Spells

Afternoon.

The sunlight was just right.

Under the influence of the sect's formation, the sky within the Jade Mist Sect was forever a clear azure blue, cloudless for ten thousand miles.

Jade Mist Sect Outer Disciple Courtyard, Courtyard 32, Room 4.

Su Bai gathered a thread of spiritual power and took the Pill Bottle of Essence Replenishing Pills from his Storage Bag.

He picked up the Pill Bottle and gently tipped a single pill into his palm.

Essence Replenishing Pills were common Tier One Lower-grade Spirit Pills.

They were suitable for cultivators in the Qi Refining Early Stage and Mid Qi Refining Stage.

Yellowish-white throughout, they emitted a faint glimmer of spiritual energy.

They were exceedingly beneficial to the cultivation of cultivators in the Qi Refining Early Stage and Mid Qi Refining Stage.

By the rules of the Jade Mist Sect, Su Bai of Qi Refining Layer One could only collect one Essence Replenishing Pill per month from the Outer Sect Affairs Hall.

However, Su Bai had been among the first three disciples of this batch of newly admitted Outer Disciples to advance to Qi Refining Layer One.

Thus, he had been directly rewarded with an entire bottle—ten Essence Replenishing Pills in all.

Looking at the Essence Replenishing Pill in his hand, Su Bai recalled the knowledge Zhou Chang had previously given him about Qi Refining Stage realms.

"Qi Refining Layers One through Three are the Qi Refining Early Stage, Layers Four through Six are the Mid Qi Refining Stage, and Layers Seven through Nine are Late Qi Refining. With the Qi Refining Layer Ten Great Perfection Realm added in, the Qi Refining Stage has ten layers in total."

"The time required to cultivate each layer is several times that of the preceding layer.

"In theory, even an outstanding cultivator with Three Spirit Root talent needs at least Three Months to advance from Qi Refining Layer One to Qi Refining Layer Two."

"Then next, let's see whether I can advance to Qi Refining Layer Two within Three Months."

Su Bai tilted his head back and swallowed the Essence Replenishing Pill.

The instant the Essence Replenishing Pill entered his throat, it dissolved into dense medicinal spiritual power that surged through Su Bai's meridians.

Su Bai had just asked Zhou Chang about the process of taking an Essence Replenishing Pill, so he was not the least bit surprised.

He fully circulated the first layer of the Radiant Qi Refining Technique.

The medicinal power was rapidly absorbed, merging into his hundred meridians to circulate through a heavenly cycle.

Then, over the course of those cycles, it was gradually converted into Su Bai's own spiritual power and gathered within his dantian.

One drop, two drops, three drops...

With the aid of the Essence Replenishing Pill, the amount of spiritual power in Su Bai's dantian rapidly increased.

Cultivation continued for three hours. Once the medicinal power was exhausted, the spiritual power in Su Bai's dantian had increased by a full ten drops.

Su Bai calculated softly. "One Essence Replenishing Pill is roughly equivalent to three days of hard cultivation."

"This bottle of Essence Replenishing Pills can speed up my cultivation progress by at least one month."

"It takes three hours to refine one Essence Replenishing Pill. Adding the time needed to completely release the medicinal power and restore my mind, taking two Essence Replenishing Pills a day is most suitable."

"In other words, this bottle of Essence Replenishing Pills is only enough for five days of cultivation."

"Spirit pills really do provide enormous benefits to cultivation, but they are also consumed frighteningly fast."

"Should I choose an outstanding Alchemy Talent to copy during next year's Immortal Talent Reflection?"

But after thinking it over carefully, Su Bai quickly dismissed the idea.

With his Cultivation Realm not even at Late Qi Refining, what qualifications did he have to refine pills?

Learning alchemy required not only talent, but also resources and time.

He should first continue copying Spirit Roots to meet his own cultivation needs, then consider auxiliary talents such as Alchemy Talent later.

Shaking his head slightly, Su Bai rested briefly before taking the second Essence Replenishing Pill.

Su Bai immersed himself in cultivation.

Very soon, five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Over these five days, Su Bai had completely used up all ten Essence Replenishing Pills.

