Chapter 392: What Exactly Is It About

Hearing him speak so freely, Mi Li looked utterly bewildered.

After a moment, Mi Li finally had enough and interrupted him directly. "We cultivators all strive to pursue the Heavenly Dao and achieve immortality. How could you choose a path with such a limited ceiling right from the start?"

Mi Li was clearly furious.

Zu An shrugged it off. "The Heavenly Dao is elusive and intangible. Throughout history, countless cultivators have pursued it, but how many have truly found it? Even reaching the Grandmaster realm is incredibly difficult."

He had to admit, Old Man Mi was quite impressive, having already reached the Grandmaster realm. Zu An had initially thought he was only a ninth-grade cultivator.

Mi Li, frustrated by his lack of ambition, retorted, "That's the fate of the common masses! Can you be compared to them? You possess legendary, super-tier potential, you're young, you wield two divine cultivation techniques, you have skills acquired through various fortuitous encounters, and I am personally guiding you! How can your future achievements be the same as an ordinary person's?"

"Are you satisfied with merely reaching the Grandmaster realm? In my opinion, given your potential, if you only manage to cultivate to the Grandmaster realm, it would be the greatest waste of natural talent in human history."

Mi Li’s anger flared immensely.

Witnessing her escalating anger, Zu An clearly felt her deep displeasure. "It's not that exaggerated," he said. "Isn't Grandmaster also very impressive? Why do you make it sound like something worthless?"

He mused that if he were to methodically cultivate the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture, the elemental fruits required for each subsequent spell formation would be astronomical. Forget about reaching Grandmaster; even achieving ninth-grade felt like an impossible task.

Mi Li snorted coldly. "That's because your current perspective isn't high enough. Once you stand where I stand, you'll understand that a mere Grandmaster realm is truly nothing."

"Empress," Zu An asked curiously, "what realm are you in, exactly? You're speaking with such a lofty tone. Are you a Grand Grandmaster? Surely not an Earth Immortal?"

Mi Li huffed. "Knowing so much now won't help you."

Zu An pursed his lips and muttered, "Anyone can boast. You clearly said before that you couldn't defeat Old Man Mi."

Mi Li's eyebrows shot up. "What did you say?"

Zu An immediately offered a placating smile. "I didn't say anything! I meant to say that I'm content with modest gains and don't have such lofty aspirations. Let me first enjoy being a Grandmaster, and we can talk later."

"No, choose the second option!" Mi Li's tone, perhaps a remnant of her days as a high-ranking Empress, brooked no argument.

Zu An looked frustrated. "Since you've already decided, why did you even ask me in the first place?"

Mi Li huffed, "That was merely a test of your character."

"So, how did the test turn out?" Zu An asked with a grin. "Do you think I'm particularly open-minded and adaptable?"

"You're a hopeless case!" Mi Li glared fiercely at him.

Seeing his lazy demeanor, Mi Li felt irked. "Calm your mind and focus your spirit. I will seal Old Man Mi's cultivation for you."

"Can it not be sealed?" Zu An asked, a little reluctant, making one last effort.

Mi Li sneered, "What do you think?"

Without another word, she didn't bother to argue further. Her slender fingers moved directly to tap his acupuncture points.

A cool sensation entered his body. Unlike the icy coldness Old Man Mi had brought earlier, this coolness was surprisingly comfortable.

Zu An unconsciously relaxed his entire body...

"It's done!"

It was unclear how much time had passed when Mi Li's cold voice came from beside him, though there was a hint of weariness in her tone.

Zu An opened his eyes and looked at her. "Empress, are you alright?"

Mi Li huffed, "I'm not dead yet."

Zu An was speechless.

"Now, carefully sense your body and your cultivation," Mi Li asked urgently.

Zu An nodded and entered an introspective state. His body felt no discomfort whatsoever; in fact, it felt better than before.

Next, he examined the spell formations within his body and suddenly froze. Before, among the nine spell formations of the fourth-grade, even lighting up the first one had seemed far off. Now, all nine were illuminated.

Furthermore, nine new spell formations were faintly forming on his bones, and the first four of those had already fully lit up!

