Chapter 23: Ling Aperture Barrier and Residue (Thanks to the Clan Leader's Reward from Glass Tank's Idle Fish)

"Has Xuantian Sect never taught you these things before?"

After some conversation, Elder Tang realized Lu Ye had only a rudimentary understanding of cultivation basics, which struck him as a bit odd.

Lu Ye found it difficult to explain the truth, so he could only say, "When I was younger, I was ignorant and mischievous. Although the elders in the sect tried to teach me, I didn't pay attention."

Elder Tang chuckled, "That's alright. You're still young; just cultivate diligently from now on."

"Yes."

Elder Tang raised a hand and extended a finger towards Lu Ye's lower abdomen. "Your first spiritual aperture is currently full. If you wish to open the second, then calm your mind and feel it!"

Lu Ye immediately sat up straight and focused.

As Elder Tang's finger touched him, Lu Ye immediately sensed an external force entering his body. It was Elder Tang's spiritual power, but it was very gentle, so it wouldn't cause Lu Ye any harm.

That power flowed through Lu Ye's Prime Spiritual Aperture and slowly gathered at a spot near it. Lu Ye was very familiar with this location; it was precisely the second spiritual aperture for cultivating the Golden Cicada Freedom Art. He had tried to find its exact position several times before but failed, yet Elder Tang achieved it with ease.

This was the benefit of joining a sect and having elders guide one's cultivation. In the early stages of cultivation, it saved a significant amount of effort and time that would otherwise be spent on self-discovery. The initial period of cultivation was the most valuable time for cultivators; starting faster than others at this stage undoubtedly provided a greater advantage in future cultivation.

"This is the second spiritual aperture of the Golden Cicada Freedom Art. You can try to guide your own spiritual power into it," Elder Tang's voice rang out.

Lu Ye promptly put it into action.

Under his guidance, the spiritual power filling his Prime Spiritual Aperture slowly flowed towards the second spiritual aperture. However, he clearly sensed a barrier outside the second aperture preventing the spiritual power from entering.

"Every spiritual aperture has an aperture barrier. Only by breaking this barrier can you successfully open the aperture. This is something others cannot help you with; you must rely on yourself."

With Elder Tang's cultivation level, he could naturally help Lu Ye easily break through the aperture barrier. However, doing so would very likely cause irreversible damage to Lu Ye's spiritual apertures. Therefore, all he could do was guide Lu Ye to the aperture's location, not open it for him.

Lu Ye had just learned about the existence of aperture barriers. He had opened his Prime Spiritual Aperture with the help of the Talent Tree. Recalling that time, he vaguely remembered hearing something break inside his body. Now it seemed that what had broken was likely the barrier of his Prime Spiritual Aperture.

Elder Tang's spiritual power didn't linger; it continued to flow within Lu Ye's body. Breaking an aperture barrier wasn't something that happened in an instant. He had already helped Lu Ye locate the second spiritual aperture; the rest depended on Lu Ye's own efforts.

A moment later, Elder Tang withdrew his hand and said, "Following the cultivation path of the Golden Cicada Freedom Art, I've left some guiding spiritual power in the next eight spiritual apertures within your body. Whenever you open a preceding aperture, you'll be able to sense the location of the next. The day you open all eight apertures, guide your spiritual power through your Prime Spiritual Aperture and these eight apertures according to the cultivation path, and you will naturally form the Spiritual Stream Realm."

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

Elder Tang smiled faintly. "You should cultivate. Our journey to Aoshan will still take some time."

"Yes," Lu Ye replied. Without changing his spot, he immediately began to cultivate.

With the Sect Master present, if any issues arose during his cultivation, he could ask the Sect Master for guidance.

Now that the location of the second spiritual aperture was confirmed, a surge of determination rose within Lu Ye. He activated the spiritual power in his Prime Spiritual Aperture and directed it to impact the barrier of the second spiritual aperture.

Lu Ye didn't know what the barrier was made of, but he felt that with each impact, it loosened slightly.

However, the sensation of impacting the barrier was not pleasant. Each time he condensed spiritual power to strike, it felt as if a small hammer was pounding the location of the spiritual aperture.

One or two times was fine, but after repeated attempts, a dull ache and swelling began to emerge around the second spiritual aperture.

