Refining Qi and Transforming Spirit

Xiao Yun held the fruit in his hand and examined it carefully for a while. He found that it resembled an apple somewhat, but through its crystal-clear skin, he could see what looked like an illusory little figure inside. Curious, he asked, "Flower Fairy, what is a Nascent Soul Fruit?"

Hua Wushuang had no intention of concealing anything. Pointing at the fruit in Xiao Yun's hand, she explained, "A Nascent Soul Fruit takes three hundred years to blossom, three hundred years to bear fruit, and another three hundred years to ripen. Once consumed, it can directly raise a cultivator's cultivation from Refining Essence into Qi to Qi Transformation into Spirit, with an exceptionally solid foundation."

Xiao Yun continued, "Does this Nascent Soul Fruit still work for you? If it does, you should eat it instead."

Hua Wushuang shook her head. "This thing is completely useless to War Spirits like us. As long as we accumulate Spiritual Power, gold coins, and Breakthrough Mu Jins, we can smoothly recover our original strength. So this fruit should have been specially given to you by Lord Divine Tree for your own use."

"Besides, if you do not raise your strength to the Qi Transformation into Spirit realm, you will not be able to enter the depths of Divine Wood Forest at all. The pressure there is several times stronger than at the outskirts. If your strength or realm is insufficient, forcing your way in will be extremely dangerous."

Xiao Yun did not quite believe her. He headed straight for the depths of this area, only to discover that he could not get any closer. It was as though an invisible force was blocking his path.

He did not hesitate any longer and swallowed the fruit in one bite.

In an instant, a surging wave of Spiritual Power exploded within his body! The spiritual energy in his meridians circulated madly before rushing into his Dantian and gathering at its center.

Xiao Yun quickly followed the contents of the Azure Lotus Sword Song, controlling the Spiritual Power at the center of his Dantian and forming an Azure Sword Lotus phantom.

As Spiritual Power continued to pour in, the Lotus Platform at the center condensed first. It was entirely like azure jade, and nine faint depressions could be seen in its middle, corresponding to nine Sword Lotus Cores.

Once the Lotus Platform had formed, the remaining Spiritual Power began flooding the area around it. One stamen after another, each as sharp as a sword, took shape. There were eighty-one of them in total, and they formed in an extremely short time.

Next came the outer petals. There were eighteen in all, each one like a massive shield around the perimeter, protecting the central Lotus Platform. Ordinarily, condensing these petals would take a long time, but with the Nascent Soul Fruit supplying an unending stream of Spiritual Power, they quickly took shape.

After all eighteen lotus leaves were fully completed, the Nascent Soul Fruit still contained an abundance of Spiritual Power. Xiao Yun decided to go all the way and began condensing Sword Lotus Cores. Condensing each one required far more Spiritual Power than condensing a single petal.

But a Nascent Soul Fruit was still a Nascent Soul Fruit—its supply of Spiritual Power was truly abundant. In one go, he condensed all nine Sword Lotus Seeds.

As the First-Grade Azure Lotus fully took shape, Xiao Yun's consciousness seemed to be drawn into a vast Starry Sky. Brilliant stars surrounded him, while before him stood a gigantic Green Lotus. He himself transformed into a strand of Spiritual Power and, guided by some strange law, traveled through every corner of that Green Lotus.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Yun suddenly opened his eyes. Sword light seemed to burst from his gaze, and the surrounding air froze!

He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. His aura was deep and unending, while the Spiritual Power within him had grown several times denser than before. An Azure Sword Lotus continuously rose and fell within his Dantian.

"This is... the Qi Transformation into Spirit realm?"

He lowered his head and looked at his palm. With a gentle clench of his five fingers, a Green Lotus phantom condensed out of thin air. Its petals were sharp as blades, and with a slight spin, an invisible Sword Qi shot forth, directly cutting a nearby tree in half.

The corners of Xiao Yun's lips lifted slightly, and a trace of coldness flashed through his eyes.

"Tang San, no matter how strong your Mysterious Heaven Skill is, it is nothing more than a martial art of Mortals. But what I cultivate... is a true immortal sword path!"

Just then, Hua Wushuang's cry suddenly rang out from not far away. Xiao Yun did not dare delay. With a movement of his feet, his figure immediately drifted over.

He quickly arrived at Hua Wushuang's side and immediately saw a green treasure chest in front of her.

The moment Hua Wushuang saw Xiao Yun, she said excitedly, "My Lord, there is a treasure chest here. I have no idea what is inside. Hurry and open it!"

Xiao Yun had not expected treasure chests to exist within Divine Wood Forest. He stepped forward and opened it.

After opening the chest, Xiao Yun immediately took out everything inside. There were ten golden cards in total, each with a cross-shaped star embedded on its back and a ring of golden radiance around the star.

Xiao Yun recognized them at once. They were Advanced Summoning Contract Cards, needed to summon War Spirits. With these ten Summoning Contract Cards, his War Spirit team could be greatly strengthened. Besides that, there was also a blue one-star Frost Moon Set.

Hundred Flowers Fairy immediately realized this as well and said, "Your Highness, let us return first. After we gather more companions, we can continue deeper into Divine Wood Forest."

Tu Yaoyao behind her repeatedly agreed, "Yes, yes, yes! Your Highness, we should go back and gather some more companions first."

Naturally, Xiao Yun did not object. Smiling, he agreed to their request and directly had Youyou activate her ability to send the three of them back to White Jade Capital.

When the three appeared in White Jade Capital, Xiao Yun suddenly received a notification from Youyou:

The seal on the Trial Temple has been lifted. You may proceed to the Trial Temple to obtain various rewards.

Although Xiao Yun was curious about what trials the Trial Temple held, he first brought Hundred Flowers Fairy and Tu Yaoyao to the Summoning Temple.

He placed all ten Advanced Summoning Contracts onto the Summoning Altar at once and pressed the summon button.

As the button was pressed, ten pillars of light immediately shot into the sky from the Summoning Altar.

Before long, the colors of the pillars changed. Six of them turned blue and then stopped changing. One Rare War Spirit after another emerged from the pillars:

Fire-type Fire Spirit—Fire Crow; fire-type Spirit Fox Warrior—Jiuli; water-type Mist Illusory Beast—Illusory Mirage Beast; metal-type Sword-Wielding Attendant—Sword Spirit; earth-type Stubborn Stone Boy—Stone Man; metal-type Golden Armored Warrior—Armor Spirit.

After leaving the Altar, they immediately bowed to Xiao Yun. Xiao Yun waved his hand, telling them to wait to the side as they welcomed the other War Spirits who had yet to emerge from the Altar.

Of the remaining four pillars of light, two turned purple before their transformations ended.

Then two figures stepped out of the purple pillars: one was an Epic fire-type War Spirit, Shadow Assassin—Huo Wu; the other was an Epic dark-type War Spirit, Underworld Yin General—Impermanence.

After emerging, the two also bowed to Xiao Yun at once, then went to the side and began speaking with Tu Yaoyao.