second degree of East-rising Purple Qi." Ye Xiao had finally found some words on the wall.
In other words, it was telling Ye Xiao that he should first acquire more valuable things to expand the space in this sphere before it could feed him back. Such circulation would cause both of them to improve.
"Hmm humph, so there it is…" At this moment, Ye Xiao couldn't help but frown, "I have just started cultivating the East-rising Purple Qi, and I am not even in the first degree; I am only at the beginner's degree."
As for the present circumstances, he had no idea what the requirements would be to enter this second temple.
The Earth Origin Stage only corresponded with the beginner's degree; it should at least be the supreme master's level in the Sky Origin Stage to achieve the second degree.
A question started to form in his head, "How many degrees does the East-rising Purple Qi have?"
Followed by another question, "What degree would be the maximum he could possibly reach?"
"This is…" Ye Xiao sighed deeply.
A vast and hazy future had appeared in front of him. There was still a seemingly endless road for him to travel!
But in any case, the East-rising Purple Qi was absolutely thousands of times stronger than what he had been practicing in his previous life! Anyway, he would practice it to the supreme level and cultivate it even further!
The urgent question now was… where could he get all of the treasures he was going to need?
From all the things around him in the General's House, only the jade-crystal could be barely considered worthy - yet it was only a partial pass at best - what a tragedy!
"If you give me nothing, how can I obtain countless treasures?" Ye Xiao felt depressed and sighed deeply at the space, "Even if a treasure shows up, it will be in the hands of a noble family, and it will just be used as a tribute to coax someone like the king. Even if there's one worthy enough… I will still need the money to make the deal. If I were at a higher level, I could just go and rob it… but I am a mere weakling for now. If I go rob a top-level treasure to expand this shitty space, I am afraid that a single fart from the enemy will instantly kill me. What am I even complaining about?" A wonderful housewife could never cook a meal if she had no rice [1; just like Ye Xiao now, he also couldn't do something if he wasn't capable.
No one knew whether the space was disgusted by the pathetic tone of some Monarch or not, however, a purple qi floated in the air as the space suddenly trembled. On the western corner of the space, a deep and serene tunnel appeared.
Ye Xiao went blank when he saw this. He was just simply grumbling; he didn't actually expect any reaction from it.
"Is it because I am too pathetic so the gods showed pity for me? Oh no, I mean the space showed pity for me!"
He walked through the tunnel and saw a purple-colored table at the end of it. On this purple-colored table, there was a lotus pedestal, and at the center of the pedestal, there was a… an egg?
Endless purple qi was coming out from inside the lotus pedestal and going into the egg, while the surplus qi was frantically flying away…
"Erhh… an egg? No… a duck egg?" Ye Xiao was looking at the egg on the table and felt really confused.
It was obviously an egg!
Yet it was slightly bigger than an egg. Well, if there was an egg with two yolks… it could be about this big.
"What kind of being could be in this egg?" Ye Xiao stretched out his hand to pick up and the egg in order to examine it. However, the moment he grasped it, he shockingly found himself unable to do so. He quickly exerted all his strength to pick it up apprehensively…
BAMM!!!
Ye Xiao fell down on the floor!
He still couldn't pick it up. He actually still couldn't do it!
It was nothing but a small egg! For Ye Xiao's current cultivation - he could at least carry up to a thousand kilograms - yet he actually couldn't pick it up!
"!!!!!" Ye Xiao's mouth was widely opened, unable to utter a single word.
The next moment, he felt a burning sensation in his heart.
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[1] Something like if you have no hand you can't make a fist. Cooked rice is the essential food in Chinese meals.