Chapter Forty-Five: The Leaf of Time and Space

Returning to the Cool Retreat Cottage.

Qin Ming closed the door behind him, his heart surging with excitement.

He had not expected the perfected “Blood Ignition Blade Technique” to possess such terrifying and unmatched power!

Now, he had a clear understanding of his own strength. His mindset had shifted as well. He no longer feared facing late-stage Qi Cultivators; aside from a handful of exceptionally powerful peak Qi Cultivators, he was more than capable of protecting himself.

At last, he was free from those early days when, as a mere second-level Qi Cultivator, his weak strength left him anxious and fearful every day. Choosing the path of body refinement had indeed been a wise decision.

Qin Ming stepped into the meditation chamber and took out all the storage pouches belonging to the four men.

Immediately, a dazzling array of magical artifacts, spirit stones, talismans, and pills spilled across the floor.

He took stock of his spoils.

The wealthiest was undoubtedly Chen Zi’ang—this fellow, clearly accustomed to seizing by force, had a storage pouch filled with treasures besides the superior-grade golden sword artifact. There were two mid-grade artifacts, a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills, several other low-grade pills, and two superior attack talismans.

But the most eye-catching of all were ten mid-grade spirit stones and over two thousand low-grade ones.

Just from Chen Zi’ang alone, there were more than three thousand spirit stones—he truly lived up to the title of wealthy heir, practically oozing riches.

Qin Ming then examined the storage pouches of the other three. Combined, their spirit stones amounted to just over twelve hundred—less than half of Chen Zi’ang’s.

The rest consisted of various spell manuals, cultivation techniques, and medicinal pills.

Qin Ming happily swept everything into his own storage pouch.

His previously flat spirit stone pouch now bulged with wealth—counting the ten mid-grade stones, he now possessed over four thousand three hundred!

A fourfold kill, and he soared instantly.

Of course, the two stalks of Demonflame Grass and Seven-leaf Yellow Ginseng he had ripened in the spiritual field were also of considerable value. Yet these, he intended to keep for now, to use later when refining superior-grade elixirs.

After tidying up, Qin Ming’s gaze fell on the three blood pearls formed after casting the Thorn Technique.

He frowned, pondering for a moment.

It seemed these could only be used to feed the Withered Blood Poison Vine.

Picking up the blood pearls, he stepped into the courtyard and tossed them toward the corner where the vine grew.

No sooner had the pearls landed than the black vines, as if sharks scenting blood, pounced ravenously upon them.

Moments later, the Withered Blood Vine began to undergo an astonishing transformation!

First, the vine grew taller and thicker. Then, fissures appeared along its surface, and three sinister purple flower buds blossomed on the main stem.

Immediately, a golden entry manifested before Qin Ming’s eyes:

[Name] Withered Blood Poison Vine [Entry]: Leaves of Time and Space x5 (Ripeness 1%)

[Leaves of Time and Space]: When used, can instantly mature a high-grade spiritual plant to a hundred years in age; this effect can be stacked!

“My word! It evolved! An upgraded ripening entry!”

“Hahaha!”

“Fellow Daoist Chen, your death was not in vain!”

Qin Ming stared at the entry, his heart pounding with excitement.

A spiritual plant aged a hundred years—what did that mean? In the cultivation world, such a treasure would be snatched up the moment it appeared. These rare materials and medicinal herbs were invariably monopolized by major sects and powerful factions.

For instance, one of the three main ingredients required to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill, the Jade Marrow Ganoderma, needed at least three hundred years of potency, otherwise the pill could not be formed.

And Jade Marrow Ganoderma over three hundred years old could not be artificially cultivated; it only grew in secret realms jointly controlled by sects and factions.

The monopoly of this main ingredient by the great sects meant that even rogue cultivators possessing the pill formula could not actually refine the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Furthermore, besides these three main ingredients, over thirty auxiliary spiritual herbs were required for the pill, each incredibly rare, though their required ages were not as demanding.

