Sage of Humanity

"Xuantian Sect never taught you these things before?"

After some conversation, Veteran Thang discovered that Lu Ye's understanding of cultivation basics was superficial at best, which he found quite strange.

Lu Ye couldn't explain the truth and could only say, "When I was younger, I was ignorant and stubborn. Although the elders in the sect tried to teach me, I did not listen."

Veteran Thang laughed, "That's alright. You are still young; as long as you diligently cultivate in the days to come, that's what matters."

"Yes."

Veteran Thang lifted his hand and extended a finger towards Lu Ye's lower abdomen. "Feel your current orifice is full. If you wish to open the second one, then calmly sense it!"

Lu Ye immediately sat upright and still.

As Veteran Thang's finger touched him, Lu Ye immediately felt an external force invading his body. It was Veteran Thang's spirit force, but it was gentle and therefore did not do any damage to Lu Ye.

This force flowed through Lu Ye's Root Spiritual Orifice and slowly gathered at a spot near it. Lu Ye was familiar with this spot; it was exactly the position of the 2nd Spiritual Orifice for practicing the Golden Cicada Carefree Method. He had tried several times before to find the exact spot but had not succeeded, yet Veteran Thang had done so with ease.

This was the advantage of joining a sect and having the protection of seniors in one's practice—it saved a great deal of the energy and time one would otherwise spend figuring things out alone. The initial stage of cultivation is the most precious time for cultivators. Gaining a faster start at this stage provides an undeniable advantage in future cultivation.

"This is the 2nd Spiritual Orifice of the Golden Cicada Carefree Method. Try to guide your own spirit force into it," said Veteran Thang's voice.

Lu Ye hastened to do so.

The spirit force brimming in his Root Spiritual Orifice began to slowly move towards the 2nd Spiritual Orifice under his influence, but he clearly perceived that there was a barrier outside the 2nd Spiritual Orifice blocking the entry of spirit force.

"Each spiritual orifice is protected by a spiritual orifice barrier. Breaking through the barrier is necessary to successfully open the orifice, and this is something others cannot assist with, so you must rely on yourself."

With Veteran Thang's cultivation level, he could easily help Lu Ye break through the spiritual orifice barrier, but doing so might cause irreversible damage to Lu Ye's spiritual orifice. Thus, all he could do was guide Lu Ye to the location of the spiritual orifice; he would not help him open it.

It was only then that Lu Ye learned about the existence of spiritual orifice barriers. He had opened his Root Spiritual Orifice with the help of the Talent Tree. Reflecting on that experience, he faintly remembered the sensation of something inside him breaking, which, it seemed now, must have been the barrier of the Root Spiritual Orifice.

Veteran Thang's spirit force did not linger, continuing to flow within Lu Ye's body. Breaking through the spiritual orifice barrier was not a task to be completed in a short time. Having helped Lu Ye locate the position of the 2nd Spiritual Orifice, the rest was up to Lu Ye's own effort.

After a while, Veteran Thang withdrew his hand and spoke, "Following the route of the Golden Cicada Carefree Method, I have left some guiding spirit force in the next eight spiritual orifices within your body. Whenever you open one orifice, you will be able to sense the position of the next one. The day you open all eight orifices and allow your spirit force to flow through the Root Spiritual Orifice and these eight orifices, the Spirit Stream Realm will naturally form."

"Thank you, Sect Master!" Lu Ye bowed respectfully.

Veteran Thang smiled faintly, "Go ahead with your cultivation. It will still be some time before we head back to Mount Ao."

"Yes." Lu Ye answered, not changing his spot, and began to cultivate right there.

Having the Sect Master there in person, any problems that might arise during his cultivation could be overseen by him.

Now that the position of the 2nd Spiritual Orifice was confirmed, Lu Ye felt a surge of motivation. He activated the spirit force in his Root Spiritual Orifice and directed it toward the barrier of the 2nd Spiritual Orifice.

The barrier, whatever it was, seemed to loosen slightly with each of Lu Ye's impacts.

However, the sensation of impacting the barrier was not pleasant. Every time he gathered spirit force for the impact, it felt like a small hammer was striking the location of the spiritual orifice.