Furthermore, each impact on the barrier consumed some spiritual power. Lu Ye finally understood why the Sect Master had said that opening apertures would become relatively easier as one's cultivation improved in the early stages.

If spiritual apertures were likened to water buckets, and spiritual power to the water contained within them, Lu Ye currently only had one bucket of water. If he had two or three buckets, he would have more spiritual power available, and the speed of opening apertures would naturally be faster, perhaps even allowing him to break through the aperture barrier in one go.

After less than half an hour, Lu Ye could no longer muster his own spiritual power; the water in his bucket was nearly depleted.

He took out a bottle of Qi-Blood Pills from Zhou Cheng's storage bag and was about to take two of them.

"You've been using this to aid your cultivation all along?" Elder Tang's voice rang out.

Lu Ye quickly replied, "That's right!" Seeing the strange expression on Elder Tang's face, his heart sank. "Sect Master, is there something wrong with these Qi-Blood Pills?"

Elder Tang frowned, "Did the people from Evil Moon Valley tell you these were Qi-Blood Pills?"

"These aren't Qi-Blood Pills?" Lu Ye was astonished. He had consumed these items before, and they indeed increased his vital energy. If not Qi-Blood Pills, what were they?

Elder Tang reached out and took Zhou Cheng's storage bag. He rummaged through it, taking out various bottles and jars, examining each one. Then he placed one particular bottle in front of Lu Ye. "This is the Qi-Blood Pill."

Lu Ye picked up the bottle and looked at it, noticing that the spiritual pills inside were very different from the Qi-Blood Pills he had been consuming. He had inspected these items before, but since he didn't recognize them, he hadn't dared to take them rashly.

Who would have thought that what he believed to be Qi-Blood Pills were not Qi-Blood Pills at all, and that the true Qi-Blood Pills were something else entirely.

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

"The dregs from refining Qi-Blood Pills," Elder Tang explained. "Spiritual pills aren't always successfully refined. If the refining fails, you get dregs. Dregs usually have no effect, but some might retain a bit of medicinal efficacy. This is what's left after a failed Qi-Blood Pill refinement."

After listening to Elder Tang's explanation, Lu Ye's face turned as dark as a pot's bottom. He finally understood why he always tasted a burnt flavor when taking what he thought were Qi-Blood Pills before. He had assumed it was the inherent taste of the pills, but now it was clear that wasn't the case at all. What he had consumed were merely dregs, and it was inevitable they would have an odd taste.

"Why would cultivators from Evil Moon Valley carry these dregs?" Elder Tang wondered.

"They were for us mine slaves to consume," Lu Ye explained, then recounted the contribution exchange system at the mine.

Elder Tang understood, and put away the dregs. "Do not consume this. It will affect your future cultivation."

Lu Ye immediately tensed up. "What kind of effect will it have?"

"Even medicine has its toxins," Elder Tang replied. "The spiritual pills we use for cultivation also contain pill toxins. The lower the quality of the spiritual pill, the stronger the pill toxins. Not to mention failed refinement dregs, which have the most potent pill toxins. Therefore, while spiritual pills can aid cultivation, one should not rely on them too much. If too many spiritual pills are consumed, and pill toxins accumulate excessively in the body, it can lead to spiritual power becoming sluggish and techniques becoming ineffective, or in severe cases, even undermine one's foundation and damage cultivation."

Lu Ye felt a chill in his heart upon hearing this. He had, after all, consumed two to three hundred of those Qi-Blood Pill dregs. According to the Sect Master, wasn't he doomed?

He swallowed hard and asked nervously, "Sect Master, is there a standard for taking spiritual pills to aid cultivation? How can one tell how many pill toxins have accumulated in their body?"

Elder Tang said, "Observe your spiritual power. As I just mentioned, once pill toxins accumulate excessively, your spiritual power will become sluggish and unclear. The purer our cultivators' spiritual power is, the more advantageous it is for combat and cultivation; conversely, it's detrimental. I just observed that your spiritual power is still quite pure, so you don't need to worry too much."

When he had just helped Lu Ye locate the second aperture, his spiritual power had flowed through Lu Ye's Prime Spiritual Aperture, giving him a clear understanding of Lu Ye's spiritual power condition.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ye's mood couldn't help but become strange.