At this point, more than a hundred drops of spiritual power had gathered within Su Bai's body.

Those hundred-odd drops of spiritual power condensed into A Wisp of spiritual power. Though Su Bai could not see it, it was far stronger than it had been five days ago, and he could sense its presence far more clearly.

Evening.

Beside the bamboo forest in the middle of Courtyard 32.

The five of them sat around the Stone Table, sampling the Spirit Rice delivered by the Labor Disciples.

Even without any dishes, the Spirit Rice left their mouths brimming with sweet moisture; they simply could not grow tired of it.

It was said that this was merely lower-grade Spirit Rice. Higher-quality Spirit Rice existed above it, supplied to the sect's upper ranks.

Suddenly, Zhou Chang spoke up with a reminder. "Tomorrow is the last day of March. At that time, an elite Inner Sect Senior Brother will give a lecture at the Outer Sect Lecture Ground."

"If you are interested, don't forget the time. After morning cultivation, hurry to the Lecture Ground and secure a spot to listen to Senior Brother's lecture."

Zhang Yanshen asked with mild curiosity, "Senior Brother Zhou, what will this elite Inner Sect Senior Brother teach?"

Zhou Chang answered, "Generally Speaking, they begin with their own cultivation experiences, recounting everything from Qi Refining Layer One to the realm they have currently reached."

"After that, some Senior Brothers continue explaining matters of cultivation, while others turn to Spell Knowledge, Alchemy Knowledge, and other Cultivation Knowledge."

"In any case, it is all Cultivation Knowledge useful to us."

Spell Knowledge? A faint longing rose in Su Bai's heart. No cultivator did not wish to master mighty spells capable of overturning mountains and filling seas.

Over this past month, having been Influenced by what he saw and heard, Su Bai had gained a preliminary understanding of spells.

The Qi Refining Stage could only master Tier One Spells.

Tier One Spells were divided into upper, middle, and lower grades, corresponding to the early, middle, and late phases of the Qi Refining Stage.

Spells could be divided into Non-elemental Spells and Elemental Spells, neither inherently stronger nor weaker than the other.

But Generally Speaking, the weak spiritual power of the Qi Refining Early Stage could only cast some Tier One Lower-grade Non-elemental Spells.

To cast Elemental Spells, one had to at least advance to the Mid Qi Refining Stage, where one's spiritual energy could support the spell's consumption.

However, the Qi Refining Early Stage was not entirely without means of casting Elemental Spells.

In the Qi Refining Early Stage, one could borrow the power of talismans to cast powerful Elemental Spells with relatively little spiritual power.

That was another matter altogether.

The Radiant Qi Refining Technique issued to Su Bai by the sect contained, besides the first four layers of the Qi Refining Technique, three Tier One Lower-grade Non-elemental Spells: the Object Manipulation Technique, Light Body Technique, and Cold Dispelling Technique.

These three spells were all simple applications of spiritual power.

They were not difficult to master.

The Object Manipulation Technique could make objects float. For example, at this moment, Zhou Chang waved his hand, and the teacup on the table floated toward him.

Zhou Chang gently caught the teacup and took a sip. With another wave of his hand, the teacup flew back onto the table.

The Object Manipulation Technique could also open and close doors. A wave of the hand was all it took, making it exceedingly convenient.

As its name implied, the Light Body Technique could make a cultivator's body as light as a feather, allowing him to stride as swiftly as the wind.

The Cold Dispelling Technique was not merely for driving cold from the body. It was a foundational spell that used spiritual power to treat all kinds of illnesses and injuries.

A single Cold Dispelling Technique could not only easily drive cold ailments from a Mortal's body, but also expel certain diseases and plagues with spiritual power.

During this time, Su Bai had only occasionally set aside time each day to practice the Object Manipulation Technique.

Of course, Su Bai's own reserves of spiritual power were not enough to let him practice spells for long.

Even so, the Object Manipulation Technique had quietly reached the beginner level, and he was already extremely adept at opening and closing doors from afar.

Among mortal martial artists, only those who cultivated to the Innate Realm could achieve something similar, such as opening and closing doors from a distance.