Chapter 24: The Joy of Drug-Based Cultivation

The Master was unaware of his situation, but Lu Ye knew his own affairs best.

Not only had he gradually taken thirty doses of Qi and Blood Pill residue from Manager Yang over the past year, but he had also consumed two to three hundred doses during his ten-plus days in the cave.

Under normal circumstances, consuming so much pill residue would undoubtedly pose significant risks to his health.

Yet the Master had said his spirit power was relatively pure?

The Master surely wouldn't make such a mistake. Lu Ye didn't know the extent of his cultivation, but as the head of a ninth-grade sect, he should at least be at the Cloud River Realm.

In other words, there was likely nothing wrong with his spirit power.

But then, what was the anomaly? Lu Ye immediately thought of the Divine Tree of Talent. He had vaguely felt in the mining cave that the Divine Tree of Talent was more than just a carrier for spirit patterns. Now, it seemed certain that his spirit power's purity was also related to the Divine Tree of Talent; otherwise, his current situation was inexplicable.

This was not something he could explicitly tell the Master. After a moment's thought, Lu Ye asked, "Master, if too much pill toxicity accumulates and spirit power becomes murky and unclear, how should one resolve it?"

"Naturally, one must pause cultivation and slowly dissolve the pill toxicity, which takes a lot of time," he replied. "Therefore, over-reliance on spirit pills for cultivation not only fails to increase cultivation speed but can also have adverse effects. However, you needn't worry; it's perfectly fine to use pills appropriately as an aid. The key is to grasp the right balance."

"This disciple understands."

"Hmm, your current cultivation level is still shallow, so it's understandable to use pills for cultivation. However, since you possess Spirit Cultivation Pills, why do you not use them, instead relying on Qi and Blood Pills to refine vitality into spirit energy? You should know that while both types of spirit pills can aid cultivation, the latter's primary function is to replenish qi and blood, strengthening the foundation."

Lu Ye was startled. "This disciple doesn't recognize Spirit Cultivation Pills..."

Just now, he had habitually taken out the Qi and Blood Pills to consume, only thinking of quickly recovering his spirit energy and breaking through the spirit aperture barrier, without much further thought.

Elder Tang chuckled in surprise, pushing a bottle towards him. "These are Spirit Cultivation Pills. Although they are the lowest grade, their quality is acceptable, and they are suitable for your use."

Lu Ye poured out a pill from the bottle, examining the Spirit Cultivation Pill's appearance. He realized that Manager Yang indeed had Spirit Cultivation Pills; he had seen such pills in Manager Yang's storage bag before but hadn't dared to consume them randomly.

Now, with the Master's guidance, he had no worries. He swallowed the Spirit Cultivation Pill in his hand and calmly began to refine it.

"After consuming a spirit pill, you must guide its medicinal power to prevent accumulation and future complications," the Master's voice rang in his ears. This was also why he had just said that the lowest-grade Spirit Cultivation Pills were suitable for Lu Ye. With Lu Ye's current cultivation, having opened only one aperture, if he were to consume a pill of too high a quality, the concentrated medicinal power would inevitably be too much to guide in time. If excessive medicinal power accumulated in his body, it would greatly impact his cultivation.

Lu Ye heeded the Master's words and acted accordingly.

A warm current slowly surged within his lower abdomen; it was the medicinal power of the Spirit Cultivation Pill being released and converting into usable spirit energy for a cultivator.

Guided by Lu Ye, the spirit energy transformed from the pill's power gradually poured into his primary spirit aperture.

His primary spirit aperture, which had been almost dry, gradually became full.

The efficacy of this Spirit Cultivation Pill was far superior to the Qi and Blood Pill residue he had consumed before!

Spirit Cultivation Pills were inherently more suitable for cultivation than Qi and Blood Pills. What Lu Ye had consumed previously was merely residue from failed alchemical attempts by cultivators of the Evil Moon Valley, which also required an additional process of refining vitality into spirit energy. Naturally, there was no comparison.

Only at this moment did he truly experience the joy of cultivating with pills!

In less than half a day, his nearly depleted primary spirit aperture was full again, and the Spirit Cultivation Pill's medicinal power continued to work.

Lu Ye quickly guided the spirit energy from his primary spirit aperture, repeatedly pushing it towards the barrier of the second spirit aperture.

Until at one point, he vaguely felt something shatter within him, and the spirit energy that had been blocked suddenly flowed freely.

The second spirit aperture opened!

The spirit energy, overflowing from his primary spirit aperture, gently flowed into the second spirit aperture. Lu Ye felt a sense of ease both physically and mentally.

The Spirit Cultivation Pill's medicinal effects still lingered. After a long while, sensing that the pill's effects were completely exhausted, Lu Ye opened his eyes. Just as he was about to share the good news with the Master, the Master's figure was nowhere to be seen.

He had left at some unknown time.

Lu Ye didn't mind. As the sect master, he had his own affairs to attend to. Besides, the Master had already helped him locate the next few spirit apertures, so all he needed to do was proceed systematically with his cultivation.

Lu Ye's goal was to open those spirit apertures as quickly as possible, guiding spirit energy through them according to the cultivation technique's pathways to reach the Spirit Creek Realm. Only then would he truly be considered an initiated cultivator.

Intending to test if his previous conjecture about the Divine Tree of Talent was correct, Lu Ye didn't stop. He took another Spirit Cultivation Pill and consumed it.

The concentrated medicinal power transformed into spirit energy, which Lu Ye guided into his spirit apertures. Two days later, after consuming approximately six Spirit Cultivation Pills in total, the second aperture was full.

Lu Ye was astonished by this speed.

One must know that it had taken him more than ten days to go from opening his first aperture to having it full. Yet, the same progress now only took two days, a colossal difference.

The efficacy of Spirit Cultivation Pills was indeed incomparable to the residue, even if these were the lowest quality Spirit Cultivation Pills.

He then thought of Yu Xiaodie.

Yu Xiaodie had told him that it took her over twenty days to go from opening her first aperture to having it full, and she had also consumed Spirit Cultivation Pills given to her by a cultivator from Evil Moon Valley.

In comparison, Lu Ye's cultivation speed was clearly abnormal.

He was certain that all of this was greatly related to the Divine Tree of Talent, but he currently had no way to investigate the exact nature of this relationship.

In any case, this was a good thing for him. Perhaps when his cultivation became stronger in the future, he would gradually uncover the secrets of the Divine Tree of Talent.

The Master still hadn't reappeared. Although Lu Ye had cultivated for two days, he didn't feel tired, only incredibly hungry.

Ever since he successfully opened his apertures, his appetite had greatly increased. He had noticed this when he was in the mining cave. However, for his current age, a good appetite was beneficial; the more he ate, the more abundant his qi and blood energy would be.

It wasn't convenient to go out to find food. Fortunately, Zhou Cheng's storage bag still contained some provisions. Lu Ye wasn't particular; he took them out and ate and drank with plain water.

After eating and drinking his fill, Lu Ye continued his cultivation.

Half a day later, the barrier of the third spirit aperture shattered.

After another two-plus days, the third aperture was full.

It still consumed six Spirit Cultivation Pills.

He wanted to continue cultivating, but as soon as he relaxed, a wave of weariness washed over him. He knew this meant he had been cultivating for too long, so he reluctantly decided to rest first.

Taking out bedding from his storage bag, Lu Ye lay down and quickly fell into a deep sleep.