Chapter 16: The Divine Udumbara Blossoms
Chapter 16: The Divine Udumbara Blossoms
Once the Mystic Armor Art was successfully cast, Lu Hangzhi closed his eyes again. He mentally reviewed the spell-casting process. While using spirit fruits to replenish his depleted magic power, he cast the spell again to deepen his impression, determined to master it thoroughly.
Once was not enough. Three times felt too few. Ten times was not too many!
Continue!
Lu Hangzhi almost obsessively devoured spirit fruits and repeatedly cast the spell. In less than an hour, he consumed over sixty spirit fruits. However, with each casting, the interval for the Mystic Armor Art noticeably shortened. Moreover, the formed Mysterious Armor became more solid and resilient, and the manifested spell exuded an unshakable aura like a rock.
Inside the Spirit Gathering Array, Zhu Fuqin slowly opened her eyes. After carefully sensing for a moment, she nodded with a touch of admiration, her face showing appreciation.
“You mastered a second-rank spell in less than two hours. It seems the remaining two spells won’t trouble you either… It was worth letting you cultivate near the Spirit Gathering Array.”
Lu Hangzhi had sharp ears and heard her. He smiled slightly and said softly, “Thank you, Senior Sister, for your generosity.”
That was right.
Although this was an underground room, due to the Spirit Gathering Array, the density of spiritual energy here was several times higher than outside. With the effect of the Spiritual Energy Vortex, the recovery rate of magic power was astonishing. Otherwise, a single excellent spirit fruit alone would not be enough to quickly replenish the expended magic power.
“Work hard.”
Zhu Fuqin instructed.
Lu Hangzhi nodded, put aside distracting thoughts, and began studying the second spell, the Wooden Body Art.
Much later in the day, Lu Hangzhi walked out of the underground room and stood before his senior sister.
He had mastered all ten spells. There was no need to continue competing with his senior sister for spiritual energy.
Mastering the second-rank spells meant he officially advanced to become a Second-rank Cultivator. Lu Hangzhi took a deep breath and suddenly felt as if the world had changed. He felt refreshed and clear-headed.
Zhu Fuqin smiled and congratulated him, “Junior Brother, from now on, focus on your cultivation. Try to become proficient with the spells to build up your strength for entering the Xuanxin Sect in the future. Matters at the residence can be left to Lü’e and Cong Fang. Of course, your public identity is still my steward.”
“Yes, Senior Sister.”
Lu Hangzhi nodded.
“In the Outer Sect of our Xuanxin Sect, disciples your age with early second-rank cultivation can barely rank in the middle. But hoping to enter the Inner Sect is almost impossible for life, unless you can break into the top ten of the Outer Sect disciples ranking, or reach the Third Rank Peak before the age of sixteen.”
At this point, Zhu Fuqin sighed with some emotion. “Back then, I barely managed to get into the tenth place in the Outer Sect with the help of the Revitalization Technique, which led to my current Third Rank Peak achievement. But… I’m stuck here. The competition in the Inner Sect is even fiercer, beyond imagination. With my current strength, I’m almost at the bottom. You must not slack off.”
Hundreds of Low-Grade Spirit Stones supplied monthly, and still lingering at the bottom in the Xuanxin Sect’s Inner Sect?
Lu Hangzhi was inwardly shocked, then silently nodded.
“A true cultivator needs not only cultivation techniques and spirit stones, but also spiritual artifacts and talismans are indispensable. I have some things I used before here; their quality is quite good. You can take them and use them.”
As she spoke, Zhu Fuqin handed over an exquisite Qiankun Pouch, saying, “Inside are some talismans and a Wood Spirit Sword. The talismans are simple to use, you know… As for the Wood Spirit Sword, that was something my father personally bought for me when I first entered the Xuanxin Sect. Infusing it with magic power can activate a Wood Spirit Sword Qi, with power comparable to a single strike from a Second Rank Peak cultivator.”
Lu Hangzhi thanked her again, feeling immensely shocked.