Once or twice didn't matter much, but after numerous attempts, a slight swelling and soreness began to emerge from his 2nd Spiritual Orifice.

Moreover, each attempt to strike against the spiritual orifice barrier consumed some spirit force, and Lu Ye finally understood why the sect master had said that in the early stages of cultivation, as one's cultivation level increased, orifice-opening would become relatively easier.

If one were to compare spiritual orifices to buckets, and spirit force to the water in them, Lu Ye currently had just one bucket of water. If he had two buckets, or three, he would have much more spirit force available, which would naturally make orifice-opening faster. Perhaps he could then break through the spiritual orifice barrier in one fell swoop.

Half a Shichen later, Lu Ye found it increasingly difficult to muster his spirit force; the water in the bucket was nearly depleted.

He took out a bottle of blood Qi pills from Zhou Cheng's storage sack and was about to take two out when suddenly...

"Have you always used this to aid your cultivation?" Veteran Tang's voice sounded.

Lu Ye hurriedly responded, "Indeed!" Seeing Veteran Tang's expression, a jolt went through his heart, "Sect master, is there something wrong with these blood Qi pills?"

Veteran Tang frowned, "Did the people of Evil Moon Valley tell you these were blood Qi pills?"

"These aren't blood Qi pills?" Lu Ye was startled. He had taken these pills before and they indeed increased his blood Qi energy. If these weren't blood Qi pills, then what were they?

Veteran Tang reached out, took Zhou Cheng's storage sack, rummaged through it, inspected various bottles and jars, then placed a bottle in front of Lu Ye, "This is the actual blood Qi pill."

Lu Ye picked up the bottle and saw that the elixir pills inside were quite different from the blood Qi pills he had been taking. He had checked these items before, but since he did not recognize them, he had not dared to take them rashly.

Who would have thought that what he believed to be blood Qi pills were not, and that the real blood Qi pills were something else?

"Then what is this?" Lu Ye asked, pointing to the bottle he was about to take.

"Residue from refining blood Qi pills," explained Veteran Tang. "Not every attempt at elixir pill refinement is successful. If it fails, it becomes residue. The residue usually has no effect, but some still retain a bit of medicinal efficacy; this is the failed residue from refining blood Qi pills."

After Veteran Tang's explanation, Lu Ye's face darkened as if it were the bottom of a pot. He had once questioned why there was always a burnt taste when taking blood Qi pills, thinking it was their inherent flavor, it turned out what he had been consuming was merely residue of failed creations, and such a taste was inevitable.

"What did the cultivators of Evil Moon Valley want with these things?" Veteran Tang couldn't understand.

"They gave them to us mining slaves," Lu Ye explained the resource exchange system in the mines.

Veteran Tang then realized, and put away the residue, "Such things should not be consumed; they will impact your future cultivation."

Lu Ye immediately tensed up, "What kind of impact will it have?"

"Every medicine contains some toxicity and the elixir pills we use for cultivation are no exception. The lower the quality of the elixir pill, the worse the pill poison. Not to mention the residue from failed pills, which has the most violent pill poison. Thus, although cultivation can be aided by elixir pills, one must not overly rely on them. If one consumes too many, excessive accumulation of pill poison can at best make the spirit force murky and spells ineffective, or at worst shake one's foundation, causing damage to one's cultivation," explained Veteran Tang.

Lu Ye listened with a sense of dread. Considering that he had consumed two to three hundred pills worth of residues, according to the sect master, wouldn't his situation be dire?

He swallowed nervously and asked tentatively, "Master, is there a guideline for using elixir pills in cultivation? How can one know how much pill poison has accumulated inside their body?"

Veteran Tang said, "Look at the spirit force. As I've just stated, if the pill poison accumulates too much, the spirit force will become unclear and murky. The purer a cultivator's spirit force, the better for combat and cultivation, and vice versa. I've checked your spirit force a while ago, and it was still fairly pure, so there's no need for excessive worry."

He had helped Lu Ye locate the 2nd orifice earlier, and thus the spirit force from Lu Ye's Root Spiritual Orifice had passed through his hands, giving him a clear understanding of the condition of Lu Ye's spirit force.

With these words, Lu Ye's mood became oddly mixed.