Chapter Ninety-Three: The Marvelous Uses of True Spirit

The importance of the heart needs no explanation.

Whether one considers the circulation of blood within the human body or the role of the heart meridian in the network of channels, the heart is the most precious place to protect.

But Luo Tian had no choice.

The power of vitality had already begun to wane, yet the wound in the heart was still healing at a steady pace. If he delayed any longer, once the flesh knit shut without a seam, he would still have to pull out the Jade Shattering Sword.

For a single instant of agony, Luo Tian nearly blacked out. The most fragile part of his body had been struck by a sharp weapon, and then, driven by necessity, he had forcibly yanked it free. The successive injuries inflicted on his body were so severe they could scarcely be described.

What was more, the moment the Jade Shattering Sword left his body, blood surged out in a scarlet curtain, fleeing the restraint of flesh in frantic streams. That alone pained Luo Tian immeasurably.

Vitality could promote the healing of wounds, but the loss of this blood from the heart truly left Luo Tian gravely weakened.

No amount of life force from the Boundless Evergrowth Wood could make up for it. He could only rely on later conditioning and recovery to restore himself.

A wave of weakness followed. Luo Tian immediately sensed a hollow, emptied feeling in the strength within his body. Though he knew it was only because the heart had suffered a crushing blow and his blood supply had been insufficient for the moment, he still felt a chill run down his spine.

Weakly collapsing to the ground, Luo Tian took quite a while before he finally regained himself.

Leaning on Autumn Water to steady his body, Luo Tian’s face remained deathly pale with weakness, yet the joy in his brows could not be concealed.

As for Fang Zheng, he was merely a Meridian Flow Realm cultivator, so there was nothing more to say. But Shen Qingkong was an elder of the Divine Sun Sect, a powerhouse of the Core Formation Realm. Even if he were among the weakest of that rank, he ought to have possessed a vast fortune, should he not?

Especially that fire elemental spirit, the True Gang Fire of Transforming Origin!

At the thought of that treasure, Luo Tian’s heart burned hot. Even the chill left behind by his blood loss could not disperse it.

Fortunately, Fang Zheng’s comprehension was not very good. If he had been able to master a more formidable fire-based true intent, Luo Tian would likely have been in grave danger.

One had to know that even with a body armor infused with true energy over his body, Luo Tian still had been unable to withstand Fang Zheng’s dying counterattack. The Jade Shattering Sword’s destructive effect on vital force and true energy was simply astonishing.

Fortunately, this treasure is mine now!

With a satisfied nod, Luo Tian first removed Fang Zheng’s storage pouch and opened it without ceremony. A trace of disappointment crept into his heart.

Indeed, there was nothing good in Fang Zheng’s storage pouch. Aside from a few pills for replenishing vital energy and healing injuries, there were only some gold coins and other money.

Then Luo Tian took Shen Qingkong’s storage pouch from Fang Zheng’s tightly clenched fist and opened it with excitement and delight, only to be startled at once.

The first thing that met his eyes was more than a dozen stones of fairly uniform size!

Were these spirit stones?

Luo Tian recalled that the nodes of the Spirit Gathering Array contained such things, and that when Liu Changan had operated the Skyborne Vessel that day, spirit stones had also provided its power.

Spirit stones were commonly used by cultivators above the Core Formation Realm. They could be used to replenish true energy, to lay out formations, or as energy reservoirs for spirit tools. They were extremely versatile, and could even serve as a common currency among cultivators above the Core Formation Realm.

However, while they were said to be common for Core Formation cultivators, in truth most Core Formation Realm cultivators did not possess the wealth or strength to squander them. At the very least, one needed the ability to condense a Spirit Pill through one’s own power, and perhaps even a True Spirit Pill cultivator, to have the confidence to use them as everyday items.

What was more, even among spirit stones, there were upper, middle, and lower grades according to the purity of their energy. The ones in Shen Qingkong’s pouch were all lower-grade. He had probably gone to great trouble to obtain them from the sect. For an ordinary Human Spirit Pill cultivator, they would already count as a fortune.

Most of these dozen-odd spirit stones were of the wind attribute, while among the rest there was one fire-attribute stone that might prove useful in the future.

Luo Tian unceremoniously swept the spirit stones into his bracelet, then took out Shen Qingkong’s weapon: a lower-grade treasure-whip. He glanced at it once, then stuffed it into the bracelet without much interest. Not only was its grade low, but its attribute also clashed with his own. For Luo Tian, who had inherited Qin Tianyu’s memories and horizons, there was naturally no need to look at it twice.

As for the rest, aside from two martial manuals, Wind Guarding Body Protection and Long Wind Movement, the only thing that truly stirred Luo Tian’s interest was the jade box holding the True Gang Fire of Transforming Origin.

Luo Tian knew that cultivation methods and martial arts of earth rank and above had limits on how many times they could be read. Each reading consumed a certain amount of soul power, and once the limit was reached, the secret manual would simply vanish. So Luo Tian only glanced at the titles before paying them no further mind, collecting them all into his bracelet. He planned to sell them when he found the chance, or trade them for things he could use.

The jade box was not large, yet when Luo Tian held it in his hand, it felt surprisingly heavy, even faintly trembling.

Neither the Boundless Evergrowth Wood nor the many inheritances left behind by Qin Tianyu could have moved Luo Tian to such excitement, but the True Gang Fire of Transforming Origin was different. This was a treasure that could truly bring him immense benefit.

To draw an elemental spirit into the body during Core Formation and make it become the heart of the pill, the first step was to exhaust all of that elemental spirit’s power, leaving behind only a single true essence. This was the core of the elemental spirit, embodying one of its characteristics.

Yet only when its outer strength was gone could that core submit obediently to a cultivator’s control and manipulation, and only then could it be refined into the heart of the pill, steadily transforming the cultivator’s true energy into formidable power bearing its own properties.

The process of exhausting an elemental spirit’s power could in fact also serve as a form of cultivation. In other words, for Luo Tian in the later stage of the Energy Condensation Realm, there was no need to rely on the ambient heaven-and-earth energy outside, nor on the portion of energy within the nodes of the Spirit Gathering Array. He could directly absorb the power of the True Gang Fire of Transforming Origin and refine it. Not only would this alter the nature of his own strength, it would also allow his cultivation speed to soar far beyond what it had been before.

The subjugation and acquisition of an elemental spirit was not difficult for Core Formation cultivators in itself, but the greatest problem was that such spirits were hard to discover. Moreover, magical beasts, which were even more sensitive to energy, would actively guard the place where an elemental spirit was born, waiting until it matured before devouring it to strengthen their own power.

Luo Tian had absolute confidence that this True Gang Fire of Transforming Origin would be enough to keep his cultivation progressing at a terrifying pace.

What was more, the boost it would bring to his combat strength was even more astonishing.

This fire elemental spirit possessed a fierce and overwhelming offensive force, and like the Jade Shattering Sword, it could also destroy true energy defenses. When fighting for real, it would carry the terrifying momentum of one who slays gods if gods stand in the way, and Buddhas if Buddhas stand in the way!

This journey had not been in vain. Truly, not in vain at all!

Because he was too excited and agitated, Luo Tian’s face had taken on a faint flush of color. He slowly reached out, grasped the lid of the jade box, and prepared to behold the true face of the True Gang Fire of Transforming Origin.