Chapter 175: Stationing Location

After spending some time clearing the weeds around the training rooms, Lu Ye found one that looked decent enough and pushed open the door to enter.

Although the area was deserted and unmaintained, it was a place the Bi-Blood Sect had invested heavily in building. After all, it was crucial for their disciples' cultivation, so they couldn't be careless. Therefore, each training room here was enveloped by a formation, making it impossible for non-Bi-Blood Sect disciples to enter.

However, because they hadn't been used for a very long time, these formations had long since ceased to function.

He looked around; the room wasn't large, had no superfluous decorations, and only showed traces of a formation on the floor.

It was a Spirit Gathering Formation, designed to gather the spiritual energy of the four directions and enhance cultivation efficiency.

What's more, there were eight grooves around the Spirit Gathering Formation. If spirit stones were placed in these grooves, the spiritual energy concentration within the room would be further increased.

The spiritual energy in every sect's stronghold was denser than in the wilderness. Taking the Bi-Blood Sect's stronghold as an example, the spiritual energy here was about 10% denser than in the wild.

This wasn't a significant increase, as it was only the most basic enhancement. As long as the Heavenly Secret Pillar was active, this improvement would be present throughout the area it covered.

This was also why rogue cultivators gathered at the Bi-Blood Sect's stronghold: the spiritual energy here was richer.

However, if a sect was destroyed, its ownerless Heavenly Secret Pillars would lose this effect. For instance, at Mount Ying, where Lu Ye once stayed, there was also a Heavenly Secret Pillar, but the spiritual energy there was no different from the wilderness.

The 10% increase was merely the most basic. With enough merit points, one could purchase additional enchantments from the Heavenly Secret, which were powers of the Heavenly Secret that could further enrich the stronghold's spiritual energy.

For example, the top powers in the core regions had strongholds where the spiritual energy was several times, even more than a dozen times, denser than in the wilderness. Cultivating in such environments would undoubtedly be far more efficient.

The Bi-Blood Sect's Heavenly Secret Pillar had no enchantments whatsoever; it only provided its most basic function.

Fortunately, there was still the Spirit Gathering Formation in the training rooms.

This was also why his Second Senior Sister said it would be better to cultivate inside the stronghold.

The Spirit Gathering Formation beneath Lu Ye's feet was not active, as it had long lost its energy supply. He didn't rush to activate it, but instead examined the formation's patterns.

Half an hour later, he concluded that the patterns of the Spirit Gathering Formation were 80% similar to his own Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark. They could be said to originate from the same source; in fact, his Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark was essentially a small Spirit Gathering Formation.

Taking out eight spirit stones, Lu Ye placed them in the eight grooves of the Spirit Gathering Formation. He then went to the center of the formation, pressed his hand down, and activated it with his spiritual power.

As his spiritual energy was continuously consumed, the formation in the room began to operate. Lu Ye could clearly feel the surrounding spiritual energy surging in.

In just a short while, the spiritual energy inside the room became noticeably denser than outside.

This was not only due to the Spirit Gathering Formation accumulating ambient spiritual energy but also the effect of the spiritual energy from the spirit stones in the eight grooves being activated.

However, this amplification had a limit. Lu Ye felt that once the spiritual energy in the room increased by about 20%, it stopped intensifying. Even if the Spirit Gathering Formation gathered more spiritual energy, it would dissipate outwards if not absorbed.

Lu Ye pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and pressed it against a wall. As his spiritual energy was rapidly consumed, a massive Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark was constructed.

The influx of spiritual energy became even more intense.

He had considered this possibility when he first obtained the Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark: if it were large enough, it should have a significant effect. Now, it was finally confirmed.

Moreover, because the Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark itself continuously absorbed spiritual energy to replenish itself, it could be maintained indefinitely as long as it wasn't deliberately destroyed. It differed from the Spirit Gathering Formation, which operated by consuming spirit stones and simultaneously activating the spiritual energy within them, which cultivators would then absorb.

He briefly sensed his condition; his spiritual energy was heavily depleted, as he had never constructed such a large Spirit Gathering Formation before. However, he could still create one more.

Soon, a second Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark appeared on the wall, and Lu Ye immediately felt almost completely drained.

But the effort was worth it; the surge of spiritual energy grew even stronger.

Now, in this small training room, there was one active Spirit Gathering Formation and two Spirit Gathering Spirit Marks. Lu Ye was eager to find out what effect cultivating in this environment would have.

He took a meditation mat from his storage bag, placed it on the ground, sat cross-legged, and began constructing small funnels in his spiritual apertures.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all sixty-four spiritual apertures were imbued with Spirit Gathering Spirit Marks.

Instantly, Lu Ye felt the surrounding spiritual energy surge wildly into his body, where it was transformed into his own spiritual power through the circulation of his cultivation technique.

His greatly depleted body quickly began to recover.

Three hours later, Lu Ye rose again and constructed another large Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark on the third wall of the training room.

The spirit gathering effect improved once more!

He perceived the changes in his own spiritual energy.

He ultimately reached a surprising conclusion: cultivating in this environment yielded an improvement equivalent to refining five spirit pills in one day and night!

He had discovered the wondrous effect of the Spirit Gathering Spirit Mark when he had twenty-nine apertures. At that time, he had tried imbuing all twenty-nine of his apertures with Spirit Gathering Spirit Marks, concluding that one day and night of cultivation was roughly equivalent to refining one Spirit Accumulation Pill.