Zhu Fuqin was going all out to connect with Senior Brother Leng this time. She provided cultivation techniques, spirit stones, and now even gifted a spiritual artifact. It seemed she was determined to fight for a place back in the Xuanxin Sect.
“Senior Sister, you show me such great favor. Is there something you wish to entrust to me, your junior brother?”
Lu Hangzhi didn’t believe all this came without cost, so he asked.
The latter smiled slightly.
“Junior Brother Hangzhi, you are indeed clever. The ten spells are quite valuable, and the Wood Spirit Sword is comparable to a third-rank spiritual artifact. The total value exceeds two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. I only hope that after you become an Outer Sect Disciple of the Xuanxin Sect, you will participate in the semi-annual competition and strive for the top ten!”
“Top ten…”
Lu Hangzhi felt a surge of fear and excitement.
“Senior Sister, this…”
“I know, for you, this is almost impossible. I don’t have high hopes for you this time either. But I want you to experience the strength of the top ten, so that you can achieve something in the next competition.”
Hearing this, Lu Hangzhi relaxed.
So that was it.
That scared me to death!
He was just a novice who had only cultivated for half a month. Even with the opportunity from the Essence Spirit Fruit allowing a rapid advance, he couldn’t possibly compete for the top ten against those cultivators who had practiced for years or even over a decade.
If the target was the second competition over half a year later, as long as things were handled properly, he had some confidence.
Zhu Fuqin had been observing Lu Hangzhi’s expression. Seeing his reaction, she knew he understood her meaning, so she continued, “Once you break into the top ten of the Outer Sect, the Inner Sect Elders will bestow at least one Foundational Reinforcement Pill as a reward. Senior Sister wishes to use all these in exchange for one Foundational Reinforcement Pill from you. What do you think?”
“Senior Sister recognized my talent and gave me this opportunity. To reciprocate your kindness is only right. I, your junior brother, promise you that I will spare no effort to compete for the top ten in the Outer Sect ranking, to obtain a Foundational Reinforcement Pill for you, and repay your kindness!” Lu Hangzhi made a vow.
A hint of joy appeared on Zhu Fuqin’s face.
The Foundational Reinforcement Pill was a treasure of the Xuanxin Sect. Its annual production was limited. Besides helping one’s cultivation progress, it also aided in breaking through cultivation bottlenecks.
Zhu Fuqin was now at the Third Rank Peak. To cultivate to the Fourth Grade would take at least one or two years. One Foundational Reinforcement Pill was equivalent to a month of hard cultivation, saving a lot of time.
“Junior brother has a request. I hope Senior Sister can agree.”
Having received Lu Hangzhi’s promise, Zhu Fuqin was in a very good mood and answered without hesitation.
“Speak.”
“I’ve lived this long and have never seen a real demonic beast or monster. So, junior brother hopes that when Senior Sister goes out to cultivate, you can take me along to broaden my horizons…” Lu Hangzhi said, somewhat embarrassed.
“This…”
Zhu Fuqin showed a troubled expression.
To be honest, she hadn’t expected Lu Hangzhi to have such strong curiosity.
Violet Cloud Town was a relatively weak marketplace town within the Xuanxin Sect’s territory. Encountering demonic beasts and monsters in the surrounding area was rare throughout the year, which was why the three major family forces had survived until now.
Even Zhu Fuqin herself had only dealt with demonic beasts and monsters a few times, and that was either under the protection of the Zhu Residence and the Violet Cloud Town Guard Camp cultivator teams, or when fighting monsters under the guard of a group of senior brothers and sisters from the Xuanxin Sect.
Therefore, Zhu Fuqin was quite puzzled by Lu Hangzhi’s sudden idea.
After hesitating for a long while, Zhu Fuqin suggested he change his condition, citing that it was too dangerous.
“……”
Lu Hangzhi was somewhat speechless but wisely did not show it. However, he internally made some judgments about the strength of the cultivators in Violet Cloud Town.