Suppressing his delight, Qin Ming mused,

“It seems this Withered Blood Poison Vine is extraordinary, to generate an entry like [Leaves of Time and Space].”

“However, to fully ripen these two purple demonic flowers will likely require at least five [Ripening] entries.”

“I have only two left in my sea of consciousness; I’ll have to see how the next harvest of Golden Spirit Rice turns out.”

Gazing at the enigmatic Withered Blood Vine before him, Qin Ming felt it growing ever more mysterious.

It could absorb the essence and souls of cultivators as nourishment, accelerating its own growth at a rate nearly equal to using a [Ripening] entry.

“Could it be that in the future, I’ll need to collect the souls of others to feed this spiritual plant?” Qin Ming found himself entertaining this bizarre notion.

He quickly shook his head, banishing the thought.

Afterwards, he cast an advanced Spiritual Rain Technique on the Withered Blood Vine.

Returning to his room, Qin Ming took out a jade talisman inscribed with the character “Zhuang.”

He gazed at the talisman, frowning slightly.

According to Chen Zi’ang, advancing to a second-rank Spiritual Plant Master required passing a trial in the Illusory Realm of Flora.

And the all-important nomination spots were entirely in the hands of the sect elders.

He wondered whether merely possessing this jade talisman would grant him entry to Elder Zhuang’s public lecture.

Qin Ming sent his spiritual sense into the talisman.

After a long while, he withdrew his sense, a peculiar expression on his face.

Within the talisman was a message left by Elder Zhuang Xiran, inscribed with her Foundation Establishment cultivation power.

The gist was that she would be giving a public lecture on spiritual plants at Lingyu Sect in half a month. Anyone holding this talisman, regardless of background, could attend—the talisman alone sufficed as entry, not the bearer’s identity.

Those who received this token were destined.

“What a wonderful sense of destiny!”

“I like people with character like this!”

A smile broke across Qin Ming’s face. He had been worried that bringing only this talisman to the lecture might expose him. If the tokens were distributed at random, there was nothing to fear.

“In that case, in half a month, I shall see for myself the prowess of Lingyu Sect’s high-ranking Spiritual Plant Masters.”

...

As the sun set in the west, Qin Ming cooked a pot of premium Blood Locust Rice, ate his fill, and began cultivating the “Glazed Treasure Scripture.”

Three hours later, his session ended. He sat in silent contemplation for a while.

He focused his mind, preparing to use up his five [Abundant Soul Power] entries to further enhance his soul.

He recalled that the last time he’d used ten [Faint Soul Power] entries, his soul had grown more than double in strength.

And this time, the soul power was even more potent.

With a thought, Qin Ming activated one of the entries.

Boom!

His vision went black, and he nearly fainted.

His soul in his mind surged violently!

He felt a force deep within his soul expanding rapidly, an excruciating tearing pain flooding his consciousness.

Crack!

It was as if glass shattered deep inside his mind.

Next,

Qin Ming’s eyes flew open, sweat beading on his forehead.

He heaved for breath, chest rising and falling.

He could clearly sense that his soul had grown by a large margin in an instant.

Afterwards,

He repeated the process, using the remaining four [Abundant Soul Power] entries.

By midnight, after consuming all five, his soul had reached an unprecedented height.

Compared to before, it was four or five times stronger.

Even his spiritual sense was now heightened to an extraordinary degree.

Qin Ming’s current spiritual sense was now comparable to that of a peak Qi Cultivator—just one step away from evolving into the divine sense possessed by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

“There’s still half a month until Elder Zhuang’s lecture.”

“Perhaps…”

“Once I’ve fully comprehended the perfected ‘Blood Ignition Blade Technique’ in ten days…”

“I should go to Su Yuqing and try refining a mid-grade spiritual pill?”

Sitting cross-legged on the meditation mat, Qin Ming muttered to himself.

...