Now, he had sixty-four open apertures, more than double the twenty-nine, and the cultivation environment had also significantly changed, leading to a substantial increase in cultivation efficiency.

After reaching the fifth level of the Spirit Stream Realm, it usually took him over twenty spirit pills to open one aperture. In other words, even without consuming spirit pills, cultivating in this environment would allow him to open an aperture in just four or five days.

If he could consume spirit pills, the efficiency would undoubtedly be even greater.

Currently, the spiritual energy in the Bi-Blood Sect stronghold was only about 10% denser than in the wilderness, and the Heavenly Secret Pillar had no enchantments. What if the Heavenly Secret Pillar could receive more enchantments, making the stronghold's spiritual energy twice, three times, or even five to ten times denser than in the wild?

Just thinking about it filled Lu Ye with longing!

He needed to quickly find a way to restore his Talent Tree's ability to burn off pill toxins, and also figure out how to add more enchantments to the Heavenly Secret Pillar!

For the former, he planned to search the Heavenly Secret Treasury, where he should be able to find something. As for the latter, he had no clue and would need to consult his Fourth Senior Brother, as these details weren't mentioned in the jade slip his Fourth Senior Brother gave him.

His depleted spiritual energy had fully recovered, and Lu Ye was now attempting to break through to his sixty-fifth aperture.

However, before he could break through the barrier of his sixty-fifth aperture, a message came through his battlefield mark. He looked down to check and saw that it was from his Second Senior Sister.

"Your Fourth Senior Brother is looking for you!"

Under normal circumstances, communication between the Nine Provinces and the Spirit Stream Battlefield was impossible because they existed in different spaces. However, Lu Ye was the Bi-Blood Sect's Garrison Envoy, and his Second Senior Sister was the Bi-Blood Sect's Seal Master, allowing them to exchange messages.

Only then did Lu Ye remember that he had been so immersed in his cultivation here that he had completely forgotten his appointment with his Fourth Senior Brother.

He wondered what his Fourth Senior Brother wanted to teach him.

Sending a message back, Lu Ye ended his cultivation.

The eight spirit stones were almost completely depleted, but Lu Ye paid them no mind. He pushed open the door, stepped out, closed the door tightly, and then used his authority as a Garrison Envoy to activate the nearby formations.

This would be his exclusive cultivation spot from now on, and no one would be able to enter at will.

He strolled to the Heavenly Secret Hall and saw someone sitting idly by the entrance, meditating.

The sound of footsteps startled the person, who quickly opened his eyes. Seeing Lu Ye, his expression brightened: "Is that Fellow Daoist Lu Ye of the Bi-Blood Sect?"

"That's right," Lu Ye replied, assessing the man, who was at the third level. He frowned and asked, "Is something wrong?"

The man quickly said, "Senior Brother Chen Yu is looking for Fellow Daoist Lu. He wishes to discuss matters concerning the market."

"The market?" Lu Ye was puzzled. Why would they need to discuss market matters with him? But he quickly realized that this market had been established for many years, attracting a large number of rogue cultivators. All that was missing was the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance to set up here. However, since his arrival, the situation for these rogue cultivators had become awkward. They were reluctant to leave, yet staying felt improper, as this was, after all, the Bi-Blood Sect's stronghold, which was now actively managed, unlike before.

"Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist Lu. I'll have Senior Brother Chen come right away," the man said, preparing to send a message.

"I have something else to do, we can discuss this later," Lu Ye said, eager to return to the sect. He didn't have the leisure to wait here, and he wasn't sure how to handle such matters, so it would be best to consult his senior brothers and sisters.

The man dutifully asked, "When will Fellow Daoist Lu return? I will have Senior Brother Chen wait here for you."

"Tomorrow!" Lu Ye replied, then used the Heavenly Secret Pillar to return to his sect.

Leaving the Heavenly Secret Hall, he followed the aroma to the dining room, where the table was already laden with delicious food. The mere scent made his mouth water.

These dishes were not merely for satisfying hunger; they were medicinal meals specially prepared by his Second Senior Sister, each with unique effects.

Lu Ye was surprised to find that there were an unusual number of dishes today.

Li Baxian was already seated, sometimes gorging himself on food, sometimes taking a large gulp of strong liquor. Seeing Lu Ye return, he enthusiastically called out, "Little Junior Brother, quickly sit down and try the fish I caught!"

Lu Ye sat down, picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, and took a bite. It was unexpectedly delicious.

Li Baxian chuckled, "The Blood-Red Trout from Moon Lake used to be for disciples' body refinement, with each disciple getting a fixed quota. But now, you can eat as much as you want. I'm telling you, if you ever run short on spirit stones, just go to Moon Lake and catch a few. Selling each one for dozens or even a hundred spirit stones is no problem."

"Cough, cough, cough..." Lu Ye coughed violently, never imagining this item would be so expensive.

"Also, Little Grey loves this stuff. When you go back to the stronghold, bring it two. It's been left unattended for so many years; it's quite pitiful."

"Got it," Lu Ye nodded.

"Little Junior Brother, do you drink?" Before Li Baxian could finish his sentence, he felt a sharp gaze from across the table and quickly changed his words: "You're still young, so don't drink. And when you're out, be careful not to get drunk by those dissolute women and be tricked into various positions."

Lu Ye: ...