Chapter 1425: Starship

A moment later, Lu Ye finally confirmed his suspicion.

The jade plate's power could be activated at will, but it had a time limit. In other words, it could only be sustained for a certain period, and after it expired, it would take some time before it could be reactivated. This was why he couldn't activate the jade plate's power when he first received it; its cooldown hadn't reset. After he gave it to Xiaowai, she kept trying and naturally managed to activate its power with ease.

The item was indeed good.

During the day, Lu Ye had already cultivated his twenty-first spiritual aperture to its full capacity. As long as he broke through the barrier of the twenty-second aperture, he would be one step closer to the Spirit Stream Realm's third level.

He didn't consume the Barrier-Breaking Fruit, even though it was remarkably effective for breaking through spiritual aperture barriers. Lu Ye estimated that Barrier-Breaking Fruits were very valuable. He had taken one last time because he was in a hurry to advance to the Spirit Stream Realm's first level. Now, with plenty of Spirit Nourishing Pills, he could achieve the same goal by simply spending a bit more time. Naturally, Lu Ye wouldn't waste the fruit. He planned to save these two spirit fruits and consume them at a more opportune moment to maximize their effect.

His spiritual power was now incomparably greater than when he first started, which made breaking through spiritual aperture barriers much easier. In just under an hour, the barrier of the twenty-second aperture was broken, and spiritual power trickled into it. Lu Ye cultivated for a while longer, fully digesting the pill's energy, before finally stopping.

It had been three days since he last examined the Spirit Mark leaves on the Talent Tree. Lu Ye prepared to check the third burning leaf tonight to see what kind of Spirit Mark it contained. Although he had mentally prepared himself, he still felt a bit apprehensive when he was about to do it. The main reason was that the experience was simply too unpleasant.

But this was something he would have to go through sooner or later. Better short-term pain than prolonged agony. Lu Ye steeled himself, focused his mind, and "looked" at the Talent Tree within his Prime Spiritual Aperture.

The burning leaf rapidly magnified, and the intricate patterns on it instantly obscured Lu Ye's vision and thoughts. That feeling of being struck hard by a hammer returned. His mind felt like it was being pried open, as a flood of inexplicable information surged in, then was vigorously stirred.

After a good while, Lu Ye finally opened his eyes, gasping for breath. Beside him, Dahu lifted his head, and Yiyi stood by the bed, watching him with concern. Fortunately, they had experienced this three nights ago, so Yiyi wasn't too surprised.

Lu Ye immersed himself, examining the new information in his mind.

Spirit Gathering!

This was the name of the Spirit Mark carried by the third leaf.

The first Spirit Mark was offensive, the second defensive. Was the third one supportive?

The function of this Spirit Mark was clear from its name: it gathered spiritual energy. Lu Ye activated his spiritual power and constructed this Spirit Mark in his palm. As the intricate pattern appeared, the ambient spiritual energy in the room converged towards his palm, subsequently drawing in spiritual energy from outside.

Lu Ye waited for a moment, but noticed little change in the ambient spiritual energy within the room. Perhaps the Spirit Mark he had constructed wasn't large enough or didn't last long enough. If he could construct a Spirit Mark large enough to cover the entire room, or even the entire trading post, its effect on gathering spiritual energy would likely be remarkable. But even if he could sustain such a massive Spirit Mark with his spiritual power, doing so would be pointless. His body wasn't efficient at absorbing spiritual energy, so no matter how dense the external spiritual energy became, it wouldn't be very useful to him.

"Useless!" Lu Ye grumbled inwardly, feeling a pang of disappointment. Both Sharp Edge and Guardian provided significant help in combat, so he had high hopes for this third Spirit Mark. Yet, it turned out to be such an impractical one.

However, compared to Sharp Edge and Guardian, the Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark consumed very little spiritual power. A Spirit Mark of similar size would only cost about a tenth of what Guardian required, and it seemed capable of being maintained for a long time. Both Sharp Edge and Guardian had short durations, so Lu Ye had to time their use carefully in combat. While he could maintain them for longer, the spiritual power consumption would increase significantly. Spirit Gathering, however, was different. While it gathered ambient spiritual energy, it also replenished itself. Therefore, once constructed, it would persist indefinitely unless Lu Ye deliberately dispersed it.

It wasn't entirely useless. If a large enough Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark were constructed within a sect's base, the ambient spiritual energy there would become increasingly dense.

Yiyi watched the scene from the side, a little astonished. Three nights ago, she had witnessed Lu Ye casually construct an inexplicable Spirit Mark. Tonight, she saw it again, and these two Spirit Marks were completely different. Yiyi wasn't sure about the purpose of the previous Spirit Mark, but this one clearly served to gather ambient spiritual energy. Who exactly was this guy? His cultivation wasn't high, yet his understanding of Spirit Marks was so profound. One had to remember that such mastery required immense time and effort. It seemed he truly was connected to some important figure from a major sect.

It must be said that Yiyi's thoughts were straying further and further. She was also intelligent; she simply pretended not to see certain things that shouldn't be questioned. This made Lu Ye quite relieved; otherwise, he would have had to reconsider their partnership.

Meanwhile, Lu Ye had already dispersed the Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark. He then took off his upper garment, drew his long saber, and began practicing his slashes. Dahu had to retreat to a corner to avoid accidental injury. Slash after slash, Lu Ye practiced diligently.

The night passed, and at dawn, Lu Ye descended from the third floor to the first-floor hall. He found a manager of the Heavenly Mystery Alliance and traded two pieces of primordium magnetic ore. He still had fourteen pieces of primordium magnetic ore, all quite large, with the biggest one being the size of a washbasin. He didn't trade too many, to avoid encountering someone like Liu Ruyin again. In any case, along his journey, he would encounter many branch trading posts of the Heavenly Mystery Alliance. Selling the ores piecemeal would mitigate some risks. When he had previously left Qingyun Market, he wouldn't have risked selling over a dozen pieces of primordium magnetic ore if he hadn't been in a hurry to buy a detailed map. Such an action would genuinely make one an easy target.

The two pieces of primordium magnetic ore yielded 103 spirit stones. This time, he didn't buy Spirit Nourishing Pills, choosing instead to save the spirit stones. The current stock of Spirit Nourishing Pills was more than enough for him to reach the third level of the Spirit Stream Realm, so there was no need to accumulate more. As for saving spirit stones... it was because he intended to accumulate a large sum for another purpose.

Just as he stepped out of the Heavenly Mystery Alliance, a male cultivator with a sharp chin and sunken cheeks approached him, greeting him with a wide smile: "Greetings, fellow Daoist!"

Lu Ye frowned, looking at him. Beside him, Dahu stepped forward, emitting a threatening growl. The cultivator's smile instantly stiffened, and he hastily retreated two steps. "Please calm down, fellow Daoist, I mean no harm. I merely wish to discuss a business proposition with you." Lu Ye observed the spiritual glow around the man, confirming he was only at the second level of the Spirit Stream Realm. Furthermore, the purity of his spiritual glow was below average, indicating his combat prowess was likely subpar.

Seeing Lu Ye and Dahu staring at him, the cultivator felt a tingle on his scalp. He forced a smile and said, "It's truly just about a business deal."

"Move aside!" Lu Ye said flatly, his hand resting on the hilt of the saber at his waist. He led Dahu straight forward. The man quickly stepped out of the way but didn't give up. Perhaps thinking Lu Ye wouldn't do anything to him here, he chased after Lu Ye and said, "Fellow Daoist, I have a set of cultivation-assisting techniques. If you use them, your cultivation efficiency will at least double, perfectly suited for cultivators of your level. Are you interested, fellow Daoist?"