"I've actually reached fifth-grade, fourth-tier?" Zu An murmured to himself.

Mi Li huffed, "Old Man Mi's actual cultivation was Grandmaster-level, after all. Although most of it was sealed by me, the scattered remnants helping you advance one realm is nothing to be surprised about."

Zu An laughed awkwardly. "Mainly because of how you spoke before, it made me think I'd only get benefits in the distant future."

Mi Li rolled her eyes. "Oh, right. Since you're already at fifth-grade, quickly check what elemental ability you've awakened."

"Which elemental ability is the strongest?" Zu An asked curiously.

Mi Li said plainly, "Various abilities complement and counter each other. There's no such thing as 'the strongest.'"

"Of course, generally speaking, lightning and fire elements have the greatest attack power, ice excels at control, water and wood excel at healing, wind excels at speed, and earth and metal excel at defense. However, this isn't absolute. Every element has its formidable attack methods, as well as its defensive and recovery capabilities. Ultimately, it still depends on the cultivator's own power."

Zu An couldn't help but ask, "Are these the only elemental abilities?"

Mi Li shook her head. "Not entirely. It's just that most people belong to these common categories. Additionally, there are some rare elements, such as psychic, light, and dark. Legend also speaks of spatial and temporal elements, but they have always remained mere legends; no one has truly witnessed them."

Zu An clicked his tongue. "Those latter ones sound even more formidable."

"Not necessarily. It mainly depends on the person, though those latter elements do have advantages in certain aspects," Mi Li said, growing a little impatient. "Stop asking so many questions. First, tell me what element you are."

Zu An was a bit dumbfounded. "I don't know. How do I tell?"

Mi Li frowned. "Focus your mind and calm your spirit. Try to feel which element around you feels most familiar."

The academy had taught methods for sensing elements, so Zu An closed his eyes and tried. After a long moment, he opened his eyes, looking bewildered. "I don't feel any element is more familiar," he said. "They all feel about the same."

"No element? How is that possible?" Mi Li frowned deeply.

Zu An tried again, but it was indeed difficult to distinguish which element around him was most prominent.

Just as he was feeling disappointed, he suddenly remembered that every time his cultivation advanced a major realm, a strange bird would appear, bringing a new skill.

He quickly looked towards the fourth-grade spell formations. Sure enough, the lines of those formations had connected, forming a new, strange bird.

The strange bird was shaped like a titmouse but the size of a peacock, brilliantly colored in vivid red.

Beside it, in small seal script, were the characters "Hundred Chirps."

What was the use of this "Hundred Chirps"?

A little curious, he subconsciously summoned it. A vivid and dazzling strange bird flew out, then emitted a series of melodious sounds from its beak.

More beautiful than the most exquisite singing in the world, the sounds truly refreshed his mind and spirit.

But what exactly was the strange bird's function?

Does it just sing when summoned?

I might as well carry a tape recorder!

He hurriedly looked at Mi Li beside him. "Empress, did you hear anything?"

Mi Li did not answer him. Just as he was about to press her again, he suddenly noticed a hint of bewilderment in her eyes.

What was going on?

He couldn't help but wave his hand in front of her.

At this moment, Mi Li's eyes had regained clarity. She looked at him with a complex expression. "You actually awakened a psychic ability."

"Psychic?" Zu An was stunned. It took him a moment to realize she was referring to the elemental ability cultivators awakened after reaching fifth-grade.

The psychic element was one of them, and quite a rare one at that.

Mi Li let out a long sigh. "Just now, I felt a surge of spiritual energy invade my mind. If my cultivation wasn't high enough, I might truly have lost control."

Zu An was overjoyed. "Is this ability really that powerful?"

Considering Mi Li's level, the song of Hundred Chirps had managed to affect even her. Although it was only for a fleeting moment, that moment would have been enough to accomplish many things.

Mi Li snorted coldly. "You needn't be too happy too soon. It's mainly because I no longer have a physical body, and my spirit is exposed. Coupled with my lack of preparedness, I was a bit susceptible to this kind of attack. If it were someone of the same rank, your psychic attack wouldn't be able to control them."