As one of the highest cultivation level cultivators in Violet Cloud Town, Zhu Fuqin actually lacked the courage to lead a team to hunt demonic beasts and monsters. No wonder it ranked among the lowest of the marketplace towns.
Under Zhu Fuqin’s urging, Lu Hangzhi lowered his request and asked for permission to cultivate in the Spirit Gathering Array for three days.
“Actually, even if you hadn’t made this request, I would have let you cultivate in the Spirit Gathering Array for a while to consolidate your cultivation properly. Fine, since you brought it up yourself, I’ll give you seven days. I happen to have some matters to attend to outside. For these seven days, the Spirit Gathering Array is yours to use.”
“Thank you, Senior Sister!”
Three days turned into seven. Lu Hangzhi was overjoyed and quickly expressed his gratitude.
Zhu Fuqin waved her hand, then repeatedly reminded him, “That potted spirit tree, move it over here and take good care of it. After all, it’s your ticket into the Xuanxin Sect. There must not be the slightest mishap.”
“Senior Sister, rest assured!”
“Mm.”
That very day, Zhu Fuqin informed her father of the news. Using the pretext of striving for the Fourth Grade as a challenge, she obtained a batch of Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Then, she rode the sect’s Divine Crane back to the Xuanxin Sect to report the good news to Senior Brother Leng.
The reward and punishment system in the Zhu Residence’s Third Courtyard had already been implemented. With Lü’e and Cong Fang managing things, everything was orderly. There were no particular points that needed special attention. Lu Hangzhi only needed to set aside time each day to receive resources and distribute rewards. He spent most of his time in the Spirit Gathering Array.
Seven days! This was a rare benefit!
Once he entered the sect and became an Outer Sect Disciple of the Xuanxin Sect, he might not have such an opportunity again, nor so many resources.
The right path was to enhance his strength as much as possible now, so that when he reached the Xuanxin Sect in the future, he could compete for a higher ranking.
However…
Something unexpected happened to Lu Hangzhi.
On the third day after that unknown spirit tree was moved into the Spirit Gathering Array, around dawn, while Lu Hangzhi was cultivating, it silently bloomed with an indigo-blue light. At the same time, it emanated layers of refreshing, mysterious fragrance that made anyone who smelled it feel exceptionally comfortable.
Lu Hangzhi was nearing the end of his cultivation session, his magic power almost depleted. He was preparing to absorb magic power from spirit fruits and spirit stones to start over. Suddenly, he caught a whiff of the mysterious fragrance. His whole body felt as if it were soaking in warm fluid, warm and comfortable. Powerful spiritual energy seemed to seep in from his limbs, bones, and pores. He felt extremely relaxed and content. His body instinctively and frantically absorbed this spiritual energy, while greedily opening his mouth and nose to breathe.
In just a few breaths, his entire body felt as if his magic power was saturated, almost overflowing!
And…
Two full days of intense training had only advanced his early second-rank cultivation by a tiny bit—just from being able to cast five second-rank spells consecutively at most to six. But at this moment, his body’s container seemed to expand by more than double. There was even a trend of his Spiritual Power Pool continuously expanding, wildly increasing towards three times its original size.
This! This is…
In shock, Lu Hangzhi opened his eyes. He happened to see that mysterious spirit tree, which he had placed on a board not far away, radiating indigo-blue light at its peak. The misty spiritual energy was vast and mighty, drawn over by the Spiritual Energy Vortex like a fog, enveloping his entire body.
The blue spiritual energy easily penetrated his skin and entered his body, converging into his Spiritual Power Pool, continuing to expand it.
From start to finish, it took no more than ten breaths…
The light gradually faded!
The mysterious spirit tree’s aura completely vanished, returning to its ordinary appearance. Moreover, it showed slight signs of wilting.
If not for the surging magic power within him, still clearly and intensely washing over his Spiritual Power Pool, Lu Hangzhi would have almost thought it was an illusion from overexertion.
Examining himself, aside from being in exceptionally high spirits, feeling better than ever before, there were no unusual conditions. As for his cultivation level…
Second Rank Late Stage!