After becoming a Spirit Creek Realm Master, Lu Ye discovered something extremely interesting: his perception of the Spiritual Qi in his surrounding environment had gotten more acute.
The Spiritual Qi in the Spirit Creek Realm was much richer than the outside world. Even if he were in the state of cultivation, he would not have been able to sense the existence of the Spiritual Qi in the outside world. But, in this place, he basically only needed to calm his mind to sense the Spiritual Qi in his surroundings.
Now that his Nine Spiritual Points had turned into a stream, he realized that he could distinctly perceive the Spiritual Qi in the world around him just by focusing slightly. He didn’t even need to consciously try to perceive the Spiritual Qi. That was undoubtedly a huge improvement compared to before.
[Does that mean I can cultivate by absorbing Spiritual Qi now?] When the thought crossed his mind, he immediately became excited. [If that’s true, then my cultivation will surely progress much smoother than before. Let’s give it a try right now!]
An hour later, he stopped his current attempt at cultivating with a moody expression. The situation was no different from before. He did not know what was wrong with his body, but he found it very difficult to guide the Spiritual Qi in the world into his body. Going by this cultivation speed, it would be impossible for him to fill up his tenth Spiritual Point without at least half a year’s time.
[Looks like the one leaf result I received when testing for my level of talent was not without reason.]
By this point, he was starting to gain a vague sense of understanding regarding the method a cultivator absorbed Spiritual Qi. He was not supposed to absorb it through his mouth but through his body. In that state of cultivation, all the pores on a cultivator’s body would perform a mysterious kind of breathing that guided the Spiritual Qi in the world into their body and transform it into their Spiritual Power!
Unfortunately, he was unable to use this type of cultivation method.
Standing up, Lu Ye felt that it was time for him to go outside and take a look around. The Sect Master sent him into the Spirit Creek Battlefield more than a month ago. He was lucky enough to arrive in this jungle where he never encountered any enemy that was too powerful for him to handle even though he had been here for so long. The only ones that came looking for trouble before were Yi Yi and the tiger, and they suffered a huge loss because of him.
He had progressed from a Three Spiritual Point cultivator to a First Order Spirit Creek Realm Master in a period spanning slightly more than a month. He also unlocked his tenth Spiritual Point. Thus, it was a tremendous growth on his part. While it was undeniable that his cultivation was still very low, he more or less had some means of protecting himself now if he supplemented his strength with the Spirit Talisman Papers that the Sect Master had given him.
As for where to go… He planned to look for that tiger and the young girl. He recalled hearing some interesting information from that girl during their last encounter.
Two days passed by in a rush. Lu Ye found the snow-white tiger sprawled out on the floor of a cave in a deep sleep. The moment he walked into the cave, a half-translucent shadow floated out of the tiger’s body and stared at him warily. “What is your purpose for coming here?”
It was none other than the Ghost Spirit that called herself Yi Yi. She had looked extremely weak when she left that day. Almost 10 days had gone by since then, but her body remained in a semi-translucent state. She was unable to form a corporeal body. It would seem that the injury she received from before had been rather severe.
The slight movement she made immediately woke the sleeping tiger. It stood up and growled at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye did not take another step further into the cave, lest he agitated the Spirit and the tiger. Besides, he couldn’t do anything to this pair with the Heavenly Oath in place anyway. He said, “Don’t panic. I’m only here to ask about something.”
“What do you want to ask?” Yi Yi glanced at him.
“I heard you mention something about a Green Cloud City previously. Can you tell me more about it?”
“Are you planning to go to Green Cloud City?”
He was unable to cultivate via absorbing Spiritual Qi. On the other hand, refining his vitality into Qi was not a viable long-term method and he had almost killed all the beasts living in the nearby areas. At the end of the day, cultivating via consuming Spirit Pills was his source of happiness.
Green Cloud City sounded like a trading place where all the cultivators gathered together. He planned to take a look around. Who could know? He might even be able to obtain some Spirit Pills there. Even in the worst-case scenario, going there would widen his knowledge of this world. He had been cultivating behind closed doors ever since he entered this Cultivation World. That was not a good thing.
“I see…” She tilted her head to the side pensively before sticking her tongue out at him. “I won’t tell you. If you want to know about it, then find it yourself!”
She had suffered such a terrible grievance at his hands before. How could she willingly and obediently work together with him? With the Heavenly Oath in place, he couldn’t do anything to her as long as she and the tiger did not actively provoke or harm him. So, what was there to fear?
He gazed at her calmly for a moment, then turned around to leave.
“Eh?” His actions left her feeling a little dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe that he was walking away so readily. Hesitating for a moment, her figure shifted and she floated over to his side. “But, if you beg me… I might tell you if I’m in a good mood.”
He glanced at her, getting a full taste of how bad her personality was.
“Come on! Hurry up and beg me! If you don’t, then I won’t tell you! What about…” She floated about in front of him with a grin on her face, feeling as happy as a butterfly. “I forgive you if you admit that you were wrong!?”
He stopped in his tracks, took out his longsword from the Storage Bag hanging at his waist, and slowly drew his sword out of its sheath.
“What are you doing!?” Yi Yi was so frightened that she paled considerably. She instantly lost her confidence and hid behind the tiger. Likewise, the tiger crouched low in a position to pounce and gave a low growl. Sticking her head out from behind the tiger, she spoke a warning with a stern expression. “You better not mess around with the Heavenly Oath binding you! Otherwise, you will die a horrible death!”
Lu Ye ignored her, simply pointing his sword at the void in front of him. Pouring his Spiritual Power into the sword, the longsword flashed with a stream of light. He murmured softly under his breath, “I’ve decided!”
“What did you decide on?” She was utterly baffled by his words and actions.
“From today onward, I’m going to kill 10 beasts a day. I’m going to continue until not a single beast exists in this area!” He spoke in a sonorous tone. After saying that, he rubbed his stomach. “I’m hungry!”
*Clink.* His sword slid back into its sheath and he strode forward.
She was taken aback by his words for a moment. Then, her expression became bitter. Meanwhile, the tiger turned to look at her and rolled its eyes in a Human-like manner.
“Wait, Senior Brother!” She chased after his leaving figure while shouting at him.
15 minutes later, Lu Ye studied the map that was drawn on the ground like a bunch of squiggly lines. Yi Yi was pointing out the directions to him in front of him. “This is Green Cloud Mountain. Green Cloud City is located right at the foot of this mountain. We are here right now. Head East from this place. You will come to a small river after 10 kilometers. Cross the river and you will arrive at a rocky forest after 5 kilometers. Proceed another 10 to 15 kilometers and you will arrive at Green Cloud City.”
He scowled so deeply that furrows appeared on his forehead. He impatiently snapped, “Just point me in the direction I have to go. Don’t tell me words like North, South, East, or West!”
“This way!” She decisively reached out and pointed in a certain direction.