Chapter 59: The Secret of the Talent Tree

When Lu Ye wasn't deliberately investigating, he felt nothing, but if he did, he could clearly perceive the existence of the Talent Tree.

This miraculous tree was rooted in his Origin Aperture.

The medicinal energy of the Spirit Accumulation Pill dissolved in his abdomen, transforming into spiritual power. Lu Ye simultaneously focused his mind to guide the medicinal energy into his spiritual apertures while observing the Talent Tree.

The spiritual power obtained from converting medicinal energy was not directly injected into a specific spiritual aperture; it first had to pass through the Origin Aperture. For instance, since Lu Ye's twenty-first aperture was not yet full, the spiritual power he converted from the Spirit Accumulation Pill needed to pass through the Origin Aperture before flowing into the twenty-first aperture. If a spiritual aperture was too far from the Origin Aperture, it might even require transit through several other spiritual apertures.

However, without exception, the Origin Aperture was always the starting point for receiving spiritual power. This is why the first spiritual aperture to be opened was called the Origin Aperture, and it was also a cultivator's most crucial aperture.

In Lu Ye's understanding, the Origin Aperture was similar to the Dantian of martial arts masters.

On that note, the Origin Aperture was indeed located in the Dantian area. Furthermore, the spiritual apertures opened by lower-level cultivation techniques were all near the Origin Aperture, so they didn't require much transit, only passing through the Origin Aperture itself.

Lu Ye had never thoroughly investigated before, but this time, with intentional focus, he was surprised to discover that the spiritual power converted from the Spirit Accumulation Pill's energy seemed less pure than his own spiritual power. This converted spiritual power was subtly mixed with something indescribable, something that should be harmful to him.

"Are these pill toxins?" a thought emerged in Lu Ye's mind.

His sect master had mentioned this to him before: all medicine has some toxicity, not to mention the spiritual pills consumed by cultivators. The lower the quality of the spiritual pill, the more potent the pill toxins. Therefore, cultivators needed to find ways to neutralize pill toxins after taking pills for cultivation, otherwise, it would leave hidden dangers.

The less pure spiritual power flowed into the Origin Aperture, and then, after transiting through it, into the twenty-first aperture. But then something miraculous happened: the spiritual power flowing into the twenty-first aperture contained no trace of pill toxins; it had become as pure as the spiritual power in his other apertures.

Lu Ye acutely noticed this, confirming that the change in spiritual power occurred within the Origin Aperture.

He quickly directed most of his attention into his Origin Aperture, observing closely, and soon discovered its mystery.

The Talent Tree rooted in his Origin Aperture had grown roots, seemingly absorbing the spiritual power from the Origin Aperture. This power then flowed through the tree's trunk before being released, and after this process, the less pure spiritual power became refined.

Throughout this process, gray wisps of energy continuously emanated from the Talent Tree's trunk, like ashes after a burning.

Indeed, the problem lay with the Talent Tree!

From what he observed, the Talent Tree appeared to have the ability to purify spiritual power; all the pill toxins were burned away by it.

Lu Ye then recalled something else: ever since he began cultivating by opening apertures, he would feel uncomfortable after each cultivation session, as if covered in a layer of dust.

This sensation became even more pronounced after he entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield and had an ample supply of Spirit Accumulation Pills.

Conversely, during a period when he lacked Spirit Accumulation Pills and was cultivating by refining essence into Qi, this phenomenon did not occur.

Connecting all these observations, Lu Ye suddenly understood.

The Talent Tree had the function of purifying spiritual power. All the pill toxins from his pill-aided cultivation were burned away by the Talent Tree, which meant his cultivation with pills had no hidden dangers. The burned pill toxins couldn't just vanish; they were expelled from his body, leading to that sensation of being covered in dust after each cultivation session.

Everything was now clear, and Lu Ye's previous conjectures were confirmed, though it wasn't a big surprise.

However, having understood all this, he would no longer feel much psychological pressure when cultivating with pills in the future.

Relaxing his mind, Lu Ye continued to guide the medicinal energy in his abdomen, and the spiritual power in his twenty-first aperture gradually increased.

Yi Yi had been anxiously watching him, but seeing that he had no further abnormalities, she couldn't help but fall asleep. Heaven knew how a spirit body could sleep...

She was awakened by the sound of rushing wind. When she opened her eyes, the sky was already bright, and the nearby bonfire had long since burned out. Not far away, Lu Ye, shirtless, held a knife in one hand and continuously swung it. Each movement was not fast, but his expression was meticulous.

"Is this guy made of iron?" Yi Yi's eye twitched.

In fact, Lu Ye had slept for three hours last night. While cultivators' physiques were stronger than mortals', they still needed rest, especially low-level cultivators like him who hadn't completely transcended the mortal realm.

However, he knew the road ahead was fraught with difficulties, so he was unwilling to waste any time.

By the time Lu Ye finished his morning cultivation, Yi Yi and Big Tiger had already gathered enough firewood and lit it. Lu Ye then took a section of snake body from his storage bag and tossed it to them to prepare.

After eating and drinking their fill, the group continued their journey.

The journey was not as pleasant as imagined. Amidst the bumpy ride, Lu Ye swallowed a Spirit Accumulation Pill. He wanted to try cultivating on the tiger's back; if he couldn't solve this problem, he would waste a lot of time.

Along the way, they occasionally encountered some low-level cultivators in a hurry, but Big Tiger avoided them beforehand. Those cultivators, upon seeing Big Tiger's figure from afar, would not provoke him unless they were senseless, let alone the fact that they might not even be able to catch up.

When night fell, they, as usual, found a suitable place to rest.

They ate snake meat, practiced with the knife, and then cultivated with pills.

Progress was good today. Although Lu Ye still felt the tiger's back was bumpy, he could at least begin cultivating, though the efficiency was a bit low.

At dawn, Lu Ye took out his detailed map and, comparing his current location with his starting point, determined his direction of travel and his nearest destination.

After riding Big Tiger for two days, he was still within the Qingyun Mountain range, indicating the vastness of this mountain range.

Another day later, in the evening, Lu Ye looked at a market town not far away, letting out a long breath. His nearest destination had been reached.

On the detailed map, this place was marked as Qingyun Market Town Five.

Lu Ye rode Big Tiger into the market town, attracting considerable attention.

He had seen cultivators accompanied by demonic beasts when he was at Qingyun Market Town Three, but those beasts were all unruly and rough, nowhere near as magnificent as Big Tiger.

Lu Ye had considered leaving Big Tiger outside to wait for him, but Big Tiger's strength wasn't actually very high, and the area was unfamiliar. If it accidentally trespassed into another demonic beast's territory, it might suffer a loss.

After much thought, he decided to bring Big Tiger inside with him.

He intended to rest here for the night.

It must be said that Big Tiger's presence was quite intimidating, and many timid cultivators kept a wide berth from Lu Ye.

About half an hour later, Lu Ye arrived at the Heavenly Mystery Merchant Guild in this market town. He had no spirit stones, but the Guild accepted spiritual pills as payment. So, after Lu Ye paid one Spirit Accumulation Pill, he was led by a Guild member to a guest room on the third floor.

The room wasn't too large, but it was quiet. Big Tiger lay resting on the floor. Lu Ye fed it a Spirit Accumulation Pill, and Yi Yi, who had been cooped up for a while, came out to stretch.

Lu Ye, meanwhile, sat cross-legged on the bed, guiding the medicinal energy to impact the spiritual aperture barrier of his twenty-second aperture.